Lipstick on A Pig

We've come a long way at New Hope in becoming more open to people outside the family of God. On balance, we're providing a great "front porch" that people can come and hang out on until they get some of their questions answered or are confirmed in their faith.

Right now, I'm challenged by the reality of what happens after someone comes into the family.

In one area, thanks to some sleuthing, I've been able to see what some of our folks act like among their friends. The language used, and the situations described aren't consistent with what a follower of Christ should be doing. In another area, I have a couple trapped in a "Groundhog Day" cycle of revival and ridiculous behavior. In still another, I have people who should know better not practicing discipline.

It's made me realize that drawing a crowd, even running people through 101 into membership doesn't seem to give you any more chance of their proceeding into true discipleship than before. Claiming you are doing well by counting the crowd doesn't change the fact that our mandate is to make disciples.

In youth, I'm going to suggest we turn away from games even as icebreakers into Bible Study. To turn away from topics to exposition. To get serious.

We'll lose some of the social fringe kids during the week. But maybe we'll strengthen those who get it enough to help them become mature followers of Christ.

In adults, we need to keep small groups going and expect growth.

I know in the seeker sensitive world I'll become anathema. But I don't care. I have to answer to Christ for every single soul.

Learning the Law of Love


1-3 Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived. Galatians 6:1-3

Yesterday was the day set aside by our nation to remember the sacrifices of men and women down through history. In this military town, every day is memorial day. For almost every family knows someone who has paid the price, or is in harms' way right now. For those who gave that "last full measure of devotion", we give thanks and remember.

Back home, there are battles aplenty too.

Families are under incredible pressure and some are showing the strain. People who are prone to wander away from the path God has laid out for them find themselves trapped in a "Groundhog Day" life experience. They seem to make progress, then they fall away. Others are facing the uncertainty of finances or health concerns.

So when Paul wrote the Scripture above to the people in Galatia, he was just sharing what every pastor since would like to say to those who seemingly are untouched by the "war" going on.

Find a way to love people.

They'll frequently disappoint, occasionally amaze, and sometimes break your heart into a million pieces.

Love them anyway.

That's what Paul was saying you have to do to learn Christ's love of love.

Go ahead, get it out. I know you are reading this with a real need to say... "Yeah, but.."

Okay, here's your disclaimer -

There but by the grace of God go you and I.

My deep desire is that our church become a group of people who love each other fiercely from the heart. There's too many places where people are eager to point out what's wrong with someone, and not nearly enough places of refuge where people who know what it means to be broken help others become whole.

So folks, let's stoop, let's reach, let's do whatever it takes to practice Christ's law of love.

Grace!

David Wilson

--
Visit with me at my blog:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

All You Ever Wanted To Know About Marriage

If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Phil 2:4-5

It was a hectic day and we were both wearing down. In the middle of preparing for a move in two weeks, and juggling carpet measuring, paint inspecting, and checking on a dog that was sick earlier, one of those moments that makes marriage great happened.

Bunny was about to take a load of clothes out of the dryer, and asked me to do it, because she was too hot. So I took the clothes out and placed them in the basket. I then began to take them into the bedroom. "I do them in the other bedroom" she said, so I headed in there. I began folding towels. She looked at my attempt and picked a towel up and said "I fold them like this."

"Right, but I fold them like this, always have."

She grinned and said, "Well, in the years we've been married, I have folded thousands of towels. You are up to... 8 or so. So since they fit in the closet better, let's do them this way."

We did.

We laughed. It wasn't because anything was especially funny.

It was because we're still in forever love.

One of the tougher passages for people outside the family of believers in Jesus, is the whole concept of mutual submission in marriage. The scripture isn't exactly written in a way that appeals to people in today's culture. But really, anyone whose purpose in life is to gratify themselves, and make sure they get what they want will have a problem with most of the New Testament.

Our Leader, Savior, King - God's Son - is Jesus. He came to serve. He could have had everyone laid out as His feet - instead He washed His closest follower's dirty feet. If you had to put a slogan to His work here on earth, a good start would be "Whatever It Takes". That takes a special kind of Christ-led heart. It means forgetting yourself, long enough to lend a hand.

Or fold a towel.

That's what servant-leaders, male or female do. And it goes a long way toward having a great marriage if you both are committed to following Jesus - loving Him first, loving each other second, loving yourself third.

Stay tuned though, as soon as I find something I've done for her thousands of times that she hasn't, I'll make sure she does that MY way. Don't wait up. :)

Let's get our hearts ready to lift God's glory high this weekend as we worship together.

Grace!

David

--
Visit with me at my blog:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

How Do The Blind See Jesus?

I don't often read Relevant magazine. Not because I'm not relevant, but because they often walk father down that path than I'm comfortable. Today though, I read an article from Matt McDonald called The Language of the Church He describes himself as a first year adult. I liked that. But I liked this more. After talking about "what if's" like "What if God had made the sky orange instead of blue?", he rolls out the big guns.

I have another favorite "what if." If a person is born blind, having never seen anything in their life, how do you explain color to them? Having never seen anything, the word "blue" would be meaningless to them. "Shade,"hue,"darkness,"light,—none of these things could be communicated to someone who has never seen anything. They would have no point of reference for understanding such concepts.

That person who was not raised in a church environment-—that person who grew up in a world where God did not exist and Jesus was never an option, —what do they see when they come to Christ? When they find Jesus, when they experience salvation, what do they associate with it? They surely don''t see church. They don''t hear church language and quote church slogans and catchphrases. "Holy," "hallelujah,"glory,—these words might have no meaning to them. How do the blind see Jesus?

However it is, that is what I want. God existed before church did. I want to see what He looks like without looking through the lens of a well-crafted service or message. But to truly do that at this point in my walk would take more than a strong-willed mind. I would have to rewrite the language that I have learned. For us to see God that way, we would have to stop talking about Him the way we do and start doing things differently.

I needed to read this today, because I'm praying hard about what the next wave we at New Hope send out from our body of believers into the community should be. We gave away three Bibles last night to people who had never had one before. We had people yesterday as a result of the messages I didn't want to bring - on the DaVinci Code's distortions and the Biblical truth - get exposed to how we really got our Bible and why we can trust it. Sometimes, I'm blind. Because I'm immersed in church. Because I hang out with church people.

I'm blind.

But I want to see... people come to know Jesus.

I want to be around people more who don't know Jesus - who don't know the Bible - who don't even realize what's missing from their life is - LIFE! Somehow, someway, we have to build more bridges for people to walk across to find Jesus. Our church, our people have to live like they are in a culture that doesn't share our values, or even approach truth as we do.

Why? Because God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever would believe in Him would have eternal life.

So thanks Matt, for helping me think about how the blind see Jesus.

Grace!

David

--
Visit with me at my blog:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

The Hardest Part

I was just reading a story about a 7 year old boy who successfully completed a swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco's shoreline this weekend. Yes, you read that correctly, a seven year old boy. Braxton Bilbey has had that feat as a goal ever since he read about a 9 year old doing it last year. So he trained, got the right equipment, and lined up a support team. Everything was in place for him to succeed.

When they asked Braxton what the hardest part was, he said "the swimming."

LOL

I was reading today how the religious people in Jesus' day had developed a series of rules - 613 of them in fact, to "help" people please God . When pressed by them to give His understanding of what someone should do who wanted to please God, Jesus said:

29-31Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these." Mark 12 (The Message)

What's the hardest part of all of that?

The loving.

It's not easy to sustain all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy, is it? And there's the fact that to love people you have to... well, love people.

It might sound impossible, but remember, nothing is impossible with God. Give Him your everything, and you'll lack for nothing. Including everything you need to live a life pleasing to God.

Grace!

David
--
Visit with me at my blog:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

How Do The Blind See Jesus

I don't often read Relevant magazine. Not because I'm not relevant, but because they often walk father down that path than I'm comfortable. Today though, I read an article from Matt McDonald called The Language of the Church He describes himself as a first year adult. I liked that. But I liked this more. After talking about "what if's" like "What if God had made the sky orange instead of blue?", he rolls out the big guns.

I have another favorite “what if.” If a person is born blind, having never seen anything in their life, how do you explain color to them? Having never seen anything, the word “blue” would be meaningless to them. “Shade,“hue,“darkness,“light,—none of these things could be communicated to someone who has never seen anything. They would have no point of reference for understanding such concepts.

That person who was not raised in a church environment-—that person who grew up in a world where God did not exist and Jesus was never an option, —what do they see when they come to Christ? When they find Jesus, when they experience salvation, what do they associate with it? They surely don'’t see church. They don'’t hear church language and quote church slogans and catchphrases. “Holy,” “hallelujah,“glory,—these words might have no meaning to them. How do the blind see Jesus?

However it is, that is what I want. God existed before church did. I want to see what He looks like without looking through the lens of a well-crafted service or message. But to truly do that at this point in my walk would take more than a strong-willed mind. I would have to rewrite the language that I have learned. For us to see God that way, we would have to stop talking about Him the way we do and start doing things differently.

I needed to read this today, because I'm praying hard about what the next wave we at New Hope send out from our body of believers into the community should be. We gave away three Bibles last night to people who had never had one before. We had people yesterday as a result of the messages I didn't want to bring - on the DaVinci Code's distortions and the Biblical truth - get exposed to how we really got our Bible and why we can trust it.

I want to be around people more who don't know Jesus - who don't know the Bible - who don't even realize what's missing from their life is - LIFE! Somehow, someway, we have to build more bridges for people to walk across to find Jesus.

So thanks Matt, for helping me think about how the blind see Jesus.

That's One Way To Handle It

I read a lot of blogs everyday thanks to Google Reader. It doesn't mean I spend that much time on it, since the reader presents me with a snippet and I can then decide whether it's worthy of further review. Wade Hodges is one of those bloggers I read. He's just like me - Northern, Church of Christ, emergent... Ok, he's nothing like me. But I like him - He's about enlarging the Kingdom of God too.

Today, he snipped a post from Patrick Mead with an exchange probably every pastor friend of mine and his brother wishes he had experienced.

A couple was furious with our church. We had gone to see what happened to them after someone noticed they'’d been gone from our worship assembly for some time. "“We aren'’t coming back,"” the husband said. "“That is an unloving, cold church that claims to care about people but doesn'’t."” I asked him on what basis he made that judgment and he replied, "“We were gone four weeks from that church before anyone there even noticed. What kind of church doesn'’t even notice something like that?"”

Mead's response - priceless:

I replied, "“What kind of person are you, that you could be gone for four weeks and the no one in the church could tell?"” They were shocked by this "‘attack"’ so I pressed on. "“What work suffered because you stopped your ministry? What mission work ground to a halt because you withdrew your funding, prayers and support? Could it be '— just imagine with me a moment '— could it be that you never really were a part of the church? Could that be why your departure was unnoticed?"”

Friends, every single organization I have ever been a part of whether sacred or secular, ranging from the Boy Scouts to Procter and Gamble, has always made it clear to me what my responsibilities were, and saw that I carried them out. No sports team has ever "carried" me - I had to produce. No company has ever let me slide - I had to do my part.

People who have the attitude of the couple that Patrick was writing about were the subject of a sermon I remember by Chuck Swindoll many years ago. Don't remember it all, but I do remember the main three points. People not invested - not involved in the life of the church over time progress in this fashion. They begin by sitting, checking out the church. Then they soak up the teaching and the fellowship. But if the culture of the church and its leadership do not challenge and expect them to be involved in ministry themselves, they then sour.

Sit, soak, sour.

So Patrick Mead, I hereby declare you a fellow cat herder of the highest rank. May your tribe increase.

Dan Brown and the Briar Patch

I hope to visit you soon, but just in case I'm delayed, I'm writing this letter so you'll know how things ought to go in God's household, this God-alive church, bastion of truth. This Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding, but some things are clear enough:

He appeared in a human body,
was proved right by the invisible Spirit,
was seen by angels.
He was proclaimed among all kinds of peoples,
believed in all over the world,
taken up into heavenly glory. 1 Timothy 3:14-16 (The Message)

Friday, the Da Vinci Code begins its run at theaters all across the nation and around the world. For months now, I've been receiving snail mail and email concerning first the book's and now the movie's potential impact on Christian faith. And yet I cannot help but think that somewhere in heaven, someone is laughing out loud at the latest feeble assault on our faith.

The more I've studied the book and it's claims, the more I'm certain that someone laughing isn't alone, that there might be a whole angelic chorus of laughter. In fact, Brown's book reminds me of another work of fiction, by Joel Chandler Harris.

"I don't care what you do with me, Brer Fox, says he, "Just so you don't fling me in that briar patch. Roast me, Brer Fox," says he, "But don't fling me in that briar patch."
"It's so much trouble to kindle a fire," says Brer Fox, says he, "that I expect I'd better hang you," says he.
"Hang me just as high as you please, Brer Fox, says Brer Rabbit, "but for the Lord's sake, don't fling me in that briar patch," says he.
"I don't have any string, " says Brer Fox, "Now I expect I had better drown you, " says he.
"Drown me just as deep as you please, Brer Fox," says Brer Rabbit, "But please do not fling me in that briar patch, " says he.
"There's no water near here," says Brer Fox, says he, "And now I reckon I'd better skin you."
"Skin me Brer Fox," says he. "Snatch out my eyeballs, tear out my ears by the roots," says he, "But please, Brer Fox, don't fling me in that briar patch, " says he.
Of course, Brer Fox wanted to get Brer Rabbit as bad as he could, so he caught him by the behind legs and slung him right in the middle of the briar patch. There was a considerable flutter when Brer Rabbit struck the bushes, and Brer Fox hung around to see what was going to happen.
By and by he heard someone call his name and 'way up on the hill he saw Brer Rabbit sitting cross-legged on a chinquapin log combing the tar pitch out of his hair with a chip. Then Brer Fox knew he had been tricked.
Brer Rabbit hollered out, "Born and bred in the briar patch. I was born and bred in the briar patch!" And with that he skipped out just as lively as a cricket in the embers of a fire.

Friends, you can trust the Bible. And you can trust God to turn the most clever attacks from any source to His advantage. As Paul wrote to Timothy, we cannot possibly understand everything about God, but some things are clear enough.

So here at New Hope we're going to "Dialogue With Da Vinci" the next couple of weeks. For a serious student of the culture, context, and writings of the New Testament era, it doesn't get much more fun than this.

Don't throw me in that briar patch. :)


Grace!

David

--
Visit with me at my blog:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

Do You Get Paid?

One of our loosely attached middle schoolers was out front of my office yesterday when I left to come home. Out of the blue he asked me a series of questions.

"Are you the only one who works here?"
"Why"
"Do you get paid?"
"Why"

It was kind of funny really. I stopped and tried to explain how we as a church Body all had different roles to play, and that mine was to be a pastor to everyone as they each did their part.

"Everybody works here - God has given each of us talents, gifts, and abilities. My job then is to help people find God, and then find out how to use what He's given them to serve Him by loving people. To do that takes time, and so everybody here gives me that by paying me enough so that I can focus only on that. I read, study, write, call, visit, email - do everything I can to help people find God and stay close to him."

I paused, because I know how short his attention span is, and I was afraid that he might not have understood.

"Cool", he said and walked away.

"Yep, way cool."

Questions

I was watching the TV the other day, and a well known failure as a presidential candidate was being interviewed. The reporter was trying to get an answer to a specific question about a particular policy, and the politician was evading it. It was remarkable at how skilled each of them was at it. The one, in rephrasing and coming back again, and the other at evading while hoping to not seem to be.

It went on for a few minutes until I, the viewer got so frustrated I literally wanted to shout at the screen.

Will you just answer the question?

Last night, I was teaching on the fourth commandment - the Sabbath. We had covered all the heavy lifting last week and this week I was hoping to connect it to life today through Jesus' experiences with the religious authorities. So we talked a bit about exactly what a Jewish Sabbath looked like. In a room filled with women (just worked out that way with about 8 people missing), I tried to stress how Sabbath was a time to renew relationships with God and with family - through spending time. That despite what it later came to be - rigid, inflexible rules - it was about the heart.

So then when I moved on to Jesus, they could understand why He talked about the "rules" of the day by saying "You have heard it said, but I say..."

"Why do you think He did that?", I asked.

A woman who hasn't been coming long, an Air Force wife whose little boy was coloring in a chair next to her said "Because with Jesus, it is always about the heart."

Bingo.

We closed with the Rob Bell video, "Sunday" in which Rob makes some of the very same points. I know that a lot of us who were trained to study, to produce and then deliver the information tend to just drop the material in people's laps. Questions slow us down, and we have to manage the responses.

But think about it the next time you watch a politician dance - if we can create in the hearer a desire - a hunger - for the answer, we've done what Jesus was so skilled at.

Ask. You will receive.

Upon Further Review...

Was sitting here on a Monday thinking about yesterday's services at New Hope. Had just read a guy on the Pastors.com forum questioning on the basis of one Sunday morning's visit and a perusal of the church's bulletin, whether that church should have received the "Healthy Church Award" given by Rick Warren's group. So I wondered, what would he have seen at New Hope?

There was a young man visiting Sunday School classes, telling us about Matt Kenseth's oil leak problems in the race this weekend.

There was a young woman in 2/3 of a red dress.

There was one baby who cried during the service, another young one who vomited during lunch.

Then that night, the pastor led the music, having only the need to help, not the skills.

A healthy church?

Well, that young man updating the Nascar news is Allen, who is mentally challenged. He calls New Hope his church, calls our RA leader his grandpa, and gathers groups of us to sing "Oh How He Loves Me".

The young woman... what was thrilling about her visit wasn't the dress, it was that she was in church and was welcome. Her choice of clothing was the best she had.

The babies - one was accompanied by her unwed mother, who could have felt she wouldn't have been welcomed back into our hearts. The other was the son of our departing worship leader, and after a message on servanthood, I got to clean up vomit. (Just call it an extended sermon) :)

The evening music. Yes, it could have been better. No argument there. But we'll see what God has for us.

So had someone come to New Hope looking for perfection, I'm afraid we would have been sorely lacking. But if they were looking for God - He was there!

Grace!

David

Like Holding Water In Your Hands

Well, today was the last day at New Hope for our worship leader. He came to us three years ago with no experience, just a call, and over that time, he and we grew a lot. The expectations now are much higher.

New Hope isn't just a job, and I'm not looking for someone who wants one. I want to find a person who loves what we are trying to do and wants to dive in. We're nontraditional in the extreme - we dress casual, we sing newer music, but we preach through the Bible and are deadly serious about making disciples - not just converts.

We're at odds with most of our SBC brethren in a lot of ways, and not nearly cool enough to be considered a "contemporary" church (whatever that means). So to find someone who can afford to live here, who has the skills to do the job, and who buys into the New Hope vision...

Means we have to depend on God... again.

Just as we did three years ago.

Stay tuned.

Leaving the Past Behind

When did you realize you believed in Jesus? Was there a moment you can look back on when you realized that it wasn't just the facts about Jesus that you believed, but that you believed in Him? For some, they can remember the day and the time when they became a follower of Jesus. For others, it was a gradual coming to faith. Over time they moved closer and closer to Jesus until one day they realized - I'm with Him!

Today I was reading Mark 10 in preparation for Sunday's sermon and I read ahead to the story of Bartimaeus.

46And so they reached Jericho. Later, as Jesus and his disciples left town, a great crowd was following. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road as Jesus was going by. 47When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus from Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

48"Be quiet!" some of the people yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

49When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, "Tell him to come here."

So they called the blind man. "Cheer up," they said. "Come on, he's calling you!" 50Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

51"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked.

"Teacher," the blind man said, "I want to see!"
52And Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your faith has healed you." And instantly the blind man could see! Then he followed Jesus down the road

So when did it happen for Bartimaeus?

Well, we know he was a beggar, who sat alongside the road that was filled with pilgrims headed to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. Day after day he sat there, helplessly pleading for people to give alms as they passed. If they didn't, he didn't eat. Now Jesus is near, and he cries out, and is told to come.

That's when it happens.

Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.


That coat, or cloak as some versions call it, wasn't just clothing. Beggars wore over sized poncho like coats that they spread out before them to catch the money people gave. So when Bartimaeus decided to trust that Jesus could do what he needed, by leaping up and tossing aside his cloak... He left his past behind - the way he had made a living... trusted His Savior - and found life!.

Have you?

Grace!

David

Ivory Tower, Or Workshop Floor?

No one else knew. No one else would understand. He had everything, and it wasn't enough. Everyday as he unlatched the door to the synagogue and prepared for Torah school, he felt as if he was just going through the motions.

As hazzan of the assembly, he was involved in every aspect of worship and teaching. It was he who blew the shofar to begin shabbot when the first three stars were visible in the sky. He was the one entrusted with the Torah scrolls and it was he who danced with delight as he placed them in the ark. On the outside, it was all about God - but inside, what begin as a sliver of dissatisfaction had become a cold and lifeless life.

Looking at the young boys as they eagerly listened to him explain about the majesty and wonder of Yahweh, as He led His people from slavery, he was gripped with envy "If I only wanted to know God like they do", he thought.

He walked over to one pupil who was seated next to the window opening to the courtyard. Laughing and smiling, he explained yet again to Simon's son that placing the yot over the aleph in that position would change the whole Law. Simon stomp his feet in frustration and tipped the bench over.

As he picked it up, he glanced outside and saw... Jesus and his talmidim. They looked to be leaving town. He might never get another chance.

"Continue practicing your aleph and bet boys, class dismissed." He raced out the door and caught Jesus just as he was rounding the corner.

He dropped to the ground in front of him while looking intently in Jesus' face "Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?"

Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't cheat, honor your father and mother."

He said, "Teacher, I have--from my youth--kept them all!"

Jesus looked him hard in the eye--and loved him! He said, "There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me."

The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.

Maybe it happened much like I've written (and Eugene Peterson's Message relates). I'm just making a best guess based on what I know about the passage, the culture, and the work of a typical synagogue ruler or "hazzan".

But here's the thing.....

Bunny, Sean and I were talking last night about how learning more about the Jewish context and culture of the Bible has been a big help for us in understanding the Scriptures better. Bunny had just shared some insight she had found about one of the Psalms that stood the way she had always looked at it on it's head.

"See, that sort of stuff needs to be in the notes or something," Sean said. "It really helps you understand, but you have to be a scholar to know it."

That's been bugging me ever since.

At first, I thought about a classic American quick fix - everyone just needs study Bibles. But then I remembered that the contextual studies are not really done in most of those. Then I thought, "well, you just need to teach more on that." But that just means the problem that Sean identified continues.

The answer is for each follower of Jesus to learn more about Him and His culture. We're not just separated by language. There's time too. But with today's resources available for free via the Internet, we can know Jesus and His culture better.

And that puts us right where God wants us - able to understand His Word, discern His will, and do the things He's planned for us that will glorify His name.

So friends, get to work. Here are some links to get you started.

http://www.menorahministries.com/Scriptorium/JesusThruJewishEyes.htm
http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/
http://www.followtherabbi.com/Brix?pageID=1458
http://www.itanakh.org/

Shalom,

David

Let's Roll

There's been a lot of buzz this week so far about Flight 93, the movie that describes that fateful day when America was attacked and in the case of that plane, the passengers fought back and prevented even more death and destruction.

From what I've seen of the clips, and from what I've read about that group of people, they were very normal, average Americans. Yet on that day, that horrible day, they were asked to be more than they ever had been, and to give what Lincoln called on another field not too far from the impact site "their last full measure of devotion."

I've just read another pastor's blog tonight. He's in that swirling cloud of discouragement that arises when people decide not to grow. He's confident in the call he received from God, sure of the vision given for that Body of believers, skilled and able.

But he's being worn down.

Stuart Briscoe wrote, "These are the minimum qualifications of a pastor: the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, and the hide of a rhinoceros."

He's on target with that, but protecting that child's heart from harm takes help. The pastor is assumed to be above injury, but by the very nature of the job, you place yourself over and over again in harm's way - if you care.

And he cares.

So lift a prayer tonight for all those men and women who care for the flock by laying down their lives every day.

It's Why I'm Here

Scott, (our associate pastor) and I were emailing back and forth tonight about something, and I wound up explaining what I feel God is trying to do at New Hope. In a sense, I believe He's trying to do exactly what He did within the first few years after Christ's death - that is, bring all sorts of people of all ages together to worship, fellowship, minister and learn how to follow Jesus together.

What that means is that each person understands that he or she is there to love God with all their heart soul and mind, and to love their neighbor as themselves. It means not necessarily loving "church" as most of us have come to know that term, but loving God through the people who make up a local body of believers. Religion seems to me to keep people and God at a distance. Following Jesus means being in relationship with Him and people - flawed, hurting, sometimes aggravating people. People who make you laugh, people who make you cry. People who you might not choose, but who you could not imagine life without.

Here's the deal. I could "market" New Hope and draw a "target" group. Maybe I choose to get all young people or go geezer - whatever. If you get the right product and market it correctly, you can draw a crowd. All the Purpose Driven, all the church growth folks tell me that's the way to go to grow a church.

I have a problem with it. That is, the NT doesn't show churches like that.

To me, New Hope is a NT church. Young, old, richer, poorer, well educated and not so well schooled. We need cross generational worship, fellowship, ministry and the like. We need young to learn from old and the reverse is also true. It does mean I'll probably not make the cover of the FL Bapt Witness or be interviewed in Leadership Journal.

But it's what I feel God wants me to do.

In years past, I worked hard at doing series', and now I preach through books more often than not. Same thing. I can draw a crowd and keep them entertained, even get them to remember me. I'd rather draw people to Christ and strengthen them in and through His Word. I keep hearing "make disciples". So that's what I do.

Others take a different route. All that matters is that Christ is preached. I'll let God sort it out. This week I'll have to exercise my faith in house hunting, in getting rolling on a music guy, in whether to take some classes this summer, in getting my father through these tests. So fixing the attitudes of some club members will have to wait.

Friends, when it comes right down to it, that's what I pray for - that God would use New Hope to teach people how to love Him and how to love people - like Jesus did.

That's why I'm here, why God has kept me here, and why I pray everyday for New Hope.