Why A Pastor Will Not Retire

 Why won't a pastor retire? In our fellowship retirement is a four letter word. Here are some thoughts on why a pastor who could retire won't.

1. Failed to plan for retirement. Opted out of federal retirement programs. Church too small to give him any financial security.

2. Distorted work ethic. Better to burn out than to rust out. Think it is noble to die while preaching.

3. Failure to see your own declining abilities. Failure to see your own mental decline.

4. No one could do this but me. 

5. No one prepared or chosen to take my place. See number 4.

If you think you need to die in the ministry you probably will. But you will decline mentally and physically long before you die.

 "A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they will never sit."

Anyway, that's how I see it.

Remembering Pastor Mitchell

 I was thinking about pastor Mitchell this morning. I was thinking about what he preached and how balanced he was in ministry. He appreciated everything people did, not just those who saw big crowds or massive results. He appreciated faithful people, not just zealous new converts. And he appreciated the value of a word fitly spoken. 

One thing that I remember about what pastor Mitchell used to preach was how he went for a time when he preached on worship a lot. He preached often enough that I noticed a pattern developing. It turns out that this was during what was called the worship wars. Also, pastor Mitchell rarely preached on witnessing or evangelism. We were active in outreach and we didn't need to be reminded very often what we were about.

Pastor Mitchell was a well balanced pastor. He did not easily get sidetracked or bogged down. He rarely majored in minors. He seemed to know what the Prescott church needed as well as what the Fellowship needed. Even though he traveled a lot, we had confidence that he would be back home on Sunday morning and that he would set things right again.

Everything that I know about following Jesus and preaching I learned from pastor Mitchell. He not only knew doctrine, he lived it out in real life. He practiced what he preached. He was a great example in marriage, in money, in prayer, as well as in preaching and pastoring.

Our Fellowship is the fruit of pastor Mitchell's ministry. He followed the plan that the Holy Spirit gave him and he never turned to the right or to the left. He was faithful to the end. I owe pastor Mitchell a great debt of gratitude.

A Blink Of An Eye

"Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.,..." 1Cor. 15:51-52

"For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."1Thes. 4:16

"Then God said, let there be light; and there was light." Genesis 1:3

Honest physicists tell us that light has no mass and therefore does not travel. Light is, it does not move. At the speed of light time stands still. So as light leaves the sun, it does not move or travel to illuminate the earth.

Now lets look at the verse  that says the dead in Christ will rise. We read this thinking that when the archangel shouts and the trumpet sounds will will shoot off into space, traveling. But it says that we will be changed in a moment, a blink of an eye. No travel, no movement. But like light, we will be one moment here and in a moment there. In the same moment.

The only thing people on earth will see is the sudden disappearance of millions of people suddenly. No streaks of light going upward. In less time than it takes for you to blink your eye.

"We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord." 2Cor. 5:8

The rapture is the act of being absent and then being present.

The time to decide is now while there is still time.

The Universal Laws Of Physics

 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground...." Genesis 2:7

The fact that man was formed from dust is a very profound issue. This is the genius of the Genesis version of creation. It reads like a child's story, but it is deep with meaning to anyone who can mine it's depths.

Mankind will never travel to distant worlds or planets because we are tied to the Earth. We are, by nature, earthbound. Interstellar travel is impossible, not because of engineering problems, but by basic physics problems. A trip to Mars is by physics a one way trip. Travel at near speed of light speed is fraught with difficulties. It's not aliens or monsters out there. It's physics.

God created the heavens and the earth. All of it is His design. The whole universe is governed by the same set of rules and laws. Light is always light, gravity is always gravity. The laws that govern the natural world on earth govern the natural world on every distant planet and solar system. The rules governing the natural world are universal and not different in different parts of the universe.

Man is set up by God to govern planet Earth. We are connected to the place where we live. We are dust.

In Christ we have hope to be free from this constraint one day. When He shall appear, we shall be like Him. This mortal shall put on immortality. We shall be changed. There shall be a new heaven and a new earth. Heaven is not the end, it is only a new beginning.

But for now, do not sign up for a trip to Mars. You may get there, but you will not make it back.

On Being A Good Story Teller

 There was a man who lived an interesting life. He lived in interesting places, met interesting people, did interesting things. Whenever he told his friends where he had been or who he had met invariably someone would say, you ought to write a book someday. So he did. He sat down and wrote a book. And no one would buy it to publish it. One editor kindly told him that his book was boring from beginning to end. He didn't know it yet, but living an interesting life does not make you an interesting writer.

There are disciples who are on fire for God. They have been born again. They speak in tongues. They are in every service and they are on every outreach. They have won people to Christ. And when they get a chance to preach, it is boring and disorganized.

To be a good writer you need to have a plan and a structure to your story. You need to know where you are going and you need to know the tools on how to get there. It's never enough to have good material if you do not have the right tools.

To be a good preacher you need to have a plan and structure to your sermon. You need to organize your thoughts. You need to have illustrations or poems or real life stories to illustrate your point. Using a three point outline gives structure to your sermon. An outline helps you not to get bogged down one one minor point. It's never enough to be anointed by the Holy Spirit. You need to speak in a way that people want to hear what you have to say.

I have endured sermons that I was glad when they were over. I have heard other sermons that I wished would never end. The anointing does the work if people hear what you have to say all the way to the end. The anointing is God's part. The sermon is your part. Do your part to tell a good story.

The Abortion Non-issue

 One thing that surprised me when I moved here was finding that abortion was still a hot button issue down here. I don't remember pastor Mitchell making abortion a big deal for years. Abortion was not a big political issue in Arizona for years. So when I found people getting all wound up over it here it surprised me.

People are sinners by nature, not by what they do or do not do. Salvation is not to make us politically conservative. Salvation is to make us brand new and to make us right with God. The work of God is to believe in Jesus Christ, not to defend the unborn.

So I do not get upset over abortion. Why do you? There are worse things that a person can do than to terminate the life of a human fetus.

Some take Genesis 2:7 to mean that people are not fully human until they breathe.

"And the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." 

Man was fully formed, but not yet a living being. A fetus is a human fetus, like a seed, with all of the potential of a life not yet lived, but is not fully alive until it exits the womb and breathes. This line of doctrine has satisfied me for a long time. 

So this is all that I will say about abortion. It is a non-issue to me.

When No News Is Good News

When it comes to my health care, no news is good news. I had a doctor's visit yesterday where the doctor had little to say or to do with me. We talked about my health, he listened to my heart and my lungs, shook my hand and left. I am not feeling 100% healthy, but a good 95% overall.

I remember those dark days of heart failure when I spent 6 days in the hospital. Those days are behind me. I am not as young as I used to be, but I have taken steps to deal with normal aging. My family is helping with that. And I thank God for good health. Between God and my meds I live a good life.

The Gospel is good news to a lost world. But no news from a doctor is good news to me!