This week's blog will no doubt be a hodge podge of different items, it has been a varied week for sure. First of all, this past Sunday, it was a pleasure to make the acquaintance of Andrew Kirya from Uganda. What a gentleman and a fellow brother not only in the Lord, but in the great family of the Assemblies of God. It was an incredibly wonderful feeling to hear him preach the same biblical truths that we believe. Wow, the Assemblies of God is truly a worldwide organization. What a great privilege to meet someone in this life I would normally never have the opportunity to meet until heaven. Just another great reason to anticipate going there!

As many people did, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. It was the first time ever that JoLynn and I were all alone for this particular holiday. Brad was in Montana with Jo's family and Scott and Brittani were with Brittani's family in the Seattle area. Phone calls and "texts" kept us up on their activities. It helped with not having them home. However, we were not really alone as we were invited to share the day with some wonderful friends. As I surveyed the wonderful food spread out before us on the counter it was an incredible feast! I then thought how many times is this being repeated around our country today? Millions of times! What a blessed nation we are! What abundance and plenty and extravagance we enjoy. Not only food to keep us alive, but delicious, wonderfully prepared meats, vegetables, breads and treats. Not only food, but beautiful place settings and warm homes and wonderful people to share it all with. Thankful? How could we not? God is so gracious and good to us.

As the day wound down, there was the inevitable curiousness of what special "deals" were in the offing for "the day after Thanksgiving shopping". As I perused the ads that also came in abundance I was taken with the feeling of amazement of HOW MUCH STUFF there was advertised that I neither needed nor wanted! Amazing! I did end up going on a special errand on "Black Friday" to one of the big box stores to pick up some things for the church. However, I slept in, took my time to blow the snow off the driveway and then go into town. I was smiling at how relaxed I felt walking up and down the isles not anxious in any way, visiting with lots of people and enjoying myself very much. I was in a fairly short line and out before very long. What a great day.

I am reminded at how God as blessed us in amazing ways, friends, family and the things we both need and enjoy. This week was full of such things and I am thankful to be connected to the family of God, our church family and our family. God is good.

The Turkey Shoot

Today was our men's "Do Something" event, the Turkey Shoot. What a great time. We had 6 guys show up at the church at 6:30 am to cook a HUGE breakfast (eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon) for 50 men. Heath Fulk gave a great devotion and then everyone headed off to the Snowshoe Gun Club for the shoot.

It was cold. How cold? Well not as cold as it has been but +10 degrees is pretty cold when you are trying to hold as still as possible, like when you are trying to hit your target. Fortunately, the club has a warm up shack with an old fashioned barrel stove which was stoked with firewood and giving off a warm glow. Pies had been donated as prizes for the shoot, but someone had the GREAT idea of putting them on the stove rack to warm them which lead to another great idea to carve them up into pieces so everyone could have a bite which we did, some more than once.

We had shooting skill levels from "needing development" to "right on the dot". Everyone fit right in. There was lots of laughter and good natured fun as each one took their opportunity to shoot for a free turkey to take home for Thanksgiving. Free t-shirts and Cabela's ball caps were additional prizes for those who fared well in the shooting.

Steve Sturman and Dan were the organizers of this great event with lots of men helping to set up, clean up and cook up. We are having so much fun at our "do something" events and hope that all our men who haven't yet tried them will check it out. Monday Men's Meeting is the place it all happens so we invite you come out and be a part of what God is doing in the lives of men.

Some Thoughts On Christian Leadership

Leadership is both an art and a science. Some are "born leaders" while other leaders develop over time. We need to keep in mind that there are many kinds of leadership, not one style will fit every leadership need. Without trying to explain every style of leadership in a blog of all things, let's consider some general ideas about what a Christian leader might aspire to. This would apply at home with your family or on the job where you might work. The same principles apply.

The Christian Leader:

1. It's not "top-down", but "bottom-up".

Matthew 20:25-28 (NKJV)

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. [26] Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. [27] And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-- [28] just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

I won't elaborate too much after Jesus states the case so well. The idea is, Christian leaders (husbands, fathers, supervisors, employers, etc.) don't "boss" their people around. They demonstrate what it is they want done with the intent to teach others. Teaching is the key to serving others. Patience is the key to teaching.

2. Not "Lone Ranger", but collaborative leadership.

Who is interested in some "masked man" swooping in to "rescue" the situation and then leave? It might work for westerns but it really doesn't work in life. The Christian leader cares about every person of the organization and what they can contribute to the process. A Christian leader seeks out the contribution of each member.

Romans 12:3-5 (NKJV)

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. [4] For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, [5] so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Again, I'm not going to try to improve upon the Apostle Paul, but you might want to study further what he says on this subject: Romans 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12: 14-21

3. Not absent, but present.

It is self-evident, if you aren't there, you can't lead. Now the obvious application to our way of thinking is physically being there. There is a lot of merit to being there in the room when you are leading. More importantly is being there with your mind. How many times are you actually standing in front of someone while they are talking to you, but you are really far away? Being 100% present is a key principle of a Christian leader. Ever talk to someone on the phone while they are surfing the 'net? It's the least satisfying kind of conversation. You know the "ya, uh huh" on the other end of the line is dead and lifeless. They don't hear what you have to say. It's just as bad when you are physically present but not paying attention. Four times the Lord tells us, "...I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deut.31:6, 8; Joshua 1:5; Heb 13:5). He is 100% present all of the time. We should be too.

4. Not first in line for benefits, not last in line when there is risk.

When there is danger, risk or fear, the Christian leader is first in line to confront it. The Christian leader doesn't hide behind others when there is difficulty ahead. They are the first to meet it. Jesus didn't hide behind the disciples when the pharisees came around. Jesus stood His ground when the legion of Roman soldiers came to arrest Him in the garden and the disciples all fled. Jesus was fearless when there was danger, he protected the innocent. Jesus is the good shepherd, He cares for His sheep. Christian leaders make sure their "sheep" are well cared for before they take care of themselves.

Conversely, when there is benefits to be had, the Christian leader is at the end of the line letting others go before him. God will see the true heart and promote us at His choosing.

Luke 14:8-11 (NKJV)

"When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; [9] and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. [10] But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. [11] For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

That's probably way more than enough to chew on. May we model Jesus in our leadership!

Watch this and pray...

This video is something I hope you will watch and let it motivate you to pray. Think about the effect legalized abortion has had on our future. Think about when man in his limited knowledge and inability to know the future tampers with the order that God created. Our judgment is self-created. If you believe what you will see on this video, it may not be too late to repent and turn from our wicked ways as a nation and see God restore us. If not, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Not a guilt trip, but a sobering thought.

Inaugural Post

This is my first post on Blogger. I felt the need to switch as my former blogging service was too limited and hard to work within. So, with a steep learning curve ahead of me, I am going to forge ahead and try on this new blogging service. Hopefully it will serve well and not prevent me from getting to the point - being able to leave some thoughts that will encourage, help, motivate, appreciate and teach or just improve someone's mood for the day.

Bless you for taking the time to read.

Pastor Stephen

Something to Think About...

What implications for ministry might this presentation have? Watch it and think over the role technology might need to play in ministry and church in the present and future. What priority of resources would it take to harness technology to help us spread the gospel to others? Is technology something we should use or is it not necessary? Should we ignore what the world is plugging into and expect them to still come to us? Some thoughts to ponder...

M3 - Ladies Night

Last evening, Monday night our Monday Men's Meeting (M3) hosted a "Ladies Night" with the intent of promoting better communication between men and women. The evening began with a great dinner of a baked potato bar, lots of choice toppings, veggies, salad and beverages. It was all put togehter by our men. I have linked two short videos, one of the men in the kitchen - wow! It was a hive of activity! and another of the tables that were set up to accomodate everyone. I took this video a little too early as it shows a mostly empty room. However, we actually had to set up two more tables and every chair was occupied!

We enjoyed dinner first (always a good idea), then watched a "teaser" of the video seminar on marriage we will promote as a weekend over Valentine's Day which everyone seemed to throughly enjoy. Then, the ladies were given a series of questions to respond to which they did in groups and each group chose a spokes woman. This was a very interesting and enlightening time! Answers to the questions posed were interesting indeed. It was all very positive and the men had designated "scribes" taking down the answers which will be discussed at the next M3 meeting.

There was so much positive energy in the room! Men who want to be better husbands and fathers. Men who want to be better men. Women who want to help those two objectives. The communication that was fostered no doubt will serve us well. This is part of the on-going "quiet revival" I sense God doing among us. Transforming lives, marriages and homes is what revival is all about and that is what is happening. Lots of honesty is going on and a greater openness among our men and men with their wives. We pray that we just let God do what He seems to be doing and not interfere but cooperate.

A Quiet Revival

Lately I have been asked and have asked others what a revival actually is. As is often the case, we sometimes identify everything around a revival as the revival, but miss the actual essenence. At least in my mind, revival incorporates positive life change. I know we think of a lot of celebratory worship, demonstrative encounters with God, a general feeling of excitement and lots and lots of church services sparked by larger than expected attendances. As I said, these external signs are things we often associate with revival but are not revival itself. True revival is about a life changing from sin to set free. People being convicted of their sin, confession of their sin, repentenace of their sin and then empowerment to live apart from sin. That is the essence of what revival really is. When this kind of movement begins to take place on a larger scale, there is often an exuberent response to seeing people's lives changed, thus the celebratory worship, and other outward manifestations.

Because we tend to characterize revival is such ways, we might miss such a "move of God" if it wasn't heralded by music, waving flags and overflow crowds. What if it was, quiet? No special speakers, no worship bands, no "Jericho Marches". Let me challenge our status quo thinking on revival. What if men were gathering together for three hours out of hunger for God instead of staying home and watching Monday Night Football on TV? What if men were risking embarassment to admit their shortcomings spiritually to other men? What if men were being convicted of their sin and confessing that sin and repenting of that sin? What if all of this was done without fanfare, exuberance and demonstrative exhibitions? Could it still be revival? You can be certain the answer is yes. Emphatically yes. What I have just described is exactly what is happening in our M3 men's meetings. It is humbling and amazing to watch happen. Men are responding positively to the challenge to "step up" and lead as spiritual leaders in their homes, to confess their sin and pray for one another. To apply the turths of scripture to their actual lives instead of living a double life.

So far there isn't a lot of attention being generalted outside the circle of M3, but that doesn't lessen the truth that a revival is taking place, a quiet revival. I am enjoying it very much. It is a wonderful experience to pastor a group of men who don't have to be cajoled into attending, or browbeat into being hungry for God. I am mostly just a participant with the group and allowing God to work in my own life as well as the lives of others. It's the real thing. I'm loving it.