Author Archives: Joe

When life peels away everything that defines you, who are you?

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“Take heed and beware of covetousness.  For a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things which he possesses”(Luke 12:15).

“What do you do?”  In our society, that’s often the first question people ask.  It implies…

–that you do something in the way of a career.  Woe to the unemployed and those who call themselves homemakers.

–that you are what you do.  That your identity is bound up in what you do to earn an income.  Too bad if you lose your job or retire.  You become a cipher, at least in the minds of some.

If you don’t have a job, who are you?  If, like my wife Bertha, you loved being married to a pastor, when God takes him home and you can no longer fill the role you loved so much–the wife of a pastor–then who are you?

In our world, people’s names were often given in accordance with what they did. They received names like Baker, Cook, Weaver, Smith, Taylor, Hunter, Fisher, Farmer, Shepherd, Miller, Marshall, Ward.

I want to call your attention to a little story found in Luke 12.  Then, I’ll be asking you to use your imagination with me…

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How to pray (second in series) “As we begin”

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“Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name….”

We’ve said praying is not as complicated as we’ve been made to think.  We preachers sometimes function like lawyers who pile up billable hours, but in our case we heap up rules and regulations and, pardon the expression, insights on how to make spiritual things work.  We ought to be ashamed of ourselves.

Prayer is as simple as speaking to the Heavenly Father. Period.

However.

(Ha. You knew that was coming, I betcha.)

Something inside us rightfully wants to pray more effectively, to address God in a way honoring Him, and to be able to express all that is within us.

So, let’s talk about it.

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How to Pray ( first in a series) “Let’s not complicate it. Just do it!”

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“Our Father, who art in Heaven…”  (Matthew 6:9)

So, you want to pray?  Good.

Or, you already pray and something inside you wants to learn to pray better? That’s also good.

Let’s see if we can help the beginner to pray effectively and the “regular customer” to pray with greater insight, stronger faith, and more confidence.  But–and this is a biggie–let’s not make this more complicated than it is.

Just do it.  The Father wants to hear His children praying.

Don’t be afraid.

Worse, don’t let someone scare you about all this.

Martin Luther used to say he had so much to do that day, he had to pray six hours.

Sheesh!  Read that and you feel like tossing in the towel and calling it a day.  Who among us has six hours to pray?

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“Why are you so angry?” I asked. “I”M NOT ANGRY!” he bellowed.

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“And all in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things….” (Luke 4:28).

“These things they will do because they do not know the One who sent Me” (John 15:21).

My notes from that church business meeting some 20 years ago are fascinating to read from this distance, but nothing about that event was enjoyable at the time.

Our church was trying to clarify its vision for the late 1990s and into the 21st century.  What did the Lord want us to be doing, where to put the focus? Our consultant from the state denominational office, experienced in such things, was making regular visits to work with our leadership.  For reasons never clear to me, the seniors in the church became defensive and then combative.  No assurance from any of us would convince them we were not trying to shove them out the door and turn over the church to the immature, untrained, illiterate, and badly dressed.  To their credit, the church’s leadership, both lay and ministerial, kept their cool and worked to answer each complaint and every question.

My journal records a late Sunday night gathering in my home with 30 young marrieds from a Sunday School class.  They were a delightful group.  They wanted my testimony and had questions about the operation of the church.  Then someone asked the question of the day.

A young woman said, “I can understand someone not liking a pastor’s style.  But why are these people so angry?”

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I told the Lord I’m ready for that life-changing call. A few minutes later the phone rang.

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“Delight thyself in the Lord and He will give thee the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

My ministry in that church was uphill all the way.  Everything was hard, it seemed. There were few rest stops, places where we could take a breather and enjoy a sense that we are accomplishing something significant for the Lord.

The church had few financial resources due to a heavy debt load, made worse by a major split in the congregation 18 months before I arrived as pastor.  The ministerial staff had little money for the outreach and educational programs they wanted to do.

It was a tough time in the life of that church.

Perhaps I was tired.  Or discouraged.  Or needed a boost of some kind.

Anyway, one day,  on the way back to the church office from lunch I prayed a prayer unlike any I’d ever prayed before.

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On entering the ministry, bring with you a good sense of humor

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My favorite art store often brings in master teachers for classes on various kinds of art.  In two weeks, they have an amazing water color artist doing a conference lasting several days and costing nearly $500.  On the website the artist lists materials registrants should bring with them.  It will not surprise one to learn the materials are specific, numerous, and somewhat expensive.  But the last item in “things to bring with you” was this:

A good sense of humor.

That’s a dead giveaway that the artist will be fun and the class enjoyable.

But it started me thinking….

What if churches added that little note  as a scroll across the bottom of their websites.  “Bring a good sense of humor.”

Doing so would send a message about that church, wouldn’t it?

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Have you ever been arrested? Did anyone pray for you?

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From my journal of January 13, 1998.

This was my morning radio program (“Phone Call from the Pastor,” Lifesongs 89.1 FM.  New Orleans)….

Have you ever been arrested? Imagine the devastating impact on your family.

Last night the evening news showed the arrest of a fellow on the Northshore for the murder of a convenience store clerk several years ago.  He was in handcuffs and being escorted into jail by a couple of sheriff’s deputies.

As he walked past the camera, he stared into it and said, “Pray for me.  And pray for my family.”  I confess to being shocked. I mean, he was a fairly rough-looking man–the word ‘burly’ comes to mind–and I was expecting him to say anything but that.  And it touched my heart.

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Things the pastor needs to know

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“…the Holy Spirit has made you the overseer….” (Acts 20:28)

To be an overseer, one has to know what’s going on.

Someone is angry at the pastor? He needs to know. Perhaps he is at fault and can do something to remedy the situation.

Some leaders have had a falling out with each other?  The pastor needs to know since this affects the church.

The assistant pastor took a group on a mission trip and charged each member $500 for expenses.  The pastor needs to see an accounting of income and outgo, or to know that the appropriate people in the church were on top of this.  No staffer should ever handle money themselves.

The youth minister gathered the students in the auditorium and showed them a movie with questionable content.  He/she should have informed his/her supervisor–and in a small church that’s always the pastor–in advance and let him make the call.  This protects everyone, but most of all the young people.

The class has invited in a prophecy expert–you will pardon the expression–to speak on the rapture or the antichrist or such.  The pastor should know in advance and approve the decision.  Otherwise, it should not be done.  No group in the church exists unto itself.

The pastor needs to know.

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When the church exists for itself

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How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? (Romans 10:14).

I live in a gated community of 25 homes.

This little neighborhood is surrounded by a high fence and entered through a gate which requires either a remote sensor or a code.  Homeowners pay a monthly fee to cover upkeep on the grounds and streets and a few services.  We rarely see anyone in this little ghetto other than residents and service people.

Therein lies the metaphor.

At Christmastime, as Bertha and I were placing decorations on the outside of the home, I mentioned that since we live in a cove–a tiny cul-de-sac among five other homes–almost no one will see the wreaths and lights and greenery. “We will see it,” she said. And I agreed. That, I expect, is why most people erect a Christmas tree in the first place. For themselves.

Churches do this, to their shame. They do programs and ministries which no one will ever partake of except themselves.  They plan elaborate pageants and oratorios and cantatas and wild game suppers and marriage retreats, and then fail to tell anyone other than the immediate family.

Then they wonder why so many pews went unfilled and the response to their evangelistic invitations was so tiny.

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The surprises of the prodigal

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“A certain man had two sons.  The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’  And he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, where he squandered his estate with loose living….” (Luke 15:11ff.)

The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is iconic. That means it is typical, well-known, an accurate depiction of a thousand things about this life.  Understand that story and you know a great deal about how life works and what God does.

If you knew nothing more about God than how He is depicted in this parable, you would love him with all your heart.

You and I are represented by the foolish, younger son.

That son, the subject of a few million sermons and the inspiration of almost as many conversions, received a lot of surprises in this story…

One. He was surprised that the father granted his selfish request. Some lessons we just have to learn for ourselves, and the Father was a good teacher.

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