Sliding backwards

We had a several guests this Sunday. One of them a young man who showed up last week and offeeed to help shovel our parking lot, and then came back for church. His face tells enough to know that he has a rough story, but he has been back twice now of his own accord.  So we have at least one new face in the small group. 

The othe news is that we are running a very high out-go to in come ratio. That is not good.  And as I have told the people here it doesn't stem from people who lack in faithful giving, it has to do with trying to maintain  a facility that is meant for 200 with only 35 or so in attendance. We are drifting slowly backward. The challenge is that we will rapidly be out of money if we don't reverse that trend. 

This is not a surprise, but it is cause for prayer, pray for wisdom as we seek to change the tragectory and culture of a church. Pray for God's favor as we seek to reach new people with the gospel and incorporate them into a church that is losing ground .

A Renewed Request for Prayer

IT  has been a while since most of you have heard from me.

A lot has change for us in the past several months. We are no longer working directly with a church plant in Dayton OH. We are now working with a church in Union City OH.

Many of you have prayed for us over the years, and if you are getting this update as mail-chip feed in your in box. I took the liberty of thinking you might want to hear from me again!  (Just unsubscribe if you don't want to)

We are in the process of taking a church that has been struggling for many years in a small town and attempting to breath new life and fresh vision into the lives of existing Christians, and begin to reach out to the community on a number of levels.

I am also still working with the Air-Force reserve so we have no shortage of things to do!
The point of this particular blog and of getting your email connected to it, is to ask that you take a second when you receive this and subsequent emails to pray, and then delete it form you inbox.

We need your prayers.  My concern is that this small church is representative of a lot of small churches and pastors who are disconnected and isolated and will simply burn out without the support of a praying community.

If you are like me you get dozens of prayer requests every week, from ministries and missionaries, so I thank you for the extra minute of you time to pray with a bit more information for the work at
First Baptist Church Union City  Thanks,

And God Bless

Snow,

We are having a record setting year so far. Some say that it is the hardest winter in 20 years. All I know for sure is that the boys have enjoyed the plentiful snow. 

It is often like that in life it seems. The things that are good for us, like abundant water for the crops, come with a lot of extra work, like shoveling. God rarely misses an opportunity to care for our development and maturing even in the midst of his grate at blessings. Children bring sleep deprivation, and snuggles in the same package, and often at the same time.  And friends bring help and laughter, and tears and sorrow. All of these  come from the hand of A God who knows us better than we know ourselves. Who pushes us and prods us to maturity, mixing joy and sorrow in every cup, so that we may learn to trust him.  He is good, after all, he did make snow men possible! 

Trusting when stuff gets in the way

Right now I am sitting in the very awkward position of trying to sell a house that is upside down on it's mortgage. At the same time as I am trying to purchase a house. 

For those of you who have been in this In-between position you realize that it is really easy to loose your focus, to get distracted by the wants desires and sympathies for our money or for other people or for a material thing that we might like. Our focus needs to be at all times on honoring God.  And yet we can start getting focused so easily on the number of zeros.

The other factor for me is that for me I am tempted to either seek the best for my self, or make unwise choices to please people and keep others happy. Either way I am tempted to place my comfort or the approval of others in a more important place than living shrewdly and lovingly for the glory of God.

Easily distracted, practicing repentance.

Anticipation

Anticipation can be a wonderful thing and it can be a very difficult experience in learning to trust God for a future as yet unknown and dreaded. 

On the eve of battle and on the verge of a birth, the feelings are mixed because the out come is yet unknown and could be a bitter and painful experience.

And yet we are told by God that worry is a sin. Because in some way the moment we place a dreaded possibility in the position to control our thoughts haunt our every waking moment and intimidate us into not doing what God has called is to do we have replaced God as the supreme focus of our lives.

But keeping in the peace of God is beyond our skill. And thus we must pray.

This is a God thing.

In other words:  There is no way this is going to work without making a mess, unless God . . .

That sentence can be filled with a good number of things, but whatever that thing is you want to have some kind of clarity about it before you commit. But clarity in discerning the will of God is often not a matter of blinding flashes of light and dreams in the night, but more a choice made in real time based on what you know of God and his ways.

We must watch our desires, those of course can make us pray and interpret life for our own ends (see James) but in the end we are called to make choices in context in good faith, and understanding that God is good.

And that is when we make crazy looking commitments because we believe that for God's glory we can be extravagant. That is when we can throw caution to the wind, once we are assured in our own heart (1 John 4) that we see a thing that is otherwise legitimate, and can be used to his glory.

And of course in the end God is not a killjoy, he does slow hardship be he enjoys our reveling in his good gifts, so long as we first enjoy the giver.

Confidence

There are times when we are forced to reckon with ourselves. And at such times if we are honest we can be at the same time equal to great things, and unworthy of the smallest things. God makes us for a purpose and that purpose is rarely small, though it be mundane our lives are intended to have meaning that extends way beyond the common life. And yet in spite of our potential there is no man on earth who can say they have what it takes to be great let alone achieve it because our hearts are broken. 

In times like these we are reminded that God alone can take men of earth and shape men of heaven. Only God can transform talent into worship. Only God can take our small skill and multiply it with his grace. 

When we must honestly face ourselves we see our need for God.