The Principle of the Path

 

I just finished reading “The Principle of the Path” by Andy Stanley.  Stanley is a fine writer who uses lots of great examples and illustrations to help the reader get a better understanding of the text he is explaining.  This book focuses on the premise that the road we choose leads to a specific place.  If we choose that road, we will reach that place.  In other words, direction determines destination.  

Stanley opens up with a story about one of his childhood indiscretions when he and a friend went across the Georgia state line into Alabama.  They forgot that Eastern time ends and Central time begins at the Alabama state line so they were running at least one hour late when it was time to get home.  They made an ill advised decision to take an unfinished section of I-20 back to Atlanta.  Little did they know this unfinished stretch was really unfinished and, if not for the help of an erstwhile couple on the highway, they would end up in the middle of a lake in Alabama.  

The story ends with the boyfriend of the couple who flagged them down and stopped them before getting to the lake showing them the way to the correct path so they could find their way, safely, back to Atlanta.  Stanley says, on page 1, “anyone, regardless of race, creed, color, or sex, would have ended up in the same place had they chosen that stretch of highway.  It didn’t dead end in one place for one kind of person and somewhere else for another kind.  That unfinished stretch of highway was no respecter of persons.”  

This story laid the groundwork for the rest of the book.  Stanley continues with lots of great illustrations and stories of folks who took one path and not another when it came to finances, relationships, family, and other decisions.  Regardless of the circumstance, the path these people would choose would lead them to the specific end of that path and nowhere else.  We can’t get on I-93 form Concord, NH to Boston and expect to end up in Seattle, it just doesn’t work that way.

It’s a good read, I recommend it.  The illustrations and stories are sometimes overkill, but they are all relevant and they are all thought provoking.

Unafraid

Pastor Peter finished out a great series today about living unafraid.  The series reminded us that God is the God of our circumstances and He’s greater than all the things that Satan might throw at us to try and bring us down in fear.  We learned that we can tell Satan to hit us with his best shot, because we know how to overcome fear by God’s mighty hand.  After all, He hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

I was reading Deuteronomy 7 through 9 recently and was blown away by Moses’ words about fear in these chapters.  He was reminding the Israelite’s of God’s miraculous delivery for them and how God delivered them with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm from Pharaoh’s tyranny and from the bondage they experienced as slaves to the Egyptians.  It was powerful, though, because Moses was encouraging them to remember the miracles God had done in their generation for them as a people.  He didn’t need to remind them of miracles God had done for Abraham in generations past or the miracles of Joseph in generations past, because he could remind them of miracles in their generation and to their people.

Verse 19 of chapter 7 says, “You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out.  The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.”  He was telling them to remember how God delivered them from Egypt and to take courage for how God will deliver them into the Promised Land He had set aside for them.  

We can do the same.  We can take courage from the things God has delivered us from.  We don’t need to look at miracles from the times of Moses or Abraham or Paul; we can look at the miracles from our times and take courage in the fact that God will deliver us into the promised land (the calling on our lives) that He has for us.

I challenge you to read these chapters and notice how Moses draws up the courage of the Israelites in them.  You, too, can take the same courage as the Israelites did by remembering your deliverance from your ‘Pharaoh’ and be assured that He will deliver you into your promised land.

Year-end – Part I

Everybody says it, but it’s hard to believe 2008 is already winding down.  I’ll spend a couple of blogs over the next few days recapping my insights on  2008 and looking ahead at 2009.

I finished up 2007 as sort of a ‘pastor-in-waiting’ as I was poised to leave my career in the corporate world and step into my calling as a pastor.  I had no doubts as to my calling, but I was a little nervous as to how I would step into the calling and how I’d live it out.  

Now, as 2008 finishes, I can tell you that I have the best job in the world!  I love the calling that I’ve stepped into and I love the people I get to work with and especially the people of GCC who encourage me and love me throughout the year. (To all the GCC’ers – you are all very special to me and I love you all.)  The enemy tries to lie to me and tell me I can’t do this work, but the voice of truth keeps assuring me that God has called me and equipped me and that is good enough.  

I haven’t looked back since I’ve come on staff at GCC; there wouldn’t be time to look back even if I wanted to.  There have been a couple of things that have surprised me, though.  One of the surprises is how busy a church office can be.  I can assure you the church office is a busy place.  I can find myself doing everything from changing light bulbs in the parking lot to praying with a friend who is struggling with the loss of a loved one or with concern over a wayward child.  But, I rarely find myself sitting around wondering what I’m going to do next.

There are other things I’ll muse about from 2008, but those will be in blogs to come later this week.  

Peace!

Shoes

 

Street Boys Shoes

A few weeks ago Pastor Peter challenged us to leave our shoes at the Celebration service so they can go to an organization called Soles4Souls to be given to folks who needs shoes.  The local newspaper did a small blurb on the act of kindness and there was quite a buzz in the anonymous posts to the paper’s website. 

I saw, first-hand, the need for some shoes this week.  I took the picture above at the street boy ministry this past Monday.  This was, obviously, the only pair of shoes this little boy had and he walked the streets in these shoes all day long.  

We brought a bunch of flip flops with us to Rwanda and took them to the Street Boy ministry to give out that day.  The boys, including this boy with such a sad pair of shoes, all left with a new pair of flip flops.  

God tells us to be compassionate and he puts compassion in our hearts.  Flip flops are a tool we can use to show this compassion.  There are lots of things we can use as compassion tools every day if we just keep our eyes and our hearts open.

God is good…all the time!

 

New Flip Flops!

Pictures from Rwanda

 

 

Street Boy Ministry

Saturday Outreach

Church in Rwanda

It was another beautiful day in this paradise that is called Rwanda.  We woke up early from some much needed sleep and got ready for church.  We walked the ten or 15 minutes up the hill to the church in the glorious sunshine.  Worship was just getting under way.

Worship in Rwanda is incredible.  The Spirit of God was moving mightily as we sang and danced to the African music.  Pastor Isaiah, from the Foursquare church, spoke a powerful word to us about a piano’s harmony and how it can only be harmonious when the black keys and the white keys are all played at the same time.  We all serve one God and God sees us all the same; surely we can all live harmoniously together.

It was incredible, too, to see our folks join in the worship and step into their gifts.  They were all singing and dancing and engaging the kids in singing an dancing.  I can’t explain how good it feels to see our folks engaging in worship and loving on the Rwandan people.

Africa is such a humbling place.  We are so fortunate in the USA.  Sure, the economy down and people are ‘hurting’ but the people who are ‘hurting’ are doing much better than most of the people in Rwanda.  If you’re reading this in the United States and you have electricity that is dependable, and you have clean water to drink, and you have a house with doors and windows, then you are very fortunate.  Thank God for his blessings!

Rwanda

It’s just a little over a month before we go to Rwanda on a mission trip.  We’ve been planning since early in 2008 and now the time is almost here.  It’s been amazing to see the team come together and to see some of the growth of the individuals going on the trip.  Some have seen miraculous things happen with their fund raising, some are growing personally, some are taking more of a risk than they have ever faced in their lives, and all are extremely excited about going.

It’ll be my fourth trip to Rwanda and I feel as excited as I felt the first time.  I love the Rwandans and have made some good friends there.  I am looking forward to visiting my friends, making some hospital visits, visiting some villages as we do outreach events, and even going on a little safari to a game park.  

It’s a beautiful place and I can’t wait to see it again.  I’ll blog and post some pictures while we’re there.

Called out

What does it mean to live dangerously?  I believe Jesus calls us out of our comfortable places and he expects us to live dangerously.  Now, I’m not saying he has called us to do foolish things that would endanger our lives, but I believe he calls us outside of our comfort zones to do amazing things for him.

 

Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”  Doesn’t sound too safe to me!

 

I think Jesus calls us out.  He calls us out of our comfortable churches and wants us to apply the things we learn from all those Bible studies we’ve attended.  He wants our total worship, 24×7.  He calls us to love unlovely people, all of the time.  He calls us to step up to be what he has predestined us to be. 

 

I know it’s scary.  It’s scary to step out of a nice corporate job with good benefits and follow the calling that God has put in your heart.  It’s scary to sell everything you have and move to Rwanda, Africa because God has put that passion in your heart.  It’s scary to love your neighbor as yourself, just because God told you to. 

 

What has God called you to do?  He may not be calling you out of the corporate world into a full-time ministry position.  He may not be calling you to Africa, or any other foreign mission field.  But, you can be sure that He’s calling you to total worship and He’s calling you to love the unlovely. 

 

Don’t be afraid to do what He’s called you to do.  He calls us to have faith.  He’s not going to leave you hanging all alone on the limb.  He’s there and He’s faithful; all the time.

I’m excited…

I’m brimming with excitement about what God is doing in our midst.  We can truly see Him working in us as we get to the heart of worship and acknowledge and affirm that it’s all about Him.  

I’m also excited about seeing teenagers filling up the first two rows of the sanctuary in both of our celebration services.  They were leading us, by example, into worship with hands upraised, knees bowed down, and true hearts of worship.  I’m afraid a lot of us ‘wiser’ folks are going to have to step it up just to keep up with these guys.  So, thanks to all you guys who sat up front today.  You blessed my heart and challenged me.

 

Update from Houston

There is a lot of buzz at the convention about restocking the shelves of leadership in Foursquare.  I’m glad that our movement sees the importance of youth and is embracing them, training them, and releasing them to walk in God’s purpose for their lives.

Our kids want to be loved and accepted.  The truth is that they will find someone who will accept them; if it’s not the church then it will surely be someone else.  Someone will value our kids; if it’s not the church then it will surely be someone else.

I challenge all of us ‘wiser’ folks to embrace our kids.  Love on them.  Build a relationship with them.  Don’t be intimidated by their looks or their attitudes; they want to be embraced and loved.  All of us have something to offer.