“I’ll be your best friend”

Reflections on Faith

 

I love the Christmas season and hang on to it until the calendar pries it from my clutch. This year we spent the holiday season at my son's house. The entire family, all eight of us, invaded the townhome in Fort Collins. The decibel level was quite deafening at times with grandsons, four and two. We celebrated all of our Christmas traditions ranging from great feasts at mealtimes (Lord, forgives us once again for our gluttony), Christmas Eve services at churches, the Christmas puzzle, and way too many sugary goodies. It was delightful and especially meaningful. Jason, my son, read the Christmas story as it was his home.

It seems like just yesterday that we brought Jason home from the hospital. Now he is a grownup man leading his own family. We have always loved spending time with our children. We were both mom and dad and friends. When Jason was young, he would sometimes say with a little bit of mischievousness, "I'll be your best friend." The kicker was that there was something I had to do or some favor he needed in order for me to win the honor of being his best friend. The proposition goes like this. "Do what I want, give me what I need, and then I will be your best friend." He has since grown out of his childlike way of looking at relationships.

The thought occurs to me, however, that often we treat our heavenly Father exactly like that. "I will be your best friend God, if only you do this for me!" Our faith is based on His production of meeting our every whim and desire. When He does not come through we say, "God where are you?" Heal me, feed me, coddle me, and give me! The requests go on and on without any break in our thought pattern to realize that faith is not based on what He does, but who He is.

Recently, I was introduced to a young lady named Hope Herman who lives here in Windsor, Colorado. She just turned 11 years old in November 2007. Hope lost her daddy to cancer within the last two years and was herself diagnosed with a type of bone cancer in her femur a year ago. After a lot of prayer and treatment, she was declared to be in remission in February 2007. This last October (2007), Faith was diagnosed with an aggressive type of acute leukemia. Outside of divine healing, she will not be here for next Christmas.

Recently her story was shared at Timberline Church in Fort Collins. At the conclusion of Pastor Dary's sermon, they played a recording of Hope singing the song, "In Christ Alone." As I watched and listened to this 11 year old sing this great song, I knew she understood true faith in God. It is not about whether or not God heals her; it is all about who He is in her life. He is her Savior, Lord, and Master. Read the words of this great song and ask yourselves this question. "How pure is my faith?"

 

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Brought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

 

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music

 

You can hear Hope by going to the following link. Her testimony is shared at about minute 14. http://www.timberlinechurch.org/video/120807.wmv

Make sure you listen to the end at approximately minute 23 as Hope sings this song.

Ps. I originally wrote this blog on December 28, 2007. This morning, January 12, 2008, we received word that Hope slipped into eternity in the darkness of night. She is free, she is healed, and she is with Jesus.

Run the Race

I have been blessed during the years of my ministry to connect with many great men and women of God. They have taught me so much about being faithful and faith-filled. Chapter 11 of Hebrews is an awe-inspiring list of people of great faith. It is apparent to me that the chapter has not yet been finished. The "cloud of witnesses" continues to grow every day as others demonstrate that kind of faith.

One such man is Paul Bruton, son of missionaries. Paul and I were a part of the leadership team at Bethany Bible College during the presidency of Richard Foth. When I think of my friend, Paul, I immediately remember his great love he had for God and for students. Paul filled a variety of roles at the college including campus pastor and dean of students.

Paul was a disciplined man who was known for his early morning runs. He was strong, vigorous, and physically fit . . . until he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Paul was in the prime of life and now faced the disastrous effects of this debilitating disease. Paul, being the strong silent type, did not talk much about it nor shared his condition.

Glenda and I remember so clearly a "donkey basketball" game in which the faculty played a group of students. Paul struggled to stay on the donkey due to the lack of feeling and sensitivity of his legs. Many of the spectators did not know the story and so were somewhat obnoxious in teasing Paul. Glenda and I were so grieved in our hearts to see him struggle.

The amazing thing for me was the fact that Paul continued to run for many months WITHOUT being able to have any sensations in his lower body. Hebrews 12: 1 says, ". . . let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
That was Paul! It was a sad moment when I heard the news that Paul had stepped from this world into the next. His race was over! He had run with all his might toward the end of the course and has received his winner's crown. We saw his dear wife, Leta, two years ago and shared our thoughts with her.

Wow, sometimes I am such a weakling and a sissy. It is amazing the small and insignificant things that we can let get in our way of running the race. The joy is not in the running of the race; it is in the completion of the course, my course, the one that my God has laid out for me. Here are some reflective questions to ask.

1. Do I know with great certainty what my course is?
   
2. If not, how can I find it?
   
3. How tough am I?
   
4. What are the typically things, hindrances, or sins do I allow to divert me from my race?
   
5. Who knows about my struggles?
   
6. Who will be influenced to make the ultimate decisions of faith because I am running and running well?
   

 

Get your running shoes on and go for it!

The Scar

In June of 1965 I donned the cap and gown and marched across the stage at my high school graduation and ventured into adulthood. I was a very young 18-year-old boy who so wanted to be a man. My future direction was very unclear to me. I was more concerned about acne and the love of my life, Glenda Ellsworth. I had always excelled in math and science so made a decision to enroll at the local community college as chemistry major.

The war in Vietnam was ramping up, and any young man who did not have a school deferment was on his way to the battlefront. Now, I love America but preferred Bunsen burners and flasks to guns and bullets. I must confess that my heart was not really in the educational process. It was a daily struggle to discipline myself to study and prepare.

It was in my second year of my endeavor that I had a life-changing experience. It was a lab for a quantitative chemistry class where it all came down. I was testing a compound by adding a few drops of concentrated nitric acid. Nitric acid is a nasty liquid that requires a great deal of care. As I picked up the dropper bottle, my hand brushed my neighbor's ring stand, an apparatus used to heat up compounds. Even though it did not look like it was hot, it was extremely hot. The natural consequence was for my hand to involuntarily release the dropper bottle. It was like one of those slow motion sequences as I saw the bottle drop to the counter top. The stopper flew off and a stream of nitric acid spread over me from the top of my head to about my waist. As I rushed to the eye fountain, I blurted out that I had spilt acid on myself. The room became deathly quiet. The professor immediate doused me with a neutralizer.

Most of my burns were minor. The most shocking part was to see the acid burns on my glasses. They saved my eyes. Because of the intense pain, I did not notice the large damp spot on the leg of my pants. It was a long journey to walk across campus to the nurse's office. It was there they found the large acid burn on my leg.

Most of the scars are not noticeable these days except for the large oval-shaped scar on my leg. The pain is gone, but the reminder of the events of that day remain. It was not very long after that incident that I decided that perhaps chemistry was not my thing, and I began to consider God's call to pastor. I have reflected from time to time about that painful experience and wonder why it had to happen. I cannot blame it on God, but perhaps He did use it to steer me in HIS direction for my life.

We all have experience like this where we have been put through an extremely difficult time. It may have been physically. More likely it was relational or psychological. Just like the physical experiences leave scars so do the traumatic things of life. What do we do with scars? It is our natural tendency to hide them, covering them up with some kind of cosmetic covering. It is hard to admit we are scared. Put on the happy face and say things are super!

You see, in the body of Christ, scars are to be shared not hidden. They are opportunities to help others avoid or deal with those same types of difficult times. I can point to the scar on my leg and tell a young person, "be vigilant and careful, be observant of your environment." Maybe your marriage fell apart, or you were abused in some form. Perhaps you wandered outside of your marriage and had an affair. Perhaps God can use you to rescue someone who is about to make the same blunder. Your scars cry out to others, "learn from my mistakes my experience and keep yourself safe from harm." The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:4, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." You have been specially prepared to comfort others through and due to your trouble.

Hey, I will show you my scar if you show me yours!

You are Not the Sun

In the early 1500’s an astronomer named Nicolaus Copernicus proposed a new view of the universe that stated the earth was NOT the center of the universe. For centuries the view was held by scientist and church leaders alike that the earth was the focal point of the universe. This view was so strongly held that Galileo who championed the Copernicanism was declared a dangerous heretic by the Catholic Church. Galileo was eventually forced to recant his heliocentrism and spent the last years of his life under house arrest on orders of the inquisition.

It is difficult for us to even imagine a world like that. However, the reality is that we created our own form of a geocentric universe. We could not help ourselves. We created such a universe because we need it. You do not have any memories of the beginning of such a creation because you and I were just infants.

As a parent, I have experienced the creation of this highly focused universe when my children were born. Life revolved around them and their needs, their comfort, their safety. We understand that for a period of time our children will be in this dependent and egocentric world. However, the time does come when we expect them to mature and develop a worldview that includes others as important as themselves. It is frustrating and irritating if a child remains in this self-centered way of thinking when they reach adulthood. They just become a large baby!
In Philippians 2 Paul says “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” A mature Christian is one who is not enamored with themselves, their needs, their way, but one who actively looks to discover and then meet the needs of others.

Here are some reflective questions.

1. Do I spend and inordinate amount of time focused on meeting my needs?
2. Who are the last five people that I went out of my way to help in some tangible way?
3. Do I practice using my spiritual eyes to see beneath the surface of others to deep needs?
4. Do I pray on a daily basis that God will provide me opportunity to connect with someone who needs a loving act?

Pastoral Installation Covenant Statement

My Covenant statement to Windsor Assembly of God

Official Pastoral Installation

Sunday, September 30, 2007

1. My first and primary commitment is to Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior. I commit to you that I will spend time in continuing to build and develop my intimacy with God. I will not let anything rob me of time that belongs to Him. I will seek His face, study His word, and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit so as to stand here on this platform to deliver His perfect word for you-- not my opinions, not some hot topic, not some reformatted words from someone else.
   2. My second commitment is to my wife of 38 years, Glenda. She has stood by me through good and bad times, through times of great joy and times of great sorrow. I commit to you, sweetheart, that the church will never become the “other woman.” You will receive from me the honor due to you as my wife, my life’s companion, and the mother of my children. I will not just give you left over time, energy, and attention. We have built a wonderful life together and have made a lot of memories. The best is yet to come. Thanks for resisting the pressure over the years to be conformed to others’ expectations for what it means to be the pastor’s wife and instead being what I need the most, my greatest cheerleader.
   3. My third commitment is to my family. I am so very proud of all of you. You bring us great joy as we watch and listen and see you becoming all God wants you to be. Your mom and I made a promise to you that we would not let you become PK (preacher’s kid) statistics, that we would never sacrifice you on some manmade altar of ministry. It was not always an easy choice and was not always embraced. However, we did it! You will always be our very best and closest friends. To my grandsons, Jake and Lawson, Bonka and Nama love you! You make us laugh and fill our hearts with love.
   4. Church family, our commitments to you start with our promise to be people of integrity. That starts with living in such a way that you know what it means to be godly people, a godly family, and a godly spouse. The first three commitments are our greatest gift to you. If we can somehow be a small influence in your life so that you can truly say that we have taught you about real life, we will feel good about our time with you all. We don’t want to “wow” you with how much we know if we cannot first in some small way show you the way.
   5. Second, we will pray for you on a regular basis.
   6. Third, we will be with you in the time of crisis. I am not a Sunday only pastor. If you need me, call. If I am not available, I will call you back as soon as possible. Do not let the grapevine be the way I hear about you and your difficult time. Please do not be embarrassed by whatever it is that is happening.
   7. Fourthly, I will always “speak the truth in love.” Part of loving you may be for me to share from my heart something you do not want to hear. I promise to be gentle, but at the same time I must be direct. If you ask me my opinion, you will get it. I will never agree with any choice you make that is not biblical! “It will hurt me more than it hurts you.”
   8. Lastly, I commit to leading Windsor Assembly of God into the exciting future God has planned for us. It will be exciting, energizing, and a whole lot of fun!
   
   Ephesians 3:20 reads, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”

The Unlikely Route to Joy

My story

 

"It was not fair at all", I said to myself. One of my student's in our youth ministry called me to let me know that he had been offered a job with the same company I worked for. God had provided me with a great job during my last 3 years of Bible College with a large national janitorial company. My assignment was to clean several local banks in the evenings and early mornings. It was a great job for a student as I could come and go anytime after the banks were closed. It was not necessarily a fun job, cleaning ash trays, toilets and other mountains of trash left behind from careless tellers. But it was a source of a good wage and met our need as a newly married couple.

My immediate supervisor was an ex-military man who, for some reason, thought the best way to motivate me was to yell and holler, leave me nasty notes, and treat me like the trash I picked up. My relationship with the supervisor and the company was tempestuous and filled with conflict. I always felt like I was just a moment away from being fired.

The next day after our friend Norm got a call to hire him, I received my "pink" slip, and actually I think it was red. It was an incredibly difficult time. How was I, as a young married husband, going to be able to go home and share this news with my bride? I felt like a total failure, worthless and empty of any vestige of self-esteem. It humbled me to a place I had never been before. I did my best to fight my firing. I contacted several of the managers of the banks I worked in and got them to write wonderful letters about my quality of work. It was to no avail. I was officially unemployed for the first time in my young life.

I remember distinctly complaining to God about how unfair this was. "Dear God, what have I done to deserve this?" "I have been such a hard working Christian, why did YOU not protect me." God did not seem to care at that point. I had to just keep focused, looking for work anywhere I could find it. Within a few months, I was asked to fill in, on a temporary basis, at a vacancy on staff at Bethany Bible College. I became the Director of Financial Aid and soon accepted a permanent assignment to the college staff. That was the beginning of a wonderful 15+ year ministry at Bethany. In looking back, it now is apparent, that God had to get me fired to prepare me for the work he wanted me to do. The temporary job at Bethany was less than I was making as a janitor. I would never have taken a temporary job if I had not needed something!

I learned a great lesson about real faith and confidence in God at that difficult time of my life. It is easy to say we believe when we don't have to believe. It is another story when we are required to have faith when we do not understand or see the end from the beginning. James says it this way, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds". Here are some questions to ask yourself.

1. What is the very first thing I think when facing a crisis, troubling time, and difficulty?
   
2. Who gets the blame?
   
3. Is this perhaps an end to a means for God's plan for my life?
   
4. Am I committed enough to the process to submit to the pressure and direction of the Potters Hand?
   

SHAPES- Finding Your Place in the Church

SHAPES

Finding Your Place in the Church

I am not a puzzle kind of guy, but somehow I get pulled into the annual Christmas puzzle project. It is sort of a tradition that during the holidays a puzzle is pulled from its high shelf in the closet, dusted off, and placed on the table. Glenda usually starts the project working on it by herself while encouraging us all to join her. Slowly the family is drawn by some mysterious force to the jumble of pieces spread out on the table.

Everyone has their own strategy on finding matching pieces. I always look for the edge pieces to start working on the frame. The process drags on for what seems an eternity. Each successful match is celebrated with glee and each failure is accompanied by a groan. The most frustrating moment comes when there is an "almost fit" moment. It is perfect except for the pointing corner that should be a rounded edge. There is a temptation to just force it to fit. The danger is that you will damage the piece, and at some point there will be another piece that does not fit!

The church, the body of Christ in the local setting, is a lot like that. As we begin the process of putting together a healthy, growing, dynamic church, it is as if the pieces of the puzzle have just been dumped on the table. Each piece has its own unique shape and color. Each piece has its place in what will be a beautiful earthly picture of a heavenly design. Here and there a few pieces are connected almost accidently by shared passion and interest. Some pieces have been sort of forced into relationship because "someone had to do it." We thank God for those who have stepped forward to do what needs to be done.

Now is the time to take a macro view of the table and the pieces. It is time to study each piece thoroughly through the filter of the Bible. Who has what gifts? Are there groups of people who have like passions? How will the uniqueness of each personality fit together to create that powerful force called the local church that will always result in men and women and boys and girls being drawn to God?

That is what this journey called networking is all about. Each of us needs to yield to the rigors of intense study and to be open to self-examination. God will reward our determination to find our shape and use it for his glory. The greatest moments for WAG are just over the horizon. The most powerful moments of reaching out to the community are coming and coming soon. Join with Glenda and me as we reaffirm how it is how God has shaped us for ministry.

Jesus said in John 9:4, "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work." The time has come. LET US DO IT!