Remember why we are thankful today

Thank you to all who have made the ultimate sacrifice so we can be free to...

• Worship
• Assemble
• Protest
• Experience justice fairly
• Enjoy a life 90 percent of the world can only dream of
• Travel across our country with total freedom
• Speak openly
• Live without fear
• Recognize our differences
• Celebrate our past and plan our future 
• Live a life free of Tyranny 
• Vote
• Witness the transfer of power without revolution
• Choose our vocation
• Dream and have those dreams come true
• Celebrate our freedom
• Choose where we want to live
• be Americans 

Sunday Night Reflections

Monday Afternoon Edition

A Few thoughts from an Amazing Day

• Preached at Faith Christian Church Sunday again I preached on my favorite topic - Grace!
• I was amazed at the number of young people who have significant roles in the worship at Faith, Tim and his team are doing a great job raising up a new generation.
• We sang one of my favorite worship songs as well; From Inside Out 
• I am broken hearted by the devastation of the Tornadoes in Joplin. However it is a great opportunity for the church to be the church!
• If you have not seen the movie "Soul Surfer" you are missing out on a great movie.
• There is a real kernel of truth to the saying; the more you know the more you do not want to know.
• It occurred to me recently that when God opens a door it still takes faith on our part to walk through the door.
• I am amazed how people are using social media these days.
• Trivia fact that you may not know; The Ironton–Lawrence County Memorial Day parade is recognized as the oldest continuously held Memorial Day Parade in the Nation it began in 1868 and today was the 143 annual parade, btw I witnessed 5 of them personally.  
• Some good friends are visiting us next week, I am really looking forward to their visit.
• Something to Chew on; “A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.” ~ John Maxwell

To whom honor is due

Last evening I attended a celebration for a minister who completed 30 years of ministry in one church. The night was filled with fond remembrances, tears and tributes. As I sat there last evening I could not help but wonder if 30 years ago when he began his ministry, did he think this would be his life long ministry? After all most ministers stay in their church approximately 4 1/2 years. There is a variety of reasons for that kind of changeover; our disatisfacition with our present situation, the dynamics of the church,  and a confused role of leadership in our churches all contribute to the turnover of ministers today. 

Question, what makes someone stay 30 years, after all the men who called this man 30 years ago are no longer leaders today, new leaders have taken their place. The congregation has changed as well; senior members have gone on to their reward, children have become young adults and young adults have become key influencers and key influencers have retired and transitioned into other roles. These changes do not take into account how the culture has changed in 30 years. With all these changes there has been one constant, the steady determination of a minister who chose to stay even as the church made changes, even as the leadership transitioned, even as he himself changed, he remained faithful to his calling. This kind of faithfulness needs to be honored and it is appropriate that we honored this man last evening. 

If you are a part of a local church, I would encourage you to do all you can do to help your minister have a long ministry. Pray for him, encourage him and help him by using your talents in the church. In doing this, you will be able to celebrate the lives that are changed and help the kingdom of God move forward.

Last night, as our mininster gave his closing remarks, he made this observation; the minister did not make this church, the church made this mininster. May we all do our part to make our ministers better for the casue of Christ may our actioins honor the one who called all of out of the world and into His kingdom

  

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day

• Watched a man close out his 30 year ministry today with grace and dignity.God Bless you Ross as you and Mary move toward your next great adventure.
• Two great quotes from this morning's message - "Finishing well is the final proof that truth works." & "Fix your eyes on the rewards of heaven rather than the allurements of men."
• I am so glad we chose to make FCC Kissimmee our home church when we moved to Kissimmee.
• Derek, I really appreciate your style of worship - keep it up!
• I am saddened by the fact that Christ's return was made a joke this past week. Listen, He is coming back, are you ready! 
• The Ft. Myers minister's meeting really inspired me.
• Did you realize that when the vine dresser prunes the vine he is closest to the vine, so when God prunes us remember he is close to us as well. 
• Believe me when I say bitterness is a cancer of the soul. If it is not removed it will kill you spiritually. 
• Shared a good meal with some great friends tonight, I always come away encouraged when I am with them. Every minister should have friends like them.
• The way I see it the church can either be dangerous or docile - which option do you think Christ wants for His church?
• Another great quote from this morning's message; Consider your life an offering to God rather than a monument to men.
• Something to chew on; If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams 

I do not understand

I received a welcome surprise this morning, the Orlando Sentinel delivered a newspaper to my front door. I am sure they were doing this as a way to entice me to subscribe to the Sentinel on a daily basis. Well it did not work, for when I opened the paper, I realized it was the Hispanic version of the paper; therefore I could not understand what was written. I recognized the pictures, but I could not make sense of what was written. Few things are more frustrating than not being able to understand something or someone. They may have the best intentions but if you do not understand them, the best intentions are mute. Receiving a paper in the wrong language got me thinking about other things that I do not understand...

• I do not understand how people who are saved by grace, have a a difficult time extending grace to others.
• I do not understand how people who complain about a situation refuse to be a part of a solution.
• I do not understand how Jesus told us know one knows the hour of his return except His Father, yet people spend enormous amounts of time and resources trying to figure out when Jesus will return. In case you are one of those trying to figure out his return check out Isaiah  
• I do not understand how Jesus could die for us, but at times we fail to live for Him
• I do not understand why we try to justify our actions, yet are quick to judge the actions of others.
• I do not understand why God loves me, when he knows my faults.
• I do not understand how Jesus could wash the feet of the those who would later that evening would run and hide when he needed them most.
• I do not understand the power of the Holy Spirit, but I am glad He is active today.  

This week may the prayer of Psalm 119 be on mind as we seek to understand this life.     

How did you forget that?

My new job requires me to do a lot of traveling. Due to a scheduling conflict a rental car was required for my traveling a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately when I returned the car I forgot to take my "SUN PASS" out of the car. For those of you not in Florida, a sun pass allows you to bypass the toll booths on the Florida highway systems. Once I realized I had lost my sun pass I  called the rental car and they told me they had my pass and I could come by and pick it up my pass during regular business hours. So last week I went to pick up my pass. Upon arriving at the rental car company I was taken to a room where all the lost and found stuff was stored. I could not believe the stuff that was in the room; all things Disney and Universal Studios, sunglasses, ball caps, purses, boxes of SUN PASSES and other stuff. There was one item in the room that really shocked me, a set of crutches. 

Question how do you forget crutches, after all if you needed them when you picked up the car, would you not also need them when you returned the car? The other stuff I can understand forgetting, but crutches! 

I am afraid there are times in our churches that we forget things from time to time as well. Unfortunately when we forget things they can have eternal consequences. We can forget we are to serve one another, we can forget to reach out with the love of Christ, we can forget to offer grace in a world that daily lives with the burden of ungrace. These things are much more important than sunglasses, ball caps, sun passes and even crutches, they are essential to our mission as a God honoring church. Let us never leave behind or forget the things that make us unique as God's people. Forgetting stuff in a rental car can be inconvenient, but forgetting the things God has called us to do can be devastating.      

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Had a great time worshiping with the First Christian Church/Kissimmee family today.
• Ross did an excellent job regarding the topic of endurance, his ministry has truly been one of endurance, and by the way Ross, there is no asterisk by your name!
• We say goodbye to Ross in two weeks, I am going to miss his messages.
• Thank you Chris for your work with our young people - your lesson today was right on, more youth ministers need to do what you did today.
• I am reminded each week of the incredible power of prayer as it permeates Florida Christian College.
• Some good friends are moving north at the end of this week, Brian and Nancy you will be missed.
• Lately I have been asking myself, What I am doing that will make a difference.
• I have taken a 3 week break from blogging, but now I am ready to get back to posting - a lot of thoughts have come across my mind lately.
• This past week I traveled to Ocala to meet with some ministers and was amazed at what is happening in our para church ministries around the state.
• Something to chew on; "The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly." Jim Rohn 

A New Direction

For those who have been following my blog, you know that I have not been posting much lately. In fact the last two Sundays, I did not post a Sunday Night Reflections. For the last 65 weeks I have only missed posting the "reflections" 3 times. The Sunday I resigned from PBCC and the last two weeks. Currently I am thinking about the direction of my blog. I enjoy writing thoughts about life and ministry, but to be honest I want to make sure I am keeping true to what I said in my profile, I am trying to live out the words of Jeremiah 15:19 (nlt); "If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you!" 

I sense a need to continue writing, so over the course of the next few days I will resume posting, but not from the perspective of a minister in a local church but reflecting on what I am experiencing as I visit churches and ministries while traveling across the state of Florida.

On a  personal note, based on my recent experiences, I have chosen to preview all of my comments regarding my blog before I post them for all to read. One thing I would ask, when making a comment let me know who you are, it is hard to dialog  with "anonymous". Some people have legitimate questions, but ask them anonymously, thus I cannot respond. So if you ask a question please provide name and email to me so I can respond to you. 

Looking forward to resuming my blog!