We’re all back to work this week, after celebrating a national holiday last week: Black Friday.
Maybe it’s just me, but this year seemed to go over the top with the advertising for Black Friday Specials. Stores that used to open at 6:00 a.m. now open at midnight; stores that used to open at midnight now open at 10 p.m. on Thursday. Some stores don’t even bother closing on the Thursday before Black Friday, and start offering sales on Black Friday Eve. On Thursday, I even received an e-mail from a store titled, “Happy Almost Black Friday!”
Of course, there was that little blip interrupting our national observance of Black Friday; some call it Thanksgiving Day. On this day, they say, we’re actually supposed to be thankful for things that we already have!
All sarcasm aside, it is incredibly ironic that the one day we designate as a day to be grateful for the good gifts from a benevolent God has now been eclipsed by our national obsession to consume more stuff. God forgive us!
Last week I attended a workshop in Des Moines entitled “Leading People From Busy to Engaged.” I was attracted to the workshop because so often I complain, and I hear other people complain, “I’m just too busy to take anything else on.” The leader, Mike Johnson, from a ministry called Ascending Leaders, shared that being too busy is really a problem of scatter. We’re involved with a lot of good activities, but not great activities, activities that will help us be the best person we can possibly be. He quoted from Haggai 1:9, “…my house remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.” Sometimes our relationship with God is in ruins, because we are so busy with our own activities.
When you read the Bible, you see that people like Jesus and Paul were busy, but also that they had a clearly defined purpose that guided their chosen activities. The enemy of the BEST is not the WORST, but the GOOD. We need to have the same kind of focus that Jesus and Paul had.
Next month, I’m planning on starting a study called “Charting Your Course” which is designed to help us discover our best, and to discover the purpose that God has for our lives. If you’re interested in being a part of this journey, let me know—I’d love to hear from you!
Paul David Tripp and Timothy Lane wrote the book on “How People Change.” In this book, they try to identify the reasons our attempts to change often fail, and to explain the biblical pattern for lasting change in our lives. They recently came out with a curriculum to accompany their book to help small groups dig deeper into the material, and allow us to explore together how we can begin to change into the image of Christ.
Starting in September, Calvary church is going to be going through this curriculum. At our Sunday evening services, the congregation will meet together to view the video, and to have a brief message from one of the pastors. We’ll then break into small groups to discuss the material. We’ll be doing this twice a month, except in December, when we will take a little break from the material.
I’m excited about this new venture! I’m praying that as we read and study this material that it will help us be “…transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit,” (II Cor. 3:18). If you have any questions about how this is all going to work, please feel free to talk to Pastor Art or myself.
It almost sounds like the title of a little Sunday School book, doesn’t it? It’s actually the title of a fascinating book that I’m reading that contains the conversations of a believer (Jim Henderson) and his friend, Matt Casper, who is an atheist. In 2006, Jim hired Casper to join him in visiting twelve of America’s best-and least-known churches. Week after week, this spiritual odd couple attended services at churches all over the country and documented their impressions of the various churches they visit. Casper is not impressed by the big and the professional worship services. The two things that make an impression on him are when the members of the church are genuinely interested in getting to know him, without seeing him as a potential convert; and when the members are actually acting out of their faith to do something to help the people around them. It’s a great book that challenges our “bigger is better” mentality and shows that we can’t expect unbelievers to listen to us, if we’re not willing to listen to them.
This past weekend I drove up to South Dakota to attend my dad’s 90th birthday celebration. It was a wonderful couple of days, spending time with my siblings, re-connecting with my nephews and nieces, and having talks with my dad. At one of our meals together, my dad read Psalm 71, a psalm which speaks powerfully of the faithfulness of our God especially as we grow old. The Psalmist prays with openness and confidence, “For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth…Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone…Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come,”(5,9,18). It was a poignant moment of realizing that no matter how old we become, our work on this earth is not finished until we declare God’s power and faithfulness to those who follow in our footsteps. As the song puts it, “May All Who Come Behind Us Find Us Faithful.” I will always be grateful to my parents for walking a faithful life, and pointing us to Christ.
Yesterday I attended a seminar put on by the Vermeer Leadership Alliance (thanks to the Vermeer’s, by the way, for bringing in challenging speakers to be an encouragement and a challenge to pastors in Iowa). Dr. Leonard Sweet was the speaker, and he helped us reflect on our faith and life in a number of new ways. For example, Dr. Sweet challenged “Quack” theology, that we are trying to imitate Christ, like baby ducks imprinting and following their mother all in a row. He said the Christian life is not so much about imprinting as it is implanting. We need to realize that Christ is living within us through the Spirit, and transforming us from the inside into the very likeness of Christ. Thus, he challenged the W.W.J.D.? wrist bands so many of us have worn. When we ask the question, “What would Jesus Do?” we are implying that Jesus isn’t here, he isn’t with us and in us. A much better question would be, “What is Jesus doing?” Where are we taking Jesus, who is living within us? What activities are we forcing Jesus, who lives within us, to witness when we make questionable decisions?
What do you think? Should we start printing new wrist bands?
I just read Brother Todd’s post from the San Antonio mission trip…sounds like an exciting time!
A lot of you read the article in yesterday’s D.M. Register about Harold Camping’s end-time prediction of May 21, 2011. Although a lot of folks enjoy the music on the Des Moines Family Life Radio station, I hope no one is putting any stock in the teaching of “Brother” Camping! For starters, Harold Camping has declared that we are past the “church age” and that the church today is apostate. That means that anyone who still is a part of a congregation is not in the estimated 2-3 % of the population which will be “raptured” on May 21. What a sad statement, when there are millions of believers around the world who have put their faith, hope, and trust in Jesus Christ alone, and are also members of Bible-believing churches. That basically means that our faith in Jesus Christ is in vain, a very serious charge, indeed.
And the prediction of a day and time for the “rapture” is a whole ‘nother issue! If even Jesus Christ did not know the day or the hour, I seriously doubt God revealed it to Harold Camping! On the other hand, the Bible tells us to be alert, to be watching, and to be ready whenever Christ does return on the clouds. The biblical teaching about the end includes three features: it will be unexpected, accompanied by signs, and imminent. As Christians, our attitudes and expectations should be shaped by God’s Word, not by the ramblings of a teacher who has mislead his listeners before ( in 1994).
And thanks for checking out “Pastor Sheldon’s Blog.” I was hoping to come up with something a little more catchy, but for now, this is as creative as I’ll get. This is a new venture for me, and as usual I’m rather daunted to start something new, technology-wise. But I hope that this will open up some conversations and allow us to share some insights and maybe even a chuckle or two! So, I’ll try to share some thoughts on a regular basis, and hope to hear from you as well.
And thus ends, my first post!
