Retreating

This week has been my annual pastor’s retreat in Nags Head.  We have gathered together for six years. We share updates with each other about ministry, family, fun and anything else.  We always bring someone in to help us think “big picture.”  This year we were fortunate to have Bob Dale – a friend and a wonderful thinker about the church.  Let me share with you some general observations on my experience.

1- Without the invitation I would not come, without the challenge I would not stay.  What I love about the group is that they care for me, they root for me, they want me, my family and my ministry to do well.  But that is not enough.  They also challenge me.  During my sharing time on Tuesday night they made me move past my hesitations and excuses to really deal with issues.  While that always feels uncomfortable to me – that is why I keep coming back.

2- It is good to laugh really hard.  We do that well!

3-I need to look out into vast spaces (the ocean) and think about the vastness of God and the “big picture” He has for my life.  While it is great to be able to do that for three days – I also need to find time each day to look beyond my “to do” list and see the big picture. 

4-God is always making things new.  Too many times I seek to repeat the past in how I do ministry and how I do life.  This group and this retreat make me seek out new answers to today’s challenges.

Where do you go for your retreat?  Where does God challenge you, love you, make you laugh and make you think?

A Water Well Church - Message Notes 2-26-12

Luke 9:18-27, 51,

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”  Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”   ²¹ Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. ²²And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”  ²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ²⁶Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.    ²⁷ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

51 – As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

It takes deterimination, perserverance and courage to be a radical follower of Jesus Christ.   Jesus set out to Jerusalem with all that meant.  He could have stayed in a comfortable place but He went to the cross.  Have you left your comfortable place to go to Jerusalem?

When you leave your comfortable place you join Jesus in digging wells of living water all around.  What does it look like for a believer and a church to be in the well drilling business? 

Culture or Christ - Message Notes 2-19-12

John 17:6-15 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

Romans 12:1-2  ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

What are some ways that Christians are counter cultural in our day?

This message will build around a quote from H. Richard Niebuhr – “Christ’s answers to the problem of human culture is one thing, Christian answers are another.” Let’s talk about how we can live out the gospel in a way that transforms culture and brings glory to God.

Seeing Roses

Do you see roses all around? I spent my Valentine’s Day with a few people that do. Brenda Bearden (DBC Member and President of B3 Solutions)  had an idea to share joy and love (sounds like something God would want us to do!) with people on Valentine’s Day. She connected with the Alexandria Housing and Redevelopment Authority (AHRA) and said, “what can we do?’  Sandra Fowler at AHRA came up with an idea to share roses.  Find out more about the impact of this by clicking here. 

Tom Lewis is the founder and Leo Givs is the Executive Director of  The Fishing School.  Carl Patton (DBC member and current Chair of the Board at the Fishing School) has been telling me what great work they do at the school and invited me for a lunch meeting so I could see it for myself.  Tom Lewis, a retired police officer, saw a need in his community.  Against all odds, he saw something no one else did.  In 1990 he started an after school and summer program on one of the “worst streets in America.”  The school has helped more than 3000 children and has been featured on “Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition.”  Mr. Lewis and Leo shared a powerful story of the transformation that has taken place in so many people’s lives. 

We worship a God who looked over a big void and saw roses (and all the rest of creation!).  Where are you seeing roses today?  I pray that God will help all of us see the abundance of opportunities around us.

Be Perfect - 2-5 Message Notes

Podcast is at http://www.downtownbaptist.org/home/2012/2/14/podcast-be-perfect.html

Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect – Matthew 5:48

That is a daunting challenge to be perfect like God. What is Jesus asking from us? How big is the gap between where we are and where God is calling us to be?

Scripture makes all kinds of demands that seem impossible.  Do we worship a God who can empower us to do what He asks us to do? 

The Greek word for perfect means to be mature.  It describes a life that is whole, that does not require you to compromise and live at odds with yourself.  

In this message let’s celebrate Jesus’ radical command and let’s open ourselves up to the knowledge that with the Holy Spirit we can live the life God has called us to.