The Marriage Sermon That Wasn't

 Pastor announced that he was going to preach on marriage this morning. I figured I can listen even though it does not have anything to do with me. But he fooled us. He mentioned marriage. But he preached a salvation message. I thought I was listening to pastor Greg on a wedding day service. Pastor Mitchell always used a wedding as an opportunity to minister on marriage. Pastor Greg always preached a salvation message aimed at the wedding guests.

Can I tell you a little secret? On the wedding day everyone is focused on the wedding, even in our Fellowship.

But then, on July the 4th, we sang songs in Spanish. I guess I am a fool to think that the calendar matters in one of our churches.

Tonight is the Bridget Farewell Tour service. Who knows what the sermon will be.

Prayer Request

I want to ask you to join me in prayer for Bridget. I am asking the Lord to let her die in her sleep at home. I am asking the Lord to take her to her Heavenly home, where she can join my wife and the great cloud of witnesses who are there in Heaven already.

Bridget was one of the first people to show interest in me when I moved here. She spent time with me. I will always have fond memories of Bridget and I am blessed to have gotten to know her. But I think that her time on Earth is finished and it is time for Bridget to go home. Amen.

Thoughts For Today

 In Prescott they have what some call the permanent prayer list. Every service the list of those needing prayer is posted. It's rarely someone recovering from surgery or a broken bone. It's mostly older people who had illness or had been ill and who find themselves on the list until they die. Most of them do not care. Some of them wonder why their name is up there. But no one seems to take ownership to make the prayer list current and relevant. We are on track to do the same thing. Every service we post the names of those who need a  miracle. They are still sick, but we keep them up on the screen. We pray for them every service.

In the early days of the revival that birthed our Fellowship things were different. Scores of young people were getting saved. Lots of young men and young women. To put it simply, it became that a guy would get saved and lock into church. He would become a disciple. He would get married and maybe start a family. And when he had been saved for 3 years pastor Mitchell would send them out. Those days ended decades ago. We send out church kids more often then new converts. But we still plant churches so that still works.

Everything that I see today I weigh in the balances of what I know to be true. Everything that I know I learned from my pastor, Wayman Mitchell. 

The Mountain Top

 "So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to me there on the top of the mountain." Exodus 34:2

I am beginning to think that Pentecostals believe that the normal Christian experience is a perpetual mountain-top experience. That the life of faith is a continuous stream of joy and victory and blessing and power. Some Pentecostals work hard to stir up and to maintain a high level of enthusiasm.

But in this verse we find some truths about the mountain top. First, it was only Moses who went up there. You and I, had we been there, would have been left at the bottom watching and waiting. Second, God was not calling Moses up on the mountain to build a house and live there. It was a temporary experience. God told Moses that it was impossible to stay up there or to even see God without dying. And finally, it was a notable and powerful experience but the glory faded. Do your own study on fading glory.

The life of faith is a marathon, not a sprint. As one author described it, it is a long obedience. And no normal person can live a high octane life for very long. To live a long time you cannot burn out prematurely by being reckless.

Part of growing up, in the faith or in life, is dealing with the realities of life as they are. Nothing is high energy excitement all of the time. Even holidays become ordinary once you have celebrated them enough times. Life comes and goes, rises and falls, following seasons and times that are much bigger than our small understanding.

Thank God for mountain top experiences. Moses had them, Jesus had them, but most of the Bible characters did not. I go to church, not to keep the pedal to the metal, but to get refueled enough to make it another week or one more day.

Thought For Today

 Here is something for my Pentecostal brethren to think about. Everyone wants to go to Heaven. But no one wants to die to get there. We all arrogantly think that surely we will go straight to Heaven without dying. But any student of the Bible understands that dying is as much a part of life as living.

People who have no hope of eternal life cling stubbornly to this life. They use heroic medical treatment and intervention to prolong life at all costs. It is a failure for them to have someone die. But search the scriptures and you will find that dying is not to be feared. In fact there are worse things than dying in my opinion.

Our lives are a vapor, here today, and gone tomorrow. But oh how traumatized we are when that vapor fades to nothing. Maybe it is because we are not prepared for death. Maybe our affairs are not in order to survive us.

The fear of death and the stubborn clinging to life is more Catholic than Christian.

"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope." 1Thes. 4:13

A Changing Prayer Request

 I hope that I am wrong, but Bridget is on a path that I have seen before. She is strong in spirit and faith, but her body is very weak. And while people are asking the Lord to heal her my prayer is different.

I pray for Bridget to be strong during what she is going through. I ask the Lord to give her peace and to let her know His love. I pray for the children, that they will be strong and carry on when she is gone. And I pray that through all of this our church may learn a lesson that I have learned. There is a time to contend for divine healing. And there is a time to let her go where we all say we want to go.

I have reached that point several times when I knew that the next chapter of life would be missing certain people. I prayed for my wife until it was clear that nothing was changing. Pastor Mitchel prayed for Kathy, and then he preached her memorial service. Life goes on even when someone dies.

Bridget leaves no spouse. Just children. And no daughters, just sons. So it will be different. But God is never changing and He is always the same.

Staying alive in an isolation ward connected to machines is no way to live. Better to let her go than to prolong her suffering.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15

Ageism In Our Churches?

 How many of you have ever heard the term ageism? It is the same kind of word used in discrimination towards other groups. It is discriminating against someone because of their age. The question is, do we see ageism in our church? 

Ageism can be written and deliberate or it can be unwritten and implied. The net result is that older saints feel ignored or left out and the are told that their contribution is either not wanted or not needed. I am not saying that a crime has been committed. I am saying that in our church and in our Fellowship we are close to a time where serious consideration to this subject must be addressed.

What does ageism in a church look like? Here are some ideas from another denomination that is dealing with this same issue.

1. When ministry to older adults is planned or funded or staffed without the input or involvement of older adults that is ageism.

2. When older adults are ignored in sermons and in worship and in pastoral care that is ageism.

3. When the primary focus of a church is youth and young families and older adults are not ministered to that could be ageism.

4. When older adults are asked to step down or step aside to make room for growth and are told that they are the reason for a lack of growth that is ageism.

5. When facilities make no accommodation for older adults that is ageism.

Some of us were encouraged by some of the sermons preached in Prescott last week. Some of us were offended and spoke disparaging words about the sermons ministering to our ageing Fellowship.

People know where they are wanted and where they are valued and where they feel safe. We have not been a Fellowship of young hippies for a long time. 

Prayer Request

 My friend Greg is a member of the Chandler Arizona church. His brother Jeff has been very ill and mentally unstable for some time. Jeff died this afternoon in the hospital. Death solves one problem and causes ten more problems. Please remember Greg and his wife Diane that God would give him wisdom and grace during this time of loss.

Aging Saints Among Us

 I want to think a little about our aging Fellowship and in particular, aging saints. First let's me clarify what I mean when I talk about aging saints. This has only a little to do with a number. It is a little about how old they are in age, and it has a little to do with how long ago they were saved.

Physical aging has challenges every one of us will have to deal with no matter if we think we are immune or not. There are many physical and emotional and mental issues that are the unique portion of older people in general. Being born again does not exempt you from growing old. Also, being older does not mean you are wheelchair bound or bedridden. It simply means that your mind thinks you still can but your body will quickly remind you that you cannot. This can play havoc on an older persons mind, especially in our Fellowship churches.

Being old spiritually is another story. In a church where the emphasis is on the young you can begin to feel left out or ignored or irrelevant and dismissed. Middle aged men still think that their pastor will send them out to pioneer. Older men only dream of what they did or wish they had done. Being old in the Lord means too often that you have done everything and tried everything and there seems to be nothing left for you that satisfies. It also means that you know better and so when someone says something that is outrageous you can smile and nod and wait for point 3.

The church world at large thinks that the secret is getting older saints energized and active and to tap into their wisdom and experience. Except no one cares what the older has-been generation knows or thinks. No one seems to know what to do with the aging saints in our churches. 

I am one of the aging saints. I do not know what the answer is either. I can tell you what doesn't work. I am enduring until the end. Hopefully one day soon someone will have a jolt of inspiration and we will be lifted into a destiny suited to our abilities.

A History Lesson

 Back in the Jesus People Revival it was all about the music. Music drew us in to hear the Gospel. Music was a part of what we did to reach our friends and neighbors. Live music played by real people. The Jesus people revival was driven by music and preaching.

A shift began to happen in the early 1970's.While pastor Mitchell began to experiment with church planting and all that went into that the other major movers decided to follow the music stream. So while we began to train men in the local church to become pioneer pastors, Calvary Chapel began to develop contemporary Christian music.

Today we have Christian music as entertainment and pop radio with only slightly different lyrics masquerading as worship. We saw the rise of CCM and the loss of evangelism and personal holiness.

But God helped pastor Mitchell; and while he was not sure how it would all work out, he became convinced that discipleship in the local church was better than seminary training, and that a small local church with God's help could make international impact. We are now part of a world-wide Fellowship that is powering on into the next generation; because we, with God's help, have stumbled onto God's plan for world evangelism. Evangelism, discipleship, church planting, and foreign missions. All without a formal organizational structure or a denomination's support.

This should be a sober admonition that small decisions can have long term impact. Miss God by an inch today and you will be miles away very soon.

Thank God for Wayman Mitchell and the way he forged, by faith, a way that has kept us powering on until the present time.

2nd Chapter Of Acts Mansion Builder

Prescott Conference Announcements

 The announcements from the July 2022 Prescott conference have been posted on the Prescott church's site. I copied them and you can link to them from here if you want.

https://www.prescottpottershouse.com/_files/ugd/660e1c_455056c597f849298f532a46d1a5de07.pdf

A Rare Experience

 A regular thing happens to me while I am out riding my bike. People say hi to me. Ladies smile and wave. I will never see most of them ever again. Let a lady say hi to me and I'm good for the rest of the day.

Why is it only at church  where this interaction is so rare? 

Pastor Warner on Elder Needs

 My friend in Prescott told me that Pastor Warner's sermon at conference was very good and it spoke to us as aging saints. I found it and watched it this afternoon since I missed it live. It would be worth watching especially if you are over 60 years old and in a Fellowship church.

At the end of his sermon pastor Warner mentioned four things that we can focus on to help us navigate this season of our lives in Christ. I cannot expound on them like pastor did, so I will just list them and you can pray over it to see how the Lord will speak to you.

1. We need to stay excited. We need to still not only support but be enthusiastic in our support for the church's vision. Our part to play may change but our enthusiasm for it all need not diminish.

2. We need to dump the junk we are carrying around. Anyone who has lived very long will have hurts and disappointments and wrongs to deal with. Often we let those negative experiences linger in our minds which stops our spiritual and emotional growth. It's like Naomi who called herself bitter. Naomi got rid of her bitter attitude and so can we.

3. We need to fill our thoughts and our hearts with God's promises concerning our lives for this season of life. The Bible has promises for the elderly that can give us hope and faith and abundant life until life is actually over.

4. We need a healthy sense of self. Not what we do, but who we are. Your role may change, but you need a confidence that never changes. We are more than what we do. Our strength comes from our confidence in a God who never fails and the hope that God will finish what He started in us.

The balance between young and old is what will keep our church and our Fellowship on track as we power on into the future.

Lost things Restored

 Last night pastor Rubi ministered on the story of Elisha and the lost axe head. It was not dull, it worked fine. But it came lose and it was lost in the water. But God worked a miracle and the iron axe head floated to the surface and they were able to recover it. Conference this week involves an element of the miraculous where pastors who have lost the ability to be useful and effective are restored to what God in Christ has called them to be.

God seems to be interested in restoring lost things. Jesus told the story of lost things restored; a lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost son. Jesus declared his mission to seek and to save those who are lost. Pray that lost pastors and missionaries will be found this week in Prescott.

A lot of our young people who have grown up in the Fellowship attend conference in Prescott. My prayer is that they will find someone that will become their husband or wife. I tried this and it did not work for me. But these are young people and I pray that this week they will meet someone who they can learn to love. I was 18 years old when I got married in 1974. It's time for these young people to find out what they are missing.

It was funny to hear pastor Rubi warn of the danger of virtual church and then encourage us to tune in to watch the Prescott conference on TV. I get it. And he is absolutely correct in stating that virtual church is no substitute for meeting in person.

We watched pastor Greg from the Tucson conference in Sunday school. I miss pastor Greg's ministry. And I noticed the wisdom he has in dealing with people where they are and applying Biblical truth to real life situations. 

Being Considerate Of The Elderly

 One thing to point out on this most recent stream that I have been writing on. The Prescott church has brought on staff an assistant pastor whose primary function is ministering to the senior citizens in the Prescott church. They do not go on outreach. They pray but do not fast. They worship but they feel left out by modern music. But they are a valuable asset to the Prescott church and to the Fellowship at large.

There are saints in Prescott who felt the need to leave to be close to their children. I am one of those people. I am not the first and I will not be the last person who will be driven by loneliness to move from their home church to live near their grown children.

Please be considerate to the needs of us who have stayed faithful through the aging process even though we often feel that we do not matter anymore. Be considerate of the needs of those who used to be on the front lines and who now are bringing up the rear. We still have years to fill and we still love the Lord and His church. This church is not mine yet but with God's help it will be one day.

Growing Up Or Staying Childish

 "I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one." 1John2:12-13

In these verses I see three distinct groups of people. I see little children, young men, and fathers. And each group has a unique position and experience in Christ.

I have met people in Fellowship churches who seem to be stuck in the little children phase of their faith. These are older people who have been saved for a long time but who still talk and act like brand new converts. Everything is exciting to them. Everything is the best it has ever been to them. Everything seems brand new to them. I have wondered why, since I don't feel or act that way, what is wrong with me. Is it me or is it them who is off track?

I used to work in an office and I remember a young lady telling me about the old men at the club trying to act young and hip and trying to pick them up. The young lady was disgusted. I have seen adult men dressing and acting like teens and they look pathetic. I have seen this behavior at Prescott conference and in local churches.

I wonder if in church there are some people who never grew up in the faith and who don't know how to act as an adult with mature faith so they in desperation try to recapture an experience that once a long time ago worked for them. I see old men trying to disciple young unmarried boys and trying to be one of them. In our churches there is a definite youth focus since that is where revival happens and that is the pool of disciples who get sent out.

In the text it simply says that little children are forgiven. Nothing more. Fathers have a deep sense of understanding and knowledge and experience that makes their faith secure. They are not soon shaken by anything. Young men have strength and power with an outward focus. The secret to a long and satisfying faith is to grow in Christ and to rest in faith and to seek direction for the future looking forward, not looking backward. If you are stuck in spiritual diapers, ask the Lord to help you to grow.

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ..."2Peter3:18