This truth requires our dependence.  We have no control over it.  We can try and manufacture it, but the thin veil of our efforts will quickly be discovered in the body count of burn out.

One of he things that unfortunately did not make the final cut on today’s sermon is the real math of God’s work to grow.  We measure growth by stories.  That is our math among leadership at MCChurch and I pray that is the math wherever you find yourself.  You see marketing can make numbers, big givers can pad numbers, and nice buildings are nice, but the real math is in the stories of God’s work among the people He is impacting for the glory of His Kingdom.  When our Church’s are filled with the exploits of God’s Kingdom, the other things will follow as God gifts. And we thank God for those gracious gifts because they are all from Him, and Him alone.

So celebrate the stories my friends.  Tell the stories, find the stories.  Because the work of God is found in the stories of real lives impacted by His love

As you embark on this journey go out and buy a new Bible.  Just the other day I had a good friend pick me up a Bible from her book store.  I forgot the fun, and wonder of owning a new unmarked Bible.  I opened it for the first time last night with the anticipation of all the things God has to say to me, and how this book will walk with me through this journey.  Sometimes it is good to mix things up.  To go out and mark the journey with a milestone that  marks something new, the next step, or next leg of the journey.  For a long time I have studied out of two other Bibles one was my Dad’s from when I was a kid, and the other I received as a gift from my parents as a student.  Both are well marked we have journeyed a long way together.  They are testament to the lessons learned and the things taught to me by God.  And now I have a new Bible to walk this next leg of the journey with me together.  To show me new insights as God’s Holy Spirit works in me to uncover the words He has for me to shape me into His likeness.

I know it’s cool these days to have your e-bible, youversion thing on your ipod, iphone, crackberry, and soon to be ipad.  But there is something special about the materiality of a book, a new Bible waiting to be opened, to be read, to be highlighted and underlined.  To be marked up with thoughts, and dog eared to be remembered.

Regardless of how you do it, do it, get in to it, to use a scriptural metaphor drink deep, feast.  As you do, you will be changed.  Guaranteed

“Stay thirsty my friends”

In today’s episoded of Director’s Cut (because I cannot think of a better name for it) we find ourself taking a second look at a tough passage that gets in the face of us Church goers and hits at sensitive areas.  And whenever you dig at that sensitivity you expose pain, and pain is just no fun.

This morning is no different.  We are doing a complete study of 1 Corinthians and in so doing we are gonna tackle some tough subjects for us all.  Paul charges straight out of the gate in his letter at one of the biggest problems that plagues the Church at Corinth and has plagued Churches for centuries.  Divisions over leaders, style, methods, and theology.  In this case our passage looked at division over leaders.   These divisions will pop up again later in the book as we see how the Church was not loving one another but rather causing hurt.

That being said I may have come out of the gate a bit strong myself, this morning.  Being that this mornings message was a tough one, I went right after it.  Unfortunately I was made aware that I caused a question or two concerning the possibility of a larger problem at MCChurch and may have come off a bit harsh.  I did not intend to imply any problem through my strength in tone.

Let me first be really really clear.  There are NO major divisions at MCChurch or issues, at least that I am aware of.  We are simply human like everyone else and can easily have our little things, and do occasionally have our little things.

Did I have any specific thing in mind no.  Did I use a specific example or two from the past, yes, because I felt it served a purpose and exposed that sometimes even our Church can get caught up in this stuff and that we all can do damage even with the best intentions.

Let’s face it we all want to believe we go to the best Church on earth that has no issues and totally handles everything with Grace and Love.  It is just not reality on this side of eternity even though we strive for it to the greatest degree that God allows.  I had also  hoped by using examples from our community to appropriately set the expectation of open and authentic conversation drenched in love that we can understand because they are ours.

In fact allow me to applaud my MCChurch family for their unity in the face of challenges over their history that easily could have ripped us apart.  Instead they have been an example of grace and love with their eyes firmly fixed on Christ as we journey together in knowing Him more.  I am proud to say I have experienced the best the Church has to offer at MCChurch and wish the same experience for everyone anywhere the Lord may find you.

Now I did keep it personal to us as a Church and to Christianity in general for the sake of reflection in hopefully our journey to be open, honest, and self aware of the things that can drag us apart.  But here is where I think an important part of the context may have been missing in my method and perhaps my madness.

I have had a front row seat to two powerful ministries make unfortunate errors in handling situations that could have easily been addressed in a much healthier and holistic fashion (in my opinion, others may disagree).  The fall out was a significant body count of people who left those churches, some who fell away from Christianity all together, and even more who bare the scars of being wounded by those unfortunate events.  The root, going way back to the beginning was the lack of acknowledging and dealing openly and lovingly with differences that when left untouched in the dark festered and turned into division, and resulted in split.

In addition I have sat through sermons that spent more time trashing every other Church in the local area than it did focusing on the context of scripture or the personal application to the folks sitting right there (this thankfully was not at MCChurch).  I have heard of pastors from Churches in the same community be unwilling to talk with one another never mind find a common cause to work toward in serving their community.  I have heard of one Church calling another Church terrible names, and for what.  That is not good enough!  Followers of Jesus can do better and should do better.  And my hope, prayer, and deep deep desire is to see Churches be beacons of love, known for their uncommon unity and solidarity in purpose.

So this mornings topic was personal to me because I have felt the effect of what seemed like innocent differences remain unacknowledged, unowned, and undiscussed turn into chasms that could not be crossed.  I have walked with friends, good friends, who were crushed under the wheels of it, and have felt the separation of broken relationships because of these things.  And I want and pray for better at MCChurch and your Church too.  It’s just not worth it.

So I went a little strong today because it’s personal, because I love my MCChurch family too much, and I love my brothers and sisters out there and their Churches too much to see it happen anymore.  Lord willing MCChurch will see God’s work continue to be made even more alive in our weakness and any source of potential division will be the catalyst for innovation, and the bedrock for creativity as God takes the things in us that could make us weak to show His strength.  My prayer is that if God convicts the things unspoken will move from darkness to light, from unspoken to spoken, from hidden to exposed, because that is the place that God works, convicts, reconciles and heals.

I pray everyone would experience a healthy Church that is marked by love and understanding even when we take on the not so fun topics.  May we prayerfully be guided by God to unity by humility.

My prayer is the appeal of Paul in 1 Cor. 1:10 that we would be unified in mind and thought.  The picture here is that of a fishing net being mended together.  Bring two pieces together for one purpose (catching fish).   What a cool picture.

I guarantee I will not always get it right, but I will do my best to make it right as I am a work in progress.

I was struck by what a unique and wonderful gift it is to dream.  To wonder, to be captured by an idea that knows no bounds, that can’t possibly fail, that will change lives, possibly even change the world.  Nothing can stop us in our dreams, possibilities are limitless, boundaries non existence, the world is our oyster.

I began to think about what God was dreaming and what he already new before the world was ever formed.  When He could have done whatever He wanted when water could be purple and the sky orange, and meatballs could rain from the sky, and a warm summer breeze smell like chocolate.  Yet the world we live in is His dream spoken.  Form put to ideas, a universe that cries out to the nature of it’s created order and points in worship to it’s creator.

I have spent a lot of time reflecting on Joshua in the first chapter of the book that bears his name and have wondered what it must have been like to hear the voice of God so clearly.  And then to look across the river Jordan into a new land, a land God promised to Abraham, and to wonder, to dream about what it would be like to finally live there.  To lead the people there, and see God build His people there.  What did Joshua dream?  How scared was he?  What did he pray?  How alive did he feel in that moment.

Sadly, to roughly quote one of my favorite authors, we experience most of our dreams in our sleep…  Few dare to dream wide awake, to live to see the reality of a dream come to life, to risk communicating the dream, to chase the dream, journey toward its realization and experience the exhilaration of victory and the sting of failure along the way with all the lessons to be learned and stories to be told.

I pray for myself, my family, my Church, and for anyone else who should stumble across these random thoughts.  I pray for the boldness to dream wide awake and to be willing to risk to live the dream. And I hope some day to hear the stories, because the good Lord knows they will be great stories.

To quote Steven Tyler  “Dream on”

Feeling a bit cheesy now, until next time

The take away, each of us has been placed by God exactly where He wants, for the purpose of His Kingdom and the Glory of His name.  And it is God who is already at work around us and is just eager for us to see what He is doing in the people we are already surrounded by, so that they can know Him, like we know Him.

The thought I wanted to add was one that unfortunately got cut from the sermon I delivered on Sunday.  At least in my opinion sometimes a sermon like this can be delivered in a way that feels like a “bring your friends to Church to get saved and pad our numbers in the seats” sermon.  What I wished I had said and had written in my original manuscript is that we judge our God ordained success at Marsh Creek Church by stories.  We look to the stories of lives changed by the miraculous work of God using us as He sees fit in the places He has put us.  We look to the stories of God’s redemptive work in drawing us close to Him and giving us the courage to take the next step of faith.  We look to the stories of those who have been so impacted by knowing God that they commit to serve Him with their life in the places God is calling them to.

Stories are the tangible evidence and experience of God’s work in the people he loves so dearly.  At the end of the day that is what we pray for.  That is when we know we are listening and responding to God’s voice, when we are work within His will, and the story He is writing in Central Chester County.

Sometimes some good stuff get’s cut from a sermon accidentally.  But to me this thought was too important.  I don’t write this to sound super spiritual, or to imply I somehow have arrived.  Far from it my friends.  Writing this put’s it out there so you all can hold me accountable, because let’s be honest crappy attendance and a tight budget are not fun.  But together we can pray more carefully, and look more intently to what God is doing, and then go obediently to join Him.

So in closing to quote the most interest man on earth “stay thirsty my friends”.  Thirsty for the work of God in your life, and then to pour that work into the lives of others for the Glory of God.

The disaster in Haiti is personal for me because I have been there and have had a chance to be impacted by their people.  Their faith, their generosity, their hospitality despite their worldly poverty showed me how rich they truly are.  What was crushed in a few short moments was largely built by hand over weeks, months, and years.  Each cement column and floor was hand stirred and poured by passing buckets of cement.  Many patiently waited for a long time to receive the hospitals and schools that would provide a higher quality of life and an opportunity to impact their neighborhood for Gods Kingdom.  It breaks my heart to know what was so painstakingly built now lays crushed around them.  I am glad to see the world rally to help them.  I am greatly encouraged to see the response of the Church in this time of crisis to bring aid as well.  In many ways leading the charge as they have been there so long working with the people of Haiti.  My prayer for them as a nation is that despite their significant suffering, and untold horror this moment will be a turning point for them.  A time in which we come together and help them rebuild.  And in rebuilding we are able to give them far more than we have ever given before.  I pray they will be overwhelmed by the generosity of the world and especially America and more importantly the Church.  I pray that in rebuilding we can offer them things that will work to get rid of hunger, poverty, and disease that plagued them because they often could not get or provide for these needs.  I pray the images we see on TV would haunt us, disturb our souls and move us to action.  Because as dear as Haiti is to me, this is just one of many heartbreaking realities around the world waiting on the rest of the world to look in and see and move to action.

The Church is alive and well down in Haiti and God has been doing unbelievable things.  They have a strong faith, and steadfast hope in the Lord.  I was encouraged today as I was scanning the news to hear that they were gathering in town squares, fields, and open spaces to pray, comfort one another, and worship together.  In their grief they continue to seek God, despite the significant disaster they face.

If you are part of the Marsh Creek Church family we will take a special offering this week to aid in the recovery.  We have also been collecting shoes and have found out those shoes will go to the people of Haiti.  I can tell you that this need alone is significant and will go along way in the rebuilding effort.  Many do not have shoes and are significantly hindered by having to go barefoot on unpaved roads that are littered with streams of raw sewage and trash.  This was before the disaster.  Now they must contend with impassable roads and collapsed buildings.  Shoes for their feet will impact them a great deal.  So please plan to come prepared.  For those who may read this from other Church communities take the lead as God moves on your heart to respond.

And let us allow this to be one more moment that moves us closer to the heart of Christ as we humble ourselves to serve our brothers and sisters in need.

“We work to feed our appetites,
meanwhile our souls go hungry”

Those words hit me.  How much time do we spend feeding our appetites.  I think the author hit the nail on the head for the common condition of the American Church goer.  We spend so much time chasing after all the things we have surrounded ourselves with, we strive after more and more and to what end.  When are we satisfied and meanwhile all the time we go hungry and are in fact, probably starving.

It’s a rainy cold day here in Pa, but is one of those days where you long for a soul satisfying meal like spaghetti and meatballs, a good stew, lasagna, hot chocolate, or whatever else is your thing. Something that just warms you from the inside out, makes the whole house smell good.

It’s also a good day to take stock of what your appetite longs for and ask God for soul satisfaction (which would also be a real good band name now that I see it in print).  Pray that God would put you in touch with your soul hunger, and that He would give you the heart to pursue him for the satisfaction of your deepest needs and desires.  That He becomes the only source.  And we recognize all the rest as His blessing.

I long to have my soul satisfied, and I am praying the same for you

–Yesterday’s Monster Yard Sale was a big time success.  The Parking lot was packed all day with all sorts of people connecting.  It was such a blessing to see the fruit of all the hard work put in.  We made enough money to help with some long overdue needs for Children’s and youth.  Special thanks to Laurel Mcdermott, Laurel Stroud, Kristin Marks, and Heather Stieger.  Without their hard and tireless work this event would not have been nearly as successful.  They rocked and I am so grateful to have them as leaders as at the Church

–Experienced the blessings of God’s provision for good weather for the Yard Sale and the Wedding I did yesterday which was outside.  It is always a humbling honor to celebrate God’s work among people who love him as a relationship comes together in perfect weather.

–Saw a big time response to Generosity Can…  Buckle up Chester County, Marsh Creek Church is coming to bless your socks off.

–Was blessed  to have my good friend Shelby Abbott rock it at the Evangelism Class after Church.  He had a great turn out, and I am praying for big time returns on the investment made to reach the world for Christ.

–As a Church we are stepping up to the plate with our tithe.  I am looking forward to see how God will work.  This is a big time step of faith for us as a Church in tough economic times.

–I am humbled God’s provision in a very busy week that everything got done, and people were blessed.  He is gracious.

–Praying God will use us as we lay our treasure, talents, and time before His thrown for the purpose of His Kingdom

–Glad to see new faces and some faces that have not been around for awhile.  Seeing the Church community do it’s thing never gets old.

–Thank you God for your love and work in and through us.  Praying for more great things this week

Despite my best effort I could not take a satisfying breath.  It was if someone was sitting on my chest.  At this point I became just a little worried.  I went downstairs and asked my wife to use her finally tuned medical skills to determine if I was just being a wuss or if I should head to the ER to get looked at.  She suggested the latter, thankfully.

I know what idiot drives himself to the ER while he can’t breath well.  I am a guy, what else is there to say.

On the way there, still trying to take a breath I was struck by how much time I had spent thinking about this basic gift of breathing.  Each day we breath in an out thousands of times, in a life time millions maybe even billions of times and yet we never think about this most basic life sustaining blessing that most of us enjoy with relative ease and security.

Finally after a thankfully short ER process they hooked me up with some Oxygen, and some breathing treatments to open up my lungs and I was finally able to take deep soul satisfying breaths.  I felt my shoulders, back, neck, and chest relax and was so thankful to be able to breath again.

I know, get to the point, right.  While I was having this experience, maybe it was the lack of air, or the delusion of sickness… but songs like “this is the air I breath” started going through my mind… and “as a deer pants for water, so my soul longs after thee”.  This idea of longing that which we take most for granted became a vivid reality.  More importantly the spiritual significance of breath, of life giving air, of the spirit of God in whose image we have been imprinted with and whose Spirit dwells within those who call Him Lord.

So many of us take His presence for granted.  His sustaining of the most basic elements of life… our beating heart, our flowing blood, our breath, our brain… He sustains, graciously sustains, every aspect that is critical to our survival that we never even think about until it is challenged.  We forget God, above all, until we notice we no longer experience His presence.  And much like my difficulty in breathing made me appreciate breathing, we notice when life get’s difficult how long it has actually been since we have had a long satisfying experience in just basking in the presence of God.  In just taking a deep, long, soul filling, breath of Christ’s presence in our life and enjoy the benefit of His closeness.  And as so many of have said, if God no longer feels close, guess how moved.

So take a moment, a few moments, and spend time recognizing God’s gracious and His presence in the world.  Thank him for His presence even if you have not noticed it recently.  And more importantly thank Him for all the gifts He graciously gives that you and I never even noticed until they are taken away or inhibited in any way.  Bask in His presence, fill your soul with the presence of His love, meditate on His word and allow His word’s to sink deep.  Do something He has gifted you to enjoy!

Breath, breath deep.  God is good