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With more than 500,000 in print, Spiritual Leadership has proven itself a timeless classic in teaching the principles of leadership. J. Oswald Sanders presents and illustrates those principles through biographies of eminent men of God - men such as Moses, Nehemiah, Paul, David Livingstone, and Charles Spurgeon."

Breaking Out of Sunday Morning

• What do we think of when we speak of “going to church”? Answer: Sunday morning.
• When does “the church” meet? Answer: Sunday morning.
• What is “the church”? Answer: The place we meet on Sunday morning.
• How do we answer; “So, how was church?” Answer: What happened on Sunday morning.

Have we overemphasized what we do on Sunday mornings? We plan up, gear up, set up, and unleash the production and call it “church”. Then we turn around and do it all again.

We emphasize an “attractional”, “Come and See” model when the gospel demands an “Incarnational”, Go and Tell” model. And Sunday morning is the focal point.

As a pastor I had better not be devaluing Sunday morning! And I’m not. But what we do as the church throughout the week is the real test.

We must “be the church” in our community if we want to unleash the power of the gospel. And to do so we must be connected and involved.

We must be connected to one another. If the only time you see your church family is on Sunday morning, you need to get connected. Go get coffee. Do lunch. Phone a friend. Whatever it takes! As we connect with one another, bring those who are un-connected to Christ into that relationship!

We must be involved in our city/community. How are you connected to the issues and needs of your community? Bring Christ with you to homeowners meetings, neighborhood watch, school volunteering, community garage sales, civic events, community causes, whatever it takes! Show that Christ cares for our community though your involvement.

Then let’s get together on Sunday morning and share our stories! (Check out these stories!)

The well wisher of your soul’s happiness,

Pastor Tom

Praying for the need behind the need

It’s natural to have concern for those who are suffering. We hear about the afflictions of someone we care for and we just want it to stop. The affliction could be illness, finances, employment, relationships – you name it! In fact, just below you’ll read a list of needs to pray for.

And there is nothing wrong with praying for needs to be met and afflictions to be lifted. Jesus tells us to pray for our “daily bread” – and that is a need.

But remember to pray for the need behind the need.

You see, afflictions are not our enemy. Afflictions are inevitable. Afflictions are even sent by God to strengthen and refine us.

The Apostle Paul’s concern for the church at Thessalonica was “…that that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.” (1 Thessalonians 3:3-4)

Paul’s main prayer for the church was not that their afflictions would be lifted. His focus was on their faith (1 Thess 3:5-8). He prayed that their faith would be strengthened through the afflictions. Strengthened faith is the need behind the need!

So when you pray for a friend to get a job – also pray that their trust and hope in God would not fail while they search. When you pray for healing for someone who is sick, also pray that the Lord would draw them close during their time of illness. When you pray for a financial breakthrough for a friend, also pray that Jesus would be more precious to them than silver or gold (or cash!).

And throw in a prayer for your pastor while you are at it!

The well wisher of your soul’s happiness,
Pastor Tom

What does it take for a prostitute to “get saved”?

Last week in church we looked at “Extravagant Love” from Luke 7:36-50. In that amazing encounter, Jesus tells the woman, “Your faith has saved you, go in peace”. Faith? Saved? At this stage of redemptive history, what possibly could this woman have believed about Jesus?

She could not have articulated a theology of the atonement, she probably wasn’t versed in the Trinity, and the dual natures of Christ might have sent her over the edge!

But you don’t have to know a lot. It boils down to this. She believed...

* She was a great sinner (no self-deception here – she knew who she was.)
* She could not save herself (absolute abandonment at the feet of Christ.)
* She needed Jesus (not reformation, not condemnation, not self-justification)
* Jesus would not reject her (Jesus has never rejected anyone who comes with faith and repentance)

That’s about all it takes for someone to begin with Jesus. We may fault her for her theological imprecision (but, hey, she might have been a biblical scholar for all we know!). What we do see is the love and protection and forgiveness of Christ causing a response of extravagant love.

How about you? What have you ever done just because you loved Jesus so much? Yeah, me too. “Lord, may the gospel come to us, so that it may come through us!”

The well-wisher of your soul’s happiness,

Pastor Tom

p.s. Here’s the link for a clip from Matt Chandler, “Jesus wants the rose!”. Just view it!

What have you seen and heard?

“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard” from Luke 7:18-23

John the Baptist was concerned and confused. His cousin, Jesus, was doing great miracles – miracles one would expect of the promised messiah. But the revolution was not being televised – yet. Where was the fiery reformer John was expecting?

So John asked the question, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

Jesus’ answer was as authentic as he was, “Go tell John what you have seen and heard”. Jesus did not send a simplistic answer nor did he send a theological tome. He simply pointed to his works and his words. Jesus came with the works and the words of the kingdom and he both walked the walk and talked the talk. His lips and his life were perfectly consistent.

Which gives us pause for reflection - if we were asked, “Are you the church – the body of Christ, the hands, feet, and mouth of Jesus, or shall we look for another”, could we say, “What do you see? What do you hear?”

Can we point to our works and our words as validating our reality? We are called to be “on-mission” with Christ and our words and works should be self authenticating. That’s called “authentic”. That’s called “being real”.

So let the gospel come to you and through you to a lost, blind, and hurting world!

The well wisher of your soul’s happiness,
Pastor Tom

Stuff to click: Free worship music (with chord sheets!)

Asking God to do what only he can do.

Honesty is one of the reasons to love the psalms. The psalm writers share their hearts, bare their hearts, and know their hearts like nobody else. I was reading Psalm 119 this morning and was impressed with how well the psalmist knows his own heart deficiencies and calls out to the Lord to do what only the Lord can do:

I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart! (Psalms 119:32)

He wants to “run with the Lord” but he knows he lacks the capacity. So he cries out for a greater heart for the Lord!

Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! (Psalms 119:36)

He knows his heart is inclined to selfish gain, so he pleads for a new inclination!

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. (Psalms 119:18)

He knows his eyes grow dull and dim to God’s word, so he calls on the Lord to open them!

So, do you get discouraged with your own heart? Do you despair of every overcomcoming your own spiritual inertia? I’ve got good news for you. You can’t! You can’t change your own heart.

But that’s exactly what God does through the Gospel! He is in the business of doing what we can’t do.

So ask God to do what only he can do – change you from the inside out through the power of the cross!

The well wisher of your soul’s happiness,
Pastor Tom

When Christians disappoint.

Who do you look up to? Who do you put on a pedestal? Parents? Pastors? Missionaries? Friends? What happens when you get up close and see all the warts and blemishes? What happens when you see more of the “old man” than you do of Christ in them?

We often say, “don’t trust in people, people will always disappoint you”. But when it actually happens we are shocked and disillusioned.

What do I do with that discouragement?

You can let it remind you of the steadfast constancy and unchangeableness of God.

Thomas Watson, the great puritan theologian, contrasts the unchangeableness of God with the frailty of man:

See the vanity of the creature. There are changes in everything but in God. 'Men of high degree are vanity, and men of low degree are a lie.’ Psa 62: 9. We look for more from the creature than God has put in it.

Sometimes we just “look for more in the creature than God has put in it”. At the core we are broken, troubled people whom God is graciously redeeming, re-molding, and restoring to the image of Christ. Nothing is going to get in the way of that work (Romans 8:26-39).

But the process is long and hard and we are all at different places on the journey. And consider; could it be that you may have actually disappointed someone along the way? But please see the grace and patience of God with you as you stumble down the path. And pray for grace and patience for those who disappoint you.

The well wisher of your soul’s happiness,
Pastor Tom