Thoughts I think I think...

Yeah I got the title out of a Sports Illustrated but I like it so I am borrowing it.
Thought I think I think series will be on a number of subjects for the next few weeks. Today is
Church.
1) I think most people find church boring. I know I do and I am a Pastor. The Church was not about sitting on our posteriors and "soaking up" good teaching. The Church is supposed to "go" and the "gates of Hell will not prevail against it". So are we doing more going than staying. Going is not boring, staying is.
2) I think most people find church irrelevant. I hate this but it is true. I would rather go and listen to a grease covered guy tell me some finer points about what I can do to improve my auto than to listen to a guy tell me what I can read for myself in the word. Show me how to use it and it becomes relevant to me. Too many times we are not showing people how to do things, but telling them how to do things. Most people like to be hands on, and they learn when they are involved, not watching from the sidelines.
3) I think sometimes we make church a show. I live a couple of hours from Branson Missouri where there are all sorts of shows I can go see and be entertained. And many times some of the church services are set up more as a show than an experience. When we gather to experience GOD, HE becomes the center of attention. When we put on a "production" for service we remove HIM from the center and we become the show. Too much glitz, not enough GOD.
4) I think most church people don't really know what they believe. I find this sad, it is like running around telling people how good something is, when you really have never tried it. I do not endorse or criticize something I have not tried. And when I get involved, I get involved.
5) I think many Christians play the part. I love motorcycles but I am not a "biker" I am a rider. Now I have leather chaps, leather vest, leather jackets and all the stuff including a bike but I am not a biker. I never pretend to be a biker, never have said I was a biker but many people who see me assume I am a biker because I ride a bike and wear black leather. Put me in with a bunch of people in suits and I look like a big bad biker. Put me in with a bunch of big bad bikers and I am just a guy wearing similiar clothing.
6) I think people know if we are posers or not. People hate posers, a poser is a person who says they are something when they really are not. I will use my biker analogy. I ride a really big Honda motorcyle. It has a 1800CC displacement (my car motor is SMALLER than my bike motor), fuel injection, and all sorts of great technology. It puts somewhere around 90 horsepower to the rear wheel and has somewhere around 120 foot pounds of torque. And I get told all the time, well it is not better than a Harley. I always ask that person what they ride, and they tell me that they don't have a bike, but if they did it would be a Harley and I always walk away and thing, "poser". Christians are a lot like that.
7) I think many Christians are wimps. Yeah I said it, many Christians are wimps. When the going gets tough many will change churches. If they are asked to go beyond their comfort zone they check out. If they are challenged, they quit. But the Bible tells us to meek and mild, turn the other cheek. Once I had a kid get right up in my face and threaten me. My christian thought process was to back down be a peacemaker. But that kid kept getting up in my grill and then he threatened to hit me. The word says the Holy Spirit will speak for us when we don't know what to say. Well I said, "you had better knock me out with your first shot, I will give you that and turn the other cheek, but if you try to hit me again, all bets are off and I will bust you up". He turned two shades of red but never lifted a hand. True Christians are the toughest people you will ever meet.
8) I think Church needs to get over itself. I hate it when people start to talk about other people and their problems while we cast a blind eye at our own. I remember when a lady told another lady about this woman in the church that was sleeping around. She called her a "whore" (can I type that on here?) and said she was bound for Hell, well the lady she was talking to said, "well she might be a whore, but you are a gossip and bound for the same place". I love that, the truth shall set you free.
9) I think religion is rebellion. Religion allows you to do what you want, when you want and how you want. That is rebellion. We are to be in a relationship, in where there is a two party interaction in everything. Rebels want to be alone, Jesus says he will stick closer than a brother.
10) I think the Church needs a wake up call. The Church is a sleeping giant who sees the world around them through rose colored glasses. The church needs to wake up and realize that the world around them is not the same world it was ten, twenty or fifty years ago. Ring Ring, this is the front desk, it is a new day and this is your wake up call.

Why is it...

that about the time you think you're on your way, something jumps up and knocks you down?
It seems that way most times in life, everytime we start to see the finish line, somebody goes and moves it!!
I have just had a time like that. Here is how I get through it.
1) Focus on the positives and not the negatives.
When we focus on the negatives sometimes we make them out to be bigger than they really are. Focus on the positives in life, and even though you may have been tripped up, after you wash the mud out of your eyes the view is much better.
2) Get active.
Get out of the same old routine when something comes up and knocks you off your rocker. Do something different, first it will require you to focus your mind on the new thing you are doing, and second it will give you a burst of energy to get you through.
3) Have someone help you.
Go to friend and explain what happened. Sometimes just hearing that you are not alone, and that someone else made it through will give you the strength to finish. Two make light the heavy work of one.
Pat

Plans...

A friend of mine has this great saying, "fail to plan, plan to fail". I love it because it is so true. But sometimes even the best of plans goes off track. So here is how I deal with derails in my life.
1) Never paint yourself in a corner.
Now I am the King of Procrastination, really I have a PhD in it from Never Do Today What You Can Do Tomorrow Graduate School. But one thing I do is I don't put unrealistic deadlines on myself, and if something comes up that interferes with a deadline that I could not control, I change the one thing I do control, the deadline I put on myself. Now it takes discipline to do this, you can't just make up some kind of "circumstance" to push out your deadline, but lets face it, life happens. So be flexible with yourself and your plans.
2) Always look to the finish line, not the track.
I hated track when I was in school. It must have been in Jr. High when coach tapped me as someone to run the mile in the track meets. I should have been estatic, instead I could only think of that mile I had to run. But I got through it focusing on the finish line, not the process to get to the finish line. Sometimes that finish line looks so far off, but as you get closer you see the line grow larger in your vision, THAT is what will get you to the finish line.
3) When involved in an accident, look for insurance.
I know you are thinking what? Now he is talking about car crashes. No hear me out. When you have an auto accident, you exchange insurance information with the parties involved. What that does is let the insurance companies work togethre to take care of both of you. It is called CO-OPERATION. When your plans get derailed, look for some insurance from a friend, a Pastor, a parent, a grandparent, a neighbor and have them help you get back on track with your plan.
4) Sometimes a detour happens
I hate detours, it slows me down, makes me take new routes I am not familiar with and messes up my schedule. But on many detours I have seen the most amazing scenery, found the best restaurants and experienced things I never would have if I had stayed on the main road. Detours lets us experience things off the beaten track. So don't hate on detours, they happen, embrace them, learn from them, and you might even find out that you find a better way to get where you are going.
5) Plans fail.
There I said it, yep plans fail sometimes. It is OK, you will not be branded a failure for your entire life because you had one plan fail. I think sometimes we learn more from our failed plans than we do from our plans that succeed. Some of the most influential people in history failed and failed miserably. I like the old quote, "if you try nothing, you will be sucessful at nothing 100% of the time". So try and don't be afraid to fail occasionally, just don't make it a habit.
Pat

It is good to be appreciated...

We had Pastor Appreciation day this week. You know October is the month where you are supposed to appreciate your Pastor.
So our church was planning an appreciation time for us this last Sunday.
It was nerve wracking. You see they told us to not plan for anything. They would handle it all, and they did but it still wracked our nerves worrying about what might or might not get done.
They blessed us with great gifts, great words of encouragement and we cried and laughed and relished in it all.
You know sometimes you need to be appreciated a little... even if it is a little embarrasing.

Progress...

I have a bathroom I have worked on for about five years. Yeah, five years. Well actually we had this really big bathroom that I divided into a main bath and a master bath. The main bath was completed not long after the construction project started. The master bath went through some times of inactivity to say the least in the last few years. I would get started and then something would come up that would distract me from finishing the project. Now a bathroom is a pretty big project for a do it yourselfer, but I was capable of doing it, just not capable of completing it. So I was looking at it today, and a thought hit me. Progress is still progress even if it is just a little bit.
You see, the completion of the bathroom will not happen in five minutes. I wish it would but it is feasibly impossible. But a bunch of small steps leads toward completion and that amounts to progress.
So today I had a couple of hours free, so I thought I should go and work on the bathroom. But it is only a couple of hours, so I almost just wimped out and forgot it. So I dedicated the two hours and got some small stuff done. I did not set the world on fire, did not get it completed but I made progress, and that is the key.
Our lives are like that as well, many times we expect to see a completed project in a moment's time, only to find that it doesn't work like that. We need to work toward progress each and every day, and if we will do that we will find that we will eventually reach the goal that we have set for ourselves.
So a little step forward each day will lead you through to completion.

How are you doing????

Hi, how are you? Hi, doing good? Howdy, you doing OK? (In my best New Yorker accent) How are yooooouuu dooooing?
Now I want you to think. Are you thinking yet? How many times have you said that where you really did not care if they were doing well or not? I can hear your thoughts now, I have ESPN, "well I care everytime, I am not just saying that because that is what I am supposed to say". I will at least be honest, I have many times said that as rote and never really expected to get any more than, "fine, how are you?" from someone else. And of course I responded with my politically correct and polite, "great, thank you." And we go on our merry ways happy that we have brought a smile to the world. Are we really that insane?
For you see, I have come to realize that people who ask me how I am doing really are not that concerned with how I am doing. So I have decided to put it to a test, and I want you to join me.
But beware, if you decide to do this, when you ask "how are you doing?" you need to really care how they are doing. Because if you just do this to be funny you are missing the point.
Now for those of you who have decided you really care, the next time someone ask you how you are doing, you should use one of these punchy lines. See how they react, do they just continue on like you said, "fine" or do they actually stop what they are doing and show genuine interest.
Okay? Ready? Here are some ideas for you when you are stopped and and asked how are you doing?
- Pretty good, my house burned down. But all in all good.
- Okay I guess, considering that I am dying. (kind of morbid I know but we all really are dying everyday.)
- OK, other than that abduction by aliens the other night I'm pretty good"
- Great, I just ate radiation and I am feeling luminase!"
- Horrible, my 401K just went in the toilet, my ulcers are acting up, I think I may have a gastrointestinal parisite, my knees, hips and shoulders need replaced, my medicare coverage sent me a statement that said die already, my hairline is receding, my waistline is expanding, college is looming, chocolate is bad for you and then good for you and now bad for you again, we are out of coffee, and the toilet is stopped up. But hey thanks for asking.

Have a great day!!
Pat

Get some new eyes...

I have great eyes! Yes I said it, and I know that I am jinxing myself but I really do.
Baby blues, I had a lady tell me one time that "your daughter has the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen". I looked up and said "thank you", and she said, "I see where she got them from". I said "thanks" and blushed three shades of red. And my eyes work really well. I am 41 now and earlier this year my wife made me go to the optometrist to get an eye check up because she thought I would look good in glasses. Well I did not need glasses. Doc said my eyesight is great but when it goes to come see him. I hope that is a long time from now.
So why am I talking about getting new eyes? Because sometimes we need to look at things from a different set of eyeballs, a different perspective.
Do you know that we grow accustomed to things? Yeah, rocked your world with that little insight didn't I?
Well we after a period of time grow accustomed to things and do not notice them unless they change. So that is why we need a new set of eyes to look at things from a new point of view.
I was looking at some literature we put out and thought, wow, this needs updated. You see I had quit looking at it about six months or more ago. It was our church calendar, we send it out each and every month but I never look at it. You see most of the stuff that goes on in there I am a part of, and it is on my CrackBerry (adicted I tell you) so I don't need the paper model. But I picked one up the other day and was like, wow that needs some refreshing. So I have challenged our staff to upgrade the mailers, all because I looked at something through a new set of eyes.

OK I am going to get political...

I usually refrain from getting political, but this morning this just went all over me. I booted up my computer and first thing I see on the MSN headline is that our President won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Now don't get me wrong, I pray for our president and although I do not agree with every policy he implements I am not an "Obamabasher". So this is more against the people who decide these things than the President himself. But come on!
Lets see what he has done to shape peace throughout the world. Ah, wait a minute, I am thinking, uhmm, well, I really can't come up with anything right now. And that is exactly my point.
Now in the article it talks about how he is lending an ear to Muslim issues and countries in the world, that we all need to live together in this great big world regardless of race and religion. But are we? Just this week Israel has said the obvious, there will be no peace in the Middle East, because the other side does not want it. The militant Hamas, PLO and the other "liberation organizations" that masquerade as politicians but are really terrorist will never accept an Israeli homeland in that area of the world. And the situation with Iran, well that is a boiling pot ready to explode. And Pakistan, well their democratic leader has decided democracy worked great when he was getting elected, now that his time is up he has decided a dictatorship suits him better. Can we really say the world and its countries are in a better place today than say even in 2000? I don't think so.
It also talks about how he is working to disarm the nuclear arsenals of the world. Well this is never going to happen. We have nuclear weapons because we developed them first. The other countries that have nuclear weapons looked at us and said we need a big stick too, so they made their own big sticks. Only the countries who lacked the resources or the know how were never able to make their own big stick got left in the dust. And once you have a big stick, the only thing you don't want is for others to get a big stick. You see with nuclear weapons their is no safeguard. You can burrow down into the mountain, but even if you survive you may not ever be able to leave that grave for the living because of the damage done to the surface. Disarmenment is a farce. You can tell people to turn in their guns for incentives, some will but most will turn in a few and keep the ones that they need to protect themselves against those others who do not turn in all their guns. It is human nature. We are no closer to disarmement now than we were in the 80s during the Cold War.
It also talks about his commitment to World Peace. Can I say that peace only comes followed by a time of war? Check out history, it is the way it has been and will probably always be. We are just smarter about it now than we were in the past. Will there be another world war? I don't know but no one thought there would ever be the first let alone the second world war. Peace? Well I see Iran propaganding that it will become a super power in its military might, we have India and Pakistan firing missles across the bay in test flights, and both are nuclear powers, we have China driving tanks and marching soldiers in the streets showing off their army, and we have conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, a never ending drug war in Latin America, pirates (although stupid ones) attacking ships around the horn of Africa, and let us not forget Somalia, Central African Republic and the genocides that are occuring every day.
No, I think the people who award the Nobel Peace Prize are clueless. They are seeing with their ears but not with their eyes. Kind of like a lot of people today, they hear what they want to hear and then warp their vision to see only what they want to see.
Rant over.

Mount Everest...

I have been intriqued about Mount Everest ever since that book by Jon Krakauer - "Into Thin Air" came out. It gave the account of a Mount Everest expedition that ended in tradgedy, eight people lost their lives that day but some others exampled courage and stamina to make it through the night on the deadliest mountain in the world.
I started thinking about this in relation to ministry. I believe whether you are pioneering or planting a church, pastoring an established church or reviving a church that has been dead or "mostly dead" (Princess Bride concept :-P) it is like climbing a mountain.

The expedition starts with preperation, you get everything together, even stuff that you might not really need but may need on occasion because once you start the journey it is really hard to go back and repack. You loose all your momentum and you waste the time you spent on your initial asscent. Prepare, Prepare, and Prepare some more. You won't probably get it all, but if you prepare correctly you will get 99% of it ready. But many poeple don't prepare at all, they just step in by faith and hope that it will work out. "I am leaving it in GOD'S hands" I have heard too many times. Can I say this, if GOD wanted to do it, he does not really need you. He works through us, and through our preperation we prepare ourselves to be ready to move at his command in any way that he wants. Consider this, you a driving home from work, how many different ways can you go to get home? I am not sure, but I think I can get home about 15 different ways. I don't use them all but I know all of them and they are an option if I need them. If I only know one way, and a tree falls over the road, I am stuck there till someone comes along and moves the tree. Preperation is vital.

The expedition then begins the climb up the mountain. This takes Perspiration. Yep, good old sweat. Too many people in ministry today don't want to work. Yes I went there. They want a 9-5 job Tuesday through Friday, yes ministers get to work a four day work week because Sunday is a work day! Yeah it is tough, sit through a service (if you aren't preaching) go eat lunch with friends for two hours and have the church pay for it, go home and take a nap in the afternoon and then go back to church for the evening service and then go to your ice cream parlor of choice and again put it on the expense account and then take Monday off since you worked so hard on Sunday. Have you ever thought what the people in your church that work a real work week, Monday through Friday, think about your schedule? No wonder everyone thinks ministers have it made. So get out there and start working. Get your manicured hands dirty, put the suit away and get out the Levis, Wranglers, and Rustlers (nice product placements huh? I have two new pairs from each company coming!! not really) and start perspiring. I will say it again, if GOD wanted to do it, he doesn't need us, but because he wants to work THROUGH us we have to start working for him. Climbing a mountain is not easy! You have to carry all this gear that you might or might not need, the air is getting thinner so it is hard to breathe, it is really cold so you are dressed like a snowman with layers and layers of clothes. And the pathway is snowy and icey and one mistep you can fall to your death. Yep, mountain climbing is like doing ministry!! Maybe that is why many won't journey outside the church office because of the slippery slopes.

The last part of being able to climb the mountain is perserverance. That is pushing on past all the obstacles and being tough enough to suceed. Many people are not tough enough anymore. I remember reading of preachers going to towns, preaching the gospel and then getting tarred and feathered by the town folks only to go onto the next town to do it all over again. I was like What? These dudes were C r A z Y!! No, they weren't crazy but they were tough and had a job to do. They did not care what people thought about them, they did not care how much they put in the offereing and wether they could correct them or not. They did not care if anyone came to their meetings. They just knew this is what GOD told them to do and they were going to do it till he told them to quit. The church today is soft. There I said it, we have fostered this culture of sitting around in a circle holding hands singing "KumByAh my Lord, KumByAh" while the world around us is calling out for a savior. We have to be people who are willing to push through, to cowboy up, to rock and roll, to "have fun storming the castle" (another Princess Bride mention, I am on a roll!) if we are to see the moutaintop.

So prepare, perspire and persevere in all that you do, and I believe you will be standing on the summit before long.
Pastor Pat

Follow the directions...

I really hate following directions. I don't know if it is a "man thing" or if I am just wired that way. But following directions is not a strong suit of mine. I remeber when I was younger putting things together and having leftover parts. I remember putting a wheel on my bicycle once, popping a wheelie and seeing my front wheel fall off. For the record, that was the longest wheelie I have ever ridden, although when it ended it was not pretty.
So anyway, I was working on my stratocaster guitar putting in some new electronics and following the directions that came with them. I had it all wired up correct and it still would not work. I got so frustrated that I just put it down and started on some other things. So about four hours later I was just looking at the diagram that came with my parts. And my eye caught something. There was a wire on that diagram that I had not seen earlier. Sure enough I look and I had forgot to put that wire in there. It was not really important, it was the ONLY wire that took the signals from the pickups to the electronics. Kind of like the driveshaft in your car that turns your axles and your wheels. You can have the best motor, best transmission and the nicest tires in the world, but without a drive shaft tying them together, you are going nowhere.
I think our lives are like that sometimes. GOD gives us directions and sometimes it appears to be just a tangle of wires, but somewhere in there if we forget to connect to him, all if for not. So stay connected, or you won't go anywhere or make any music!!

Amazing...

I am truely amazed at what GOD can do even when you have no idea what you are doing.
I was facebooking the other day and saw one of the gals from our college ministry days was getting married. So I posted a congrats! and then saw one of the boys from our XA days had posted as well. Last I knew, he was off on the east coast somewhere. Well I sent a friend request and he responded and low and behold he is a PASTOR! Wow, he was supremely talented, and we knew had a call on his life but that he is a full time Pastor just blew me away. I can't begin to count all these "kids" that we had the opportunity to minister to who have grown up, and are followers of Christ, active in Ministry and serving GOD with all their hearts. Now before I get too big headed I know we had a very small part in it, GOD is the one who equips those he calls, but I think it is too cool that some of these "kids" are out working for GOD and we had a part in their lives.
Really makes you think about ministry and investing in the lives around you. GOD does indeed give you his sheep to shepherd, what you do with them while you have them can impact eternity!

What makes a good parent?

I thought of this question the other day and had a hard time coming up with an answer. If you asked the kids, they would say a good parent is the following.
Lets them do whatever they want.
Gives them whatever they want.
Lets them stay up as long as they want.
Doesn't make them take any responsibility.
Doesn't interfere with their life.
Lets them make all their own choices.

Then I thought of what society considers a good parent to be.
Disciplines their children so they will obey.
Gives them what they need, not necessarily what they want.
Makes sure their well being is considered and enforces dos and do nots to help the child.
Makes the child take responsibility for their actions.
Makes decisions in the best interest of their children, that might not necessarily be what the child feels is in his or her best interest.
Allows the child to explore making decisions, but has the understanding with the child that the Parent's decision is final.

I have four children I am attempting to raise. Each with a different personality, different motivations and my parenting skill sets have to be flexible to be able to parent each of them where they will see the best benefit.
Parenting is an unexact science and even the best of parents sometimes have a child who is a "challenge" but we can never give up or give in. The results are too important.