Pure Church: Pretty, Superficial Preachers

Pure Church: Pretty, Superficial Preachers'

How a dead preacher drove me, motivated me, to build in something into my life that was sorely lacking.  If only I would make the time.  What does your reading list look like?  After reading this are challenged or our of gas?  For me it's a bit of both.  I'd love to hear about your yearly reading plan.  Does it look quite a bit better than mine?  Let me know.  There is a link to the story that you really should read.  It never fails to scare me a bit.

Some Goals for this Year

1.  Average 100 in Sunday School by the end of February

2.  Take our church on its first short-term mission trip

3.  See 15 people come to know Jesus for the first time

4.  See those 15 people follow Jesus into the waters of baptism

5.  Upgrade our sound and video capabilities

6.  Finally take care of that handicapped ramp and entrance

7.  Orchestrate the 1st "revival" in my term as pastor

8.  Exceed our operating budget

9.  Take in more for missions that ever before

10. Set up a ministry for men in the same vein as L.I.F.T.

11.  Average 120 in Sunday School by July

12. Have 150 in Vacation Bible School

13.  Any other ideas???

Goals for the New Year

I'm not a mega church pastor.  If I were being absolutely honest I would say, "I don't know if I want to be one."  Lots of young pastors have aspirations to be in a large church.  They see the steps they have to take to get there.  It starts with a smaller church, then a medium, then a larger medium, then a large, then a mega.  Most pastors never get there, but the ones who go this route many times start out knowing that's what they want to do and need to do.  That is not my mindset at Little Mountain.  I came to Little Mountain to plant myself there, and to see my life intertwined with theirs.  I've learned a lot and done a lot badly.  My deepest desire for our church is to see growth.  I don't want this church to be a stepping stone.  I want it to grow, and me with it.  When I say that, I mean both numerically and qualitatively.  I want our people to mature in the faith.  I want our people to reach the lost.  I want the unchurched Christians to be reached (if there's such a thing).  Growth can be good.  It's not good in and of itself, but it can very well mean that people's lives are being changed.  This new year I want to see more life change than ever before.  It has to start with our people.  Our leaders have to lead.  Our people have to come along.  We have to work harder than ever before.  But there's potential there that's untapped, and in the process of being tapped.  I don't know what God intends to do but I do believe this year will see things happen that haven't happened at Little Mountain in a long time.  I believe it will be for the better.  It's not because God told me so.  I simply have faith that He desires to do a work in our midst, and through us.  Whether that happens will not be dependent on His desire.  I believe His desire we can assume is to grow in maturity and in number.  Maybe not to "mega" status, but to meet our God given potential.  If I lose expectations of great things happening I might as well leave the ministry.  I'm already done.  I will be posting specific goals in the near future.  I believe it is important to set measurable, reachable goals.  I am bad at it, but I'm giving it a shot.  Any suggestions?

Commenting on the Blog

There are often people who visit blogs, which are meant to be interactive, without ever interacting.  The primary way of interaction is through e-mails or comments.  Both are easy to do, and take just a few short steps.  If you would like to comment, simply click on the comment button at the bottom of every post.  It will likely say at first "0 Comments."  You of course have the power to change all that.  Click the "0 Comments" and there is a form to fill out with your comment.  I like to read my own blog.  I like more to read comments on my blog.  So get the ball running.  It's really very easy!

Merry Christmas!!!

If for some crazy reason you happen to be surfing the internet the day before or the day of Christmas (I know who would do such a thing?), and you happen upon Rural American Pastor, then allow me to wish you a very Merry Christmas!  Especially if you are an attender at Little Mountain, then Merry Christmas to you and I love you all.  I look forward to seeing you Wednesday night or Sunday!  Have fun with your families and remember the Gospel is the center of Christmas, not just the birth, but also the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  Now get off the internet and go spend time with your family!

Off to ER

First trip to ER for baby Ava.  First trip ever actually.  She had breathing problems and couldn't seem to catch her breath overall.  Brooke woke me, and that's the deal there.  I'm tired, but out of here and on my way.  Pray for us please.  Possibly we'll pack up and head back home.  Or be there all morning. 

Josh

Unabashed Cowboys Fan, Presuppositions, and Worldviews

They are not America's team in the way they were under Tom Landry, but the Dallas Cowboys will always be my boys.  They are the greatest franchise in NFL history and I don't care what anyone says.  You really can't even argue with that statement can you?  It's irrational and beyond argumentation because I'm predisposed to believe that no matter the evidence.  

We always have presuppositions.  Those are the beliefs that we start out with prior to the argument so to speak.  They are things that are foundational beliefs that color all our other beliefs.  They all fit together to form what's called a worldview.  Your worldview is like a pair of glasses that you look through to see the world.  What your worldview is determines most everything.  It interprets the data you see.

For example, if I am an atheist, that is a part of my worldview.  It colors the way I interpret data I receive about the world.  I look at the beauty of creation, the magnificence of the universe, and the wonder of loving relationships and say "It's all a cosmic accident."  My worldview forces me to say that.

On the other hand a Christian takes the same data, and interprets it radically differently.  They view all of that and say, "Praise God whose handiwork this all is!"  It is the worldview they (we) hold that forces us to say that.  And what a joyous worldview it is.  We believe that underlying all of reality, the basis on which all of creation exists, is a personal God.  That is, a God that is not only Holy and transcendent, but stoops to our level to be near to us in a powerful way.

What is your worldview?  Think about the ways that it makes you interpret the world around you?  Thank God for His goodness and the ability to perceive it today.  I know the Cowboys thing is a stretch to start out with!  But they're on TV and on my mind.

Merry XMAS Is this a Bad Word?

We often hear about how Christ is removed from Christmas increasingly more in our culture.  This is no doubt true in many ways.  A presidential candidate recently came under intense fire for being so bold as to say "Merry Christmas" in a television spot.  This is true in many spheres of our culture.  Christmas has become secularized, consumerized, and many other interesting -izes.  From time to time we here that one example of Christ being removed from Christmas comes in the form of signs that replace Christ with X rendering it "Have a Merry XMAS."  This is pointed to as a gross removal of the true meaning of the season.  But is it?  No doubt some see it this way and in our day and age it likely has that intent behind it for many.  It is less blatant.  More politically correct perhaps?  But not originally.  We write many things in shorthand.  That's a way of making it easier for us to write out words, less time consuming, page space saving, etc.  Originally, in a place like the Roman Empire where the name Christ began to become a real life hazard for His early followers, a natural shorthand, or code word was used in place of Christ.  Essentially the "X" means Christ.  If I could write in Greek, Christ is spelled XRISTOS.  Much like the fish symbol so popular today that was also used in early Christianity as an acronym for Jesus, the "X" would have had a clear meaning to other Christians that the pagans would not have understood.  "X" is just a letter to them, but to His followers it meant Christ.  If you could write XRISTOS and be fodder for the lions in the Coliseum, or you could write "X" and other Christians know what you mean, but the rest would not, which would you write?  It's not an easy answer is it?  We face nowhere near the level of persecution those in the early church faced.  Were we faced with the same level even as the modern church in China our tunes might be different.  So when you see "Merry XMAS" on a sign somewhere this season, be discerning in your judgments.  It may be a harmless shorthand for Christ, or it may be an attempt at taking Christ out of Christmas.  Let the ones try who would try to remove Him.  They can't succeed.  Pray for them instead, that's what Jesus would do (Hey, there's another popular acronym).  

They Said It

Take a look at a couple of new articles in the sidebar; They Said It, Things From People Much Smarter Than Me.  In the spirit of Christmas, these will be informative.  Can I tell you something?  The people that write the articles that are on the sidebar over there -> are brilliant.  In fact they're so brilliant that when I read them, I want to quit.  Quit what?  Everything.  That's how brilliant they are.  Let's just say God blessed them.  So read what they say.  It's not Scripture, but it is ALWAYS good.

A Deeper Look at Christmas Traditions

Every Wednesday night our church participates in what we call "A Deeper Look."  It's an opportunity for us to examine a topic, a Scriptural passage, a verse, or a congregational question in more depth than we'd have the opportunity to do on an average Sunday worship service.  Tonight we'll be taking a look at the history behind many of our every year Christmas traditions.  Unfortunately there are dozens of traditions we won't have time to cover, but there are a few important ones that we will.  We'll look at the December 25th traditional date for the observation of Christmas.  Why do we celebrate it then?  Come find out.  What about Christmas trees?  Anything in the Bible about Christmas trees?  Well, no, but they're fun, and we'll see where they come from.  Along with the trees we'll examine the lights and decorations and why we do that.  In addition, we'll finish off with the jolly man in the red suit.  Yes, Santa, the kind-hearted saint that flew into Bethlehem on December 25th, just in time to catch the birth of Jesus.  Not sure about that one?  That's b/c obviously that's not where Santa originated.  Want to know the truth?  Come find out.  It's gonna be informative, fun, and enlightening, and you will DEFINITELY learn something you didn't know before.  Join us at 7:00 for A Deeper Look at Christmas Tradition