trip pictures

At this point, I am sure that most people are getting tired of hearing about our trip to Guatemala. This is always the case when we go on these short-term missions trips. We come back with full hearts and want to share all the details with anyone who will listen. For our friends and family, it is like looking at vacations slides - from a vacation you weren't on.

Suffice it to say, our trip was awesome. In the words of one of participants, "the best Thanksgiving ever". Enjoy a few pictures, courtesy of Duane Long.

thanksgiving trip

We leave in 12 hours to go to Guatemala for our Thanksgiving Missions Trip. We are going to serve the children of Rio Bravo and Casa Shalom. We would appreciate your prayers for our health and safe travel. Please also remember to pray for these needy kids and those who minister to them. Look forward to lots of stories and good pics upon our return.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

you learn a lot about people

One of the creative elements in our worship services this morning was a “Thanks For Everything” montage. We had everyone who was willing, make a 8.5 x 5.5 card expressing to God their gratitude. We distributed fall colored construction paper. I instructed them to write a narrative, a letter to God, a thank you card, and bullet list, anything they wanted. Just find a way to tell God the things for which we are thankful. It was very moving, very few dry eyes in the place.

This afternoon, I went back over to the church to clean up the leftover mess and remove the cards from the display boards. We did this exercise at all three of our services, so by the end of the day, there was quite a collection of cards.

I sat at my desk and read through them all. Part of me felt guilty for reading the notes since they were not written to me, but I couldn’t bear to just throw them away. Wow, what an important event this was for me. I was completely humbled by the simple yet profound expressions of true gratitude by the good people of Maranatha.

I saw several languages, beautiful art work, illegible writing, children’s drawings, scribbles from the shaky hands of senior citizens and origami. Some were in-depth explanations of full and grateful hearts, there were some that had only one word written on it. A few included prayer requests and hopes for things to turn around. There was not one cynical or hateful response; there is usually one in every crowd. I was amazed at how many of our people thanked God for the simple but important things of life – things like family, health and freedom. Many included houses, food and jobs. I was thoroughly impressed with the number of people who thanked God for His love, His acceptance, His forgiveness. It was expressed in many different ways, but it appears to me that the people who attend our church have a good handle on the concept of God’s grace. I was so encouraged to see that. It is easy, in my assessment of spiritual development of the people around me, to sell people short. There are times when I call into question the spiritual maturity of those who attend our church. Today, I was refreshed by what I saw.

It truly became a Thanksgiving Montage. The people of Maranatha are real artists. They (you) painted a beautiful portrait of gratitude. It was beautiful! Thank you.

You learn a lot about people when you hear them say “thank you”. I learned a lot today, some about the people I serve and some about myself.

I am grateful.

to share what one has is to be truly thankful

This weekend marks the beginning of our celebration of Thanksgiving. The fall holiday has always been one of my favorites, but for most of my life it just meant eating a lot and hanging out with family. The last few years, the holiday has taken on deeper significance. I guess it started back in 1999 when I was able to spend Thanksgiving week in Cuba. The day means nothing there and there was no observance of the holiday. In fact, on Thanksgiving Day that year, I ate canned chicken for dinner and ate by myself. What brought new meaning to me was the concept of serving others on the holiday. To share what one has is to be truly thankful.

Last year, Letha and I went to Guatemala and cooked a huge Thanksgiving meal (OK, she and a few others cooked while I tried to stay out of their way) and we fed all the children of Casa Shalom orphanage. It was one of the more memorable holidays of my life. The children ate until they were satisfied, and that is saying something!

This year, we are taking this idea a step further. We have a team of eight friends from Maranatha Church in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida who will be spending the week in Guatemala. We will again attempt to cook a traditional Thanksgiving meal for all the good people of Casa Shalom. This is a significant task as we have 7 large turkeys waiting for us there. It should be a blast!

One additional aspect of our trip will be our visit to the Rio Bravo feeding center in the Suchitepequez area. We plan to feed breakfast to the 200 children there, provide new shoes for each of them, leave them with new clothes and send them home with a small bag of groceries. Our Childrens Pastors, Than and Megan Graffam will minister to the kids about the love of Jesus. Due to the starvation of many children in the area, our work and the hope we will offer is vital.

I would ask that you pray for our team as we travel. By name, they are: Kelly Blanchard, Meg Sterrett, Duane and Janice Long, Than and Megan Graffam and Rick and Letha Whitter. I plan to post some pictures upon our return.

In the mean time, enjoy the video we made featuring the kids of Rio Bravo.

2012

Letha and I went to see the movie 2012 tonight. It was pretty entertaining if you don't mind hyper-special effects and some average acting. The plot is fairly predictable that details the end of the world on 12.21.12. I was able to pick up on some more meaningful themes. There was the basic greed and selfishness, when a bunch of big shots only want to save themselves. But there was also the idea of sacrifice when the hero risked his life to save several thousand people. Actually, there are a couple of hero figures in the movie who are inspiring.

I guess I recommend it if you are not looking for realism. It was a nice night out for my wife and I.

On a strange note, just before the movie started, two middle aged couples almost got into a fist fight over seats. One guy saved his seats with his cane and left to get his wife (don't ask me why he needed a cane if he could go and get his wife and leave it in his seat). Another guy came in, thought the cane was left from a previous movie and moved it. The first couple came back in and the yelling started. Several "F bombs" and racial slurs later, theater security came in to calm them down. They sat through the rest of the evening with no further issue. While they were fighting, there were literally a couple of hundred seats available all over the theater. I left thinking about how stupid people can be.

I'll be surprised if the world makes it until 2012 with human beings in charge.

why we take new clothes (or Jesus doesn't want your trash!")

Several years ago, my office phone rang and the person calling said, "Pastor, we have an old worn out couch that we are throwing out. We would like to donate it to the church. Would you please come and get it?".

As we are preparing for next week's Thanksgiving Missions Trip to the Rio Bravo Feeding Center and Casa Shalom Orphanage in Guatemala, a key part of this project is taking much needed clothes and shoes to needy children there. One thing we usually stress when we go on these trips is that we wish to take new clothes and shoes to the children in these places. I usually get asked about this. It seems that lots of North Americans want to send their used items to these children. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but allow me to explain our philosophy on this one:

There is a practical concern:
You would be amazed at the trash that some people want to donate. We have literally seen garbage given. Dirty, smelly, worn-out clothes are some people's idea of a contribution to the needy. We spend valuable time weeding through the items, discarding what belongs in the dump. Now, not everyone who donates used clothes gives trash, but we find it simpler to request new clothes. In addition to this, you would be blessed to see, like we have, kids receive a new item who have NEVER had anything new. We laugh every time we see a kid wearing a new shirt with the price tag still on it! They are proud of their new clothes and want everyone to know.

There is a spiritual concern:
Read carefully what Jesus teaches us in Matthew (25:35-40 CEV) regarding giving to and helping others: "When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me." Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, "When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?" The king will answer, "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me."

The point Jesus is making is - whatever you give to others, you give to Him. Think about it, giving to Jesus your worn out shoes or clothes! The problem is, many of us are perfectly comfortable with giving Jesus the leftovers from our lives.

Jesus deserves our best. These kids deserve our best. If your best is worn out stuff, give it with a clear conscience. If you can do better, do so.

Next week, a bunch of very poor children will receive new shoes and clothes. They will hear that Jesus loves them, and they will believe it.

And no, we won't come and get your old couch!

It’s great to see the underdog win. When the disadvantaged finishes first, heaven smiles; and we are all given hope.

shoes for kids

One week from tomorrow, a team of eight of us from Maranatha Church leave for our Thanksgiving Trip to Guatemala. One of the projects we are working on is delivering 500 pairs of shoes to needy children in Rio Bravo, Guatemala. The girls pictured here will be included.

This week's activities include finishing up packing the 16 suitcases that are going. It is a lot of fun going through the colorful croc-style shoes of all sizes. We are also including some clothes for the children.

Our hope is to share more than food and clothes. We want these kids to know that God loves them. We plan to tell them and, more importantly, show them.

Would you pray for us and, more importantly, pray for the kids? We want this upcoming holiday season to be their best ever. I'll keep you posted...

The Fresh Prince of Egypt

Tomorrow - Sunday, November 15, marks the conclusion of our 3 week series on the life of Moses. The Fresh Prince of Egypt has been a lot of fun to prepare for and deliver. I would have liked more time to develop the messages but, due to the holiday schedule, and the short attention span of our church, we decided to go with three weeks.

If you want to listen to the audio from previous weeks, you may do so here.
If you wish to watch the very entertaining video that we have been using as a message introduction, you may do so here.

The following is pretty much my entire message. If I get hit by a bus on the way to church, go ahead without me, somebody just pull this up and read it! If you plan to miss church services tomorrow, or if you are reading this after the fact, at least you know what I had to say. If you stay home after reading this, you may pay your tithes on line here.

The Fresh Prince of Egypt (part 3)
Moses and Aaron's Excellent Adventure

Nine year old Joey, was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday school.

"Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He gave Moses an awesome high-tech GPS unit that guided them, by satellite, out of Egypt. When they got to the Red Sea, Moses had his engineers construct a massive hovercraft that carried all the Israelite people across the Red Sea safely. He then had his IT team create a humongous High Definition jumbo-tron computer screen projecting an image of a suspension bridge across the sea. It was so realistic that the Egyptians army tried to walk across it. Of course, they all drowned, but all the Israelites were saved."

"Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?" his mother asked.

"Well, no, Mom. But if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it either!"

As unbelievable as it may sound, this stuff is true!

The setting:
The Israelites leave Egypt on their way to freedom, but they have a very long journey ahead of them.
This is more than a physical journey; there is more meaning and purpose to their travels.
God was with them in an unprecedented way.

Exodus 13:21-22 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (NIV)

God made His presence with the Israelites perfectly clear and obvious.

Because God was with them…
1. DSTSS (don’t sweat the small stuff) (beware of my sarcasm)

God directed them to the Red Sea (kind of a dead end)
Trouble was on the way…
Exodus 14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. (NIV)

It is as though the people were saying to Moses: “Another fine mess you’ve gotten us into…”
Exodus 14:11-12 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" (NIV)

God’s ingenious plan–
Exodus 14:15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. (NIV)

“Move on?” They were trapped! No place to go!

Exodus 14:16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. (NIV)

Moses is “all in” with God’s plan.
An epic event:
Exodus 14:19-31 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen--the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. (NIV)

At the very beginning of their journey through the desert, God proves to them that He will take care of them.

Crossing the red sea was impossible. The idea of crossing it on dry ground, well that was just absurd.
Let me remind you of one of the greatest principle in God’s Word:
Nothing is impossible with God!
In fact:
The words, “impossible”, “hopeless”, and “snowball’s chance in hell” are not in God’s vocabulary.
Situations may seem hopeless, but ultimately, God comes through for His children.

Earlier, when I referred to “small stuff”, I did not mean “unimportant”, I did not mean “simple”, and I did not mean “easy”.
I meant in relation to God’s limitless power, our major crises are small.
He can do anything! And, as a reminder from week one:
“There is nothing that God won’t do for one of His children that is in need.”
God stops at nothing for His children.

He knows how to take care of us.

2. God does not need a bailout!
a. Exodus 16: Manna and quail provided (even with this, the people looked back – Numbers 11: ”remember the leeks, onion and garlic…?”
b. Exodus 17: Water from a rock
c. Their clothes and shoes did not wear out.
Deuteronomy 29:5 “During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.” (NIV)

God is not limited to physical resources.
God has not filed for bankruptcy! He is not in recession! He does not need a bailout!
We are limited, God is not!

The previous two thoughts (God will do anything for His children and God will supply our needs) are predicated on the obedience of God’s children.

What do we obey?

3. The “Big Ten” (the 10 Commandments)
The “ten” given.

Exodus 20:3-17

What the ten are (with minor commentary):

1. “No other gods” Don’t allow anything to compete with God as top priority in your life.
2. “No idols” Don’t worship idols or icons or images or statues or heroes.
3. “Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain. Don’t misuse God’s name. (unless you are praying, no more OMG!)
4. “Remember the Sabbath Day” Treat God’s day with honor and respect.
5. “Honor you mother and father” Treat your parents with honor and respect.
6. “ Don’t kill” Do not take a human life.
7. “Don’t commit adultery” Do not have sex with anyone other than your husband or wife. (someone you are legally married to.)
8. Do not steal. (if you don’t know what that means, please stay away from the offering basket)
9. “Don’t bear false witness” Do not lie.
10. “Don’t covet” Do not wish for that which belongs to someone else.

These are not called the “Ten Suggestions” or “Ten Recommendations”.
And there is no expiration date!
God wasn’t fooling around when He establish His principles of conduct.
If you keep these Ten Commandments, you will be blessed.
If you don’t, you won’t.

This (keeping the Commandments) probably looks impossible to some of us.
(just like crossing the Red Sea looked impossible,
like escaping the Egyptians looked unlikely,
like feeding a couple of million people in the desert couldn’t happen,
like getting water out of a rock sounds ridiculous,
clothes lasting forty years…)
Get the idea?

Wrap up:
Moses lived one incredible life:

a. Face to face with God:
Exodus 33:11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. (NIV)
His face radiant (Ex 34)

b. Appears along with Elijah at the transfiguration of Christ -Matthew 17:3

c. An incomparable life:
Deuteronomy 34:10-12 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt--to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. 12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (NIV)


But as great as Moses was….
The purpose of his life was to point to Jesus.
Jesus is greater: Hebrews 3:2-6 Jesus was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in serving all of God's people. 3But Jesus deserves more honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves more honor than the house. 4Of course, every house is built by someone, and God is really the one who built everything. 5Moses was a faithful servant and told God's people what would be said in the future. 6But Christ is the Son in charge of God's people. And we are those people, if we keep on being brave and don't lose hope. (CEV)

As great as Moses was….Jesus is greater!


What we have learned today:
• The impossible situations that we face are easily overcome by God.
• God is not limited by physical resources.
• Obedience to the 10 Commandments is key to being blessed.
• As great as Moses was, we don’t want to be like him. We want to be like Jesus!

an effort to minimize

The last couple of days, I have been focusing on ridding myself of excess distractions that may be keeping me from accomplishing what I am supposed to accomplish. This is not as simple as it sounds. On an hourly basis, I am afforded the opportunity to spend time doing either meaningless and purposeless tasks or meaningful and purposeful activities. The trouble is, sometimes they are difficult to distinguish one from another. As a result, I find myself doing a bunch of things poorly and few things well.

What is the difference between good and bad when it comes to my activities? Let’s start with the positive…
What I am supposed to be doing (in general terms):
Honoring God.
Loving my family.
Investing in the lives of people I care about.
Fulfilling my God-given calling.
Improving my commitment as a Christian and my abilities as a leader.

Now the negative slant…
What I am not suppose to be doing (also in general terms):
Trying to be the Messiah.
Micromanaging the entire world (or even my little part of it).
Wasting time.
Getting pulled off course by well-meaning but misguided individuals.
Trying to make everyone happy.

When in the middle of my busy day, it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between what I should do and what I should ignore. How do I know if this phone call is a diversion from my actual responsibilities? Am I the one who is supposed to address/solve this problem? Is the time I am spending with this cause going to have a good return? Is it required that I be accessible to anyone and everyone who expects me to be?

Right or wrong, I am trying to minimize. I want to reduce the time I spend wasting time. I want to be productive with my resources and time is the most valuable resource that I possess.

My goal is to be able to say “no” when I should. The way I figure it, there is always a drift toward over-commitment and over-involvement. If I err on the side of minimalization, I will in all probability, drift back to center and before long, back to the side of saying “yes” too much. Then I will get frustrated and the process will start all over again.

But for right now, I want to do a better job at fewer things. Make sense?

bad shoes

The 8 people who know me really well know that I have issues with my feet (now all of you know). I admit it, I am podiatristically challenged. Here is why: I grew up in the inner city of St. Louis and, due to all of the debris on the ground, never went barefoot. As a result, I am a tenderfoot. In other words, I wear shoes all the time in and out of the house. I can’t stand to go barefoot anywhere. Two of our friends and colleagues, Kathy Rogers and Megan Graffam, make fun of me for wearing house shoes in the house. My question for them is, why would God create house shoes if He did not want us to wear them in the house?

Contrary to me, Letha grew up a long way from the city and she never wore shoes until I met her and introduced her to the concept. It took her a long time to adapt, she kept saying, “my doggies can’t breathe!” Anyway, when I was a kid, our family was poor and I had to wear cheap shoes. This is not an exaggeration - we bought shoes 2 pair for $5 – and you wonder why I have issues with my feet (and a truckload of emotional baggage!).

I am careful what kind of shoes I purchase. Since I spend a lot of time on my feet, I need something that is going to hold up. My idea of a good pair of shoes includes the following: They should be solid, sturdy shoes. They should have good arch support. They should have a wide base, kind of clunky. They should be soft on the inside. Looking good is just a bonus.

My special foot needs carried over into my parenting. When our girls were little, I insisted that we spare no expense when it came to their shoes. We took them to specialty shoes stores for kids and made sure that they had high quality footwear. No kid of mine would ever wear K-Mart shoes. I loved the high-top, ankle supporting tennis shoes, preferably Keds. No cheap shoes and for goodness sake, no jellies! I believe these plastic wanna-be shoes to be the culprit behind most of the foot problems in America today.

So last week, I found a pair of shoes my size for $16.00 dollars on clearance at Kohls. They were $85 dollar shoes (or so the price tag said). Like a dummy, I bought them, not because they were comfortable but because they were cheap. You would think I would know better. Not so. I broke my own rule. Big mistake!

I wore the shoes to a wedding on Saturday and to a meeting today. They are tight. The elastic on the tongue squeezes my feet. They hurt. I hate the shoes. But I have to wear them because it would be wasteful not to do so. So I limp around. I am hoping that they will stretch.

A couple of years ago, our staff went to a conference in Indiana. The suitcases that Letha and I checked did not arrive on our flight. Wearing the same underwear for three days in not a problem, but going without house shoes? This could be considered cruel and unusual punishment! I had no choice; I had to go around the hotel the first night without protection on my feet. I made it through most of the night with no problems, being very careful not to step on a foreign object. Then, around midnight, I heard a noise outside our door and thought that our suitcases had arrived. I got up to go check and, in my haste, I kicked the chair that was next to our bed. I broke the middle toe on my right foot. I know, kind of emotional, huh? It immediately swelled up and turned purple. Oh, the trauma! I considered calling 911, but decided to tough it out – with no pain medication. I suffered through the night. The next day, Kathy and Megan had great fun laughing at me. I am still working on forgiving them.

There is a spiritual lesson in all of this:
Just because something looks good does not necessarily mean that it is.
Or
Tender feet mean a tender heart.
Or
Don’t make fun of your friends who have infirmities.
Or
Bad shoes are the work of the devil.

Take your pick.

If you wear a 10.5, maybe I’ll donate a pair of gently used, cheap shoes to you. Or how does $16 sound? I'll pay you to take them.

quick hits

Below are a few highlights from today’s message, part two of “The Fresh Prince of Egypt”. The audio will be up on our website in a day or two.

Simply because God gives you something to do doesn’t mean that it will be easy.

“Becoming obsessed with what people think about you is the fastest way to forget what God thinks about you.” (Todd Rhodes)

At what level of obedience are we operating?
-At the level of personal comfort.
-At the level of moderate sacrifice.
-At the level of giving it all if required.

Sometimes our emotions get rocked, but our emotions are not God’s top priority.
His top priority is that His plan is fulfilled.

God wants His people free from any and all bondages!

4 major points of the message…
When God selects us, we need to lay down every excuse.
Obedience in not always easy but it is ultimately rewarded.
God is sending a message to us: “I want you to be free!”
God is sending a message through us (to others): “Be free!”

We have a choice; Fade away in a life filled with meaningless activity or engage in the most awesome activity known to humankind; kingdom work.

Can’t wait for nest Sunday for the wrap up. Join us.

what's this all about?

Week two of The Fresh Prince of Egypt will be about how Moses reluctantly obeyed God when God told him to lead the Israelite people out of Egyptian bondage (Exodus 3-12). I am really enjoying studying through this guy’s life. But something is hitting me while I am preparing. I had seen this aspect of Moses’ life before but it is settling in at a new level for me.

All of this information about Moses; his rescue from the Nile, growing up as a prince, his failure, going into exile, even the burning bush experience… none of this was about Moses at all. It was all about God and it was all about the people that needed to be led into freedom. It appears to me that Moses was at least mildly self-focused. His responses to God at the burning bush revealed that. Interestingly, God did not deal with this directly. In fact, it is as though God just let Moses think what he wanted to think while He got him in a place where he could be utilized.

Have you ever thought of Moses as being selfish? He is not in slavery. He is not living in Egypt, he is a free man. He is married, has a steady job, has kids. What about those he had left behind? He had family members and friends who were existing under the heavy hand of Pharaoh. How did he feel about these people? Sure, he had committed a crime and was on the run, but his efforts were to save his own life. He cared more for his well being than that of his own flesh and blood. He was allowing his own personal failure and the resulting pain keep him from doing what God had called him to do; deliver the people. He was selfish. After forty years, and a lot of arguing with God, Moses finally got it. He accepted his responsibility as the liberator of the children of Israel.

So much of what God is doing in us is not about us at all. Our challenges, our transitions, our defeats and victories – while they certainly include us, there is a bigger picture. The people of God are put on this earth to serve God and to serve others. Many of the details of our lives are put into place for the purposes of preparing us to fulfill this call more effectively. Don’t kid yourself, it’s not all about you.

I will try to remember that later today when something happens. “It’s not about me.” It sure FEELS like it is about me. Sometimes I WANT it to be about me. But it’s not.

Someone needs to be set free and God is calling me to that, preparing me for that.

a veteran team

We met this evening with our missions team that will be going to Guatemala for a Thanksgiving trip. For the first time, we will be working with a complete team of experienced short-term missionaries. All of the participants have been to Guatemala before. It is amazing how much simpler it is to prepare a group trip if everyone involved knows the ropes. On every other previous trip we have led, we spent up to six weeks in training the individuals, getting them ready for the physical, emotional and spiritual challenges they would be facing. This training has resulted in some incredibly successful trips. This time around, we are able to simply deal with specific situations we will be facing on this particular trip. Way easier!

I am really looking forward to working alongside this team. More details about the trip are forthcoming. As we prepare, please pray for the team: Janice, Duane, Kelly, Meg, Than, Megan, Letha and me. Also pray for those we will be serving - the beautiful children of Guatemala.

people behaving like... people

I am vacillating between optimism and pessimism when it comes to the spiritual development and resulting responsible behavior of Christian people. My activities over the last couple of days have included observing disappointing behaviors from some people who should know better. These separate episodes were not serious, at least as they relate to life and death situations, but they were each nonetheless negatively impactful in their own right.

Clearly, this kind of behavior is common, but I do not believe that it should be the norm. Leaders have to maintain a certain level of hope and positive expectation in regard to the spiritual maturity of their followers. If we begin to expect the worse from people, we will lead them that direction. If we become skeptics to the possibility of Christ-like lifestyles, we are unqualified to be leaders.

Jesus calls us to raise the standard of expectations very high and to maintain the integrity of godliness. Scripture presents to us some pretty unmistakable guidelines of how Christ-followers are supposed to behave. Spiritual leaders have to stay committed to the expectations that God establishes for his people.

So should we be surprised when people behave poorly? Only if we live in a cave. People have a propensity toward sin, a natural bent that leads us away from God and toward spiritually immature behavior. But I do not believe that we can be responsible leaders if we accept this kind of behavior as normative. If we observe behavior by our followers that is inconsistent with what Christ teaches, and we do not confront these behaviors, we are as guilty as those who are behaving poorly. It is our spiritual responsibility to teach and to lead.

I plan to challenge individuals who call themselves Christ-followers but who behave differently. I plan to be very busy in the future.

4 things we learned yesterday

We launched our new series yesterday, "The Fresh Prince of Egypt", a study on the life of Moses. If you were not able to be with us, you can listen to the message here. It was a pretty good day at Maranatha, and a couple of people requested that I post the summary points of the message. Here they are:

-God is concerned for hurting people, He hears their cry.
-God selects unlikely people with questionable pasts to accomplish His plans.
-We may need to go through a season of “exile” (trials, a desert experience), to get prepared to be utilized by Him.
-God speaks. God tells His plans to those who will listen.

Kick these ideas around in your head this week. Next Sunday, we will take another look at the development of Moses as a liberator. The theme will be, "Acquiescing to God". Make plans to join us if you can.