Scott Miller Blog :: Good Stuff

Devoted Themselves

I can't stop thinking about these 2 words from Acts 2:42… "They devoted themselves to the…"

Devoted – this went beyond 'I like Jesus'…this went beyond 'Yah – I'm a Christian'…this was a deep commitment to doctrine (discipleship), fellowship, worship, ministry, evangelism… they were devoted to the things Christ was into...

Themselves – they took personal ownership and responsibility for their faith…they devoted themselves...their devotion went beyond having to be motivated by a pastor or leader to do what they ought to already be doing…they were at a level of devotion where they took the teaching of Scripture seriously and allowed that to motivate themselves to do it!

Imagine if everyone who called themselves a Christ follower devoted themselves! Well…imagine if Scott Miller lived 24/7 as someone who fits in the camp of one who – devoted themselves.

 

25 years of waiting

In Genesis 12, Abraham is 75 yrs old as God promises that "all people's on earth will be blessed through you."

It wasn't until Genesis 21, at the ripe old age of 100 yrs old, that the visible sign of the earlier promise came about! Isaac was born! (to a mom in depends and a dad in a leisure suit)

25 years had passed since the dream was planted in the heart of Abram/Abraham.

Just sitting here wondering about things that are in my heart to do. Things that I really feel are from God, but I haven't seen much of anything pointing that way! Could it be that a few of these things will happen in 25 years?

God give me patience.

Mark Beeson asks the Questions!

Saw this video on Tim Stevens' blog the other day.  Notice how Mark Beeson's digging a little bit deeper into the Word through questions like who, what, when, where and why added so much more to the reading of 1 and 2 Peter!

The Early Church from Granger Community on Vimeo.

5 W’s of Observation

From Church Planters.com 09 conference: Ed Stetzer…survey of 2500 protestants, all restudied a year later…the number one correlating factor to spiritual growth is that they spent time in God's Word themselves…

 

Reveal study (survey input from over 157,000 congregants in more than 500 churches) surveyed over 2 years: #1 thing that moved a person from one level of spiritual maturity to the next – personally reading and reflecting on Scripture…not just head knowledge, but reading and reflection…

 

This is not taking anything away from the preaching/teaching of called and gifted preachers and teachers. It's not either/or, but both/and! But there is something to your personal study that takes it the next step. If you've given up on your Bible study time, try this…Read the same chapter of the Bible for 5 days in a row this week…each day, ask a different Observation question…

 

5 W's of Observation:

 

1.    ___WHO___ wrote it? Who said it? Who are the major characters? Who are the people mentioned? To whom is the author speaking? About whom is he speaking?

 

2.    ___WHAT___ are the main events? What are the major ideas? What are the major teachings? What are these people like? What is his purpose in saying this?

 

3.    ___WHEN___ was it written? When did this event take place? When will it happen? When did he say it? When did he do it? (Life in the Spirit study bible, NIV study Bible, Life Application study Bible)

 

4.    ___WHERE__ was this done? Where was this said? Where will it happen?

 

5.    ___WHY___ was there a need for this to be written? Why was this mentioned? Why was so much or so little space devoted to this particular teaching or event? Why was this reference mentioned?

 

Re-listen to this message on this if you'd like more thoughts…

 

(I believe the idea behind these five W's was taken from Wayne Cordeiro's book, The Divine Mentor.)

I get nothing from Bible reading…

"I get nothing from Bible reading"…I've heard many people say this…and know a lot of people experience this…truthfully, even I have experienced it at certain seasons of life…why is that?

Why is it that so many struggle with getting anything from their time of Bible reading? Why is it that I can have a discussion last night with someone about the amazing things they are getting out of their devotional time in 1 Corinthians 12, but talk with someone else who has given up reading the Bible b/c it's boring? Same church…same life situation (both married, with kids, a house, work in the building trades)…but two different experiences with God's Word.

I don't have all the answers, but I think one thing that does play into this is our level of expectation. When we open the Bible to read, do we really expect God to speak to us from it? In Luke 24:45 it says that Jesus "…opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." Do you think that Jesus could do that for us today?

If you've given up, go back to it. This time, before you open the Bible, pray a simple, short prayer – Lord, open my mind so I can understand the Scriptures. Amen.

Does God still do the miraculous?

Just last night, as we sat down to eat our chicken, sweet potato's, broccoli, and rice like substance (can't remember what it's called…cous cous maybe?), we had a discussion with the girls about whether God still does the miraculous. Today, I received this email…this miracle occurred a week ago at one of our AG churches in Brazil, IN. Very cool…

Two Sundays ago on January 10, 2010, the Lord touched a young boy at a water baptismal service that our church had.  I thought you would want to hear the good report.  It was a real encouragement to me.  Please share it with anyone that could be blessed with it.

His name is Charles (Charlie is what they call him) Geisert.  He is six years old.  He and his family have been coming to our church for several months.  When he was born he had a stroke that left him with one foot turned inward, one hand turned inward, and an arm that could not be raised above the level of his shoulder.  Mobility and function was very difficult for him.

He asked his mother if he could be baptized.  She told him he could.  When his turn came he was baptized.  He came out of the water and walked normally to his mother.  He held up his arm and hand and said, mom, Jesus has healed me. Everyone there saw him after the Lord healed him. 

   

For several months the congregation had observed the way he walked, handled his leg and foot, and saw that he could not completely raise his arm. 

   

The mother brought him to me the next Sunday and asked him to show me what he could still do.  He put on a real demonstration for me. He walked perfectly.  He raised both arms straight up into the air, and he held both hands perfectly straight.  He kept telling me several times, Jesus healed me.  He is as normal as any child.  God has certainly touched that boy.  I love it when the Lord does something for children.

   

The grandmother came to church this evening and had to tell the story over again to everyone.  She is just beside herself with thankfulness and joy.

   

Jimmy C. Dowers, Pastor

Way of the Cross Assembly of God

Brazil, Indiana

Faith from George Mueller

I ran across this quote today in a commentary I was reading…think on it…

Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends.  — George Mueller

Fasting tips

Here are some more great thoughts on fasting if you are interested…

From my wife Megan:

Fasting should never bring condemnation.  God does not work in condemnation.  Satan does as often as he can.  You are not some kind-of Christian loser who can't keep up a good spiritual pace.  You'll get there, I have no doubt if you're willing to keep trying and go slowly.  What is better?  To never fast b/c you feel you've failed before and just can't do it?  Or to slowly learn to fast in the way that you really feel you're called to and then be able to sustain that experience over a lifetime?

Download megans_thoughts_on_fasting.pdf

From Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, LA…

http://www.healingplacechurch.org/prayer_and_fasting.php

I won’t go without your Presence

Exodus 33:12-18 has been on my heart today…

• Moses in essence – You've called me to lead these people, but I need a little more reassurance that something or someone is going to be there with me!
• God in essence – Oh Moses, calm yourself now. I really do love you and will be with you…know this, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.
• Moses in essence – Are you kidding me? If your Presence doesn't go with us, I don't even want to step in that direction…don't even send us…we must go with your presence…after all, it's your presence that distinguishes us from all the other people…your presence sets us apart in a good way…I'm surely not going to do this on my own!

Can you see yourself in this piece of history? Is there anything right now that I'm trying to do outside of the presence of God? For instance, God wants to give me His presence to help me be the father I'm called to be. But perhaps I haven't allowed His presence to permeate that area of my life yet?! Maybe I haven't allowed Him to give me the grace to go there!

God wants to give me His presence to solve issues at work that no one else can…not b/c of how smart I am, but b/c He has graced me with the ability to do such…His presence can even permeate the way I do work! Have I allowed Him to?

God's words for Moses are ours for today! He wants to, and will, go with us if we allow Him to…if we invite Him to…if we let Him!

Maybe a good tool to recognize if I'm walking with God's presence in an area is if I'm at rest with it. God says His presence will go with us, and he will give us rest. If you are feeling restless about something, maybe it's b/c you've left him behind? His presence isn't anywhere near it b/c you are filling it all with your own presence and thoughts, not His!

Just a few random thoughts I've been thinking about today…

Exodus 33:15 If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here."

Dif between Peace Keeper and Peace Maker

Another thought sparked from a recent message from John Bevere…the difference between a Peace Keeper and a Peace Maker.

Peace Keeper:

• Holds down the fort.
• Keeps peace at all costs.
• Keeps people happy!
• Makes sure there is no, or very little, change.

Peace Maker:

• Makes the hard call to bring forth change.
• Battle's through to keep peace for the right reasons.
• More intent on pleasing God than man.
• Plows new ground knowing that it will bring fresh life and peace.

What would you add to these lists?

Fear

Was listening to a message from John Bevere the other day…he made a great point on fear, "Any area you still fear is b/c you haven't put it under the cross."

The next time you find yourself being gripped by fear of whatever, lay it down at the feet of Jesus…and trust Him with it!

Encouragement

Yesterday, I group of us spent 4 hours discussing and re-discussing how we are doing in the area of organic and mechanical discipleship. I left that mtng being completely encouraged by the future of our Life Group ministry as it pertains to discipleship. With a few enhancements, our LG ministry is going to continue and further make it happen!

I just got back from lunch with one of our LG leaders at Rulli's. I need to do that more often (lunch with a LG leader that is, not so much the Rulli's buffet…my waistline couldn't stand that)! Exciting to hear how God is moving in their LG.

Are you plugged in to a Pathway LG? What are you waiting for?

Not the Great I Was!

Was listening to one of my mentor's from afar tonight, Brian Houston…just had to blog one faith filled comment he just shared:

You're not serving the great I was…you're serving the GREAT I AM!

Why…a Local Church?

I'd like to take some time over the next week (or week's) to bring you in on some of our 'Why' discussion this past weekend at the LT retreat. Today, we start with 'Why the local church'?

Holy cow…you could come from a lot of different angles here…let me take a stab Biblically…

I think the greatest reason for the local church is b/c that's the New Testament model we see! We see this as the model Paul used throughout the book of Acts. You go to a community, start a church, appoint Elders/Overseer's, and there you go. Paul didn't start soup kitchens, outreach ministries, Bible Colleges, etc., he started churches. He knew that if people were really going to accomplish the great commission and great commandment, it would have to be done through a local church. More on this in a previous post…

The local church provides/facilitates a place for 5 things to happen that we also see exampled in the NT church:

1. Fellowship
2. Discipleship
3. Evangelism
4. Ministry
5. Worship

I could say a whole lot more about this, but I'll save my typing for further Why's!

My Big Mouth

I've been thinking on something ever since I shared a message on the subject this past summer…My mouth is powerful! Has very little to do with whether I just ate garlic or not…and everything to do with what's in my heart, that's coming out of my mouth!

Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." The power of life and death? Are you serious?

The Book of James compares our tongue/mouth to a boats rudder as it guides our lives…or as a fire that can destroy our life or the lives of others…or as a spring of water – pointing to the fact that stuff just doesn't come out of our mouth on accident – it flows directly out of our heart.

"Oh, I didn't mean to say that…" Yep, you did. You allowed something in your heart to fester and camp out…and unfortunately, you lacked the self control to stop it from coming out of your mouth!

Believe you me, I've been there, done that, bought the t-shirt and the underoo's (remember those things when you were a kid?...I think I had The Dukes of Hazard underoo's).

You're not a loser if you struggle with this…in fact, the book of James says in essence that if any of us say we don't struggle with our mouths we are fooling ourselves!

Be determined this week to let only those things that are profitable and life-giving to come out of your mouth! The next time something negative starts to come out, just begin to thank God for the opposite to come out of the situation. Speak out of faith, not out of fear…speak life, not death.

I think there might be another message brewing in this thought somewhere….

Before Goliath, there was a lion and a bear

Most are familiar with the story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). As I studied it last week, something jumped out at me...before there ever was a Goliath, there was a lion and a bear.

Before God ever had David take out the ugly Goliath, he had him take out a lion and a bear. When that lion came and stole one of the sheep in his fold, he ran after it and killed the thing. The same thing is inferred concerning the bear.

Thought – There are times when God allows us to go through battles with the lion and the bear, in order to prepare us for the final battle with Goliath! It stinks, but it's true. (notice the use of the preferred 'stinks'…I cannot yet bring myself to use the word 'sucks,' which is apparently now an ok Christian swear word…so for now, and in the future, I plan on sticking with 'stinks'…thanks for allowing me to air my personal feelings on the 's' word) He loves us too much to just throw us out at Goliath, so he walks with us, building our faith every step of the way!

Some of you are struggling every time a lion or a bear shows up, you engage, but then run. It's too hard of a fight. It's too hard of a battle. But the truth is, until you get past your lion and your bear, you'll never get victory over your Goliath. STOP RUNNING from it – engage it – allow God and other followers of Jesus to walk with you through it – get past it – and see your spiritual growth multiply in one season!

I know what a few of the lions and bears are in my life right now, what are yours? You pray about it…just see how the Lord leads you…

Big Spiritedness

One true description of church life is that at times we've been too narrow-minded. Not necessarily theologically, but experientially. For example, we may preach the Gospel is for all, but experientially, sometimes we limit it to people like us only. Or, we may say all are welcome to our church, but what about the one's who's lifestyle is one that goes directly against Scripture? Are they still welcome to attend, and continue to attend, even though they haven't given their lives over to Christ's leadership yet?

Or what about the difference of opinion on a subject amongst followers of Christ…think about this – some believers have chosen not to have a TV in their home, but yet some believers have rooms specifically built in their home for watching TV! Who's right and who's wrong? Who's sinning and who's holy?

I think 1 Corinthians gives us what we need…

1 Corinthians 10:23"Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. 24Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

We talk about it this way…3 Questions:

1)    What about God? If God's word speaks clearly about it (adultery, murder, gossip, etc.), then it's a no brainer…we follow Scripture to the 'T'!

2)    What about Me? What are my personal, Holy Spirit led, convictions on the subject? This is a challenge b/c it takes great spiritual maturity to walk in this. "What about Me" means that I may be convicted about something that you may not be convicted about! Or the other way around.

3)    What about Them? What about the new believer? What about the person who has yet to come to Christ? If I'm really supposed to be living for "the good of others," then they've got to work into the equation concerning my actions.

Just b/c I'm "free" to do something doesn't mean it's constructive or beneficial!

Conflict brings Growth

Just read this over at Tim Stevens blog:

Change. Conflict. Growth. That's the sequence. Many people won't change. Or they do change and then stop at the conflict, and they never experience the growth. – Ed Young at the Story conference in Chicago today.

I see wisdom in this…I think many of us get in the conflict and bolt before it's ever resolved, or just pretend it went away…then we never reach the point of growth! A few months, years later, the circle repeats itself.

I see this tendency in marriage, other relationships, church life, everywhere!

God’s presence – is it really all we need?

I was listening to a message from Paul Scanlon today, and something he said really sunk in…in essence, this is his thoughts, with mine mixed in:

I've grown up in the charismatic/Pentecostal circles, and am very glad for this! I'm glad the part of the Godhead called the Holy Spirit was not neglected in my Christian experience. But there is something that at times has confused me…it's this thought… "all we need is the presence of God."

Moses spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai with the Lord (Exodus 24:18), in God's presence. Scripture says the glory of the Lord settled on Mt. Sinai where Moses was. Now, I've been in some pretty powerful church services where I know I sensed the presence and the glory of the Lord…but I'm not so sure they even compared to the experience of Moses! What an amazing time Moses had with the Lord! Exodus 34 says that when Moses came down from the mountain, his face was radiant…it was glowing…b/c he had been in the presence of the Lord.

Now, this is where I think it gets interesting…follow me…after Moses had spent nearly 6 weeks in God's presence…maybe what we charismatic's would call the mother of all glory-fests…no amount of glory could cause Moses to live without fault. Seriously, check out scripture. Was it not Moses that threw down the tablets (Exodus 32:19) that God himself had written upon (Exodus 32:16)? I know that some would write this off as righteous anger, but was it really righteous? Or was it just anger? Look at the rest of Moses' life. There were times when he lost patience…there were times when he even disobeyed God (and paid dearly for it)!

Bottom line…I'm not so sure all we need is the presence of God. What we need is a resolve in our spirit, soul, and body to live right before God. We need a commitment to God and each other that we will conquer whatever the sin issue may be, or character issue may be. Then we call upon the name of the Lord and allow His presence to empower us to do what we have decided to do! Is this not what Philippians 2:12 is talking about when it says to "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling"? We play a huge role in this as well! It's not either or, the presence – or – our own will, it's both and!

I have experienced, and pray I will continue to experience, powerful times in the presence of God. But perhaps it's time we stop looking for a quick blast of his presence to bring the miracle/spiritual growth we need, and as Philippians says, work out our own salvation. We need to make the decision to walk out our faith in the way Jesus would, and trust his presence and power will help us to accomplish this task! It's got to start in our heart though. We've got to make the decision towards growth, and then He will send His presence to empower us to walk it out! What do you think?

Meeting

Another thought from Acts 2…

Meeting – Verse 46 says "everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts" and "They broke bread in their homes." It's balance. As I walk through this R3: Commitments of the Real series right now, I am reminded that coming together with other believers is not only important, but absolutely necessary! I think the big question for all of us is how much coming together is enough? For some, they feel like Sunday morning alone is enough…ugh…I'm not sure about that. It seems to me there needs to be a deeper level of "together" then that. For others, Sunday morning, a LG, and a monthly prayer mtng doesn't feel like enough. Where's the balance in all of this?

I'm wondering…maybe the balance can be measured not by when I feel like I've had enough (b/c let's face it – enough is often dictated by what enough was when we grew up in church, or what we saw grandma Girty do and there is a thought that if I want to be as spiritual as her, I've got to do that too), but by the output of my life? After all, the end product of mtng together isn't just to beef up spiritually, it's to "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15). Am I adequately prepared to do such?

One last thought…I'm not going to rehash it all, but Matt Chandler had some great thoughts on discipleship at a conference I was at this past spring. I'm still wondering/pondering if and how Pathway is doing in the mechanical arena of discipleship.

Your thoughts?

Devoted

I was reading through Acts 2 this morning and this jumped out at me…

Devoted – Verse 42 says that these new disciples of Jesus "devoted themselves to the apostles teaching" (KJV – "continued steadfastly"). Every time I've read this in the past I typically get a feeling that they did this together. They spent time together studying and working through the same teachings that we devour today! My thoughts though turn to what role individual study played into this? Devoted or continued steadfastly would mean that it wasn't just something they thought about when they were together, but it enveloped their lives. How did these new disciples devote themselves to the apostles teaching in an everyday, on your own, sort of way?

Your thoughts?

3 Types of People

I heard Brian Houston say this once…

There are 3 types of people:

1. People that watch what is happening
2. People who make things happen
3. People who haven't got a clue what is happening

For too long many in the church have lived our lives not having a clue what is happening around us, outside of our church world. I know that's kind of a far reaching/sweeping comment about the state of the church, but I'm convinced of it. That's why R3. We are tackling this over the next few Sunday mornings. Listen to the first week here…

Local Church – The Hope of the World

"The local church is the hope of the world!" – Bill Hybels

When the Apostle Paul set out to reach, win, and disciple as many as possible to Jesus, he started local churches. Yesterday, I was reminded of this again as I sat with a group of Middlebury pastors in a mtng. It was anything but a gripe session…just a gut level check of where we are all at in our respective ministries for Jesus. Ministry is painful at times. You have your ups and downs. But how amazing to know that God is not going to leave us hanging because you and I are a part of the hope of the World – the LOCAL CHURCH!

I believe it…I see it in the Word…have you caught it?

Psalms 92:12-15

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,

they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

13 planted in the house of the LORD,

they will flourish in the courts of our God.

What are we missing here?

Warning…a pastors ranting and raving follows…

Is the Bible not God's Word? Is God's Word not Truth? Does God's Word lie? Aren't follower's of Jesus able to drive out demons anymore? What about speaking in new tongues? What about walking in divine protection, without it hurting us at all? What about you and I laying our hands on sick people and seeing them set free from their sickness? Is this promise not for us? Have we misplaced this last chapter of Mark, along with the whole book of Acts? What are we missing here?

Thus ends a pastors ranting and raving…

Mark 16:14 ¹⁴Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. ¹⁵He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. ¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

Legacy of Faith Thoughts

I wanted to run the main thoughts from yesterday's message past you again…take time this week to pray through each point and its corresponding verse…

What will my life continue to say after I'm gone?

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT) ¹³Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 

• It's a grounded faith

1 Corinthians 2:2 ²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 
not by works, so that no one can boast. 

• It's a genuine faith

Matthew 6:7-8 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

• It's a going faith

James 2:26 ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

• It's a growing faith

Revelation 3:16 ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Legacy of Faith

Ugh…it's been a dreary couple of days. Since a Thursday morning wakeup call from the Middlebury Police Department, informing me of Zac TenBrook's passing, it's been a focus of my thoughts and time. My 'load' doesn't even compare to the heavy hearts of Doug, Kim, Michael, Derrek, and Chelsea TenBrook. Please keep praying for their loss…

Sharing part 2 of the Legacy message this Sunday (Oct. 4^th). Last week was a Legacy of Love, this week is a Legacy of Faith.

Here's the question - What will my life continue to say after I'm gone?

Hope to see you tomorrow…

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Mirror

I challenged you to do this in my message last Sunday…act as though your computer screen is a mirror and ask yourself – does my life mirror 1 Corinthians 13:4-7?

   Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
   Love doesn't strut,
   Doesn't have a swelled head,
   Doesn't force itself on others,
   Isn't always "me first,"
   Doesn't fly off the handle,
   Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn't revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.

View pain as a Teacher

This video was from The Nines conference (conference where they asked a bunch of church leaders to record their 9 minute thoughts to church leaders) that happened last week. 

I realize it's 7 minutes long, but if you are in leadership (which everyone is leading someone), I'd encourage you to watch and think on it.  He says something soon after the 4 minute mark that struck me... "view pain as a teacher."  This thought is scriptural, but yet, every time pain comes, I want to resolve it as quickly as possible. 

Thanks to Tory Farina for his post on this...

Disturb Me…again…and again…

Disturb me…it's a message I shared a few weeks ago, and it's still disturbing me. I'll tell you what has disturbed me this past week…the person who I saw jogging as I was driving home from church last Sunday. How can we reach this person? I don't know for sure that they were or weren't in church that morning, but my guess is they weren't. How can we show this person that faith is important, particularly, faith in Christ? How can we show this person that "physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8)

Then there's the other family that I know, right here in downtown Middlebury. Well, I say I know them, but it's only to wave at them (we've talked a few times, small talk). They seem like really nice people…they have kids close to the same age as ours…he has a nice John Deere (I am recently struggling with a bit of Deere envy, I must admit). It seems they have a good thing going…dog…couple of kids…seem to enjoy marriage and having friends over, often (as evidenced by the frequent cars in their driveway, spilling out on the road). So, how do we help them see that they really do have a great thing going, but there's something missing…something they were created to have, but are not walking in.

It's not churchiness they need, nor something to do on Sunday mornings. They need Jesus. They need to begin to live for someone who can cause them to fulfill their complete life's purpose, while at the same time, dealing with the sin issue of their lives.

Seriously, this is what is disturbing me this week. My heart is broken…feel like I need to fast…kind of hard to do when you have people bringing you delicious meals (due to Hayden being born)…hah!

Me and My Big Mouth

Was praying through Ephesians 4:29 today, and thought through the message from Sunday on Me and My Big Mouth. Quick Reminder of the THINK acrostic (from Rick Warren)…before you say it, ask yourself:

T – is it Truthful?

H – is it Helpful?

I – is it Inspirational? Is it going to build up or tear down?

N – is it Necessary?

K – is it Kind?

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs…"

Strengths and passions

Just read this great quote from Rick Warren…

So many talented people give 1st class allegiance to 2nd class causes that diffuse their energy, weaken their impact & waste their lives.

Find your strengths and passions, then run with it…be devoted to giving your all in 3-5 areas, rather than half hearted in 10-15 areas…

People God uses Greatest

Mark Batterson has a great post on the people God seems to use the greatest – people who aren't afraid to look foolish (while they are climbing a tree to see Jesus, stepping out of a boat on water, follow stars to find the baby Jesus, or chase after a lion).

Worth a minute to shoot over to his blog to read it…

Fasting - Drink and keep drinking

Just thought I'd take a minute to encourage those of you who are fasting today…one of the biggest challenges of fasting for me is that I'm not eating! (duh!) To try to get past the struggle with my appetite for food, I will drink, and never stop drinking. Really...if I don't drink through a fast, I typically end up focusing more on my lack of food than anything else!  Not to mention, flushing out your system with liquids only for a day is very healthy...

Drink water, juices, whatever…just don't stop!

Living out of His Grace

Was finishing the book of Ephesians today in my devotion time, which caused me to somehow jump over to 2 Timothy 2:1...

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

How many times do I try to live out of the grace of something other than the grace that is in Christ Jesus. I think there have been times when I've tried to pastor out of the grace that is in Scott Miller. There are times I've tried to be a husband living out of the grace that is in Scott Miller. This won't work! I need His grace, His strength, in order to be the man He's called me to be, and function at the level I am capable of functioning at in all areas of life. Anything short of living in His grace will stifle my ability to grow and move forward in any area of leadership He's given me.

Stop for a second and think about the most stressful area of your life right now. Maybe the reason the stress is so heavy is b/c you are trying to do it out of your grace and not His! Your strength and not His!

Just a thought…one last challenge from this passage…

2 Timothy 2:3 Endure hardship with us…LEARN TO PLAY HURT!

God’s Mercies

I woke up this morning with a great sense of how I've got to approach this day fresh and new.  Lamentations 3 says that his mercies are new every morning.  Do you need some of his mercies today?  Take some right now...but when you start your day tomorrow...get up calling upon the Lord, asking Him for new mercy and grace to have patience with that co-worker, your kids, your spouse, the construction guy at US 20 and SR 15, the buggy you can't seem to pass on the 'S' curves in Middlebury...

Serve Here, Serve There

OK...Stop...collaborate and listen...

(Let's try that again, with a little less Vanilla Ice)...OK...Stop...right now...tell me at least one area where you are serving others in the community, and one area where you are serving others at Pathway (or in the local church you attend).  You don't really have to tell me, but maybe jot it down on a scrap piece of paper, gum wrapper, your hand, anywhere, but get it in front of your face.  Where are you Serving Here (in the local expression of Christ's love called Pathway), and where are you Serving There (in the community in which God has placed you and shed his blood for)?

I've asked myself that a couple of times over the past few months.  Why is this so important?  Bottom line is - Jesus came not to be served but to serve.  That really is enough reason right there.  But let's dive in deeper...

Serve Here b/c it's God's plan to work through the local church.  Within the arms of the local church:

---We have the opportunity to show the community what it looks like to genuinely love each other, even when we get hacked off at each other from time to time! 

---We have the opportunity to take on projects of outreach/evangelism bigger than ourselves! 

---We can create opportunities for spiritual growth in every age group, relationally and mechanically! 

---We can create opportunities for you and I to use our gifts and talents! 

---We can offer regular times for believers to come together and worship God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! 

Serve There b/c it's a tangible way of living out Christ's heart for people who have yet to know Jesus.  Really, think about it...if Jesus lived in Middlebury, Goshen, Elkhart, Shipshewana, Millersburg, Bristol, etc., where would he go to hang out with people who are unbelievers?  What are the modern day watering holes?  Find them, and go there! 

I know the Sunday School answer would be, "they're in the bars and whore houses pastor...that's where they are at bless God!"  Well, we've got a few bars around here, not so sure about the whore houses, but then I'm not so sure that's where the majority of at least Middlebury is hanging out.  They are out on the Little League Diamonds, the soccer fields, the basketball courts, the service clubs, etc.  Are you there, serving?

Maybe for you, Serving There would look less organized and more like sitting in a nursing home, leading a group of people in singing hymns.  Hymns they sing from memory, but they won't remember you were there 5 minutes after you leave. 

Who knows how God might use you to effect the eternal destiny of someone just b/c you spent time connecting with them in the last years of their life...or on the soccer fields...or over a plate full of freshly baked cookies you took to them! 

Serve Here and Serve There people! 

Me and the Bible, on an Island

Was going over my journal today and ran across this quote again from Francis Chan - "If I was on an island alone with the Bible, how would I live?" If all I had was the Bible, and I just simply lived out what it said, what would that look like? Does our church look like the book of Acts?

Deep thoughts…

Parenthood - Top 10

We're continuing on in our series on parenting this Sunday. I'm not sure if I'll use this top 10 list or not, but as I was studying for the series, I found it, and thought it was good stuff!

10 Guidelines to help you be a good model to your children…Your children deserve:

1.    To hear you pray earnestly and often. (1 Thess. 5:17)

2.    To spend time with you as you talk about the things of God (Deut. 6:6-9)

3.    To hear you talk to others about becoming Christians. (Matt. 28:18-20)

4.    To see you put God first in your giving. (Malachi 3:8-10)

5.    To watch you live a consistent Christian life. (Deut. 10:12-13)

6.    To go with you to visit the unfortunate. (James 1:27)

7.    To hear you say good things about other Christians. (1 Thess. 5:1)

8.    To be exposed to experiences that will bring Christian growth. (1 Tim. 4:13-16)

9.    To see you love your spouse. (Eph. 5:22-23)

10.    To know your Savior in a personal way. (John 17:3)

Taken from John Maxwell's book, Breakthrough Parenting. Published by Focus on the Family Publishing, Colorado Springs, CO 80995.

Exponential - Discipleship

One last thought from the Exponential conference I was at last week, from Matt Chandler. He had an interesting session on discipleship…

Main thoughts from the session -

The Church's end goal is disciples (who observe what Christ commands), not converts. The question is – how do we disciple, not just how do we reach them! 2 methods of discipleship:

Mechanical Discipleship Model (at the end you are a disciple)

Pro's:

• No better way then this to get info to the people
• Historic success
• Easy to motivate people to join and participate
• Tons of resources and curriculum
• Easy to measure
• Lends itself to strong historic orthodox theology

Con's:

• Hard to sustain (Greek factor)
• Can lead to coldness (have facts, but no heart or application)
• Can create theology police
• Become sacred very quickly

 

Organic Relational Model

Pro's:

• Seems to yield greatest results/built relationally
• Tends to appeal to a broader group of people

Con's:

• Organically we are sinful/maturity doesn't just happen

 

How to take pro's of both:

1. Must celebrate transformation and change…don't just highlight the wins, celebrate all transformation
2. Create a lot of on ramps and off ramps
3. Keep flexible
4. Everyone learns/applies differently
5. Needs to be a relational aspect to everything, even mechanical

Exponential – Fancis Chan

One of the most amazing sessions of the whole conference was the very last one…speaker – Francis Chan.

Really, I'm still in shock.  This may be pushing it too far, but it's like most (not all) A/G conferences tend to lean heavily on the Spirit empowerment, and light on the practical "head" stuff.  Anytime I go to a conference like this (such as Granger Community Church, Northpoint, Fellowship, etc.), they are heavy on the how to's "head" stuff, but they leave out the Spirit empowerment stuff!  How refreshing to hear from these guys from overseas…and Craig Groeschel, and Francis Chan of all people…that we need the moving, presence, and empowerment of the Holy Spirit! 

Really, I just sat there at the end of the service, a bit in awe, thinking about what was happening…at First Baptist Orlando, in a group of mostly non-charismatic type people, we are called on to answer an altar call to be filled with the HS, be anointed with oil, and have hands laid upon us!

Steve Pike (A/G Church Multiplication Network guy) had a great post on this session as well…

Exponential – The A-Team

In one of the sessions, Shawn Lovejoy, talked about choosing staff (paid and volunteer). I thought this might be good for all of us, in marketplace or church leadership. Would you add any to this list?

How to Pick an "A" Team:

1. Competence – Highly competent people
2. Chemistry – Relational Mark 3:13-14 – that they might be w/ Him, vision chemistry
3. Character – teachable, loyal, soft hearts

What else would you add to the list?

Exponential – 3 Lines

Craig Groeschel's session was out of the park, as he usually is. His emphasis on the Holy Spirit empowering you oozes out of him! Here's the top thing I walked away from his session with…it was his thoughts on 3 lines of believers:

• First line – believe in the Gospel enough to benefit from it
• Second Line – believe in the Gospel enough to contribute comfortably
• Third Line – believe in the Gospel enough to give my life to it

Goal being…a church full of third liners!

Exponential – America’s Impact on Korea

Part of the thrust of this conference was to see/talk about not only what God is doing here in the US, but what is he doing around the world in church planting.

I don't know if you've followed anything that has happened in South Korea over the past 50-75 years, but they are a country that is largely Christian. Something like 6 of the 7 largest churches in the world are in South Korea.

So, the speaker guy from Korea, Marc Choi, is ending his talk...what he said is still ringing in my ears…he took the last few moments of his talk to thank us…yes, thank America…his exact quote is – "America brought revival to Korea." US Missionary Horace Underwood went to Korea in 1891, and thus started the ministry of Christ in this country!

As I sat there and heard him say that, I had several thoughts:

• I thought of the missionaries we support out of Pathway. Church, we have no idea how our missions giving is effecting whole countries for GENERATIONS!
• I thought about some from Pathway who God will one day send to foreign countries to make this kind of an impact…maybe they are being raised by you right now?
• My heart broke here as a Korean guy is expressing more love for our great country than many of our own citizens (including some of our highest government officials). We're not perfect, but its things like this that make me PROUD of my country.

Side note – what part did the Korean War have in allowing these great people the freedom to choose to follow Christ without persecution? What if South Korea would have gone communist? Do I like war? Absolutely not…is it necessary at times? I think so.

Exponential – Erwin McManus

I've spent the last few days at what was billed as the largest church planting conference in the history of the US...how about those apples. I'd like to share a few thoughts from the conference, as well as from the Holy Spirit, with you over the next few days.

Tuesday Afternoon – Erwin McManus

Erwin's strength is marketplace ministry (ministry outside of the church). Marketplace ministry is not anywhere near my strong point. Two thoughts that hit me from Erwin, though they aren't so profound:

• Society is looking for people with presence…presence of Jesus
• Marketplace needs/wants a non-watered down Gospel

Challenging thoughts coming from a guy who someone said dresses a bit like an alien (who was it that said that?).

What I’m thinking about: Cheap Sacrifice

What I'm thinking about…I just finished up 2 Samuel…what a gut wrenching last chapter!

Israel had sinned…David had sinned…When David recognized it, he repented. God gave him three options for punishment…he chose the one that would bring a 3 day plague on all the people. David stepped in at some point, probably toward the end, and pleaded with God to stop punishing the people for his sin. God told him through the prophet Gad to "build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." Araunah was completely willing to let David have the threshing floor, the supplies, the bulls, etc (for free)…but David refused to accept it for free b/c he knew God would not accept a sacrifice that cost him nothing!

How does this correlate to me/you? In NT times, my whole life is to be lived as a living sacrifice to God. But God still is not interested in a cheap praise, a cheap sacrifice…it's got to cost me something. Living a life where I just add Jesus to the rest of my life costs me nothing. Living a life of anything less than complete surrender to the cross of Christ is missing the mark.

Sacrifice involves the engaging of the heart. If my heart is not engaged throughout today, and I'm not purposeful of doing things for and unto God today, then my sacrifice was cheap today. When we come together corporately this Sunday, to bring our sacrifices of praise and prayers to God, if my heart is not engaged, it's as offensive to God as the money changers in the temple.

Is your heart engaged today?

Strength and Contentment

Really feel like God's given me some insight into the connection between strength and contentment. Read Philippians 4:10-13, and you see what you think…

Oh yah, and DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT SKIPPING CHURCH TOMORROW! (this will be our topic)

Jesus wants the Rose

Ugh...I follow a couple different blogs throughout the week.  Every once and a while, I'll find a video that stops me in my tracks.  This video did just that...

I first heard a guy named Matt Chandler speak last summer at a Multi-Site Church conference.  Not that I agree with everything Matt ever says, but the guy is absolutely passionate about people who have yet to come to Jesus.  Would be worth your time to watch...

Forward/Faith Thinking

Our Middlebury Campus was pushed close to its limits this past Sunday (at the very least, pushed farther than it's ever been pushed before!)…and I loved it! I like to think of it as forward thinking/faith thinking…

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to build this facility back in 2002/2003.

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to go to 2 services in 2005.

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to add on to this facility back in 2005/2006.

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to add on what we added on back in 2005/2006! (foyer, café, nurseries, classrooms, etc.)

All of these forward/faith thinking idea's gave us the capacity to minister to as many people as we did this past weekend. All of these forward/faith thinking idea's gave us the tools to reach/teach more people this past weekend than we ever have in the course of one weekend.

Can I challenge you church? Don't ever stop forward/faith thinking. Don't ever give in to mediocrity or apathy. In every area of this church, let's think with faith. Let's dream big, let's plan big, let's take big steps of faith.

Now's not the time to play it safe…now's the time to step up and take it on…ah yes…

Help - Question for you:

   

Parking - This past Sunday, I saw a person parked in the gravel and heard that several parallel parked under the pine trees.  All of our staff was so busy on the inside of the building that we never noticed what was happening on the outside!  When you came to service, were there still parking spots available? 

   

Lobby/Classrooms/Restrooms - Did you notice the lobby or any classrooms being overly crowded this past Sunday?  Did you have to wait to use the restroom?

What do you have?

This is a shot of the altar area during one of our services this past Sunday. The thrust of the message was how God's not looking for the next Christian superstar. There is no American Idol for Christianity!

• God asked Moses – What's in your hand?
• God asked the widow through the Prophet Elisha – What's in your house?
• God asked the disciples when they were needing to feed the 5000 plus – What do you have?

In each situation, what they had was enough. God will use what we have, but the key is we've got to offer all we have to Him!

I closed the message with a story Tim Sanders had shared at the Catalyst Conference last fall. It was about Timberland (shoe company), who held their yearly conference in New Orleans, 1 year after Katrina. One of the Timberland employee's ended up giving one of the relief volunteers his shoes…which led to 3 bus loads of Timberland employee's to follow suit. They offered what they had.

We symbolically took our shoes off, placed them on the altar, and spent time in prayer at the end of both services Sunday. It really was an amazing moment…God moved…glad I was there…

You can listen to the message here…

Vision Thoughts – Bill Hybels Axiom

I've been slowly reading through a great book by Bill Hybels called Axiom – Powerful Leadership Proverbs. Hybels defines vision this way:

Picture of the future that produces passion in people. (p. 30)

I know many of you reading this right now are involved in helping lead people. Have you given them a vision to press toward? Have you developed a picture in their mind for what their area of ministry ought to look like? Has it produced passion for it to happen? Vision is so closely tied to dreaming, and I love it.

Another vision quote:

Wise leaders understand that the single greatest determinant of whether followers will ever own a vision deeply is the extent to which those followers believe the LEADER will own it. (p. 35)

Good stuff…