Perfect, or Better?

 I knew a guy in Prescott who was a gifted singer. He had a beautiful voice and he could sing on key. He did not have to work at it, it was a gift. The problem was, he was unwilling to practice and therefore he would often make mistakes during a performance.

The problem with perfection is it leaves you with no motivation or inspiration to improve yourself. I am not talking about self help or trying to achieve something that you have no natural knack for. I am talking about trying to be a better husband or father. I am talking about being a better Christian. Or a better preacher.

Pastor Mitchell used to practice preaching his sermons before he went to church. It took years of preaching before he seemed to be comfortable in his calling. Many of our Fellowship pastors could stand a little practice preaching.

I knew a guy in Prescott who was a terrible public speaker. I gave him a book on public speaking. I do not think he even read it.

Perfect people think that they do not need to be better. They are perfect as they are. All of us resist improving ourselves because we are afraid of change. We think that good enough is good enough. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But they fail to understand that something does not have to be broken to need fixing. 

Being perfect may be a gift. Most of us could work at just being a better version of who we are.

I Believe

 There are things that some people struggle with trying to understand. These are things that I take as fact with no struggle at all.

I believe that God created the heavens, the earth, and all living things including people.

I believe that Noah's flood happened just as it is written.

I believe that God confused the languages at Babel and that is why we speak different languages.

I believe that God is three in One. Father, Son, and Spirit.

I believe that Jesus was born from a virgin mother.

I believe that Jesus is, and was, and always will be Christ.

I believe that Jesus was a real man, not a myth.

I believe that God raised Jesus up from the dead.

I believe that Heaven is our home and we are just passing through here.

I do not need to understand to believe. Faith is taking God at His word. Faith is believing, not understanding. I can easily believe things that I do not understand. A child can believe. We make it all much harder than it has to be.

Never Outgrow Your Need For Ministry

 I was notified that my blood work results were available for me to look at.  I am not a doctor or medical professional and so reading my test results was like trying to read a foreign language. I go see my doctor next week and she can tell me how I am doing and to tell me what it all means for me.

This is why, after over 50 years, I still go to church. I have devotions every morning. I read the Bible every day. But I am not a pastor or ministry professional and I need someone to explain to me what the Bible says and what the Bible means. I need a pastor to make the Word become flesh for me.

You never outgrow your need for ministry. I am grateful to God for my pastors.

Church Music. The Never Ending Story.

 You may not remember the Worship Wars that rocked evangelicals some years ago. This was the result of contemporary Christian music going mainstream. The music that we sing in church today we got from Christian radio. This is not music written and arranged for congregational worship singing. It is designed for a lead singer or solo artist on stage. It is not music telling of the wonder and glory of God. It is music telling my emotions about what Jesus did for me. The focus of too much church music is how I feel, not who God is.

Finding good church music must be hard. We have rejected traditional hymnal based songs. Songs that are hundreds of years old. Songs written for church, not for entertainment. We use what music is available for churches to use. That music is often weak and obviously written by people who know about Jesus, but do not know Him.

The worship wars have calmed down lately. Some churches responded by rejecting most music from the groups who promoted it. There is some modern music that is worthy, but not much. In a digital world, congregational singing is very old fashioned. Like choirs. It is something that grandma likes, but young people think is lame. Lame like singing church songs in our home Bible study groups.

Pray for our pastors. They need wisdom. They need to find the balance between old and new. Pray that the Holy Spirit will keep them fresh and relevant. Amen!

Thoughts On Preaching.

Pastor Mitchell preached from an outline. He did not write out his entire sermon. He gave himself key words or ideas that he then, because he had studied, could expound on. He stayed on his notes. That is why he could say more in 30 minutes than some preachers can say in over an hour.

What's an outline you ask? It looks something like this.

I Main Point

  A Sub point

      1 Reasons supporting

         a Verses, illustrations, poems, etc.

A sermon should have 3 main points, two or three sub points per main point, and as many other finer points as needed to flesh out your idea. You can learn a system that works for you.

I have heard pastor Mitchell get sidetracked by inspiration and then, to save time, skip to the last point of his sermon.  He ascribed to the idea that the mind can only understand what the seat can endure.

A preacher can be inspired early in the week for what he will say on Sunday. He does not have to wait until he is behind the pulpit to get the mind of God. A wise preacher can do this, an immature pastor maybe not.

Show me a pastor who gets behind the pulpit with a well thought out sermon that is prepared and ready to preach and I will show you a pastor that is on his way to greatness. Show me a pastor who shoots from the hip and wings it and I will show you a flash in the pan who is only effective when he feels emotionally stirred up. He is more rattle than revival.

The Scout Motto is: Be Prepared. That ought to be the Fellowship motto for preachers.

Clearing Out the Cobwebs.

 Today is a good day to clear out the cobwebs. Nothing too deep or profound.

Jesus promised to never leave us or forsake us. Thank God for that.

You can never go home again. Life has moved on, and so have you.

Some pastors wear their hearts on their sleeves. If something is bothering them, it shows.

It's interesting how family members are not always friends. And how friends can be closer than brothers.

Bigger is not always better. We seem better suited to struggle than to succeed.

Change carries no guarantees. Different may not be better. It could be neutral. It could be worse.

The grass may be greener, but it's still just grass.

I do not keep a journal. Boring to use.

Some people never leave. It shows.

Life is not easy.  I would not trade my life for anything.

God bless us, everyone!