3.8 Million

I ran across this information in an article in an old issue of Outreach magazine. I have "adapted" it to fit this blog.

In the 30 seconds it took you to skim the title of this blog somewhere in the world aproxomately 125 people were born, and 53 people died, 36 of who did not claim to know Christ. In 2007, aproximately 3.8 million people died who likely didn't know Christ.

These are statistics.

But statistics have a face.

They represent real people.

How many of these "statistics" have crossed my path? How many of them could I have shared the gospel with, but didn't?

Jesus gave the great comission, but too many of us act like it is the great "omission".

The church I pastor has grown from 12 people to over 60 in less than four years. Today we had 63 people in a church with 70 seats! On top of that, we had a dozen or more people on vacation. While I stand amazed at what God has done in this little church, the truth is, not one of those increases in numbers has been the result of a new birth. I appreciate each and every one of them, and look forward to even more growth, but the desire of my heart is that we would have new births into the Kingdom.

I have been very convicted lately of my lack of actively sharing my faith. I ask for your prayers that I might be salt and light to those around me.

Since you've been reading this blog, aproximately 500 people have been born, 213 have died, 145 of whom likely didn't know Christ. In the coming days, weeks and months, I pray that we will all think about these numbers and the lives they represent. I pray that our hearts will break for those who die....and those who live not knowing Christ. I pray that we will all get very serious so that people will come to the realization that the answer to this life is the amazing, captivating grace of Jesus!

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

My Three Dads

I just finished reading the book, "Lost Boy" by Greg Laurie.



It has been some time since a biography (in this case and autobiography), has moved me to tears. I saw so much of my life in some of the things Greg went through, especially in the area of his Dad.

I never met my first Dad. He died at the age of 50, when I was in my early twenties. I did not even know I had another "Dad" until I was 12 years old. The story is too long to go into here, but as a young boy, about to enter his teenage years, this revelation rocked my world, to say the least.

My second Dad, the man who raised me, who gave me his last name, who taught me right and wrong, who loved me unconditionally, was as good a Dad as a kid could hope for, and yet, I could not help but wonder what was wrong with me that my first Dad not only abandoned me, but was more than willing to sign me over to this other man. You see, in order for my second Dad to adopt me, my first Dad had to agree to it.

During my teenage years as my second Dad and I grew apart, I always thought it was because I was not his "real" son. As a teenager, I never felt like I was good enough for him. I just felt like I didn't measure up. Of course, time has proven that to be a lie from the devil. My second Dad had his own problems, just like all of us do.

Now, as a 50 year old man, with my "second" Dad having turned 74, I see a man who took a little 2 year old boy and made him his own. He did what many men would not have done. He did not have to adopt me, but he chose to. I am proud to call him Dad. I am proud to be his son.

I am thankful for so much that he has done for me over the years. He has not been, and is not perfect. But he is my Dad. And most of all, he was instrumental in introducing me to my third Dad.

I am so glad that my Dad made sure we went to church. At vacation bible school in the summer of 1968 I met Jesus as my Savior, and became a child of God. My third Dad (God), has been everything that my other two Dad's never have been, and never could be.

You will probably not ever meet my Dad (#2), but I pray that one day you will meet Dad #3.

As the scripture says, He is the Father of the fatherless.

Well, I've got to go now. My son is calling me to come watch him play a video game.

I pray you will come join the family.

Pastor Dave

From The Pastor

I have started putting a little article each week in our church bulliten that I call, "From The Pastor". This week I shared with the church "40 Tips For Young Pators" by Craig Groeshel. I thought they were great (and some were just funny), but that they could apply to others in ministry, not just pastors. The more I thought about them, I realized that several could apply to christians in general, and so I thought I would share the tips with you. Here they are. I've included some comments of my own in brackets. Enjoy.

40 Leadership Tips For Young Pastors

1. Life is short. Make every day count for God’s glory.

2. Don’t take yourself too seriously.

3. Ministry is a marathon, not a sprint.

4. Jesus cares more about the church than you do. (I really need to remember this
one)

5. You can’t please everyone…so why try? (A trap that is easy to get caught up in)

6. People will criticize you. Quit whining. Get used to it. (Hoo-boy...need to
remember this one too!)

7. Three months from now, you won’t even remember most of the
things that are bothering you now.

8. You can’t do it all. Stop trying.

9. God called you because He is good, not because you are. (That is the truth!!)

10. If you blame yourself for the bad results in ministry, you’ll likely also take credit for the good results.

11. Become close friends with other pastors in your town (as many as you can).

12. Your kids will be grown before you know it. Don’t sacrifice them on the altar
of ministry. (I've seen this happen far too often)

13. Your ministry isn’t your god. God is your God.

14. You know how to give and how to minister to others. If you don’t learn how to
receive, you'll burn out and/or die. (Why is this so hard for pastors to do?)

15. Studying for sermons doesn’t replace your personal time with God and in His Word.

16. Err on the side of generosity.

17. Believe in people that others overlook.

18. If you’re going to reach people that others aren’t, you’ll have to do things
that others won't. (This is one for each beleiver, each local church)

19. Your integrity matters more than you can imagine.

20. Hire staff members that you like.

21. When you have a tough decision to make, but you know it’s right, make it
immediately. Like pulling off a Band-Aid: do it fast, and all at once.

22. Hire slowly. Fire quickly.

23. You can’t change people. Only God can.

24. Don’t criticize others’ ministries. Yours isn’t nearly as perfect as you think
it is. (I laughed out loud at this one)

25. Take care of yourself. Eat right. Rest. Exercise. Take time off. No one else can do that for you.

26. If you don’t take much time off, it’s because you’re proud, and you think
you’re more necessary than you really are. (Ouch!)

27. Don’t just delegate responsibility. Delegate authority.

28. Laugh frequently.

29. People will leave your church. People you love and trust will leave your church. Don’t take it personally. (It's hard not too...often the rest of the church
blames the pastor)

30. When you suffer and hurt because of ministry, worship Jesus all the more.

31. Talk about Jesus every time you preach.

32. Be careful what you say. You’re being watched-and recorded.

33. Don’t return emails when you’re angry.

34. Check to make sure your microphone is turned off before you use the bathroom.
Double-check. (This is funny....because I've done this)

35. Check to make sure your zipper is zipped every time before you preach.
Double-check. (And I've done this too)

36. Love your wife more than you love the church. The church is Jesus’ bride, not
yours. (I've seen too many abandon their wives for the church)

37. Always be caught speaking well of others.

38. Compliment, encourage, and build up your staff and volunteers.

39. Hand write thank you notes.

40. Smile and look people in the eyes when you talk to them.


Ok, so there's that.

Pastor Dave

I'm Back.....again

Ok, I've said it before, but here we go again.....I'm back.

I've neglected my blog for too long, but I have undergone a mini-revival (is there such a thing?) of sorts, and this blog is one of the things that I really feel impressed on by the Lord to update and get into gear with.

This post will be short, and to the point.

I have been neglecting the call that God has placed on my life. Now don't get me wrong. I have been preaching, and studying, and praying, etc, etc, etc. But I have also let to much "stuff" get in the way of the calling that God has placed on me.
I have come to the conclusion that I have adopted more of a "westernized" view of christianity and that a biblical view of christianity is needed.

I have just read three books that have impacted my head, my heart and my life. They are, in no particular order:

Secret Believers by Brother Andrew



Crazy Love by Francis Chan



and....

The Beautiful Fight by Gary Thomas (thanks to my wife Deena for directing me to this wonderful, life changing book!)



All I can say is that if you don't want to change your life, if you're happy with the status quo of your walk with the Lord, if you are comfortable right where you are, then DON'T READ THESE BOOKS!!!

But, if you feel like something is missing, and that God is calling you to something deeper, something radical, something life changing, then READ THESE BOOKS!!!

I really cannot put into words the change that these books, (along with the word of God and time in prayer), have made in my life. I am fired up. I am ready to go. I am ready to lay my life down, and pick up the cross.

I invite you to come and join me.

Please keep me and the church I pastor in your prayers. I beleive that God is at work and on the move in our little church.

I plan on blogging three times each week....Friday, Saturday & Sunday. More if it is possible. If you are a reader, drop me a line. Leave a comment. Email me. Let me know if these ramblings of a 50 year old pony-tailed pastor are worth reading.

Above all, live for Jesus.

By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Pastor Dave

Are You My Brother? (or Sister)

Years ago, as a child I remember reading a book called, "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman.



In it a lost little bird goes from animal to animal looking for it's Mother.

I couldn't help but think of a parallel in the church today.
There are hurting brothers and sisters all around us, and often when they reveal their hurts, their struggles, their mistakes and their sins, the church turns it's back on them. They are searching, for fellow believers, asking honestly from broken hearts and broken lives, "Are you my brother?", "Are you my sister?"

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't think we should tolerate sin, and I don't think we should try and "manage" sin. We need to run from sin. We need to run to Jesus, and Jesus will heal us and forgive us and cleanse us. But, let's not forget that we all need forgiveness, cleansing and healing of our sin and the affects it has on our lives.

We find it so easy to cast stones at someone else, yet we are all in different stages of our own sin addiction. I'm sure someone will say, "Not me. I'm not addicted to sin." Then, like most addicts you are only fooling yourself. Sometimes I think I need to stand up in church and say, "My name is Dave, and I'm a sin addict."

Why do I call us all sin addicts? Simply because none of us have been able to stop. Oh, we might have cut back, or quit for awhile (seriously, though, how long do you really think you can go without sinning?), but in the end, we all wind up sinning again. As beleivers, we should sin less, but we will never be sinless. Yes, there is a difference.

Scripture tells us in 1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." And then again just a couple verses later:
1 John 1:10 "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

You might have a problem with me calling us sin addicts, but if it is really buggin' you, take it up with God. He's the one who said in His word that we sin and we are sinners.

So what do we do when a fellow beleiver sins? What do we do when they are struggling? What do we do? We love. We encourage. Not the sin, just the sinner.
Don't misunderstand me, and I want this to be crystal clear, sin is sin and it is layed out in scripture and is black and white. We should not sugar coat it or excuse it, but we must learn to forgive it and to restore the one who has committed it.

Sin is layed out in scripture in black and white. But ever since the fall of man, we have been living in a grey world. Sin gets messy and hard to nail to the wall. So forgiveness and restoration must be worked at and be readily available to anyone who is looking for it.

Now, some want forgiveness and accpeptance of them and their sin. We cannot do that. We cannot camp with sin. We cannot embrace sin, but we must embrace the sinner. If some will not repent (which means turn from their sin....and sometimes the turning is hard work, and a long process, not an overnight victory with a snap of our fingers), then we still need to forgive them, but we will not be able to support them while in the midst of their sin.

But if a brother or sister is hurting because of bad choices (sin), and those consequence, and are desiring to make things right, then we need to be there. We need to support them. Gal 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."


When someone runs down another brother or sister we need to not listen, but to work it out according to scripture (which would be a good idea for a future post).

Sometimes our brothers and sisters are just going through a rough time in their life and they need us. Too often we just want to slap a "Praise the Lord" on it and think it will all go away. This is both naive and just plain wrong.

Or we pull out our favorite scripture in the face of the hard things we all go through, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28), and use this as an excuse not to be there for our hurting brothers and sisters, because after all if you love the Lord, this will be a good thing. WRONG! The passage doesn't say that the struggles, trials, tragedies and hard times are good, it says that God will work something good out of them, which should give us encouragement and hope, but does not lessen the pain and suffering we go through while dealing with these things.

So the next time you encounter a hurting brother or sister, whether hurting from sin or from life, and they are asking "Are you my brother?" or "Are you my sister?", let's be quick to say, "Here I am." "Let me walk with you."

I know this is a lengthy post, but hey, it's been awhile, so I'm making up for lost time.

I want to close with a song from one of my favorite Christian artists, Steve Camp.



And I dedicate it to my brother Tim, who even though he is my little brother, spiritually I have always looked up to him as my brother in Christ. I'm here for you Tim.

I Believe In You
by Steve Camp and Rob Frazier

Have you ever felt forsaken
Like nobody really cares for you
They just walk on by
Yeah they walk on by

Is there a hole in your resistance
I thought I saw your lonely heart show through
Oh they just walk on by
Oh they let it pass you by

Because I know you wonder
Will you have to make it on your own
But you can count on me brother
You don't have to face the hurt alone

Cause if there's trouble in your life I'll face it with you
If there's mountains to climb I'll climb there too
We're in this together, I'll see you through
Oh, I believe in you

Well I was cruising down the street
I heard somebody kick around your name
I couldn't walk on by
I don't believe their lies
Cause a friend is always faithful
Through the fire and the rain
I'll stand by your side, I'll be by your side

We'll always be together through the thick and the thin
Through all the stormy weather I want you to know you've got a friend
Cause I know you wonder will you have to make it on your own
You just count on me brother, you don't have to face it all alone

...oh, I believe in you


Still crawling towards the light,
Pastor Dave

Romans 4:17

I know I said I was going to post some more about the book, "Starving Jesus", and I will, but for now I want to share just a little about what I just read in Romans.

I was reading this verse in Romans, when the Holy Spirit used it to hit me upside the head with the force of baseball bat being swung by Babe Ruth!

Romans 4:17
As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

Did you get that last part?

Let me put it up here again, only this time, all in caps. I don't want you to miss this.

"...God who gives life to the dead AND CALLS THINGS THAT ARE NOT AS THOUGH THEY WERE."

Why did this hit me so hard? Well, maybe this is a no-brainer to you, but I saw this in a whole new way tonight.

In my sermon this morning I told our church that we needed to see the goal, the finish line in what God has called us to do. I am in a very unique and blessed position at this time. Hopefully I can explain it to you. We had 69 people in our services this morning, with at least 5 people who are normally there absent for various reasons. I know, I know, it doesn't sound like a big deal, unless you know that three years ago when I first preached at this church there was ten people there. Yup, you read right, ten people. How did we get from ten people to almost seventy people in three years?

Because God called things that were not as though they were.

God saw us and said, "You're not a little church of 10 people. You are an exploding church of 70!"

Which takes me back to what I asked the church this morning. What do they see for the future of our little church? I beleive that God has called us a church of waaaaay more than 70. I'm believing that God is ready to burst the doors open and knock down the walls. After all, He has no limitations.

Why this is all amazing to me is that I really didn't think He was going to do this when I first took on this little church. I was going to be jazzed if we could hit the low twenties within three years. I figured doubling our size and having a 100% increase would be pretty phenomenal. I found out that I think too small. I serve a big God.

I ask you to pray for us.

We have a lot of work to do.

We have people who have many spiritual, physical, financial and emotional needs.

We need to build a new building. Our present building only holds about 80 people. We're closing in on maximum occupation soon.

But I know that God doesn't see it like I do.

He calls things that are not, as though they were.

I just need to step out in faith.

One of those things is that I want to be able to leave my "tent-making" occupation and be able to devot all my time to building this church that God has called me to.

I don't know how that will be possible. I have medical insurance, a good salary, and a great retirement plan and to walk away from all of that, well, it is scary.

But I need to see truth.

And truth is not a "thing".

Truth is a person. Truth is Jesus.

And Truth tells me that I serve a God who can supply all of my needs. After all, he calls things that are not as though they are.

I will close this time with a contemporary song by the group, Casting Crowns.


The song is called, "The Voice Of Truth".

"Voice Of Truth"

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
To the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. 'Boy, you'll never win!'
"You'll never win"

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
And the voice of truth says "Do not be afraid!"
And the voice of truth says "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a Sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again "boy, you'll never win!
"You'll never win"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Selah,
Pastor Dave

Starving Jesus

Wow!

Once again I have neglected my blog. It has been over a month since my last post! It seems as though my blog is a mirror of my own life as a follower of Jesus. Too often I let all the "stuff" in my life get in the way.

It has caused me to stop, pause and contemplate just what it means when I call myself a "christian".

I have been reading a very interesting and unique book called "Starving Jesus".




It is about getting out of the pew and into the street and making a difference in the lives of those around us. The authors have coined a phrase called "Born Again Lazy". I'm afraid that I have been guilty of that too many times in the past.

I am not going to ramble on and on in this post, I just want to encourage you to go out and get this book.

Read it.

Pray about it.

And then do something.

This book has changed my life.

I pray that I will never go back.

Over the next week or so, I will be posting some favorite quotes and some things that the book has driven me to consider.

Again, read this book. I am not the same person I was when I started reading this book, and I don't think you will be either.

I close with a beautitful, yet convicting song by the late Keith Green.



Make My Life A Prayer

Make my life a prayer to You
I wanna do what You want me to
No empty words and no white lies
No token prayers no compromise

I wanna shine the light You gave
Thru Your Son You sent to save us
From ourselves and our despair
It comforts me to know You're really there

Chorus
Well I wanna thank You now
For being patient with me
Oh it's so hard to see
When my eyes are on me
I guess I'll have to trust
And just believe what You say
Oh you're coming again
Coming to take me away

I wanna die and let You give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope You gave me
The love that set me free

I wanna tell the world out there
You're not some fable or fairy tale
That I've made up inside my head
You're God the Son and You've risen from the dead

Chorus

I wanna die and let You give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope You gave me
The love that set me free


Selah,
Pastor Dave