One Pastor's Perspective

Here they are …

I believe Satan is real. I believe he is on the prowl at Ebenezer, because there is revival in the air!!  I believe he wants to tear this church to shreds and would do ANYTHING to stop the advancement of the Kingdom of God.  And I believe I could help him do this if I’m not careful.

WHATTTTT??????  Did the Senior Pastor of Ebenezer just write that???  Yes I did.  Not that I am an agent of the devil or anything, but I know that I must be careful.  Because he is looking for a weakness to work in. And I don’t want to be that weakness.

I write this to tell you the best way we can ALL make sure he is not at work at our church (or ANY church) is to make sure I’m not giving him any room in my life to maneuver.  To make sure I’m not saying or doing things that open any doors for him to work.  And why do I have to guard against this??  Because, like you, I am HUMAN.  I make mistakes.  The best thing I can do for ME, for EBENEZER, and for the KINGDOM OF GOD is make sure EVERYTHING I DO and SAY is Spirit-led!!!  (And THAT is easier said than done!)

And that is the best thing YOU can do, too!!  If we are ALL on our guard to live Spirit-filled lives, the enemy won’t have any room to maneuver.  And he will have to move on.  But, we must be vigilant about being Spirit-filled, because Satan never really leaves us alone for long …

Have you Ebenezerites ever stopped to realize that I did my first funeral last week since before March 3 (the day that will live in infamy)?!  In other words, we, a church with close to 1,400 members didn’t have a death in our church family for OVER FIVE MONTHS!!!!!

Why??  (Insert your own speculations here)

I believe it is because God has watched over us during my injury and recovery.  I really believe this was not luck or coincidence … God watched over us giving me time to recover.  And I always believe we should give credit where credit is due, so here goes:  GOD, YOU ARE AWESOME!!!  ALL THE TIME!!!

(I did have my visit with a new friend from New Jersey today.  He was at the beach with his family and stumbled on the tennis court and injured BOTH of his elbows the way I injured my left.  His name is Kenneth.  Pray for him as he has a long hard road ahead of him!!!  And I thank God I could go in and talk to him about this in a way that perhaps no other minister could …  God DOES take the bad things that happen to us and use them for GOOD, for HIS purposes!!!!)

As I wander along the pathway, I often wonder how much ownership we take of God’s church??  How much should we take?? Should there be a delicate balance??  Do we really own part of it?

We sure act like we do.  Nothing will get Baptists more bent out of shape than feeling uncomfortable in their own church.  That is a blessing and a curse.  I believe a large part of our problem is in ownership …

Baptists traditionally are autonomous.  Most Southern Baptist churches are democratically governed, with popular vote making decisions.  I have dared to say in years past we’d better NOT be a democracy, but we should be a THEOCRACY, each one of us voting how God leads us to vote.  Honestly, I’ve been chastised for saying that.  I still believe it’s true today.

I live in a world where the average tenure of a full-time Southern Baptist minister is LESS THAN 18 MONTHS.  Less than a year and a half.  And all it takes is saying something that offends the wrong person, and the politicking machine cranks up and a pastor finds himself without a job.  And there is something wrong with that.

1. Sometimes pastors make mistakes.  You better believe that every word that comes out of my mouth is not perfect.  And I don’t know any of my fellow pastors who are perfect, either … (I know a couple that believe they are, but that is another blog for another day)

2.  What if God lead that pastor to say something that offended??  What if that offense was actually the conviction of the Holy Spirit??  Are we really so shallow that we would go after someone because they spoke the truth??  Sadly, in many cases the answer to that last question is “yes.”

Before you jump to conclusions … To my knowledge, I’m not in trouble with anyone.  I mean, sure, there are always people who don’t like their pastor.  But I am not writing this in self-defense.  It’s just something that is on my heart.  But here is the crux of it all:  ANY CHURCH … EVERY CHRISTIAN CHURCH BELONGS TO GOD.

We should have enough sense to treat it accordingly.

God knows everything … He knows the past, present, and future.  He knows what is on our hearts and our minds.  So, with all that in mind, what’s the point of telling Him that we love Him anyway???

WOW!!!  Really??  In what universe could we possibly believe that?  God desires a RELATIONSHIP with you.  By definition, that implies two-way communication.  I believe He wants us to tell Him without reservation!!  Words and expressions from our hearts about this warms His heart!!

I also believe the natural fruit of the spirit will rise to the top when we worship Him.  If our hearts are leaning towards Him, we won’t be able to stop His love from rising out of our lives and writing itself all over our faces.  He is our Mighty God, our Rock and our Salvation.  Surely if we don’t worship Him with our all, the rocks WILL cry out for Him!!

For a pastor, Mondays are difficult.  Yes, I know Mondays are difficult for all.  But it’s hard to pour out your heart on a Sunday and pull it all back together to face the baggage that comes along with this office.  Sometimes it’s just too much.

Yesterday I preached a sermon about letting our faith be a lasting faith.  In other words, not only being faithful in hard times but in ALL times.  Colossians 2 was my text.  I really believe God led me there because we are the epitome of a good-time church.  We lean heavily on God in the tough times and then puff our chests out during the good times, forgetting about Him.  I also believe we are a church that neglects each other.  We take forgranted the fact that we need each other.

And there were many, many Ebenezerites that needed to hear that sermon that missed it.  And that really does break my heart.  And it makes me think.

And then the voice of one of my seminary professors rings loud and clear:  “Don’t make any major decisions on a Monday!”  Guess I’ll go have another cup of coffee …

The morning after … I’ve just survived my 17th VBS at Ebenezer.  WOW!!  Every year it gets better and better, too!

This year was no exception.  HUNDREDS of people worked behind the scenes and out front, too, to make this thing happen.  I don’t know what the total enrollment was, but each night hovered around 500 in attendance.

You know what I love about VBS??  It is a perfect picture of how the church is SUPPOSED to function: TONS of different people, using their gifts, with building God’s kingdom as the ultimate goal!!!

So, even though we are tired and weary, rest well knowing the Word of God NEVER returns void.  VBS might be over, but the seeds planted will live on!!

Ebenezer is blessed in many ways!  Volunteers make 99% of the things that happen successful, and the staff is GRATEFUL!  One of the areas where we have awesome volunteers is technology … As a geek, those folks have a special place in my heart!!

No one realizes the countless, thankless hours they put in working in sound, video, and computer stuff so what happens in worship is seamless and flawless.  The only time they are noticed is when something messes up.  No one ever really notices when things go off without a hitch!  It is the ultimate thankless job!

Sometimes tech teams get discouraged ….  Then, an email like this comes in!  Yesterday I got a message from across the pond:

Hey David!!

I woke up this morning feeling a little under the weather, so I stayed home from my regular activities and just decided to stay at home and rest all day. This morning, I prayed that God would just bless me with a new song today, cause its been a little while since the last time i wrote a christian song. then, i sat down and watched the first service that you preached after you had broken your arms, and God spoke to me so strongly through that message and words just started pouring into my head! the inspiration came from john 5, when Jesus healed the invalid. this is how i know its from God: i finished the whole song in less than half a day, and it is POWERFUL! I’m going to try to make a video and post it tonight or tomorrow, but i just wanted to say thank you for being obedient. I know that God blesses so many people through what you do!

-Drake

This is NOT me …  Stuff like this DOESN’T HAPPEN without many volunteers, doing their parts!!  It is why we do what we do!

Thanks to ALL volunteers at EBC, whether you are on the tech team, the greeting team, in children’s church, serving in the nursery, and ANYWHERE ELSE serving the Kingdom of God!  To God be the glory!!

What an ugly word … And, sadly, one that must be addressed in the modern church!

But first, a little understanding of what Paul meant when he wrote about it in Galatians 5: Dissention is NOT disagreement. In the church where I grew up, there was this old guy … Let’s call him Ralph (not his real name). Every time we took a church vote on something, Ralph voted “No.”. Every time!!! I believe if we’d taken a vote on whether or not Jesus was Lord, Ralph would’ve voted NO. That was just a fact of life!

But Ralph wasn’t guilty of Dissention … He would vote his mind and that would be it. No, maybe he was guilty of poor judgment or bad hearing. But once the vote was done, it was done!

Dissention goes much deeper. It involves actively trying to persuade others to turn against leadership. And it tears the bonds of a church like nothing else. I believe it is one of Satan’s favorite weapons, and it is alive and well in the modern church. And, sad to say, at Ebenezer as well. And Paul said those who do this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

What can YOU do to stop this cancer??? First of all, check yourself. Each of us need to do this, and check our egos at the door along with our personal agendas. There is ONE agenda at the church, and it is that of Christ. What He desires is all that should matter!

Secondly, we can stop it by being strong enough NOT to give ear to such talk. This probably means when we hear someone doing this, we need to hold them accountable in love. Urge them to go sit down and talk to the leader in question. Even offer to go with them!!

Dissention rips churches in two … Would you really stand by and watch it happen to your church family?