Resolutions

Have you ever kept a New Year's Resolution? I have. One year I decided not to add salt to anything for the entire year. I made it. It was awesome! I was so proud of myself. Many people make resolutions every year only to break them in the first week or two. Some of the more common resolutions revolve somewhere around eating, or the lack thereof...

My resolution for 2006 is to be 100% committed to the work that God has called me. I am the senior pastor of a church in northern Minnesota. This past year we have added about 14 families, and we saw dozens of first time decisions for Christ. Yet our average weekly attendance was the same, and we gave a little less money in 2005 than we did in 2004.

I take the bulk of the blame for this. In my opinion we are suffering from complacency. We have become too comfortable with the way things are. If people come, they come; if people give, they give; if we can afford it great, but if we can't so be it. It makes me physically sick to even type it.

Our church could be a church that averages 500 people on Sunday mornings. We could make a huge impact on our community, as well as our county. God is sending spiritual waves that we are watching drift past us. I'm not a surfer as Rick Warren alludes to in Purpose Drive Church, but I can recognize the blessings that we are watching go past us. It's time for us to get off of our backsides and "BE" the church that God has called us to be.

I've got a lot of ideas that I want to run past my elders. I do not want to get too far ahead of the pack. We need to do this together. Please keep me in your prayers as I attempt to lead an emerging church into 2006!

Getting Volunteered

One of the dubious jobs that a pastor faces on a regular basis is being volunteered for things. For the most part, it is truly an honor. If you think about it, the reason that they are volunteering you is because they love you and are proud of you. They want to "show you off" to their friends and family, which is pretty cool!

I have people in my congregation who are active in civic clubs in the community. Lots of times when they need a speaker my name comes up. It is like, "Oh Pastor Jeff does such a fine job, he'd love to speak to our community club!" I am honored, truly I am. I am also busy, too busy!

I wish there were some tactful way to get out of these obligations. Sometimes I have a good reason because I am already busy, but to say that I just want some down time with the family does not always hold water. I get a , "I thought Friday was your day off" kind of remark.

If your reading this, please gracefully ask your pastor if he's looking for outside engagements before you mention his name in public. This way he can say yes or no and neither of you will look bad in doing so. Also, remember that he helped you out next time he calls you and asks for a favor!

Narnia

I went this afternoon with a fella from church to the theatre to see the new movie, The Chronicles of Narnia. I really love movies, and this one did not let me down. It was fun from the beginning to the end.

A few thoughts...

I love the way the movie stays so close to CS Lewis's original text. It truly is about as close as a movie can get. Lewis would be proud!

The parallelism between the Bible and the land of Narnia is unmistakable. I especially loved the scene where Aslan laid down his (innocent) life for Edmond's. The way they shame and humiliate him is pretty cool too!

The computer use and imagery is awesome! In my opinion, this is one to see. The kids (over 10 probably) will love it too!

Christmas Eve

This has been without a doubt the worst year of my life! Losing mom slowly has just been totally exhausting. Yesterday I put Cindy in the boys in the Yukon to head towards Chicago to be with her family for the holidays. I truly wanted some time just to myself to try to re-focus.

Typically my family would join my whole family at my grandmother's home for Christmas Eve. It sounds like the rest of the family will be there, but to be honest, my heart is not in it. I just want to be alone!

I want to spend some time quietly listening to God. I want to get some direction for 2006. I want to get my head back on straight. Truly, I am not sad to be alone. I want it deeply! I have looked forward to this for about a week.

Please keep me in your prayers that I will hear clearly from God during my time alone with Him.

Shopping

Remember when shopping used to be fun? Me either! Cindy talked me into taking Tuesday afternoon off from work and go into town with her to go Christmas shopping. The stores were absolutely ridiculous.

We went to Blockbuster and Best Buy for gift cards, then we went to the mall. That was a definite experience! I literally waited in line for ten minutes at our local Christian bookstore to have the girl that was working the cash register to actually step away and help another customer find something right as I got to the counter. She was then gone for another ten minutes when I began to whine (I'm good at that). They then called her back and I made my purchase.

After the mall we went to Toys-R-Us for the little neices, then to the meca of Christmas shopping, we went to Wal-Mart, or maybe better named Zoo-Mart! I think they brought people in from three states to shop there Tuesday afternoon. We did escape with our lives, but it was close!

As I went to bed Tuesday night I was replaying a lot of the day in my mind, and I actually found myself smiling. It was not because of the crowds in the stores, or the gifts that we bought, it was the time that I got to spend with Cindy. We rarely get an afternoon like that. With her working at the school now, we rarely get an afternoon together. To be brutally honest, it was fun to be with her, even among the sale-hungry shoppers. After almost 19 years together, we still love and crave our time together. Pretty awesome!

School Programs

I have two boys. One is almost 17 and the other is 15. Every year we go to their Christmas programs. My oldest son is a part of the High School choir, as well as their musical group called Pop Singers. I think we are finished with Christmas Programs for the younger of the two, as he would rather run the sound board than go up front and sing!

We went to the program last night at the school. They started with a jazz band, then the choir sang several songs, and the program ended with the Pop Singers. What a great job they did! My son is such a ham! He is a good looking boy (a chip off the old block!), and the girls love to be his partner for the dancing parts. They all look like they are having a wonderful time.

I wish I would have gone to a smaller school growing up, so that I could have been more involved. There were about 200 people in my graduating class. Also, my parents were not the type to encourage you to get involved in extra-curricular events. I am so thankful that my boys do have that opportunity. Small town living is pretty cool!

Who's here, or who should be?

One thing that has taken a long time for me to overcome (if I have overcome it) is the temptation to look around during a service and wonder where so-and-so is. This is an easy trap to fall into. Each week I go through my church rolodex and pray for our attenders. I oftentimes wonder what it would be like to have everyone here on just one Sunday.

Today for instance is our Christmas Program. You would think that everyone would be here to celebrate Christmas at their own church, but that is not the case. Many people have told me that they have this or that already scheduled. Tough stuff!

I have made a pact with God to not think of why people aren't here, but to focus on those who are. One farmer told me a long time ago in Wisconsin that when it is time to feed the cows that he goes ahead and feeds them even if only a few show up. Makes sense, huh?

Christmas Program Practice...

Usually Saturday mornings are pretty quiet. I sip coffee, touch up the sanctuary, catch up on Friday's email, and just take it easy. Not this morning! Tomorrow morning is our annual Christmas Program. The theme for this year is the Living Christmas Card.

There are probably 100-125 kids running crazy in the church. I love it! In just a few short years it will be up to them to run this place. They must take ownership. I think we must strive to make church kid-friendly!

I have been praying for a full house for our Christmas Program. I even added a little bit of incentive. I'm an avid Chicago Bears fan that pastor's in the thick of Minnesota Vikings country. Quite often I'll wear a Chicago Bears tie (not that I wear ties too often) just to get a buzz going in church. I told the kids that if we had 250 for worship for the program that I'd have my Bears tie cut off and replaced with a Vikings tie for the day. They loved it.

There are many little things that we as pastor's can do to create a buzz. We want to have the opportunity to spread the gospel. If it means that I lose a tie or two, so be it. So, let's pray that I'm shopping for a new Chicago Bears tie this Christmas!

Taking a day off...

I believe it is very important for everyone to have a day off. God took the seventh day to rest, and we should learn from His example. Far too many times we believe that we must continue to work and do our regular routine because we feel like the world can not go on without us. My conviction is that this is not honoring to God, our families, or to ourselves. We need regular rest so that we are fresh. It also helps us to avoid burnout.

I take Friday's off from work. I like to fish, golf, watch movies, or just veg out in front of Sportcenter on my day off. Many times the phone will ring at home. To be honest, I screen my calls. If it is important, I do call them back. Many times the call can wait until Saturday. I believe that our congregations will respect us for guarding our personal time. There is a book out that is entitled, Ordering Your Private World. Every pastor should read it, and keep the copy on their bookshelf. It is a great resourse.

If what you do can not afford you away for a twenty-four hour period, I would suggest you get a person to whom you can train and delegate some of your work load. There are great benefits involved in this. It was so comforting to know that my associate pastor was ready, willing, and able to step in while I was in Indiana tending to my family.

Well it's Friday, I'm off to go blow the snow off the driveway!

The Morning After...

My church has just finished a five day crusade with a group called, The Power Team. These are world class athletes who love Jesus. They come in and break bricks, bend steel, rip things up, and preach the gospel. It is radical in your face type of evangelism!

I pastor in a small rural Scandinavian community. We practice "Minnesota nice." No one wants to do or say anything to offend anyone else. This was a major stretch for our community. Let me just say, Uff-da! It worked!

In five days of revival we witnessed 75 first time decisions for Christ, and hundreds of people who have rededicated their lives to Christ. Our whole town is buzzing over this event. In five days we had more than 1500 people come through our doors. We had about 50 volunteers work different aspects of the crusade every night. Many people attended faithfully every night of the crusade, getting here as early as 5;30 PM and staying until past 10:00 PM every night!

Now what?

The team has left to go home. The church is put back into place like a church. There is no crusade to prepare for. Where do we go from here?

My plans are to challenge the congregation this week to keep going. I want the new converts to discover what their spiritual gifting is. I want to challenge those who rededicated their lives to start using their spiritual gifts. I want to challenge the committed to help the younger Christians with the assimilation process. I want to challenge the community to go win their world for Christ.

The crusade is just a small piece to the puzzle. We must be prepared for the follow-up. There is a major reason why a lot of seeds do not produce fruit. I believe it is because all too often we fall off of the mountain top experience and there is no one to help us climb to the top again. Assimilation is very important. It is also virtually impossible for the pastor or pastors to do it alone. We need your help!

Let's make a full and hard push to make this crusade 100% effective. Let's open our homes, our wallets, and our lives to help guide people into the kind of lives that God has called us to live. Let's not judge, ridicule, or speculate about the type of people God calls. Let's just do those things that build each other up. Because you're all a part of the team, God's Power Team!

Back iIn The Saddle Again...

Well, 2000 miles and a funeral later we find ourselves back home again. What a week! There is no question that this has been the hardest thing I have been forced to deal with in my life. I keep quoting Scriptures like 1 Cor. 10:13, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

The funny thing about Scripture, when you memorize them it seems like it is very obscure and wonder what the benefit is in memorizing something you can just look up later. Then tragedy hits and there is God's Word to bring comfort. I am so thankful to have my heavenly Father to lean upon. He gave me my earthly mother. He also knows just how I feel. My words cannot adequately describe the pain that my heart is feeling, but God knows and He comforts. One name for God that we learn in the Old Testament is El Shaddai. God Almighty can comfort us like a mother comforts her child. That is exactly the kind of support that I need right now.

As long as I live I'll miss my mom, but I know that because of El Shaddai, I'll be with her again in heaven. Thanks so much for your prayers!

Funeral

We made it into Wabash in time to say good-bye to mom on Sunday afternoon. I had a few moments by myself with her to whisper that I loved her and tell he what a good mom she was. Within minutes of us arriving she went to be with the Lord. All of us were with her when she went. It was very peaceful, and she was not in pain.

Visitation is today (Tuesday), and the funeral is Wednesday morning. We'll leave right after the funeral to head back home. We should arrive back sometime on Thursday. Thanks so much for your prayers!

My Mom...

We will leave tomorrow morning for Indiana to be with my ailing mother. This will be my sixth trip this year. It looks as if she will not make it through the night. I know that she will be at rest with Jesus, but it is tough to say goodbye to your mom.

She was a pretty tough woman. She had me when she was 17. She worked in a factory to raise my sister and I on her own. My dad left when before I was two years old. She made a lot of sacrifices for us. She was far from perect, but I always knew that she loved me.

Keep us in your prayers as we make the long journey to Indiana.

Premarital Counseling

I was looking at Pastors.com this morning and there was a decent discussion going on between pastors about whether or not they will marry someone who is not affiliated with their congregation. There were pastors on both sides of the fence with various opinions in lots of directions on this topic.

Here's my take...

I insist that if a couple is interested in getting married at my church that they must:

1) Be equally yoked according to the Biblical examples
2) Submit to three pre-marital counseling sessions (the sessions may not be taken in the same week as the last session)
3) Attend worship together as a couple at my church at least three times prior to the ceremony

If they cannot abide with those three requirements then I suggest that they pursue other options. I am not very lenient when it comes to missing sessions either. In my years as a pastor I have backed out of more than one marriage because the couple has not followed through. It is a tough decision, but I think it is extremely important to follow your convictions.

One more thing, I do not charge for the counseling or the wedding service. I think that this is part of the job for a pastor. This is ministry in one of it's finest senses. I have personally led dozens of people to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ through the premarital counseling sessions. If they are coming to a pastor in a church to get married, it tells me that they want God to ordain their marriage. God must be in the premarital discussions!

I'm sure that many pastor's in this world would not agree with me. I'd like to hear from other pastor's as to how they handle this tickly issue...