Today, March 17, 2011, marks the ninth year of ministry for Enduring Faith Christian Center. Way back in March of 2002, we began this pastoral journey. EFCC started off with only two members (My wife and I) and has grown a great deal since then. I have personally been through many trials and tribulations directly connected to the pastorate. People have come and they have gone. Family members have died. Throughout these tragedies it seemed as if I could not find a friend. Many times I've thought of just giving up, coming up with all the excuses in the world to shut down the church. Lord, these people, your people, ARE TRIPPIN'! They are never on time for church! They're not accountable! They consistently miss Bible Study! It seems as if the things of God are not important to them! Did You really call me to this?!? Ministry has truly taken its toll on me, physically and spiritually. Sometimes I feel like Moses. He went through so much with the people of Israel. Every time they tripped, he prayed. He got to a point where he wearied of them and started to become over-burdened by their consistent complaining. This is so much like the church today: Many folks complaining and reluctant to address what they are complaining about. Moses allowed the people to frustrate him to the point of disobedience, which cost him entrance into the Promised Land. “Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink, And Moses said unto them, why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou has brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” (Exodus 17:2-3). No matter how Moses prayed for them, stood in the gap for them, or loved them, they still murmured and complained against him. It got so bad that Moses asked God to kill him because of the people! In Numbers 11:14 Moses prays, "I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.” I believe so many pastors feel like Moses. They try to do the right things but the people focus upon the seemingly wrong things. I have done my best to live a life that could be marked by others as an example. Yet, videos calling me a false teacher have been made, folks that I thought were my friends have slandered my name, and those that I thought loved me showed by their actions they did not. I have seen many a shepherd start off true and end up false. Ministry is not a love for them, but essentially a business. As I progress, I have to embrace the love for pastoring that I possessed when I first started. It's still there, but diminished through all the bureaucracy within the church today. Even as I write this nine years later, there is still a desire to shut the church doors, but Jesus Christ is my Lord and first love. He provides me with the oil to keep on going when I feel like giving up. My family are the wheels on which I ride into my ministerial destiny. Faithful members serve as the brake fluid that prevents me from stopping this car. All in all, as I reflect over the past nine years, it has been a wild ride but I'm glad I took the trip! Thank you, Jesus!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
A Letter to the Pastor (When you feel like giving up, DON'T!)
Today, March 17, 2011, marks the ninth year of ministry for Enduring Faith Christian Center. Way back in March of 2002, we began this pastoral journey. EFCC started off with only two members (My wife and I) and has grown a great deal since then. I have personally been through many trials and tribulations directly connected to the pastorate. People have come and they have gone. Family members have died. Throughout these tragedies it seemed as if I could not find a friend. Many times I've thought of just giving up, coming up with all the excuses in the world to shut down the church. Lord, these people, your people, ARE TRIPPIN'! They are never on time for church! They're not accountable! They consistently miss Bible Study! It seems as if the things of God are not important to them! Did You really call me to this?!? Ministry has truly taken its toll on me, physically and spiritually. Sometimes I feel like Moses. He went through so much with the people of Israel. Every time they tripped, he prayed. He got to a point where he wearied of them and started to become over-burdened by their consistent complaining. This is so much like the church today: Many folks complaining and reluctant to address what they are complaining about. Moses allowed the people to frustrate him to the point of disobedience, which cost him entrance into the Promised Land. “Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink, And Moses said unto them, why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou has brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” (Exodus 17:2-3). No matter how Moses prayed for them, stood in the gap for them, or loved them, they still murmured and complained against him. It got so bad that Moses asked God to kill him because of the people! In Numbers 11:14 Moses prays, "I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.” I believe so many pastors feel like Moses. They try to do the right things but the people focus upon the seemingly wrong things. I have done my best to live a life that could be marked by others as an example. Yet, videos calling me a false teacher have been made, folks that I thought were my friends have slandered my name, and those that I thought loved me showed by their actions they did not. I have seen many a shepherd start off true and end up false. Ministry is not a love for them, but essentially a business. As I progress, I have to embrace the love for pastoring that I possessed when I first started. It's still there, but diminished through all the bureaucracy within the church today. Even as I write this nine years later, there is still a desire to shut the church doors, but Jesus Christ is my Lord and first love. He provides me with the oil to keep on going when I feel like giving up. My family are the wheels on which I ride into my ministerial destiny. Faithful members serve as the brake fluid that prevents me from stopping this car. All in all, as I reflect over the past nine years, it has been a wild ride but I'm glad I took the trip! Thank you, Jesus!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
The devil Can't Move You When You Stand On Faith!
The devil hates it when you decide to stand on the promises of God when all hell is breaking loose in your life. The enemy enjoys when you become a traditional or routine church member, never desiring to go outside the proverbial box. There is a need today to go beyond the four walls of our church. So many are simply satisfied with going to church on Sunday and Bible Study on Wednesday, but a relationship with God should not begin and end in a building made with hands. Being a Christian involves so much more than that! Many have become Comfortable Christians who have no desire to progress further in God. They don't pray or stay because they are too busy with the more important things of everyday life. It's such a shame that we would rather sit down on the things of God, rather than stand upon them to get to the next level in God. He wants to do much more in our lives, but our laziness prevents Him from doing so. Proverb 6:6 tells us to go to the ant, thou sluggard (lazy person); consider her ways, and be wise. This lets me know that God cannot or should I say, will not bless a lazy person. We have all been guilty of being sluggish in various areas of our lives, but we should make a concerted effort not to be when it comes to the things of God. If you want more, do more! If you have a need, sow a prayer and fasting seed! When we desire something from God, He requires something from us, whether it be our time, talent, or treasure. Are you willing to do more for God today? If you are, He is ready, willing, and able to do the miraculous for you. What He can do, goes way beyond what you can think or ask Him to do! The author of Ephesians 3:20 confirms this by writing, Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Standing requires that you have something to stand upon. Hupostasis is Greek for faith (used in Hebrews 11:1) meaning "that which stands under." Allow faith to be the foundation on which you place your feet. When you stand in faith, it's extremely hard for anything to move you, but you. The devil can't move you, enemies can't move you, only your perception of you has the power to move you. Just stand!
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