Us/Them

Artificial constructs of mans’ fevered, inherent desire to belong/persecute (Blue/Red, Conservative/Liberal, etc…) are used to divide when we need more than ever to unite and solve real issues plaguing society today. Even the Citizen vs. Immigrant debate loses focus when one steps back and looks at the history of this nation’s creation. Truth be told immigrant descendants are now defining for themselves who is an immigrant. There is a history of fleeing less opportune social and economic conditions for opportunities and greener pastures in a new land. Now you tell me what nation, time-frame, and people I am describing in that last sentence. We are all much more alike than we are different. This is not a 50s TV Western or a scifi Jedi/Sith narrative. This is not about villains and heroes, chase scenes, pummeled baddies, riding off in to the sunset, and then roll the credits. These are complex issues requiring everyone’s best ideas.

Laziness, short attention spans, insecurities, and an obsession with irrelevance as roadblocks.

Laziness: Arguing about issues takes little or no effort, but solving issues requires heavy lifting. Few seem to want to put on their work gloves and get to it. To be blunt any knuckle head can point out a problem. It takes genuine effort, that few seem willing to exert, to craft and enact actual, workable remedies.

Short attention spans: Simply put we do not acknowledge the lessons history can teach us.  Who am I referring to? All of us. As stated in Ecclesiastes 1:9 (New International Version) “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Furthermore as George Santayana, who, in his Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason, Vol.1, wrote “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Insecurities: My father also taught me that a person that lies to others is quite common and not that big of a threat, but someone who lies to themselves effectively is quite dangerous. Anger, bluster, outrage, fear, worry, arrogance are not signs of strength, but the fruits of weakness with insecurity most often at the very root. Insecurity is often driven by lies told to ones self of not being worthy. Little good fruit comes from one who does not love and believe in themselves.

Obsession with Irrelevance: How much of what is pumped out of the media today, as driven by demand mind you, has any real relevance? There is much fluff and nonsense. Even legitimate issues are often viewed through the lens of irrelevance in the interest of a marketable narrative and a catchy sound bite. People who need our prayers are often scrutinized and ridiculed. Major news outlets are doing a fine impersonation of gossip rags nowadays. Ratings wins out over relevance as the two seem ever more exclusive objectives. Outside of enjoying the fruits of a celebrity’s chosen craft knowing the misquoted details of their personal lives adds not one drop to the quality of my own life. There are stories running across the headlines right now that would not be printed if the names were changed.

Much like dietitians recommend we all need to be ever diligent and take a hard look at what we take in and govern ourselves accordingly. We cannot change what is on a given channel, but we can decide not to watch it. We cannot change what others do, but we can controls how we react. Have faith. Believe change can come.  Endeavor to change the world, and not be changed by it. Every one of us has a purpose and every one of us is harmed when even just one does not share their gifts. If you are passive in life and taking no steps to move forward you are not “maintaining”, but sliding backwards ever so slowly.

I have gone on long enough for now and shall end this rambling session here.

God bless,

Eric

Misplaced expectations most often ends in disappointment. The names, places, and details may change, but the general theme is repetitive and quite predictable.

Prepared by Eric L. Woods

“21st Century Christians: Restoring the Mission, Retooling the Leadership, Rebuilding the Community”

When you say the phrase “21st Century” the first thing that comes to mind for many is technology. Many tools are available now that were not available before:
The Internet
Websites
Facebook
Twitter
Myspace
LinkedIn
etc…

While these are tools Christians can use, technology has nothing directly to do with what it means to be a Christian in the 21st Century.

You put up a blog or post, but who have you prayed for?
You put up a website, but have you visited the sick and shut in?
You have created that facebook group, but with whom have you shared your testimony and the Good News of eternal salvation by acknowledging Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

In the end what being a Christian means today in the 21st Century is really no different than it was in the 1st Century.

Restoring the Mission

Our primary mission as Christians is still missions work.

In Matthew 4:18-22 it states

“18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”

Jesus was a carpenter and carpenters build or repair structures. Now did Jesus go out looking for other carpenters? No, he does not need our help in the fixing business, we are called to catch. The four He gathered were fisherman and furthermore he even instructed them to “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

That is the model today. Jesus did not call us to try and fix people ourselves, but He called us to be disciples who gather others that they may know Christ for themselves and be healed.

Don’t worry about what that person has on, offer Christ.
Don’t worry about what that person looks like, offer Christ.

We can and should feed or otherwise provide for a person in need, but even the best meal is temporary and that person will need to eat again, but the salvation of Christ Jesus is eternal.

Retooling the Leadership

In many churches the times have changed while the leadership has not. We are not to follow the world, but in order for the church to remain relevant new blood must be brought in.

Saints that have served long and in many areas need a break.
New Saints willing to serve need to be given a chance to lead.

This is not about disrespecting Elders or forgetting our history, but rather acknowledging our heritage and history by ensuring the next generation is involved and engaged so they can take their place in leadership and carry on with the mission.

Leadership is not a place for egos. It requires the utmost humility. At our best we are still a resource. Christ is the source.

Leaders need to be facilitators rather than dictators. When we do lead we are to be facilitators seeking to glean the best out of every participant so that their gifts may be fully realized and utilized, not dictators attempting to rule over those seeking to serve the Lord. Engage the younger Saints and give them instruction and responsibilities. This benefits current leadership as well. Overworked leadership will be broken down by stress and strain as warned against in Exodus 18, but if you follow the advice Moses’ father in law Jethro gave him to share the load then as it says in Exodus 18:23 “you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

Rebuilding the Community

To build a strong community the church itself must be strong. Not just in number, but in disciple making.

When the Church loses focus the community will not be far behind.

In Matthew 28:18-20 it sates:

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Our main calling has nothing to do with clubs, cliques, organizations, or events.

We were not called to be Self Congratulatory Societies or Mutual Admiration Associations.

When the primary focus becomes the denomination to the point of dividing Christians we must refocus on our collective primary mission.

The denomination is in place for order and administration, not for self serving celebration, empty works justification, and “those not like us” condemnation, all of which distract the congregation from their primary missionary occupation which has, is, and always will be seeking soul salvation.

It is not only about what we do for those already within the four walls of the church, but what have we done to reach those outside of the four walls? This requires making disciples of those in the church.

We were called to be disciples of Christ spreading the Good News so that others can be saved.

Where cliques have formed we must refocus them on the mission.
Where politics have taken over we must refocus on the mission.

Once the church is strong the community will become strong.
Conclusion

Restoring the Mission

Be fishers of men.

Retooling the Leadership

Facilitate and Delegate, but never Dictate.

Rebuilding the Community

Train up the Church and make Disciples.

In the 21st Century our task is the same as it was in the 1st Century, saving souls and introducing to as many as will hear the Good News of Salvation made available through Christ Jesus.

The words to this song came all at once while waiting to be ordained in January of 2009 in Greenville, NC and the music was sent to me that night by Keith Burgess after he shared that the Lord instructed him to send it to me not realizing God had given me the lyrics just that morning. I recorded the lyrics that Monday and this is a portion of the result with the outline of the sermon preached from it this Sunday below. I no longer write out Sermons verbatim, but this serves as a summary of the main points.

http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/4213951?play_now=true

John 3:14-17

14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16″For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Sermon Topic: Why Not You?

Into a world that was undone
The Lord God sent His only son
Fulfillment of the prophecy
Pierced in His side and He did bleed
Jesus gave His life for you and me
And now you have life eternally
Through Him we are all truly free

Why me?
Why not you?

I hold my tongue when I should offer Christ
Peter did not once, but did so thrice

Luke 22:33-35 (New International Version)

33But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

34Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

35Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they answered.

I have been known to tell a lie
Abraham denied Sarah for fear he’d die

Genesis 12:10-13 (New International Version)

Abram in Egypt

10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

Salvation not based on you and me
Or how perfect we pretend to be
But on the Lord God’s son only

John 3:14-17

14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16″For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Why me?
Why not you?

Don’t Listen To The Lies of the enemy which may very well manifest in the mouths of loved ones.
Success: Why Not You?
Peace: Why Not You?
Health: Why Not You?
Wealth: Why Not You?
Salvation: Why Not You?

None of us are perfect
In love He will correct
Jesus has no defect
His salvation IS perfect
(Repeat)
None of us are perfect
In love He will correct
Jesus has no defect
His salvation IS perfect

Recently I noticed a few folks getting burnt by ne’er do wells on facebook and elsewhere. This would seem to indicate out of date or no antivirus solution. Not good. For many reasons from the annoying to downright identity theft dangerous just not good. Especially when there are free antivirus tools available. I have used a few over time, but my present favorite is AVAST antivirus. It is free and available from CNET’s download site here:

AVAST on CNET

Note: Before buying a software solution or downloading software from a questionable site CNET’s download.com is worth a look. Download from articles only and not the ads. Items with high editor and high user ratings are usually the best bet.

Case in point…

MS Office alternative:

Some time ago I stumbled across Microsoft Office compatible software that could save one about to purchase Microsoft Office Suite for the home about $400.

I can only assume they are giving this away as a poke in the eye to Microsoft. Regardless I like good free stuff that saves me money.

I found it after having recently purchased a home PC, the Office trial ran out and I was just about to begrudgingly cough up the $400 to buy Microsoft Office until I found this. It did what I needed to do and I set it as the default program to open and create Word, Excel, Powerpoint and other documents. My wife and I have found the transition to be totally transparent. Documents I create or modify with Openoffice are completely compatible with Microsoft programs (make sure you select an office compatible format when saving). Complex macros may have issues, but this is not a realistic concern for many. I had intended to test the free version and buy the supported version afterward, but the free version has more than met my needs. The menus are intuitive so there is basically no learning curve, and there are benefits like the built in ability to create Adobe PDF files out of your documents with a single click.

I am rarely impressed with software (or near anything free) since the ‘You get what you pay for’ adage usually applies, but this is an exception. Who doesn’t want to save $400?

Here is a PCMAG review for those who may still be apprehensive:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2332504,00.asp

Here is the CNET download site:

http://download.cnet.com/OpenOffice-org/3000-18483_4-10263109.html?tag=mncol

Here is Sun’s download page:

http://www.openoffice.org/

God bless,

Eric

13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Disclaimer: By nature I have a desire to make sense of things (within reason and within the context and boundaries of my limited earthbound, mortal, chronologically challenged vantage point that is), but first and foremost I consider myself an observer. From time to time patterns of behavior emerge that pique my interest due to their similarity and due to these behaviors falling outside of the context of my neatly packaged perspective. In short patterns that do not make sense to me. Knowing that I am not the gatekeeper of what is reasonable or not reasonable I attempt to look at these behaviors more closely to see if the patterns themselves were misidentified by yours truly (a series of anomalies masquerading as a pattern), whether I have tripped upon some new maxim or paradigm, or a hybrid of a and b. This is not an exact science, but it is convenient in that it requires no sanctioning body, consensus, quorum, or other external vetting process which renders it extremely portable and fluid. Long way of saying this is my opinion and nothing more and that your results (conclusions) may vary. That being said…

Recently a pattern has caught my attention. Mean Christians. It is not a new phenomenon to be sure, but recent observations have brought this oxymoron front and center.

1. Our church recently held a play where the actor playing Jesus dressed up intending to appear as a homeless person asking for help at the beginning of the play. There were many reactions, but two in particular caught my attention as the extremes:

a. One officer of the church engaged in heated fellowship with the actor and demanded they leave the property. I trust their intent was to protect the sanctuary and the saints therein, but the content could be perceived as confrontational or even xenophobic. The main mission of the church is missions work, correct?

b. Another officer asked the actor if they needed something to eat and inquired as to where he would eat that evening and the next morning. I was exempted from this experiment since I was in the cast so I cast no judgment, but I hope and I would like to think I would have reacted this way.

2. I have noticed a pattern where a few Gospel artists or those who make a career related to Gospel music will join a social networking site and then will either:

a. Give public rebukes or edicts pertaining to anyone who apparently approached or contacted them in a manner not meeting their approval or guidelines and other fairly rude behavior. This seems less related to actual success and more tied to personality. Why join a social networking site and then be unsociable? I ask because I honestly do not know the answer. It would seem IM or email could net the same effect.

b. Individuals who are quite friendly, engaging, and helpful including some who have reached a great measure of success. If I am ever blessed with the opportunity to expand my music ministry (or even if I do not) I pray I fall in to this category. What is the point of being in the Gospel music industry if I am going to be rude and callous about it? Seems to be a contradiction.

Again these are merely observations. In keeping with 1 Corinthians 13:13 it is my sincere prayer that we all can stick with option b. It is not always easy, but showing love for one another regardless of what we have or are presently going through in our individual walks will strengthen the body of Christ.

God bless,

Eric

Last week I was noticing the weapons grade patches of clover in my lawn and the thought struck me “If my goal was to harvest clover I would be a smashing success.” I harbor no green thumb delusions. My lawn care check list consists of Mow Lawn weekly. That is it. I was all gung ho once when we first bought the house so I fertilized the lawn with my brand spanking new broadcast spreader. Even elicited the advice of my father (quite skilled in the art of lawn) and others and I made sure to choose the right type of fertilizer. Then the grass shot up to where I had to mow it twice a week. Did I mention that I push mow? That was the end of that. I dare someone to try and fertilize my lawn now. They will get chased down the street. But that does not mean I want to give free reign to all manner of undesirable flora.

While pondering how to get rid of the green scourge called clover my neighbor and I started talking and he told me he noticed and was impressed with how green my lawn was and was trying to make his greener also. Really. Success and failure can be solely matters of perspective and distance it would appear. What I viewed as a failure up close was mistaken for success from afar. My neighbor is great and may have been saying this to be nice, but it brought me ultimately to my main point, thought, and question.

Have I ever coveted someone else’s clover?

This is clearly not as the Lord intended as stated in scripture, e.g.

Exodus 20:17
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

What have I (and by extension we) viewed from a distance that may not have been as it seemed up close?

-That house that seems so wonderful could be leading the owners to the poor house.
-That spouse that seems so perfect could be a nightmare behind closed doors.
-That lawn (sorry no -ouse rhyme fit.) that seems so green could be green with weeds and infestations.

Instead of:

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (New International Version)
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.

or

Ecclesiastes 6:7 (New International Version)
7 All man’s efforts are for his mouth,
yet his appetite is never satisfied.

I pray strength to follow the commands of the Lord, have faith, and follow the word of the Lord as recorded in:

Deuteronomy 11:13-15 (New International Version)
13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul- 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.

Over the years I have crafted a highly technical litmus test to determine what I need that boils down to one question. Here it is:

Do I have it?

If the answer is no than I do not need it no matter how badly I may want it.

2 Peter 1:2-4 (New International Version)
2Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

The Lord will provide the portion we need and when we need it. For our needs to be met our eyes need to stray no further than the Lord. Be ye satisfied.

God bless,

Eric