Learning How To Behave In Church

 "...I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 1Timothy 3:14

I have noticed that there are people who think that they are worshipping when it appears that they are putting on a show. Their movements, their actions, their volume, all suggest that the focus of attention ought to be on them and not on Jesus. Sometimes these folks are on stage, and sometimes they are in the pews, but their spirit is obvious. They need to control themselves.

I have noticed that there are well meaning saints who speak in tongues for 30 minutes and they call that praying. That they can speak non-stop for 30 minutes is an achievement, but it is not prayer. Pray with the spirit and the understanding is the Biblical admonition.

Liturgy is a big word to define how we conduct our services. There is a fine line between spiritual and worldly, between entertaining and meaningful. The Holy Spirit is willing to fill our services as long as Christ is glorified among us. It is not about volume or emotion, it is about lifting our voices and lifting our eyes and lifting our prayers to our Heavenly Father and to Christ Resurrected.

"...the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets." 1Corinthinas 14:32

Get Married Now!

 I am going to say something that may just give away how old I am. But it is something that I need to say. I think that the young people in our churches need to be getting married. I am an advocate for getting married young, like right out of school. Either high school or college. But the first thing once you are done with school is you should be talking to pastor about setting a date to get married. 

Children go through puberty and then we make them wait forever before we think they should get married. What is wrong with parents that you discourage your children from doing what God intended them to do from the dawn of creation? You are married, why not them? Your marriage failed, but why not give them a chance to do what you could not do? There is no valid excuse for children in their early 20s not being married. 

I think that in spite of the sodomites who reject God and marriage, and in spite of the national moral climate that promotes promiscuity instead of monogamy, young people need to do what is best for themselves and get married. Dating and courting are just means to an end. You do not need to learn how to date. You need to find an eligible mate and marry them. If they are not in your church, find one where you can. 

It's time to stop finding 100 reasons not to get married and instead find one reason why marriage is in your future this year. 2022. Dad, mom, grandpa, grandma, pastor, sons, and daughters. Find a reason and pray and ask God to make it happen for you. I believe God will bless you when you do what He says is best for you.

The Future

 I have been blogging for almost 8 years now. I have written just about everything that I had to write at some point in time. I still post news for the sake of those who did not hear it locally like I did. But unlike a pastor who has to keep on even when he is burned out I do not have to continue posting for the sake of posting.  What to do? Maybe the best way forward is to do nothing.

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound - Then Came The Morning (Live)

We Move On

 One thing that you notice in life, by virtue of long life, is that we move on. There are people or things or even events that at the time we think that they will be important forever. We think that influential people will always influence us. We think that valuable assets will always have value. And we think that life will remain as it is right now.

Pastor Mitchell is dead and is enjoying his time in Heaven. But his influence is waning every year. It won't be long before there will be disciples attending our conferences who never heard pastor Mitchell preach in person and who never talked to him in person and who may not even know who he was and what he did.

My wife Kathy died 8 years ago. She remains a precocious person to me. But the number of people who knew her and who valued her is shrinking year by year.

My old house was nothing special. But I lived in it for 24 years. I used to miss it. But it's value to me is slipping away day by day. Someone lives there now, but it's not me and so I don't care much about it.

Our old building is still there. But it looks old and tired and worn out. Some are feeling nostalgic over that old building. But it's time to move on.

God is the only constant in life that does not get old or irrelevant or tiresome. Christ, being alive form the dead is alive forever and he is no longer tied to ancient cultures and societies. The Bible is an ancient book and it takes a lot of effort and hard work to make it relevant to modern society. That's why we have pastors.

I don't want to be a skeptic or an unbeliever. I choose to believe that the Bible is God's word to us. But as time goes on the influence of men who we thought would be a constant in life has changed. It remains to us when this happens to move on in life. To move on in faith, in love, in loyalty, in commitment, 

"...but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things that are ahead..." Philippians 3:13

"Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind..." Phil. 3:15

Through It All - Andrae Crouch (lyric video)

One Year Ago Today

 One year ago today I left home and began my great adventure. So much has happened to let me know that God has been helping me all along. I can honestly say that moving here was easy. Living here has been a challenge. But through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus and the unseen hand of God in human affairs.

The Gift Of Singleness

 "For I wish that all men were even as myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to the widows; it is good for them if they remain even as I am." 1Corinthians 7:7-8

Pastor Martinez preached last night on God the match maker. And it was a very good message and very true. In his message to the young singles he mentioned the gift that nobody wants which is the gift of singleness. When he said this it was like a light went on in my spirit.

I have wondered why since my wife died that I have not been able to meet or date or marry again. I have gone out with women. I have no problem talking to women. I appreciate a pretty face like any man would. But I have not been able to cross the line into romance or relationship. I wondered what was wrong with me? And then last night the Holy Spirit made me to understand that I have been given a great gift.

Not everyone who is a widow can stay single. But I can. Not everyone is content to live alone. But I am. I am happy and content and satisfied just as I am. And so I will remain. I was married for 40 years. That's enough for me.

I have never heard anyone preach on the gift of singleness before. But it was a word from God for me last night. I told pastor Martinez so. The word gift is the same word in the Greek as is used in the gifts of the Spirit and the ministry gifts. It is a gift of God's grace to empower us to live so as to please Him.

Leadership 1.0

 Being a leader in any capacity means that you will experience things that those under you cannot and should not deal with. When you smite the shepherd, the sheep will scatter. They cannot process this unimaginable event. And they cannot rightly process you fears either. Your job as a leader, even as a parent, is to shield those under your care from fear and worry and danger. It is bad parenting to tell your children everything. You can handle it, but they cannot.

The trick to being the grownup is not to let you fears bleed through to those more tender and less able that are under your care. When Jesus began to tell his inner circle about his upcoming death they could not process that at all. Your children cannot process your plans either. Your church ought not to be informed about everything that is going on. They need us to be the example of strength and stability and peace.

Just because something is hard does not mean that the Devil is fighting us or that we have many enemies. That is when you need to be the grownup in the room and not show your inner struggles to those who think you know everything.

One final thought. If you are going to have a Grand Opening then have a grand opening. Don't make a big deal about anything until that event has happened. We are now just having services in our new building. Visitors will come to check it out. Pastor Mitchell used to tell young guys not to put to much stock into one big event. The grand opening with pastor Warner is a necessary piece of the puzzle. And we are in this building that was so long in coming; let us enjoy it and let us get used to it and make it a place where the sceptics will want to visit and see for themselves.

Pastors Are People Too

 Back in Prescott, when Scott Lamb was our assistant pastor, I learned that pastors are people too. And I learned that one mark of a good preacher is his ability to shift his focus on the fly. There were Wednesday night services where pastor Lamb would start his sermon telling us how lazy and worthless and unsaved we all were, and then about 10 minutes into his sermon his tone would change and by his third point he was telling jokes and making us laugh. Pastor Mitchell never did that, but he had his emotions and his mind under control.

Last night in his midweek sermon it seemed like pastor Rubi was upset that we were enjoying our new building. He took great effort to inform us that it is not about buildings. He made me wonder if building this conference center was a bad idea. But then about halfway through his sermon I noticed a shift in his delivery. A wise pastor knows when he has been too hard or too strong for his people, especially on a Wednesday night.

Being the senior pastor of a church like San Antonio or Tucson or Prescott is not an easy job. Pastor Rubi needs our prayers and he needs the Holy Spirit to strengthen him in his mind and his heart and his spirit.

Pastors are people just like us. Moses was not superman just because his face shone. Jesus Christ became a man to save men. But pastors are critical to our survival as a church and as Christians. I appreciate the ministry of pastor Rubi and his assistants.

The soup is never eaten as hot as it is cooked. A wise pastor knows how to make God's word palatable to real people where they are right now.

The Glory Of God And Moses' Finished Work

 "...So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." Exodus 40: 33-34

Pastor Rubi used this text tonight in relation to our new building. He made it plain that without God's presence our building is worthless. But it almost came across like he was trying to downplay what ought to still be a focal point of praise and victory and thanksgiving. This building was a long time coming and it is our portion to enjoy the newness and the excitement of it for a long time to come.

He mentioned the above text almost in passing but he did say that God does not care about buildings. But I think that God is very concerned with buildings. We read about the glory filling the tabernacle and do not think about what that might have meant. But since God gave Moses strict instructions about the pattern and the materials and the construction I think that the Glory that was present then was God inspecting the work that Moses had finished. Two men died because they got the incense wrong. Moses was no doubt a little concerned about God's opinion about this tabernacle of meeting. The glory was visible evidence of God's presence during that time.

Pray for our pastor. He needs to lead the way forward with faith and vision and confidence. He needs to be the man the Lord called him to be for our sakes. And let us be the people whom the Holy Spirit is attracted to and willing to minister to and through. Amen!

A Problem In Need Of A Solution.

 Here is an issue that I have no answer for. In our church we have some fine young men. Good men, saved men, in school or working men. And like most young men they are interested in girls. They would like to date, and maybe have a for real girlfriend, and get married.

In our church we also have some nice young women. They are saved girls. They are church going girls. They are normal girls in that they are interested in guys. Maybe they would like to go on a date. Maybe have a boyfriend. Some of them would like to be a wife.

The problem is that these two groups of young people in our church seem to not know how to get together beyond attending church activities or shaking hands at a church service. There seems to be a great gulf fixed and it is a rare event for two young people to meet, date, get married, and fall in love. In that order.

When I think way back to when I first met the girl who would become my wife it seems so easy and it seems like it took so little effort on my part. I believe that God brought Kathy and I together. But we did have to do our part to make some kind of connection.

I pray for our teens and our young single adults. It is better to marry than to burn.

Shouting Through Your Tears

 "But many of the priests and Levites and head of the father's houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off." Ezra 3: 12-13

First, there is an age gap that is evident in this story. The young people did not have the depth of experience to draw on that the old people had. The young people processed this event with what they knew and with what they had experienced so far. Which was not as much as those who had lived a long time and who had seen things to compare to and had memories that ran far deeper. This is not a good or bad, right or wrong issue. It is a fact of life that age gives experience that only comes with the turning of the pages of life.

Second, the noise of this event was notable. Some were weeping, some were laughing, but all were shouting. You can shout and not be happy or excited. But when God moves, you cannot help but respond. They all understood that this was the beginning of something big and something grand and something memorable. They all shouted.

Some people are giddy with child-like excitement over our new building. Some people are glad but not really excited. Those who have seen other buildings cannot help but compare this one to what they have seen before. Others have never seen a building of this size and this scope and this magnitude before. I have. But all of us can rejoice and be glad at what the Lord has done in bringing us this far. That will be a testimony to all around us. We can all shout, even through our tears.

Men's Discipleship in the New Building.

 We had our very first men's discipleship service at the new building tonight. Pastor Rubi did a great job preaching to men and not using locker room language. He called men to be men of God and showed what is necessary for that to happen. He is a man of God for sure. 

The place was full but not packed. Everyone wants to come see the new building. I'm glad for men who make the effort to attend meeting like this.

Pastor Warner will do the next one in March and pastor Greg will be here in April.

New Building Thoughts

 We are up and running in our new building. There is still a lot of work to be done to complete this facility but it is finished enough for us to occupy it. We still have the south campus for children's church and morning prayer. Everything else is in the new north campus.

We had great services yesterday with pastor Rubi. I didn't wait as long as some of the locals but still as pastor preached, it was worth the wait.

One interesting fact. In Prescott we felt like the building was built for us and we did nothing but watch it being built. There are folks here who help get the old building ready 20 years ago who have told me the same thing. They are glad to be in the nice new building. But their enthusiasm is tempered by their lack of personal involvement in it's construction. Big building like these conference centers cannot be constructed by volunteer help. It takes professionals to build something this big and this complex.

Of course there are little bugs to work out. There is still some interior construction to be completed. They are pouring a new part of the parking lot today. But the Holy Spirit doesn't seem to mind. If God will meet with us then we can be patient while the rest of the job is finished. 

The glory of the latter house will definitely exceed the glory of all that has come before for us. God always saves the best for last. The best years of this church are in front of us.

Anxiously Waiting

 Pastor announced that there is no adult Sunday School this morning. Just service at the regular time. He said that the ushers will be meeting early to go over the game plan for this morning in anticipation of the large number of visitors we are expecting.

The only time we had an unusually large crowd at our new building in Prescott was for the actual grand opening and ribbon cutting. So this will be a new experience for me to see public interest and excitement over our soft opening.

The only down side to it all is that I am sitting at home anxious to be there with no where to go until lunch time. 

First Service in the New Building

 We had our first service in our new building tonight. Our official opening is this Sunday. But we got a preview of what the new building has to offer. It was awesome! The building is not finished yet. But it was finished enough for us to have church. The Holy Spirit was there, pastor Rubi was there, we were there, and it was a great start to a new chapter in the life of this church. Two people got saved too.

I do not know why this building move has stirred me like it has. The move to the latest building in Prescott did nothing for me. Maybe God knew that I was leaving and did not want me to be tempted to stay? But I am excited by what I sense and by what I feel here and now. To God be the glory!