“Okay, I’m a Home Missionary, What Now?” - By Rob McKee

“Okay, I’m a Home Missionary, What Now?” - By Rob McKee

25 Things Home Missionaries Should Do

It was September 10th of 2001 when I walked out of the Texas District Offices as a Home Missionary to Katy, Texas. The Next Day, September 11th a small group of evil nuts turned four American planes into weapons of senseless destruction. The Next Day September 12th, I became a father for the first time. Since those three very different eventful days there have been countless more highs and lows. I’ve faced many disappointments and failures, but thank God there’s also been some victories. There have been days when I felt like our church was on fire...yet other days I wanted to set it on fire myself. I remember clearly the days when our largest crowd was 30...and vividly remember the hysterical joy I felt when we had over 60 in attendance on Sunday. God has been with us and we have seen a harvest in the city. In the past 11 years God has helped us to start two daughter works and another POK campus church. Now that our weekly attendance is over 400 I find myself more introspective about how we got here. I don’t claim to know the answers for every church situation, however I do feel like God has revealed some things concerning our church growth.

In prayer this morning the Lord prompted me to write down some of the lessons I’d learned in the 11 years of being pastor of The Pentecostals of Katy. I hope that something in this list will bless you and the church you are launching.


1. Dream Big & Promote Big - Develop A Brand of Church
* Write the vision make it clear
* Create a church identity. People need to start thinking of themselves as “a church” not a group of individuals.
* Referencing picnic or event as “our annual ______” (even if it’s your first time) builds the long-term idea that you aren’t going anywhere.
* Make the most of what you have and don’t highlight (talk about) what you “don’t have”.

2. Don’t Be Stupid, Lazy or a Quitter
* Your character will support or destroy your ministry
* Being reckless will destroy everything.
* Work the church like a job...don’t quit when things get difficult.
* When you are tempted to explode and do something rash - Don’t. You know when you are not in your “right mind”, learn to accept that your thinking is probably clouded by frustration, negativity or lack of sleep and avoid “doing what you feel”.

3. Win Every Week
* There can be no throw away services.
* Build an expectation of revival. It will take time but eventually people will come to expect a move of the Holy Ghost every service.
* Someone recently told me “You can’t have a grand-slam every Sunday”. They were wrong. As long as Jesus is in the batting line-up it CAN happen! Load the bases and let Jesus take over.

4. Be a Risk Junkie
* Jesus indicated that fear of risk is sin (parable of servants with the talents)
* Trust God, it’s His church
* Don’t be foolish but you must trust that God will make a way
* You cannot outrun God. “Waiting to see what will happen” is useless. You are a God-Called Preacher...make something happen!
* James said “...faith without works is dead.” Give God a “little action” (works) that he can honor with a miracle.

5. Design Your Services For Soul Winners...not guests
* Not everyone in your church will bring guests...get over it. Most churches have a few key individuals that bring a majority of the guests who visit.
* Identify and brag on those who bring guests. Make them them heroes. It will inspire others to get involved and those who “are already doing it” to become “super-soul winners.
* Develop a team of people who “know” how to pray guests through to the Holy Ghost. I believe it is un-biblical to “seek” for the Holy Ghost. God wants everyone to receive. If praying people through is a hit & miss experience reach out to someone who knows how to do it and ask for help. Don’t be afraid to change “how” you have always prayed with people. Pray for wisdom and boldness in the altar. If you do not have a large prayer team it will be up to you. Work the altars and pray them through to the Holy Ghost.
* Soul winners need only a few things to be motivated:
* Preach Acts 2:38 and Acts 19 at some point in your sermon
* Get their loved ones into the altar
* Pray them through to the Holy Ghost
* Get them baptized in Jesus Name
* Explain any confusing religious practices (shouting, speaking in tongues)

6. Put People To Work
* When people come to your house for dinner and ask to help, the worst thing you can do is tell them “no, go sit down and relax”. They are telling you they feel ridiculous. If you want them to relax, give them a job to do.
* Never give an assignment without asking for some commitment. Don’t make all job description commitments the same. Create shallow ends of the ministry pool.
* Make them sign their name. After giving them a simple job description with a few specific requirements, get them to sign their name at the bottom. This way, they’ve agreed to the above requirements. People tend to take the requirements more seriously. They may actually read them carefully. If there’s a need for correction, you are simply asking them to keep the commitment they’ve already agreed to.

7. Keep Your Family as the Church’s VIPs
* Don’t apologize to anyone for taking time for your family. Let everyone know they are priority.
* Include your children in the benefits of being “in charge” of ministry. They will experience many negatives of being the pastor’s kid, let them experience a few benefits.
* Don’t feel guilty about asking saints to babysit so that you and your wife can have a date night.
* Let the church honor you. It may be uncomfortable, but when your church blesses you on special days it helps the congregation. God will honor the church that honors leadership. Teach them what is right. If you do not feel comfortable doing this bring in a seasoned evangelist or minister to teach on honoring leadership. Understand that it is not about you, it’s about the office.
* Take time occasionally to rehearse what you want your kids to remember. Say things like:
* “Isn’t great it is being the pastor’s kid?”
* “Isn’t it awesome working for God?”
* “We are making a difference in so many people’s lives. Isn’t that an wonderful?”
* “I’m so glad God sent us to this city, aren’t you?”
* “Isn’t it cool having a dad who is a pastor?”

8. Embrace Technology but Don’t Have an Affair With It
* 84% of guests that visit your church have already looked for you on the internet.
* The internet is the new “church lawn”. It will tell guests to “come for a visit” or “stay away”.
* Try not to make your web presence so cool that it becomes confusing or send the wrong message. I have seen very traditional churches with websites that look like a skateboarder created them. They were sending false information. Your website ought to have the same “feel” and “experience” as your best service.
* Be careful not to spend so much time on tech that you have no time for prayer and studying. A cool powerpoint slide or transition will never be anointed...but you will IF you prepare.

9. Preach Exactly What You Want
* If you want people to be baptized, preach baptism...if you want people to tithe...preach tithing...if you want them all to come to the altar...preach a message on why they ought to..etc
* If you are afraid of preaching a certain subject, preach it anyway with extra boldness. Use wisdom and be prepared but preach it so strong that you’d be scared not to obey.
* Take an occasional “off service” when it’s just membership and teach “church strategy”. Why we do what we do, what we do when guests visit, how should we introduce ourselves to guests, why everyone needs to shake hands..etc. Don’t get upset with folks about something you’ve never taken the time to explain. Just because doing or not doing something is “common sense to most people” doesn’t mean you have “most people” attending your church. Teach them “why”...even the basics.

10. Talk About Yourself Regularly (...but don’t be arrogant)
* Information implies relationship. The more they know about you the more they think they “know” you. Every day people run up an hug celebrities because they “think” they know them. They falsely assume relationship based on their knowledge of their lives. As pastor you can use the same principle to connect with people in a very subtle way. Look for opportunities to use personal examples in your sermons. They will never forget them. The next time they hear a similar story on their job they might respond, “Y’know my pastor had something similar happen to him one time...”. If you’ve used your example to make a spiritual application they might repeat the same lesson to their co-worker.
* When you share personal miracles, heartbreaks or tragedies

11. Keep Good Records
* How will you know if you are succeeding if you don’t keep track.
* Regular yearly Attendance trends could make the difference on you giving up or staying until the next up-swing. There have been many times that I’ve been encouraged by seeing we had an attendance drop around this same time last year...however...that year’s low was higher than the previous year.

12. Figure Out How To Join Your Church Then Tell Everyone Else
* If you cannot simply explain how to “join” the church, how will anyone else know?
* People need some type of “graduation” into church membership otherwise they may always feel like an outsider.
* Giving a regular “2nd altar call” for “Bible Studies” and or “Membership Experience” is a great way to respond to the day’s sermon even if they did not come to the altar to pray. You might be surprised what an impact your message had even if they showed no signs of emotional connection.

13. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid)
* If a policy, job description or program is too complicated it will probably not be repeatable.
* There’s a better chance of someone keeping 5 Specific Rules than remembering 20 vague ones

14. Focus On 2nd Time Guests
* Anyone can be a first time guest. Focus on people who didn’t hate it so much they were willing to try again.
* Develop a 2nd followup program for 2nd timers.
* First-timers can eat up all your time and energy - especially if they don’t like what you are doing.

15. Confront or Quit
* If someone is violating a rule listed on an agreed Job Description, it is your responsibility to confront kindly but quickly
* If you are afraid to confront, you have lost them already.
* Remember, negative people in leadership positions are “appalling” not “appealing” new people.
* If you aren’t willing to enforce a requirement for ministry...then it’s not a real requirement. There are only two options: Erase it off the Job Description or Enforce it.
* If you are scared of people (or losing people) then you aren’t working for God. You must remember that you do not work for people, you work for God.

16. Give Up Politics For Pastoring
* While it is good to help with sectional or district work, the day you make politics primary over your pastorate you are hurting your congregation.
* Be a servant to help other churches but remember your saints are the ones God has called you to. Get your ministry affirmation from growing your church not from sectional or district offices.

17. Develop a Preacher Club
* Start a young minister’s class early - if you do not mentor them someone else will.
* Make it easy to join class but to stay in you MUST be committed.
* Develop a strong minister’s covenant that you are willing to enforce
* Find ways to use them in service.
* This group of men (and women) will be your greatest support in times of trouble.

18. Celebrate What You Want To Duplicate
* Need more Sunday School teachers? Start bragging on the ones you have.
* Does everyone one in the church know what you get excited about?
* Does everyone know what a “awesome service” is? Tell them...then tell them again.
* Talk about good things that happen and you will see them happen more.

19. Force Your People To Be Friendly
* Have an extended time of hand-shaking during the service (DO NOT GET IN A HURRY)...be a leader...let the musicians keep playing but keep everyone off the platform until every hand has been shaken.
* It may take some time, but you must create a climate where established saints are comfortable talking to sinners.
* If someone resists because of fear of germs...buy them some hand sanitizer.

20. Practice Your Elevator Gospel
* Regularly repeating the gospel will not only build expectation with your soul winners but it will teach everyone how to explain clearly what they believe.
* In the time that it takes to ride up two floors in an elevator, you ought to be able to explain what you believe and how someone “get’s saved or into covenant”.

21. Continue The Flow of the Mighty Mo
* Momentum can be manufactured.
* any sense of something unexpected or new (even something negative) can be the substance of positive momentum for the short term
* Create something unexpected EVERY weekend.
* Substantially Improving on something (Facility, materials, program or quality of leadership) keeps the Mighty Mo...moving forward

22. Be Strategic About Your...well..everything
* Think about the benefit of every program, every event...think in terms of strategy.
* Never stop thinking through processes and programs. Is there a better way?
* Think in steps not programs. Sometimes you have to learn the methodical process of walking with the intent of running eventually. Ask yourself, where are we headed long term?
* Early on we discovered that most churches in our area dismissed around the holidays so we started planning big events around the holidays. Sure, had regulars out of town but we would compensate with many guests. It turned into one of the key methods of getting "religious" church attendees of another faith to "finally" attend our services.

23. Recast a Clear Vision And Kill Committees
* If you don’t keep a clear detailed accurate vision in front of the people, they will come up with one of their own. If you happen to disagree, you have the potential for trouble. Dream in vivid color.
* Committees create losers. Get unofficial opinions, but never vote.
* If you need help in an area of weakness, give guidelines to someone with that strength...then release the task. If you want the final approval option tell them to bring 3 options when you first assign the task.

24. Develop Strong Daily Habits
* A regular time with God will become more difficult as the church grows. Establish a set time and practice for private time with God. Try not to make too many exceptions.

25. Stay Apostolic
* Too often we have lost good revival-minded men due to the glamor of success by non-apostolic churches. They may have thousands gathering every Sunday, but if their multitude has not obeyed the gospel then you’ve got more people “in the church” than they do.
* The greatest asset you have is the Apostolic Gospel and message of separation. Don’t run from it, hide it or be ashamed. Preach it. Practice it. The world is fascinated by it. Some will walk away over one issue of holiness. Be okay with that...Jesus was (the rich man who had kept all the commandments)
* Your greatest and most visible strength (especially when you are starting) is a manifestation of the glory of God. Don’t downplay a move of God...it’s the best thing you’ve got going for you.
* Read their books and digest the information, just make sure you've "chewed" on them a bit before you swallow everything they say.

Finally...Be encouraged....you CAN build a church if you refuse to quit! Home Missionaries, your name may not be illuminated on a marquee but you are being applauded by the Father of lights.

Rob McKee
The Pentecostals of Katy
www.thepok.com

Biblical Bad Guys Unearthed

TEL EL-SAFI, Israel (AP) — At the remains of an ancient metropolis in southern Israel, archaeologists are piecing together the history of a people remembered chiefly as the bad guys of the Hebrew Bible.

The city of Gath, where the annual digging season began this week, is helping scholars paint a more nuanced portrait of the Philistines, who appear in the biblical story as the perennial enemies of the Israelites.

Close to three millennia ago, Gath was on the frontier between the Philistines, who occupied the Mediterranean coastal plain, and the Israelites, who controlled the inland hills. The city's most famous resident, according to the Book of Samuel, was Goliath — the giant warrior improbably felled by the young shepherd David and his sling.

The Philistines "are the ultimate other, almost, in the biblical story," said Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University, the archaeologist in charge of the excavation.

The latest summer excavation season began this past week, with 100 diggers from Canada, South Korea, the United States and elsewhere, adding to the wealth of relics found at the site since Maier's project began in 1996.

In a square hole, several Philistine jugs nearly 3,000 years old were emerging from the soil. One painted shard just unearthed had a rust-red frame and a black spiral: a decoration common in ancient Greek art and a hint to the Philistines' origins in the Aegean.

The Philistines arrived by sea from the area of modern-day Greece around 1200 B.C. They went on to rule major ports at Ashkelon and Ashdod, now cities in Israel, and at Gaza, now part of the Palestinian territory known as the Gaza Strip.

At Gath, they settled on a site that had been inhabited since prehistoric times. Digs like this one have shown that though they adopted aspects of local culture, they did not forget their roots. Even five centuries after their arrival, for example, they were still worshipping gods with Greek names.

Archaeologists have found that the Philistine diet leaned heavily on grass pea lentils, an Aegean staple. Ancient bones discarded at the site show that they also ate pigs and dogs, unlike the neighboring Israelites, who deemed those animals unclean — restrictions that still exist in Jewish dietary law.

Diggers at Gath have also uncovered traces of a destruction of the city in the 9th century B.C., including a ditch and embankment built around the city by a besieging army — still visible as a dark line running across the surrounding hills.

The razing of Gath at that time appears to have been the work of the Aramean king Hazael in 830 B.C., an incident mentioned in the Book of Kings.

Gath's importance is that the "wonderful assemblage of material culture" uncovered there sheds light on how the Philistines lived in the 10th and 9th centuries B.C., said Seymour Gitin, director of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem and an expert on the Philistines.

That would include the era of the kingdom ruled from Jerusalem by David and Solomon, if such a kingdom existed as described in the Bible. Other Philistine sites have provided archaeologists with information about earlier and later times but not much from that key period.

"Gath fills a very important gap in our understanding of Philistine history," Gitin said.

In 604 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded and put the Philistines' cities to the sword. There is no remnant of them after that.

Crusaders arriving from Europe in 1099 built a fortress on the remains of Gath, and later the site became home to an Arab village, Tel el-Safi, which emptied during the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948. Today Gath is in a national park.

An Israeli town founded in 1955 several miles to the south, Kiryat Gat, was named after Gath based on a misidentification of a different ruin as the Philistine city.

The memory of the Philistines — or a somewhat one-sided version — was preserved in the Hebrew Bible.

The hero Samson, who married a Philistine woman, skirmished with them repeatedly before being betrayed and taken, blinded and bound, to their temple at Gaza. There, the story goes, he broke free and shattered two support pillars, bringing the temple down and killing everyone inside, including himself.

One intriguing find at Gath is the remains of a large structure, possibly a temple, with two pillars. Maeir has suggested that this might have been a known design element in Philistine temple architecture when it was written into the Samson story.

Diggers at Gath have also found shards preserving names similar to Goliath — an Indo-European name, not a Semitic one of the kind that would have been used by the local Canaanites or Israelites. These finds show the Philistines indeed used such names and suggest that this detail, too, might be drawn from an accurate picture of their society.

The findings at the site support the idea that the Goliath story faithfully reflects something of the geopolitical reality of the period, Maeir said — the often violent interaction of the powerful Philistines of Gath with the kings of Jerusalem in the frontier zone between them.

"It doesn't mean that we're one day going to find a skull with a hole in its head from the stone that David slung at him, but it nevertheless tells that this reflects a cultural milieu that was actually there at the time," Maeir said.

http://news.yahoo.com/israel-diggers-unearth-bibles-bad-guys-095524724.html

Slavery: Sermon Notes By Pat Donahue

Pat Donahue is a Church of Christ friend of mine. He and I have debate a few times. However, racism is an issue that we agree on and I wanted to post sermon notes that he sent me after reading my last blog.

Slavery

Two types of slavery in Bible – physical and spiritual

Physical slavery – two types – forced and indentured:

· Genesis 40:15 Joseph forced into slavery

· this also was allowed as the spoils of war - Deuteronomy 20:10-11 When you approach a city to wage war against it, offer it terms of peace. If it accepts your terms and submits to you, all the people found in it will become your slaves.

· indentured slavery was not necessarily forced (except possibly by a court of law to pay off debts) - Leviticus 25:39-43 If your brother becomes impoverished with regard to you so that he sells himself to you, you must not subject him to slave service. He must be with you as a hired worker, as a resident foreigner; he must serve with you until the year of jubilee, but then he may go free, he and his children with him, and may return to his family and to the property of his ancestors. Since they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt, they must not be sold in a slave sale. You must not rule over him harshly, but you must fear your God.

· I Tim 1:10 forced slavery is wrong under the New Testament - “slave traders” in a newer translation.

· Matthew 5:43-44 New Testament does not allow Christians to fight in war (and take slaves).

· Even under the Old Testament, kidnapping a fellow Israelite for slavery was wrong – Deuteronomy 24:7 If a man is caught kidnapping one of his brother Israelites and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you. (NIV)

Spiritual slavery – switch from Satan to Jesus:

Romans 6:16-18, Galatians 2:20

I am not a Racist Because...

black people come to my church. While this is miles ahead of some congregations, it is not proof that one is not a racist. I have been amazed, even in the last couple of years, at pastors who have stated their discomfort with the idea of black people attending their churches. I had one pastor in particular admit that his church would not accept black members. He expressed that someone would need to start a separate church for the blacks of his community, and if they did he would support it, but did not want them coming to his congregation. I sincerely pray that he and his congregation repents of its racism.

It seems absurd to me that a bible believing Christian could sympathize with this kind of racist sentiment, much less accept it. Racism is a blatant denial of the Genesis account of creation. Modern racism is inherently rooted in Darwinian Evolution. Racism and Christianity are mutually exclusive. The scriptures clearly teach: we all have the same ancestral parents (Gen 3:20), the same blood (Acts 17:26) and the same kind of flesh (1 Cor 15:39). I will expound further on this idea in later posts.

I am wearied with hearing Apostolics making excuses for racism. As Apostolics we should have been past this a long time ago. Instead of following culture on this issue, we should be leading the way and changing culture. Historically the fight against slavery in North America was founded and fueled by Christianity. At some point the church silently withdrew from the battle. This will be picked up in a later blog as well.

Seeing that I digressed, let me continue my original point. Claiming you are not a racist because black people attend your church proves nothing. That would be like saying Lincoln's or King's America was not racist because black people lived in America. Or like the plantation owner denying that he is a racist because he has black people living and working on his plantation. Or like the modern NAACP claiming they are not racist because they have white members.

You see, it is not the presence of black people in your world/nation/culture/church that determines whether or not you are a racist, it is the equality of treatment once they are present that is the determining factor. I could begin a list of "you might be a racist if" criteria here, but I choose not to. I simply wanted to make the point that just because you have black people in your church does not mean you are not a racist.

I will make one brief observation here. If you use the N-Word in reference to black members, and especially to their faces as I have see done many times, you are a racist in need of repentance. This offensive word has been used from Apostolic pulpits by men who claim not to be racist. My question is, what definition of racist are you using? And what exactly would one have to do or say to be considered a racist?

Pride: The Inevitable Christian Sin.

Recently, while discussing two different issues, the propensity toward pride was forwarded as the reason why certain things should be preached against. I commented in one of the conversations that the pride argument does not resonate with me, as several essential components of the Christian walk inevitably lead to pride. This is no reflection on whether or not these individuals were right about the issues under consideration, but potential pride should never be the basis of one's objection. The objection to a practice must always either be rooted in scripture or charity.

Apostolics struggle more with pride in our standards of separation than anything else. I have had to check my spirit, and even repent, many times in the past because of feeling prideful superiority. This sense of superiority arose out of comparing myself to other Apostolics who had a lesser standard; they were saved, but not quite as saved as me. My friend Daniel McDonald stated it best: "Some of our standards of separation are enforced to separate us from other Apostolics, and not the world."

If you have never had to repent for this kind of pride you have not truly seen yourself. Pharisaical pride is the ever present danger of seeking to please God by living a separated life. We must watch it ever so carefully. The flesh will always take good or evil to far. The Pharisees are a perfect example: they took the 10 commandments given to Moses and ended up with 613 rules. This, of course, led to the abundance of pride that Jesus continually rebuked in the Pharisees during his earthly ministry.

Let me say it a little more palatable: There is no Christian that has not had that awful moment where they realized that they were not as spiritual or holy as they thought they were. This is the inevitable pride that we have all fallen prey to. We have all had an Isaiah moment where we cry: "Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips." The ultimate proof of pride is when this revelation comes as a shock to us.

Yet no one, certainly not myself, would suggest that we abandon a godly standard of separation because it so often becomes a source of pride. The proper response is not to abandon the things that have a propensity to pride, rather we make the proper adjustments in our spirits so that we can view them with the proper perspective.

Prayer, fasting and tithing can be a source of pride (Luke 18:9-14). Surely no one would suggest that we abandon either of these truths. The Jews laid arrogant and exclusive claim to God himself. For the Jew, worship itself was a source of pride.

Since worship, prayer, fasting and tithing can all be sources of pride, I have decided that the only way to avoid pride is to become and atheist. :)

In all sincerity, we are to pray for God to put "things" in perspective and allow us to assign proper value to them. This is the mature way to handle "things." It is the immaturity of the child that compels the parent to take the new toy away from the child because he keeps bragging and showing it off to the kid whose parent can't afford to buy him that toy. Do not abandon the toy, make adjustments to the child.

If we always take the toys away, we perpetuate the immaturity of the child. It is imperative for the child to learn maturity in these matters. He needs to mature to the place that he can have the toy and treat it, and his friends, with the proper respect. This is a lesson we must learn as children of God. Don't be a child who can't handle the toys.

Prophecy: Who Cares? Part 3

Is there anyone who cares about the pathetic predictions of prophecy pundits? There has been a wide range of responses to the latest Harold Camping episode: ridicule, embarrassment, mockery and dismissal. While we all knew that his date setting would be a failure, it still has a certain degree of impact on how Christianity and the Scriptures are viewed by unbelievers.

Most Christians dismissed him as a fringe wacko. He has been marginalized in the minds of most Christians. He has small influence within the Christian community. However, there are those who are a little more subtle in their predictions and flexible date setting, that still have tremendous influence within the broader Christian community that we should be aware of.

The Hal Lindsey's, Tim LaHaye's and Jack Van Impe's of the world have trotted out their endless parade of missed prophetic predictions. This also occurs among Apostolics as well. How wrong do you have to be, and for how long, before people quit taking you seriously?

Don't let the pathetic prophetic destroy your confidence in the Second Coming of Christ!

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Matthew 24:36 KJV

Prophecy: Who Cares? Part 2

Who cares? Does it really matter what view of eschatology that you hold: Preterist or Futurist? Pre-Tribulation, Mid-Tribulation or Post-Tribulation? Premillennial, Postmillennial or Amillennial? Or any combination thereof? :)

I don't care what view a person holds as long as it includes a future, visible, literal, corporate, bodily second coming of Christ, resurrection of the dead and rapture of the church. While liberty should be extended to differing views of when the rapture occurs, as it relates to the tribulation and the millennium, the future resurrection of the dead and the second coming of Christ are essential components.

Prophecy: Who Cares? Part 1

The subject of eschatology[1] is a topic of much debate and confusion. As a result of this, many just give up on the subject all together. They view the symbols and imagery of the book of Revelation as impossible to understand. It is often joked: “I am pan-trib. I am just going to see how it all pans out.”

Is the subject of biblical prophecy important for us to know? Yes, or it would not have been included in the sacred text. Is the book of Revelation the one book of the New Testament that is expendable? No, the book of Revelation is just as important as every other book of the Bible.

There is a way to understand the book of Revelation. This, however, should not be done with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. There are approximately 250 citations in the book of Revelation from the Old Testament, and even more allusions. In order to understand the book of Revelation one must have an understanding of Old Testament language.

Proper hermeneutics is the key to understanding of the prophecies of the book of Revelation. That proper hermeneutic is “letting the Bible interpret the Bible.” It is its own best commentary.

---

[1] “any system of doctrines concerning last, or final, matters, as death, the Judgment, the future state, etc.” "eschatology." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 25 May. 2011.

Home

I am glad to be home for a few days with my wife and kids. It seems that I rarely see them. I am missing so much of the new things that Lil' Man does. I will have more time in July to be with them and I am looking forward to it.

I also look forward to coming home because you just never know what Lil' Red is going to say. Last night she was begging to go to tarbutts (Starbucks), even correctly telling us where it is. And to think, she is not even 3 yet. I am certain this is only the beginning of her telling us "where to go." :)

Pigeon (Clay That Is) Hunting With Pastor Don Haymon

May 1-3 I was in Denver, Colorado with Pastor Don Haymon. We had great services and a great time. May 3rd was Pastor Haymon's "40 something" birthday. To celebrate he took me to his shooting club and we shot clay pigeons. It was a great time. All around it was a great trip.

Pastor Haymon snapped this picture perfectly to capture the shell being ejected.

Don "The Destroyer" Haymon

Fruit of the Spirit

The fruit of the spirit as mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 are: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. I want to simply point out that these attributes are the "fruit of the Spirit," and as a result can only be produced by the Spirit.

When the text says that the fruit of the Spirit is love, it does not refer to the natural love of a mother for a child, or the mutual love of family or friends. These demonstrations of love are natural and do not need the Spirit to produce them; this love is not the "fruit of the Spirit."

The love that is, and must be, produced by the Spirit is a love that does not come natural. This kind of love defies logic and nature. This is the kind of love that compels you to love someone that hates you. This kind of love compels you to love someone who actively seeks your harm and destruction. It is love that does not make sense to the natural man.

"If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them." Luke 6:32 ESV

This verse is natural love that does not need the Spirit's influence. It is the kind of love that the unregenerate sinner has apart from the Holy Spirit. There is, however, dimension of love that only comes from God.

"and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us". Romans 5:5 ESV

The same is true of all of the fruit of the Spirit. Whether it is love, peace or any of the other attributes of the Spirit, there is a natural counterpart; however, they can only reach their fullest potential when they are quickened by the Spirit of God.

In other words: no one should love like someone filled with the Spirit. No one should have peace like someone filled with the Spirit. No one should have joy like someone filled with the Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit maximize your capacity to live!

Criticism: The Overlooked Compliment

What is at the heart of criticism? What motivates one person to criticize another? At the heart of criticism is pride and self-preservation. Criticism is the weapon that is used to destroy another in an attempt to protect my sphere of influence. Criticism is used against another person whose circle of influence has threatened mine. We criticize in order to marginalize!

Dinesh D'Souza, Author of What's So Great About Christianity, powerfully points out that we only attack what we are threatened by. He makes the parallel between books written against God by Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, and the absence of books written against unicorns. Dawkins wrote The God Delusion, and Hitchens wrote God Is Not Great. No one writes books like: The Unicorn Delusion, or Unicorns Are Not Great, because unicorns are irrelevant. The point he is making is that there is something about God that threatens Dawkins and Hitchens. As Pastor Steve Pixler points out: the reason they are so vocal is they are "trying to drown out the voice of God in their own minds."

Inherent to criticism is a respect or fear of the person criticized. We are afraid of their influence, so we criticize in order to marginalize. Criticism is a recognition of the gifts, talents, skills, intellect and influence of another person. So, to preserve my influence I have to destroy their influence.

I write this as a confession of my own motivation for criticism. I can't think of a time that I have criticized a person that it was not born out of pride and jealousy. I have had to repent more than once of this awful sin.

Really criticism is a compliment and a display of respect, and maybe in some twisted way a form of flattery. So, when your are criticized, feel flattered and take it as a compliment. Not only is criticism the overlooked compliment, it is usually the uncomfortable and unsolicited compliment. One could say, "With compliments like that, who needs criticism?"

P.S. This is only one aspect of criticism. The subject of criticism is much more dynamic than this.

The Hypocrisy of Bitterness

Bitterness is usually born out of betrayal, or the feeling of having been done wrong. Bitterness is justified because one feels his own righteous superiority over his offender; I did not deserve to be treated that way. Because bitterness is self-righteous at its core, it will also become self-justifying. This is carried out by accusing the offender and excusing one's self at all cost. The person who offended me is wrong, period; on the other hand I am right, period. Bitterness gives no consideration to the offenders motives, only his actions.

Bitterness, in its self-righteous and self-justifying way, not only gives voice to the offenders faults, it also actively seeks the offenders destruction. Bitterness, through self-righteousness and self-justification, abandons ethical constraints; it begins to excuse itself from the ethical obligation it imposes on everyone else. Herein is the hypocrisy of bitterness: the bitter person begins to treat their offender as bad, or worse, than the offender treated them. The very thing the embittered person condemns in his offender, he justifies in himself. Let me give just two examples.

1. Many times in cases of marital unfaithfulness, the "innocent" spouse becomes bitter. This bitterness is justified by the offended spouse because of the awful betrayal on the part of the offending spouse. If this bitterness continues unchecked it will, in its own self-righteous and self-justifying way, quickly dispense with moral and ethical restraints. This bitterness will drive its victims to justify in themselves what they hated in their offenders.

Bitterness will drive an offended and embittered husband to justify viewing pornography, because what she did was much worse. "At least I am not actually having an affair," he justifies self-righteously.

Bitterness will drive an offended and embittered wife to justify having an affair solely for the purpose of making the husband pay for what he did.

2. It is easy for a pastor who is robbed of members by an unethical neighboring pastor to become bitter. As a result he will talk about how detests that no good sheep thief and began to shout ministerial ethics from the roof top. That same bitterness, left unchecked, will cause him to take advantage of opportunities to steal saints from the man who offended him, and justify it.

The bitter pastor will not stop with the man who offended him. He will look for reasons to become suspicious of other men as well to justify stealing from them, all the while still condemning the man who originally betrayed him.

CONCLUSION:

Saints and Ministry: let's do not let our bitternesses make hypocrites out of us. Let us not justify in ourselves what we detest in others. There will be plenty opportunities to become bitter, so let us pray for the grace of God to save us from this awful poison.

Lessons From Egypt: How Not To Lead

Exodus 1:8-11 ESV

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

9 And he said to his people, "Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us.

10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land."

11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses.

I am going to make this short and to the point. If anyone wants to contribute to the conversation we can discuss it more. I would love your input, especially from leaders!

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph: By not knowing Joseph he does not know the people of Israel. Whether this is merely an ignorance of historical events I don't know, but it is certainly an ignorance resulting from a lack of relationship. You have a king that assumes a position over a people that he does not know, neither seeks to know. He is a king who is only concerned with POSITION and not PEOPLE; RULE and not RELATIONSHIP. It will always lead to disaster when we seek to lead those with whom we have no relationship.

And he said to his people, "Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us: Secondly, this king becomes intimidated by the strength of his subjects. When leadership is motivated by position or power and not people, it always becomes intimidated by the strength of those it seeks to lead.

Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land": Thirdly, leadership becomes suspicious of people and their motives. This too is a by product of the lack of relationship. If the king of Egypt really knew the people of Israel, he would have been comforted by their strength and not intimidated by it. And if he and really known them he would not have been suspicious of their motives. Both the intimidation and the suspicion were born out of a lack of relationship.

Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses: When a leader becomes intimidated and suspicious of his subjects, he will eventually begin to oppress them. Ironically, the reason that the king of Egypt began to oppress them was fear that they would "escape from the land." The very thing that he sought to prevent by oppression, he caused by oppression. The king of Egypt began to oppress a peaceable and profitable people, because of intimidation and suspicion, and as result unrest rose and profitability decreased.

CONCLUSION: This more a note to myself, than a message to anyone else. I am reading through Exodus for my daily devotions and this is some thoughts that are in my head.

Get More Than One Friend

When I say, "Get More Than One Friend," I mean two things: first of all, you need more than one friend numerically. Secondly, you need more that one friend categorically. I will address the numerical aspect first, then the categorical afterwards.

NUMERICALLY:

You need more than one friend numerically because you (myself included) have a lot of issues. While you may find someone who is willing to try to befriend all of you, at some point they are going to need a break. Be a friend to your friends and spread yourself around. Don't make one person responsible for having to deal with all your issues.

No one person can fully satisfy all of your relationship needs, including a spouse. When you make one person responsible for satisfying your relationship needs you have set the relationship up for failure. It is simply to great of a demand to make of any one person. Many times jealousy is a result of this unrealistic expectation.

CATEGORICALLY:

You need more than one friend categorically. Because it is to much to demand of one friendship to supply all your relationship needs (intellectual, emotional, spiritual, social ect...), get specialized friends. In other words, develop a relationship whose primary contribution to your life is intellectual, and one whose primary contribution is spiritual and so on.

You can have a friend in your life that can fill multiple faucets of friendship; however, no matter who they are, they cannot completely satisfy your relationship needs. Expand your relationships, it is going to make you a better person.

For His Name's Sake

This post will not be nearly as spiritual as the title sounds. I have gotten numerous questions and emails asking why my parents named me John Calvin. Some have thought that I was joking when I told them what my name was.

Pat Donahue, a Church of Christ friend of mine that I have debated, asked, "Why did your parents name you John Calvin when they appose his doctrine of Calvinism?" When Elder Todd Nance found out what my name was he simply responded, "That explains a lot." :)

The answer to why my parents named me John Calvin is: 1. When I was born they immediately recognized by my incessant screaming that I was T-Totally Depraved. 2. Because I was U-Unconditionally Elected they knew that they had been predestined to name me John Calvin. 3. As mean as I was, they knew that even the cross and all its power would only be able to give me L-Limited Atonement. 4. They knew that the only way that I would get saved is if God left me no choice and saved me against my will with I-Irresistible Grace. 5. They knew that the only way that I would be a P-Preserved Saint and stay saved was for God to make it where no matter what I did I couldn't be lost. :) Also, my mother knew that she was pregnant with me when she woke up one morning with and irresistible urge to plant three acres of TULIPS.

The other sided of the coin is: my paternal grandfather was Born August 6, 1926 and his name was John Calvin Carroll, and his nickname was "Buddy." So, when I was born August 6, 1975 I was named John Calvin Carroll, and most people know me by the name that I grew up being called, "Buddy." That is how it happened. And now you know the rest of the story.

Praying Politically

1 Timothy 2:1-3 ESV

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,"

This is not a prayer that we often consider; praying for Kings and all who are in high positions. Maybe I am blinded by my own failure in this area, but it does not seem that the church is engaged in praying for world leaders. This must become a part of our personal and corporate intercession.

We preach, talk and complain about the political condition of the world, but we don't do a lot of praying about it. I believe that it is the will of God for all nations and kings to bow their knees to the Lordship if Jesus Christ. We must participate in this process through prayer. More important than voting and protesting, which are important rights and responsibilities, is prayer.

Let me make a subtle point here. We are to pray FOR them and not AGAINST them. Many times when prayer is made for political leaders it is in the context of a president or senator that we dislike and so we pray against them. This is an arrogant prayer that presumptuously imposes our will on the process. Many times this is nothing more than sanctified sorcery. What we should be doing is praying for the will of God in their lives; praying that God would turn their heart, if indeed they be wicked.

The purpose of the prayer is: "that we may live a peaceful and quiet life." We should be praying that the hearts of mayors, senators, governors, congressmen and presidents would be turned by God to enact laws that facilitate the advancement of the kingdom of God. Not only in the United States, but world-wide.

I challenge you to pray FOR, and not AGAINST, our leaders. Begin with the leaders in your city and state, and then the president and other world leaders. Pray equally! Pray FOR Democrats, Independents, Republicans, members of the Tea Party. God does not carry a political affiliation; He is not a Republican or a Democrat! We cannot sit by without fulfilling the command of scripture to "Pray Politically."

Different Kinds of People In Your Life

Whether or not you like the messenger, this is a valuable lesson we all have to learn. We need God to give us discernment to know why certain people are in our lives.

The Ultimate Shepherd

1 Peter 5:4 ESV

And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Psalms 23:1-6 ESV

1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,

FOR YOU ARE WITH ME: CHRIST THE COMPANION SHEPHERD

YOUR ROD AND STAFF, THEY COMFORT ME: CHRIST THE COMFORTING SHEPHERD

YOU PREPARE A TABLE BEFORE ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES: CHRIST THE CULINARY SHEPHERD

YOU ANOINT MY HEAD WITH OIL: CHRIST THE COVERING SHEPHERD

MY CUP OVERFLOWS: CHRIST THE COPIOUS SHEPHERD

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Caricature of God

I can pick on the above gentlemen as I too have been abundantly blessed with ears. The artists have over emphasized the ears of Barak Obama and Ross Perot. While they have big ears, these pictures are obviously an exaggeration of their size. The artists have focused on a particular attribute of their persons.

Many times this is what men do with God. They over emphasize a particular attribute of His nature until the picture they have of God is not true, but a caricaturization of Him. What we must do is put each of God's attributes in proportion to all his attributes, and not to the minimization or elimination of some.

Some people focus so heavily on the holiness of God that barely no one can be saved; after all their best efforts they even worry about themselves. Others focus so heavily on the mercy of God that no one will be lost, including: Dahmer, Hitler, Stalin and Hussein (not Barak). When you do this you have a distorted view of God. The mercy and holiness of God are not competing ideas that you have to accept one or the other. Both are true and are complimentary of each other.

"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Psalms 85:10 KJV

Let's view God how He is, and not how the human mind would portray Him by exaggerating the aspects of God's nature that we choose to emphasize.