Interview Update

Well, I made it through my first pastoral interview tonight. Overall, I have a good feeling about it. The people were very nice and approachable. They made me feel welcomed and comfortable, and to my surprise, they seemed really interested in all aspects of my life. They asked some very good questions, and I was really impressed with they way they reacted to many of my comments. To say the least, I was a bit nervous about the whole ordeal. I really had no idea of what to expect. I really got the sense that they are really seeking God's guidance in their search for a pastor, and I appreciate that a great deal.

I had preconceived notions and reservations going into the interview, but I could really sense God's presents in the time I spent with them. I hope that I conveyed my thoughts in a clear and understandable way. I really think that God was pleased during the time we spent together, because he was the center of the conversation. I tried to focus more on Jesus and my relationship with him, more so than focusing on me. I hope and pray that they continue to seek God's will in this matter, and that they continue to consider me for the position. If I don't get the position, I can walk away from this experience knowing that I did what was right and I now have a new appreciation for how these things actually work. And I also feel as though I have established some friendships out of this.

Finals Are Over...Interview For A Pastor Position

It has been almost a month since I have blogged. The reason is that life has been crazy. I just finished my last final this afternoon, and the semester is officially over. I think I ended the semester with two A's, two B's, and one C. This has been truly one of the toughest semesters to date, however, I have really learned a lot.

Another fun fact is that I am interviewing for a Lead Pastor position at a small church here in town tomorrow night. Allyssa and I are excited yet very nervous at the same time. This is all new to us, and if we get the position it will be our first official position in ministry. I have been preaching now for about a year, and have loved every minute of it. God has taught me so much about Him and about myself. To say the least, it has been a humbling experience. I have been praying for an opportunity to do this on a regular basis and for the opportunity just to love a group of people and lead them on this crazy journey we are on. I just pray that God will have His way in this whole ordeal, and that all parties involved will do what they feel led by God to do.

A little about this church. They are a small congregation, set in a rural area not to far from my current church. There is probably about 60 or so members, which is normal for small rural Baptist churches. I got the opportunity to preach a couple of services there a couple of months back, and Allyssa and I felt at ease and burdened at the same time while we were there. The members there were really nice and welcoming, and in real need of leadership and discipleship. Their search committee has since come to hear me preach a service at our home church, but to be honest I felt as though I wasn't the type of guy they were looking for. As I was told by one of the local Baptist leaders, "You are more of a city preacher", but I have never let that get to me. If anything that has set me more at ease, and challenged me to keep my eyes on Jesus not on man's approval.

I just pray that the interview is pleasing to God, and that I can convey my thoughts and ideas with boldness and conviction, regardless of what I know they want me to say. I just would like the chance to go and love these people like Jesus has loved me, and to disciple them and lead them forward to whatever God has in store for us. I am not so interested in going and bringing a lot of programs and such that will most likely cause division right off.

Anyways, if any of you seasoned pastors and leaders have any encouraging words of wisdom to throw my way, I would greatly appreciate it. This is a huge step in both our lives, and this moment in time we feel totally inadequate to do this whole thing. However, we know that God is adequate and faithful to those who are obedient. Just pray for us as we embark on this journey, and I will post an update tomorrow night on how it all goes. Thanks.

The Other Side....Where's Your Faith?

There is a miracle mentioned throughout the gospels, but it wasn't until recently that I realized that the miracle is not the main point. Do you remember the time Jesus calmed the wind and the sea when he was in the boat with his disciples? Do you remember what Jesus told them before they set sail? He told them to get into the boat, that they were going to other side. We find out that Jesus was asleep when the storm arose. His disciples let their faith be overtaken by their fear to the point, that they forgot that Jesus told them they were going to other side. When they awoke him, he calms the storm and then turns to them asks them, "Where is your faith?"

What is the purpose that God has given you in your life? I know what he has called me to do, and yet, when life's storms blow my way, I start to freak out and allow my faith to be overtaken by fear. Why is this? I don't have the answer to that, except for the fact that we need to believe what Jesus has told us, "we are going to other side". He doesn't say how long it will take or how things will fall into place. We just have to continue to follow and worship him daily. We need to keep our eyes set on the other side, and take the storms that life sends not as obstacles but as building blocks.

Just because it may seem that Jesus is asleep, we must realize that by him dying for us on the cross and preparing the way for eternal life, he has done everything for us. We need not to seek signs and wonders as the disciples did in order for our faith to remain intact. Instead we need to hold on to what Jesus has already done and said, and keep moving forward. Remember, faith is not believing in something we can see, but in the things that are unseen. I welcome your thoughts and experiences on this topic, because it something that I struggle with on a daily basis.

And this is eternal life...

Growing up in church, I always heard eternal life referred to as something we attain after death. You know, believe in Jesus today, and gain eternal life in Heaven when you die, or reject Jesus today, and gain eternal life in hell after you die. The other day, I came across a passage of scripture that I know I have read many times, but this time it came to life for me. In John 17:3 Jesus says,

" This is eternal life, that they know you the only God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

So if I take my old understanding of what eternal life means, then I would have to admit that I can't really know God until I enter Heaven. However, according to Jesus' definition, knowing God and himself is eternal life. I talked with a friend of mine via email this morning, trying to flesh this out, and here is how he defined eternal life, and I find it very helpful and very biblical:

"Eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent, and to experience His manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in one's life"

I don't know about you, but I want to know God hear and now. I find that if I can't know Him now, how can I be looking forward to seeing Him one in Heaven. Just a thought.

Paranoia ?

I am a people watcher, and could be accused of being an eves dropper at times because I sometimes tune in to others conversations when I am sitting around large groups of people. Anyways, I have noticed an ongoing conversation among many Christians as of late. This conversation involves a lot of worry, speculation, and unsettling wonder. To put it simply, Christians seem to be quite paranoid. I find myself in this boat more than I would like, but it seems like mine is very minute in comparison to many that I have encountered lately. I am currently tuning into a conversation that I would like to jump into and say, "hey stop worrying, and stop using spiritual verbiage so loosely."
Why do we spend so much of our time worrying about things? Didn't Jesus command us to not worry? We need to have faith and rely on the hope that we have in Jesus. This may not make sense to anyone else, it is just some ramblings on a conversation that seems to be going on all around me.

Revival vs Crusade

I have grown up in the Baptist denomination my entire life, and have experienced my fair share of 'revival' services. I have been to tent revivals, church revivals, and revivals held in stadiums or auditoriums at schools. The message is generally the same, repent and turn to Jesus, and if not you are going to burn in hell. It's not that I disagree with this message, because I don't. I love to see people turn from a life of sin and turn to God. What bothers me is when we call these types of meetings 'revivals', when in reality they should be called crusades.

Revivals or being revived, by definition, is a regeneration or an awakening of something that has lost it's drive or life. So by definition, a revival is not for the lost, because when you don't have the spirit in you, it is impossible for that spirit to be revived. Again, I love to see people come to Christ, but the reason this is so bothersome for me, is because our church, the followers of Christ, in America needs to revived from its nostalgic, apathetic state. This is why if we are going to have a revival service, there needs to be an atmosphere of change and messages that encourage the reviving of the spirit that you claim resides in your soul.

We should however call these meetings what they are, crusades. Billy Graham is the first to come to mind when I hear this word. He held meetings, not with the intent that Christians would be revived, which many did, but that nonbelievers could come to know Jesus. His messages were convicting, speaking of hell verses heaven, salvation, and about Jesus. He didn't mix words, he let people know that he was there to invite them to know his Savior. So when you look at these 'crusades', they look very much like our modern day 'revivals'.

I just feel like there is a need for an awakening of the Spirit in the Church today. There is definitely a need for revival meetings, but not with the motivation to see people saved, but to see God's people turn back to Him and start living the life of a disciple of Jesus. Please don't miss my point, which is, revivals are for Christians and crusades are for non-Christians, not by my opinion, but simply by definition.

Our Church just wrapped up a four day revival, and we saw several come to know Christ. I praise God for those conversions, and I would love to see many more come to Him. What bothers me the most is, that in four days of a 'revival', there was not one believer that publicly confessed, or testified to any type of renewal of their spirit. So my question is, 'Did we experience a true revival?' The speaker of the revival was great, very dynamic and funny and he spoke the truth, but his message seemed to be focused on nonbelievers, more than it was focused on the reviving of the church.

Just some thoughts, not complaints. Just trying to flesh out exactly what this all means.

Any thoughts?

Full-time Ministry and Selling Tires

This morning, I got up early to go and get a new set of tires put on my car. I arrived at a tire store called, "One Way". I was curious of the name of the store, because I wondered what that had to do with tires. As drove into the parking lot, I noticed the sign that hung above the door. It had the name of course, but then below the name there were a couple of passages of Scriptures listed. I was now even more curious, that was until I was greeted by a middle-aged man at the door and he asked me if I new Jesus. His first question was not what kind of tires do you need, but he was more interested in my life. I told him I did and that I was pursuing ministry.

As I sat there waiting for my tires to be changed, I began to notice little verses displayed throughout the showroom. It was at this point that I began to rethink what I have always been taught about full-time ministry. You know, go to seminary to be a pastor, missionary, counselor, etc. Then I realized that we, those of us who choose to follow Christ, are all called into full-time ministry. Here is a man who sells tires and rims for a living, but he is much more concerned with his customers life than he is about selling a set of tires.

What would this world look like if all those who follow Christ developed this understanding? What if everyone from a doctor to a waitress would look at their jobs in this light? There would be a profound change in how people perceive us Christians, and maybe we would truly be able to make a difference. Can you imagine if the next time you visited a seminary, there would be a class entitled, "Sales Evangelism"? What would your reaction be?