Differing Gifts

Every Sunday I have been called to handle the most important thing in all the world: I am called to preach the Gospel and I am called to get it right! In June I will be starting a series entitled “Terrorist In The Church” this will be a series on the book of Jude - I am so excited to go through this wonderful little book. Jude tells about people who pretend they are genuine but are in fact imposters. One of the main reasons we have had preachers in our pulpit like Bob Pittman, Sam Cathey - and others that we will have in the days and years ahead- is that it is important to hear a message with the same theme from the same book with a different voice. God uses a variety of people and personalities in Scripture: He uses John that spends a great deal of time with tender precepts, and then Paul who comes across very strong and to the point. He uses Peter who seemed to think Paul was little too tough or complicated at times. The point is God uses men with different personality types and different styles to enhance the growth of the church. This is the reason I have encouraged you - whether it is through preaching, singing, or playing an instrument, don’t get hung up on the style, get caught up in making sure what you are hearing is truth from the Word of God. I am sometimes amazed when you hear people speak about a teacher, pastor or spouse and they say: “Well, what they did was Biblical, I just don’t like how they did it.” (This is where we must be people who have grace flowing out of us - it is our differences that can be used in the body to glorify Christ the most) What they are usually saying is: “I don’t like the style.” Just as in our family, my wife interacts much differently with our boys than do I - We have the same rules, we discipline the same way, we love them with immeasurable depth, however we speak to them, correct them, converse with them very differently. The beauty of that is that there are some things that I can say to them and they will not hear properly or they will misunderstand it… but Michele can speak the same truth, or say virtually the same thing and they “get it.” There are other times that I have to step in and talk to them in “male talk”, more direct, giving direction that all of a sudden a light turns on in their mind! They need us both desperately and God uses both of us to aid in their sanctification - and uses both of our boys to aid in ours. All of this to say…thank God for the different gifts, thank God for the different personalities and styles we have in our pulpit, in our church and in our lives! There have been times that I have needed a swift kick in the spiritual pants and God has sent “professional biblical pants kickers” in my life… there have been other times I just needed someone to pray for me and not correct me but just listen to me, and God has sent those saints also to come along beside me. The wonderful thing about the Word of God is that it can correct us, rebuke us, but it can also comfort us. Take a moment and thank God for someone who God has used in your life to exhort, rebuke or correct you. Then thank Him for the Word of God that is always there for our every need!

Lesssons From The Little Ones

Last Sunday night we had a very interesting conversation at home. One of our boys told someone about a Children’s Church surprise that he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to say (it turned out he was never asked not to tell) - but this gave us a great opportunity to talk about guarding our tongue. We live in a day where everyone has a right to let their “voice” be heard and obviously their opinion is the only one that matters. They demand to have their say and, if no one will listen they can always go to the internet where no one knows anything about them or their character (or the lack there of). They secretly sit at home with their Superman footy pajamas, while mom serves them lucky charms, and they get to watch the Star Trek marathon on the Sci-Fi Channel while wearing their “Apprentice Jedi” cap. But as the song says… “They are soooo much cooler on line.” This is done on the internet, in our homes, even in our churches. This is one of those things that we must always guard everywhere we go. Look at some of these verses: Prov. 12:23 “A prudent man conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.” Prov. 13:3 “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.” Prov. 18:2 “A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.”
We have had the joy of watching God work in a great way at Trinity, but one doesn’t have to be a scholar to understand James 3:1-12 and notice what great damage the tongue can bring. I have learned through the years of being in the ministry that many times God’s people are much more open to applying the Word of God when it is given to them as a warning rather in the midst of correction. Basically what I am saying is the best time to preach, write, or teach about a potential problem is before it comes up, so we will stand on guard against it: this is what I am calling us to do now – be on guard! As I stated in the post last week, when we call a Worship Pastor or Youth Minister everyone will have an opinion, but we must ensure that our opinion does not become a demand or “a right”, as we heard preached this past weekend. We will seek God’s man based on Biblical standards and adherence to the Word of God. Our calling as people of God is to love and worship the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind. If we love the Lord we love His people - if we love the Lord we do what Paul has called us to do and “…strive for peace....” or literally WAR FOR PEACE. So, what am I asking? I need each of us at Trinity to guard, defend and uphold our unity and peace – when you see a spark – throw water on it and not gasoline! Let’s be sure that we do not let preferences, opinions, past experiences or generalities become dividing points…

The few people I have spoken with are excited for me to announce who our Worship Pastor will be and I am excited about him also - I truly believe as we are seeing, and will be seeing that our best days are ahead of us. But we must do things God’s way and in all we do glorify Him. Once everything is in place, I will be sharing with our choir, our leadership and all of our church the wonderful, Biblical, and musical qualifications our new Minister Worship has. God is doing great things, do all you to get in on it! I love you and count it a great joy and honor to be able to be called your Pastor!