Please Send Resume` To.....

The process that any Church goes through to find a new Minister is always interesting to me. The Church that I met and married my wife at is currently looking for a new Pastor. Unlike the movement I am apart of her former Church is a mainline denomination. Instead of the candidate approaching the Church it is the Church looking at different candidates who have opened up their Resumes so that they can be considered by Churches who are looking. Instead seeking you become one who is hopefully sought.

Maybe you think to yourself that this is a good process, but personally I think that its frustrating. It is definitely more time consuming. The same problems exist with this process that do with the Christian Church tradition. It is a lot of effort on both parties taking the time to review each others profiles to determine if an interview will even happen. The problem is that Appleton Baptist Church (not the real name) is looking for someone to fit into a current system that has been in place for a good while. Sure there will be a little freedom, but there are major hurdles to jump to move forward at Appleton. I know this because the former Pastor was a mentor to me as a young Christian.

I had thought about sending a letter to one of the guys on the Search Committee just to give them some insights from a Pastor's perspective, but I realized it was none of my business. The reason that I thought of sending them a letter was out of the love that I have for Appleton. You see, they are like many churches in America; they are stuck in the rut of sameness. Appleton could be looking to move forward, but looking to maintain and that breaks this preachers heart.

Can you imagine what would happen if a Church advertisement said; Appleton Baptist Church, healthy congregation with a few minor problems, Looking for a Pastor with good speaking skills and a shepherd's heart to take a good size Church from going through the motions to where it needs to be. Willing to let someone try new and innovative ideas on a regular basis even if new programs fail. We need someone to help us reach out more and help us to stop being comfortable. We desire someone to challenge us to reach out and help implement new evangelistic ministries. What responses do you think that they would get? I think people like me in the Christian Church would be willing to jump across lines (almost) to have that type of opportunity. I praise God that I am in a Church where I can do new and innovative things and if they fail try other programs or ministries. But the Church in America is not like this! That is what breaks my heart. In all of our Churches we must stop accepting comfort and learn that there is an agenda given to us by God. That agenda is about growth, holiness, and most definitely about reaching the lost consistently. I made a decision a few months ago to get out of my comfort zone. One of my new ministries has already failed and one is succeeding. I don't know what the future holds, but I do know I want to reach the lost of this community. It's time to get out of the office a bit more and into the world with our life giving message.

CrossRoads

The Church is a wonderful place and it is also a frustrating place. New people have been coming to our Church on a regular basis, but many of them have discontent for where they have been previously attending. While I want the Church to grow I would prefer that the numerical growth would happen through conversions. Before the Church can see numerical growth however it must be prepared and it must be working toward the goal of bringing new people to Christ. When I was a young Christian I experienced this once and have never forgotten the experience.

The Church was named CrossRoads and it was located on the edge of the University of Illinois Campus. The Church was started by Dave Short who Pastored the Church for several years. Dave began the Church with a vision of reaching lost souls in a liberal town and on a liberal secular campus. The only person besides Dave's wife who caught the vision for the lost was a young woman who attended the University. Together they met regularly and began to pray that God would help them reach the lost specifically. Within a few months there were services at CrossRoads with a handful of people. CrossRoads enlisted its new members to pray regularly for the lost and Dave challenged even new believers to spread the Good News on the campus. Within a few years CrossRoads had multiple services in a tiny stone building every Sunday morning. Through the week everyone began to meet in homes for small group worship. During the times of small group gatherings there was always a time of worship and a time of prayer. Many of those prayers were for salvation of the lost of that community. On Sunday mornings a few of the members would get together and pray for the services of that day and for the lost that frequently came in. I hardly remember a Sunday without a baptism during my short time at CrossRoads.

I thought a lot about CrossRoads lately since our Church is trying to reach the lost for Easter. This Easter we are holding our service at the local High School with the prayerful hope that salvation will come to those who are lost. We are praying and trusting in God's movement for this event. By doing this it forces us out of our comfort zone and hopefully will increase our faith in God. The Church does exist to help the saints grow closer to the Lord, but I am afraid that we have become to comfortable in America. The Church is not about being happy, it is becoming holy and reaching out. The second part is where we are falling short. I have a faith that God is going to give us a greater vision for the future. I believe that He is going to enlarge our hearts toward those who are around us everyday and are lost.

I recently drove past CrossRoads a few months ago. The Church no longer exists and the building has been turned into campus offices. Dave eventually left the Church and another Pastor stepped in who did not share his passion for evangelism. I don't fault CrossRoads last Pastor, but I wonder what happened to all of the passionate people that I worshipped with and their passion for the lost? The Church needs everyone to be sold out to evangelism, and if the saints are not excited together it will just become another buffett line where people just want to go and get fed. Growing in Christ is wonderful, but my growth should promote action!

I Am A Good Person!!!

This past week I did something that I rarely do. I watched a program on the E Channel called True Hollywood Story. This is a series program for the Channel that features many famous people and shows the different sides of their lives. The episode that I watched last week featured Jenna Jamison who is a well known Porn Star. In this episode featuring Jenna the E Channel made her out to be a glamorous star who rose through the ranks of pornography with hard work and dedication. They made her out to be someone that all could admire. In the program they even boasted about her debating at Harvard on the subject pornography and winning the debate by a landslide. It was a very discouraging and depressing show. I wondered how many young girls watched this program and idolize Jenna?

The most discouraging aspect of this True Hollywood Story came toward the end of the program. People who are close to Jenna began to talk about how she was a good person and how that would get her into heaven. When it came time to talk of heaven for the Porn Star she said with her hands clasped together and looking very serious that she knew for certain that she would get to heaven because she was a "GOOD PERSON!" I was left speechless along with my wife as we heard those words come from her mouth. Jenna Jameson who just signed a new 7 year deal to continue to churn out porn believes that because she feels that she is a good person she will be accepted into eternity with God. Jenna has been in over 100 Pornography films and in the next seven years that number will continue to increase. By her standards it is alright to continue because she is basing eternity on earthly goodness.

I firmly believe that Jenna could be accepted into Heaven one day, but the key to her entrance can only come through a relationship with Jesus Christ! Until she repents of her sins and enters into a Covenant relationship with the Savior she is going to be surprised when life comes to an end.

About a decade ago I had thinking similar to that of Jenna Jamison. I thought I was a "good person" by secular standards and was positive that God would accept me one day. This is the belief of mainstream America. This is the thinking of our neighbors, friends, and some family members. We need to be engaging those around us about what it takes to make it into eternity and the wonderful life that they are promised in the here and now. Some people don't want to share their faith in Christ with others because it seems odd. Some don't want to do it because they feel they are not gifted in explaining the Christian Faith. As Christians we are expected to share with others the TRUTH of how to get right with God. If you are engaging God regularly you will have the desire to share with others. When you don't engage God you become a selfish Christian that buries the TRUTH in the ground.

In Matthew 25 there are 3 Parables grouped together. The 2nd parable has to do with talents that that the Lord has given His servants. 2 of the servants take the talents (money) and produce more, but one of them buries what has been given in the ground and it does nothing for the servant or the master who has given it. Jesus' reply to the 2 successful servants is "Well done, good and faithful servant!" But His reply to the servant who is lazy is "Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" Those are strong words, but they come from Him who gives me life. I think I will prefer to go and invest the talents given to me so that I can impact a corrupt generation for Jesus!

Lessons From My Father

Someone somewhere once said "we are only a product of our environment!" With each passing year I like that statement a little bit more. I like it because it is a truthful statement! This past weekend my wife, son, and I went back home to see my nephew for the first time. It is the first child of my older brother and more than likely it will be his only one. This time with my brother and our sons left me very reflective for the rest of the day. I began to think about my childhood and the many different times throughout my life that my father has been absent. I thought of every important moment in my life and how my dad promised to be there, but never was. I realized how my brother and I have been given a great chance to break a family cycle that was started by our Father.

My dad will always be my dad and I do love him, but he really has not been a father to any of his three boys. So for all of us with our children we have the opportunity to set a new foundation that will last hopefully for generations to come. Being a Father means spending quality time with your children, loving them, helping them, teaching them, and guiding them through life. I realized this past weekend that the environment they grow up in will affect them for a long time. Perhaps their entire adulthood. One of the things that I began to notice was my Father's lack of morality. His morality was based on what he believed was and is right for himself. He had no foundation for a moral living except what he learned from the world. This type of thinking filtered down to all three of his boys. I never noticed my lack of integrity or morals until I became a Christian and at that moment in time my World-View was radically changed forever.

I reflected upon what I wanted for my son that I never received. I decided that I would never inundate him with heavy theological teachings or fill him full of doctrine (I will wait for that until the Jr. High years) I decided that I need to teach him about God in a practical way. For now it is praying together at night and right before he goes to bed. Although he is only 20 months old he clasps his hands together, bows his head, and closes his eyes, and we pray before I tuck him in at night. I realize that he will mimic me like my brothers and I mimicked our Father. My training him in the Lord will have to be more action than verbal for now, but he must be trained up in the ways of the Lord. "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4, NIV)." Christian Fathers have a great responsibility to give their children instruction in the Lord. What we do from the beginning of their lives will impact them and their children for generations to come. One day I hope my son will look back and smile because I was always there for him and because I taught him true morality and integrity based on God's Truth.

How Hungry Am I? Part 1

Food cravings will drive a person to do odd things! The other night I had a craving for some Culvers Custard and almost headed out of the house in my Pajama's. After all they have a drive through so what would be the big deal? We do love our food and those of us who have a sweet tooth will go through any length to find satisfaction. Take going to a Chinese Buffet as an example. Every time I go to one I tell myself that "this time I am going to eat in moderation", but I always end up stuffed. Last week our staff went to a Chinese Buffet and an hour later back at the office the only thing I wanted to do was to take a nap on one of the pews. Food for the American is a priority! We do have a love affair with our food!

The reason I have been contemplating my eating habits was due to a Fasting Thread started on Christian Church Today website that I like to frequent. In that thread there was a book mentioned that I have always wanted to read. The book is "A Hunger For God" by Dr. John Piper who is a fellow Pastor and a great author. I have respected this man for many years and have always enjoyed his writing. I ordered the book several days ago and now it sits on my desk. The only other books I have read about fasting are Fasting for Spiritual Break through by Elmer Towns, and the sections on Fasting in the books "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard Foster, and "The Spirit of the Disciplines" by Dr. Dallas Willard. While my previous reading on the subject has proven to be good I have noticed that I did not let it impact my life like I should have. So I have made a commitment to focus on this discipline of fasting in greater ways through the spring and summer because of my desire to draw closer to God. My goal is to read the Piper book by the end of the month and go back and read also excerpts from the Foster and Willard books as well. I think in the contemporary Church we are missing out on a lot by our lack of fasting.

I will be posting several more parts to this new article as I go along in my journey. Hopefully I will share insights from all of these authors and many things I discover in this journey this Spring and Summer. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:16-18, NIV)."

While I will heed Jesus' words and not boast or talk about fasting while it is going on I will reflect this spring and summer on what I discover through this practice afterward. Fasting needs to be discussed and practiced in the Church today. Of all the disciplines I think this perhaps could be the most forgotten one. The one certainty that I know is that I am hungry for God in ways that I never was before.

Friday Night Dinner Club

Eating is one of our favorite pastimes! We love eating so much that statisticians tell us that 60% of all Americans are now overweight. That stat floored me when I heard it because I would have guessed at about 40%. We love to eat and we love to eat well in our country. We probably don't think about it very much but we eat better than most countries in the entire world. A friend of mine who recently returned from France told me that their food portions are almost half the size of our portions at most restaurants. We have a love affair with our food!

Knowing this about our culture should help us in the Church to think about ministry and fellowship with one another. We can integrate basic things like eating into our ministry at the Church to help bring people together. What I have started to notice in the Church is that when people start to get to know each other they begin to care for one another. When people care for one another with genuine affection then they learn to lean upon each other and perhaps even start to grow together in the Lord.

The first thing that we have to do is get together within the Church. The greatest way to do this is around the dinner table. Several moths ago a friend of mine by the name of Ronnie decided that he and his wife needed to expand people they knew in the Church. So Ronnie (this is his real name) had my family and another couple over for a home cooked meal. It was a good night and it was great food since Ronnie is an excellent cook. We thought initially that this was a one time event, but within another month all of us were at Ronnie's house for another wonderful home cooked meal. It seemed that all of our families began to do this on a regular basis. My wife calls it the Friday Night Dinner Club even though we only do this about once a month. This has changed since it first started because the last time we got together my wife and I cooked the meal at our home. We made everything from scratch like Ronnie and it was fun trying to cook something different that we don't normally eat. We are slowly getting the other couple to cook something from scratch as well for one of our Friday Night Dinner's. This has become a wonderful time of good food, new friendships that have developed, and a lot of laughter each time we eat together. Before we started to get together I thought that Ronnie's wife was a bit stuck-up, but I realize now what a sweet sister in Christ she is. Every time we get together now she reminds me of how I thought she was stuck-up and we laugh about it. I cherish these relationships within the Church.

Thinking about the Dinner Club this past week gave me an idea. Why not do something with this more and more in our Church? I have decided that this fall I will try to organize some type of Dinner Club that will help people in the Church to get to know one another better. One Friday night a month I will try to get 3 or 4 families together to share a meal and have a time of fellowship. It is easy to get people together in intimate settings like our homes and its easy to get people together to eat! I will enlist Ronnie of course to help with the organization of this even though he doesn't know yet. My hope is that it will strengthen our Church that has a lot of love in it already and help people to love those they do not know in greater ways. This concept is nothing new of course they did it all the time in the early Church (see the Book of Acts). Our problem is that we have lost sight of being intimate with other Christians.

Anonymously Speaking

Everyone loves a good story! I personally love the funny ones that send you to the floor laughing in tears. Those are the stories that you remember and that you repeat to someone else even though it may not be your story. Some of the funniest stories I know in ministry are from fellow servants who have received anonymous letters from people of their congregations. When I hear the stories of anonymous letters I have always laughed because the stories are delivered in such a comical way. After hearing one of these stories I have always pondered what it would be like to receive one since I have never had the pleasure of getting one. That all changed this Sunday morning.

While I rarely use the computer on the weekends much I decided for an unknown reason to look at my own blog this morning. Still in the "Spring Ahead" fog at 5:45 a.m. (which was really 4:45 a.m.) I noticed an old post that someone made a comment on. At first it seemed a bit ridiculous because it was an "anonymous" complaint apparently from a congregant of my former ministry. The comment came from the Post titled "Healed" which I refer to my former ministry and being healed from the pain that my wife and I experienced there. The comment seemed somewhat derogatory but for some reason it did not make me mad. I actually smiled when I read it. I think the smile came because I know that every Minister in any ministry will have to take some type of criticism from someone. It happens all the time. "Don't judge me" people say, but yet they feel it is their job to criticize the Pastor! This is a personality type that is never satisfied with themselves and with life in general. So my smile comes from knowing that criticism will always come and that sometimes I might even deserve the criticism. After all who is perfect besides Jesus?

Before you think that I am a cynical person I want to set the record straight and let you know that I am actually a professional cynic. I love the Church, but too much time in ministry has given me the right to be somewhat cynical from time to time. While I am in a great Church with wonderful people who love me and my wife I have still dealt with criticism. A few weeks ago I was notified that one person was keeping their eye on me to see how I work out (which can be translated to they are watching to see if I fit their mold of Pastor). This will happen at every Church until Jesus returns.

I say love the critic and love the "anonymous" letter writers. Love them because you are commanded to by Jesus and by doing so the Lord will settle the matter for you (see Romans 12). Love them so much that eventually they will love you back and people will see it and praise God for it. But whatever you do don't stop being a little cynical! Cynicism if fun if used in a proper way. Just remember that Jesus is greater than our cynicism and greater than the critic.

Caution: Work Zone Ahead

I have lived over a decade of my life in some type of City setting. I love the City! I love the sights, sounds, and smells. I love the buildings, concrete, and the pavement. I don't even mind traffic like most people do. With all of that said I must admit that even though I have a love for the City one of the things that frustrate me is when Road Constuction messes with my schedule. If you are a routine person then you know what I am talking about. We inwardly curse Constuction Sites and are disgusted when any road with construction is not fixed in a time frame that we think is appropriate. Our Western mindset is all about quickness. We want it done and we want it now.

What we need to realize is that any type of Road Construction happens to the benefit of the driver. We are inwardly cursing those who are trying to help us out. No one wants to drive on a bad road, but no one wants their schedule messed up by Road Construction. It is a double-edged sword.

Our thinking about Road Construction filters into other areas of our lives. We want to change certain things in our lives, but we don't want to put the effort into it. There is someone in my life who is a Christian and refuses to move forward and become the person that God desires them to be. This frustrates me and many other people connected to this one person. They just make comments like "this is just how I am so you will just have to accept it!" That statement is pure garbage and a smack to the face of our Heavenly Father! Every one who is "In Christ" is expected to let God transform them in every way. When we stop being unteachable we are just living like the rest of the world. I don't know about you, but I am personally always struggling with attitudes and thinking that needs to be changed.

I am willing to let God work on me knowing that it will mess up my agenda and it will be a long process. But like Road Construction I know that when God is done with me I will be better for it. The funny thing is God gives me the decision of being worked on or not. I make that decision every day when I wake up in the morning. When I let Him fix any area of my life I know that in a short time He will identify another area that needs work also. If you have ever lived in any type of City setting you know that Road Construction is always going on. The same should be true in any Christian's life. We should be letting God work on us constantly. If we do not then we are just wasting God's time.

Home Work

Peoples perceptions never cease to amaze me. People have a view of the Minister and his family that we live a near perfect life. I sometimes wish that perception was a reality. The truth of the matter is that in my family of 3 we struggle with life and faith just as much as most people. Perhaps because I am a full time Pastor our struggles at times are greater than others in the body of Christ! In just 2 short months we will celebrate our 1st year of ministry at a Church that both my wife and I love dearly. First Christian Church is full of love and it is a joy coming into the office everyday even when I am in a sour mood.

With the incredible amount of joy that we have as a family you would think that everything is just fine. But it is not! I noticed that since moving back to Illinois my wife and I have let our spiritual lives slip just a little. At first you don't notice it, but eventually like a unpaid electric bill it all catches up with you. So at first we discussed it periodically, but we still were not moving forward. This over time began to trouble me more and more. I saw a pattern developing in my wife and me that happens to a lot of couples in the Church. It is what I like to call a "Sunday Faith!" What I mean by that is those who even though they read their Bibles and pray a little through the week they never share their faith as a family through the week like they should. So I even started wandering how much of God we have been missing out as a family because of my lack of Spiritual Leadership in the home? My answer was "too much!" So instead of whining anymore around the house and pointing fingers at one another I came up with a plan. I call the plan the "Moore Family Spiritual Standards!" We decided that by these we will live and we will watch and wait for God to move in greater ways in our lives. The Standards are as follows;

1. We will Trust in God prayerfully for all circumstances as a family.
2. We will pray with regularity as a family.
3. We will actively live out the Word of God daily.
4. We will honor God in words & deeds.
5. We will be wise with God's resources.
6. We will love others (inside & outside of the Church) as Jesus loves us.
7. We will worship God as a family everyday.

I know there has been a day or two when we did not pray or worship as a family, but we are making progress. My son who is only 20 months old will not sit still for nightly prayers after dinner, but he will pray at dinner and before bed with eyes closed, head bowed, and hands clasped together. For this I praise the Lord. In the Church regardless of position we need to have committed people who are leaving spiritual legacies within their families. We will only get from God what we ourselves are willing to give.