feels good

Today I am still overwhelmed with the generosity, love and patience of the people of Stockbridge Community Church.  Yesterday we had over 90 people attempt to give blood of which 75 made it through the interview process of eligibility which resulted in 59 pints of blood in a 6 hour period.

I am so proud of our usher team who helped take care of 535 people. They did an outstanding job finding everyone a seat and taking care of the all those who came in later.  What can I say about our outreach team who organized such a great day with our blood drive?

If you are reading this post and are not apart of the family at SCC you may not understand why so many people serve in their church family and their community.   I will let you in on the secret.   Are you ready?  Here it is, “WHEN WE DO GO WE FEEL GOOD.”

Could you use a good dose of feel good?  God has a way for you to stir up that feel good feeling.  It is not in a pill bottle, liquor bottle, beer can, illegal drug or a new sexual partner.   God’s way for you to stir up the feel good feeling is for you to do something personally to help someone else.  You know most people say I pay taxes and our government helps people so I am doing my part or they say I go to such and such church and give my offering and they help people so I am doing my part.

People who think like that are missing it and if the truth is known, they are miserable.  There is nothing that can take the place of personally getting involved and giving of yourself to do good for someone else.

So I have a question for you.  Will you join those of us who are apart of the happiest people in the world?  We are called the “Do Good Crowd.”

Acts 10:38 (NIV)   how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

 

schnoodle training and spiritual health

Guest Blogger:  Chesnee Dorsey

Danny and I have had our schnoodle (schnauzer/poodle), Sadie almost one year.  In fact she turned a year old at the beginning of the month.  We had  a hard time “potty” training her when she was really young because we couldn’t be home with her all day.  Everytime she would potty in the floor, we would say, “No” and put her outside to potty.  But, when we were away, what should we do?  I know, some of you are saying, “Crate train” but as she got older, it became too hard for us. 

Then, we came across the potty pad!  Wow.  Something she could use when we are away.  She would use it occasionally, but still mostly on the carpet.  We decided to get hardwood floors installed.  At least it would be easier to clean up then, right?  But then as we continued training with her, all of a sudden, she began to use the potty pads.  Everytime.  All the time.  It was a miracle. 

Except now, one year later, she has started pottying occasionally in our room on the carpet.  Ugh!  What is the deal?  Well, back to training.  We can’t let up.  We get lazy, then she has a ”slip up” and it reminds us that she needs constant training.

Maybe you are wondering why I am talking about puppy training, but it reminds me of our spiritual walk.  We should always be “in training.”  Keeping up our habits.  Reading our Bible, praying each day.  Even if for 5-10 minutes daily.   We go for a while and we do well, but then we began to see our attitude going downhill because we got lazy in our spiritual habits.  We say things we usually don’t say when we are maintaining our relationship with God.  We do things and let things slip that we wouldn’t normally let slip.  We must always continue our training.  We can’t let up.

How are you doing in your spiritual habits?  Prayer time, reading your Bible, fellowshipping in a small group, giving….these are all thing we must keep up to maintain a strong spiritual life.  We must replace our old habits with new ones. 

One way to learn more about these is to take the 201 Class we offer at SCC.  It helps us learn spiritual habits that helps us continue to grow in our walk 7 days a week.  If we will put the right stuff in, God will continually renew it in us day by day to make us more like Him!

You have put off the old self with its habits, and have put  on the new self … which God is continually renewing in His own image, to bring you to a full knowledge of Himself. Col. 3:9-10

I was down to nothing

I shared with you I am reading Jentezen Franklin’s book, Believe that you can.  He made a statement in this book that is good for all of us to remember.  He says, “When you are down to nothing, always remember God is up to something.”  Let me share with you a time I was down to nothing. 

Back in 2003 we had just built a new church building and had only been it for three months when the person that handled the church accounting came in and gave me the most horrible news.  She said I have to tell you we only have $8,000 in the bank and I have to pay the salaries of the daycare staff and church staff.  She reminded me that our church payment would be due in a few weeks and it alone was $8,300.  In other words we are down to nothing.

I said thank you and she went back to her office and I did what any man of God would do when he was down to nothing.  I wept and told God that I would not let Him take the blame for this church going under.   So I said to God I would tell the church I had failed as a leader and we will sale the church and I would not ever consider being a pastor again.

I guess 15 to 30 minutes had passed and the same lady who told me all the bad new said there are three men here to look at our church building and she could see I was not in any shape to show anyone around.  By this time I was wishing someone else had this new building.  I got up and said,  “I will show them.”  As I came out, there were three men standing there and I said,  ”Come with me and I will show you the sanctuary first.”   We stepped in the sanctuary and they said, “Pastor we love your church but we are here to talk to you about something else.”  I said, “What can I help you with?” To which they replied, “We are here from the Church of God in Christ organization and you own one of our churches.  The pastor of that church is trying to sale it and run off with the money.”

We had owner financed our little church in Forest Park, GA to a small congregation and they had went into bankruptcy.  We were getting very little from them.  So the man talking to me asked me what they owed on the building and I told him it was a $157,000.  He said,  ”I brought a check today if you will sign the building over to me.”   The only problem was the loan had the pastor’s name on it.  I said, “You don’t know how much I would like to sell you this property, but that would be like me selling you my neighbor’s house.”  And so they left.  We could not figure out a legal way for them to buy it.  The Bishop had left me his number and ten minutes later I told Angie Benton who had worked with me through all these transactions.  By the way, she was the one who told me all the bad new 30 minutes earlier.  Angie looked at me and said, “Why don’t we sale them the loan and let them worry about being paid.”  I think I said, “Hallelujah!” In a matter of two weeks we had $157,000 in the bank.  That money sustained us for the next year until we got our feet on the ground.  God was up to something when I was down to nothing.

uncomfortable

I received this statement about leadership from Kristy Mosel, our student pastor’s wife this morning and I thought, “How true.”  It is from Seth Godin’s site  and here it is. “Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead.”

Leadership is very discomforting because there is always a new problem facing you.  I have never been the kind of person to sit back and talk about problems.  There is something inside of me that I feel responsible to help.  Sometimes that is a gift and sometimes it is a curse.  Leadership is all about problems. If there were no problems, there would be no need for leadership.

Stockbridge Community Church is a place that develops leaders that are willing to be uncomfortable in order to bring comfort to others.  Next Sunday over 80 people will be led through discomfort by giving blood.  For every pint of blood, three lives will be saved. That is 240 people’s lives saved.

Next week we will have over a 150 people leading and willing to be uncomfortable by serving as ushers, greeters, singers, student workers, children workers, nursery workers, parking lot attendants, bulletins stuffers, small group hosts and on and on the list goes.

That’s what makes this church great, people willing to be discomforted in order to help someone else.  That my friends, is the best leadership you can give.

Jesus was the greatest leader.   Listen to what he says about himself.

Mark 10:45 (NIV)   For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

who rules you?

Sunday I will be speaking about the challenges of a “child focused” family.  The bottom line is that they don’t work.  Rhonda and I are as guilty as anyone trying to give our children things that we didn’t have.  I think it is that very vain in that we all can go too far in trying so hard to help our kids have it better than we did.  Let me say there is nothing wrong with that desire of wanting your kids to have a better childhood than you, the problem comes in when our children are the center of every decision we make.

In our culture it is like our children rule.  They decide where we eat, what we watch on TV and when and if we go to church.  When we base all of our decisions on what children want it destroys our home.  When they get to be teenagers they expect to be in charge and want you to do what they want you to do when the want you to do it.

You know it really is good for our kids to hear the word, “no.”  This discipline of not giving in to our children’s every request is our responsibility as their parents.  I have found what is hard for me is saying no to a request when I have the ability to fulfill it, but I know it is not what is best for them.

I don’t like to say no in order to let them grow.  You know what helps them grow even more is when they see me want to do something, but because God says, “no,” I don’t do it.  When they see me not acting like everyone else because God says not to do it, it speaks to them.  It lets my children know that they are not in charge of our home and I am not in charge of our home.  God is in charge and He is the one we all have to answer to.

I just would encourage all of us to share a God moment with your children.  When you are in traffic and someone cuts you off, tell your children I want to let that person have it, but because God does not want me to,  I am not.  When you receive a blessing or a answered prayer, share it with them.

Teach your children that God wants to bless them, but sometimes the blessing comes from not getting what we want.  I thank God for many of my prayers he didn’t answer looking back.

Matthew 7:11 (NIV)   If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

change is good…you first.

Yesterday in our staff meeting we discussed the topic of change.  I had our staff listen to a John Maxwell leadership lesson called, “Change is Good….You Go First.”  The focus of the lesson was on the fact that change is never easy.   To that statement, I say a big AMEN!

I have come to believe all of us want change in our life.  I just think we go the wrong way to get it.  I think most of us address cosmetic parts of our lives, which is the outside and somehow we have been sold that with this idea we can buy change.  Men are the worlds worst at this.  We think if our wives or children are not happy, we can buy them something and it will make them happy.  That my friends, is cosmetic change and it will only last for a few days and then you are right back with the old problem. 

Real Change happens when we admit that we have a problem and most of the time it is a past hurt, or an attitude that we have developed.  So real change starts with me taking a deep look into myself and saying, “What do I need to change about my attitude?  Who do I need to forgive? What do I need to let go of?”

This is what the Bible and the Christian life is all about.  Changing you from the inside out.  The Bible tells us that the evidence of the Christian life is called the Fruit of the Spirit.  These work in us helping us have deep change that produces Christ likeness.  What is the Fruit of the Spirit specifically?  Galatians tells us.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Here’s the question I have to ask myself, “Are these qualities growing in me or are they becoming less evident in my life?”

The bottom line is this…. it is far easier to ask everyone else to change than it is for me to change, but real change must start within ourselves.

fan the flame

I read a story this weekend about a race that happened in the Greek Olympics that was different from other races.  In the other races, the winner was the one who crossed the finish line first.  But in the torch race, they lit a bunch of torches and handed them out to every runner.  They started to race with the fires burning, and the only way you could win the torch race was to finish with your fire still lit.  Just because you made it first didn’t count until they checked to see if your fire was still burning.

That’s where I think our focus needs to be in our relationship with God, our spouse and what we do for others.  It is to keep the fire burning.  What good is it if you are the fastest or smartest, if in winning you actually loose?

So the question I have to ask myself is, is my fire still burning and if so how can I fan the flame?  I think the only way to keep your flame burning is to express faith in God.

This is what the Paul in the Bible told his apprentice Timothy.

2 Tim. 1:5-7 (NIV)   I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (fear), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Let’s fan the flame by expressing our faith in God in every situation of our life.

just wait

I am reading a book by Jentezen Franklin called, Believe That You Can.  He tells a story about a California couple who walked through a canyon and found wild mushrooms.  So they decided to pick some and bring them home and cook them for the evening meal.  The fried mushrooms tasted so good they decided to call some friends over to enjoy the meal with them.  After dinner they let the cat have the scraps that were left over from the mushrooms.  Sometime later the host went into the kitchen only to find the cat foaming at the mouth and panting for breath.

He immediately phoned the veterinarian, who advised the man that he and his dinner guests had better get to the emergency room as soon as possible to have their stomachs pumped.  The vet suspected that they had picked poisoned toadstools instead of mushrooms.

After going to the hospital and having their stomachs pumped, the people finally made it back home.  They expected to see their cat lying lifeless on the floor.  Instead, the cat was in the corner of the kitchen with a brand-new litter of kittens! What they thought were death pains were, in reality, birth pains! 

I tell you that story because I think we give up too soon on God when we can’t see things getting better or as a matter of fact we see things seemingly getting worse.  But, most of the time God is birthing something great in our marriage, finances, faith or health.  The truth is, we almost have to feel like we are going to die before we will become open to the deep change that we need to bring the miracle we have asked God for.  I have found many times it was at my breaking point that God did the miracle.  This is the point we let go of all pride and ask God and others for help.  Listen to what God says to you through his Word.

 ”My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”…
2 Cor. 12:9 (NIV)

i saw love yesterday

Yesterday evening I had the privilege to ride to the hospital with Robert Frisone and make a visit to see one of the men that I have admired for 14 years, Harold Adams.  I always enjoy being with Robert.  God bless him because he always drops what he is doing when I call at the last minute to help me or accompany me. 

We visited Harold Adams, a man who I owe so much to.  He was one of the people who kept this church going in it’s earliest years.  His Son helped the church buy the house that would be converted to a church over 35 years ago.  I remember the day I came and interviewed with the church to see if they would like me to be their pastor.  Several men were in the room that day and I never will forget what Harold said to me.  He said, “Our calling is about two things, loving people and seeing souls saved!”

If you had the privilege to have this great, humble man shake your hand or pray for you, you can just feel the love.  I guess that is what I have admired about him over the last 14 years and that is the love this man has expressed to every person who has come in his path.

Last evening he told me his problem was that his heart was racing and I said, “Well that is because your wife, Carolyn walked in the room.”  To which he replied, “My heart races for her all the time, I miss her when she is not in the room with me.”  This is from a man who is 82 years young.  He was at the VA hospital because he wanted to save money incase she needed medicine they would have it.  It was love, just love.

Harold Adams reminds me with his life that love is more than a word or feeling, it is a action expressed to someone else.  His favorite book of the Bible is I John.  He calls it “Little John.”

1 John 4:11-12 (NIV)   Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

I like this little poem I read some time ago about love and it says this:

“A bell is not a bell until you ring it; and a song is not a song until you sing it;
and love is not love until you give it away.”

disciplining step children

As I begin this post I want to say what a great job our worship team did yesterday leading us into worship, it was AWESOME.  I would like to follow up in this post on a very sore spot I talked about in the message yesterday.  It is on the part about stepparents disciplining their step child.  I had a few people after the service ask me to give a little more information on this topic.  So, today I would like to give you the perspective of a Christian Child psychologist Dr. Archibald Hart from his book, Helping Children Survive Divorce.

“A serious error made by many stepparents is that they take on too much responsibility for disciplining the other children.  An important principle to remember is: Each natural parent  should take primary responsibility for disciplining his or her own children.

Why do I say this?  Very simply, because if you don’t, you violate the child’s sense of justice.  Deep down, children accept that the right to discipline belongs to the natural parents.  They resent it when that right is exercised by a stepparent, no matter how justified the discipline.

It’s just a fact of human behavior.  Many stepparents become very upset about this.  They can see all the flaws in the stepchild (they often don’t see the same faults in their own children) and believe they know exactly how to deal with the brat.  Their very attitude disqualifies them from being fair.  Some mothers gladly surrender responsibility for discipline to the new partner, without realizing just how much resentment this causes.

I know there are exceptions, but they are few and far between.  Severe and dangerous behaviors must be dealt with, and it really doesn’t matter who does the disciplining here.  Get the police to do it, if necessary.  But everyday problems of conflict and adjustment are best handled by the natural parents and should include the absent natural parent whenever possible.  As a stepparent, you may finally earn the right and respect to be the one who disciplines, but at the beginning play it safe, support your spouse, and take a back seat.”

Let me tell you from a personal perspective that the stepparent is viewed as the reason why the child’s natural parents are not together.  The child will dream about their parents being back together no matter how bad things may have been and the step parent is viewed as the reason there parents cannot be together.  I can tell you when I was a child I would lay in bed at night and think how great it would be for my mom and dad to be together.  So, there is a natural resentment that happens no matter how good of a stepparent you are.

Galatians 6:9 (Living)   And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.