Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Are You the Bandaid or the Bacteria?
So, I do Facebook and Twitter and Blog and in this follow many popular ministers and leaders. Over the last year or so I have noticed a trend that really bothers me and have stayed silent until now.
I have watched as quite a few Christian leaders have suffered divorce, whether through some fault of their own or not. I have also watched as many other respected Christian leaders have voiced their opinions (mostly negative) concerning these situations via blogs, facebook or tweets. I have a problem with this for the following reasons:
1. It's none of your business. Now I know that we Christian leaders feel that it is our "responsibility" to lead our people in all truth. But lets get real, most of us have an opinion and just want to express it. We don't have a voice into the lives of these "celebrity" leaders. So when we post our tweets it isn't for the purpose of bringing healing and restoration to those leaders. They are probably never even going to read our blog, follow our tweets or befriend us on facebook. They aren't calling to ask for our advise or counsel. And if they did, would we counsel them in the tone of the comments we've posted? What are our motives?
2. Those who follow us will more than likely take our opinion and attitude. This might be helpful if they took our attitude toward the situations (like divorce) but more often than not they take the negative attitude toward the individual. We have done nothing more than tarnished the reputation of an individual who is already going through, probably, the most difficult time in their lives. Again, what are our motives?
3. We are ALL a part of the Body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:26 says, "And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it..." What happened to that? The Body isn't about our local churches although they are included in it. It isn't about certain denominations even though they are included as well. It isn't even about theological persuasions. The Body of Christ has to do with ALL that have committed their lives to Christ. Therefore, when we write negative and even hurtful remarks about others we are not trying to bring healing to that individual. We are in essence, being a bacteria in their wound that causes even more hurt.
Also, none of us are exempt from difficulty. And if something like this happened to us, how would we feel if someone else blogged those comments about us?
Guys, I may not agree with certain things concerning these public figures have done or the way they have handled their situations but I have to wonder what good it would do me to tweet about it.
We've heard it said that the church is the only entity on the planet that shoots its own wounded. I fear that we are only enforcing that belief. I would rather change it.
So for all my colleagues that have endured difficult personal situations, I hurt with you. I pray for you and I still honor you.
I have watched as quite a few Christian leaders have suffered divorce, whether through some fault of their own or not. I have also watched as many other respected Christian leaders have voiced their opinions (mostly negative) concerning these situations via blogs, facebook or tweets. I have a problem with this for the following reasons:
1. It's none of your business. Now I know that we Christian leaders feel that it is our "responsibility" to lead our people in all truth. But lets get real, most of us have an opinion and just want to express it. We don't have a voice into the lives of these "celebrity" leaders. So when we post our tweets it isn't for the purpose of bringing healing and restoration to those leaders. They are probably never even going to read our blog, follow our tweets or befriend us on facebook. They aren't calling to ask for our advise or counsel. And if they did, would we counsel them in the tone of the comments we've posted? What are our motives?
2. Those who follow us will more than likely take our opinion and attitude. This might be helpful if they took our attitude toward the situations (like divorce) but more often than not they take the negative attitude toward the individual. We have done nothing more than tarnished the reputation of an individual who is already going through, probably, the most difficult time in their lives. Again, what are our motives?
3. We are ALL a part of the Body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:26 says, "And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it..." What happened to that? The Body isn't about our local churches although they are included in it. It isn't about certain denominations even though they are included as well. It isn't even about theological persuasions. The Body of Christ has to do with ALL that have committed their lives to Christ. Therefore, when we write negative and even hurtful remarks about others we are not trying to bring healing to that individual. We are in essence, being a bacteria in their wound that causes even more hurt.
Also, none of us are exempt from difficulty. And if something like this happened to us, how would we feel if someone else blogged those comments about us?
Guys, I may not agree with certain things concerning these public figures have done or the way they have handled their situations but I have to wonder what good it would do me to tweet about it.
We've heard it said that the church is the only entity on the planet that shoots its own wounded. I fear that we are only enforcing that belief. I would rather change it.
So for all my colleagues that have endured difficult personal situations, I hurt with you. I pray for you and I still honor you.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
I LOVE My Church!
I know that everyone gets sick of hearing me say how much I LOVE Restoration Ministries but deal with it! I DO! There is no place like RM in the world! There is no other group of people with whom I'd rather be in covenant relationship. You guys are the GREATEST!
We have some incredible things happening right now that I want to point out.
1st - We have seen 2 people accept Christ in the last two week!!! I am super excited about this!
2nd - We have been consistently over 100 in attendance on Sundays for more than 7 months now!! We are now pushing to break the 200 barrier! Keep inviting your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, cashiers at Wal Mart, strangers at the gas station! Invite everyone you can! God is doing some powerful things and we want as many people as possible to be a part of it.
3rd -Our Kids Ministry is averaging around 30 kids a Sunday!!! I didn't know how much that was until they were all brought into the main auditorium when we installed Pastor Z into the Executive Team. Man, that was a lot of kids!
4th - We now have new Youth Pastors, Greg (Coop) and Ragan Cooper. We are super excited about this couple pastoring our teens. AND last night they had 16 teens in their meeting!! God is getting ready to do some incredible things in our student ministry as well.
5th - Our pews are GONE! We will all be sitting in comfortable, cushioned chairs this Sunday. There will be a little different arrangement as well. We are excited about this change.
6th - Our food distribution has been serving many families each week and has been averaging 11 volunteers!!! People are catching the vision of serving our community!!
I am PUMPED about all that is going on and all that God is doing here at RM! I've said it many times before and you'll probably get tired of hearing me say it...
I LOVE my church!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Catching Up!
I can't believe that I have not blogged since August of last year! That has just been slack. However, am going to begin blogging more consistently now in 2010 so for starters let me catch everyone up on some of the wonderful things going on at Restoration Ministries!
First, we have added another team member to our Executive Team. Pastor Zabrina Robinson is now serving the ministry as our Children's Pastor. She has been the director of our Children's Ministry for over a year now and has seen tremendous growth. It is with great excitement that we add her to this team!
Next, Greg and Ragan Cooper have agreed to become our Youth Pastors! They have been attending RM for about six months or so and we have watched their faithfulness and love for people during this time. We are pumped that God has sent us such a wonderful couple to disciple teens in this area.
Last, our pews have been sold and will be picked up at the first of march!!! We are pushing for a few of the renovations in the sanctuary to be completed by Easter!
This is an exciting time for RM! God is doing incredible things! Don't miss out!
First, we have added another team member to our Executive Team. Pastor Zabrina Robinson is now serving the ministry as our Children's Pastor. She has been the director of our Children's Ministry for over a year now and has seen tremendous growth. It is with great excitement that we add her to this team!
Next, Greg and Ragan Cooper have agreed to become our Youth Pastors! They have been attending RM for about six months or so and we have watched their faithfulness and love for people during this time. We are pumped that God has sent us such a wonderful couple to disciple teens in this area.
Last, our pews have been sold and will be picked up at the first of march!!! We are pushing for a few of the renovations in the sanctuary to be completed by Easter!
This is an exciting time for RM! God is doing incredible things! Don't miss out!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Bold as Lions
In my devotional time this morning I read Proverbs 28:1 that states
"The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions."
I thought about it for a few minutes and had to ask myself this question...
Which side better describes me?
Many times in life we are faced with chances to be bold in our beliefs or to be timid about being a Christ-follower. I have to admit, when I am asked what I do for a living by new people I meet, I find myself on the more timid nature. See, I can't stand it when people act normal around me until the find out that I'm a pastor. It seems that then they turn on this "religious" facade.
It's not that I'm embarrassed about what I do. It's not that I'm insecure in my gifting. I just HATE fake people. I have a hard time with ministers who talk in their "preacher voice" at the dinner table with their kids. I struggle with pastors that cut their grass in a suit and tie. That isn't REAL!
On the flip side, I can't stand it when someone is using profanity until they learn of my pastoral position and then starts throwing out "Hallelujah" and "Praise the Lord." In the same respect, that isn't REAL!
I can allow the boldness of the Holy Spirit to flow through my life without making others feel like the scum of the earth. I should be secure enough in who God is and who He created me to be that I don't have to prove my position by demanding others to stop being themselves.
Boldness: there have been a lot of weird and crazy things that have gone on in the name of boldness. Tell me your stories. Let's have a laugh together.
Also, how can we still be bold without becoming a flake? What are your thoughts?
"The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions."
I thought about it for a few minutes and had to ask myself this question...
Which side better describes me?
Many times in life we are faced with chances to be bold in our beliefs or to be timid about being a Christ-follower. I have to admit, when I am asked what I do for a living by new people I meet, I find myself on the more timid nature. See, I can't stand it when people act normal around me until the find out that I'm a pastor. It seems that then they turn on this "religious" facade.
It's not that I'm embarrassed about what I do. It's not that I'm insecure in my gifting. I just HATE fake people. I have a hard time with ministers who talk in their "preacher voice" at the dinner table with their kids. I struggle with pastors that cut their grass in a suit and tie. That isn't REAL!
On the flip side, I can't stand it when someone is using profanity until they learn of my pastoral position and then starts throwing out "Hallelujah" and "Praise the Lord." In the same respect, that isn't REAL!
I can allow the boldness of the Holy Spirit to flow through my life without making others feel like the scum of the earth. I should be secure enough in who God is and who He created me to be that I don't have to prove my position by demanding others to stop being themselves.
Boldness: there have been a lot of weird and crazy things that have gone on in the name of boldness. Tell me your stories. Let's have a laugh together.
Also, how can we still be bold without becoming a flake? What are your thoughts?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Poopy Bathroom
So, after church today, we went to Olive Garden to eat. After eating I took Micah to the restroom where there was someone in one of the stalls ridding themself of some recently consumed pasta. As soon as we walked in, Micah says (very loudly) "Dad, it's the stinky bathroom!"
I tried to squash it by explaining that every bathroom stinks... To which Micah replies "It's the poopy bathroom dad!"
It wasn't but a few moments until they were done and out of the bathroom!
I LOVE parenthood!!!
I tried to squash it by explaining that every bathroom stinks... To which Micah replies "It's the poopy bathroom dad!"
It wasn't but a few moments until they were done and out of the bathroom!
I LOVE parenthood!!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Give Us Direction
This weekend Restoration Ministries is hosting a Prophetic Weekend with Tracy Stewart. Now before you start having a cow and think that we are a bunch of freakish charismatics that get together so that we can "prophesy" to one another, hold on!
By "prophetic weekend" we mean that we long to press in and hear from the Father. We want to know what He is saying to us in this moment.
Tracy Stewart is a powerful prophetic voice with an incredible gift to be able to expound on the Word of God with humor and simplicity.
Service will be Friday and Saturday at 7PM and Sunday at 10:30AM and will be held at Restoration Ministries at 338 Amy Drive Goose Creek, SC. Full service nursery will be available for all services as well.
If you are near the area, come by and let's hear what God is saying to us. It's going to be a powerful few days.
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