I’ve been evaluating the church as late.  Not my specific church, the church as a whole.  I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve misunderstood a particular scripture.

John 17:14-16  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one.  16 They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard ministers or other Christians say, “We’re in the world, not of the world, so though we live here we can’t interact with the world or they may contaminate us.”  Or some other ridiculous version of that.

I’m here to say, emphatically, that is wrong!

Let me ask a few questions:

Did Jesus shy away from the world? NO!  Wasn’t his first miracle at a wedding, didn’t he turn the water into wine?  And don’t try to tell me it was grape juice, I think the master of the feast would have known the difference, and he said it was the good stuff.  Matthew was a tax collector, a word in those times synonymous with sinner and he became a disciple.  According to the Pharisees, Jesus, himself, could have been considered a sinner, didn’t he heal on the Sabbath day? 

Did the apostles shy away from the world?  NO!  Peter went to everyone, even, ugh, a gentile home and shared Christ with them.  Paul even took it further, going to almost the whole known world at the time and sharing the love of Christ.

Anyway, to be in the world, and not of the world doesn’t mean that we need to be separate from the people of the world.  It means that we need to be involved in the world, but not fall into the sin that they participate in.

Is it possible to enter a night club and not fall into the temptation that is there?  Yes!  Is it possible to enter a bar and not get drunk?  Yes!  Is it possible that there are a large number of people who need to know Christ that go to the places that Christians don’t want to go to? Yes!

We need to get out of our comfort zone.  It’s time to drop the Christian-eese and start being Christ-like, after all, that is what Christian means, to be a little Christ.  We need to forget the little slogans we learn in the church when we exit the door.  Some of them are nice and may help you, but if you walk up to someone who doesn’t know Christ and say, “Would you like to fellowship after …”  How many people would know that you meant to hang out.

It’s OK to speak that way around people who understand you, but you are not sharing Christ with those who already know him, you share Christ with the ones who don’t know him.  When you speak to people with Christian dialect you push them away.  The will reject you because they don’t understand you.

Let’s get to the point where we can speak to people on their level and not expect them to raise (or lower) to ours.  Can we relate to people without alienating them?  Can we be real and honest with the lost?  Is it possible for us to break down our walls and show them that we hurt and we bleed the same as they do?  Can we do it without passing judgment on them?

We can do that.  When we start doing it we will become agents of change in the world.  This next generation is not like the last, the way to reach them is going to be different.  We must not be afraid to build relationships with them.  We will have to get our hands dirty, so to speak, to see this generation know Christ. 

The 3 minute sales pitch of yesterday is done.  It’s not going to work in the microwave generation.  If we want them to have staying power, we’ve got to show them that we have staying power.  We need to have that relationship with them, so they can see us struggle and not give up, to not give in.

In conclusion, we need to learn new techniques to reach new people.  We need to relate to people, not just preach to them.  In the true meaning of St. Francis’ words, “Preach the gospel always, if necessary, use words.”  I know it’s a paraphrase, but it’s the gist.

I think that everyone who claims to be a Christian and has a true understanding of who God is and who they are agree that there are no words that can be used that can express the glory of our Father in heaven.

Just because any words we speak or actions we take are inadequate, doesn't mean that we shouldn't try.

With Father's day on the precipice this Sunday in the United States, I am going to put forth my best effort to express my feelings for my Father in heaven.

So as I continue this post, the remainder of is from me directly to God.  You are free to join me in any expressions to our Father.

Father, there is only one word in my vocabulary that I can use to explain my feelings toward you.

It's not majestic, glorious, awesome, inspiring, holy, loving, merciful, graceful, forgiving or restoring, even though you are all of those things.

These words are all a pale reflection of what you are.  They are the mouse compared to a dragon.  They are painfully and completely faulty and inadequate.

My word, though as weak in reality as any of the words above, express my true feelings for you Father.  This word encompasses my passion and my love for you more than any other word in the English language.  That one word.  That one amazing word is Daddy.

Thank you, Daddy, for never abandoning me when I had abandoned you.  Thank you for pursuing me and wooing me back to your arms.  Thank you, Daddy, for always being my comforter when I was in pain.  Thank you, Daddy, for always giving me those things I don't deserve and never giving me those things I do deserve.  Thank you, Daddy, for adopting me as your son.  Thank you, Daddy, for always allowing me to come before your throne with boldness and confidence.

Daddy, I love you.  If you had a refrigerator, I would draw you a picture to put on it.  If you owned a Zune I would sing you a song to share with your friends on the Zune Social.  However, more than anything, I want to hug your neck and kiss your face.  One day, when we're face to face, I won't ask you a million questions.  I won't stand dumbfounded.  I will throw down my crowns, run to the throne and throw my arms around you and do exactly what I've wanted to do for so many years of my life.  I will cry, I will not be able to stop it, I will be unable to hold back my unending joy.

There are many things that I've learned over the past 15 years.

It seems that every major event in my life brings new revelation.  I'll lay down the timeline of these major events and how my perception has changed.

1994 - I was just returning to the church after having walked away for about three years.  I walked away because of my arrogance, plain and simple. I learned from my return to Christ is that I cannot out run him.  There was no where I could go, no where I could hide, I would return, though the choice to return was mine, I didn't really have a choice, I would have been pursued for the rest of my life had I not come back when I did.

1997 - I left the church to which I had originally come back.  I had realized that the church was putting on a display.  It was a place to see and be seen to the people who were going there.  I learned that no matter what I had done for the advancement of that ministry, when I was in need of help, I would be thrown under the bus, and that is what happened.  At that point in history I was leading worship at the church, driving the church van, working full-time and going to school full-time.  I was running on empty and after service one night, I had a breakdown.  The youth pastor, who was awesome, by the way, came to me and helped me out.  He said he would go to the pastor and see if we could find a replacement to drive the van.  The biggest thing was driving the van after church.  I was so tired from my day, knowing that I was going to have to do it again the next day.  That day marked the last time the pastor ever talked to me while I was attending there.  Previous to this I spoke to him regularly.  That marked the last time he said anything other than "Hello".  He never talked to me about removing me from any positions, I just simply was not asked to participate.  I was devastated.  I was so mad at the church I left.  I wasn't mad at God, I was mad at the people.  I told God I would give him four churches to find one that I could feel at home in and I would stay in a church, if not, I would still serve Him, but I wouldn't attend a church to do it.

I went to three churches that I couldn't attend.  They were too dead for me.  I would shrink in those churches.  The fourth church I attended was Family Fellowship Christian Center, and I am still there today, now serving as an associate pastor, elder and worship leader.

1998 - Was the year I found FFCC and the year I met my wife.  I was still in school and working full-time, so any socialization that I was going to get was going to be at odd hours, which led me to the internet and the World Wide Communities Online Christian chat rooms.  It was in this chat room that I met Jen, who was also going to school, in North Carolina.  In January we started chatting, at the beginning of May we met in person, May 25th we were engaged and December 5th we were married.  I learned that it is not good for man to be alone and that God had designed a helpmate just for me.  Our relationship moved so quickly because we had no doubt, from the start that this was meant to be.  We only waited as long as we did so that I could graduate and get a real job and so she could make the move from North Carolina.

2000 - Probably the biggest change of mentality that I have ever had occurred this year.  That was the year Josiah, my oldest, was born.  This was a profound moment for me.  Up until this time I had no idea what it meant to be a father.  I have never known my earthly father, so I never had an example upon which to draw.  I was scared to death in the months leading up to his birth.  I hope that I didn't let my fear show too much.  I really was trying to put on the brave face.  However, the first time I held that 8lb bunch of flesh, I fell in love.  He was everything to me from that moment on, and for the first time in my life I realized why I would never have been able to outrun God.  He loves me the same way I love Josiah, but with even more passion and intensity.  I knew that I would lay down my life for that little man and I would kill to protect him.  How much more was it for God to not protect His son, but sacrifice Him so that we may enter into His plan for adoption.

In 2003, it was Braedon who changed my life.  I wasn't afraid of having another child.  Josiah had been around for three years now and I knew that I could be a good dad.  The question that was answered for me was this.  How can I divide the love I had for Josiah and share it with another.  The answer was poignant.  I had made a mistake in my math.  My love would not be divided, it would be multiplied!  That is how God can love us all; His love is multiplied every time someone comes to Him!

In 2006 I learned patience.  Actually that probably really started in 2008, but the cause of this lesson was born in 2006.  Thorin is the model of a strong willed child.  Go ahead; look up strong willed child in the dictionary, yea, that's his picture.  I have to be careful with him because the spirit in him that drives me nuts is the same spirit that will make him a success in the future.  I don't want to break his spirit while molding it into a useful tool.  I want the passion he displays every day to be focused on God.  This has shown me the patience that God has shown me as I've rebelled and thrown tantrums.  He doesn't want to break my spirit, but he wants to direct me in the way I should go.

In 2009 came Rilian.  He’s only a couple months old now, but he makes me laugh.  The simplicity of a baby brings me joy.  He is my reminder that a merry heart is like a medicine.  He reminds me that sometimes it is important to play the jester, because the jester brings joy in the moment of sadness.  When all else fails, make a funny face, produce a funny noise, it turns tears into laughter, at least in the eyes of a baby.

I say all of that to say this...

We were bought with a price.  We were brought to the Father in the spirit of adoption.  We are, in every sense of the words, Children of God.  Let's remember that in our everyday walks.

The modern church makes many mistakes, one of the biggest is judging the sinner.  I’m not saying that we should accept or participate in the sin that the non-believer does, but we shouldn’t judge them either.  After all, telling an alcoholic that they shouldn’t drink is like telling a fish that it shouldn’t be out of the water.  They know that they shouldn’t be there, but how do they get back to the water without some help?

First, we shouldn’t judge anyone anyway, unless we want God to judge us by the same measure that we judged.  I don’t think that anyone really wants that.

Second, the non-believer doesn’t know God.  They will only be judged by God for one sin and one sin only, and it’s not gluttony, Thievery murder or covetousness.  It will be because they were never born again.

If we, as people of faith, turn on these people in judgment will they ever come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ?  I say, “No”.  Instead we need to stop being judgmental and start being burdened by compassion for the lost.  We need to look at people through the eyes of God, with the compassion of a father missing his son.

If you had a child that was a slave to a harsh taskmaster, would you judge your child for being a slave or would you try your hardest to rescue them from their bondage?  I know, for me, I would do everything in my power, fight to my dying breath to ensure that my son was set free.

Well, isn’t that exactly what sinner is to God?  Isn’t he/she a child that is a slave to sin?  Didn’t God send His son to pay the price to set humanity free from the law of sin and death?  When we give our lives to Him were we not adopted in to the family of God?

I say yes, we were bought with a price, we are a royal priesthood.  Now we are in the position to lead people to the King.  After all, He gave us the authority to do it.

When we were saved we were not just rescued from hell, we were made children of the Most High!  We were shown grace and mercy.

I like the way the Newsboys described grace and mercy, “When you get what you don’t deserve, it’s a real good thing, when you don’t get what you deserve, it’s a real good thing.”

In conclusion, you deserve death, but were given life.  You don’t deserve forgiveness, but you were given it anyway. Pass it on!

Today we are at war.  Not against flesh and blood, but against the powers and principalities that reside in the heavenly places.

The attack of this enemy is devastating in its subtlety.  This attack sucks the energy, life and ambition from all that it afflicts.

What is the name of this enemy?  What is this method of attack that is assailing these United States of America?

Apathy.

I see people every day that walk around, self involved, with only one care in the world, the person looking back in the mirror every morning.

I see these people who are submitting to a culture that says that the government will supply all your needs according to what it can take from the rich.  This is a culture that says that you are evil if you try to get ahead.  A culture that is intolerant of only one thing, Christian values.  A culture that says it's better to be a drug abuser than to be the CEO of a successful company.

This mentality is pervasive in the popular and political culture of the United States.  Everything from the Miss USA contest, where the "favorite" to win answers a question about gay marriage from her heart and it costs her the crown and brings the wrath of Hollywood down on her to the Wall Street and Auto Company bailouts where the government takes of companies instead of letting them be consumed by the market place.

We are in the process of giving away our freedom.  It's not being taken from us, we are giving it away.  We are not sad.  We are not disappointed.  We actually rejoice in it.  We shout out "Yea, let the government take care of me!"

The Bible states, "My God shall supply all my needs according to HIS riches in glory".

Can we step back in this country and look at ourselves?  Are we depending on anything other than God to be our provider?  Do we rely on the government, or do we completely lean on God?  And the biggest question.  Are we really worshiping God?

We need to break out of the apathy that is ensnaring us.  We need to break the chains of slavery that the world has subtly slipped over our necks.  We need a new independence day.  We need to break free of the mental snares.  We need to change our focus.  We need to focus our ambition in the correct locations.

We can accomplish this with the following four actions:

1. if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. - 2 Chronicles 7:14
2. Get back to the word of God.  We need to gain spiritual knowledge that can only be gained by studying the Bible.  Not just reading, but prayerfully, emphatically, studying God's word.
3. Place te well being of others before yourself.  Start taking care of people around you before you take care of yourself.
4. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. - Luke 6:38   
   

When you do these things, pray, study, give your time, give your finances, appathy will begin to melt away, like ice cream on a hot, sunny day.

You will see some immediate results as you start putting these four principles into motion.  You will improve your relationship with God.  You will gain a greater understanding of God.  You will have a greater compassion for others and you will prosper in every area of your life.

When you lean on God as your source, you will gain real humility.  Humility is when you, yourself, realizes that everything that you are doing is not the result of your efforts, but the efforts of the living God.  This is not the same as being humiliated, which is when you are forced to acknowledge that there are people or entities greater than you.

When your focus in your life is outside of yourself you begin to have your perception altered.  The people you help are no longer lower than you, you are their servant.  God is no longer a stranger to you, you are his child.  

In conclusion, stop looking at the government as your source, you are not entitled to anything as a citizen of the United States.  You are guaranteed an equal opportunity under the constitution, not equal results.  Lean on God to be your source, everything else will be the resource he uses to bless you, so that you can be a blessing to others.  If you do these things, you will become victo

As I move forward with my personal preparation for full-time ministry, I realize that there are 3 areas that I need to address.  These 3 areas encompass many things that need to happen.

1. Spiritual
2. Mental
3. Physical

Spiritually, I need to be prepared, not only to minister to other people, but to ensure that my relationship with my God and my family can endure the strains of being the primary target of scrutiny as the pastor of a church.

Mentally, I need to be prepared to handle the attacks mentioned above.  Also, there are many areas in which I'm just not the most qualified person in the world.  Financially is a big one.  If I don't have someone out of the box that is great at handling finances (I believe in staffing your weaknesses) then I need to make sure that I enhance my ability to handle this aspect of the organization.

Physically, I'm out of shape, or should I say, I have the wrong shape, because round is a shape.  I need to get into better physical condition.  Being a pastor is not for the physically weak.  Many attacks that a pastor takes are physical.  Not in the aspect of a fist fight, but the activities of the church will take a toll on the body.  I have to be prepared for these attacks.  Also, being that I am encumbered by diabetes, I need to make sure that it is in control at all times.  My preference, lose the weight before I come down to Sarasota and be done with the disease.

I used to think that my first priority was the physical, but I realize now, that I need to work on the spiritual aspect first, in conjunction, really.  Until today, I thought the area I was strongest in was spirituality.  Of course, a little prayer, introspection and revelation will smack that out of anyone.

I realized today that I am surrounded by too much noise.   Whether it is TV, the radio, or even my family, I never take time for quiet time.  Even now, I have my Zune on listening to music.  It's praise and worship (Delirious?) so it's not too bad.  

I've also been being hit by some self awareness that I wasn't prepared for.  I'm not the man I thought I was.  This weekend, being Mother's day weekend, made me realize how far I fall short on a normal basis at being a husband and a father.  If I can do what I did this weekend and it makes my wife happy, why can't I do that regularly.  I look back on this weekend and I still feel I fell short of what I should be doing on a regular basis.  This has revealed to me that I have to change my regular behaviors.  I have to consecrate the time I spend with God and the time that I spend with my family.  I can't let my experiences of my day at work effect how I am at home, after all, this is the day that the Lord has made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it.  

Anyway, I'm determined to be prepared by November 2011, so I have some work to do.  However, have no fear Sarasota, when I arrive, I'll be ready to deliver the word of God with clarity and power.