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The Invisibles

Posted in Church, Community, Hope on January 10, 2011| 2 Comments »

It sounds a little like the next Pixar film doesn’t it?  The Invisibles!  Woody and Buz and all their friends could discover a world of toys they never knew existed.  I don’t know, it might sell tickets . . . nah,  probably not.

Unfortunately, invisibles are real and they are all around us.  They go about their daily lives completely unnoticed by mainstream society – by us.  Now before you become paranoid and think I am about to tell you about a new conspiracy theory or something, let me give you some examples of invisibles that might be in your path today.

  • The clerk behind the cash register at the convenience store where you stop to buy gas.
  • The waitress at your table at lunch.
  • The person walking down the street in the cold as you drove to work or school this morning.

These are just three examples of invisibles.  But here is the question:  Are they invisible because of something they do, or something we do (or don’t do)?  The answer: something we do!

This Sunday I will be preaching on the life of Jesus; particularly the way he connected with people.  He saw people – he really saw them.  He stopped to show compassion and love.  He literally had the emotional weight of the salvation of mankind on his shoulders everyday, but yet he took time out of his schedule and picked up a child or healed a blind man or touched a leper.

Do you really see the people God puts in your path?  Or do you simply look past or through them toward the next thing on your schedule or To Do list?

I have to confess, of all the people guilty of doing this, I am one of the worst.  But today, it will be different.  Today I choose to see.

How about you?

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Messengers of Hope

Posted in Church, Community, Formation, Hope on December 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Last week, most of my posts dealt with hope – the hope that Jesus brought to a hopeless world over 2000 years ago.

This past Sunday, my sermon centered around this same  hope.  Jesus came to earth to live among us, to teach us to live and love, to die for us and then to defeat death in the resurrection.  We also believe that He will return again according to what the Bible says.

But what about the meantime?  How is the hope that can only come from God to be shared between the resurrection and the return?  We are God’s plan and strategy for that to happen.  We are to be God’s messengers of hope.

So here is the question I asked our congregation on Sunday, and I ask of you today – and it is not an easy question:  If we truly believe that Jesus came to this earth to teach us how to live and to love; if we believe he died a horrible death on a cross for you and for me; if we know beyond a shadow of doubt that he rose again, defeating death and making it possible for us to have eternal life – if these are the things we believe (and as followers of the Way, these things are the basics) . . . then shouldn’t our lives reflect that fact?

Be a messenger of God’s hope today!

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Hope For The Hopeless

Posted in Church, Community, Hope, Missions on December 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I have had a day or two to begin to process all the things we experienced with our time of service with Mission Arlington.  I had the transformative experience of working along side some amazing South Plains College students this past weekend.  We did everything from pick up and deliver furniture to wrap Christmas gifts and work in the Christmas store.  We were able to work first hand with folks living in deplorable conditions in inner-city Arlington.  Among those were children in low-income housing complexes.

One of our assignments on Friday was to take a truck full of items – clothes, house-wares, toys and the like – to two different apartment complexes and organize all of it out on the ground and then go door to door to each of the units to tell the tenants that we were having a free garage sale.  In a matter of minutes the area was swarming with activity.

As I tried to connect with these folks, I saw something tragic in many of their eyes.  Looking into the hollow eyes of another human being and seeing nothing but darkness tore at my soul.  The darkness was complete absence – an absence of hope.  I was torn as we loaded up the left overs to move on to our next assignment.  I watched as the people I had just met carried their new found “treasures” back to their shelters and then I turned and got on my heated, comfortable bus to transport our workers back to our reality.  A reality that does not include a lack for anything.

The beauty of our time at Mission Arlington came on Sunday, when we had the opportunity to work with the children in some of those same housing complexes.  For them, the hope had not yet been drained from their eyes.  They still had the hope that innocence affords a child living in those conditions.  It was in those moments that I saw the opportunity to make a real difference.  Those workers and volunteers who work with those kids weekly are making a difference.  They are keeping their hope alive – hope that can only come from Jesus.

May God bless all those workers on the “front lines.”  Your work will produce fruit because you are serving as God’s hands and arms and feet.

I am glad I got to work with the kids whose hope is still alive – especially here at Christmas time.  But I can’t erase the image in my mind of the hopelessness in the eyes of the adults.

Come Lord Jesus, Come!  Restore hope to the hopeless!

Amen

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Headed to the Valley

Posted in Church, Community, Missions on November 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

In a few hours, I will be headed to the valley in a van full of gift boxes for the children in the shelter at Cuidad Miguel Alemán.  There are many children living in this shelter so our church staff, along with some donations from others,  have put together a gift box for each child.  Yesterday, a group of college students came to the church and assembled the boxes and loaded them on our old church van, and now I have the privilege of driving these gifts to the valley to be given to the children.  It is great to be involved with such a wonderful group of people working together for such an important mission.

Here is my request of you today.  Please pray for the children who will receive these boxes.  Pray for their safety.  Pray that God will use these simple gifts to work in each of their lives.  Most importantly, pray that each child will experience God’s love and presence through this effort in ways they have never known before.

Thanks for your support!

(more…)

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Fast Thoughts

Posted in Church, Hope, Missions on November 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The response from the day of fasting for Mexico has been great!  I had a friend tell me on Wednesday that she participated in the fast and prayer for Mexico on Tuesday.  She shared that she had never fasted in her life.  It was a good experience for her reminding her of just how much God has blessed her.

I have fasted before (not regularly as is pretty obvious by my physique) but this time was different.  With the added component of scheduled prayer times and  ideas for prayer, my day and my thoughts were more focused.  My primary experience was mixed.  It was a combination of gratitude for the way God has blessed my family and me and a deep and profound brokenness for the people living in continual fear just across the border from my state.  I came away from the day even more committed to continue to pray for our neighbors along the border.

My request is that you continue to pray for them as well.

As we enter into the Thanksgiving season, my challenge for each of us is this:  spend time thinking about how truly blessed you are and take a moment or two to stop and thank God for those blessings.  As you walk through this exercise, remember that there are people along our border not nearly as blessed and offer a prayer for them.  Ask that each individual – man, woman and child – feel God’s presence in an overwhelming way.  Pray that God’s peace would envelope each person and that they might find rest in knowing that no matter how bad their situation may be, God is in the midst of it with them.

Thank you for your continued concern for our brothers and sisters!

Be blessed today!

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Intentional Prayer for Mexico

Posted in Church, Hope, Missions on November 16, 2010| 2 Comments »

For those of you who have been following my thoughts over the last several days, you know that today is the day that I have called for a fast for Mexico – particularly for the people along the border between Mexico and Texas.

I appreciate all of you who have left comments here or on Face Book or sent emails voicing your support.  Even if you can’t fast today, I have put some thought into some intentional prayer needs with some suggested times to pray.  Follow if you like or simply pray for these folks in a manner that best fits your journey.

 

8:30 am  –  Pray For The Refugees In Miguel Alemán And All Living In Daily Fear (For protection and peace)

 

10:00 am  –  Pray For The Pastors And Ministers (Men and women who could leave but choose to stay)

 

12:00 pm  –  Pray For The Mexican Government And Relief Efforts

 

2:00 pm  –  Pray For Softening Of Hearts Within The Members Of The Cartels

 

5:00 pm  –  Pray For God To Intervene In The Situation And Work A Miracle

 

Thank you for your prayers today.  I would love to have feedback as to how God works in your life throughout today!

Be Blessed!

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A Different Side of Church

Posted in Church, Community on October 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I don’t think it occurred to me as our Children’s Minister and I were vacuuming the popcorn and trash off of the gym floor at 8:30 last night.  In fact, I don’t think much occurred to me other than I was tired and I wanted to be at home.  But as I reflected on our evening at church, I put it all into perspective.

Last night we had church!  We hosted our annual fall festival.  We had games and food, a bounce house and a ton of kids with their parents.  It was awesome to see so many people having fun together in a safe environment.  It didn’t matter if they regularly attend our church.  Everyone was welcome and everyone had a great time being together.

In my mind, that is an image of what the church should look like all the time.  People coming together without any pressure of wanting to “fit in” – just happy to be together.

As I look back on last night’s experience – it was worth it.  I would vacuum the gym again if I had to.

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A Legend of a Preacher

Posted in Church, Community, Leadership on October 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I grew up in a small town in west Texas – Kermit (Go Yellow Jackets!!).  In my hometown you could find a wide variety of folks but everyone got along fine.

One of the things I remember about our church and our community is that a couple of times per year they would do what I would call the “preacher swap.”  Our pastor would preach in another church in town one Sunday and a pastor from another church would preach in our church.  It was one of those Sunday’s that I was introduced to Brother Lewis.  He was the pastor of the black Baptist church in Kermit.  I had never in my life heard anyone preach with that much passion and enthusiasm.  When he really got “cranked up” he would begin to sing his sermon.  I never watched the time when I listened to him preach.  I guess the reason I was so drawn to him was that his preaching was a mere reflection of who he was and how he lived.  He was a true humble servant of God.  It affected me to the level that I would take some friends and go to their church occasionally, just to hear him preach.

The only catch to going to visit his church was that if you visited, he would expect you to get up and sing for the congregation.  Now, I’m not sure you are getting the picture, but it was impossible to sneak into their church and blend in and remain anonymous – I was a little lighter skinned than the norm of the others sitting in the room.  So I knew when I went that I would have to sing – but I didn’t mind – it was worth it.

I tell you all of this because I am going to today to pay my last respects to this legend of a preacher.  A man that affected so many lives.  A man that was arrested in the 60’s for his non-violent protests.  A man that marched on more than one occassion with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  A man who leaves a huge hole in so many lives.

He did not pastor a mega-church.  In fact, his name never became well-known.  But for those lives he touched – he was a giant and he will be missed!

So I am going to his funeral today – I wonder if they will ask me to sing! 🙂

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Unified To the Core

Posted in Church, Community, Hope on October 11, 2010| 2 Comments »

Today, my reading was in Romans.  In Romans 15:5-6, Paul encourages followers of the Way – us – by asking God to bless us with a spirit of unity.  Paul realized the importance of getting along.  As a community of believers, we are to be a family who loves one another, who enjoys being together and who takes care of one another.  Stop and think about it; who wants to be a part of a dysfunctional family on purpose?

But Paul goes on to say that the ultimate reason for this unity is what?  That God would be glorified.

The world needs to see a faith community that loves one another and God – not a community of individuals who can’t stand each other.  God is not glorified when we don’t get along.

Paul doesn’t stop with a general statement about unity.  He says that we should glorify God with one heart and one mouth.  This is the part that really caught my attention this morning as I was reading and praying through these two verses.  Paul is pushing for real unity – not just lip service.  Not only are we to be one mouth, but we have to be completely unified – we have to have one heart!

That is really hard in a family of believers.  Sometimes we go along with what is going on and we voice our agreement, but in our hearts, we are not really fully committed to the family.  Paul tells us that for God to be glorified, we need to have one mouth and one heart!

So where do we start?  Today, we start with prayer.  Begin asking God to give you and your faith community a spirit of unity not only in word but in heart.  Ask God to start with you!

Be blessed today!

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Tow Truck Tow

Posted in Church, Motivational on October 8, 2010| 4 Comments »

Yesterday, I saw an interesting and somewhat comical sight.  As I was traveling down the highway, I passed a tow truck – – – that was being towed by a tow truck.  Had I not been driving down the highway at the time, I would have done my best to get a picture because I found it humorous.

But it got me to thinking.  I wonder how often that happens?  And, what kind of truck does it take to tow a tow truck?

The reality is that tow trucks evidently break down too.

As I drove back to the office, my mind wandered to the similarity of that sight with ministry.  Who does a minister turn to when he or she needs a minister?  There are actually a couple of options when a minister needs a minister, but I bring up the subject for only one reason – and its not a shameless plea for recognition.

Many of you who read my ramblings do not attend my church and so the reason I bring it up is that this is Minister Appreciation Week.  For those of you who appreciate your ministers, I encourage you to think about all that they do for you and your community.  Find a way this week to say thanks – and the best way to do that is to commit to pray for them regularly.

For those of you who attend church where I serve, please know that I feel very appreciated and am happy to serve along side each of you so please don’t take this post as a cry for sympathy or recognition.

The truth is, ministers do what they do because they feel passionate about serving God and others vocationally – but having your support goes a long way!

Have a blessed weekend and tell your minister you appreciate them.

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