Wednesday, April 25, 2012

"Go Ahead and Laugh"

I have a good friend who has a great laugh. His laugh always turns heads. Sometimes his laugh, he says, makes some people uncomfortable. But if you know him, you know his laugh is as genuine as he is. About a year after he started attending Living Hope, he said to me, "I appreciate that LH is a church where I can be real even in my laugh." I had never thought about that, but he was right. Church should not be a place where we have to hide what we are experiencing and that includes laughter. Why do we try to contain our laughter? I can think of no better place to laugh than with the Body of Christ in worship. I have a tendency to forget that laughter can be a spiritual means of grace. The Bible says, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" Proverbs 17:22. What would happen in our relationship with Christ and others if every day we prayed, "Father, help me to find reason to laugh today?" One thing is for sure, the Church would never again be accused of being a people that are dried up bones. Jesus resurrection has made possible an 8th day that makes possible a new day for us and our world! Suffering, loss, sin, and death need never again have the final say in our lives and in our world(see Rev. 21)! So go ahead, Church, and laugh!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

"Not All Men are Worthless Jerks "

Many present TV shows paint a picture of men as being idiots who have no more control of themselves than a dog in heat. I regularly see Face book posts bemoaning, "There are no good men out there." Statistics on fatherhood certainly do not help the case of the modern male as it would seam that with the rise of broken families many Fathers are checking out of their families. And, let's be honest, if not for women one has to wonder if the church would even continue to exist.

However, I am thankful to be a part of a church family in which the male population dares to be courageous. Lest you think there are no men of courage and character left in our world, let me encourage you with just a few stories.

For the past 6 or 7 years I have watched men willingly come together not only to study the Bible, but to take on direct, honest and bold accountability. I know the level and depth of their commitment to live out the truth of James 5:16, "Confess your sins one to another amd you will be healed," because this courageous group of men let me join them in their journey.

Over a year ago, another men's group was started at LH by Pastor Gregg Hebrank, who called the group together, but then watched God raise up the men of the group to take turns leading the group. They too then ventured into one on one accountability.

Of course, the Celebrate Recovery Men's Study Groups, have watched men take on habits, hurts and hang-ups head on. These men have no desire to simply talk about their issues, they are committed to holding each other accountable in letting God lead them forward. Our church will be forever grateful for the likes of Pastor Paul Brannon and his wife Jenni for the on-going, lasting freedom people experience in CR.

Then there are men like Gordy Gibson and Michael Mills who refuse to allow intercessory prayer to be only a women's event. They have met with many men, including me, for Prayer Ministry for Inner Healing.

Eric Binning, of LH, served at our first Kids Against Hunger pack and dared to ask, "Why couldn't we have a packing site in Dayton?" He did not just ask the question, he became the answer. Last Friday, his Kids Against Hunger Dayton Hunger Initiative did a pack at Springboro Hugh School because of the leadership of another man from Living Hope, Jason Hall, who is a teacher and advisor for LIFT (student led ministry).

Of course, we cannot ever forget the men of LH's response to Human Trafficking at the Superbowl, out of which 6 victims have been rescued!

Some would say, well, that was a one time event, but what are the men doing now? The answer is that the men of Living Hope are doing even more! Just go on Face book and search for "Men of Action", led by Jeremy Schulz and Todd Circele. These men have started a group that has burst outside the walls of LH. I've lost count of how many men from LH and beyond have now joined these two men to call men, as Jeremy said, "To get off our butts and do something!"

I am also thankful that our men are involved in the children's and teen ministry here...that is something that sets LH apart, you know. Normally, only women serve in that ministry area. But here the men understand that our boys and young men need godly male examples to show them how to be courageous men of faith. I would start mentioning names, but there are so many that I fear I would leave someone out.

Every day I work with two men, John Colegrove and Jon Gibson, who I watch continually go the extra mile just because they love Christ and want to see others be real, transformed, connected and poured out!

I could share many more stories of how the men of LH are breaking the mold of the undeserved and deserved criticism of the modern man. I thank God that at LH we have men who are calling us to live according to the courage and strength of Joshua who said, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

"Can You and those who come behind you see the Lamb?"

On Sunday, I joked about it, but I was very serious that the Biblical truth I knew I needed to deliver would be received with offense and resistance. However, God has again shown me how incredibly open you are to letting God change us with His truth even when it is hard to swallow.

The truth I am referring to is that every generation is to take direct and intentional responsibility for the generations that come behind them. I used this example, "When parents say, 'I cannot force my child to engage in the things of Christ,' they are buying into a lie of our culture which is a lie of hell that says that we parents should give up our role of influence on our child's lives and further that as a church family we should not assume direct responsibility for the spiritual influence of the children of Living Hope. Not only is this a lie, but it is hypocritical to say we cannot force our children to engage in the things of Christ. We "force" our children to take a bath, go to the doctor, go to school, do their homework, follow through with their commitments to sports and band and yet for some reason when it comes to that which is most important we think we should leave their spiritual formation completely up to them. I encourage every adult in our church to be free of these hypocritical lies and take responsibility for the faith of the next generation. Just imagine what God could do through a generation that was raised to believe that God has a purpose for their lives that is so meaningful and powerful that it will transform them and transform the world through them!

On Monday night, as I waited for the "hate emails and calls" to begin to come in form the above mentioned statements on Sunday, instead, I received the following:

The first was a call from a Grandmother. She brings her grandchild to worship every Sunday with the blessing of the parents, but without their presence. She said, "Yesterday, after worship, we went to lunch my two good friends, a couple from LH.

The man said to my granddaughter, 'I Love you.'

My Granddaughter lit up an said, "I know you do because you have a cross in your heart."

"A cross in his heart? What does that mean?," I asked.

Her granddaughter pulled out a picture she had colored in the 4yr.-K class. It was a heart with a picture drawn in the middle.

"What does it mean?," they asked her.

She said, "Jesus died on the cross so we can have God in our heart and that helps us love other people."

The grandmother said she is so thankful that we have age-appropriate classes led by multiple adults who help her granddaughter see that the things of God matter and mean something to every day life.

Next, I received an email from a Life group in our church family that has several folks 55 and older. The 55+ of that group shared that they are now intentionally praying about and will be seeking out a way to encourage the parents with young children in our church family. How powerful will that be?! Those who have walked the way will now be helping those who are presently walking the path of parenting be encouraged and supported along the way.

I praise God for you!

You are church that is allowing us to learn more and more what it means to live out Deuteronomy 6:4-7, "Hear, O, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." In other words, make sure that while our children our under our influence we make them notice God in what we say and do and every where we go. As you do that you and they will see the LAMB in both the "spotless" and in the "suffering" as we talked about Sunday.

To that end I hope every parent and grandparent will consider bringing the children in their lives with them to the Good Friday service at 7 PM. It has been designed to to help you and your children to see the LAMB together.