The Branch Church

Church Life - Father to father

"I've made more mistakes than I can count, and it only took one cross to rework the math in my favor. Pure Love. Pure Strength. Pure Jesus."

So my six-year-old son asked if I was doing work for The Branch Church when he saw my laptop open. It's funny how kids minds work. When I told him "no." He asked what I was doing then. I replied, "A little bit of this, and a little bit of that."

The truth is I could have told him I was thinking, but then he would have asked what I was thinking about. I don't think I could have given a short answer for that. What I've been thinking about is church life - past, present, and future. Perhaps I could have told him this, but then he would have asked why or what specifically I was thinking about and I would have had to try to explain that his grandfather - my dad - is being "ordained to the Gospel Ministry" on Sunday, and that I'm am going to be "charging the candidate." He probably would have done an about face and walked out after that jargon left my mouth.

My dad has just begun to pastor his first church. His ordination ties into the "past, present, and future church life," at least in my thoughts and love for him like this...

The Past
The time from our first official "Launch Service" in September of 2005 has flown by as fast as any other "almost six year" span in my life. Only, it causes me to reflect on things I've been through, that I wonder if my dad will go through. He's about to start pastoring a small church, and since I know now at least a little of what he's in for - at the very least in my flesh - I am concerned for him. I almost typed "worried," only I know that if God has called Him, God will protect and supply His anointed with all that is needed.

My "concern" then is rooted in how many "ups" have come down in the life of our church*. I don't even want to touch on the economy (maybe an upcoming post), but there are a few foundational things that I now know effect a first time pastor in the life of his first church. (* None of the "downs" are necessarily sinful or evil, but from a human standpoint can become wearing, stressful, hurtful, or even depressing).

1. He will make mistakes. Lots of them. I've had this thought run through my head a half a dozen times in the last month or so: "When I left my home church to start this one, I thought I knew 'everything.' Now it feels like I don't know how to do 'anything.'" Much of this comes from my own insecurities. I've made mistakes. I've said or done wrong things - many that were repeat offenses - and even though I know in my intellect and spirit that much of them were "perceived" mistakes or misunderstandings, perception is reality for people, and the average American church goer has a sense of entitlement that cannot be explained in some blog. Only I will say, I've been guilty of this entitlement feeling as a Christian, so I know it is not on par with any ideas Jesus had for how His body was to function after His Ascension. I pray my dad will immediately cultivate the idea of a church "family" into his ministry plans. It wont' be a cure-all, but he may find himself surrounded by people who choose to stick it out. To be thick skinned over the petty. To lift him up when he feels like giving up. The way we should be with our family.
2. The "Holy Huddle" Dynamic. As much as you say you want to grow a church of lost people at the beginning, it sure starts to "feel right" when the same people keep coming, you get to know them better, and you start counting on them for the long haul. This was a big mistake of misperception on my part. No one is promised life tomorrow, so no one should bank on any relationship standing the test of time. God wants to be our all in all, and the transient nature of people's allegiances make it a no-brainer that we should love the flock consistently and unconditionally, but to keep our eyes outward to reaching the next person we do not yet know. Teachers get to do this every year because they're forced to. They know to pour their life into the students they have, and to live in the now with them, but that the next year will hold a whole new batch of kids. I pray my dad will not attach his heart to greatly to any one family, but will keep his heart's fondest affections for Jesus, his wife, and his children.
3. Living in numbers, events, or victories instead of living on the mountain. Church attendance, offerings, ministries, and even spiritual victories all jockey for the pastor's time. When this happens, it causes us to try and live in the strength of our personalities and planning. Very simply, I pray my dad drives to quiet places, spends time with God - not for sermon study time - but to just get to know God more. When his todo list gets bigger than he thought a little church could produce, I pray he will see that as a sign to get to his hiding place with God. It will help him cut down on the mistakes, cause him to want to send people away from the church on mission before they leave for shallow reasons, and make numbers, events, and victories literally seem irrelevant in the light of the glory of seeing God's face and hearing His voice.

The Present
The present state of our church reminds me of one of those buildings being built that have a large mural like sign that block out any pedestrian view. You can't see anything going on inside the building or store, but the sign tells you work is happening. In these cases, not even the pastor knows for sure what the final "look" will be.

I think this is healthy. It reminds me of a message Calvary Chapel's Chuck Smith preached years ago about the nature of the pastor and other Christians. He was careful to stress that the pastor is not a go-between for the people and God. Every born-again Christian has just as much access, receives just as much love and care, and has faith to be tested every bit as much as any pastor. It's not that the "office" of the pastor doesn't have relevance or respect, but it is okay to "not know" - and should be well-recieved by the people.

I pray that in my dad's "unknown" times when God seems silent, or circumstances seem bleak, he will think of this "under construction" or "remodeling" picture. That he will be okay sharing from his pulpit, "I'm not sure what God is doing exactly, but I know that He will do it exactly the right way for His glory and our good." This will make them pray harder. This will please God.

The Future
Never give up. I almost got IICORFOR on my license plates years ago. 2 Corinthians 4 begins with Paul reminding all believers "Therefore since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not." This is a good place for me to decrease -

"Dear Jesus, please be merciful to my earthly father. He raised me as his son, and I love him very much. I am happy for him, and anxious at the same time. I know Your word tells us to be anxious for nothing, but he's not "nothing," he's my dad. Father, I pray that you will keep his fire, his joy, his love for the gospel kindled inside. Lord, I know that some of the people that shower him with the most love, will be the same people that slander him with the most gossip. Jesus forgive them ahead of time, and help him to show Your face by offering that same sweet forgiveness. Help him to not neglect his quiet time with You. Help Him to not neglect his study time for them. Father, I've come full-circle and feel like I know nothing. For this, I'm grateful. I want to say with Paul, 'I declare to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified,' so 'that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.' Thank you for his humility and gentle spirit. I ask you to clearly rebuke the enemy. I look forward to learning more in this special genre of life, as I watch my Father pour life into my father. With everything I have, I love You. In Jesus' name, David."

 

 

Cymbala's Excerpt Of Love - Still Relevant to The Church

“One Sunday about 20 yrs ago, back in our days in the YWCA, I said something impromptu while receiving new members into the church that has stuck with us ever since.  People were standing in a row across the front before me, and as I spoke, the holy spirit seemed to prompt me to add, ‘And now, I charge you, as pastor of this church, that if you ever hear another member speak an unkind word of criticism or slander against anyone – myself, another pastor, an usher, a choir member, or anyone else – you have the authority to stop that person in mid sentence and say, ‘Excuse me - Who hurt you? Who ignored you? Who slighted you? Was it Pastor Cymbala? Let’s go to his office right now. He will get on his knees and apologize, and then we’ll pray together, so God can restore peace to this body.  But we will not let you talk critically about people who are not present to defend themselves.’”

“New members, please understand that I am entirely serious about this.  I want you to help resolve this kind of thing immediately and meanwhile, know this: If you are ever the one doing the loose talking we will confront you.’”

“To this very day, every time we receive new members, I say much the same thing. It is always a solemn moment. That is because I know what most easily destroys churches. It is not crack cocaine. It is not government oppression.   It is not even a lack of funds.  Rather, it is gossip and slander that grieves the Holy Spirit.”

“People nod their heads with understanding, and as a result rumor and busy body talk are kept to a minimum.  We have had to confront a few people along the way, of course, but the general concern to live with clean hearts and clean speech before the Lord prevents many problems from ever getting started.”

“I’ll never talk about you, until I’ve talked to you. Then I’ll only talk for you, and never against you.” – Anonymous

Amped

“[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death…”
– Philippians 3:10 (Amplified Bible)

"Time To Get 'Writeous' Again"

I keep telling my students how important it is to read, write, and speak. Not only that, I "preach" to them how being a better reader will make you a better writer which will make you a better speaker. The one thing I realized this week was that I'm only doing 2 out of 3. I need (and want) to be able to say to them that I am doing all three right along with them.

It's been a long time since I've consistently "blogged". I'm not even sure if you can call what I do blogging. Its on a blog site, but part of the reason I have been so inconsistent, is that I'm not sure if I've been doing it correctly. It's not even that I have a big audience of readers, so mainly this block is mental.

Starting right now my blog is back on.

I Love My Church

The passion and love that I have been feeling for my church the past four or five weeks has been overwhelming me. I can honestly say (and write), that I pray for my church everyday. I think of various people's faces, and just start praying for them. I pray for us corporately, and about the individual needs that I know of.

I can't pinpoint or say this is a direct result of "A" or "B", but I can say I'm glad my zeal for them is there. I feel that even our fellowship is becoming more intimate and sweet. It's also becoming more consistent. Whether worshipping on Sunday, going to the movies, or even sitting by the pool at my daughter's birthday party, just being with my church is something I cherish.

I pray each day, and feel in my heart God telling me that these are the people I want to be standing side by side with WHEN Jesus comes back.

Elders

I prayed a prayer tonight with the elders of our church, and my wife, that went something like, "God, I feel like I've won the lottery having these guys..."

Having never won the lottery, I know the expression is "whatever," but the overwhelming sense of peace, love, and trust that I got from investing myself - and a truer form of myself that I feel I've been in a long time -  made me feel like I have a resource that is invaluable.

If you read this blog for updates on my family or TBC, please pause and pray for the elders in our church. They will be formally introduced and prayed for in an upcoming service before I name them in a blog, but I ask you to ask God for His power, and divine guidance to be laid upon the hearts of these men, and their families.

God always provides. A-L-W-A-Y-S

Humility Series Week 2

Week two of our series on humility entitled, "How to Be a Great Backseat Driver" continued with a challenge on serving. Our umbrella statement for this week was: :"The secret to serving is using what God has given you when He gives it to you, and giving all the credit to God for creating you, and providing the resources.”

The first message was titled “You Matter to God” Main point was “The more you care how much you matter to God, you’ll care more about how much you matter to others.” – Before we can begin, we have to be clear that you and I do matter in the life of others, the fact that we do shouldn’t consume us or it will cause pride. Here is a great quote to illustrate that:

“The person of true humility is indifferent to praise or unfair criticism”

Part of the goal of this week's message was to liberate two groups of people in the church: The "Go-getters," and the "Getters."

The Go-getter is an all go, no quit, let's get it done for Jesus no matter what the cost personality that has a lot of great qualities. A few of the not-so-great ones, however, are the Go-getter has a propensity:
1. For burnout. We can only say yes to so many things before we begin to feel overwhelmed. Saying yes to one thing is saying no to something else. Maybe even something else very important like your family.
2. For pride. The Go-getter is susceptible to the "Hey look at me" syndrome that the devil created.
3. For bitterness. The Go-getter may also fall into the trap of looking at who's not there serving alongside them, and become bitter that more people aren't doing what they're doing.

The Getter is sometimes described as someone who sits and soaks it all in. The person is not sure which foot to put forward because they're not sure which direction to aim their big toe. Mentally, they want to serve, but week after week, it doesn't seem to pan out for them. The Getter has a propensity:
1. For guilt. "If only I could do more for God," or, "I wish I could do more for the church," is a common motto of the Getter. They feel guilty for what they don't do in the ministry of service, and sometimes are held in bondage by chains of guilt for their past that "causes" them not to serve.
2.For pride. Sometimes the Getter is held in check by their pride much like the Go-getter. They are too prideful to confess the need for training or direction, too prideful to share a need they have that is serving as a stopgap to the fluidity of their spiritual self, too prideful to take that first step in service.
3. For bitterness. The Getter is often left bitter and unfulfilled and exits a Sunday morning service faster than an ice-cube tossed into lava. Bitter for what they aren't doing, and bitter for what they see or hear others doing for Christ, the Getter is left our of balance the area of servitude.

So, we're back to our foundation from week one which is balance. Our simple statement of using what God gives you, when He gives it to you to use is found over and over in the pages of the bible in so many captivating and creative ways. Looking simply at John 3:23 the bible tell us that John had 3 items to accomplish the ministry God was giving him to accomplish in that moment. John had:

1. Himself - The willing individual
2. A lot of Water - Resource #1
3. People to be baptized - People being served

"John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized" (NASB)

Our challenge as a church then, was to begin where you are at with what God is giving you. Can you help a neighbor move? Do it. Can you be at a child's dance recital? Mark it down. Show up 15 minutes early on Sunday to greet new faces? Check. Stay 20 minutes after service to help load up a trailer? Bingo.

Serving God is all about yielding yourself to Him. He want to get the credit, and trust me, you want to give it to Him. God is good. All the time. So serving Him should be something we look forward to. Wherever we are, with whatever He's given us.

Next week is the last week in our 3 week series on humility. We will finish up John chapter 3, and wrap up what we have learned, praying and pleading with God, that He will use it in our lives on an every day basis. Applying what we've learned from Him will take us further into kingdom usage as individuals, and as The Branch Church.

Humility Series Week 1

Week one of our series on humility entitled, "How to Be a Great Backseat Driver" began with us looking at what humility is not. Humility is not:
1. Having an unhealthy view of yourself. Low self-esteem is not the goal with humility. Telling yourself lies (or believing those of others) that say things like, "You'll never amount to anything, you'll never conquer sin, you're worthless," and so on are pure lies and therefore pure evil.
2. Denying yourself good things for the sake of piety. When invited to a friend's house and offered a glass of water, deciding to not take the water for the sake of being humble isn't being humble. It's being thirsty. Humility doesn't need to lie.

So what, then, is humility? Paul wrote it best in Romans 12:3 when he said, "Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves." (NLT)

Humility is balance. It is having a healthy view of yourself based on how God sees you, and appropriating your position internally and externally. God values us. He loves us. He absolutely treasures us. In sermons, we're often told we are sons and daughters of the ultimate King, so why not start to believe it.

What we boiled down our first week's message to was one statement: "The more you care how much you matter to God, you'll begin to care less how much you matter to others."

Not that you will be ego centered or say that what others think doesn't matter in a prideful or mean way, but that you won't be so concerned with the demands of pride and the world. What you wear, what you drive, how much money you have in the bank, and so on won't be the focus of your life, and a common source of displeasure when you evaluate yourself. When you begin to remember how much God cares for you and loves you, the materialistic nature begins to wither and the Spirit takes control. You'll be able to have a "clear evaluation" of yourself as Paul said we should have.

Two equally opposing and destructive forces for us as people are low self-esteem and overt pride. The balance of humility helps you live in the middle where God can direct your steps. Do you really believe that you matter to Him? It's important for us to really believe it, or else it will be nearly impossible for us to get an unbelieving world to believe it. And that will always be our goal!

It Begins With The Heart

The more of your heart you can give to God, the more of that same heart you can give to your spouse, and you will have a better marriage.

This is true from the scriptures and modeled for us in the life of Christ.

Consider these memorable words from Jesus, when He was confronted by some pertinent religious leaders of His day.

Matthew's gospel records these words: "And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him. 'Teacher, which commandment is the law is the greatest?' He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart..." Matthew 22:35-37

Luke writes, "One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that He answered them all well, he asked Him, 'Which commandment is first of all?' Jesus answered, 'The first is, 'Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart...'" Luke 10:28-30

Finally we see this in Mark's gospel: "Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus, 'Teacher,' he said, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, 'What is written in the law? What do you read there?' He answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart..."

It's hard to encapsulate just how paramount what Christ was saying to the people of His day, and to the people of our day. In a very real sense, Jesus was answering the question, "As a human being, what is the most important thing I can do to please God?" Or, "What is the single most important thing I can know on how I should live my life according the rules God has laid out for mankind?"

Jesus takes this question, knowing it was an attempt to trap Him, but also knowing that there would be hearers who wouldn't know the motive of the asker and answers with the purest of truth. This truth, He takes from Deuteronomy chapter 6.

To help get the full impact of why Jesus uses these words, it helps to remember who Jesus is quoting, the audience that person is talking to, and why he is saying it.

First, Jesus is quoting Moses in the book of Deuteronomy. This, however, isn't the Moses who lived in Pharaoh's household before killing an Egyptian and fleeing. It isn't Moses who, after being domesticated as a husband and father for about 4 decades, meets God in a burning bush. And it isn't the Moses, who has seen the power of God's hand through miracles and plagues standing at the edge of the Red Sea ready to lead 2-4 million of God's people for the first time.

By the time we get to chapter 6 of Deuteronomy, we find Moses nearing the end of His life. He is Moses who did lead those people across the Red Sea, and on into some face to face encounters with God. He witnessed, and interceded for, a people who were up and down, hot and cold, fervent and passive, obedient and disobedient, in their relationship with God. Even Moses himself at times gets caught up with his own flesh and humanity and sins. In fact, one of the most detrimental things He does is attempt to carry out an order from God over the people in a brash and angry way. Because of God's holiness and sovereignty, God tells Moses he will not be allowed to lead the people into the land He was giving to them. The Promised Land. Numbers 20:8-12.

It's not hard for most of us to imagine something that we were looking forward to being taken away. In this case, the deep passion Moses must have felt for God and for His people, and the thought of not being able to get to the finish line with them after all they had gone through together must have been overwhelming. So much so, Moses asks God for another chance. In recanting to the children of Israel his request to God, Moses says, "At that time I pleaded with the Lord and said, 'O Sovereign Lord, You have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, Your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do? Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country, and the Lebanon mountains.' But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and He would not listen to me. 'That's enough! He declared. 'Speak of it no more.' Deuteronomy 3:21-26

I remind us of all of that to illustrate that not only is Jesus is quoting the only leader the Israelites had known before getting to the Promised Land, the Moses we are hearing from is a man who has become intimately aware of the holiness of God. At this stage of his life, Moses knows about sin and its destruction and consequence, not just from being an eyewitness, but also from being a transgressor.

Second, the audience Moses has been leading, are the people who had seen many of the same things Moses had seen. Up to this point, they had to learn hard lessons about God's holiness. They learned about His love and redemption in the process, but they would no doubt be struck with memories of thousands of their countryman who had been wiped off the face of the earth because of disobedience. They were no doubt aware, that their beloved leader Moses, would not be allowed to enter the land for that same reason. In this moment, they are an attentive audience.

They haven't yet arrived spiritually, but they seem to be further along in their quest. In fact, Joshua 22:10-20 records that after crossing over the Jordan, and conquering the land, some of the Israelites begin to build an ambiguous altar. The vast majority of the remaining tribes of people hear of about this possible offense to God and are so concerned they set themselves to battle and war with, if necessary, their own people. Before going to that extreme, however, they send some delegates to inquire what is going on. In the midst of their talks, those delegates remind those building the altar of at least two instances where God's wrath had arisen because of the sin of specific individuals, yet how the consequence of those actions were not limited to the offenders only. The situation is diffused, and we are left with a good picture of a people who have learned from their mistakes.

Thirdly, at this point in his life, although He can not enter himself, he still wants what is absolutely best for God's choice people. He has come to grips and embraced that Joshua will be the leader who takes them across the Jordan, but that hasn't caused him to become a slouch in his wisdom and love. That is why although he had done it countless times before, Moses has not burned out in giving his message to the people, "Obey God and prosper." The message is probably as fervent and urgent as ever, if not more.

Before going across to the land God was giving them, Moses told his flock, "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart..." Deuteronomy 6:4-5

In every essence, our Lord Christ was affirming the words of Moses that came from the finger of God, God needs to be first in our lives. The only way to love your spouse and the world around you with an everlasting unconditional love, is the have an unquenchable love for God.

Hang In There

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1 (NASB)

So many people I encounter on a regular basis are flat out having a hard time in this economy. That's not a newsflash, but neither is what I'm about to tell you: "God is up to something." God has our best interest at heart and He is still on His throne.

"Carson and Amy Worell lived in one of the finest homes on Danecker Street. It was a four bedroom home with plenty of space for entertaining, and ample yard for their three children. To the outsider, money was never an issue with the Worell's. They seemed to have plenty of it, and they did. He was a successful opthamologist and she was a nurse. They wore nice clothes, leased nice cars, and furnished their home with nice things. They weren't frugle, but they weren't splurgers either. As the years went on their bank account grew, but their love for one another did not.

"Years after their divorce, Amy would cite how having money made their permanent separation possible. 'It's not like the pain or distress of it all abated completely because of our financial status, but it did play a key role. Most of our married lives we were cautioned against the dangers of not having enough financial security, and how the stresses that come from those situations drive people apart. Our situation was different. Not having to worry about money meant not having to worry about the well-being of the other person - at least to an extent. I've often wondered if we had been in a situation where we were so dependent on each other, like we were when he was finishing medical school, if it would have helped us struggle through our problems together. I know he wouldn't have taken to the idea of leaving me penniless, and I would have worried about leaving him with so much school debt. If we would have at least had that to hang on to for the roughest period of our marriage, maybe if would have gotten us to the next rung on the ladder. Instead, we simply decided the climb was too hard, and we gave up.'"

I'd like to suggest a thought. Not a rule, a law, a principle, or a precept, just a thought. Those of us who married as idealists, that is, those who saw marriage as something to make work no matter what the stakes. Isn't it possible that the struggle that you look forward to at the beginning of your marriage - especially financially - can be an agent God uses to help keep your marriage together in latter years? If you can look past the pointing fingers of who got who in debt, or who was calling the shots in big financial decisions, couldn't you actually find rest - find real rest - in knowing that the God who said, "Universe be" and it was, is the same God who is allowing your life to be the seesaw battle that it is?

I'm not suggesting at all that God is causing a bad economy for the sole purpose of keeping marriages together. I realize that financial strain often does drive people apart because of resentment and feelings of hoplessness and "going backwards." I'm only suggesting two main things:

1. When we wrestle with God we get to know Him better. This happened with Jacob in the book of Genesis and then God changed his name to Israel. When we wrestle with life as a couple (no matter what the topic of the struggle is) we can do so with the purpose of huddling together during the storm, so we too can know ourselves and God better than we ever have.
2. The bible is extremely clear that God works ALL THINGS together for good according to HIS PURPOSES. See Romans 8:29 and following. If this is true, and it is, then KNOW that God isn't done. Don't give up on Him. Don't let Him get lost in the shuffle because He hasn't acted the way you'd like Him to. He's got a plan. He's on His throne.

I often think of how my three year old loves to go to Fiesta Village - a small putt-putt amusement park in Colton - when we've only been there a couple of times. How disappointing to be sitting in his car seat as he thinks we're going there because he recognizes the freeway we're on, and we even pass by the park. How much grief would he have as we continued on to the 91 freeway to the 57 South, exited on Katella, and made a right on Disney Way. What a marvelous scene to imagine the complete dissipation of his sadness as we pulled into a place that he loves far more than the place we passed.

Jesus is asking us for a childlike faith. Period. Hang in there.