Church Hoppers

We've all seen them. You can hear them coming. They have the same m.o. You know who I'm talking about right? Church hoppers. Those folks that move from church to church because the grass is always greener on the other side. The ones who are a small fish in a big pond in one church, so they move to a smaller church so they can be a big fish in a small pond. You know why they hop around right? The music is too loud there, or the preaching's not deep enough over there, or the kids program is not cool enough for their kids here, or they need more programs to entertain their whole family, or... I think you get the picture. They're in every city and in every church. The first line is always the same. "We're looking for a church that's a fit for us!" What? A fit for you? As if church was meant to work for you? Sounds like a country club or a fitness center where you get serviced instead of saying, "how can we serve Christ here?" These folks, God bless them, think that the church exists for them instead of them existing for Christ and his Church. What we need is good people who understand God's vision for his church, where true Christ followers engage in the church so that they can find ways to serve their fellow brothers adn sisters and look for ways to take the church beyond the walls on Sunday to impact their community for Christ. Until we find followers of Christ who are willing to take on that kind of missional attitude, our churches will be full of nothing but overfed, critical christians who are neither healthy spiritually nor a joy to be around!

Schedules

I often wonder how other pastors spend their days each week. For many, I assume, it's very structured and ordered. For others, I imagine there is flexibility and less structure. But one thing is sure, we all need time alone to study and prepare messages. I'm the type that needs lots of time to perculate. From time to time, I'm asked how I spend my week. The joke of course, is that people say we have banker's hours. They may or may not be true. You can be the judge of that I suppose, but let me give you a glimpse into a typical week for me.

Monday
This is my day off. I usually do nothing church related, or at least I try, but sometimes I'll meet someone for lunch if necessary. It's a day for doing nothing, running errands, playing golf, working in the yard or just about anything I like to do. Monday night is home with family. The second Monday night of the month I meet with the Lead Team and Scott Spruill for dinner. I watch 24 every Monday night if possible.

Tuesday
I meet with Scott each Tuesday at 9:30 at Starbucks. We'll meet for two hours to talk about life and family or just about anything. Then we shift gears and talk through the previous Sunday and then plan for the upcoming Sunday. I usually meet someone from church for lunch. After lunch, I head to McAlisters or back to Starbucks and study for a few hours for Sunday's message. I then work out for an hour. Tuesday nights our small group comes over to our home from 7:00-9:00.

Wednesday
I work at the YMCA from 8:45-12:45. I work out after work, then grab a quick lunch and then off to McAlisters to study til 5:00. We have dinner at home with family. Some nights we'll meet with someone over coffee for counseling. I usually catch the Tarheels on TV Wednesday nights during basketball season.

Thursday
I study at home in my office til noon and then head off to lunch with someone from church. I head back home and study more for Sunday. Would love to prepare two or more weeks out but I just haven't gotten that good yet. Thursday we're home. I watch ER every Thursday night.

Friday
More study time for Sunday. I leave usually meet someone for lunch. Afterwards I put out about 12 Crosspoint signs around the area near the school where we meet. Friday afternoon I'll try to get a few more hours in on my message and then workout. Most Friday nights we're either out with friends, have someone over for dinner or take in a movie.

Saturday
I tweak my message Saturday. Get final copy on paper from the computer. I may run an occasional errand. Send any scriptures to Scott for powerpoint. Try to relax Saturday night for a couple of hours. Always in bed by 10:30 or 10:45.

Sunday
I'm up by 6:00. I study one last time, load up and head to Ardrey Kell High School by 8:00 to join the set up team in prayer and then I head to the back and pray and get alone. Our worship gathering is from 10:-00-11:20. Afterwards we go to lunch with the band and tech team or with someone new from our church. After lunch I pick up the Crosspoint signs and then home by 2:30. We either crash and watch TV or we may have a leadership team meeting in our home every other month around 5:00 through dinner.

Memory Lane

This month I'm speaking every Wednesday night at the church where I first met Christ. I'm there at the requst of a friend as they search for a new pastor. It's Northside Baptist off I-85. It's the place where I cut my teeth on the gospel, where I learned who Jesus was, where a youth pastor named Marty taught me how to follow Jesus and made such an impact on my life that I would grow up and be a youth pastor myself one day for sixteen years. It's the place that laid the foundation for my spiritual journey and made me what I am today. As I spoke last Wednesday night to about 150 people, most of whom were there when I was there over 30 years ago, I had a huge sense of gratitude for the place Northside has in my heart. God used it to shape me, to teach me, to give me a heart for ministry and I'll always have a special place in my heart for this church, it's founding pastor, Dr. Jack Hudson, and the many friends there who invested so much in my life! It's always good to go back to our roots! For its there we remember from whence we've come! Thanks God for the special places in our lives that remimd us from where we''ve come! I'm forever grateful for a church called Northside!

Christmas

Well, Christmas Day has come and gone. It's Christmas night as I write. The presents are opened an laying around the tree and other parts of the house. The big meal was consumed with family and friends who had no family of their own in town. Our extended family has left or retired for the night and now we are left with the memories of another Christmas. The memories are always good, and the time together is always sweet. But there's something about Christmas that always leaves you wanting. Maybe it's the build up to the big day that comes and goes as fast as it came. Maybe it's the expectation of the day itself. Whatever it is, you can never hang onto it. It's so fleeting. You tire of all the Christmas shows and Christmas carols all of sudden seem old. But much of life is that way, isn't it? Everything is so temporary. Nothing lasts very long, whether it's the expectation of opening presents or the time with family or the day itself. It fades so quickly. But the greater truth and the reason I'm not sad or depressed is the fact that Christmas isn't about just one day. For us who follow Christ, we know that Christmas is forever. The real gift that God is with us every moment of every day causes us to press on! It's not about the presents or anything else for that matter. It's what Christ has done for us that changes everything. Because he is Immanuel, God with us, our expectations are always for more than this life. They are eternal. Thank you God for your Son, and thank you that Christmas is forever!

Birthdays!

December 10. Well, another year, another birthday celebrated. What is it about birthdays that makes you feel important, at least for the day? And why is that they are sometimes hard and difficult to accept? I think we love the "Happy Birthday's" we hear at work or from friends, and the cards we receive. We love the attention. We love that we're noticed on "our"day. But when another year is added to your chronological age, you know reality is setting in. Am I that old? Do I look that age? Maybe my birth certificate is a mistake? But then I'm brought back to reality. Birthdays are to remind us that our lives are not our own. Each day we live, each breath we breathe, each step we take reminds us that God gives us life. And then I remember Psalms 139:16 and it all comes together. "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Birthdays are not bad. They are a gift forged by the hand of God in whose infinite wisdom I must trust. Thanks God for my birthday today. Thanks for the days given to me to live. Help me to live each day to the full. Amen.

Thankful!

As I sit here in Starbucks, where else of course, I'm moved to realize how grateful I am for all that God has allowed me to experience in my years of ministry, not to mention my lifetime. I've been fortunate to know a lot of people from all walks of life. I've been privileged to teach the Bible to middle school and high school students and adults, speak in schools, preach in churches of all sizes, go on mission trips to other countries and experience Christ among the poorest of the poor, perform weddings for so many friends, honored to say last words at friends funerals, open our home up to neighbors and friends to celebrate life, build homes for the homeless, build churches for Haitian refugees, hand out winter clothing to coal miners in West Virginia, have coffee one on one with friends and new acquaintances, work at the YMCA as a fitness instructor and I could go on. The point is I have had a blessed life. I am so privileged to be a servant of the King.
To top it all off, I'm blessed with a beautiful wife, friend and partner who has enriched me more than I can say. I have two wonderful kids who love life and keep us young and we have a beautiful home and health and are blessed beyond measure.
And I'm privileged to serve in a young and growing church community that is learning what it means to follow after Christ in this world we find ourselves in. What a thrill to be able to stand before them each week and show them Christ from the scriptures!
Finally, I have the joy of being called a son of the King, a child of God, and one who is forever joined to his Kingdom! What a privilege to be a follower of Christ!
What more could I ask for? This Thanksgiving season, what are you thankful for? May you realize how blessed you are and may you revel in the richness that is yours in Christ!

Hello Again!

Wow, it has been awhile since my last post. Actually, about one year. It's not that I don't like to blog, it's just that it was a new thing for me last year and I never got into the swing of it. But I've decided to turn over a new leaf, so here goes. From now on, there will be at least one blog a week. That way I'm not overly ambitious nor self-defeating. I hope you enjoy these and that you'll enter the conversations from time to time.

I don't know if you've been in front of a group of people and confessed your failures or not, but I did just that recently. I preached a series of messages called Confessions of a Pastor. In the series, I shared a few areas where I felt I had failed. I spoke of my failures as a husband, a father and as a Christian. Now understand, I didn't air out any dirty laundry. But I did share enough to let people in on who I am a little more than they had ever heard before. And I must tell you, it was rather freeing to let people know that I'm not perfect and that I don't have to play the game of trying to keep up the perfect image. That's part of the beauty of the gospel though isn't it? The gospel story is about Christ, the Perfect One, redeeming the imperfect ones. The ones who fall short, the ones called sinners. And the greater beauty of the gospel is that it keeps on redeeming us. And it allows us to be who we are without playing any games. It's about admitting we are sinners. It's about letting Christ do his work of restoration and sanctification in our lives. He does the work in the heart and it transforms us. Yes, I still fail more than I care to admit but God only sees the work of his Son in my life and as far as He's concerned, I'm holy. Today, why not revel in the fact you are forgiven if you've trusted Christ and his work on the cross. And be the person you've been made to be. When you fail, admit it. But don't stay there and don't beat yourself up. Be real and stay authentic. That's what the gospel is all about!