Another Funeral this Week…

I already mentioned the passing of Oral Roberts this week but there was also a pastor who was not as nearly well known who passed away in our community in the past seven days – Harold Reid.

I met Harold when I first started Church Without Limits and I was contacted by a pastor inviting me out to a bi-weekly prayer meeting of local pastors. I was only 22 and I remember being incredibly nervous as I went to meet with this group of men to pray – Harold was one of those men. I quickly got over the nervousness and have been greatly enriched over the years by these times of prayer.

Approximately a year ago I heard Harold was sick – I had not been able to attend the meetings as much so I was a little disconnected. I would hear bits and pieces and then this past Monday received an e-mail letting us know that Harold had gone home to Heaven.

This past week my brother and I attended the “Celebration Service” for his life at Pickering Pentecostal Church. It was a great time of reflection and sharing from a number of significant people – Harold obviously impacted many, many people.

After leaving the service there were several things that really stuck with me:

1. Harold was a great husband – Harold obviously loved his wife very deeply and really saw her as a partner in ministry. You could tell that he really valued and supported her – and encouraged her in what God had called her to do. This reminded me of how important it is that I cherish, support and encourage my wife.
2. Harold had a huge heart for the nations – one of those sharing commented how excited he was when someone from a new nation was added to their church body (they ultimately had 76 nations represented I think). Two of his children were married to spouses of a different race and yet he was completely supportive and accepting (sadly, even in Christian circles this is not always the case). This reminded me of the importance of having a heart for the nations and celebrating diversity.
3. Harold was passionate to release people into ministry – from calling himself the pastoral team leader, to his insistence that everyone was called to ministry, to the fact that the pastor replacing him had served alongside him for nearly 15 years it was obvious that Harold was not just about himself but he was about teams and seeing people released into ministry. This reminded me of the importance of always cultivating the same heart.
4. The importance of investing my life – as I sat in the funeral I began to reflect on the day that my funeral will happen (many, many years from now ). What do I want people so say? What kind of legacy do I want to leave? How hard am I pushing towards that right now? I was really reminded that some things matter, and many things ultimately do not. I want to focus on the things that matter.

One last thought – I have to admit that there were several times over the years that I disagreed quite strongly with a position that Harold took, or theology he held during our times of discussion and prayer (one thing I love about the pastors gatherings is that there is a genuine love and openness – and we can debate topics and discuss issues without becoming offended at each other). I hadn’t realized how much this had impacted my view of him – I sometimes saw him through the lense of our disagreement.

The funeral reminded me that he was a great man who loved God, loved his family, loved the church and loved those who do not know Jesus. I knew this of course, but there were moments that I would lose sight of it. I was reminded and challenged that even when I disagree with a brother or sister in Christ that they are still my brother or sister and we are ultimately playing on the same team.

Oral Roberts Passed Away Today

Today Oral Roberts passed away at the age of 91.

He hasn’t been in the spotlight as much for the past two decades but from the 50’s to the 80’s he was one of the most influential and impacting leaders in Christianity. As with all great leaders he was loved by some and hated by others but I don’t think there would be anyone who would deny his legacy and contribution.

I think the words of Dr. Jack Hayford give a great perspective on his influence:

“If God had not, in His sovereign will, raised up the ministry of Oral Roberts, the entire charismatic movement might not have occurred. Oral shook the landscape with the inescapable reality and practicality of Jesus’ whole ministry. His teaching and concepts were foundational to the renewal that swept through the whole church. He taught concepts that spread throughout the world and simplified and focused a spiritual lifestyle that is embraced by huge sectors of today’s church.”

My prayers are with his family and those close to him. I’m sure he is having the time of his life right now as he has crossed into eternity.

You can read more here.

You can go to a memorial site in his honor here.

What Not to Name Your Church

Imagine churches with the following names:

• Accident Baptist Church
• First Church of the Last Chance World on Fire Revival and Military Academy
• No Hope United Methodist Church
• Boring Seventh Day Adventist Church
• Faith Free Lutheran

Fiction right? It would seem not… check out this post.

Bill Johnson: A Blank Cheque

I came across a great little article from Bill Johnson (from his monthly newsletter):

As kids, many of us dreamed about being granted one wish. Solomon got the “one wish.” When God appeared to Solomon and gave him that opportunity, it forever raised the bar of our expectations in prayer. The disciples were given the same “wish,” only better. Instead of one blank check, they were given an unlimited supply of blank checks. And this gift was specifically granted in the context of their friendship with God.

Surrounding their promotion to friendship, Jesus gave His disciples this amazing list of promises. Each promise was a blank check they were to live by and use throughout their lives for the expansion of the kingdom. They are as follows:

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7)

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” (John 15:16)

“If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)

“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Fatherin My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:23-24)

In order for us to properly receive what Jesus has offered us in these verses, any robotic understanding of what it means to be a follower of God has to change. God never intended that the believer be a puppet on a string. God actually makes Himself vulnerable to the desires of His people. In fact, it can be said, “if it matters to you, it matters to Him.”

While much of the church is waiting for the next word from God, He is waiting to hear the dream of His people. He longs for us to take our role, not because He needs us, but because He loves us.

Do and Teach

I saw something interesting recently when I was reading Acts 1:1 -

“The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both the do and teach”

A couple thoughts/reflections -

• Notice that Luke emphasized that Jesus both did and taught.
• When we do something, there is an authority to teach it… when we do not do it there is little authority.
• As leaders particularly, we always need to cautious regarding teaching things that we are not doing.
• In discipleship people will not become what we know but who we are.
• When I’m doing something I will teach it naturally – it will not have to be forced but will just come out.
• The best thing I can do for those who I serve is to ‘live it’ myself.

I think it is always good to do a personal inventory regarding this: are we teaching things that we are not doing ourselves? Are we continuing to lean into ‘living this walk out’ and growing?

Who Is He Who Will Devote Himself To Be Close To Me?

Have you ever read a scripture and thought “man, that is great… I have never seen that before!”?  That is one of the things I love about the Bible – you can study it for years and still those kind of moments. Sometimes it is a new translation that brings a fresh perspective or sometimes you just have literally never read the verse before.

I had one  of those moments yesterday. One of the guys in the G12 Team I serve shared Jeremiah 30:21 with us last night:

Their leader will be one of their own;  their ruler will arise from among them.  I will bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?’ declares the LORD. (NIV)

Man, that last part just leap of the page at me – “who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?” What a all from the LORD. He is not just looking for people to go to church on Sunday and try to not sin… His heart is looking for those who are devoted to being close to Him.

My prayer is that today my heart (and yours as well) will be stirred and challenged to this devotion in a fresh way.

The Anointing to Create

During my personal prayer/study time today I was reading in Exodus and the following verses really stood out to me:

¹ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ² “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. ³ And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, ⁴ to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze… (Exodus 31:1-4 NKJV)

Several of my thoughts/observations from this passage:

• That we often see the anointing (empowerment) of God in the context of ‘church work’ or ‘preaching and praying’ but not in many of the other aspects that it is applicable
• We see here that God anointed a craftsman to create – Bezalel was literally filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all manner of workmanship to design and create.
• God’s desire is to do the same thing today with the Arts – to anoint artists with his power and creativity.
• We have seen this in a small degree but I believe it is going to explode exponentially over the next season.
• One of the of 7 Mountains that we are called to impact with the Kingdom of God is that of Arts + Entertainment – and that will happen as anointed, discipled followers of Jesus will create art that is ‘10 times better’ than anyone else (Daniel 1).
• It is important to note that Bezalel was anointed because he was committed to helping ‘build the house of God’ (the Tabernacle in this season) – this anointing will flow in artists who are committed to advancing the Kingdom, not just making a name for themselves.
• This anointing is not a substitute for hard work and development of your craft!
• Artists: make sure that you develop your craft BUT that you invest equally in developing in the anointing through a real relationship with God, prayer, fasting, study of the scriptures, and holiness!

Will Mancini: How Passionate is Your Tribe?

Will Mancini had an excellent post regarding passion and emotional ownership of the vision in a ministry.

He poses 5 thought provoking questions that every pastor/leader should consider.

1. Who are most passionate in our ministry? How did they get that way? How do we help more people catch the passion?
2. What is keeping me from caring more?  When did I care about my mission the most?  Why then?
3. How can we make creating enthusiasm a part of our leadership development strategy?
4. What can I do today to encourage a leader down the continuum from common interest to passionate mission? How can I use Thanksgiving week to leverage this encouragement?
5. Am I as a leader spending adequate time with other leaders so that passion can rub off?

You can read the entire post here.

Charity Legal Risk Management Checklist

Just wanted to pass on this comprehensive checklist geared towards helping churches/charities minimize their legal risk. It helps you identify where you are strong and where you need improvement.

Check it out here.

My experience, limited as it may be, suggests that most churches fall woefully short in their policies, procedures and risk management. We have been working hard at CWL to sharpen this area and have made some tremendous progress but there is still a lot of ground to cover. If you are a pastor/charity leader this list may be a little overwhelming at first but it does help us understand the due diligence that is necessary.

I believe that in the coming years we are going to see massive church growth as revival impacts our nation – this is even more the reason to prepare now so we are structurally/legally ready for the growth.

Holiness – the Call to Pleasure

I don’t know if you have heard about it but there is a really serious move the Spirit going on at IHOP in Kansas City. I have not been able to follow along a lot yet due to certain factors but I did track down a really good blog from one of the intercessory missionaries/worship leaders who serves there and is posting some thoughts/updates (check it out here – and let me know if you know of more).

The guys name is Joshua Hawkins and he posts some really good stuff – one post I read today was regarding the connection between holiness and true spiritual pleasure. An excert:

But Jesus calls us to a radically different approach to holiness and shows us a completely different picture of the Father that we must fill our minds and hearts with. Jesus’ own experience on the earth showed us that holiness is not a call to a life of drudgery, boredom, and frustration. He showed us over and over again that His Father is so tender with us in our weakness. He presented holiness as a call to the greatest pleasure that the human heart has ever experienced.

You can check out the entire post here.