Christmas Caroling

Wednesday evening, groups went out caroling.  One group went to the nursing home and another group sang to some of the shut-ins right around the church. It was a very moving time.  I am not sure what made it different from last year?  Maybe the intersection of our lives now, after three Christmas seasons here? Maybe that we had a huge group of youth and children?

For me, one house in particular meant so much.  We stopped at a widow's house; I had her husband's funeral this summer.  As we sang "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," there was both joy and grief as we came to the verse, "Mild He lays His glory by, born that we no more may die, born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth."

One of the adults with us was a fellow who has been investigating the faith.  He was greatly moved by the tears and responses of some of the people we visited.  He said, "We should do this more often..."

Indeed. It could be a great way to give people an invitation to church if you went throughout a neighborhood.  Sometimes in evangelism, people will say when they felt a need to come to church, they felt "invited" because someone stopped by, even if it was years before.
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In this Christmas season, I was struck hard by something Alex Absalom wrote: "it is easy for the poor to sacrifice, but hard for them to be generous.  It is easy for the rich to be generous, but hard for them to sacrifice." This rings true in my life, as one who is very rich.  I can easily be self-satisfied with my off-hand generosity.  And as much as I am blessed to tithe, I cannot say that I have sacrificed much. 

And what seems important in all this is how much the Lord blesses and works through sacrificial giving.  Mary and Joseph gave us Jesus.  The Father gave us the Son. Christ gave his very life.  I can never repay that, and the Gospel of Grace means that we do not even try.  We take it as a gift and bathe in the love of the Giver.  The question is, what is the overflow of our hearts?

Priming the Pump

Jessie is working with Tracy Tackett (the fellow helping us get our website moving) to put some downloadable (is that a word?) evangelism tools on the website. In advance of them bieng up there, let me tell you a little bit about what we're trying. We will have some of them available in church on Sunday.

One of the things that I find very quick and easy in faith-sharing is to have some cards with information about the church-- worship times, address, basic info like that. Then, you can easily leave that with your tip at a restaurant (don't tell me it doesn't work—Mary Philips has helped three servers find the Lord this way!), or pass it to someone in line at the grocery store. Or you can give it to a friend who doesn't already have a church home. Or... you get the picture.

What we are hoping, then, is to have a download on the website where you can print off your own cards and have them ready to hand out.

One of the cards is a favorite of mine, a card inviting families to our Children's Ministry. Jessie made a compact little card. When I am out and see a family, or a dad having a special lunch with his kids at McDonald's, I just walk up and briefly say something like, “it's great to see you having so much fun as a family.” Then, as I give them the card, “I'd like to invite you to our church and the great children's ministry we have going on there.” That's pretty much all you have to do. Sometimes there is a conversation that happens. Sometimes not. But it's ok. You get the word out.

I will let you know when we get the downloads up. But in the meantime, pray and prepare your hearts to be more open about your faith. To be ready to just simply cross the space in the store or at work to give a simple invitation to church. And then after praying, you will be ready!

A Dose of the Ghost

It's a sweet day in our household. We have been running hard all week long and we had to just sit and stop because tomorrow it gets real again for another week. John is outside playing with his dog, Joseph is playing basketball, and Jessie and Nadia are napping. But not before Jessie made a banana nut bread castle. I have gone out a few times, working through my sermon and each time I am touched by the sight of our warm house. I know that when we come in from the cold, the fire will be going and I can sit down with a nice cup of tea and the pile of books that are on my plate to read in preparation for shepherding the people of God.

Wednesday night, we got a dose of the Ghost at our Wednesday Bible study. We have been spending time on discipleship, following Robert Coleman's The Master Plan of Evangelism and A.B. Bruce's The Training of the Twelve to lay a groundwork for what we will be doing.

There is in this an element of danger, that discipleship, like so much in the Church, can become an onject of study, a time for transferral of information, not transformation. So I like to inject calls to the practical. But I got more than I bargained for!

Alex Absalom sums up the apostolic plan of discipleship when he says that instead of reading lots of books and setting up an elaborate plan for making disciples, you just need to ask, “What is Jesus saying?” And “What are you going to do about it?

When I asked how do we know what Jesus is saying, well, everyone pretty well intuited the content of Foster's Celebration of Discipline and Dallas Willard's Divine Conspiracy. It's simple... anyone can do it.

But then, the obedience question... what are you going to do about it?

In many different ways we admitted, with a simple comment from Tim Miller, that we like to talk about things more than we like to do things. At the risk of sounding like we did a lot of talking... we stayed for 45 minutes past our allotted time.

Johnny Fryman kind of blew it open when he said...”I come from a rural background. We could not pay our preachers much, so we did most of the work ourselves.”

Oh boy. This is what I have been saying for a while. Clergy have been too willing to be the bosses. To be at the head of everything. What if the members did almost everything? What if the pastor preached, visited the sick, evangelized, started new churches (and taught the members to do those things as well!)?

I put forward my idea that maybe we need to go back to 2-year appointments for pastors? The Methodist Church was exploding when that was the pattern. Could it be that made the laity stronger? Jay Barrett said that as it is, a new pastor comes and the church stops to wait and see what the new guy will do.

Shouldn't it be that the church is already doing all kinds of stuff and it doesn't matter who the pastor is?

Joyce Saxon wins the prize for pithiest comment. “Isn't that kind of moving hard on the pastor's family?” I said that moving is not as hard as it seems. I went to 5 elementary schools and on average lived in one place for 20 months until I left home. She said, “That's why you're so warped!”

At the risk of sounding like we talked a lot... yes, but the energy coming out of there. Wes Holland came up to me afterwards and said, “Plant the seed and let us run with it.” Yes. We have been working on that. We are on the verge of some things just letting loose. It's the kind of discipleship and church growth stuff that hopefully has nothing to do with who the pastor is.

I shared that I am discontent and restless. I feel like a chump saying it. 17 new believers this year. Baptisms. 34 new members. But it's linear growth. I want to see multiplication growth. I can't wait for when each new believer wins another new believer! And that keeps rolling. What about if each current member won a new person to the faith? Joyce Saxon said-- leave it to the math teacher-- “that would be exponential growth!”

Ah, exponential!

You know what I think the biggest barrier is? We think we have to be successful. We are afraid it won't work. We are afraid someone will say no to our invitation. I wonder if we can just have joy in asking someone to come to church? Joy in telling someone how much peace we had in prayer!

John Wesley's Journal

Working on my sermon last night, it became clear to me that the biggest influence, by far, on my preaching has been reading John Wesley's Journal. (I would say that it has also been the biggest influence on the way I go about pastoral care as well.)

What I have learned about preaching from 12 years of reading his Journal:

Sin is our biggest problem, the Cross is our remedy, that's what you preach

How to look for the Gospel in the Old Testament

How to preach the Good News to sinners

There is a price to be paid to preach the Gospel

Be willing to go anywhere, learn to be comfortable everywhere, and talk to anyone

Raise up as many people as you can to spread the workers out into the harvest field

A simple word of encouragement to someone that they should seek Christ can bear fruit years later

It's kind of funny. I did not grow up in church. I went to seminary unaware of controversy in the Church. I became a Methodist because of John Wesley, in spite of the Reformed, Baptist and Episcopalian fellows who helped win me to Christ. There is a dear saint here who likes to joke and tell people around the church and town that I am a “closet Baptist.” I will take that as a compliment; but I preach simply what Wesley preached. And he preached the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3) Look at his 52 Standard Sermons. I don't know why we would preach anything else.

Letter from Wendell Berry

I received a letter from Wendell Berry the other day. Now, this is not as dramatic as it sounds. It's not because I am somebody, it's rather that he is a very gracious man who has unfailingly answered any letters I have sent him over the past 20 years.

Anyway, I have been wondering for some time why Kentucky's Appalachian counties are so much poorer than the Appalachian counties in the surrounding states. Additionally, Kentucky's Appalachian counties are some of the least church-attending parts of America, whereas the Appalachian counties of the neighboring states are not as low in their church attendance.

Wendell was one of the people I sought out on this.

I won't go in to his answer-- at least at this point-- because he said something else in regard to our church plant in Menifee County and the dream that is in my heart of a new church in Wolfe County:

“I would like to see the Christian faith, with or without the churches, amount to something in the modern world.” Man, that hit me hard. He meant it in regard to Jesus' love for the poor and the hungry and the sick.

So whether or not I ever find out why Eastern Kentucky is so consistently poor, one of the effects of the Kingdom must be that the poor hear not just Good News, but find Good News.

Visitation

Yesterday turned out to be a day given over to visitation. I love days like that, but they can wear you out. It started with one of our Life Transformation Groups, where four of us are serious about spiritual growth. So while it is not technically “visitation,” it is sitting donw in an intimate environment and turning everything over to the Lord.

There were some hospital visits, about which more later. I stopped at a few houses of folks shut in for one reason or another. As I was going up one street, I was walking by the house of a church family. Their three year-old girl, Isabel, was standing at the storm door. She opened it and had the sweetest smile. She said, “Pastor Aaron, it's too cold outside. I came over and got a sweet smile and a hug. I talked to her dad for a moment-- they were on their way for her mom to take her citizenship test. Cool stuff.

But I was brought to tears by her sweetness. I can't really say what it was. Perhaps to be called out to by a child you have watched grow, a member of our Princess Mafia with Nadia. Something came to mind about giving a cool drink of water... but this was so much more. I thought, as if for the first time, “Pastor Aaron.” Pastor. Aaron. There was a time those two things could not have gone together, but thanks be to God that He wonderfully saved me.

Visiting some folks in the hospital, I was reminded how much a section of Psalms has such power for the suffering. Ricki Ashkettle and I seemed to land in Psalm reading back in Louisville when her baby daughter had some serious heart problems. I found myself there again yesterday. If you are in a hospital visiting, or with a scik person, or suffering yourself, then here is a great set of verses to pray, to let flow over you:

Psalm 61:1-5, Psalm 62:1-2, Psalm 63: 1-8.

Fast forward to tonight. John went to the hospital with me to visit Mary Philips and Charlie Derrickson. John loves Charlie-- who has a farm with a pond where John caught the monster catfish that he had Jessie fry for him at 9:30 at night... Charlie's granddaughter Morgan is one of the boys' favorite people. She saw John out walking one evening and she told him Charlie would be having surgery. She said she regretted telling him because she said John got a stricken look on his face. So when he found out it was a knee surgery, he was better. And John was really happy to see Charlie.

I suppose if there were a child who should hate hospitals, it's John. But he goes with me to visit every so often. We read Psalm 91, a Psalm that is traditionally an evening prayer Psalm. As we shared some other Scriptures and spiritual encouragement, there was a part of me wondering if I was talking to John as much as I was to the people we were visiting, reminding him of the goodness of God, of His power over life-- “Even in death the righteous have a refuge” (Proverbs 14:32).

While we were in evening bible study, the nursery worker answered the church phone and brought in a message that a dear saint of the church, Mary Phillips had had a heart attack and bad fall. After Bible study, I headed out. I walked over because I knew Jessie had some work to do before we'd leave. Carol Pierce graciously drove me over.


What I found when I visited Mary is worth telling. First, she was not in the ER where I was expecting her to be. When I came into her room, she was looking pretty good. She was happy to see me-- it's funny. I have been wanting to see her for a while, but have not had the chance.

Why I wanted to visit her was that I had heard that she has a ministry of passing out tracts at Cracker Barrel and a few of the staff have found salvation in Christ because of the ministry. Wow! Can you believe it! I keep hearing you shouldn't do evangelism like that! It doesn' work! Tracts are... what? Cheesy? Inelegant? Simplistic? Go ahead, keep it coming! We will just keep handing out tracts and witnessing to the love of God in Jesus Christ.

So as I was sitting with her, asking her what was wrong, she said she had a heart attack that caused her to fall and break her hip. But the break is probably not so serious as to need surgery and they are just going to monitor her heart. We had a wonderful time praising the Lord.

We read sections of Psalms-- 23, 24, 25, 27, 34, 62, 63 and Matthew 11:28-30. We spent some time in prayer.

Some things to reflect on. Mary started handing out tracts because she wondered what she could still do for the Lord then she selects the tract from a variety she carries with her. How simple this would be! Just carry some tracts, Billy Graham's Peace With God is a good one. Give it to a server, a cashier, a co-worker...

Mary mentioned someone who is a “prayer warrior” who wins many to Christ, and I was reminded of how often that is true. I am thinking of Ada Sweeney, such a force in the old Epworth church, her constant praying and prayer meetings, and how many people were “wonderfully saved” in her living room.

So... pray that people would be saved. Pray for them. Pray with them. And have a tract ready that they can take home and think about.

You Have to Check This Out

Copy the link below and plug it into your browser.  This is awesome.

http://www.releasetheape.com/party-bus-planting-praying-reaching-unreached-campuses/?utm_source=buffer&utm_campaign=Buffer&utm_content=buffercfca1&utm_medium=twitter

The Gideons

I have had an interesting series of conversations with Jeremy Brown, a banker and Gideon in our town. I should say that they are more like one conversation that we seem to keep having; we keep picking up the same thread.

The conversation is about Scripture, of course. The Gideons exist to get the Word of God into people's hands, lives, minds, and spirits. With Jeremy's permission, I share a couple of things he shared with me about some times he has passed out New Testaments.

Once, a fellow in a car saw him on a corner passing out Bibles, and he stopped the car in the middle of the road and hollered, “are those Bibles?” When Jeremy indicated they were, the man hollered that he wanted one. So Jeremey hastened to the car and ended up handing out 4, one to each person in the car.

I tell that as the inspirational piece. The rest of what I share is heart-breaking. I suspect that many of you do not understand or believe what I am about to share MEANS. The ignorance of Americans as to what Christianity is/believes is staggering. Church, you cannot stay in your shell anymore. Well, to be honest, you can. But you will find it emptier and emptier, and one day, one of you will be that last one there.

It will be easier to do nothing and hope you die before you see the terrible decline. But surely there are some of you who want to fight.

One young college student asked Jeremy and his co-worker if they knew anything about Heaven. They said they did. The student said her thrid-grade Sunday School teacher told her one thing, but a professor another. Jeremy said I will have this in common with your professor, “Read the book. The answer is in here.”

“Is the answer really in here?” she asked.

“I guarantee it is.”

Another time, a student asked, “What are you handing out?”

“New Testaments,” Jeremy said.

“Is that the book Jesus is in?”

At a recent event, Jeremy noticed a man looking at the New Testaments available. But he wasn't really making a move towards him. Jeremy engaged him and the man asked what they were giving away. “New Testaments.”

“What's that?”

“It's a part of the Bible.”

“Oh, I have heard of that.”

Friends, I was once as ignorant of the Bible and Christianity as these were. I was worse off, because a college education had convinced me that I knew more about it the fallacies, contradictions, and madness of the Bible than the Christians who had been brainwashed to believe it. I had such good and elegant reasons for my unbelief! A Gideon's Bible, Fall Semester, 1994 changed everything. I had refused or thrown them away before that.

Support the Gideons. Look into becoming one.

But more than anything: get to know some non-Christians and tell them what you believe and why. Invite them to believe it, too

What to Do if Your Pastor is Behaving Like An Absolute Ape

What do you do if your pastor is behaving like an absolute APE?

Nothing! Because here's what happens.

If you can set your pastor free to act like an APE (that is, to function in the Apostolic, Prophetic and Evangelistic gifts, Ephesians 4:11), then he or she can be about some amazing work for the Gospel.

Luckily, I serve a church that pretty much sets me free to do this work. But I have to be clear about something... there is already a strong lay leadership at work to handle things that in the typical church the pastor ends up handling. So, the teams at Morehead handle the finance issues, the building and property, the administration, the personnel. It's a pretty sweet deal. I get to spend more time visioning, preparing sermons and going APE than I ever have. I don't think that's the norm, so not only am I thankful, I have to give previous pastors credit for allowing this flourish.

We are growing... and as we “change the scorecard” of what it means to grow, we find that it only takes us deeper on the journey of following Christ.

So these past two weeks I have been going APE... started two small groups and we are seeing some great stuff already: sanctification, victory over besetting sins, decisions of conscience, deeper fellowship leading to conversations about the call to ministry, a new member and a baptism.

And the goal of going APE is to allow others to do so, too, and hopefully to expand the ministry out where someone else says, “you know what? I want to go APE, too!” And we are also hopeful that all those APEs out there inspire someone to step up and be a shepherd and teacher, to round out the five-fold gifts that you see in Ephesians 4.

We have not always been comfortable with hairy APEs, but we are discovering that as more of America is on the margins of church, we need to go out to them. And as we do that, remember that we are at work as one. You've got to let the APEs out of the cage and off the chain. And then be willing to see the shepherds and teachers build up and edify the believers.

We have quite a few teachers in our community, you can see it in the way Sunday School is strong. And how cool is this? I have had 4 people in the last month bring up pretty much the same issue: letting one of our great shepherds train some others to become part of the work of the Body of Christ!

You know what I like most about this? It's not me. I did not set out a credible plan to unleash this or that. The Spirit is doing it. It feels like God sees we are receptive to His mission here, and is unleashing that very things he placed in us to carry it on. I pray that we will continue in faith, undaunted!

After church Sunday, a visitor came up to me. She turned out to be Candace Rogers' aunt, visiting from Tampa. She was really happy to tell me something. She said she was glad she came, and that she had recently just started going to church after many years of not going.




“What got you back?” I asked.




She said, “well a new church was starting in her neighborhood. Most of the people are young, but there are a few older people like me there.”

As we talked some more it was apparent she wanted a really fresh start. She wanted to get in on the ground floor, there is some excitement there, but maybe also a chance to just start over in the same way that everyone that goes there is brand new.


She has been going 5 Sundays now, starting with their very first service.


We often talk about starting new churches to reach new people-- that new churches are the best form of evangelism we have. I was forced to add to that, new churches are a great way to reach people who have left the church for whatever reason. It's hard to come back. Maybe we felt burned, maybe we just drifted out and are too self-conscious to come back...but a new church. Wow, we all get to start the story all over again.


I wonder, though.. could existing churches think about doing such new things even in the context of who they are and what they already do, to have totally new things happen in people who are looking to come to church?

Some work of the Holy Spirit

So, want to know what I have been praying for? An in-filling of the Spirit's love.

This friend of mine who took the body of Jesus off the crucifix from his grandmother's funeral also told me a story about what is bringing him to the verge of professing faith in Christ. He was alone in his apartment one day and he kind of out of nowhere, but thinking about life, he felt like he had been punched in the chest and felt his chest swelling up and he just had a profound sense of love.

I was happy to say I knew what he had experienced, but sad that it has been a while.

The prime gift of the Holy Spirit is love. And when the Holy Spirit shows you that, it's an immense feeling of... love, like you have never known.

The first time I had ever felt that was one cold rainy day in Lexington, maybe in 1999. Howard Willen, my pastor, had taken me to visit a fellow from the church who was in a retirement home. I started visiting him and a few other guys. Well, this particular fellow had told me he did not know if he was saved. He had gone to church all of his adult life, was active, etc. I was able to share with him assurance of salvation, not simply in a mechanical sense, as in a repetition of a prayer or the intellectual assent to some tenet of the faith. Rather, I shared with him what Howard taught me, that the Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16). So while we must believe something specific about Jesus-- that He is Lord, that He died for our sins, that He rose again-- the basic tenets of the faith, we also have a supernatural witness of our acceptance, so we do not doubt or cringe or fear.

So I had just shared that with this fellow, Mr Clay was his name. He was so relieved. You could almost see a change in him. I left the retirement home and stopped to get gas at the Shell station that was brand new in those days, on the corner of Harrodsburg and Virginia Ave. There I was. It was a cold day with a drizzle coming down, the kind where you can hear that faint buzz as the cars cut through the water on the road. And for a moment, it felt like time stopped, like I could see everything in slow motion. That sound of the tires going through the water is something I remember quite a bit from that moment. And in that extended moment, I seemed to see the world the way God does, with great love. I felt I did, indeed, love everyone.

And then as quickly as it had come, it was gone. Wish I could explain more. Wish I knew more. I think it is tied to things like 1 Cor 13, and the appearances in the New testament of the word “telos,” and its cognates, sometimes translated “perfect.” Maybe later I can sermonize a bit there. But for now...

I was praying for that again, and really praying that it would come again and stick around in me!

So in this rain, in the middle of so much pain on the earth, I was praying. Maybe more hoping, not sure what to do or think.

And then, it was. I was sitting in McDonald's-- had a brainstorm, needed some coffee and a space to work. A family came in... a baby and twin girls maybe not quite three. They were, to say the least, rushed off their feet! I was kind of lost in my own world, so I did not pay much attention until they were getting ready to leave-- a long process with such young kids! The father had a crude way of telling the twins to get back to the table, and it put me off. I felt a bit of scorn rise up in me.

And then... directly across from me a sweet old lady sits down, looks just like Jessie's grandmother. She sits down and just smiles at me. And she has this pink ball cap on that says, “Jesus loves me,” and I can tell she knows that for sure. Bam. There it was again, that sense. I was thinking all kinds of things, more like they were thrown into my mind. She knows Jesus loves her. Maybe she was unloved. Maybe she thought she was unlovable. Maybe she just rested in the knowledge of the Savior's love. What does it matter, except that He loves her, and not just her, but everyone?

Can you see how He puts up with this world? Our sense that all the evil mitigates against God, if not disproves His existence or His goodness is a complete failure to love. “It is not His will that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” Peter says (2 Peter 3:9).

Anyway, there I was. And without thinking, without needing to consider my motives or my change of heart and mind, I went straightaway to share the Gospel with the family and the kids, to talk to them about how lovely the kids are, and how important it is that they know the Lord who has a special place for children.

Misty Mountain Hop

There is a thick shroud of mist over the hills this morning.  It's beautiful, enough to make you never leave Morehead, and if you did, it'd make you long to come back.  Like the Shire for Hobbits, I guess.

But there is also a cold drizzle.  It feels dense, but the raindrops are really small.  Thin,  Like razors.

It was kind of like that yesterday and I confess that I did not notice if there was a mist on the mountains.  It seemed that people were struggling.  That is, if you were already under some stress, the weather wasn't helping.  A loved one is sick.  A loved one has died.  Serious decisions about the future.  Stuff we all deal with had an edge to it because of the weather.

I got a chance to visit and pray with some people.. some I knew, some strangers on the street.

You my wonder, "how do you just walk up to somebody?"  Long and the short of it, practice a discipline that maybe can only be called looking for Zaccheus.  I never had a name for this before.  Neil Cole talks about it in his book Cultivating a Life For God.  And online I saw where someone posted that we see a faceless crowd, Jesus sees Zaccheus.

Be on the lookout.  Don't let people fade into the crowd.  And look, it's not like I am good at this.  I mean, I get frustrated in line at Kroger and won't reach out to people... maybe if we just start looking around.  Or maybe when you see a grandfather with a cute kid?  You know you can talk to him about his boy!

You may wonder, "what do you say if someone is going through a hard time?"  So let's say a conversation has started.  Maybe you didn't look for it, it came to you.  And you find some sadness, some confusion, some weariness.  How to bring the Gospel, the peace of Christ?

I like to go to Scripture, because then at least it doesn't depend on me.  Two that I go to all the time: Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

And Psalm 62:1, "My soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress I will never be shaken."

There are so many more!  And you know some that have brought you great peace.  And remember, God is putting people in your path that you are uniquely qualified to reach!  It just may be that the Scripture that brings you life and peace will do the same for them.

Oh my.  You are becoming evangelists!

Beautiful Story

I spent some time with a new friend.  He told me an amazing story. He did not grow up in a home that loved the Lord.  In fact, it was hostile.  But he always had some kind of attraction to Jesus, to spiritual things.

He told me something that blew me away.  When he was six his grandmother died.  He took the crucifix off of her casket.  That made me stop.  I took the crucifix off my great-grandfather's casket when he died when I was 10. I wonder about how God speaks to children!

He said that he took the body off the cross and put play-doh in the nail holes.  "He had suffered enough," he thought as a child.

Mission Statistic You Need to Know

South of I-64 and East of I-75 in Kentucky, there are 670,000 people who do not know Christ.

Some of us are going into the mountains.

We need people to join us and support us.

Pray. And be ready to act.

Going A.P.E in Menifee County on a Friday Night

Friday was an interesting day. Mostly it was great, a lot of good ministry. And then there was something that came up that was disappointing, discouraging, and if I am honest was very hurtful. But the Lord has a strange way of setting things up that fix the impulse to be angry and bitter. The first one was a comment I came across, “You have to love Jesus more than your mission.”

And then I just started thinking that the Lord really used an already-planned trip to Menifee County to even things out, and actually, to encourage me.

I should have known. I should have taken steps beforehand; my good friend Mac always has that advice. He has to listen to me gripe way too much. And whatever it is, hurt, lonely, angry, tired, resentful, prideful, his advice is always the same: “Who have you told about Jesus today?” or “Go out and share the Gospel with someone,” or “Go tell someone what Jesus has done for you.”

So, it was with great anticipation that I went APE last night.

We have a pretty solid list of contacts for the new church in Menifee County. So we went down the road to catch up with some of them-- folks not in church, but who had a sensitivity to the Gospel. Our DS, Terry Reffett, has been encouraging us that our District is leading the way in church planting because was are going out into the highways and byways! (Luke 14:15-23)

So we headed down some side roads and came to the first house on the list. We had an incredible conversation with a fellow. He was really excited to see Mike (Mike Adams, our church planter in Menifee County). The fellow is well aware of the drug problems facing the county, and he has been thinking about trying to start some AA/NA programs... I went out on a limb... “Do you know AA comes from the old Methodist small groups?” I got to tell him a little bit about our vision of multiplying small groups where we ask the tough questions, pray for each other, and see lives changed. He is all in. He asked us to pray for something real in his life, and he just kept going on and on about how glad he was that we stopped... “Y'all blessed me tonight.”

Off down some more sideways and to a beautiful sunset on Tarr Ridge. We stopped to see a family that was very open to our message and received prayer at the Easter Egg Hunt. I knocked, the door opened, and as I was introducing myself, the husband said, “I know who you are, come on in!” In 18 years of street evangelism and going door-to-door, I have never received such a welcome. Nadia went right in because she saw kids! They played and had such a good time, and the family had real, open, honest conversation with us. They even remembered the questions I asked them about what do they think a church should be like? If they could build it from the ground up, what would they do? Jessie was able to talk to them about children's ministry and children's worship, the very thing almost everyone in Menifee County has asked for. We had heartfelt prayer, and left with joy.

So it was off to the far end of county, in the corner between Montgomery and Bath counties. It was pretty dark, but we really felt that we needed to make this last stop, head slowly down narrow roads and hopefully not meet a combine! We pulled up to a contact my man Scott Wilson made. I had emailed the family a week or so ago.

We came up and waded through loud but friendly dogs. The husband came out and was so happy to finally see our faces! Mike told him that we are planting a new church and would he and his family be willing to help? The man said... “When someone asks you something like that, how can you say no?”

Wow. They have had a hard time finding a church. He was quick to open his great house and property to inviting folks to some fellowship. Man, oh man.

So we went home tired but refreshed. Cracking up that this was how we spent Friday night, but it was glorious! Mike kept saying, “it's like an adventure!”

Yes. We went APE. That is, Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist. Ephesians 4:11-13 lays out the DNA of the church: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher. The institutional church really only knows how to deal with the last two. That's generally what we think of in terms of our ministers. We recruit, train, and install them. They are absolutely necessary, but they are the final parts of the “equation.” If that is all the church has at work, then it can only manage an already-existing institution. And, it can only decline over the long haul.

The Apostolic function is to push out, to implement the mission of the church. Alan Hirsch defines the Prophetic role this way: “Prophets know God's will. They are particularly attuned to God and his truth for today. They bring correction and challenge the dominant assumptions we inherit from the culture. They insist that the community obey what God has commanded. They question the status quo.” The Evangelist is the one who gathers people together in a community through his hearer's repentance and faith in Jesus. Once the Apostles, Prophets and Evangelists have had success, the Pastors and Teachers strengthen and encourage the believers.

People can function across the range of these gifts. But you have to have them all working in the church. So while often Mike and Jessie and I find ourselves teaching and pastoring, and being surrounded with other leaders who are also pastoring and teaching, we have to find some more APEs!

We went APE last night and had a great time! And had great fruit! We are praying for more APEs who will push the message into the next counties!

Witnessing

One of the Chinese exchange students at MSU has been coming on Wednesday nights.  No doubt, he gets a good meal, practice with English, but last night I also learned that he goes to church every so often in China.  He says he is looking for something.

I had a chance to talk with him and got some help from Betty Cutts in understanding him and his story and how we might best approach sharing Christ with him.  And it was simple enough... God loves you, He knows you, He has a plan for your life.  Jesus died on the Cross to save you from your sins, and to change your heart and give you eternal life.

He had a penetrating Gospel question: do I follow Christ, or what my family wants me to do?

Wow, which of us has had to face that question with real pressure?

Let's pray that Jesus enters his heart and brings His salvation!

Rejoice With Me! Again!

This morning in our devotions, we read in Billy Graham's Hope for Each Day.  And then we turned to our scripture reading, Matthew 20, the parable of the workers in the vineyard. As we talked about what it might mean that God seems unfair, it's really His grace.   As we were discussing grace and how Jesus died for us and our sins, Joseph said, "I think it's time for me to accept Jesus."  I asked him what he understood by that. He said, "I can't believe He did all that He has done with just 12 guys. And I am so thankful that God sent Jesus here to die for my sins so that I can be forgiven." Jesus is still working in lives the way He did with the 12!

 

I am not sure why Joseph is so fascinated with the disciples right now, but I'll take it.

 

He has been asking a lot of questions lately, thinking hard about the sermon, wondering why when we read scripture it always seems to speak to something in our lives.

 

I am very thankful to all the wonderful Christian witnesses who have helped Joseph in making this decision!

Rejoice With Me!

I went to visit a woman today, to pray with her about some medical concerns.  She and her husband told me some wonderful stories of how they have known God is with them, times he has proven His faithfulness.  Their son was visiting, a fellow I have seen off and on when he comes to town.  I have witnessed to him before, but today was the day the Lord moved on his heart and he accepted Christ.  It meant more to his mom to see him come to faith, to now have all her kids in church, than it did to receive a blessing of healing.

Get the water ready, we will baptize Sunday!

Update on Jessie!

I just to Jessie, she is at Kulo and Faith's house in Nagpur.  The team will be heading out to some of the schools for the children of the native missionaries who are planting churches in the village areas of Maharastra. 

Nadia got a chance to talk to Jessie, and it was so sweet!  Nadia was so happy, talking loud and fast and squealing to hear her mommy's voice.  She has been such a good girl through all this... asking about Jessie, but not really being too sad.  I suspect, tho, that today she will really miss her more.  The boys are doing ok, and I think I can say for sure that they won't take her for granted when she gets back... at least for a month or so...

Jessie will get to attend some of the Free Methodist General Conference.  She comes from the Free Methodists, sorry to have snagged her from them, but oh well. She has already made some good contacts with them to support the ministry in India.

The hope is that when she comes back stateside, she will lead more trips to India and strengthen the work of Maharastra Village Ministries!  Keep them in prayer!  She comes back Tuesday.  Talking to her, I can tell she is very happy to have had this chance to be back in India!

Visitation

I have told this story before, but it will be new to many of you.

In my first church, Dunaway United Methodist, in Trapp Kentucky, I was supernaturally led into the most effective ministry practice I know: visitation. Richard Baxter in a great book, The Reformed Pastor says you should visit your whole parish and catechize them. If you have too many to do it reasonably, hire assistant ministers! Wesley was a keen visitor, believing he could get more done in a 1 hour visit than in many sermons.

Visitation is also for the purpose of finding those who do not know Christ and commending Him to their souls.

Here's how it happened. So there I was, rookie pastor, not sure what to do. I fell back on my mentor, Howard Willen, and his constant visitation that he often took me on. But it went a lot further than I expected. First, I got out a map of Clark County that some of the men in the church gave me. I think Larry Baker actually put it into my mitts. I divided up the county, taking a pie shaped piece that started in town and went down to the Red River. I gave El Bethel church everything east of Rabbittown, and I went as far west as the roads would take me. Four Mile Creek stops you somewhere out there.

As I was leaving Winchester one day, headed back to Trapp, right there at the Sylvania plant, the Lord spoke: “Every house to the county line is mine.”

Wow! I was armed with real power and encouragement, so I stopped at the first house outside of town. I don't remember much. I think I came to another house where the family went to the Christian church. Then, I came to a farm house. I knocked on the door and said I was the Methodist pastor and the man said, “I am glad you are here. My wife needs help.”

She was having a psychotic episode, brought on by the anniversary of the death of her son in the army.

What do I know about such things, other than to pray and talk about the love of Jesus?

She got the help she needed, and though she would battle it again, she started coming to church, and so did her daughter and son-in-law when they were in town. Her granddaughter came quite a bit, too.

You just never know what will happen when you stop by someone's house. Very rarely will someone be angry. Many are apathetic. Many will be touched. And some, they really need Jesus, but did not know where to find Him.

Go!

Check out Missiologically Thinking

Here is a link to an article by JD Payne, one of the best thinkers on the intersections of evangelism and mission in America!

http://www.jdpayne.org/2013/09/30/jesus-did-not-say-wait-for-pastors-to-plant-churches/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+jdpayne%2FLazZ+%28Missiologically+Thinking%29

What Nadia Said

I was lying down with Nadia after she crawled into bed.  She said, "Daddy, I love you.  And you know what else?  God loves me, too."

You've Got to Close the Deal

Stay Close to Jesus

Two evenings ago we went for a walk through the town.  A few minutes into the walk, Nadia looked around at the houses and said, "Cards?"

It took us a second, but Jessie realized that Nadia thought we should be handing out cards about the church! She has gone out with us before when we are doing evangelism visits, and I guess it has stuck with her!

Jesus said, "go and make disciples."  The hardest part of that is the evangelism to make the convert who can become the disciple.  And then, it gets harder... go figure!

But take heart! Jesus has shown us the Way.  He is the Way. Stick close to Him.  Learn His lessons. Live His Way.  Win souls.  And teach them to stick close to Him...

Harsh Reality

I was looking at a website related to the Exponential Conference.  The banner hit me hard,

"6 out of 10 Americans won't enter your church, even on your best day."

The gist was, something's gotta change.

Indeed.

Take the Time, Take the Chance

Some men like the fishin'

Some men like the fowlin'

And some men like to hear the cannonballs roarin'

Me, I like preaching,

Especially everything my Lord has done for me




You find unexpected ministry opportunities if you are on the lookout for chances to share Christ. If you are ready to just strike up a Gospel conversation, you may find a great chance to minister. I was visiting someone in the hospital today and as I went upstairs, I noticed a man, a real man, sitting on a bench in the hospital.




When I came back down, he was still there, and I thought he was looking perhaps a little lost. Not like he did not know where he was or where he should be, but like things had become unmoored. So I sat down next to him. I asked how things were.




Not good, he said. He was here with his wife who was getting some “spa treatment” that is sometimes provided for women suffering with cancer, a bright moment in the darkness. I asked him how she was doing. Not good. They have been married about 20 years; it's never long enough.




I asked him if they had a church. I got the evasive answer that when they go, they go to her cousin's church... I asked if he trusted the Lord? Yes, he said with heartfelt conviction and I knew that much was true.




So I knelt down beside him and prayed that they would have the peace of Christ, that they might know that if we have faith in Christ, we live as those who go to die, and we do it triumphantly. I am not sure what else I prayed. When I got back up, there were tears.




There's no time to wait for whatever you think needs to happen before you can ask someone if they know Jesus.

Recasting Revival

I love getting the word out about the effort to start new Methodist churches in Kentucky.  Part of doing that involves going to a venerable Methodist institution, The Charge Conference.  Charge Conference is where a church ("charge") presents their leadership for the coming year and addresses basic concerns of the church.  Most importantly, it is a time to get pumped up about the future.  In recent history, we have started having multiple churches come together in "clusters" to save the time of going to each church.  But I have found that when done well, it is a time for a whole bunch of Methodists to get together and be encouraged by the work and the potential.

Thursday night, I had the chance to speak to the Nicholas County Methodist churches, in Carlisle.  I have a personal connection there, because I preached revival in the Rose Hill church and am friends with Rick Sowder at the Headquarters church.  It was great to see some old friends and make some new ones.

Our DS Terry Reffett had regaled me with stories of some of the old pastors... who are still preaching!  One of them I sat with, preaching 60 years! Terry said there would be weeks of revival, with the preachers "preaching their hearts out."  I wonder what that would look like?

What if we had a revival and it kept going?  Terry had a revival in the early 70s that ran for 17 days.  Alfie Grubb, whom I buried this past summer, was converted at a revival that lasted 50+ days.

We often look back at revival and wonder why it doesn't happen so much now.  There is a very simple reason, and it's not just that we are "less spiritual" than before.  Much of it, I think, has to do with entertainment.  What I mean is this: 50 years ago there was no cable or satellite tv.  No internet.  A revival had a social function in addition to its spiritual component. People were more willing to come because everybody had the same blocks of time available.  That is simply not true today.

So on the one hand, we have to find ways to be "revived" in different ways than we did before.

More importantly, we may have to call it something else so we don't get sucked into doing it the same way we did before.  Terry Reffett suggested to me that maybe it's called a "spiritual renewal weekend."

But I have to say, I would love to have some real fireball come in and preach and maybe think it was just a few days but it kept going weeks.

I told everyone at the meeting that Robert Coleman, author of Master Plan of Evangelism is going to come to Morehead and teach a seminar on "The Lifestyle of the Great Commission" on November 9.  One of the old pastors remembered that Dr Coleman had preached a revival in Nicholas County, outside.  There was a bar nearby and Coleman was tearing it up in the sermon and he was so loud and his voice was echoing off the rocks and folks in the bar came out to see what the commotion was.

Lord help us, we are so bland nowadays.

Orange Crush

Remember in the last post, where I relayed that Bob Gould said these days, battling a deadly cancer and seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit, are some of the best days of his life because he and his wife, Wanda, are closer than they have ever been?

Well, I have to tell you a story that just happened, something that if you think it's sweet and nice, you've seriously missed the point.

I was visiting the folks in the hospital.  A fellow named Charlie Conn is in the past few days.  He suffers from Parkinson's Disease, as a result of being exposed to Agent Orange in Viet Nam.  We got to talking about how a war that should have been left behind is still with him in more ways than one.  We shared some wry moments about how there always seems to be one more nasty thing added to an over-full plate.  We read Psalm 34 and prayed.

I was thinking about suffering, and how some folks are hit hard, and some of them find ways to testify by their patience, endurance, prayer, and praise of God.  I shared with them what Bob had said about the difficult time of trial being such a wonderful time of growing closer to his wife, Wanda.

I do not believe I can adequately describe how Charlie and Nancy looked at each other in that moment.  It was at once a recognition of truth and the deep love that they have for each other that they would not otherwise.  They understood exactly what Bob said, understood the strange, counter-intuitive, impossible truth: in dark and desperate days; if you go down with the ship; if you fight to the death for lost causes; if you walk straight into Hell, you know the presence of the Covenant-keeping God of Israel who went to the Cross.

As we think about this, let us resolve to share the life-saving, death-destroying, peace-giving love of Christ! Let us not withhold such a gift from people!  Think how they will need it! Can we overcome our hesitancy?  Our resistance?  Almost every excuse I know of concerning evangelism is about us, our discomfort.  And yet it simply is the truth that if we do not tell people about Jesus, when what He offers is life-saving, then we are cold, heartless, and ruthless.

Tears At The Altar

There were tears at the altar today, and fervent prayer. The sermon was on bringing friends and family to Christ. This is perhaps the greatest pain in the church, the people we love who do not know Jesus. I was overcome at the end of the early service by the prayer requests that we lifted up at the altar. Hearts were breaking, and we turned to the only One who is mighty to save.

In the second service, the same thing. This was one of those sermons that I always feel a little weird about, like they are not going to “work;” they are out of my comfort zone-- I tend to be more “expository.” Topical preaching is hard for me. But again, there were so many tears, so much desire for our friends and family to know the Christ, who has done everything for us.

But I have to tell you the thing that worked me over the hardest was something said to me after the first service. Bob Gould is a man who is testifying to us. He has a difficult cancer. Early on in my ministry here, we sat down and prayed. He asked me what should he do with this last part of his life. I immediately was thinking of the old school Methodists who were known for dying well, who sought entire sanctification. So we have been studying and praying about seeking to have the love of God in our hearts-- the Holy Spirit infused love of God and neighbor.

And man, is Bob seeking and showing it. He came up to me after the service and was talking about some good news in his disease and some worrisome stuff. And he said the most amazing thing. He said these have been some of the best years of his life, knowing that his death is coming sooner than later. He said he and Wanda (his wife) are closer than they have ever been, and that their life in Christ is better than it has ever been.

I can only think this is the power of God, this is one of those things where what is meant to discourage us and challenge our faith is turned to glory. Our friends and loved ones should be in fear, turning away from faith, and yet, all they can see is the love of God working in those who diligently seek it.

I would advise people, when sharing faith, to talk about this power of sanctification. Hopefully, I will add some more posts on what we're talking about, and how it works in our lives. I have found that some people are afraid of “trying” church because they are afraid they might not receive power over the sins in their lives. When we can let them know that Jesus does not just forgive sin, He overcomes it and progressively destroys its influence in our lives, they can be encouraged to know, on firm footing, that God is not just another coping mechanism or counseling strategy.

No one who is born of God continues to sin. We want to delve into what the apostle John meant when he wrote that. Stay tuned.

Check out Chad Brooks' Blog

So, Chad Brooks is one of the best student pastors I worked with in Lexington.  He is now a pastor in Louisiana. First thing he did when he got back home was send me a picture of alligator eggs for sale in the deli case of a country store.

He asked me to do a guest blog post for him on evangelism.  Check it out.

You are going to like his blog, www.revchadbrooks.com

You Can't Tell What Blessings God Will Add to Salvation

Saturday, we had a great youth kick-off at Wes and Justine Holland's farm.  As I was loading up to go home, something struck me.  In between the tiredness, the smug satisfaction that I had not been hit in paintball, and the mellow feeling of fellowship we had had around the campfire, I realized that I no longer feel lonely.  In fact, I could not remember the last time I felt lonely.  And the funny thing is, the thing I am struggling to explain, is that it has nothing to do with people.  It has to do with Jesus.  I realized that when I gave my life to Him in faith, a long loneliness ended.  How many hours, days, weeks, years even, had I spent being with people in the same place at the same time?  And yet still the feeling, the sure sense, that that is all it was, could ever be-- being in the same place at the same time.  And yet when I knew Christ, that ended, without my really perceiving that it had ended. I am not sure I really recognized it until Saturday night.

Perhaps even more amazing as I think about it, after I came to Christ, I passed through some bitter times, times that when I look back on myself, I was definitely ALONE. As in sometimes, there literally were no people around.  Forget having anyone to count on... there was NOBODY around.  And yet I had a constant sense of the presence of God.

I wonder if we could add to our desire for evangelism the knowledge that God will take care of everything.  The hidden struggles of the people we share faith with... even those things will be unraveled and smoothed out, turned to glory, even.

Water

Just filled up the baptismal for Andrew Donner, a college student who will be baptized.  Our evangelism is cranking on a lot of levels... children's ministry, youth ministry, Methodist Student Center, sanctuary services, all producing converts.  And all to the glory of God!  I can't figure it out.  If I could I'd bottle it, sell it, get proud... but that can't happen anyway.  It's the work of God through and through so that the only boasting we can do is in Christ. And I won't shut up about all the good he has done!

Last year about this time, I got frustrated with our bulletin "stats."  We count attendance and giving.  That's important, but it's hardly the whole picture.  I felt we needed to start keeping track of things that need to go up and things that need to go down.  So, worship attendance and giving need to go up.  But so does membership in the church, and most definitely professions of faith.

Things that need to go down has been a little harder to get a handle on.  Kids going to bed hungry needs to go down, and if there are as many Methodists as we say there are in Rowan County, then it should be going down.  People living in sub-standard housing needs to go down.  Jeff Lewis has been helping me think through how we can measure stuff like that.

At any rate, we set a goal of 20 new members and 10 professions of faith.  We did not set that goal as something that we must reach-- we set it simply to remind us that it is an important task.  The Holy Spirit will determine the final numbers.  Maybe higher or lower.  But we need to keep it in front of us, to remind, to challenge.  Well, we were really being blessed early in the year.  We were going to hit our goals.  So after baptizing some of our children I asked if we should push harder, and we all agreed we should.  So our goal is 30 new members and 20 professions of faith.  I think putting that out there has really helped us to be intentional, reminding us that we all have a part to play in bringing people to the church.

As of tomorrow, we will have 24 new members and 12 professions of faith. We think that's pretty good because as United Methodists we are not used to much of that at all!  If you think about the need, about all the people in Rowan County who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior, we have a lot of work to do.  I wish you were crying about it.   I need someone to go to the Staff-Parish committee and say you want a new pastor because we just aren't getting it done!

You know, Brother Wesley used to tell his preachers, "you have nothing to do but save souls."  Somewhere down the line, we got into doing other things.  The main criteria for a Methodist preacher back in the day was "have they fruit?"  That is, are people converted under their preaching? We still ask that question when we ordain elders, but we apparently refuse to define what fruit is... or we don't want to be accountable to anything so measurable.

See what happens when I get pumped up because people are coming to faith in Christ?  I get rabid.

The Gideons

A Gideons Bible played  a huge role in my conversion.  Many others have a story like that.

Our new Superintendent, Terry Reffett is one.  He grew up in a Christian home, left home and kind of drifted away until one night he found a Gideon's Bible and started reading in Psalms and the Lord spoke to his heart.

A few weeks ago, Wes Holland told me that picking up a neglected Bible brought him back to being more active in church.  Justine Holland mentioned that finding a Bible in a box of things unpacked brought her back to the Lord.

The Word of God.  Maybe we should pass it out more.

John's Testimony

I guess this is the best first post on my new blog.  Our oldest boy, John, has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.  It has been something that has come up in conversation with him for a few weeks.  You might say, but you are a pastor; your kids are always in church; haven't they always known about God?  Well, yes, I am a pastor, and my kids are often at church.  But everyone still has to have that moment where they know for themselves that they have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.

As we have talked about it, we have emphasized knowing that Jesus died for each one of us.  About two weeks ago in evening prayer and Bble study, John said that where God was working on him was about love.  God loves us.  When we don't love ourselves.  There are people we don't love, and we think we have good reasons, but God loves them.  God loves us even though we have sinned against Him.

Last night, we started reading Matthew. Joseph piped up that in Genesis, a couple did not follow God, but in the beginning of the Gospel, Mary and Joseph did what God told them to.  After a bit more discussion, John said, "I want to join the church.". I was very proud of Joseph's "old school" interpretive skills, and very proud, too, that John knew that claiming Jesus as  Lord means that it is also time to join the church.

I asked what was going on in his mind.  He said, "I look back on all the ways He has taken care of me. Like Joe said, something switched.  It's like in the New Testament He made a way for us to start over.  And I think about how after Mommy died, things have been ok.  I didn't think they would be, but He has really taken care of me."

How do we bring our kids to Christ?  By being consistent in Bible study and prayer.  You don't have to be a Bible professor.  get a good devotional book like Billy Graham's Hope for Each Day.  Read it Together in the morning and evening. Pray with your kids.  Talk about the need for forgiveness of sins.  Tell them that Jesus is always ready to receive them.  Tell them often about your own story of conversion, tell them about how your walk with God has helped you.  Ask them regularly if they are ready to accept Jesus Christ, to put their faith in Him.