The Third Generation Curse

 Why does the third generation sell the farm? This phenomenon is well documented and well researched. It is sometimes called the third generation curse. This happens whether you are talking about the family farm or a family business or even a local church.

To sum it up it goes like this. The founders build it, the second generation maintains what the founders built, and the third generation squanders it all away. 

I have an idea that I have been thinking about concerning churches. The founding pastor built it, the next generation tries to maintain the pattern, and the following generation lacks the drive and the vision of the founder so they let it all fade away.

Another problem has to do with evolving market conditions. What worked then might not work now. But the founders set the pattern so that we are unwilling to change anything or to overhaul anything. There is a growing lack of innovation. And fresh ideas of how to do what we do are rarely discussed.

Sometimes the generation is people, but sometimes the generation is just the passing of time. We have not been around long enough to see a widespread passing of the torch to a new generation. But the world today is vastly different from the world when your church was first planted.

One more thing. Sometimes the second generation is so dogmatic on following the pattern that they set unattainable standards for everyone else. They make the demands so tough to follow that some will give up and fade away. They are so focused on one thing that they fail to see anything else.

We traffic in ancient truths. It is our job to find out what God is doing today and to do that. We need to make ancient truth relevant to the modern world.

What Triggers Revival?

 Back in the early days in Prescott I recall that pastor Mitchell rarely preached a sermon on witnessing or evangelism. He didn't need to very often. One sign of genuine revival is an eagerness to witness. Everything is so fresh and new and exciting. Personal evangelism was not a common topic of sermons in the early days of revival.

We in our Fellowship seem to have a new crop of leaders who are focused like a laser beam on witnessing and evangelism. They see evangelism in every Bible text. They preach evangelism in every sermon. It seems to be always on their minds. Not that they spend their days on the street witnessing. But since evangelism is no longer an outworking of real revival, they think that by forcing the issue they can spark revival again.

I suspect that pastor Mitchell probably preached on evangelism more in regional conferences than he did at home. So you that only knew him from your conferences did not know that well rounded ministry that flowed through him. At the end of his life pastor Mitchell did not focus on evangelism or witnessing.

It seems to be only those who were saved in revival and who now are leaders and who think that the very early days are the norm for the whole spectrum of the life of faith. They have become the hammer who thinks everything is a nail. They only know one way to live and they ignore the fact that we cannot live like that forever.

So we support the vision and we pray for workers and we give to outreach even though we can no longer participate in any of that.

One more thought. Revival is a Divine work of God. It may be triggered by prayer. But it is never triggered by evangelism. Never.

Study To Show Yourself Approved

To study to show yourself approved in the Bible there are some things that every person needs to know. Whether you are a preacher or a layman, There are well worn tools that men have used for hundreds of years to study the Bible. 

First, study the Bible. Let the Bible speak for itself. Do not try to make the Bible be something that it is not.  If God is talking about marriage, then study marriage. If God is talking about money, then study money. The Bible is a book of words. Learn the definition of words. Try to find the truth that is not always obvious. But above all, read and then study the Bible.

Second, study your subject. With Google at your fingertips there is no excuse to get your basic facts wrong. If you are a preacher I can guarantee that someone in your audience is fact checking your statements on their phone. If you are interested in flora and fauna, then know more about plants and animals than a kindergartener. If you are interested in a subject, put in the time to learn about that subject. I have learned more since I got out of school just by studying subject first proposed by Bible study.

Finally, hear from God. Study with an eye on the one to whom we must give an account. Rightly divide the Word by study. Bible study does not require you to be a PHD in theology. God makes it available to anyone who will put in the work to know what the Bible says.

"Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2Tim.2:15

Do Not Be Troubled

 "And Jesus answered and said unto them: take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginnings of sorrows." Mat.24:4-8

Let anything happen in the middle east and it is a sure sign that Christ is returning. Except it seems clear by the words Jesus spoke that we may be a little premature in our assessments. That the return of Christ is closer than it has ever been is true. Time has gone by since Jesus spoke in Matthew 24. 

The key word of warning is do not be deceived. The word deceive is the Greek word planao. which means to lead astray or to cause to wander. Eve was deceived by the serpent. Things will happen before the return of Christ that will lead people astray from truth, either by personal persuasion or by the error of false doctrine. War may be troubling, but it does not seem to be a trigger to future events in Bible prophecy concerning the end times. Do not be troubled by war or armed conflict.

One more thought to ponder. Has any world leader in modern times claimed to be Christ, or a savior, or God?

Money Management

 Matthew tells the parable of the talents. Luke tells a similar story but uses pounds. Much has been written on this parable. But what if it really is a parable concern money. A talent or a pound was a sum of money. Jesus told the unfaithful man he should have put it in the bank to at least earn interest.

Could it be that how we handle money now affects our status in eternity? Being wasteful or stingy or greedy directly affects our future in God?

The parable says that the initial investment was based on each person's ability to handle money. It seems to me that God gives us all the money that we can handle. Maybe having millions of dollars would ruin some of us. We might just spend it all on ourselves and not invest it wisely.

Being able to manage money is important, especially if you think that Jesus is calling you to be a pastor. Being able to stick to a budget. Being liberal and willing to share. Paying your tithe.

It behooves us to be good money managers. There is more at stake than a new car or a big house or nice clothes. Eternity is at stake.

Money comes from God. It might come through a job or a small business. It might come through family inheritance. But ultimately, God is our source. We owe it to our Heavenly Father to handle money wisely.

Growing Old In Christ

Because the New Testament was written over such a short period of time there are a lot of things that are missing from the NT cannon. We have the letters of Paul and a few of the first apostles; James, John, Peter, Jude. I wonder if their expectation of the return of Christ made them not care to write about everything that they dealt with in day to day living.  History in the New Testament is almost by accident. 

One thing that is missing is how to grow old in Christ. It seems that the early apostles had no sense of growing older even though they are all dead and gone today. To find anything on growing older we have to search the Old Testament where there is more information available.

"Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you" Isa.46:4

"Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails." Psalm 71:9

In the first century AD no one lived as long as we do. It would be hard for those who lived short lives to give us who live longer useful advice.

"And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Mat. 28:20

"Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, I have no pleasure in them." Eccl. 12:1

God bless us, everyone!

Remembering Pastor Mitchell.

I remember pastor Wayman Mitchell as he was preaching how he would walk over and adjust the thermostat for the sanctuary. It was on the platform behind the organ. Never missed a beat. He noticed some discomfort in the audience and he took steps to fix that.

I always saw pastor Mitchell standing by the main entrance to greet people as they came in for church. He did not have long conversations with anybody. But he would shake your hand and greet you by name.

Often, after prayer before an evening service, pastor Mitchell would come out of the prayer room and he would go around the sanctuary shaking hands and greeting people who had arrived early.

I say this simply to say that it is obvious whether your pastor is a people person or not. 

If you do not like people or if you are uncomfortable interacting with people being a pastor may not be a good fit for you. It takes more than a calling to succeed.

PS: pastor Mitchell told us how he used to stand in the bathroom rehearsing his sermons. I wonder how many other pastors practice preaching before they stand up on Sunday morning to preach.