Our Date Night...

I am so happy that we went out as a family last night. It didn't start out real wonderful as Josh was lifting weights at the high school and was late, but we pulled it off!

We started by going to Walmart and picking up a few items. Then we went to McDonalds for supper. That was cool because we talked about life and caught up with each other. We had an extra half an hour to waste so we went to a thrift store called Savers. Zach bought a long sleeved shirt that looks like a Greg Brady or Danny Partridge hand-me-down. He was excited though.

We then went to see the movie, End of the Spear. I believe it is a must see film (probably not for children as it has some tough violent scenes). The whole family really enjoyed it and we talked about it quite a bit on the way home. The total cost for the night was less than $50. It was a bargain for what I think we gained. What is that credit card commercial? Priceless!

I'll say it again, Find time (and money) for what is important!

Family Date

Well I am going to practice a little of what I've been preaching on the last month. I've taken the church through a four week series on the family. I don't know if you have noticed, but the family is in trouble. We as parents are letting Hollywood teach our children their morals. It is getting to be very scary stuff!

Tonight all four of us are going on a family date together. Our plans are to eat off of the cheap menu at McDonald's for supper, then we are going to the movies to see, "End of the Spear." It should be a fun evening. I know that I am looking forward to it.

Take time for what's important!

The Youth...

This morning for our music portion of our worship service we will be led by our youth band. They get this opportunity two or three times a year. They are progressing in their abilities very well. They still have somewhat of a "grunge" sound, but it is their own music!

As a pastor I think it is crucial to have your young people involved in the worship service. They need to take some ownership in church so that it is an important part of their lives growing up. The Holy Spirit has given them a spiritual gift at conversion just like He did for us. They must be able to discover and use their gift before they forget about it and ignore it all life long.

Both of my teens are active in church. My youngest is 15 and he runs the computer and powerpoint for our worship services on an almost weekly basis. He is very comfortable with computers and enjoys being involved in this. My oldest son is 17 and he is not as active, but he does a great job acting in our dramas. He memorizes his lines and acts off the cuff on some of his parts as well.

I say this to encourage you to keep young people active in church. If they don't like it as kids, it is a good chance they won't come back as adults!

Feeling Old!

I thought that turning 40 was bad, but that was nothing! Today my oldest son Zach turned 17. That is pretty tough on the old man. I remember very vividly bringing this precious little boy home from the hospital. I was so very proud of him.

As he has grown I have been very close to Zach. He is a really good kid. For the most part he has been a very easy child to raise. He likes to be in good graces with people. This past year has been a little rough. He is getting older and he is ready to test the waters.

I trust Zach, but there is a little voice inside my head telling me to pull him back and protect him with everything I have. I know better though. He must find out about the world on his own. My job was and continues to be to instruct him on the evil that is in the world. I share God's love and God's Word to him at every opportunity I get, then I allow him to make those judgment calls on his own. Next year Zach will be a senior. Then he is off to college. Time goes far too quickly!

God is good to us. Raising children is indeed a blessing!

Neighboring Churches

One of the things that I feel really weird about as pastor is going to someone else's church for a service. This morning my wife and I will go to a neighbor church for the funeral of a man that lives next to our church facility. We both thought very highly of this fella and we want to pay our respects.

Don't get me wrong, I've gone to hundreds of services at other facilities, but there is always this little feeling of weirdness when I do. In a way it is fun because you can kind of try to pick up on things there that you would like to experiment with. On the other hand it is weird because you always have this feeling that something else should be said or done.

In this particular case we have a very good relationship with this church. I respect this pastor very much. I have preached in his church and he has preached in mine. There is a very good ecumenical relationship going on.

My thoughts today are that I must push past that uneasiness and ask God how He might be able to use me when I am being stretched like this. The very least I can do is to pray for my fellow pastor as he leads this service for this old friend.

The Annual Meeting

This is without a doubt the hardest work day of the year for me as a pastor. It is The Annual Meeting. It is a day when someone whom you love and shepherd could stand to their feet and make a motion that you go find another place to pastor.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think for a second that it will happen. Things are going awesome here in Hawley. We just had 75 people make first time decisions for Christ at our Power Team Crusade. I don't see a hit-and-run happening this afternoon.

Although I do remember an Annual Meeting about twelve years ago. We were pastoring in Northern Wisconsin. My salary was about $235 a week. I was looking to get a pay increase of about $30 a week. The church had grown. I had been there for more than two years. At the meeting a man whom I had a lot of respect for stood and said in front of the whole congregation, "He's not worth it." Granted those were not his exact words, but those are the words I heard and have carried to every Annual Meeting since then.

I did get the raise that year, and God has always proved Himself sufficient. The problem is insecurities. Please pray with me that I am strong and leaning not upon my own understanding.

Go Bears!

Making a Blunder...

Why is it that at the most inopportune times that you make those huge blunders that could never go unnoticed? Oops, I did it again...

We are going to have our church Annual Meeting this Sunday. Part of the Annual Meeting is annual elections. Our church bylaws require that the nominations must be posted two weeks prior to the election. Guess who forgot? For those of you who are slow, it was me :)

Now we must entertain a motion at the beginning of the meeting to suspend bylaws and hope that everything passes so that we may proceed. What a mess!

It is good to know that we have a heavenly Father who knows us intimately and knows of our mistakes and blunders, yet He loves us with an unending love. I am so thankful to have a forgiving congregation, but I am eternally thankful to God that His love transcends all of my faults, failures, and blunders.

Please pray for a good Annual Meeting that goes well with no more blunders...

Busy!

Sorry to not post in over a week, but life has been very hectic. Next weekend is our Annual Meeting and there is lots to do. I pray that you are staying very close to God and being diligent in your attempts to spend time alone with Him everyday. For the record, I am now reading in Zechariah.

I'll do my best to get out a few BLOG entries this week!