Eric's Blog

A Man's Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines

This is the book we used in our men's small group. If you are a man this would be a great book for you to use to help develop spiritual disciplines. It covers 12 disciplines: a man and creation, the Bible, prayer, worship, the Sabbath, fellowship, counsel, fasting, spiritual warfare, stewardship, service, and evangelism. Here are some quotes and comments from the book...

• "God is seeking worshipers. So if God and man don't get together, it's not because He's hiding-it's because we are."



• " We all have a responsibility, and also a right or privilege, to enjoy regular intervals of rest."



• "A man who doesn't honor the Sabbath, who doesn't invest any time celebrating his place in God's family, will succumb to stress."



• Redwoods stand strong because they stand together. So who is standing with you?



• "The most powerful force in the world is a relationship."



• "God does not give any person everything he needs. Instead He gives us the gift of one another. Counsel flows from fellowship."



• "Most people do not want counsel-they want permission."



• "Fasting involves giving up something you normally do, for the purpose of focusing more time and attention on God."



• "You can't change the fruit if you don't change the root."



• "When we become Christians, we don't become purely spiritual beings. We still live in human bodies, with human motivations and desires."



• "Starve your temptations. Shrink your appetites."



• "When you get to tithing, you are only at the starting point of what God wants your to do with your life."



• "Tithing is not a blessing for God, but from God."



• "There are 113 million men in the US 15 years of age or older, and 69 million of them do not profess to be born again."



• "Evangelism is taking someone as far as he wants to go toward Jesus."



• "Spiritual disciplines are the regular practices men cultivate when they want a closer walk with Christ."

So men, what are you doing to develop a closer walk with God?

By the way, Father's Day is coming soon. This would be a great book for you to pick up in our bookstore as a gift.

Free Mobile Bible

Thought some of you might be interested in this. Now, you can now access the Bible via your mobile phone at http://m.youversion.com! If you have a web enabled mobile phone, you will be able to read and search The Bible in 14+ translations and much more.

Some of the key features include:

• Quick Search including Book, Verse, Keywords/Text.
• 14+ translations currently including: ASV, AMP, ESV, HCSB, NASB, NCV, NIV, NKJV, TNIV, MSG, WEB, LBLA (Spanish), NBLH (Spanish), RVA (Spanish).
• Daily Reading (One Year Bible).
• YouVersion.com User contributions attributed to scripture verses including text, links and YouTube mobile video.
• List of the 20 most recent user contributions.

Be sure to check it out using your mobile phone at http://m.youversion.com. It's simple and free.

Restoring Honor

Here is the opening paragraphs from Clayton King's post on Restoring Honor...

"I am sure that a post of this sort offers itself to misunderstanding.  I write it nonetheless, in hopes that you will hear my heart and glean the good from it.

The church in America seems to have lost the ancient, and dare I even say Biblical understanding of correctly honoring the man of God; one who dedicates his life to service to God and God’s people (this could be the worship leader, youth minister, or most often the pastor).  We have confused honor with obsession, treat our ministers like hired hands, and become addicted to personalities on TV or the internet and swallow anything they try to sell us while starving our local pastor on a salary that allows him to qualify for food stamps."

To read the rest go here.

Note: Every guest minister that visits our church is a honored guest and gift from God and should be treated that way. I think we treat our guest very well but sometimes we need to be reminded that they are honored guests. Thank you for all you do to make everyone who comes to New Life feel welcomed and loved. You guys are great!

The Church of Oprah Exposed

You might find this interesting you might find this offensive but if you watch or like Oprah you should check this out.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA

Sunday Night Reflections

I'm really tired but here are a few things before I go to bed...

• Please pray for me. I hit my head walking up a ladder to go into the attic at church on Thursday and had a headache for two days. It's still sore.
• Please pray for my son. He fell in the parking lot, hit his head, and threw up. He seems OK now but has a knot on his head.
• Please pray for Rick and Christine Perkins. Her dad had surgery on Friday to remove part of his bladder where a tumor was found and the doctor's report is not good.
• Today's message was very hard on me but God ministered to people in a powerful way. Never become complacent with the move of God in our services.
• The newcomer's fellowship was fun tonight. My wife and I really enjoy meeting new people.
• The best way for you to get connected is to join a small group or to get involved in a ministry. We will be signing up for small groups during the month of May. If you would like to be a small group leader please let me know as soon as possible. Training starts next Sunday night.
• As always you need to invite, invite, invite. Who are you going to invite next week? By the way, we will have new invite cards for you to pick up next week.

Have a great week!!!

How to Stop Gossip or Criticism

What do you do when someone walks up to you and begins to criticize or give you the latest gossip on a pastor, a friend, or someone else you know? Do you don't say anything but still stand there and listen? Do you join in the gossip to see what else you can find out? Do you walk away? What do you do?

Pastor Steven Furtick said this on his blog:

It happened again the other day! The conversation was going so well. I was actually kind of surprised when the person I was talking to (who I was meeting for the first time) just had to go there. Now, there was no way this guy could have known that the pastor he was about to slander was a pretty good friend of mine. So I think it threw him for a loop when I stopped him mid-sentence and served notice:
“I really don’t want to continue this conversation. The pastor you’re speaking against is a great man of God. You don’t even know him, I know him and care for him a whole lot. So I think it would be beneficial to both of us for you to stop maligning his character right now. I don’t want to hear it.”

To read the rest of his blog on this go here. What would you have done? Be honest. Most of us would not have said something like this. Listen, if you stand there and listen to, allow the conversation to continue, whether you are on the phone or in person, you are wrong. What you tolerant you will never change. What you listen to you allow. You are looked at as approving of the conversation if you do not correct it.

1 Tim 5:19 says, "Don't pay attention to an accusation against a spiritual leader unless it is supported by two or three witnesses (from GOD'S WORD). We discussed this in our John Maxwell leadership training this week. This principle in found in both the Old Testament and New Testament. The principle says there should be at least two or three "witnesses." A "witness" is one who either heard it or saw it.

Steven's blog deals with spiritual leaders and so does 1 Timothy 5:19. But the Bible is clear that we should not gossip or slander one another. So what do you do when someone approaches you with the latest gossip on a spiritual leader? Tell them, "Stop, I do not want to hear it." Then tell them why. Let's speak to the potential in one another. Let's believe the best. Let's build each other up. What do you think?

15 Characteristics of Effective Pastors

This is a must read for all pastors, those called to pastor, and those in Bible College. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

• "A person is not old until their memories are more important than their dreams."



• "God loves using deserts and darkness to grip the attention of His servants."



• "When you define who you are based on what you do, you become a slave to your own performance."



• "Integrity is strengthened by choosing to be vulnerable with a small number of trusted people."



• "We become like the people we spend time with."



• "The nature of who you are in your character is dependent on the diet that feeds your heart."



• Identity Prayer: "Lord, put your finger deep into the clay of my life today. Shape me so that others see more of you in me today."



• Charles Swindoll: "When God wants to use a person greatly, He crushes them deeply."



• "Ministries are often more about survival than conquest and celebration, yet the power of enthusiasm is vital to attract people to ministry."



• "Pastors who move at the speed of the Spirit take risks to extend the Kingdom."



• "In the pressures of ministry, hard circumstances represent the reason God has called you: to be the hands and feet of Jesus to bring wholeness to people."



• "Character is formed through a repeated series of decisions."



• I love this one: "Each day must be a new lesson in learning how to love a God that we cannot see, a church member we can see and a lost person that we need to see."



• "Faithfulness is endurance to continue in a good direction, refusing to give up, until a harvest is realized."



• "Marriage finds its source in God, not the civil authorities."



• "Most people are motivated when they are involved."

This books covers the top 15 characteristics of pastors. 13 are inward and 2 are based on skill: preaching and vision-casting.

How to Grow in Your Faith Part Two

Growing in your faith requires action on your part. You will have to make decisions and act on those decisions. You can only grow so much from going to church and sitting in a pew and reading your Bible and praying at home. Don't get me wrong these things are important and should be done.

But growing in your faith requires you to make decisions that STRETCHES your faith. I have practiced this in my life and in my ministry. When I said we were going to build our new sanctuary debt free everybody was not ready to move out in faith. Some worried about the current debt and other things. To make a long story short about a year later the building was finished debt free!!! Believe me that required a lot of faith.

My rule is this: When I am facing two choices and they both are good or Godly, which one requires more faith. That is usually the way I go. It may be the more difficult path but by choosing that path I have to pray more, depend upon God more, and that causes my faith to grow. I have always told God I wanted to be a man of great faith. I don't want to be a person of little faith and I don't want to look back over my life and regret a decision I made simply because I did not have enough faith.

When we were building the Ministry Center Building we were not going to finish the kitchen. One day God said to me: "The only difference between finishing the kitchen now and later is your faith." Guess what, we finished the kitchen. I mean around $7000 worth of cabinets with appliances and all.

Faith decisions will take you out of your comfort zone. I also ask our leaders and others in our church to do things that take them out of their comfort zones. Pastors, you should constantly be challenging and stretching your people's faith. Don't be afraid to ask them to take a step of faith with you. It's part of your responsibility.

So you want to grow in your faith? What is God asking you to do right now that you are afraid to do, that you have been putting off, that you know YOU can't do or that you are fearful of what others might say. Step out and do it. Follow God with everything you have. He is a faith God and wants yours to grow.

How to Grow in Your Faith

We often get this question or people check "I would Like Information on How to Grow in My Faith" on the back of their connection card. First, you are ultimately responsible for your spiritual growth. Not your mama, your church, your pastor, or your small group. Your church should ASSIST you in your spiritual growth but you must take advantage of those opportunities.

Basic things you need to do (things you know and hear about but probable don't do) :

• Read the Bible. You can start with a least a chapter a day. Read a chapter in Proverbs in the OT and John in the NT.



• Pray. Don't make this complicated. Just talk to Him as you would a friend.



• Be faithful to you church. Note: If you are not being challenged by the preaching, your toes are not getting stepped on, and you are not getting offended then you are probable in the wrong church. At times growing hurts and is painful.



• Share your faith. Now that sounds hard and scary but all it means is that you tell people what Jesus has done and is doing for you. We can all do that.

Other things you need to do but probable don't think about as helping you grow in your faith:

• Start giving some of your money to your local church. God's starting place is the tithe (that's 10%) but if your faith is not there yet then just do something. I am amazed at the number of people who do nothing. Just start and be honest with God about it. Pray about it and watch God work in you and for you. Believe me this will grow your faith.



• If you are giving the tithe then increase your given. Give to the mission or benevolence fund. Raising your level of giving raises your level of faith which causes you to grow. By the way: Don't get mad about me writing about the tithe or giving more if you have never tried it.



• Get involved in a ministry. You grow by serving others. You grow by using your God-given gifts. This is not something you need to pray about. Get involved this week. Your church needs you.



• Get involved in a small group. We grow better together. Who is holding you accountable? Who do you have to pray with? Who are doing life together with? Do you really want to grow? Then get in a group and BE accountable to it.



• Get involved in outreach. That means you have to get outside the four walls of your church building. Reaching out to others keeps you in touch with the needs around you. Reaching out to others challenges the fear in your life and causes faith to rise up on the inside of you. Outreach will definitely help you grow.



• Read books and blogs that challenge you and help you grow in your faith.

You can sit in your room every day and pray for hours and not achieve certain types of spiritual growth. What I am saying is that giving, serving, and getting involved in outreach will grow you in ways that prayer cannot. Yes, prayer is important. But if you want to be ALL that God's wants you to be then you have to get off your chair, get out of your comfort zone, and reach out and serve others. This post is all about growing in your faith. There is no magic formula. Do these things and do them in increasing measure and you will grow!!!

Sunday Night Reflections

Today was a great day but here are a few thoughts and also a few things that bother me...

• It bothers me when people don't visit the guest center. I know everyone will not visit the guest center but I still expect them to.
• It bothers me when people receive Jesus Christ into their lives one week and don't come back the next.
• It bothers me when people sit through one of my messages and don't laugh when everybody else laughs. I am not saying that I am that funny but when everybody else is laughing and you don't crack a smile I just wonder what is going on inside you. Laughter does us good like medicine.
• It bothers me when guest don't come back. Now I can't keep up with all this but there are times when I know someone does not come back. Shouldn't I care? I do!!! I believe in our Vision. I believe in you. And I believe in what God wants me to do. I know that any one church is not for everyone but I know God can and will make a difference in your life through our ministry.

Other thoughts...

• When you bring a guest or if your get to know one during the service please bring them or come to the guest center with them.
• Don't become complacent. God will test us to find out if we truly want to keep growing and seeing people come to know Christ. It sounds strange but not everyone likes for their church to grow.
• Me??? I want more. More of His presence, more people coming to know Him, more guests, more members, more ministers, and more life change.
• Get out of your small church mentality. You should not think that you can hand us something or ask us to announce something right before service. It ain't happening. We plan in advance and are working to even prepare more in advance. That includes simple things like what do we want to announce and say during the greeting time.
• Most churches (including us sometimes) spend way to much on announcements. The general rule is that if it does not pertain to everyone then it probable will not be announced.
• As we continue to grow a lot of people's mindset are going to have to change and that is a good thing.
• Who are you going to invite to next weeks service? Somebody is waiting on you to ask.