Guitars Are Taking Over The World

Or something like that.

Name:
Location: Linn Creek, Missouri, United States

Married since 1979, with 3 children, and a grandbaby.

Monday, October 30, 2006

New Church

Church growth requires starting new churches. The churches that participate in starting new churches grow, supporting churches grow and the new church grows.

The Meridian Point Church of Peyton, Colorado begins November 5th. Peyton is close to Colorado Springs. My friend Nate is the music minister. Pray for them. God will make an impact through them.

I know they will be nervous about the first day. They've gone through all the essential preparations, but until they begin to function for real, butterflies will fly.

http://www.meridianpointchurch.com/splash.asp

Psalm 33:3 The best instrument you have is your heart!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

More Random Thoughts

I love listening to sermons. In fact, as I type this, I am sitting at McDonalds using their WiFi to work online. There are a number of people I love listening to.

My favorite preacher, hands down is Mark Scott. Mark is acedemic dean at Ozark Christian College in Joplin. God to the college website and find the chapel sermons link and you'll get to choose between a number of chapel speakers, which always includes Mark at least once or twice a semester. www.occ.edu

Mark is a good friend. I've known him a long time. Someone that has become a friend over the past 3 years is Lynn Ragsdale. Lynn is the Senior Minister of Christ Church of Oronogo (Missouri). They put their sermons online every week. So I get to listen to Lynn frequently. I love his style as well. He is very, very effective as a preacher and minister. God to Christ's Church's website and click on online sermons and choose from the messages they have archived several months back. www.ccochurch.com

Central Christian College puts their chapel sermons online. www.cccb.edu Yesterday I was at the school and got the priviledge of hearing my friend and former president of the college, Lloyd Pelfry. Brother Pelfrey has been serving Central for 50 years. He dealt with the topic, "Submission." The theme for the year is "Like Christ." Go to their site and check out the messages.

There are others. I love to watch and listen to Greg Laurie who established Harvest church in California. The site is www.harvest.org

I also like to watch the Saddleback Church's services. www.saddleback.com

There is also Randy Gariss at College Heights Christian Chruch in Joplin. www.chcchurch.org

Check them out.

Jeff



Psalm 33:3 The best instrument you have is your heart!

Monday, October 23, 2006

Digging Foundations

Apparently, we don't dig enough. As a nation, we are having difficulty understanding from where we came.

Archeologists dig for everything. They will dig deep enough to find the foundations of the building or the city, or the civilization they have discovered.

At New Testament Christian (www.newtestamentchristianonline.com) we are reviewing our foundations as Christians and a church. At the same time, we are in the process of laying a foundation of God's vision for our congregation.

The last two messages are the first messages in a series called, "Faith in Hostile Territory" ( http://www.newtestamentchristianonline.com/Sermons.dsp, In Spite of Fear and Foundational Celebration). The series is from the book of Ezra. In chapter 3, there are two foundations that have been restored. First was the foundation of altar of sacrifice and the second was the foundation of the temple.

Without the foundation, the building doesn't stand well, or for very long. Jesus said these words about a life of faith. "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law."
Matthew 7:24-29, NIV.

I guess really, everything has a foundation, but what type? A solid, firm, unmoving foundation will last where one that is like sand, which does not hold together, and is easily washed away, will allow the building to crumble, without much effort.

What type of foundation are you built on?
  • For life?
  • For your family life?
  • For your church?
  • For your ministry as a Christian?

One of the beautiful things we see in Ezra is that solid foundations are laid and faith is anchored and solid and that is where we want to be.


Psalm 33:3 The best instrument you have is your heart!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Opportunties

The church I minister with is being given incredible opportunites to show God's love and mercy. Last week a person called asking for assistance in getting started in a new life. The church contributed generously. Their gifts provided almost 3 times the amount needced. How incredible is God!? (That's a rhetorical question).

We now have an opportunity to help a family that lost its home and possessions in a fire a couple of weeks ago. They need bed frames, dressers, and a washer and dryer. I am excited to see what God will do through the church.

Psalm 33:3 The best instrument you have is your heart!

Monday, October 16, 2006

I'm in the Green Shirt


As you may have guessed from the blogs title, I love guitars. In the picture, I am leading the praise band during a praise concert at Junior High Church camp at Shelby County Christian Assembly.

It was an awesome week. The band consisted of drums, congas, bass, 3 guitar players, playing electric and acoustic and four other vocalists.

We closed the week out with a prayer walk which ended with this rockin' praise concert. Then after a final campfire, we had Mexican Fiesta to celebrate all the baptisms we shared in that week.

It was an awesome week.

I want to thank Rita for the pictures.

Psalm 33:3 The best instrument you have is your heart!

Monday, October 09, 2006

Purpose and Vision

Purpose and vision are important matters. Churches without a defined and specific purpose tend to plug along without much effect and usually without vision. In many cases, they simply, exist. On the other hand, churches which have evaluated their communities, realized their church's gifts, abilities and resources have established there purpose and cast vision and they thrive.

I have been ministering a number of years, but it wasn't until recently that I even considered purpose and vision for me personally. I have had effective moments, but I have not been a wholely effective minister, until, I realized what God could do through me, and saw what he wants to do through. I have learned to minsiter with purpose and foresight.

Let illustrate this differently. There is a family owned company based in California which has made drills for decades. When the father stepped down as the head of the company, his son assumed the role. He didn't change anything for 6 months. Then he announced a meeting of all the managers and workers to announce the purpose and vision of the company.

Everyone assembled and the son walked to the podium. There was great expectancy. Everyone expected a lengthy announcement, description, and plan, but the son in a matter of a couple of minutes said that the company was no longer in the drill making business, but in the hole making business. He stepped away and the company began to develop ways to make holes.

They still manufacture drills, but only because drills are one way to make a hole. The company is now a leader in laser drilling.

Once the purpose was determined, announced, and followed, the company turned all their rescources toward their purpose began to grow and set new goals and accomplished those goals.

Our congregation is in the process of determining God's exact purpose for us at this moment in history and our location in the world. We have chosen to "make holes."

One of the things we have learned is that we are House of Faith, a Home of Love, and a Family of Hope. We are developing and moving more fully in these directions.

Psalm 33:3 The best instrument you have is your heart!

Links

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BLOGS

SITES

Psalm 33:3 The best instrument you have is your heart!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

School Tragedies

The news is covered with two major issues. I'm sure that the bloggers are consumed with these issues as well. One, three different school attacks in 2 weeks time. Two, a congressman sending inappropriate emails and IMs to a teen.

I remember Columbine, vividly. I don't think very many of us have forgotten. But it still happens. Innocent children's lives are robbed from them by someone who has, shall we say, "lost it." I feel for the parents. As a parent, I can only imagine what they are going through. For about a year after Columbine, there were a number of threats at the school my children attended, 17 or 19 of them (I don't remember exactly). I was involved as a minister, a substitute at the school, a coach at the school, and a parent (the more important role). The solution, after many meetings, conversations, and investigations (no one was charged or found guilty), the threats ended after a community prayer meeting. People from the churches, the community, and adminstration and teachers came together on a Wednesday night asking God to stop the threats. Eventually, we feared the threats would be carried out. There wasn't another threat after that night.

People are hurting and people are sick in their soul's and they lash out at targets that they can easily manipulate, like children. They bully there way in and run all authority out, and hold students captive, sometimes, sadly, taking lives.

Added to this crisis is that of an adult persuing a minor for sexual misconduct. Not just adultery, but homosexual sin. I have heard at least one person say they were sick to their stomach when they learned that he had been propositioning a minor. Minor or not, it is sick, it is just worse when minor's are involved.

These perverted types are all over the place. One year I transported a severly mentally retarded 4 year old girl to a developmental preschool for the school district. Part of her mental problems came because she had been sexually molested as a baby. I got the priviledge of knowing her. She was in foster care, but was adopted about a year later by a godly, loving, Christian couple.

What is the solution. I'll be honest, I want to lash out at the attackers and the molesters. I want to see them get their punishment, the full punishment of the law. In the OT, they would have been stoned to death, but the law allows for other forms of punishment. Still, they need Jesus. Jesus wants to forgive them. Jesus wants them to surrender their selfish, sleazey life of sin for a life of repentance and forgiveness, and eternal life.

The solution is not prison, that satisfies the letter of the law, but salvation. Those who are faithful Christians, avoid sin, even the (quote-unquote) little sins. When people come to Christ, molesting, murder and more is diminished.

Let's win the world to Christ. Begin with your immediate world.


Psalm 33:3 The best instrument you have is your heart!

Monday, October 02, 2006

Second Coming Hope

God is amazing. The Greek/Roman mythological gods were petty, greedy, selfish, impetuous, hateful, gods. They are created exactly in our image. The image of human beings. Never involved with humans except when they plead with them and when they want something from humans.

They were immoral, murderous, and meddlesome. But Yahweh on the other hand, is involved with humanity all the time. He chooses to dwell with us. He even loves us. He tolerates sin to an extent by delaying the return of Jesus for more people to be saved. He chooses not to leave us in our sinful state, but save us from the eternal effects of sin, both as we live out our time on earth and eternity. So he sends Jesus.

There is an issue that every Christian must be aware of and portect against. The devil wishes to attack us and destroy our faith, hoping to pull us into the punishment reserved for him. God created hell for the devil, not for him to rule, but as a dungeon of punishment for his rebellion. All that do not accept Christ and the unfaithful will share the same fate as the devil. He will not be running around whipping and tormenting those who are in hell, he will be punished along with them.

1 Thessalonins 5:9 says that God did not create us for wrath, this punishment that is reserved for the devil, but to live with him eternally. And this is through Jesus. Jesus's death on the cross was for our salvation. He suffered and died when we should have been tormented and desparing.

Knowing that we are in Christ, and the promise God has left us with helps us keep hope in a world that is closing in away us with what seems to be a perpetual evil, persecuting and destroying the church and the Bible.

The book of Revelation can be summed up in just a couple of sentences. As the world persecutes and torments the church, things look bleak. But those who endure until the end, whether they live until Jesus returns or die and wait in the grace, will receive the crown of life. That is an assurance I will hold onto tightly and with hope. Without hope, there doesn't seem much to live for, but hope provides endurance.

Maranatha! Come quickly Lord Jesus.

Psalm 33:3 The best instrument you have is your heart!