REPOST OF MY EARLIEST BLOG

I feel it is necessary to repost this blog for those who may have missed it or wonder what happened to us.

WHERE HAVE ALL MY SERMONS GONE

Yep, when I was "evicted"as pastor from the church I began the process of vacating my office. I packed up my pens, pencils, paper, equipment, etc. One of the things I did was dispose of all the sermon notes I had cataloged and preserved in binders. I must say some of them were really good. The 100's of notes had been used, unused, revised and revised again during a period of more than 30 years of ministry. I had never been treated with such disdain by so-called Christians. I taught and preached the Word of God without fear or favor. Hours of prayer and study had been applied to formulate homiletical sermons for the congregations I served in. It could be said some had impact and others were kind of missing something. My last sermon was on Walking In The Spirit. I was told by my superior that it was not appropriate (he didn't even hear it). My response is that I preach what God wants delivered: I obey God rather than man. The price was high but I would do it all over again and with more conviction than then. Well all the notes went into the dumpster at that church and who knows where they ended up, perhaps in some earth-filled dump I suppose. Maybe someone discovered them prior to the trash pick-up and they live on. I don't care. But now I have you to know that the disposal I made of them was my symbolic expression of how the people trashed me. These sermons are stored on CD's. Yeah, isn't that a kick? It was only ink-filled paper that was dumped, but the messages live on in data form accessible on any PC. Perhaps soon I will publish them on a blog. Hang around and see what happens. Father, forgive them for they knew not what they did.

HEY PREACHER!

Now that I have your attention I want to ask you a very serious question and expand upon its theme with additional thought provoking questions:



First, what are your motives?



Do you perform your ministry out of job profession obligation or God’s love?

Are your goals and intents pure through the call of God?

Are you truly called to your place of ministry?

Is there a spirit of competitiveness within your bosom to become important?

Are you self-aggrandizing to advance in your profession?

Do you crave for hierarchical attention?

Do you please people more than God?

Do you succumb to whims of contributors for the sake of survival?

Is the role of finances more important than the truth that may offend?

Are you joyful in your relationship with the Lord?

Is your family a constant sacrifice for the sake of the church?

Do your sermons reap maturity in the listeners?

Is the size of your congregation more important than the quality of relationships?

Is your “boss” the denomination or God?

Does your community know you exist?

Are you impacting your community effectively?

Do you impose your questionable convictions upon your congregants?

Are your people skills honed and effective?



I believe the above questions will, when answered truthfully, help evaluate your true purpose. Everybody needs change in their life, including preachers. It is critical for the preacher to understand that it is God who weighs our motives. He is the judge we will stand before. We need to continue to be transformed through our rethinking of what is important and what is trivia.



I am truly astounded at the ineptness that is exhibited by preachers who have no formal training. I suggest you apply yourself of available resources. If you are going to write, use correct grammar and punctuation. Be able to support your hypothesis or give good argument for your stance. Check your statements after backing away from them for a while. Reread what you wrote or have someone close to you critique your writing. Don’t unintentionally fall into a pit of unnecessary muck through misuse of the language art. Remember the media of the internet reaches a large audience.

Escape From Presumption

Recent life events have led me to a “know so” perspective. There is now more clarity of direction and purpose for my life. A certain confidence is within my spirit. In my introverted personality I had failed to realize my individuality. Personalizing comments regarding my activities and endeavors have to take their rightful place and not remain offensive. I certainly need to take charge and not feel intimidated or competitive with my peers or others of seeming powerful influence. There is no need for me to “kiss up”. I can now say that I am finding my own way with respect of good advice and counsel that is given with true concern of my life. I believe in myself more and will not succumb to put-downs by those who do not know the whole facts.


My assertions in the above paragraph are meant to assist the reader in finding their rightful place in life too. Each of our life assignments must be taken under the guidance of Scripture and the wisdom imparted to us through life experiences. We should not avoid counsel and advice of family and friends, but ultimately we will have to take responsibility for our decision and suffer the choice, right or wrong. Not all advice and criticism is valid. Weigh each piece of information with the tools you have been given: your sound mind, Scripture, and common sense. A view to the future is advantageous.

Competitiveness should be conducive to personal growth. This is matter of doing what you have been called to do; finish the race God has put you in with integrity and character always in place. I will no longer allow false or phony presumption to overrule truth unfolding in my life.