Life of a Pastor Blog

Robert Benson has written a great book that challenges the believer to follow the Echo Within.  The Echo, as Benson describes, is the voice of God’s will in your life.  Throughout the chapters of this book, he beckons the reader to discover the life God has been preparing for us.

Benson reveals that even though the will of God seems like an Echo Within, it is actually more visible if we look at the things we have been through in life.  His premise is that God speaks to us through circumstances, relationships, impressions and many other ways that we often overlook.  Robert Benson encourages the believer to evaluate things in their life that create a portrait of the desires God has for our lives.

In The Echo Within, Benson shares from his personal journey to become an author.  He weaves his story throughout this book and helps the reader relate to his journey of fulfillment.  Benson’s book is an easy read, meaning that he engages the reader well and you look forward to seeing how his journey turns out in the end. 

By the end of the book, I was clearly seeing patterns in my own life that God has been speaking to me,  but I haven’t always recognized.  Anyone wanting to learn more about what God created them for must get a copy of The Echo Within.

Some quotes from The Echo Within:

“Sometimes what we want is to be allowed to hunker down in the life we are living, or are hoping to live, or are constructing for ourselves.  Without any upset, without any change in plans, without any of our ducks being disturbed…But sometimes when we say yes to some new thing that seems to be calling to us from the echo within, then we may as well be prepared to head for God knows where after that.  And to head there with God knows who as well.”

“To assume the One Who made us has only one way of revealing to us the thing for which we were made is to attempt to handcuff the Almighty.  (Something neither advisable or-I suspect-possible.)  We dream a dream, and it does not easily come true, and we conclude that perhaps it was not what God meant for us after all.  But I suspect far too many of us give up on our dreams far too soon.”

Robert Benson has written more than a dozen books about the discovery of the sacred in the midst of our ordinary lives, including Between the Dreaming and the Coming True, Home By Another Way, and Digging In. His work has been critically acclaimed in a wide range of publications from The New York Times and USA Today to Spirituality & Health and The Benedictine Review. He is an alumnus of The Upper Room’s Academy for Spiritual Formation and was recently named a Living Spiritual Teacher by SpiritualityandPractice.com. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

You can purchase a copy of The Echo Within at christianbook.com

   Today is Sonya’s birthday!  She is **! 

Surely Solomon was right when he wrote, “He that finds a wife finds a good thing!” “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband.”  I am fortunate to have Sonya as my crown!  I am blessed beyond measure to have a godly wife, a woman who loves me and a wonderful mother to our children.

I certainly have more than I deserve.  Happy Birthday, Smoopsy Poo!

John Maxwell Gives Us Six Habits of Highly Defective People.  I like Maxwell because he challenges the way we think and gives us some tools for self-examination.  How do you rate in these areas?  I know I have some work to do in my own life.

• They have a losing attitude: People generally get whatever they expect out of life. Expect the worst, and that’s what you’ll get.

• They quit growing. People are what they are, and they are where they are because of what has gone into their minds.

• They have no game plan for life. As William Feather, author of The Business of Life says, “There are two kinds of failures: Those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought.”

• They are unwilling to change. Some people would rather cling to what they have rather than embrace what might be better because they are afraid of getting something worse.

• They fail in relationships with others. People who cannot get along with others will never get ahead in life.

• They are not willing to pay the price for success. The road to success is uphill all the way. Anyone who wants to accomplish much must sacrifice much.

HT: Buddy Cremeans

Last night we had our leader’s meeting.  We had a good turn out and discussed our core values as a church.  These are the things that our ministries should value and live by.  Our goal is to work these into our ministries to give us a vision of what to focus on.

• We Exist To Imitate Christ In Our Lifestyles
• We Exist To Incorporate Opportunities For Prayer and Worship
• We Exist To Initiate Relationships With Others
• We Exist To Inspire People To Find and Fulfill Their God-given Purpose
  for Life
• We Exist To Impart Biblical Truths That Stimulate Spiritual Growth
• We Exist To Impact Our Community With The Love of Jesus Christ
• We Exist To Involve Others In The Mission of the Church Worldwide
• We Exist To Introduce People to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

I read a great article that was intended for pastors, but I think could speak to every person who teaches God’s Word.  It is by Craig Groeschel who pastors Life Church in Edmond, Oklahoma.  This article really stretched me!

Groeschel writes, “Every year, I personally mentor a handful of young speakers. Most of the speakers I work with don’t struggle with researching the text, preaching creatively, building meaningful outlines, or pointing people toward the gospel. Most of the communicators I see struggle to bring all of themselves to a message.

When you preach or teach, you must bring you. Without you in, around, and through the message, you will not impact today’s listener.

The younger audience today has a built in authenticity-meter. You can preach with passion, humor, clever points, or heart-wrenching stories. But if the scriptures haven’t touched your life, the listener will know it—and ignore your well-crafted message.

People want to know:

• How has the text affected you?
• How have you failed in the area the Scripture addresses?
• What about the text makes you uncomfortable?
• What do you feel about what Scripture is saying? (I know our feelings don’t trump scriptural truth, but talking about how we feel about the text can help engage others at a deeper level.)
• How are you becoming different because of your study in God’s word?”

"Every night I give my worries over to the Lord. He’s going to be up all night anyway."
-Mary C. Crowley-

HT: Buzzard Blog

Sunday afternoon Sonya had a pretty good scare.  We were headed to Wal-Mart to get some groceries and she could not find her wallet.  She looked high and low for it but it was nowhere to be found.  She then  thought of the last place she had it.  The last place was Wal-Mart (proof that we spend too much time and money there).

We prayed!  Sonya went to customer service at the store and asked about her wallet and they had it.  The guy at the counter couldn’t guarantee everything was still in there.  Nervously, Sonya opened it up and everything was in tact.  Nothing was missing from it.  An honest person had found it and turned it in.  There are honest people left in this world.

I know there is temptation in hard economic times.  Someone could have gladly taken the money or credit cards out of the wallet and used it freely.   But not the honest person who found it!  There are many people who are honest these days.  Do not let the news or the paper fool you.  There are some dishonest people and thieves for sure, but there are alot more people who are good and honest.  I do not know who found Sonya’s wallet, but I pray God blesses them for their integrity.

Sunday we begin our Stories Series.  I am excited as we look, not only at lives in the Bible, but also people within our church family.  What kind of stories?  Stories of Transformation.  Transformed Lives, Transformed Circumstances, Transformed Marriages, Transformed Bodies, Transformed Minds.

We have a great line-up of people sharing their stories over the next month.  They will give a ten to twelve minute “story” of what God has done in their life.  Then I will follow up with a “Story” from the bible.  Although mine will be longer than ten to twelve minutes.  This Sunday we will look at Transformed Lives (Salvation).

I am believing God to move and transform lives during this series.

Speaking of transformed lives, Sunday we will be baptizing 4 people in water.  These are exciting times at RFA!

My birthday present arrived via UPS today.  A New Bible.  I am a lover of books and a collector of Bibles.  You can never have too many Bibles if you ask me.  Sonya asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told her a Bible.  She was shocked!  (Just kidding!)  Actually, I believe she thought, “Why do you need another Bible?”  So she told me to pick out the Bible I want and get it.

I have been looking at the Scofield Bible for quite a while.  It has been in print for a 100 years and is a quality study Bible with great notes.   It has a smaller scale of the chain reference system made popular in the Thompson Chain Bible.  Scofield’s notes give a sound background of the Scriptures. 

The thing I like most about a Bible is the quality of  the leather.  This version of the Scofield, produced by Oxford Press, has a good quality leather that has the feel of goatskin.  I was impressed!  You can’t beat the quality and the price on this!

After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, New York scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years and came to the conclusion, that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 100 years ago.

Not to be out-done by the New Yorkers, in the weeks that followed, in California an archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet, and shortly after, headlines in the LA Times newspaper read: ‘California archaeologists have found traces of 200 year old copper wire and have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network a hundred years earlier than the New Yorkers.’

One week later, a local newspaper in Texas , reported the following: 
After digging as deep as 30 feet in his pasture near Cut-n-Shoot, Montgomery County, Texas, Bubba Rathbone, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing. Bubba has therefore concluded that 300 years ago, Texas had already gone wireless. 

The other night as we were getting ready to go to bed, Hannah looks up at me, holds up her finger and says, “I’ll be right back, I have to go check my email.”  She’s 2 years old mind you and she has to get out of bed to go check her email. 

That one incident let me know that maybe our society is a little too consumed with technology.  Hannah has heard us say on many occasions that we are going to check our email and she has picked it up. 

It got me to thinking about how often we are consumed in our life with, not only technology, but also things that distract us from our families and more importantly distract us from our relationship with God.  You notice, Hannah didn’t say, “I’ll be right back, I have to go read another chapter in the Bible.”  Or, “I have to go pray a few more minutes.”  So in all of our busyness, what are we doing that is the most important?  Is it checking another email or finishing up some household chores?  Is it filling our schedules with events and other things or are we making time for the deeper things of God?  I believe we miss some our greatest times with God because we have too many other things to do.  Make a renewed effort to grow in your relationship with God.  Don’t let busyness consume you!

Many people have a hard time with the growing old thing.  They do not like to get more wrinkles, or lose their hair.  Others do not like the thought of leaving their youth behind.  For me, getting older is not that hard.  Now granted, I am only turning 37 but I find beauty in growing old.  When we go through life as a believer,  the game of life is different.  We look at things different!

Growing older doesn’t just mean we are one step closer to death’s door.  We are not even guaranteed to grow old.  Growing older doesn’t just mean we will be getting arthritis sooner.  Growing older doesn’t mean that we have lost our zest for life or even our youth.  To me, growing older means that I am growing older in Christ.  The older I get the more mature in Christ I get.  For the believer, we are meant to grow in Christ.  So with years, comes more maturity and growth.

In the Bible you see incredible blessings when men and women of God grew older.  As Joseph and David turned thirty, their dreams were coming to pass.  Abraham and Sarah’s promise was fulfilled when they were finally in their nineties.  Anna, at the age of 84, was in the temple day and night.  Certainly, there are some good things about getting older.

I look forward to the future of life, if the Lord tarries His coming.  I am excited about the prospect of young minister’s seeking out an old man for wisdom.  I can’t wait to see how my prayer life and knowledge of the Word have grown when I am in my seventies (if I am privileged to live that long).  So on this birthday, I am looking back at my Christian life and look to see how far I have come since I gave my heart to Christ.  God has been good to me!

Looking through a box of Valentine heart candy always makes me want to spend more time with Sonya.  It always describes with simplicity my love for Sonya, as well as my heart’s desires.

The candies read:
Soul Mate
You Rule
UR Mine
and my all-time favorite…Kiss Me.

Sonya and I have spent many valentine’s together and these words still ring true.  She is my soul mate.  She is mine.  And yes, I like her to kiss me.  I am fortunate that God has allowed us to be partnered together for life.

“This past Sunday I reminded everyone that if we Christians are asked what we want to do with our lives and our answer is anything smaller than, “I want to change the world” than we are offending God with our small expectations because God is changing the world and he has enlisted his fallible people to join him in his work. Small things are used by the Devil to fuel big anxieties–which inevitably become big distractions. Don’t let him get a foothold. Don’t let the “ankle bites” steer you off course (and don’t allow yourself to become an ankle biter). If your vision is smaller than God’s vision, it needs to change. Focus on the Big Things!”

-Tullian Tchividjian-

"For half a century I have been writing my thoughts in prose and in verse—history, philosophy, drama, romance, tradition, satire, ode, and song. I have tried all. But I feel I have not said the thousandth part of what is in me.

"When I go down to the grave I can say, like many others, ‘I have finished my day’s work!’ But I cannot say, ‘I have finished my life.’ My day’s work will begin again the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes on the twilight, it opens on the dawn."

—Victor Hugo