Dear Friends,
This Sunday our church is hosting our annual Ministry Fair where people get to view and sign up for various opportunities to serve in and through our church. With 29 ministry booths and tables all set up, we should be encouraged by what so many people are already doing.
As you hopefully take the opportunity to attend the Ministry Fair this weekend, I hope that you will remember that God wants what's best, but not necessarily what’s best for ME. Waiting for the death penalty while shackled to a prison guard wasn’t BEST for Paul. But it was best for the advancement of the Gospel. (Philippians 1:12) Being beat to shreds on a criminal’s cross wasn’t BEST for Jesus. But it was the only way to procure salvation for those He came to redeem. (Matthew 26:42)
Ultimately God’s best is what’s best for me. But in the meantime: If what’s BEST for the cause of Christ doesn’t happen to be what’s BEST for ME…am I okay with that? Think about it.
Peace,
Ernest
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
His Best Adornment
Dear Friends,
I once knew a pastor whose goal in life was to never quote Charles Haddon Spurgeon because everyone quotes Spurgeon. Well, the reason Spurgeon is quoted so often is because everything he wrote is worthy of being quoted! Whenever I have read anything by Spurgeon I have thought to myself, "There is no wonder as to why this man pastored a mega-church in the days before mega-churches."
Yesterday I came accross a Spurgeon quote that got me to thinking. I'll share it with you without comment. Just meditate on what he's saying for a moment.
Do you want arguments for soul winning? Look up to Heaven, and ask yourself how sinners can ever reach those harps of gold and learn that everlasing song, unless they have someone to tell them of Jesus, who is mighty to save. But the best argument of all is to be found in the wounds of Jesus. You want to honor Him, you desire to put many crowns upon His head, and this you best do by winning souls for Him. These are the spoils that He covets, these are the trophies for which He fights, these are the jewels that shall be His best adornment.
May we lay before Jesus what He most desires. May we crown Him with many crowns. May we honor Him with trophies and jewels eternal.
Peace,
Ernest
I once knew a pastor whose goal in life was to never quote Charles Haddon Spurgeon because everyone quotes Spurgeon. Well, the reason Spurgeon is quoted so often is because everything he wrote is worthy of being quoted! Whenever I have read anything by Spurgeon I have thought to myself, "There is no wonder as to why this man pastored a mega-church in the days before mega-churches."
Yesterday I came accross a Spurgeon quote that got me to thinking. I'll share it with you without comment. Just meditate on what he's saying for a moment.
Do you want arguments for soul winning? Look up to Heaven, and ask yourself how sinners can ever reach those harps of gold and learn that everlasing song, unless they have someone to tell them of Jesus, who is mighty to save. But the best argument of all is to be found in the wounds of Jesus. You want to honor Him, you desire to put many crowns upon His head, and this you best do by winning souls for Him. These are the spoils that He covets, these are the trophies for which He fights, these are the jewels that shall be His best adornment.
May we lay before Jesus what He most desires. May we crown Him with many crowns. May we honor Him with trophies and jewels eternal.
Peace,
Ernest
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Dear Friends,
Like many of you, I am upset by the financial chaos in which we find ourselves as a nation. Like many of you, I also have a few ideas as to why our nation is in this current situation. Over the period of a year we've seen debates, read articles, and followed the political obverservations concerning our financial stresses. There are lots of interesting viewpoints floating around right now, but the article that most impressed me (maybe because it was simple enough for me to understand) was one written by a Christian psychologist named Charles Lowery. I hope you enjoy his writting as much as I have. Charles Lowery writes the following in an article entitled "Life's Portfolio":
It has finally happened. The world has gone crazy. As a psychologist I now have a job for life. News reporters are correct. They are always talking about breaking news, and now everything is breaking. We know that kids fresh out of business school and employed at Wall Street investment banks have been advising grown-ups on Main Street to buy nothing with nothing down. They can then leverage to pay themselves fees so that they can pay nothing for something else and collect more fees. Of course that's risky, so you have to involve an insurance company just in case nothing becomes something.
It seems like giving permission for someone to bet your money on a race horse that will never run a race. The horse will be sold so many times that by the time the race occurs, it will be impossible to determine who owns the horse. And if the horse wins the race, then everyone will have enough money to go to court. At any rate, the fees charged for selling the horse over and over added up to more than the horse is worth. The people who care for the horse, train the horse, and ride the horse are paid peanuts while the people who have never seen the horse live in a palace. We have created a world of smoke and mirrors where you get more (a lot more) for pretending to be a doctor on television than for being a real doctor.
Obviously this is an oversimplification of the Wall Street crisis. Some on Wall Street tell us that they were selling exotic derivatives. Let me ask you, have you always wanted an exotic derivative? I had never even heard of them, much less that we could buy them! I've also heard that they were selling credit default swaps. I now understand why it had to be based on leveraged money. I can't see the average guy saving for a down payment on a credit default swap. The only way to explain our current situation is that we lost our grip on greed and the world Ponzi scheme has squeezed the "cents" out of us.
We have leveraged ourselves to the hilt and are now in shock that the system has let us down. I think it hit home when the car executives flew in their corporate jets to Washington to ask for billions of dollars in free cash. I was thinking, "Didn't they make enough on that undercoating charge that has been added to every car I have ever purchased?" Actually, that meeting was somewhat encouraging to me because I realized that I (combined with the rest of the tax payers in this nation) made $38 billion more than GM. Actually, I (we) lost $38 billion less than GM, but I like to look at life in a positive way. I don't want to single out one industry because all of us know of con artists who peddle false prosperity (just surf some of the religious channels).
Most of us in America were born on third base. Unfortunately, we go through life thinking we hit a triple. It is easy to become obsessed with our presumed specialness and forget our ordinary humanity. This may be why USA Today chose as one of the best financial slogans of the year, "Chill out people. In the long run we are all dead."
Now some are pushing for more government bailouts. Wishful thinking is about as bad as wishful drinking. It is a sign of losing touch with reality. Remember that snow turns to slush, puppies turn into dogs, babies turn into teenagers, and candidates turn into elected officials. Public funds always make it into private pockets, and it's usually the wrong pair of pants. Now that I have convinced you that irrational exuberance is not a great financial plan and that the bull market was more bull than market, you probably think that your best financial position is somewhere between cash and fetal. Let's look at what we can learn and not who we can blame.
I think it all started with Starbucks. The essence of irrational exuberance is to pay $5 for a 50-cent cup of coffee. I believe the explanation is in the name. "I must be a star to pay big bucks for coffee." Guess what? Starbucks is now selling oatmeal. It is real food, old-fashioned, down-home oatmeal. I think oatmeal may be our tipping point. Maybe it's time to trade Hummers for humility; to realize the basics are the blessings; to invest in that other portfolio. Invest in the one that pays real dividends; the one that can't be leveraged or outsourced because only you can be the husband, the father, or the believer. I'm not saying it will be easy. The whole world is a Ponzi scheme. It is always promising more than it can deliver, always talking about the return but never the risk.
It's a science. Market researchers know that shoppers are more comfortable staying to their right. Research indicates shoppers moving counter-clockwise spend $2 more per trip than those moving in the opposite direction. The world even knows which way it wants you to turn. What advice do the consumer experts give to counteract the marketing experts? Have a list before you enter the store. Grab the smallest cart that will hold your items. The number one piece of advice is to never shop when you are hungry. This is not a bad strategy for life. Know what is important, have your list, decide the largest cart or house or car is not what you need, and the number one piece of advice is that you have the Bread of Life so you don't begin the day hungry.
Peace,
Ernest
Like many of you, I am upset by the financial chaos in which we find ourselves as a nation. Like many of you, I also have a few ideas as to why our nation is in this current situation. Over the period of a year we've seen debates, read articles, and followed the political obverservations concerning our financial stresses. There are lots of interesting viewpoints floating around right now, but the article that most impressed me (maybe because it was simple enough for me to understand) was one written by a Christian psychologist named Charles Lowery. I hope you enjoy his writting as much as I have. Charles Lowery writes the following in an article entitled "Life's Portfolio":
It has finally happened. The world has gone crazy. As a psychologist I now have a job for life. News reporters are correct. They are always talking about breaking news, and now everything is breaking. We know that kids fresh out of business school and employed at Wall Street investment banks have been advising grown-ups on Main Street to buy nothing with nothing down. They can then leverage to pay themselves fees so that they can pay nothing for something else and collect more fees. Of course that's risky, so you have to involve an insurance company just in case nothing becomes something.
It seems like giving permission for someone to bet your money on a race horse that will never run a race. The horse will be sold so many times that by the time the race occurs, it will be impossible to determine who owns the horse. And if the horse wins the race, then everyone will have enough money to go to court. At any rate, the fees charged for selling the horse over and over added up to more than the horse is worth. The people who care for the horse, train the horse, and ride the horse are paid peanuts while the people who have never seen the horse live in a palace. We have created a world of smoke and mirrors where you get more (a lot more) for pretending to be a doctor on television than for being a real doctor.
Obviously this is an oversimplification of the Wall Street crisis. Some on Wall Street tell us that they were selling exotic derivatives. Let me ask you, have you always wanted an exotic derivative? I had never even heard of them, much less that we could buy them! I've also heard that they were selling credit default swaps. I now understand why it had to be based on leveraged money. I can't see the average guy saving for a down payment on a credit default swap. The only way to explain our current situation is that we lost our grip on greed and the world Ponzi scheme has squeezed the "cents" out of us.
We have leveraged ourselves to the hilt and are now in shock that the system has let us down. I think it hit home when the car executives flew in their corporate jets to Washington to ask for billions of dollars in free cash. I was thinking, "Didn't they make enough on that undercoating charge that has been added to every car I have ever purchased?" Actually, that meeting was somewhat encouraging to me because I realized that I (combined with the rest of the tax payers in this nation) made $38 billion more than GM. Actually, I (we) lost $38 billion less than GM, but I like to look at life in a positive way. I don't want to single out one industry because all of us know of con artists who peddle false prosperity (just surf some of the religious channels).
Most of us in America were born on third base. Unfortunately, we go through life thinking we hit a triple. It is easy to become obsessed with our presumed specialness and forget our ordinary humanity. This may be why USA Today chose as one of the best financial slogans of the year, "Chill out people. In the long run we are all dead."
Now some are pushing for more government bailouts. Wishful thinking is about as bad as wishful drinking. It is a sign of losing touch with reality. Remember that snow turns to slush, puppies turn into dogs, babies turn into teenagers, and candidates turn into elected officials. Public funds always make it into private pockets, and it's usually the wrong pair of pants. Now that I have convinced you that irrational exuberance is not a great financial plan and that the bull market was more bull than market, you probably think that your best financial position is somewhere between cash and fetal. Let's look at what we can learn and not who we can blame.
I think it all started with Starbucks. The essence of irrational exuberance is to pay $5 for a 50-cent cup of coffee. I believe the explanation is in the name. "I must be a star to pay big bucks for coffee." Guess what? Starbucks is now selling oatmeal. It is real food, old-fashioned, down-home oatmeal. I think oatmeal may be our tipping point. Maybe it's time to trade Hummers for humility; to realize the basics are the blessings; to invest in that other portfolio. Invest in the one that pays real dividends; the one that can't be leveraged or outsourced because only you can be the husband, the father, or the believer. I'm not saying it will be easy. The whole world is a Ponzi scheme. It is always promising more than it can deliver, always talking about the return but never the risk.
It's a science. Market researchers know that shoppers are more comfortable staying to their right. Research indicates shoppers moving counter-clockwise spend $2 more per trip than those moving in the opposite direction. The world even knows which way it wants you to turn. What advice do the consumer experts give to counteract the marketing experts? Have a list before you enter the store. Grab the smallest cart that will hold your items. The number one piece of advice is to never shop when you are hungry. This is not a bad strategy for life. Know what is important, have your list, decide the largest cart or house or car is not what you need, and the number one piece of advice is that you have the Bread of Life so you don't begin the day hungry.
Peace,
Ernest
Monday, February 16, 2009
God, please, make us starved for you!
Dear friends,
I know this is a short post, but hopefully the thought is helpful: An ounce of hunger is worth a pound of experience. I am talking about a hunger to see God move as evidenced by humility, sacrifice, and dedication. In fact, hunger is so valuable that experience minus hunger can amount to arrogance and cynicism. Statements like, “But we’ve always…” “But we’ve never…” and“ Why should we bother to…” are a sure sign that the hunger isn’t there anymore. I've pretty much learned that I can't stay hungry when I'm full of myself. Hunger, I think, covers a mound of inexperience, and so it comes as no surprise that revival often starts with the youth.
I hope God makes us starved for more of Him and His ways. That's when we should get most excited. As Jesus told us in Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." When we get starved for Him, I get excited because I know a feast is just around the corner.
Peace,
Ernest
I know this is a short post, but hopefully the thought is helpful: An ounce of hunger is worth a pound of experience. I am talking about a hunger to see God move as evidenced by humility, sacrifice, and dedication. In fact, hunger is so valuable that experience minus hunger can amount to arrogance and cynicism. Statements like, “But we’ve always…” “But we’ve never…” and“ Why should we bother to…” are a sure sign that the hunger isn’t there anymore. I've pretty much learned that I can't stay hungry when I'm full of myself. Hunger, I think, covers a mound of inexperience, and so it comes as no surprise that revival often starts with the youth.
I hope God makes us starved for more of Him and His ways. That's when we should get most excited. As Jesus told us in Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." When we get starved for Him, I get excited because I know a feast is just around the corner.
Peace,
Ernest
Monday, February 9, 2009
A Renunciation of Always Playing it Safe
Dear Friends,
It’s amazing how innovative people become when there’s no back door and no option to quit. Whether you know it or not, Main Street Baptist Church has leapt forward into an arena previous unexplored…a dramatic presentation open to the community during the Easter season. We’ve just never done a play like “Baggage Claim” before, and yet we committed to doing it before we even had a cast! To me, jumping into the dark and trusting that God will catch us is very exciting stuff.
One of the primary factors that contributes greatly to the success of any church or ministry is a “come hell or high water” commitment. When people say, “We’re going to birth something great or die trying,” when people have no plan B, no diversification strategy, no escape route, and no back door the juices get flowing.
I think that when people leave themselves the option to quit if it gets too rough, it switches off the innovation mechanism. When there is an escape route and people happen to run headlong into the kind of severe frustration that has the potential to spark a breakthrough concept, they have a tendency to start figuring out how to get out instead of how to fight through. I seriously feel sorry for people who miss the blessings and breakthroughs born only by perseverance because they constantly keep one hand on the back door.
May we all learn to take our hand off of the back door…at least in areas where we truly believe God is leading. I guess that’s why contingency plans make me nervous…if we’re ever not sure that God is in something, shouldn’t we wait until we are? What business does any church have in playing it safe? Our business is to follow God, and whoever said that was safe! Sometimes “playing it safe” is the least responsible thing we can do! Think about it.
Your pastor,
Ernest
It’s amazing how innovative people become when there’s no back door and no option to quit. Whether you know it or not, Main Street Baptist Church has leapt forward into an arena previous unexplored…a dramatic presentation open to the community during the Easter season. We’ve just never done a play like “Baggage Claim” before, and yet we committed to doing it before we even had a cast! To me, jumping into the dark and trusting that God will catch us is very exciting stuff.
One of the primary factors that contributes greatly to the success of any church or ministry is a “come hell or high water” commitment. When people say, “We’re going to birth something great or die trying,” when people have no plan B, no diversification strategy, no escape route, and no back door the juices get flowing.
I think that when people leave themselves the option to quit if it gets too rough, it switches off the innovation mechanism. When there is an escape route and people happen to run headlong into the kind of severe frustration that has the potential to spark a breakthrough concept, they have a tendency to start figuring out how to get out instead of how to fight through. I seriously feel sorry for people who miss the blessings and breakthroughs born only by perseverance because they constantly keep one hand on the back door.
May we all learn to take our hand off of the back door…at least in areas where we truly believe God is leading. I guess that’s why contingency plans make me nervous…if we’re ever not sure that God is in something, shouldn’t we wait until we are? What business does any church have in playing it safe? Our business is to follow God, and whoever said that was safe! Sometimes “playing it safe” is the least responsible thing we can do! Think about it.
Your pastor,
Ernest
Friday, February 6, 2009
Tough Love
Dear Friends,
The term “tough love” has come up in a few conversations this week. It got me to thinking that when tough love really is love (and not just some sick justification for our lack of love) then it can be tough for everyone, but especially for the one administering the tough love. Most of us want to be both loving and likeable in the eyes of those we love, but sometimes misunderstandings just have to stand, feelings have to be hurt, and the expectations of those we love have to be frustrated. There’s nothing worse for a parent who loves his child than to be told by his child, “I hate you.”
How often do we put God in the position having to exercise tough love? In those moments when we are mad at Him, do we ever feel at least a hint of shame? God is always loving, but He may not always be likeable…and we should actually be grateful for this. When a parent sets out to be likeable, the primary intention is to make the child happy. Likeable parents want their children to have favorable opinions of them at all times. So, in order to enforce this opinion, likeable parents give their children whatever the children want, whenever they want it.
We should be glad that God is not that kind of Father, just as we should be glad that God's plan for our lives is to help us become so much more than little brats. God is entirely unconcerned about how He fares in the paternal popularity poll. And every parent knows that in order to be truly loving toward your children, sometimes you have to be utterly unlikeable.
Sometimes being loving means saying a firm no, refusing to capitulate no matter how much your children scream or cry or beg. Sometimes being loving means taking something away from your child because it’s bad for them, even if they don’t understand the danger of the object they’re playing with. Sometimes being loving means measuring out discipline to correct and train, even though you hate giving the punishment more than they hate receiving it.
Maybe you don’t like what the Lord is doing in your life right now. That’s okay. He’s infinitely more moved by how much He loves you than how much you like Him.
Peace,
Ernest
Monday, February 2, 2009
Shoulder, Share, or Shift?
Dear God,
It seems like a more people are having a hard time, and as your people our questions are, "How can I help? Should I help in this case? If so, how much?" Hard times are just a part of life, for not a day passes that we haven't dealt with a burden or a heartache of some kind. So, Lord, please teach us what to do with our burdens.
Galatians 6:5 tells us "each person should carry his own load." Sometimes it just seems appropriate with some burdens to shoulder them alone. Indeed, people can and do often ask for too much.
At the same time, that same chapter in Galatians (Galatians 6:2) says, "Carry each other's burdens, and this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Some burdens we should shoulder, and some burdens we should share. Some tasks our children and friends should do by themselves, and some tasks require our help. Lord, teach us to know the difference.
And then it seems like there are those burdens that You alone can lift. The scripture (Psalm 55:22) says, "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you." Some burdens we shoulder. Some we share. Some we shift to the Lord.
So, God, in these increasingly difficult times, give us wisdom when to shoulder, share, or shift. God, also, grant us Your grace to draw appropriate Christ-honoring boundaries as we know that this issue of burdens isn't as simple as throwing ourselves into every request that comes our way, and help us not to hide behind that fact or to merely justify our lack of compassion.
You alone are righteous!
Your servant,
Ernest
It seems like a more people are having a hard time, and as your people our questions are, "How can I help? Should I help in this case? If so, how much?" Hard times are just a part of life, for not a day passes that we haven't dealt with a burden or a heartache of some kind. So, Lord, please teach us what to do with our burdens.
Galatians 6:5 tells us "each person should carry his own load." Sometimes it just seems appropriate with some burdens to shoulder them alone. Indeed, people can and do often ask for too much.
At the same time, that same chapter in Galatians (Galatians 6:2) says, "Carry each other's burdens, and this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Some burdens we should shoulder, and some burdens we should share. Some tasks our children and friends should do by themselves, and some tasks require our help. Lord, teach us to know the difference.
And then it seems like there are those burdens that You alone can lift. The scripture (Psalm 55:22) says, "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you." Some burdens we shoulder. Some we share. Some we shift to the Lord.
So, God, in these increasingly difficult times, give us wisdom when to shoulder, share, or shift. God, also, grant us Your grace to draw appropriate Christ-honoring boundaries as we know that this issue of burdens isn't as simple as throwing ourselves into every request that comes our way, and help us not to hide behind that fact or to merely justify our lack of compassion.
You alone are righteous!
Your servant,
Ernest
A Prayer
Dear God,
It seems like a more people are having a hard time, and as your people our questions are, "How can I help? Should I help in this case? If so, how much?" Hard times are just a part of life, for not a day passes that we haven't dealt with a burden or a heartache of some kind. So, Lord, please teach us what to do with our burdens.
Galatians 6:5 tells us "each person should carry his own load." Sometimes it just seems appropriate with some burdens to shoulder them alone. Indeed, people can and do often ask for too much.
At the same time, that same chapter in Galatians (Galatians 6:2) says, "Carry each other's burdens, and this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Some burdens we should shoulder, and some burdens we should share. Some tasks our children and friends should do by themselves, and some tasks require our help. Lord, teach us to know the difference.
And then it seems like there are those burdens that You alone can lift. The scripture (Psalm 55:22) says, "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you." Some burdens we shoulder. Some we share. Some we shift to the Lord.
So, God, in these increasingly difficult times, give us wisdom when to shoulder, share, or shift. God, also, grant us Your grace to draw appropriate Christ-honoring boundaries as we know that this issue of burdens isn't as simple as throwing ourselves into every request that comes our way, and help us not to hide behind that fact or to merely justify our lack of compassion.
You alone are righteous!
Your servant,
Ernest
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