Yesterday, I attended the Leadership and Preaching Lab in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.  It was a one day conference with three speakers, Dr. Mark Rutland, Bryan Jarrett and Ron Woods.  It was a day of insight and encouragement.

I have been to many conferences in my lifetime, but this is the first one that seemed to speak to me right where I was at.  It was like God set me up to go and told the speakers what to say.  As I left yesterday afternoon, I felt like God had spoken to me.  Every word that was preached spoke to something in my life.

Out of all of the ways I was challenged and uplifted, it reminded me that God knows where I am at and what I need, when I need it.  God is faithuful!

• Not to mention, after listening to Bryan Jarrett preach, I decided, that is how I want to preach when I grow up:)

Many people have asked why I am not on Facebook.  The main reason is I do not have time.  Their reasoning is, you do not have to do anything with Facebook, just get a page.  So,  then I wonder, if you don’t do anything with it, why do it?

How about Twitter?  It is all the rage today to Twitter what you are doing throughout the day.  I wonder, though, is my life that interesting that we can post little snippets of it all day long?  Or am I that self-absorbed thinking other people really want to know what I am doing all day long?  If you want to know what I am doing, call me:)

There are other reasons for not getting on Facebook and Twitter, but I do not want to share them here because I might offend someone.  However, Lee McFarland had a post recently about the trappings of Social Media. 

It is an interesting read:

“I apologize for not posting anything on this blog for one month. I have been dedicating myself to working on my book, and blogging just took some of that precious time away for writing.

I also slowed down a little bit on Twitter too. I love all these social networking tools, but I also want to keep them under control. Why?

I have received emails from several wives who have "lost their husbands" to online role-playing games. It might sound like an innocent "passion to play," but actually, for many it becomes just another form of addiction. I know of at least two cases where the wife has filed for divorce. You might think that sounds ridiculous, but in both cases, it was total abandonment of the marriage relationship. The husband had decided he wanted time with "World of Warcraft" more than his wife!

I have also counseled with people who are losing sleep, having problems at work, and who are facing disciplinary action after getting caught on their cell phones, because they are updating either Facebook or Twitter.

Add to that the growing problem of people texting while driving. A recent article in Car & Driver magazine showed that texting while driving impairs your ability as bad or worse than drunk driving! The recent deadly crash of an aircraft and a helicopter into the Hudson in New York has been connected with the Air Traffic Controller being on his cell phone while trying to do his job.

All this technology for "staying connected" is positive in so many ways, and yet deadly too.

Many Facebook members have admitted to spending 4 to 5 hours per day on the site, updating their activities, connecting with friends, and even playing virtual games like, "farm town."

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 6:12: "Everything is permissible for me"–but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"–but I will not be mastered by anything.

What do you think? How many hours do you spend on Facebook and Twitter and texting per day? Do you think you have it under control? Is it taking time away from something else?”

Josh is now one week into his public school experience and is doing great.  He seems to be adjusting well.  He has a load of classes that challenged me in school but he is handling it with ease. 

I remember my time in high school (believe it is not, it wasn’t too long ago) and I was left with scars from my Algebra classes.  I barely made it out alive.  It was either that I wasn’t smart enough or that I didn’t care enough, but Algebra ate my lunch.

I saw this cartoon today that perfectly captures my experience with my two years in Algebra 2.

What I want, I want it now
To Christ, I don’t want to bow

I go through the ritual and all the motions
But in the midst of it all, I have little passion

I prefer to live life now, forever is too long to wait
I want the pleasure now, eternity will be too late

Sin feels good for me, it pleases me today
It is hard to overcome, so I will just give way

But soon our life will end
And then what will I depend

Sin will hold me close no more
And now Christ will not answer the door

I had my feel, I had my way
Now I have nothing left to say

I try to persist, trying to get through
But Christ only says, “I never knew you.”

Here lies for us a decision that we must make
Will we seek pleasure now or will we wait.

-Danny Cheney-

Since this is the life of a pastor blog, I thought I would share something that is often a struggle for pastors.  Contrary to some modern belief, pastoring is not always easy.  Having people under our care, administrating the congregation, ministering to those in inside and outside of the church and yes, even handling problem issues.  It is a weight upon the pastor.  To top all of that, there is the weekly deadline of at least two sermons.  Not just any sermon, but a message that will engage a media driven society.  To prepare a sermon that connects and changes the heart of every person is not easy.  Furthermore, a pastor must prepare a message this week and not repeat it for at least five to seven years.  He has to come up with (along with help from the Holy Spirit) approximately 800 original messages before he can consider using one again.  The point of what I am saying is that pastoring sometimes involves pressures. 

Several years ago, I went through a 10 month season of depression and burnout.  The rigors of ministry had taken its toll on me and I was completely spent.  It was during that time I struggled to stay in ministry.  I began to consider walking away from pastoring and getting a “real” job so that the pressure would be less.  There were days on end, where I had to literally talk myself into continuing ministry.  The only  thing that kept me going was that I didn’t know how I could live without preaching.  Even though preaching had become a chore, I could not bear the thought of not ministering the Word of God.

It was as Jeremiah said (paraphrase), “I do not want to do this propheting any more, but it is a fire shut up within my bones.”  It was during that season of burnout that I learned to work not out of my passion but out of my calling.  The passion was wavering, but that calling kept calling.  Through the midst of it all, I am glad that I kept going.  I am thankful that God brought me out of that season and gave me a desire to continue ministry for Him. 

Without shocking you too much, I want to share the question, I repeated often and my family asked often (they asked because they saw my struggle).  The question was, “Is it worth all of this? Is the heartache and burnout even worth it?”  At the time, I couldn’t see that it was, but it was all I  had known for ten years of ministry and it is what I continued to do.  As a side-note, when you are on the brink of giving up ministry, it is amazing how many good job opportunities come your way:)

Years later, as I look back on that season, I have clearly determined that ministry is worth it.  What other profession can you help people, minister to needs and at the end of the day know that you have attempted to make the world a better place.  Ministry is one of the only things a person can do that we can actually watch people’s lives transform before our eyes.

Yesterday as I was studying for Sunday’s message, a verse in I Peter 5, gave me a victory over this question of whether ministry is worth it. 

Peter writes, “Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. ³ Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. ⁴ And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.”

We are not working for this life.  We are working for the next.  As pastors, we must keep a perspective that all we do is not to build a Kingdom on this earth, but to lay up our treasures in Heaven.  As I was studying the different crowns a believer will receive, none compared to the crown of glory.  The others were great nonetheless, but the crown of glory was said to be unfading and never ending. I do not know the theological implications, but I know that if, as the Bible says, a leader or teacher shall receive a stricter judgment, then maybe, they will receive a greater crown.

My point in all of this, is that when pastors sacrifice in this life, it will be rewarded in the next life.  This Scripture has given me a knew passion for ministry.  I am looking forward to  that never fading Crown of Glory.  Pastors keep up the good work!  Lay people, pray for your pastors!

Today I dropped Josh off for his first day of school.  He is beginning the tenth grade in a High School with 2,222 students.  This is a massive school, especially for a kid who has never been to public school. 

I am proud of the young man he is and I am confident of how he will handle this new walk of life.  I can’t imagine the anxiety he felt walking in for the first time.  I was anxious for him.

As a parent, it is hard to let my kids go.  In three years, Josh will begin college.  As I dropped him off today, I was overwhelmed with emotions, thinking we only have a few years left with him. 

We must make the most of every opportunity with our kids.  We only have them for so long and then they grow up.  While we have them, we  must teach them the truths of God’s Word and root them in His love.  When they enter  the world, they will have a sure foundation and can stand against the temptations of this world.  We must never forget to bathe them in prayer for God’s keeping grace to be with them.  Then we must place them in God’s hand. 

Parenting is an intentional work, we must do our best!

I have been blogging at lifeofapastor.com for nearly 2 years now.  This is the 545th post on this site.  I thought I would share the top five posts since this blog was started.

5. Jejus

4. Saying The Same Thing Different Ways

3. Changing Sweet-tarts

2. Caffiene Detox

Number 1 post: Signs of a Spiritually Dead Church

Sometimes I stand in awe of how Christians cause Christianity to become irrelevant.  I am not speaking about the language we use when we preach or even the types of programs we have at church.  We have somehow become convinced that if the church is not a certain way, then we will not be “relevant”.

I would like to propose a different view and it has to do with something beyond the church.  As Christians, we are the church.  We are a representative of Christ to this world.  Wouldn’t you say that it is more important to be relevant as an individual and then maybe the church would have more credibility in this world?

The word relevant is over-used.  Relevant is defined as : having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand; affording evidence tending to prove or disprove the matter at issue or under discussion.  We make the church relevant, when we as believers give evidence of Christ working in our lives. 

Relevance is not the songs we sing or the style of service we have at church.  Relevance is living for Christ and displaying to the world that we can be in the world and not of it.  Relevance is purity in an impure world.  Friends, being relevant is being different, not more like the world.  I know some say we must appeal to the people.  We must appeal to the sinner and I agree.  When I came to Christ, however, I didn’t expect the church to become like me, I wanted to become like them.  I wanted to change.  Relevance is not making salvation more comfortable.  Relevance is living like Jesus lived.

Recently, when we were in Oklahoma City, Hannah and I took a walk across a foot bridge.  When we got to the other side, we went down some steps and I saw the classic example of a Christian becoming irrelevant to this world.  It was Christian Graffiti.  It was a painting on the sidewalk that posed the question, WWJD?  What would Jesus do?  Perhaps the graffiti artist should have asked themselves that question before they spray painted.  Jesus wouldn’t deface property with Christian Graffiti. 

Irrelevance is proclaiming to be a Christian and cussing like a sailor.  It is wearing a Christian T-shirt and being rude to your cashier.  It is leaving a tract for your waitress with a worthless tip.  Irrelevance is speeding down the road with a Christian bumper sticker on your car.  Do you get the point?  We must be relevant by living like Jesus would.  Then maybe the world would find the church worth something.