Friends,
When I arrived eight years ago, I
was told not to talk about Jesus as the only way to salvation, homosexuality,
same sex marriage, abortion, politics, taking care of the poor in town, and...just
about anything that matters to our Lord as enfleshed in Jesus and explained in
Holy Scripture.
I was told that the content of
worship, essentially, must be mind-numbing so people could daydream about
whatever they wanted to imagine God to be and
that I would be judged by many as effective if I could keep the worship
services from exceeding 59 minutes and 59 seconds.
Efforts to buy my
cooperation while asserting some sense of entitlement by those
whose "word" was surely more important than anyone
else's along with threats of leaving the church clouded my...for a while.
While I had been warned by all of my
living predecessors while my ecclesiastical superiors questioned my sanity for
insisting I was called to the corner of Lincoln and Main, I will confess, after
eight years, that every day hasn't been a hot fudge sundae for me.
I have only survived because I am
called and with the call comes the equipping/encouraging/enabling; especially
in a Psalm 62 kinda way coupled with the love of saints like you.
Anyway, getting back to being
clouded...for a while.
I confess my sin of satiating too
much sin from people who felt entitled to try to force me to water down the
Gospel, couldn't be on the team unless they were the captains, felt they were
so much closer to Jesus than anybody else, speck-inspected to the horrific
degree of driving so many people out of the church in a Steppenwolfed
kinda way ("We don't know how
to mind our own business...'cause the whole world's gotta be just like
us...") with total defiance to His agape
and high priestly prayer of John 17,
and...
Simply, in the early years of my undershepherding
ministry, I cooperated with the witting and unwitting accomplices of...
The church suffered from my
infidelity.
Then while everything was going
topsy-turvy during the renovation and I couldn't find anything anymore, I came
across a framed note.
It came from a young boy about 30
years ago who encouraged me to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth because only the truth enables freedom, revival, and...salvation.
I wept when I read it.
I had forgotten.
I had sinned.
I was so concerned about vocational
security, being liked, and...
You know what I mean.
Now I keep that framed note where I
can see it daily and remain founded, fixed, focused, and filtered on/to/through
Biblically Christocentric undershepherding.
I will be sharing that framed note
in worship on Sunday at 7:20 and 10:00 a.m.
It changed my life/ministry over 30
years ago and changed my life again about two/three years ago...
Assuming my role/Beruf,
it has contributed to the revival on
the corner of Lincoln and Main that can only continue with increasing obedience
to our Lord as enfleshed in Jesus and explained in Holy Scripture.
One way.
His.
Only hearts of stone to God will not
be softened, tenderized, and turned back when the framed note is
seen/read/heard/experienced this Sunday.
Blessings and Love!
P.S. If you are receiving this
out-of-state, you can always listen live via www.bnnsradio.com this
Sunday at 10. Yeah, it's archived. And, yes, please forward this to
anyone needing some light...or salt.
PBK –
ReplyDeleteCouldn’t stop in last night after I delivered the bread, but as always Murph was there to assist. He and your secretary are such wonderful representatives for your church. Always in a good mood, always fun to talk to and honestly if they weren’t, I would have pawned the job off on Nikki because she enjoys running over to the Salvation Army to see what deals she can find for our family. But every Wednesday I look forward to my trip to the Presbyterian Church to see and talk to the inner core of every organization; the leader and those on the front line. Your message this morning really rang true for me and I couldn’t agree with you more. When you are more worried about losing, than trying to find ways to win, you always lose.
Have a GREAT DAY