Is A Hero Just A Sandwhich?

I have been troubled for several years now about the over usage of the word "hero," and no, I'm not talking about the TV series, though it does somewhat speak to the point I want to make. Anyone trying to learn the English language today would have to assume that everyone is a hero. If you're famous - you're also a hero. If you or your sociological group are the subject of a talk show - you're a hero. If you give money to a worthy cause - you're a hero. If you help with any service project - you're a hero. If you did something honest or showed integrity - you're a hero. If you are underpaid, overworked, and under-appreciated, or if you put your family first, or if you join any military service, or if you honor those who serve, or if you called 911 for someone else - you're - well, by now you get the point.
Our generalized application of hero has made it an almost meaningless word. The news media throws it at anyone who is nice, does what's right, sets a good example, or is being the good citizen we assume and expect everyone to be. It's like the NFL players who pound their chest, dance their personal dance, and basically scream "Look at the awesome tackle I just made!" Well Duh! Isn't that what they pay you millions to do? And didn't the work of ten other guys have a little to do with it? And you think you're a hero?
I know - the dictionary says that a hero is someone who is admired for their accomplishments. So yes, Mom you're a hero for all the work you do, and Dad's a hero for playing catch with Junior. I guess being born right after WW2 and during the Korean War, I tend to think of a hero as someone who does something "above and beyond" what is expected. It's the person who risks their life to help others! It's the willingness to sacrifice and do what few people are willing to do. Doing something "heroic" is doing something extraordinary, not doing what any responsible person should do.
I don't know? I guess I can't help but think about the 1200 WW2 veterans who die each day, who paid dearly for this right to do a blog and keep goose-stepping black-shirted government killers from closing the doors of my church. Men and women who pass from this life unnoticed and forgotten as we spent days mourning the loss of TV stars and musicians, and listen to other celebrities call them heroes.
I don't want to take honor and recognition away from anybody - but I do wish we'd save the word "hero" for people who truly did something heroic. If you're a hero for collecting litter from off the street, what would you call someone who allowed himself to be crucified to pay for the sins of all mankind? Now that I think about it, I can't remember a time when anyone referred to Jesus as a hero. Why not?

Just What Is Real Power?

This is my 350th blog post! Wow! I wonder how many books that could have been? I wonder how many people have read even one of them? I guess it doesn't matter as long as I enjoy the sharing. After all, how many people have to read something before the writing is justified or worth the effort? My, am I getting philosophical in my almost old age or what?
Speaking of which (philosophical not the age thing), I wrote a note to myself last week that I wanted to think about this week. As it turned out, I shared it in my Sunday morning Bible class and I will be referring to it again this coming Sunday in my lesson on God's Tool of Leadership. Here's the note: "Real power is when you don't have to make sure people know you have it!"
Often, power is a matter of "I'm bigger, meaner, stronger, or richer than you, so you better do what I want you to do!" But real power, the power of character, integrity, and admiration - the power of influencing others because they respect you - the power of quiet leadership that commands attention and attracts a following - well, that's a special kind of power. Real leaders have it. If you have to have a title or position before you display leadership qualities, you're not a leader, you're a wimp waiting to be promoted. Everyone knew that Jesus had authority - even when they didn't see him perform a miracle. He didn't have to throw around titles, and he had some - just ask Isaiah! He didn't have to impress anyone with his supernatural powers. They were dwarfed by his compassion anyway. His power was seen in his purposeful living, his godly character, and his understanding of his Father. Some people who only know worldly power didn't get it. They would - eventually. I wonder what it's been like for the last two thousand years for those people who shouted, "If you are the Son of God, come down off that cross and save yourself!" Power kept him up there. The power of his love for us.

Wanderings in the Dessert

This is Donna's famous "Cootie Cake" which she has made for our annual Dessert Auction each year. I think Danny Younger named it that five years ago when he saw the chocolate curls on top. If you remember where that came from - you're old! The Dessert Auction is really a lot of fun. The Dessert Auction is a fund raiser for the youth mission trip, and this year, since they're not going very far for their trip and don't need as much money, it was the smallest auction we've ever had. Still, by the time it was over, they'd raised over $3200 for their trip. Last year the amount was around $10K. Donna's cake is really a German Chocolate cake with lots of extra chocolate "things" decorating it from top to bottom. I think it went for about $150, which is half of what it went for in the past. Tough economy?

Donna and a couple of our members are looking over one of the tables with desserts and other "packages" to be auctioned off. There are always some amazing things that are donated by members to be auctioned off - like first-base tickets to a Cardinals game, and some of the desserts came with all sorts of decoration or picnic utensils or such like.

This is Danny Younger being the auctioneer - trying to create some "bidding wars" to push up the amount. He always does a good job and makes it a lot of fun. There is something ironic about a dentist pushing SO much sugar!

Ron Ebker just happened to get caught in this picture. I wanted to take a picture of the cake our table went together to buy. Four of us pooled our money, got the top bid, and bought this - some kind of candy bar cake! It was wonderful - and I could say "rich" - especially since it cost me $25 for my slice! But it's a worthy cause. It was a great evening of fun, fellowship, and fundraising. If you ever need a good fundraiser at your church, try this idea of a dessert auction. Hey - food? It's clearly one of the things we do well as a church!

Thoughts on Fathers Day

Sunday is Fathers Day. I don't know - it just never struck me with the same level of importance as Mothers Day. Why? Maybe it's because I never had a Dad to honor on that day - at least one that was home or alive. Maybe it's because I've always felt like Moms clearly deserved it, while "us Dads" generally got to have Father's Day every day. I don't know. Every year at church the ladies whine "Why don't you do something special for fathers on Fathers Day, like you do for the Moms on Mothers Day?" What? A flower? Maybe a Dandelions to represent all the yard work not done yet. A pen or a bookmark with some sweet saying or Bible quote on it? It always ends up in Mom's purse. No, we need to hand out pocket knives, so guys could whittle during church, or defend the preacher from some crazed shooter. I can see the headlines now ARMED ASSAILANT TURNED INTO A PIN CUSHION AT CHURCH! Or maybe we could hand out Philips screwdrivers and all the men could tighten up all the chairs in front of them during communion. Or what about a bottle of DOE-IN-HEAT deer lure? That would give a whole new meaning to being the aroma of Christ, though it could perk up a few marriages...
No, the ultimate Dads Day gift can't be handed out at church on Sunday morning. It never was a tie, and while the sharp three button shirts are nice, it's really not something from Penney's. It's even not, and I hate to say it, getting his favorite food for Sunday dinner! Ouch. It's something much more precious. It's hearing "I love you" from the ones who call you Dad. Sure, most guys wouldn't say that, but just being loved, remembered, and appreciated - for just a few seconds is - well that's really what matters. And the beauty of that is - it makes every day that it happens - Fathers Day.
PS. My cordless drill is a close second.

Talk Is Cheap - And Precious!

Sunday morning I began a series of lessons about God's Tools. These are the things that God has given us to help us grow spiritually, which is growing relationally with Him. I did a similar series in TN about seven years ago, and while the list is the same, the presentation will be very different. The biggest reason is because I've changed. Yes, I know the truth doesn't change, but our ability to understand, interpret, and communicate it does. It's called growing - at least that's what I hope it's about for me. I began with what I think is the most important tool in my list of twelve (I really believe there are fourteen tools, but one is angels, whom I conveniently merge with the Holy Spirit, and the other is TOO scary for some people to classify as "TOOL" when they've seen it as the goal for too many years - makes you wonder doesn't it?).
Prayer is the most important tool God has given us as we develop a deeper relationship with Him and with Jesus. Why? It's our communication with Him. Like I've said many times, without communication there is no relationship! That's true with family and friends, but also with God. In fact, I really think the word "prayer" as been so institutionalized and formalized by doing church, that most people see it as a religious rite or sacrament and not the simple talking to God that it truly is.
One of my sub-points was "Our relationships are only as strong as our ability to keep communicating!" Stop talking and you stop the relationship. We know that, and that is why it is so immature to show our anger or dissatisfaction with someone by giving them "the silent treatment." Do you really want to destroy the relationship? Of course not - it's just a petty way to make someone notice that we are upset. My most famous, and most used, saying also explains why it's so destructive. If you don't communicate you speculate! Speculation is almost always wrong!
So the question is, are you communicating with God or just speculating about Him? If you're not talking - the relationship is dying. Don't let that happen. Talk to Him. He sent a text message two thousand years ago and He's waiting for a rely!

Can't Top This!

This past week has almost been an overload of blessings with the play and having most of our family with us. In the above picture all the kids, except for baby Daniel, take a Popsicle break in back of our house as they watch the pond out back get chemically treated for algae and bugs. Interesting stuff!

After the final show Sunday night, trying to get Curtis to sit still long enough for a group picture of us and all the grand kids proved impossible. So, here we have an "action" picture of us and our grand kids.

It was also really nice to have my sister Becky visiting with us this week. I think she has come out every year for the play and stayed the week after so we could have some good visit time. If she lived here, she'd be up on the stage as part of the cast. I guess it runs in the family.

God blessed us with another wonderful experience with every part of this year's production. We had about two thousand in attendance over the four nights with Sunday night being the largest crowd of over six hundred. We had five hundred and twenty family units that registered for a free DVD of the play, and we are receiving some wonderful comments from everyone who attended. We've been praying about this for months, and God has answered our prayers. The follow-up will start in about three to four weeks as we get our finished DVD's of the play back from the company that is making the copies for us.

And add to all that getting to be with family for several days and you have the makings of one incredible week. God is good!

Post Production?

It has been two days since our last performance of Transformers: Saul to Paul, and I haven't allowed myself much time to reflect on the "success" of the play. I really don't need to do much reflecting to make that call. I've never been part of a church-musical-performance that generated as much thinking, soul-searching, and questions for the audience as this one did. The comments from scores of people that I talked to more than convinced me that the message in this play will be effecting lives for a long time to come - and that's true for both audience and performers.
Every person who attended was confronted by the message that Jesus changes people. They heard the Gospel message, they witnessed the change from Saul to Paul, many saw a real New Testament baptism for the first time, and everyone understood that God's love should lead us to love one another and Him. I could focus on the good crowds, about 2000 in total, or the several hundred families that registered to receive a free DVD of the play and thus, give us an opportunity to connect with them one more time, but I know that lives were changed, and that is what it was all about.
We had two young people baptized into Christ Sunday morning. They were brother and sister in a wonderful, dedicated Christian family in this congregation, but when one of them was asked what made them decided to be baptized, they said, "It was the play. It made be realized that I've never been transformed by Jesus." Nuf said!

After Two Nights...

This is the opening song from Friday night's performance. We begin with "Glorious Impossible".

This is the action prior to the stoning of Stephen. They're singing "We will rock you!"

The Pharisees have some great songs in scene two. This is "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better".

This is the "horn duet" in "Old Time Hebrew Scroll".

This is the singing of "He Is Jehovah" in scene two. It helps display Hebrew pride!

The ladies sang a medley of songs from the Martins that we call "The River Medley".

This is the church in Damascus sharing communion using the song "The Bread Has Been Broken".

In the final scene, we use "cardboard confessions" to enhance "Your Grace Still Amazes Me". It's a powerful song and the personalized transformations from sinners to saved saints is very touching.

Tonight we have our third show. So far both shows have been great with about a thousand visitors between the two nights. Tonight and Sunday night should be our biggest audiences. It's truly neat to hear people talking about how moved they were by the play. There is no doubt about what the point it, and everyone seems to get it.

Break-a-leg?

This is last night's dress rehearsal and it really went well. It was the first time we got to see all the color of the Pharisees costumes. This is from scene two when Saul and the Sanhedrin are singing about the virtues of "old time scrolls". I doubt if the original group had as much rhythm.

This is still scene two as the whole crowd sings about how wonderful Jehovah is. Yes, that is the Temple behind them (not to scale).

This is in scene four as, now Paul, tries to get the Damascus church to accept him as a true convert. I can't wait to have an audience respond to the lines, lyrics, and action of the play. It has been a lot of hard work, but fun work, and we have all been blessed in many ways already. Now we just ask God to use it to touch hearts.

I'll try to get some live show pictures up before the four show finish on Sunday night.

Need a rest?

It's amazing that many of the things in life that you truly enjoy are also things that you need a rest from. Every year, especially as we get into the heat of the Summer, I begin to really look forward to Fall bowhunting. When it gets here in late September, I sooooo enjoy relaxing in a tree stand, watching all the wildlife, meditating on God's beautiful creation, and being filled with the anticipation of a nice buck coming my way. Even when the cooler weather of November and December comes blowing in, I still love every minute in a blind or stand. But, by the time I make those last few bowhunting trips into the woods in January, I'm usually ready for the season to finish and put my bow up for a few months. I love it, but I'm ready when it's over.
Tonight is the last official rehearsal for our musical Transformers: Saul to Paul. Tomorrow night is dress rehearsal and then we do a performance Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening. I'm really excited about finally getting to do the show for our audience each night. The cast and crew are ready, the costumes and sets are ready, the advertisements have been handed out, and all the membership support has been assigned. It's time to do it and I can't wait!
Still, I picked all the music last Summer. I listened to it over and over before writing new lyrics and the script in late Fall early Winter. We had our first meeting and read-through in mid February and have been in rehearsals since the first of March. After Sunday night, I will be ready to quit thinking about it and ready to quit waking up in the middle of the night with one of the songs going through my head. I love it! It's going to be incredible! I'm glad it will end.
These are two of the biggest things in my life - bowhunting and our musical - and I'm still glad they end? You know what? I never feel that way about God's goodness and grace. I never get tired of thinking about how thankful I am for what He constantly does for me. He's not a hobby or an event! He's not an activity or entertainment! He's my Father! I have a relationship with Him and I cannot get tired of building it and seeking to know Him better. Without Him, the other things wouldn't be as special or as meaningful. He gives purpose to everything. I'll never need a rest from Him, but I do seek a rest with Him!

One Week Away!

One week away from opening night, and the play is really looking great. These are pictures from Wednesday nights rehearsal and we had another one last night. Having two full rehearsals back-to-back has really solidified a lot of elements in the play. Last night, Donna handed out costumes, and as of yesterday, all the painting and scenery is done except for some touch-up on the Luke's classroom wall - just off the picture to the right. We have three more rehearsals planned - Sunday afternoon, Tuesday night, and dress rehearsal on Wednesday. Then the play opens on Thursday night and goes through Sunday night (7:00 each night except for Sunday at 6:00)

Last year the pirates kinda stole the show with all their planned and unplanned antics. This year we have the Pharisees in scene two who I feel will do the same thing. The same group, for the most part, miraculously becomes apostles by the last scene and also have some fun things to do. It's got a lot of fun stuff in, but it's also probably the most spiritually pointed play we have done. What it means to be transformed by Jesus is clearly taught and the great songs truly help it to touch the heart. I am very proud of what the whole cast has done to get this pulled together. Hope you can come to one of the shows. We'll have DVD's again, but they are nothing compared to the live performance.

Thy Kingdom Come!

Through the years, I have heard and read more arguing and debating about the nature of THE Kingdom than probably any other theological topic. I never really got into it when it was such a huge controversy in college - mostly because I didn't understand why it was such a big deal. Most members don't have a clue that defining THE Kingdom is a source of great distress and disunity amount church of Christ scholars and most evangelical group. Members don't know about it and, well you know what the next line is - they don't care about it.
It use to be understood that every true believer had to stand solidly behind the C of C interpretation that the church and the kingdom were the same thing. After all, that's what The Book said! No, not the Bible, but Why I Am A Member of the Church of Christ. Oh, did I say "use to be"? That implies that something has changed, and for many that's the same as the preaching of another Gospel, which as we all know, is anathema.
The problem is with all the different ways that the Kingdom is talked about - even by Jesus. Sometimes it's here, sometimes it's coming, sometimes it within us, and sometimes it's the end of time. Everyone has an opinion on what it is, when it came or is coming, and who's in it. Yet Jesus declared clearly, "My kingdom is not of this world."
Call me simple-minded, which some have, but it seems to me that the kingdom is simply the spiritual realm of God. A realm that He has been trying desperately to get us to think about, focus on, and desire to be part of. A realm that was only partly available through the Old Covenant as God was teaching that Law can't save people, but is now completely available through grace. Yet still a realm that will not be fully realized until we are changed from mortal to immortal. Could the Kingdom simply be the Light we are called to walk in? Could it simply be that the journey of seeking reveals the Kingdom's presence in our heart? Could it be that the Kingdom is the presence of Jesus in our life.
Ah, what do I know. I'm simple-minded - or rather, single-minded. I tend to think that everything is about Jesus. After all, what's the Kingdom without THE KING?

Jeremiah Root?

One of my all-time favorite movies is Jeremiah Johnson with Robert Redford. Talk about a classic! Like Groundhog Day, I watch it at least a couple times a year. I love the toughness and total independence of JJ whether he's dealing with the severe terrain and weather of the Rockies, a wild grizzly, or the multiple attacks from the Indians who attempt to gain glory by killing him. I watch and think - I could do that! Then, after sober reflection on reality and setting aside Indians and grizzlies, I couldn't stand to be that alone for that long. I like people. I love my friends and family. I love my church family. Yes, I like my quiet time - especially in a deer stand in the Fall, but I love to be around the people I love - and who love me back. I feel pretty sure that God calls that "church".
Yesterday I made this statement in my lesson. "People don't choose to be loners because they like it, they choose it because they don't know how to make and build relationships." I believe that. God made us to want and need one another. Those who seek to be alone, and feel good about it, are simply people who have learned to rationalize their inability to socialize. I'm sure there are exceptions, but not many.
I don't say that to be critical of anyone, but rather to point out that a lot of folks need help. That person sitting alone at the end of a pew during your Sunday morning assembly really doesn't want to be alone - except to the extent it saves them from the discomfort they feel about their inadequacies in relationship building. I guess what I'm saying is that real, loving outreach may only be feet away rather than down the street. The assembly is a togetherness event. Church is God's plan for spiritual relationship building. Some don't want, and that's wrong - and sad. Some don't know how, and that's mission we must not ignore.

Going to Kansas City...

Last Sunday afternoon we drove over to Kansas City to see the play that Jonathan is in at the Kansas City Rep. He took a leave-of-absence from his Avenue Q show on Broadway to be part of this production of A Flea In Her Ear. The above picture is a power point screen in the foyer of the Rep that flashed pictures of the cast. Donna caught this picture as Jonathan's picture came up.

This is the place. The theatre is on the very beautiful campus of the University of Missouri in Kansas City. It's a really nice theatre too, with probably 300+ seats. We were about five rows from the front, so we got to see every thing up close and personal. It's a great play. It's called a French farce and is basically a fast paced action comedy with lots of really great lines, puns, and comedic innuendos. The cast was incredible - especially one in particular - and there were lots of wonderful laughs. Of course, it was a little bawdy in spots with a lot of suggestive jokes, but nothing you won't hear on Leno every night. It was especially thrilling to hear the audience give a special cheer when Jonathan took his bows with the rest of the cast. I wish we could see it again.

After the Sunday night show, we went out to dinner at The Cheesecake Factor and had a huge, late-night dinner and a great time just visiting. Oh yes - it was a Tums galore night.

Since Monday was Jonathan's day off, we spent the whole day visiting sights in Kansas City, eating a lot, walking a lot, and just enjoying being together. This picture was at the Steamboat museum, just down from where we had KC barbecue. By the way, KC is a really neat town, at least the parts we saw. We may go back some time and just see the things we didn't have time to see this visit.

It was wonderful to just spend time with Jonathan. We'd love to see Holly, but she couldn't come out until this next weekend. It was a great play and a great visit.

Sunday Morning Rock!

Introducing the Florissant Church of Christ Choir!

NOT! We have a tradition each year (see I like good traditions) of having the cast of the musical sing one of the songs from the play for our congregation two or three weeks before opening night. Not only does it let them know that we have been working hard and are prepared for the show, but it helps inspire everyone to pass out lots of tickets and door hangers to advertise the production. They did an awesome job with the song, especially since I switched songs on them after they got up there. The whole church family loved it and I'm sure it helped inspire them all to invite lots of people to the play. It really is going to be great. It's a little scary to think about how much has to "come together" in the next two weeks, but that's the way it is every year.

If there is any way that you can manage to come see it live, I promise you that's ten times better than seeing it on the DVD - and the DVD will be good!

Just Another Life Changing Thought

I was at our Men's Prayer Breakfast this morning and got to hear several of my brothers talk about encouragement, but especially the importance of being encouraging when we assemble together on Sunday morning. I love it when people "get it"! Churches will continue to have style and preference battles when it comes to "worship" until everyone (or at least most of us) "get it" that it's a giving opportunity not a receiving experience. I'd love for someone to use New Testament scripture and prove me wrong. It won't happen. That is why I remind my church family as often as I can "If what you're doing this morning is not giving, then what you're doing isn't worship." It's excited to see so many "get it"! We also don't have very much grumbling about "what I want" and "I wish we would..."!
Here is a principle that I not only believe in, but I believe it is one of the great keys to unlocking the spirit of Jesus in our life. What ever it is you want, you must be willing to give to others before you can truly have it.

Ripple Effect

I have had several occasions when someone, usually a total stranger, mentioned to me that one of my books completely changed their life. Wow! That is humbling and scary. It's usually someone who read Spilt Grape Juice, which came out in 1991 and redefined worship as a life given in sacrifice to God rather than a one hour assembly on Sunday morning. Back then, that was controversial stuff. Even though it was published by a small Christian publisher (College Press) it still became quite popular just by word of mouth. I think my royalties were enough to pay for one course for one of my three kids at Harding University. Thank God for small things. Still, to have someone declare in person, by phone, by letter, by email, or even in a church bulletin article that something I did changed their life is amazing. Our God is the God of ripple effects.
Yesterday I had a phone conversation with a sister in IL who just got back from visiting family/missionaries in Uganda. She wanted to tell me what a huge hit the Jonah and the Pirates of the Mediterranean DVD was with all the children where they are ministering. She said they watch it constantly and children from all over come to see it, and half of them are Muslim. They have been able to have multiple Bible classes using Jonah's story as the subject. She wanted to know if we had any other DVDs of other plays. I'm sending her our Fiddling On the Ark and The Lord of the Parables DVD and I'll be sending her a copy of Transformers: Saul to Paul when they arrive in early July.
Again, it's mind boggling to think of what God can do with what we do in His name. The ripple effect is one of the most incredible and most ignored characteristics of our Father's plan. We'll never know, in this life, about the many things we've done that God used to touch, teach, and transform others. If you want to see a wonderful biblical example of His ripple effect, just read Acts again from the standpoint of what the ripple effects were starting with the healing of the crippled man at the gate Beautiful in chapter 3. It was an interruption! God used that seemingly isolated act of compassion to cause everything that happened to Peter, John, and all Jerusalem in chapter 4. Touching someone because of God can cause ripples that will not finish until they splash on the shores of Heaven.
I'll never say, "It's just a play."

Steps

Yesterday I presented the three steps in Our Plan to carry out His Purpose. (See diagram below) In the middle of the lesson I made a statement that I didn't have time to elaborate on, but which took a lot of years to figure out. I said, "Church growth is not about PR but about developing a passion for Jesus." When people have a passion for Jesus they SENSE his presence, they SERVE him gladly, and they SHARE him naturally. The problem we've always had is that we ask for and expect actions and results from people who haven't developed a personal relationship with Jesus (i.e. a passion for Jesus) and then cry and moan about our declining numbers or our stale plateaus. Just look at the three steps below and ask yourself at which step will people feel compelled to act and speak for Jesus. Only when people care deeply and become committed will they make the Lord and his church a top priority in their life. These steps just simply clarify that growing is a progressive effort and it helps us identify where we are and where we need to go.
I just remember all those years of trying to come up with the right idea, plan, ad, organization, or event that would attract our community to seek what we had to offer. I just knew that if I could come up with the right package, the church would grow, we'd succeed, and our method would be the envy of every other church in the country. We'd be another Willow Creek or Saddleback, my elders would be in awe of me, and the Brotherhood would make pilgrimages to us to seek out our wisdom and our plan.
Okay, that's a little overstating of things, but it saddens me that it took me so long to understand that my job as a spiritual leader - every leaders job - is to help people develop a deeper relationship with Jesus - one person at a time. Seeing brothers and sisters join the company of the committed is a beautiful thing. It may not be as notable or newsworthy as having discovered the magic formula for becoming a mega-church, but it's why God put us here. The three steps allow us to know where we are and where we need to go - as individuals, and where leaders need to be leading people. It takes mentoring and guiding out of the theoretical and into the practical - the real. Maybe most important of all, at least from my perspective as a minister, I can't guide people to places I haven't been. Like Paul, not that I've arrived, but I press on and I want to help as many as possible go with me.

How Do You Seek God?

One of the truly odd things about human selfishness is that the more we are blessed, the more we expect to be blessed. If you read much of my stuff, or listened to me very much, you know how vitally important I believe thankfulness is to our spiritual growth. It's essential - preeminent - nothing happens spiritually without it. Conversely, everything begins to happen when we choose to be thankful. We connect with God because we recognize what He has done for us, and our relationship with Him deepens because we are communicating with Him. That's called FAITH! He's real to us, close to us, and involved with us! His Holy Spirit develops it's fruit in our lives (Gal.5), and His graces become life-style qualities that increase daily (2 Peter 1). This is just part of the chain reaction that begins with deciding to be thankful. Thus, thankfulness is the secret to seeking! Thankfulness is what changes seeking from theological theory into honest relationship building!
So what happens when we allow God's blessings to go unnoticed, unappreciated, and un-praised? What happens when we see ourselves as just living "charmed lives" and succeeding because of our raw talent and looks and superior intellect? At the very least we go from feeling grateful to feeling entitled, from being humble to being egotistical, and from cheerful giving to self-centered keeping! At the worst, we become shortsighted, forgetful, and sell out eternity for the gains of this world. We stop seeking God - the One who blessed us in the first place.
That makes the words of the Spirit even scarier - "Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall."
Choose to be thankful and see what God has been waiting to do!

His Purpose Our Plan

This is a copy of the material I started presenting to my church family last Sunday. We developed and committed to our purpose statement over two years ago - "We exist to help people develop a deeper relationship with Jesus." It's simple but I believe it's the truly biblical reason why our Father wanted His children to form church families. Everything we do as a church family must be driven by and contributing to this goal/purpose/win. If it's not contributing to it, we need to have the guts/faith to stop doing it. Everything, as in the diagram, must point to accomplishing the God-given result.

The above diagram that we developed consists of three parts. This is what I'm sharing with our family now. The top part simply points out that God has given us a tremendous support system to achieve His purpose. This includes everything from a church family, to leaders, to all the spiritual activities and relational interactions that build love and faith. I have a list of twelve tools that God has given us that support our efforts to seek Him. Right now I'm planning on sharing these as a Summer series.

The second section is the steps to spiritual growth. Everyone seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus must first be Connected in some way to Him and His people. As each of us begins to truly Care about one another, we are growing in love, which is why God wanted us to be together in the first place. Loving one another is how we learn to love Him and be like Him (read 1 Jn.). The more we grow in love the more we truly become Committed to one another and to Him. Spiritual growth is based on loving relationships because that is what God wants. These are simple and easy to understand. Everyone can know where they are - if they are honest, and every shepherd can know where he needs to lead each individual he is mentoring and can truly measure the effectiveness of his guidance and their growth.

The third section, Location, is simply to help each of us have a visual picture of where we are spiritually and relationally. Everyone knows what it means to be in the house, but only in the foyer. The living room has some relationship building going on, but true intimacy and deep relationships are symbolized by sitting around the kitchen table, sharing, trusting, and encouraging.

I love it! I've believed for a long time that we've complicated God's plans with our traditions, our divisions, and our external spirituality. It's all about drawing closer to Him and "church" is a tool to encourage and support that result! It is my prayer that with a clear purpose and clear steps we can get on with the job of helping one another "become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Eph.4:13)