Traci

I have a kid sister named Traci. She is 15 months younger than I am. I remember when we were young, we fought like cats and dogs. She was always around. My friends were her friends. In fact, sometimes my friends were her boyfriends! She wanted to be with her big brother, and I saw her as a pain in my neck!

As years went by we went from fighting to being good friends. Traci is kind, giving, compassionate, and caring. She is a good listener and a great friend. Now she lives about 1000 miles away. I wish she was always around getting in the way! With mom dying in December it makes me all the more aware of how important family is.

If you have family, take time to let them know how special they are to you!

District Conference

This week, Dylan and I traveled to the Cities for our yearly District Prayer Conference. The major order of business was to elect a new District Superintendent. Rev. Craig Strawser has served in that role for the past nine years. His tenure had come to an end, so we had to elect a new D.S. at conference.

There was a little drama, but when all was said and done we elected Dr. Don Wiggins for the position. Dr. Wiggins is a very godly man with lots of experience. I am very excited to work under him in this capacity. It is my desire to get him here late summer to visit Hawley.

My favorite part of conference was that Cindy was able to come along this year. It is the first time in six years that she was able to come. The boys stayed with friends, so we had the week to ourselves. It was a great time away.

We're looking forward to church on Sunday. Hope to see you there!

Springtime!

I have had my boat out a couple of times this week. I am so glad it is springtime. I was getting pretty tired of winter. I love the warm weather. I have such high hopes for fishing season this week.

On Friday, we went to a nearby lake and I caught a couple of nice bass. One was very similar to this one. I know they are out of season. We were fishing for crappies with minnows, and this largemouth decided he was hungrier than the little fish. After a few good looks at him, he was returned safely to the water.

I am not a big bass eater. I think they taste rather "mushy." They are a lot of fun to catch though! They get up to the boat, then zzzzzzzzzz the lines screams and they take off again. Lots of fun!

My boat needs a little work, but I'm sure it will provide me with hours and hours of fun this summer! See you on the lakes!

Getting negative feedback!

One of the ishy things about being a pastor is getting negative feedback. I hate hearing, "Someone came to me and told me this about you." I absolutely abhor that! I wish that people would kindly say, "I'm sure our pastor would love to hear this from you. I know he cares about our congregation, and he always has an open door. Why not go to him with this information?" Wouldn't that be great if it happened that way?

Or when I hear, "Pastor I'm just not getting fed like I should." I want to say, "You have got too picky of a diet!" 9 times out of 10 when I hear this, it is coming from people who do not attend Sunday School, and they are not involved in a small group or Bible study. People do not realize that these are the places that we grow most. Sunday morning worship services are not designed for that. Neither should they be!

If you are reading this blog, my words to you this morning are simple: If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem! Sorry to be so negative, but I felt I needed to get that off of my chest!

Golfing

I went out golfing this afternoon. Sure, it was only 50 degrees outside. It was also raining a little, and the wind was definitely blowing harder than usual. I have lots of good excuses. The problem is, no matter how you slice it (pun intended) I stink at golf! You would think that a guy who golfs about 70 rounds a summer could break 90 every once in a while, don't you?

Today I golfed a 96. I have yet to be under 90 this year. I have been over 100 a couple of times. My best round so far is a 92 this spring (it's early though!). I have got to take a few strokes off from my game this year.

I think the golf course is a great place to take guys from the church. I have yet to golf alone this year. We get to talk about all kinds of things. I do a lot of leadership development out there. It is also a good place to check guys integrity. I stink and I know it. I don't try to make my 90's look like 80's. Who do I have to impress? I'd much prefer guys shoot 120 than to turn in bogus scores!

Tomorrow I am going to Park Rapids to golf with another pastor. It is a course that I have never golfed. I'll probably get my pants beat off, but that's ok. It's better than sitting in my office answering telephone calls!

John 21

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’” John 21:15 (NIV)

Whew! What a week! Praise the Lord! I hope that you have not felt bombarded with the daily emails you have been receiving this past week. I wanted to do everything possible that I as your pastor could do to ensure you had a positive holy week.

I believe that Sunday was awesome. We had 12 first time decisions for Christ yesterday! Praise the Lord! That brings our count to 26 first time decisions for Christ during holy week! Think about that, more than half of the churches in America did not have one single first time decision for Christ last year, and we had 26 in one week! Uff-da! Heaven is rejoicing! The game plan is to contact those people who made decisions and follow up with them this week.

I’m sorry that parking was such a hassle yesterday. We wanted to make sure that there was plenty of space for any late-comers. It all worked out well.

I pray that God would continue to bless you this coming week!

John 20

He has risen!

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31 (NIV)

Easter morning! I am so excited. I woke up before the alarm went off this morning. I got into the church before 6 AM. I finished my reading. Then I personally prayed for every family and it's members of Hawley Alliance. I know that God has something very cool planned for our church today!

Please come this morning (with a full car hopefully) with a prayerful attitude that many people would be here with open hearts to the Gospel. Pray that God would save our lost family members, friends, and neighbors. Pray that there will be an outpouring of His Spirit.

We don’t have the opportunity that the disciples did in John 20. We won’t see Jesus until we get to heaven, or He comes back for His church. We believe because of what we have read and heard. We believe because we have seen changed lives and heard of testimonies of others lives. We have seen God heal those who the world would proclaim is destined to die from things like tumors and cancer. Our God is alive! He has risen, indeed!

See you at 10:30!

John 19

“Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” John 19:19

I wish I could remember who first said, “Friday is the day we mourn the death of our Savior. To be honest, I don’t know where He was on Saturday, but all I do know for certain is that Sunday is coming!” Jesus Christ is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. Tomorrow we will gather together to worship the King of the Jews. I am very excited, and I pray that you are as well. Sunday is coming!

I’m sorry if you missed our service last night. Pastor Dylan did a marvelous job recounting the entire crucifixion passages. Dave Swanson led us in the Lord’s Supper. That was especially nice for me, as Cindy and I have not celebrated communion together as a couple in a very long time. The whole night was great!

This morning we are going to do some cleaning up of our facility, this afternoon I have a wedding to perform in Fargo, then it’s time to get ready for the big day. Please spend time today asking God for Him to show Himself in a mighty way all over this world on Easter Sunday 2006. I’m praying for a revival!

Remember to come early. There is no Sunday School. You could drop off your carload at the door, and then go to the high school to drop off your car. We’ll shuttle you back over to the church. Again, we’re praying for a big turn out from the community.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I’ll see you with your friends and families tomorrow!

John 18

“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, ‘Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?’” John 18:10-11 (NIV)

I have been accused on several accounts of being a lot like Peter. When I read this account this morning from John 18, it made me smile. Peter was one of those guys who just could not let well enough alone. He was always up to something. Instead of allowing Jesus to complete His work, Peter thought there was something that he could do to help the situation. Once again, just like when he sunk into the water, he was wrong again!

We must realize that there are some things that we should be doing, and then there are some things that we should allow the Lord to do. For example, we should do all we can to tell our friends and loved ones, and anyone else who will listen about Jesus and His ultimate sacrifice for us. We can, and we should do that! We can’t make them believe though. We cannot convict them. That is God’s job that He does through the Holy Spirit!

My prayer this morning for you Hawley Alliance, is that you would be brought to a new awareness of how wide and long and high and deep is the love that Jesus Christ has for you. That you would stop trying to do all on your power, and rely upon His power in you, and that God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. That your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May God bless you mightily on this Holy Good Friday!

John 17

“May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:23b

What an awesome prayer! Jesus wants you and me and every other believer on the face of this planet to be in complete unity. Hi prayer is for all believers to be likeminded for the sake of the Gospel. That is a pretty lofty prayer request. I believe though that Jesus would not have prayed the request if there was no way of the request to be answered. It is possible to have complete unity. Please join me as I pray that God would bring complete unity amongst believers.

I’m receiving lots of email from the congregation about this upcoming weekend. I think we are all excited. Feel free to drop me a few lines and let me know what is happening with you this week. How is God working on your heart as you prepare for Easter?

I am convinced that we are in for something special. He is an email I received from Deb Muscatell concerning AWANA last night, “Praise Report! We had 14 kids accept Christ before having a great egg hunt. The gym was packed! Leader moral is up and the youth said they had fun at their event also. Life is good, God is great! Deb”

Three days till Easter Sunday! Is your family ready?

John 16

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

In this world we will have troubles. That is about the understatement of the universe, isn't it! We do have troubles, don't we. A lot of times we talk to friends or neighbors and they might say something like, "I wish I had my life all together like you do!" When I hear that I just chuckle. That is the furthest thing from the truth.

Yes, I love the Lord. Yes, I know my future home is heaven. Yes, my family are all believers. But the honest truth is that I have troubles just like everybody else. I have a house and car payments. I have teenagers who sometimes get themselves into trouble. And yes, sometimes Cindy and I have barnburner arguments...

The Good News that we must ALL remember is that Jesus told us that we were going to have troubles, but for us to keep in mind that those troubles will someday be brushed away in heaven. So take heart, my friends, Jesus has overcome this world!

I'm looking forward to a full Friday. At 10:30 AM we will participate in Stations of the Cross. It will be a city-wide procession with a cross, remembering what Christ did for us on the Good Friday some 2000 years ago. The procession will begin at Hawley Alliance and move through town to the Hawley cemetery.

At noon we will participate in a Good Friday worship service at St. Andrews Catholic Church. This will be a time to ponder the last statements of our Lord Jesus Christ before He died on the cross.

At 7:00 PM we will have a special Good Friday service here at Hawley Alliance. Pastor Dylan will be leading us. We will observe the Lord's Supper as a part of the service. So it will be a full day. I pray that you take the time to take in some of the events, if not all of the events of the day.

God bless your Wednesday!

John 15

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

It is Tuesday and I re-read John 15 this morning. This is one of the verses that I memorized early in my Christian life. It has always been meaningful to me. What stands out to me this Holy Week is the last line, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”

That statement is so true. We try to say the right kind of things, and pick the right kind of music, cast the right kind of drama, put out the right kind of advertisement, decorate in just the right way, but in the end, apart from Christ we can do nothing! What a healthy reminder that is to us friends. Keep Christ first in all of your planning and activities. Remember that He is the Energizer battery that keeps the bunny running.

Five mornings from now our facility will be filled to the rim. Are you doing your part? Are you inviting people intentionally, spontaneously, and accidentally? Remember, people are more willing to be invited than we are to do the inviting!

Have a Super Tuesday!

John 14

"'Because a loveless world,' said Jesus, 'is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we'll move right into the neighborhood!'" John 14:23 (MsgB)

I challenged the congregation to read from a chapter in John, starting with 14 and working their way to chapter 20 on Easter Sunday. Above is a verse from the Message paraphrase on verse 23. It struck me hard this morning. I have been thinking a lot lately about our culture. How we take goodness for granted.

There is not a lot of good that is intentionally being done. I think that is because we live in a loveless world. We are too interested in doing what is best for me and mine. That is contrary to what God has intended for this world. We should be on the lookout to do good. We must strive to keep God's Word while living in this world.

Go out of your way to show the love of God to this loveless world today!

Need Prayer

I am going through an extremely tough time right now. I know I am under fire from the evil one. If you are reading this, would you please lift me up in prayer for protection, wisdom, and guidance. Easter is coming and I think that may be a big part of it. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Easter is Coming!

Today we are busy getting ready for Easter. We are sending out nearly 6000 jumbo postcards that look like this. It will go through Hawley, Barnesville, Lake Park, Ulen, Hitterdal, and Glyndon. We are having one giant-sized worship experience at 10:30 easter morning. We're praying that we are bowled over with a huge turn-out from these communities.

I have been asked if I'm doing this because I want a full house. To be honest, we have a full house about every week anyway. I'm doing this because I love Jesus. I also love the area of the world that God has called me to minister. I want them to love Jesus too! This is our opportunity to let our little part of the world to know about Jesus and His ultimate gift to mankind.

Our Easter outreach all said and done will cost us as a church about $2,000. I am putting most of my (Easter) eggs in one basket, as this will be a huge chunk of my outreach funds allocated to me in the yearly budget. I think it is worth it.

Please join me in praying that God does a wonderful thing in and through Hawley Alliance Church this Easter. I'd be interested in knowing what your church has planned!

Time Change

Well this is by far in my opinion the worst Sunday on the calendar for pastors. Time change Sunday! We do our best to let our congregations know that it is coming, but inevitably the numbers are few and far between on this Sunday.

I persoanlly think that this is due to the fact that we live such busy lives. We crave a six hour night of sleep. Then Mr. Calendar sneaks up and swipes an hour from us. We really need to slow down!

Can you think of a worst Sunday on the calendar for pastor's?