Toni and I often talk about life changes, boundaries, and priorities. But family always tops our list.
Watching our children grow up, getting married, and seeing them succeed in their careers is what brings us joy. But what’s much more important is their relationships with each other and their commitment to our family and to the families they’re building.
The older I get, inching closer to the end of life, the irony is that it forces you to live a more meaningful life now, or at least it should. To wait until retirement to prioritize family is a sad mistake that I think too many make.
We do need to die, in some respects, to those things which promote death and live more towards those things which promote life. It’s like choosing between bacon, which I love, but it fosters death, and beansprouts, which I hate but promote life. However, living life on hospital food is certainly no fun either. So, we strive for a balance. And, this is what my brush with death has taught me.
The movie “Click,” with Adam Sandler, has some great truths running through it, along with its great humor and satire.
Morty (The Angel of Death), played by Christopher Walken, tells Michael Newman, played by Adam Sandler, who’s fast-forwarding his way through life with an enchanted TV clicker:
Morty remarks:
“He’s always chasing the pot of gold, but when he gets there, at the end of the day, it’s just cornflakes.”
Towards the end of the movie (WARNING SPOILER ALERT), Michael finally gets it and cries out, in his throes of death:
Michael Newman: [dying] “Family, family… … FAMILY COMES FIRST.”
Isn’t it so true? Family should come first, and I can promise, in the very moment when life is quickly or slowly draining from your body, it’s family that first comes to your mind…
… I want to see our two grandchildren, with Josh and Jenny, grow up.
Oh my goodness, it’s Tessa’s 24th birthday, and I will miss it!
Tears began rolling down my face as I saw those moments of life fast-forwarding before me. That was my wake-up call at 2:30 in the morning, Friday, October 11, 2013, as I sat in triage at the Sonora Adventist Hospital all alone, and when the reality of “heart attack” was suggested by the ER physician.
I wanted to exchange “I love you” with my wife and children again! I wanted to see who’d become my son, Jordan’s wife, and welcome her into our family.
I confess that not one of my projects, clients, or deadlines entered my mind while facing the prospect of a heart attack. Not one more contract signing or one more insurance settlement, which I have to face, is most likely what put me in the hospital in the first place.
As it turned out, it wasn’t a heart attack, but me, attacking my heart because of too many “yeses” and not enough “nos.” My physician told me that too much stress could cause cardiac arrest.
I need to say a serious “YES” to life and a meaningful “NO” to death. It’s the wrong choices in those subtle moments that can soon pile up into a health crisis. It is all those times when the tyranny of less critical things overrules the more essential things of life.
“Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no; anything more than that is from the Evil One.” Matthew 5:37 – Jesus of Nazareth
I don’t think striving to love your family correctly, keeping your promises, being home on time for dinner, or kissing your wife and kids goodbye in the morning has put anybody into the hospital.
Proverbs 4:23 says it best: “Guard your heart more than anything else because the source of life flows from it.”
It’s the redeemed heart where God lives that is our source of life. This, too, is where our families live and dwell. This is also where the love of our life resides. Work should never enter our hearts the way God and our loved ones do, for it will always push God, family, and our loved ones out! Guard your heart more than anything else! Not your reputation, ego, pride, or being right—but your HEART!
Our misplaced priorities will always attack what truly matters to our hearts and, if ignored, may eventually cause you to attack your heart, like I did.
So, my new motto for life:
“Family, family… … FAMILY COMES FIRST!”
In this, we find all the treasures of life, and it’s those relationships and memories that are worth living and fighting for.
After all, everything else, “at the end of the day, is just cornflakes!”
“Be careful that no one fails to get God’s grace. Be careful that no one loses their faith and becomes like a bitter weed growing among you. Someone like that can ruin your whole group.” —Hebrews 12:15 (ERV)
A simple yet profound question from a friend has stayed with me:
“Tom, are you bitter or better?”
Life’s trials will come, but our choice determines our sense of peace. Bitterness isolates; betterness unites. By embracing God’s redemptive grace and forgiving others, we unlock a life of freedom, love, and meaningful relationships.
We are all confronted with hurt and pain from others. The choice to become bitter or better is available to all of us. The choice always comes down to two letters, the letter i or the e, b(i)tter or b(e)tter.
Bitterness is a collection of wrongs done by others, causing emotional constipation, psychological disfigurement, and spiritual disconnection from God and others.
The Holy Spirit wants to move us away from bitterness and leads us towards betterment. That is what God’s grace means here—the empowerment to avoid bitterness.
Matter of fact, the verse from Hebrews warns us to be careful that no one fails to receive God’s grace and that no one loses their faith. In other words, we need to watch each others back, rather than plunging knives into them.
Bitterness is the absence of God’s grace, as it displaces his presence, his wisdom, and conviction of the Holy Spirit. A bitter person is always looking to recruit people into their cesspool of bitter complaints. If you join them you’ll get drawn into their emotional quicksand with no one to rescue you!
We become bitter only when we reject God’s grace whispered to us by the Holy Spirit, and when we follow and listen to bitter people. Bitterness is a contagion; it is contracted through casual gossip and always corrupts the mind before it rots the soul. Bitterness has destroyed marriages, families, businesses, and especially churches.
Stay with God’s Word and his distinct and clear voice. Obey the Holy Spirit and become better. If not, you’ll destroy your faith, and walk away from God and the people who truly love you!
Even if you are bitter, you can become better. According to Hebrews 12:15, the antidote against bitterness is ensuring that not one person is missing out from God’s grace. Doing that leaves little time and opportunity for bitterness to take root.
When you stab yourself and others with bitterness, you also forfeit God’s grace that could be yours.
People will love a better you, but bitterness will drive even your closest friends away. Bitterness is a pill, whereby its side effect causes loneliness and detachment. Not only between those who love you, but even within yourself. Your bitterness makes you dangerous—a danger to yourself and others.
Bitterness grows within your heart and soul, like a destructive and evasive tree root. It enters into areas it doesn’t belong, causing emotional disfigurment, and psychological damage. But its damage is reversible. There is hope and healing!
Do you want to live a better life?
Then forgive the offense of others, and you’ll live a bitter free life.
I know—I know, you’ve been terribly hurt or offended. But your bitterness puts you in competition with God. You’re actually saying, “I know better than God,” and therefore you feel justified to condemn. That’s pretty tragic, don’t you think?
But the longer you hold onto bitterness, the more impossible it is for you to forgive. The longer you wait to forgive those who’ve hurt you the further away God’s grace becomes.
I don’t want you to miss out on God’s grace, I want you free and full of life, just like you used to be. I want you to find your faith again in God and to enjoy his presence in your soul.
I want you to love and to be loved again. I want you to stop the cruelty to your heart and soul!
Don’t you see?
Bitterness is not the cure—it’s a poison! The real cure may seem impossible, but it’s the only cure that will set you free and put you on the road to recovery.
The only cure to bitterness is forgiveness. Forgiveness is even more powerful if you were to lead in it. I promise that if you do, you’ll be right as rain and feeling better and not bitter.
Whether you realize it or not, we are in a bulletless revolution.
Did you know that our liberty is directly tied to our economy?
“He who controls the money controls the world.” — Henry Kissinger
The W.H.O. the C.D.C. and the Federal Bureaucrats, along with Corporate Mongrels, got their teeth into the heart of our Great Nation. Rogue governors, mayors, and district attorneys are destroying the rule of law and justice.
The Blue States and Blue cities wouldn’t release the masses to go back to work until they caused irreversible financial damage and civil unrest. But, they’ve released murderers, rapists, thugs, and thieves into our cities and towns without a thought.
The Oil Barrons are involved, too. Our crude oil dependency must also be destroyed, according to them. So they’ll raise the price of crude until we can’t afford to drive our vehicles. They’ll even sabotage the Petrol-Dollar just to create hyper inflation here in America and abroad.
Their lust for power and financial gain, all willingly granted to them by the scared masses, in exchange for the people’s security and safety.
‘Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.’ — Benjamin Franklin
The perfect trifecta is happening: Destroy health, wealth, and our monetary system and capitalism will collapse. The Left has avoided a bloody revolution by using the over-sensationalized and politicized COVID-19 virus and the creation of a digitized currency to be controlled by a centralized Federal Banking System. This new monetary system will be known as the Federal CBDC, Central Bank Digital Currency.
All of us have proven to the world rulers how easily we gave up our liberties and how willingly we allowed them to disregard our Constitution and Bill of Rights. All for the avoidance of a virus that has been present among us during every flu season. They just picked the COVID-19 virus to scare us all into submission. Now their planning on replacing our currency to programable digits.
The “pandemic” was the dress rehearsal, preparing us for the next emergency, the ruination of our currency. And, yes, the federal government will step in and save the day because that’s what they do.
“We create the chaos, and then we move in and capitalize on that chaos.”
At first, you’ll love all the incentives they’ll provide so you’ll give up your dollars, your gold, and silver in exchange for a fiat digital currency that you can’t see, hold, or feel. “You’ll own nothing and be happy,” as the World Economic Forum, puts it.
Our foolish COVID compliance was the “test-run” that showed those in power how easily it was to control our lives and suspend our liberties. The crisis of that most dreadful hour has assured the powerful that any hyped-up crisis can be a useful tool against useful idiots. (I hope this offends you into action and not passivity).
Big Pharma, Hollywood, Big Tech, and politicians told us all to get injected with an mRNA vaccine cocktail. These are the very people that argue for population control, they are the pro-abortionists, and pro-euthanasia; they are the main purveyors of The Green New Deal and a Global Economic Reset.
Now, their next agenda is called: “Project Icebreaker.”
“Project Icebreaker is unique in its proposition. It first allows central banks to have almost full autonomy in designing a domestic retail CBDC.”
President Biden signed Executive Order No.14067, back on March 9, 2022.
In part, “The Order calls for interagency coordination to implement the Order, and it articulates the “highest urgency” to research and develop the design of a United States Central Bank Digital Currency (“CBDC”) that is consistent with the priorities outlined in the Order, to ensure the global financial system has appropriate transparency.”
It is likely that the up and coming Great Financial Collapse beginning early 2023 and exploding into 2025 will make it difficult to govern no matter who wins the presidency.
“Buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy,” cause America, well, it just might be going bye-bye!
I hope not!
Are we a nation of sheep and cattle? Have we so easily forgotten the miracle of our liberty and the price for which it was won?
Liberty first won and then lost is far costlier to gain back, as those that have taken it keenly understand the significance of their long-awaited goal.
Honestly, people, do you not see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears what’s happening even the day before July 4, 2024? A former president being prosecuted by a sitting president, that’s about to be tossed out by his own party! This is unprecedented, and is driving America towards a constitutional crisis!
The Democrats have painted themselves into a corner. They have trapped themselves with their own trap! Trump must be defeated at all costs, but their “lawfare” has granted him the keys of the Kingdom.
The Left’s hatred for Donald Trump has nothing to do with his orange tone, awful tweets, or salty character. They hate him because he’s ant-CBDC and an outspoken opponent against their Marxist-Socialist ideology and agenda.
Will the America we love be lost without a shot fired?
Yes, because COVID-19 compliance is all the proof the Marxist-Socialists needed to confirm our passivity. They are hidden within our government, news media, and multibillion-dollar corporations. They are the ones secretly pulling the levers of power. The Bident / Trump debate should have made that crystal clear to both parties.
They’ll try to win at all costs because they know you can’t shoot an enemy that you can’t see!
A church without a mission is nothing more than a religious country club!
If we are to speak honestly and with integrity concerning local and world evangelism, we have to ask ourselves the following questions about our churches:
How many doors of homes and businesses have you knocked on?
Do you knock on doors weekly or monthly?
Do you have a regular and ongoing classes on outreach and evangelism?
How many times per month are you preaching the Gospel outside your building, in the market places, town squares, etc.?
How much of your annual budget is spent sending out its own evangelists and missionaries?
Is the summation of your mission and evangelism work simply ”tithing” 10% of your Church’s revenue to foreign missionaries?
Do you share, in an active and practical way, the Apostle Paul’s passion for reaching all the world with the Gospel?
I’ll make no guesses or assumptions about your honest answer to these questions. I will, however, make an observation. America would be in a much better state, culturally and spiritually if a fraction of evangelical churches prioritized these things.
Do you know how and why some churches grow and some churches decline here or in your local cities and towns? I’ll give you one word…
… SCANDAL!
Churches here, and I’m sure elsewhere, grow while some decline is mainly due to church-hopping, transient Christians, that have been hurt, wounded, devastated, ignored, maligned, and forgotten by well meaning spiritual leaders. Many brothers, sisters, and families leave churches due to scandal and abuse. If more churches were outwardly focused on reaching the world, we’d have much less of the world and scandal inside churches.
The Barna Group has polled hundreds of unchurched believers and has determined that nearly 3,500 people per day exit church never to return! The age group polled were from 14 to 33 years old. The number one response was that they left church due to a lack of connectedness!
Herein lies the proof that far too many inwardly focused churches obsessed with millennialism, prosperity, and emotionalism, rather than Kingdom of God outward expansion, eventually self-destruct, producing devastated and retreating believers, longing for an exfil.
Is it time for people to church-exit what church has become in America? No, I think it’s time for churches to exit its self-absorption and get busy evangelizing its own communities and beyond. For all you futurists out there, the Kingdom of God is here, now, and will expand with or without you.
“To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.” – Romans 2:7-11
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
A church without a mission is nothing more than a religious country club!
The meaning of true fellowship is bearing the burdens of others so that together we may go the distance; when one is weak, the other is strong. Even Nature teaches us this.
Consider the geese…
They fly in a “V” formation to give rest for each goose flying behind them. The “V” formation is also so they can see each other. When the leader tires, another humbly moves into place, allowing the leader to rest behind the strength and flight of others. As the geese remain in tight formation, they create uplift for each other with every downward flapping of their wings.
Geese are monogamous and mate for life. Their honking sound is not about complaining or arguing but confirming and comforting the flock. When it is time for the flock to rest, the leader finds safe ground, and they rest together. Geese can only travel the distance because they fly together, each one taking their place. They watch for the right season and begin their journey as one. Sounds like an excellent model for the church, doesn’t it?
Be patient and kind towards one another, prefer one another, and daily forgive each other’s offenses. The offense is the devil’s trap. It’s your choice to become trapped. Jesus has said:
“Offenses will certainly come, but woe to the one they come through!” – Luke 17:1.
Don’t bring offense, rather be the one who extinguishes it!
The enemy is not each other. it’s not your brother or sister; it’s not your pastor or teacher, and the enemy is certainly not your wife, or husband, sons, or daughters. The enemy is not what others do. Rather, it is the voice you allow to speak into your mind, tempting you to condemn them. It is the voice that whispers inside of our heads, seducing and taking over our thoughts to kill ourselves with self-condemnation, and so we condemn others.
The voice of God, through the Holy Spirit, never condemns. He will not, and cannot, because of Christ. The Apostle Paul said it best…
“Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. – Romans 8:1-2
If our hearts or their hearts condemn us, God’s love for us and, for them, is infinitely far greater than our hearts and far higher than our thoughts. And, remember, God knows all things from the beginning and all the way to the end. – 1 John 3:20.
If our destination is the same, should we not all get along here, and now?
Will segregation, denominations, and prejudice exist in heaven? If our journey is towards heaven, then let us act like heaven. If we do not, heaven will not recognize us. Travel slowly and together, and become heavenly minded so that we may together do earthly good.
Fly in the formation of love.
The true bond of fellowship is unconditional love, and it requires sacrifice, just as God’s love for us is bonded through the sacrifice of Christ.
“… When you want to go far, you travel together. Just fly in the formation of love!
If ever there were a time to get your house in order, it’s now!
Every generation before us has been born into its own mediocrity and narcissism. But never has there been a generation as indifferent and self-absorbed as the present.
These carcinogenic attitudes have eaten away the underpinnings of the Republic. The Left has split our nation in two, and this was no accident.
We must be the generation that breaks this cycle. We can no longer be bored with complacency or be distracted by consumerism and wokeism. We must shake off the Corporate Mongrals that only see us as algorithms. We must deny them their marketing strategies of profiting from our blood and sweat.
We MUST pull our children from all governmental institutions of indoctrination, known as public schools and universities.
We must break free from the enslavement of debt and instead learn to be independent and live with less so that we can become more. They don’t want us to become more. Their power is in our becoming less human and woefully dependent.
Our greatest hour is quickly approaching – if we are to be the greatest generation, we must wake up from apathy. The ending of our way of living will require more from us than at its beginning. You will become either an Overcomer or a Deceiver. If you cling to the junk in your life, you’ll fall prey to their trickery and deception.
It will be much easier in the darkness as an Overcomer. The Truth already blinds a deceiver; light or darkness means nothing; he’s lost. Overcomers do not stumble in dark times; they are surefooted because Truth guides them and lights up their path.
Overcome your obstacles now. Waiting won’t afford you the time to untangle your bad choices. Correct decisions matter now more than at any other time in American history.
Get your house in order. It will be helpful for you and others that you are clearheaded and not a cluttered mess. In the coming months, you’ll need to act decisively and with purpose. Timing will be crucial and maybe the determinant factor of your survival.
Pray for wisdom, the kind of wisdom that only God the Father can give. You’ll need it to discern right from wrong and to avoid the great delusion that is coming and is already here being broadcasted over the airwaves and internet.
We’re headed into a time when sight won’t matter. Faith must become your eyes. Trusting in God’s Word and His promises will be the only surety left.
You might not be aware, but America has gone bye-bye.
Don’t rely on politics or politicians – We went from a Representative Republic to a Democracy and now to a Communist State, while you had your faces buried in your smartphones.
And now, a few recommendations:
Belief In the empty tomb will surely strengthen you during the time of empty banks.
Absorb the Holy Scriptures so that you may become a beacon of light.
Sweep out all that is unnecessary, as there will be an inspection. God wants you to be sharp, sure, and confident when the collapse begins.
So, get your body, mind, and heart in order, and not just your financial affairs. Unbelievers and doubters are going to need you clearheaded and hopeful.
America is soon to become either Америка or 美国这个名字 or perhaps both.
Is it just me, or does 21st Century Christianity need a second Reformation? Is it possible that the 16th Century Protestant Reformation didn’t go far enough?
Comparing Contemporary Christianity to Greco-Roman religious ritual of the 3rd century reveals some uncomfortable similarities. I believe it is those lingering similarities, which, to some degree, has neutered the Church’s testimony and witness to the nations.
The Under Reformed 21st Century Christianity has decentralized the message of the cross and resurrection as the focal point of preaching, teaching, and evangelism. The loss of these foundational doctrines as regular and consistent Church practice is why, for the most part, the Crucifixion has been replaced with Good Friday, the Resurrection replaced with Easter, and the Birth of Christ replaced with Christmas!
The Cross of Christ, the Resurrection, and the birth of Christ have become nothing more than religious holidays for churches to put on shows to capture new parishioners. These religious holidays are no different for Hallmark, Target, and Best Buy; they spruce up their stores and adds to attract consumers, just like many churches do.
Pastors and religious leaders may no longer be wearing long flowing robes loaded with phylacteries or the priestly liturgical vestments with golden threaded sleeves. These religious garbs were used in their day to separate the clergy from the laity to hold the learned in higher esteem than the unlearned, commoner, or laity class.
Today, the learned clergy rely on postnominals to separate themselves from the laity. Postnominals are letters placed following a person’s last name to indicate educational qualifications, the title of office, decoration, or honor. White wigs, long flowing robes, and liturgical vestments may be passe among evangelicals and fundamentalists, but postnominals are not; these letters and titles grant them hierarchy.
“Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don’t follow titles; they follow courage.” – William Wallace
Courage means action. It means to serve the interests of others. To risk. To venture. Titles separate us from one another, but courage, real courage is contagious. It makes us all brave and inspired.
Real courage and bravery is sharing Christ to a world that hates him. Being a true disciple of Jesus Christ is loaded with risk, but only outside of chapels and steeples. In reality, the call to discipleship is more like Jesus saying, “Come die with me for the sake of the Gospel and the Kingdom.” Heaven is where all things evil are vanquished and where the real potluck begins, not once a month at local Methodist Church!
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” – Deitrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
We must break free from the religious trappings of safety, comfort, and convenience.
Too much of this “tradition” of orbiting the pulpit, the building, and the alter is to the detriment of local and world evangelism. To the equipping of the laity and the average believer. To the expansion of the Kingdom of Heaven. Frankly, the high expectation of the clergy doing all of the work of ministry leaves most parishioners disengaged with their faith, their calling, and the development of their spiritual gifts.
The offices gifted to the Church from Christ were not for the clergy to do all the ministry, but that they would equip and train the laity (saints) to do the work of ministry, so that all may reach maturity in Christ. Equipping the saints is for the maximum productivity in the body of Christ and the Gospel. (Eph. 4:11-16)
Being the audience once or twice a week does not forge men, women, and children into saints; but faith put into practice and action with one’s spiritual calling and giftedness does. Far too many well-seasoned believers are simply benchwarmers or spectators of a game they have no skin in.
Brothers and sisters, we don’t reach maturity in Christ Jesus as spectators or simply being faithful to a 90-minute program. Weekly services without the exercise of spiritual gifts and calling create weak Christians.
In many churches, people run out as soon as they hear the final amen. In less than five minutes, the parking lot empties. Just like at the movie theaters, as soon as the screen fades to black and the credits roll, the theater and parking lot empties. What about fellowship, relationship, and koinonia? This proves that the service or show is more important than true fellowship and serious connectedness.
We believers must have a vital connection and role within the local fellowships, whether in commercial buildings or homes. This is why there are so many transient believers; they’re searching for belonging, meaning, and purpose.
The more risk and challenge for believers to exercise their faith and practice their spiritual gifts, the more spiritual growth and maturity will be realized. If this is allowed, edification will become mutual among the laity and not exclusively within the clergy.
For example, I moved from the Bay Area to a lake community in the Sierra Foothills. There is a substantial lack of spiritual urgency up here. It was a culture shock and frankly still is. Spiritual complacency is a real danger, and the 21 Century Western Church structure is responsible for it — sadly, it is what they are producing, spiritual complacency.
I have the privilege to speak with pastors and evangelists in India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Do you know what they tell me?
They tell me they want to be like America’s big successful churches. This breaks my heart. We don’t risk our lives as they do, preaching the gospel or passing out bibles among Muslims and the Taliban. We aren’t threatened by Hindus, ISIS, or Boko Haram.
Here in America, we’re too scared to share the gospel with strangers, neighbors, or anyone shopping at Walmart. Our greatest threat here in America is getting jailed by Facebook, canceled by Twitter, and de-platformed or demonetized by Youtube. Our Americanized, homogenized, and pasteurized form of Christianity has been genetically modified to produce seedless fruit. We should not be in the exporting business.
I encourage them not to mimic Western Christianity and not to model their Churches and ministries after American mega-churches, TV evangelists, our wretched prosperity gospel pontificators, and the NAR movement.
I suggest they follow the authentic biblical model of Christian practice and the ecclesiastic men of Scripture. Christianity needs Indian, Pakistani, and Filipino believers and pastors to be themselves, not an Americanized version. I encourage them to study what the Holy Scriptures instruct and to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to their Churches. Follow Christ Jesus, not American pastors.
Perhaps the First World Churches need a Bible lesson from our brothers and sisters in the Third World. They are the courageous, bold, and faithfu onesl that we Westerners should be.
Be courageous, bold, and faithful like Jesus and bury the grave clothes of the religious order of men.
Even in writing this, I am plagued with the thoughts of acclaim and “likes,” but I must admit that I am not worthy of the calling of God, nor am I capable of carrying it out. It is only with God’s grace and mercy on my life that this is written, along with learning from the mistakes I’ve made while being tested.
The following words fall heavily upon my soul and motives, and I hold myself to the same scrutiny and examination.
Being addicted to the approval of others is a nasty and deadly trap. Using people and ministry to satisfy my approval addiction is like a cocaine addict using heroin to kick his drug habit. The lack of significance can only be resolved by becoming insignificant to applause and accolades until your soul is so quiet that you hear only God’s approval. It is only necessary to have the confidence and support of your Heavenly Father. The applause of heaven is far greater than the applause from men. Heaven’s applause will echo for eternity.
Did you know?
1,500 pastors leave their ministries each month due to burnout, conflict, or moral failure.
Doctors, lawyers, and clergy have the most problems with drug abuse, alcoholism, and suicide.
70% of pastors don’t have any close friends.
75% of pastors report severe stress, causing anguish, worry, bewilderment, anger, depression, fear, and alienation. The list goes on and on.
This stems from the stress of being a resource and reservoir rather than a funnel. It is far healthier teaching people to hear directly from God and how to read and study the Bible rather than being the “Bible Answer Man.”
The movie, “Bruce Almighty,” comes to mind, staring Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, and Steve Carrel. Chaos ensues when God allows Bruce to take over for a while. Bruce, in his excitement with unfettered power of God, checks the “yes” box to everyone’s prayer requests throughout the entire world, causing global chaos! Bruce learns he’s not equipped to be God, and in the end, he surrenders the power back to the Almighty.
“All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:37. (NIV)
Perhaps all your yeses and nos came from the wrong place. And your ministry has become a coffin rather than a platform.
And this is exactly what’s killing our pastors at the rate of 50 per day. We’ve expected our pastors to be god and to answer all our questions with “yeses.”
We are like the wilderness children of Israel, who were too afraid of God and stayed, trembling in their tents, crying to Moses, “Speak to us yourself, and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us, or we will die.” Exodus 20:18-21.
Their “no” to God was a “yes” to Moses, and it nearly killed him. His frustration built up over time until he exploded with anger, disobeying God and striking the rock. Moses became disqualified from entering the promised land.
Not much has changed. And like the children of Israel, we’ve failed the test as a people and have burdened our pastors like they’ve burdened Moses. It is a two-way street, to be sure, but pastors need grace too!
However, clerical abuse is like domestic violence. The wife can not leave her abuser; his abuse validates her wounded psyche, body, mind, and soul. Our pastors need to relinquish power back to God. They need to allow The Almighty to be God to their congregations.
Pastors need to let their people feel the weight of God as He is, so they can genuinely encounter the Lordship Jesus Christ. God’s grace must become the motivator for both the pastor and the congregation. We need to bring our pastors back down from the mountain and directly seek the presence and heart of God as obedient sons and daughters.
And so, both the pastor and the congregation need to do their part. We must let our pastors off the hook and allow them to be human. And pastors need to cease their co-dependency and enablement of weak believers by usurping God’s role in their lives.
When the only acclaim sought after by the pastor and congregant is, “well done, my good and faithful servant…,” with no other obligations or legalities, the congregation can reach maturity. The workload becomes lighter and not heavier. If we are motivated by the applause of men, we have our reward, and it goes no further than the dust of the earth. The gravitational pull of pride keeps it from heaven and creates an imbalance in the life of the pastor, and so affects the entire body.
Your mission is not to be the “man,” the pastor, or preacher, but to be the son, in strict obedience to the Heavenly Father, and to carry out His work in His way, in Spirit and Truth. Your authenticity as a servant of God is your sonship to Him. The strength of your ministry flows from the depth of your belovedness in the Father-heart of God.
The burdens you receive from the heart of God, in Christ Jesus, are always light. The limitations and expectations from the people are always heavy. You are God’s servant and not the people. The people belong to God, and God belongs to the people. Ask God for balance and be brave enough to establish reasonable boundaries. Redistribute the ministry to the people so that the Holy Spirit can distribute and apportion gifts accordingly.
The Church is under a kingdom economy and not a democratic order. If you want the Prince of Peace, relinquish the governance to His shoulders. Isaiah 9:6.
Don’t settle on becoming a traditional church pastor, aspiring to build a Mega-Church, but rather, aspire to be faithful with the little God has given you. Therefore, allow His favor to exponentially grow the Kingdom of God and His Royal Economy in and through you. The Good News is the Kingdom of God, and it must be good news to you, too! Then, when Godly order has entered your own life, the reign of peace will begin, and the lost and lonely will hear and see its message.
The Church needs to cease its favoritism of the attractive and wealthy and its addiction to celebrities. They may give you resources and bodies to build a cathedral, but the Spirit of Christ will not inhabit it. We have had many King Sauls as pastors and desperately need King Davids.
It’s all about the fulfillment of Isaiah 6 and those humble yet daring souls who’ll serve the least and the last.
I was in a meeting several years ago in Antioch, California. There was a long line of men and boys waiting for a sumptuous buffet. Naturally, it was always the teenagers that fought to be at the head of the line. We offered our thanks for the food, and then I announced:
“Okay, the beginning of the line is at the end.”
You should have seen their faces! I will never forget it. The following week, the line formed again, and all the boys were clamoring to be last! So that night, the first became the least, and the last became the proud. The guys at the end of the line revealed their foolishness, and the guys at the head of the line showed their humility as they gained understanding.
Are you a good, bad, or phony pastor?
And this is how God works. He’s constantly changing things up, even though He remains the same. We want greatness or the privilege of being first, but genuine humility will always prefer anonymity and silently promote others rather than themselves. A humble man is always searching for the will of God and is brave enough to obey it, even though it comes with risk to his reputation.
“… but emptied himself by taking on the form of an enslaved person, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:7-8
Pastors, we are called to the way of the cross and not just lectures behind the lecterns.
Church, we are called to the way of the cross and not just benchwarmers or spectators.
If you settle for doing things you do not need God to come through, you are burying the talent that He’s entrusted to you. Raw talent and seminarian training are not an indication of true anointing. True spiritual talent and anointing are birthed in a humble heart and a contrite spirit. His effort is not to be seen or even heard, except for the character and nature of Christ being exalted through his humility.
There is more power in the death of reputation because it leaves room for God’s power. It allows the Church to become transformed into the radiant bride, and the world will see her beauty through her actions. But egotism stops the process of authentic spiritual transformation. When the body of Christ engages the Great Commission, doing all the work of the ministry, true maturity reaches every soul that participates.
True pastoral talent and anointing are to serve and equip the children of God to do the work of ministry, which you tirelessly and at a high cost, hoard for yourself and your glory.
You may think you are carrying the weight of the Church, but it is the weight of your ego, which is weighing the Church down and keeping her from her beauty and spiritual growth.
A lingering question remains: will all your work stand the fiery test? Will it burn up like wood, hay, or stubble?
“Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually, there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.” I Corinthians 3:12-15 (MSG)
As goes the pastor, so goes the congregation!
The answer to this question is between you and God. Just understand that your church is a vehicle, and where you are headed in your private life is where the church will end up.
It is better to be ashamed before men than to be ashamed before God.
Be the good, not the bad, and certainly not the phony.
I was at a restaurant with my wife in Pacifica, California, during a summer evening many Sundays ago.
We sat at a beautiful table, ready to enjoy dinner. Our table faced directly towards a floor-to-ceiling plate glass window. On the other side, less than 100 yards, was the Pacific Ocean pounding the surf. The sun finally broke through the coastal fog around 6:00 PM. Beautiful, majestic; our hearts filled with praise and gratitude towards God.
Outside, slightly to our right, were fishermen casting their lines into the surf. Suddenly, one of the fishermen caught what looked like a 30-pound striped bass. Awesome, praise God! What a catch! Several minutes later, another large bass. All this beauty is a gift from God.
The table to our right was seated with two men, one man slightly older than the other. I could tell that it was their first date. As their conversation carried into our booth, I was annoyed, angered, and critical. My wife could sense the tension and change in my attitude.
Suddenly, beauty faded. Gratitude left. Praises ceased. My sense of awe was dwarfed into awfulness.
What are “they” doing here?
God, they’re soaking up and wasting all this beauty. GOD… …the beauty – the ocean – the sunset is lavished on them. Do something!
Judgment rose within me. They are “those people” who bring God’s judgment on us all. I tried to block them, ignore them, wish them gone, hoping they’d finish their meals and leave. Then, it hit me. Yea, it shouted from inside my mind:
I want; no, I can’t wait for God’s judgments on ‘those people,’ they’re destroying our country!
Then a voice inside me said:
“This is my time of grace for the lost…”
His Spirit touched my heart, and immediately He gave me insight and the grace to see my sin.
He continued:
“…My Grace comes for the Lost, even the vilest sinner; yes, even for those two men, who for a moment were, by my choosing, your neighbor.
I lavished them with my glory, the works of my hands, and my breath over the waters that they may see the mighty waves pound the sand. I hooked those great fish to those lines that they might know I provide. I, not you, broke through the clouds and, at just the right moment, displayed my splendor and majesty to the crowd.
And you, my dutiful son, did not lift one finger to welcome or even offer a “good evening, gentlemen.” You, my son, are lost. You’ve quickly forgotten the depth from which I drew you, the vileness of your own sin, which, let me remind you, has been fully pardoned and atoned! Should I not have compassion for those whom I choose?
You’ve forgotten I came not for the righteous but for the sinner. I came not for the well, neither the well-to-do nor the do-gooder. I came for the lost, the vilest, the better. I’m not too weak to save the homosexual or promiscuous heterosexual. I see no degree, no difference between the sins of men.
You’ve questioned my judgment! Do you want me to withhold grace for judgment on those whom you choose? There already exists an appointed time of judgment for the rebellious, the coward, the unbeliever, the faithless, and the murderer, those who love to live a lie. But it is not now. I have my “Grace Agents” all over the world, commissioned to seek and save the lost.
You suffer from Jonahitis!
You think you can sit comfortably beneath my heaven, waiting for judgment to fall on the unrighteous? You are on the wrong team. You’re cheering for judgment! I don’t know you because you don’t know me. You’ve lost touch with my heart. You better draw near; you better search me out, humbling yourself and repent from your wicked bout.
You’re correct about one thing; judgment is coming; it’s nearly here. The world, and yes, even the United States, will get a taste of what’s near. But this judgment is not for the lost, the homosexual or adulterer, not for the murderer or thief, liar, or cheat. It’s coming for you. You, who call yourselves by my Name, refuse to say “good evening, gentlemen” or hello, neighbor. You, who are amazed by my amazing grace, only to keep it hidden and selectively gracing only the attractive and well-dressed, the sinless and smell-good-people.
It’s the people who attend my Sunday worship services, raising their hands in awe, lowering their heads in sweet repose, singing me “love songs” of sweet devotion, and giving such melodic lip service. You can sing and worship all you like. I want your obedience and not just your sweet “I love you, Lord.”
You’ve sat too long in those cushiony pews. You’ve basked in my presence long enough! Now, GET UP. GET OUT. Ask me for my heart and eyes, and I will place them into your hearts and minds.
Then, once again, you will remember. You will feel what I feel and see what I see and cry for the lost sons and lost daughters. You will no longer see homosexuals or prostitutes, murderers, adulterers, liars, and cheats. You will see the lost and hurting, broken and needy.
Let me unveil something new to you, “repentance with action,” yes, righteous deeds will only revert my day of disaster against my Church. Stop your prim and pose services, your judgments, and the stingy hoarding of grace.”
If you recall, Jonah’s sailing companions were fearful and terrified of the sea’s great fury! They feared for their lives and prayed in a hurry. Only finding Jonah asleep in the hull, they shouted and roused the man of God from his slumber, “What have you done, and what god have you angered?”
“I serve the Lord God,” said Jonah; God said I must go to Nineveh and preach all over. But the people of Nineveh are vile and sinful, “said Jonah. They’re undeserved of God’s grace, so I’m off to Tarshish after this nine-day-cruse for some rest and some peace.
I know this God who chases me, churning up the seas and bringing you to your knees. He thinks I’m not smart or wise to his ways; if I go to Nineveh, he’ll forgive, and he’ll save! So why should I bother and upset my vacation plans? If the sinners go unpunished, why save and heal the land?
Your disobedience and running are threatening our lives; you, not we, have brought God’s judgment to light; here cast in your lot, and let’s see if it’s so!
The lot fell to Jonah, and they tossed him over the bow; he hit the water, sinking to depths far below. No prayer could be heard, no pleading was pled, he sternly and steadily held in his head, no confession, and no repentance to bring change to his dread. He hits bottom, surrounded and tangled in seaweed and mire; he offers a faint cry, higher and higher; a great fish appears, swallowing him whole and entire.
The wayward prophet calls out to God;
“When my life ebbed away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”
O Church, wake up! You’re asleep in the light God’s anger is coming, but not for the lost. We’ve been headed in the wrong direction! The world cries for a Savior, and we cry for heaven. We spend dollars and hours prettying our sanctuaries, staining our stained glass windows, and tuning our instruments. We Christianize our music, our cars, and our shops. We invent new ways to heavenize everything we touch.
We think we can vote in morality by Christianizing our politics or changing our Nation’s future with “born-again-and-again” candidates. We’ve forgotten that God appoints the rulers we deserve according to our righteousness, and then His judgment will swerve.
You say the homosexual, the transvestite, the tattooed and the pierced; the thief and robber, the liar and cheat have brought us Katrina, Northridge, and Ike. The earth shakes and quakes because the sinners are unrighteous? No. We’ve got it wrong! The earth shakes and quakes, rumbles, and floods; it becomes hotter or colder because we’ve left things undone! Judgment is coming because the righteous practices unrighteousness.
It’s because of the sins of “omission.”
We’ve omitted God’s grace from our neighborhoods and marketplaces. We’ve omitted God’s grace from our downtown, uptown, and the lowdown; from the down-and-outers, underachievers, and meat-eaters; from our dinner tables, family rooms, boardrooms, and horse stables. Grace can’t be found, not because sin abounds, but because we want judgment to fall against the unrighteous!
We yearn for the rapture, “operation exfil.” Christ yearns for a victorious and triumphant bride! Her beauty and rightness are her righteous acts and deeds.
Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
Then the LORD said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” Jonah 4:9-11
Should we be angry that sinful people flourish? Or shall we feel what God feels and offer them Christ, in us, their only hope and glory?
Call To Courage 