Are You Up To The Challenge?

The Challenge! Last Sunday morning I issued a challenge to the church. This is something that I started thinking about several weeks ago, and now it’s out there. When I shared the challenge with the church, I can assure you that Tami had no idea I was going to do it. I didn’t even look her direction while talking because I didn’t want to get the look…you know, the look that says, “Are you crazy?” After service, I’m happy to report that she understands my heart and is willing to support my crazy idea.

Here is the Challenge: 500 people in service on Tailgate Sunday. Over the past several months I have felt that Abundant Life needs to get busy bringing people to church. I’m not looking for those who already have a church home and are happy with where God has them; I’m looking for those people who are involved in our lives that do not know the Lord as their Savior, or those who are searching for a place they can call home and get involved in ministry. If we have over 500 in service on that Sunday morning, I will have my head shaved after my Tailgate dinner. I even said that the person who brings the most visitors will get the first swipe with the clippers.

When we get down to the nuts and bolts of what I’m doing, I want you to know that it’s about winning the lost. I’m believing for 75 people to find Christ as their Savior that day. That those visiting will see our love for Christ and our desire to make a difference in lives in our area. Hair will always grow back, but this may be that one opportunity for someone to hear the gospel message and respond, Yes Lord! The Bible tells us that all of heaven rejoices when one soul accepts the Lord, so let’s do whatever we need to do to get the message out there.

Wild and Crazy....we all have those weeks

Have you ever had one of those weeks when you find yourself asking God, “Why”? Why is life so crazy, why do I have to deal with that person, why is my job so stressful, why is it so hard to get everything done? I think each of us has those weeks, and it doesn’t mean that something is wrong with us or we’re doing something wrong, but instead it just shows that we’re alive. That’s part of life even though it may be a part we’d like to eliminate.

So we have to decide how we are going to handle these weeks, which will unavoidably occur in life. People find a lot of ways to cope, and unfortunately many of those coping mechanisms bring about more harm than good. We can cope by pulling back from those who truly love and care about us. We can cope by escaping to another area of life that seems more pleasant and easier to handle. We can cope by finding a drug to bring relief, or by just ignoring the situation and running away. I’ve seen every one of these approaches used as a way to find relief, and the truth of the matter is that they will never solve the problem, and in most instances they make the situation worse.

What I’m learning is that when I’ve exhausted every human way of trying to resolve the “Why” is the time I finally stop and look to the Lord. I don’t understand why, in my stubbornness, I usually wait to approach God until everything else has failed, but that’s my tendency. The good news is that when I do finally come to God, He doesn’t reprimand me about coming to Him last but instead is there with open arms and unconditional love, ready to teach me a valuable lesson about life. Through my “Why God?” times, I learn how amazing His love is for me and how there is nothing in life that I can’t do because God is for me.

I wish this lesson could be taught without having to go through storms in this life, but that’s not how it works. Without the storms I’d quickly forget about how amazing God is because I’d be all caught up in doing what I want to do because the real John can be selfish. Another big plus is that when I’m going through those tough times I get the privilege of seeing how great the family and friends are that God has placed into my life. The Christian life is challenging, but it’s also the greatest life to live because we get to impact others with a message of hope and love. 

Oh No! I Think I'm In Trouble

Well, the good news is that the Cowboys beat the Seahawks last Sunday in Seattle. The bad news is that, according to the Bible, I should be stoned. Let me explain. Sunday morning, before my sermon, I was sharing about my Life Group that would meet later that day to watch the Cowboys game. I have a great Life Group because all we do is watch football, eat, and talk about anything and everything. So while talking about our group I proceeded to tell everyone that even though the Cowboys were going to lose we could still have a fun time together. I then went so far as to say that if the Cowboys won that the rapture of the church would happen five minutes later.

And then it happened—the Cowboys played their best game of the year and won an exciting game. I turned to those with me and said that the rapture better happen quick or I’m going to be a false prophet. Before I could get to my house that evening, the texts started coming in, asking what happened to the rapture. Lesson learned: don’t trust the Cowboys, they’ll let you down every time you put your trust in them! Lol!

I know that God doesn’t care that I made a silly prediction about a football game, and I’m really happy that the Cowboys were able to win for all their fans, but it did get me thinking about my words. I want to be a man that people can depend upon in every aspect of my life. If I say I’m going to do something, then I want to be known for doing it. Earlier today I had a business call, and because I was caught up in another meeting I knew that I was going to be late to the call. I didn’t want the other party to think that I didn’t value their time, so I sent them a text letting them know that I would be about 10 minutes late to the call. They didn’t mind and appreciated that I cared enough to let them know. That short text took about 20 seconds to type, but its greatest value was showing that individual that I can be counted on.

In my journey with Christ I want to be a man of my word. When I commit something to Him, I want to be faithful in fulfilling that commitment. Many times I may fail, but that doesn’t stop me from making new commitments. The life I have with Christ will not be complete until the day Christ returns for His church or I pass from this life to my eternal life. Until then, I will pursue Him with all that I am!

Annual Trip to Anapra, Mexico

I’ve just settled in for the evening as it is the night before we will head into Anapra, a neighborhood in the city of Juarez, to build two homes. This is our eighth trip into the Juarez area to construct homes, and I’m amazed at the impact we have had in these neighborhoods. So many men and women have teamed up with us through the years to help make this happen. I want to say “Thank You”! Whether it was gathering clothes, food, candy, and toys or giving funds, everything you’ve done has made this all possible.

This year is special because we’ve never built two homes during one trip, so we will be able to impact two families this year. I’m often asked why we continue going to an area that so many are afraid of because of the violence that is often highlighted in our news. My answer is that after you go you see how big the need is, and we can’t help but go back to reach out with the love of Christ.

Our trips have really changed through the years, and those who have traveled with us can testify to that change. In our early years it was all about the build. Get there, build it, and head home. Our third trip put us in a neighborhood where there were a lot of children, and the men had so much fun playing with the kids. I’ll never forget thinking that someone was going to die because Jim Sharp had started playing baseball with the kids using a shovel as the bat. I could see the shovel hitting a kid because they were too close to the batter. Thank the Lord, the best result of the play time was a lot of happy kids!

Every year we’ve expanded our outreaches, and we plan on impacting over 400 individuals with the gospel message this week. Not only have we expanded our outreaches during our builds, but we also have men and women who make trips throughout the year to go in and minister to families.

Dr. Visit Gone Wrong

Last week I went to the doctor for my annual physical and went through all the testing.   All the results came back good except for one test.  The doctor explained that the equipment used to do the test was not the best, and because I showed an abnormality in the test he wanted to do the same test on the more advanced equipment.  We set up the appointment and I went home not really thinking any more about it.

The day came for the test and I was taken back into the testing room with the technician.  He had me lay on the table and started the aorta scan on me.  Now, I’m normally the type that likes to have small talk while in a confined situation.  Tami will get on me for talking to people in elevators or to cab drivers and even smiling and saying hi to those kiosk salespeople in the malls.  I prefer talking over just having silence.  I remembered this technician from a previous test and we had a nice discussion, so I figured it would go the same way this time.  Instead, there was a lot of silence and it was totally different.  I was laying on the table and he was running the test and never said a word.  In that silence, my mind began wondering what he was seeing.  He was moving his wand all over my abdomen area and kept taking pictures.  After about 15 minutes of silence and pictures, I thought that he was surely going to reassure me by saying that everything looked fine but the doctor would contact me once they had the final results.  Instead he told me that I could get dressed and that the office would call me in a week with the results.

So I left the office that day wondering if there was something wrong.  What would have been so hard about giving a word of affirmation or encouragement?  I know that the technician has to be careful what he says, but at least throw me a bone.  The Bible teaches that we’re not supposed to worry, but there are days when that is much easier said than done.  I know I’m fine but it brought to my memory the many times I’ve had to pray with individuals because of the uncertainty that was happening in life.  There are things that will happen in my life that are beyond my control because my body is going to change and as I get older it will develop problems.  But in the spiritual realm I should be getting stronger.  No matter what I have to go through, I am encouraged to know that God has spiritually provided a way for me to handle it.  With the Holy Spirit living inside of me to bring God’s comfort, peace, refreshment, and whatever else I need to get through this life, I don’t have to worry about those moments of silence.  Many times those moments of silence are going to lead me to my greatest moments of victory in Christ—moments I can share with others to encourage them. 

It's Not My Fault!

I ended up in trouble with Tami last week because of not paying attention, and it made me wonder how often the same happens to each of us. One of my weekly tasks at the office is to send out Enews. Every Wednesday morning, I put together the items that are going to be promoted for that week along with a link to my blog. One of the spots is reserved for what’s happening that evening at the church so that people know how to plan.
 
Wednesday was the kickoff for Evolve and Empower, which are groups for women who attend ALC. Tami is over the women’s ministry and emailed me a reminder that they were having their Fall kickoff. I really liked what I read and decided to use it as a blurb in Enews. That’s where the problem occurred, because I didn’t read the whole thing. After she explained what was happening, she gave detailed instructions on what tasks needed to be done to prepare the rooms for the night. Those instructions were meant for the staff, not all of the church. 

I simply cut and pasted the whole paragraph in Enews. I finished getting it ready and proudly hit the “Send” button, and off it went out to the more than 300 families that receive our weekly mailing. Fewer than five minutes later, I received an email from Tami with the words, “You put the email that I sent you in the MAILCHIMP!!!!!!” I can hear her screaming those words even now as I’m writing.

My first thought was, Yes, I did. I thought it sounded really nice. But I knew I had missed something so I quickly went to my email trash folder because I had already deleted her email. I read the whole email that time. Once finished, I laughed and thought, What’s the big deal? This will be a true test to see who really reads Enews and who just glances at it. After calming Tami down – through email because I didn’t think it was the best time to talk in person – I told her that it was going to be fine and not to stress out about it.

A short time later, she received a text from someone asking if she needed to get to church early to turn on the coffee and air conditioning for the ladies, as had been mentioned in the not-for-the-church portion of the item. After I emailed Tami off the ledge a second time, she forgave me and I was able to go home to a loving wife.
 
The lesson is that if sending out an email to 300-plus people, either delete your wife from the recipients or make sure everything is proper. Tami had a good laugh and made sure all the ladies heard about it that evening.
 

The 10-Second Challenge: Are You Up To It?

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” – Romans 10:14 (ESV)

Over the past several months, thousands of individuals have risen up to accept the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS and other great causes. While I’ve done the challenge and, in fact, have been challenged to do it again, I struggle with a problem that churches battle and want to put out the 10-Second Challenge. It is based on the question, “Would you like to come to church with me?”

That’s a question that can be asked in less than 10 seconds but is very seldom asked by Christians. I believe every Christian would agree that the question needs to be asked of those in our community. We might even agree that inviting people to church is a key part of evangelism and central to the mission of any church body. Research has shown that most people actually want to be invited to church, with nine out of 10 unchurched people saying they would come to church if invited.

The problem is that we rarely ask the question. The reality is only about one in five churchgoers invite anybody to church over the course of a year. We might have someone who could be totally up for it right in front of us, practically begging us to invite them, and instead we hesitate and don’t even get the words out of our mouths.

People want to be invited to church, and they would come if we would just invite them. But we’re not doing it. There’s only one probable explanation: fear. Fear of what they’ll think of us for going, fear of what they’ll think of our church, fear of what they’ll think of us if they come and don’t like it. Truth be told, some of those fears might become reality, but that’s not a valid reason for us to deny an opportunity to share Jesus with someone.

Pastor Matt Rogers offers these eight tips for getting around the fear that has stood in your way:

1. Pray you’d have God’s heart for the lost
2. Pray for courage
3.  Pray for specific people
4. Remember your own calling
5.  Remember the Gospel
6. Trust in the power of the Gospel to save
7. Know that sharing the hope of eternity is loving
8. Know that it’s not about you