Sunday Summary

What a delightful day of worship on this Lord's day! I woke up with great anticipation! This was my first Sunday back from vacation and I couldn't wait to return to BBC!

The Lord met us as soon as we arrived! Our early morning prayer meeting was very spirited as the saints poured out their hearts to God and expressed their appreciation to God for His faithfulness. The attendance at prayer meeting is not what I would like it to be, but those who come are very faithful and fervent prayer warriors!

Sunday School was also very insightful and inspirational! At this point I could hardly wait to get into public worship. I was expecting the Lord to do something great! He did not disappoint! Everything just seemed to click (if you know what I mean) Sunday. When the preaching moment approached, I felt an unusual urge to sing. The tradition at BBC has been to sing "Amazing Grace" before the preaching moment. When this was over, I led the congregation in singing "Near the Cross". To put it like Grandma would say, "The Holy Ghost fell!" I preached a message from Philippians 3:14 entitled, "The Amazing Race". Here's the basic outline.

1. Personal Race "I"

2. Passionate Race "press toward the mark"

3. Purposeful Race "for the prize"

4. Pleasurable Race "of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus"

The Lord really blessed the exposition! We did not have anyone join our fellowship, but we did have several come to the altar to re-commit themselves to a more worthy walk! God be praised!

Our day ended with our Mass Choir in their annual fall musical "In everything give thanks". I was bubbling over with joy as our choir sang beautifully to the Glory of the Lord!

All in all, I really believe that God was pleased with the offering of corporate worship that we presented to Him on yesterday! Pray for us this week !

Wednesday in the Word

We had a wonderful Wednesday in the Word! It was really good for me to be back in the saddle. I didn't realize how much I had missed the congregation. We both were glad to be in other's presence!

Our Sunday School Teacher's Meeting was really good. I always get tremendous feedback from the students, which makes for a good class. Our lesson was entitled " A new beginning for Saul", taken from Acts 9:1-19a.

This lesson was packed with points for us to ponder. I will lift just 2 that really caught my eye and excited our class. The first is the the Protest of Ananias. Acts 9:13 (NIV) "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem." How many times have we protested what God has said based upon someones past? I have some scars from my past. Most people call them tattoos. I have been excluded from so many things in church because of what someone has heard or assumed about my past. I do believe that we need to make wise decisions about people, however we can miss out on something beneficial if we only look at a person's past.

Next, look at the Providence of God, Acts 9:15-16 (NIV) But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Unknown to Ananias was the fact that God had already had an encounter with Saul. God can work on both ends at the same time! When God commissioned Ananias, He had already converted Paul! We must be careful not to let our protest outshine God's providence!

In Bible Class, we continued our study in the book of Romans. Today, we looked at Romans 1:24-32. In these verses, Paul gives us the results of God's condemnation of the heathen. These verses suggest that God condemned the heathen for his own willful rejection of the Truth of God manifested in them and in Creation. God dealt with them, not by sending down fire, but by giving them over to their thoughts, imaginations, and affections. I often tell the congregation that God does not have to knock your eye out. He can stop holding it in!

Romans 1:25-27 (NIV) They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. This passage deals with the often taboo church subject of sexual immorality. I went at it head on! Fornication, adultery, and homosexuality was, is, and always morally, physically, and spiritually wrong. We must not compromise our Christian convictions because of our current culture.

I could go on and on about this, but I will stop here. God Bless!!!

Tuesday Tidbits

I received this in an email and thought it would make for interesting conversation.

Just Because He's Black

A white man asked his black friend, 'Are you voting for Barack Obama just because he's black?'The black man responded by saying, 'Why not? In this country men are pulled over everyday just cause they're black; passed over for promotions just cause they're black; considered to be criminals just cause they're black; and there are going to be thousands of you who won't be voting for him just because he's black! However, you do not seem to have a problem with that!

This country was built with the sweat and whip off the black slaves' back, and now a descendant of those same slaves has a chance to lead the same country, where we weren't even considered to be people, where we weren't allowed to be educated, drink from the same water fountains, eat in the same restaurants, or even vote. So yes! I'm going to vote for him! But it's not just because he's black, but because he is hope, he is change, and he now allows me to understand when my grandson says that he wants to be president when he grows up, it is not a fairy tale but a short term goal. He now sees,understands and knows that he can achieve, withstand and do ANYTHING just because he's black!'

Monday Meditation

Over the past several weeks, I have talked to pastors and ministry leaders of various color, creed, and culture from all over the country. This is the one truth that I have extracted from all of these conversations. All of us are trying to "get it done" in some fashion.

The "it" we're trying to get done includes such things as:* We're all trying to bring Kingdom from Heaven to Earth.* All trying to reach out to the lost, the hurting, the poverty-stricken, the sick, the weak, the lonely, and those who cannot defend themselves or provide for themselves.* We are all, in our various ways, attempting to be the people of God in our current generation. And we are all attempting to figure out the best way to accomplish that objective.

The problem as I see it is that many of us, however, aren't really sure "how far" we are supposed to go to straddle the increasing gap between what appears to be our culture and the faith that we hold. And we think that if we just "add a new program, a new staff, a new look, or a new service", that such will keep us current with our culture, but not require us to really change any fundamental paradigms around which we operate. We say, with great conviction (and consolation to ourselves), that "we're willing to change the method, but not the Message", and we charge ahead with making minor changes here and there that we think will keep us "in the game" with the world around us.

But it's starting to look a lot to me like what I'm now calling "Pimping the Buggy". Let me preface this by saying that there is an enormous Amish population close to our area. What would you say if you were sitting at a stop-light, and you heard the clip-clop of horses' hooves beside you. You look over and see a tricked out Amish buggy sitting there, complete with brand-new fiberglass "butterfly" doors, curb-feelers, ground-effects, a huge "whale tail" spoiler on the back, deeply tinted windows, 36" alloy rims and racing slick tires. The horses are decked out with titanium yoke and bridle systems, and each has blinders and accoutrement's that match the fluorescent pink fuselage of the buggy itself. The guy driving the buggy bats the pair of green fuzzy dice hanging from the rear-view mirror once as he looks over at you, smiles, and then nods courteously to you. When the light turns green, he takes off like a shot from the lane, achieving a blistering 25 mph in a little over 8 seconds, leaving you to contemplate his vanity plate (it reads "HORSPWR") as you sit there awe-struck.

The Question is this, "When we say that we want to be "relevant" and "innovative" in our culture, what really do we mean?" Do we mean that really, we're willing to trick out what is fundamentally at its core an outdated, outmoded means of conveying Good News, or are we really willing to think and explore deeply about what it might mean to completely adopt a whole new model. I think we're all committed to the notion of "transportation" (i.e. Gospel, Jesus, personal transformation, etc), but it seems to me that as I engage people in our culture that much of what the Church attempts to do to gain audience to talk about things that are deeply spiritual looks little more to them than just an attempt to "pimp the buggy". We're scared to buy a car, but we're willing to try to look as much as we can like we have one. At what point are we better off either just acknowledging that we like buggies, and we have no intention of either pimping ours or buying a car, and if that means that we lose our relevance, so be it, or buy a car, with all of its frightening access to speed, freedom and the potential for much more lethal accidents? I think the way we answer that question will have a lot to do with "what the Church looks like" for the next generation in our culture.

Of course, this is a much bigger question than can be explored here, but I'm pleased that I at least feel like we're trying to aggressively pursue the answer.

Vacating Vacation

Wow!! It's been a great vacation! I've been away from the "Blogging Bunch" for too long. In the words of LL Cool J, "Don't call it a comeback!"

So much has transpired since the last time we have talked. I'll start with my appreciation. The one thing that I hoped and prayed for this appreciation was some great preaching. I was not disappointed! Pastors Miller, Owens, McGhee and Culver really preached out of their souls!! I was really appreciative of all that took place.

I was really excited because the end of my appreciation meant the beginning of my vacation. This was the 1st vacation I've had since the beginning of my ministry. Nicole and I got a chance to get away from everything for a week. This was some much needed time for us!! This last week, I spent at home doing some reading. I got a chance to read some books that have been on my shelf for a while.

The thought of staying home for the 2 Sunday's that I was not at BBC was very tempting, but something in me just would not let me stay away from the Lord's house on the Lord's day. Last Sunday, I went to New Zion Temple M.B.C. in Hammond, Indiana, where Rev. Brandon Jacobs is the pastor. This is a fairly new church plant, but I had a great time. The worship was very spirited ans Pastor Jacobs is some preacher! Today, I visited the Rock of Ages Baptist Church of Maywood, Illinois, where Rev. Marvin E. Wiley is the pastor. I was blessed by this worship experience as well! I am grateful to God for the opportunity to worship at other churches to get a "view from the pew." I am presently seeking God on ways to make our worship more efficient and effective and it was good to see what goes on at other churches.

Well Tuesday it all starts back! I must admit that I am excited about my return to the church! I miss preaching and teaching and fellowshipping with the Saints at BBC. I am grateful for this time away, but I am also grateful to return. I am relaxed, refreshed, and ready to pursue the things of God with more passion and power! God really ministered to me during my time away and I can see clearly the direction that He wants us to take!

I have so much more to say, but I will conclude by saying that it's good to be back and I'm looking forward to reading all of the posts and comments that I missed these past weeks! God Bless!!