Choosing the Better Part

So here I am sitting in my office that is way too cluttered, and I am contemplating my schedule for this week. So much to do and so little time. I have to plan for a city-wide prayer and worship event, find the rest of my team for our Seder meal, finalize the drama part of the Good Friday service, prepare the lesson for Wednesday night's Youth Group, work with the senior pastor to plan Sunday's worship service, attend the elder meeting, lead one worship team rehearsal on Thursday and a second on Saturday evening, work with our stage-crew to begin the set prep for Easter and find time to celebrate a family birthday. To top it off I am beginning to feel like I might have adult ADD.

This weeks schedule scares me to death. I look at the week and do not see how I will be able to accomplish everything. I am scared of failing.

This past Sunday P.J. preached on Luke 10:38-42 a.k.a. the "Mary and Martha" passage. I was challenged by what he said. "The biggest enemy of intimacy with Jesus is business for Jesus". I am a pastor and I get paid to "do" ministry it is easy for me to get caught up with the business of ministry. Sometimes I do necessarily enjoy doing the things I do but they come with the job. There are times when I wish I could say no to certain things like "normal" people at our church can. There are times when I get frustrated because it seems like everyone is saying no and I am left holding the ball (notice I said "it seems"). It is times like these that I click into get 'er done mode and I know that I become Martha like and get so busy I forget to choose the better part. I also get so busy that I become jealous of those not helping and begin to complain about them (usually to myself and Jesus).

So why am I writing all of this down to post in cyber-space? It is because it helps me process through the situation. I know that very few, if any other people will ever see this or if they do happen to stumble across it, ever take time to read it. But on the off chance that someone else does happen to read it, maybe it is you who is reading this. I hope that somehow, if even in the tiniest way, it will help you and encourage you. I am also writing this because even in doing so I am realizing that even in the business of a hectic week, I can still choose the better part. I can still find time to steal away and sit at Jesus' feet to spend time with him soaking in all that he wants to teach me. I hope you will do the same

Peace
Todd

Dealing With Discouragement

Ok, so here it is Wednesday evening and I find myself wishing the week was already over. There is nothing huge that has happened to make me feel this way but rather a few seemingly small things. To begin with we had a great opportunity on Sunday morning. We had a guest worship leader in and she did a phenomonal job. As I looked around the sanctuary I saw people with hands raised, some were jumping (ever so slightly), and most were singing with all their might. It seemed as though people were enjoying it. In between the services though at least a half dozen people made it a point to let me know that either they thought it was too loud or that they did not like the style of music. Some were polite about it others were more brusk. I even received a note on our prayer request cards stating that the music that morning was more noise than music.

I think that I am a pretty stable person and one who doesn't need the accolades of man to feel like I am doing a good job yet I was kind of crushed. I walked away feeling like a dear friend had just rejected the gift I was so excited about giving him. I don't like feeling this way and I think I am now more frustrated with myself for feeling dissappointed that I didn't get the huge "thank-you's" and "that was awesome's". I guess after all, I still am relying to much on man for my worth. I know I need to keep my eyes on Christ and look to Him alone for my everything. As the great classic worship song goes, "Jesus, Lamb of God...you are my all in all."

With all this being said, would I do it again? Absolutely, you betcha!

Worship Confession

Worship Set

Let it Rise - D to E
Glorious – G
Holy Is the Lord – G
Enough – D
Scripture: Psalm 119:9-12, 33-34 & Psalm 19:7-10
Speak O Lord – C
Sermon
Better Is One Day (E)
Your Grace Is Enough (G)

Ok, so even though we got a late start for warm-up and rehearsal Sunday morning because of the weather, I felt really good about everything. Not in a prideful way but more of, "this is going to be a rich morning". I felt like the attitude of the band was good and we were truly there for the right reasons, to help people enter into worship then get out of the way as the "body" focused on God.

The first service started well and then it was like I hit a wall. Half-way through "Holy is the Lord" I completely forgot the chords. I WAS LOST! This is a song that I have played hundreds of times and know it very well, yet I blanked out. Thankfully, because of the smaller band I was using chord shapes that had a lot of common tones so I was able to fake it until I found my place again. Despite this however, I could feel the Spirit moving.

My prayer on Sunday mornings is always that the Holy Spirit would open our hearts and minds so we can hear and learn what He wants us to learn. Usually though, I pray that in a general sense for everyone who will be there but this morning I felt like I needed to intentionally pray it for the worship band and more specifically for myself. Man did He answer that prayer.

P.J.'s sermon was on Luke 9 and the overarching idea that he brought was that we are called to a ministry that is way bigger than us. We can only accomplish it when we stop trying to do it in our own strength and truly rely on Jesus to do it through us.

I have a good voice and can sing well. I have been playing guitar since I was 11 years old and am pretty good. I work hard at putting together the worship service and generally it flows well and people enjoy it. I am not prideful about this and I most definitely saturate it in prayer seeking God's direction yet this morning was a tremendous reminder that despite my skills and talents, it is bigger than me. I can only accomplish what God has called me to by fully committing to his call and trusting and relying on Him alone. Why was the morning so rich and despite my flubs on the guitar people seem to genuinely be worshiping? Because God is bigger than me. I am called to give him what I have whether it be a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread or my voice and guitar. Give them to God and allow Him to use them for His glory. You won't be disappointed.

Worship Set

This past Sunday was a good day. We celebrated the Lord's Supper and heard a tremendous message from Luke 8:22-39. I have read that passage countless times and have preached on it myself but it was fresh and new this past Sunday. P.J. shared about about without Jesus we in bondage even though we may not have physical chains on us (Gerasene demoniac) and that the most sane thing we can do is to sit at the feet of Jesus.

Our worship set moved from the proclamation of the greatness of Christ to his sacrifice for us then into the Lord's Supper. After that we proclaimed His power and finished with singing of His awesomeness.

Praise Adonai - Am (Baloche)
Welcome
How Great Is Our God – G (Tomlin)
Jesus Paid It All – A (Hall, Nifong, Grape)
Lord's Supper
Here and Now - G (Baloche, Brown)
King of Glory – E (Powell)
All Hail the Power – E – F#(Baloche arrangement)
Sermon
Indescribable – G (Story)

I know it may seem like I am a Baloche junkie, but I'm not. I love his style and it works well for our congregation.

As we finished up the service with Indescribable it was one of those moments which were so incredibly rich I did not want to stop. Ours is not a congregation that is given to a lot of expressive emotion (although it is changing) but at the last chord there were shouts and applause that burst forth as if a river had just shattered a dam. I try not base the "success" of a service based on emotion but this Sunday people seemed genuinely moved and challenged. I believe that many people caught a glimpse of Jesus that they haven't seen in awhile. Jesus, the God-man who is sovereign over the storms in our lives and has the power to put in our right mind.

Peace!

HAROLD: Can you imagine being a there the day he shows up? If he doesn't mask his glory?
ALVIN: No.
HAROLD: Waking up, looking out your window to see this giant eyeball looking at you? The eye of God!
ALVIN: He’s going to send every one of ‘em into cardiac arrest. When they get a load of his holiness they’re just gonna keel over by the millions!
HAROLD: We should get seats.

These are a few lines from "Imagine Christmas" a Christmas musical we are going to be doing at my church on Christmas Eve. As I read these words for the first time I almost shouted "THAT'S RIGHT!" If we truly got a glimpse of God's holiness we would keel over.

Christmas is such an awesome time of year and at this point in my life it my favorite holiday. Easter is a great celebration of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection and at times I think I can maybe, possibly, partially, kind of wrap my mind around the idea of a grown man sacrificing himself for others. Yes, that grown man is God incarnate and yes, the sacrifice was for the forgiveness of sins for all of mankind. Even still, it is somewhat comprehendibleto me. Christmas, however, leaves me 100% at a loss for words. Get this. God, who created all things; "All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (John 1: 3) and is not confined to size and shape, "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens" (Isaiah 40:12) this God, our God, THE God came down to the earth. He went through the birthing process, potty training, learning to walk and talk and his voice cracked when he went through puberty. He created the stars, sun, moon and planets. He created them out of nothing.
He became a baby that was totally helpless and dependant upon a young mother and carpenter father. That is why I love Christmas. Because I can't explain it or even begin to wrap my mind around it.

The title of our Christmas Eve service is "Imagine Christmas". Go ahead try to imagine it. I dare you.

Peace

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading on-ward, leading homeward to my glorious rest above!

These words written by Samuel Trevor Francis in the late 19th century lingered in the air as the cup was being passed and you could see in the faces of the people that they were being deeply moved. Not because of the arrangement of the song but because of the power and truth of the words.

I think about when I lived in North Carolina and how my wife and I would make day trips to the ocean shore. I loved it when the waves were high. My most memorable trip was one in which my father was with me. After some gentle coaxing and a goading comment or two my father finally joined me in the water and after catching our breath because of the chilliness of the water, we were splashing and laughing like a couple of school boys. We would watch the waves come in and try to jump over them only to be thrown back by their force. Eventually, we stopped fighting against the waves and started to allow them to move us where they wanted to and we began to enjoy the moment even more. Some family members who were watching kept shouting "Free Willy" but that is another story. We were relishing the immenseness of the waves. Eventually, we stumbled out of the water smiling and laughing and my dad told me it had be 30 years since he last swam in the ocean and he had forgotten how much fun it was.

The love of Jesus - unmeasured, boundless free, rolling over me as a mighty ocean, underneath and all around me. What an incredible picture! When was the last time you thought about His love like this. It is always there. Are you struggle with sickness, family discord, financial difficulty, school, work? Or is life going well for you? Whatever the case may be. Think about His love and how it can completely surround you and carry you along. Stop struggling against it and embrace it.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best! ’Tis an o-cean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest! O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me; And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

Shalom!

Attitude Change

Sundays come and Sundays go. In the past I tended to look at them as just another work day. Oh sure, I enjoyed the times of worship and the teaching and fellowship but it was work. I was on the clock and doing my job. Over the past several months my attitude has changed. Yes, it is still part of my job but I am excited to be there to celebrate what God is doing in our lives as a body. One of the reasons for the change of attitude has been the fact that we have had so many baptisms lately and many more are coming. We are seeing followers of Christ, some for a few months others for many years, desiring to be obedient to Christ's call to be baptized. Every single one of them have said that they are doing it not because because it is a prerequisite to salvation, it's not, but rather that this an opportunity to let people know they are Christians and also because they want to express their love for Christ by being obedient to what He commands.

The idea of being obedient out of love for a person is something that I believe is sorely lacking in our society. Too often we are obedient because we have to. We are obedient because we don't want to be punished or disciplined. Thank you to my dear brothers and sisters who are being obedient out of love.

Thank you for helping me to change my attitude about Sunday mornings. I do not want to be there because it is my job, I want to be there because of my love for Christ. I want to be there because it is an awesome opportunity to celebrate, honor, and glorify God with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Peace