Moving my Blog

I migrated to Wordpress.com today. I found some of its features very appealing so from now on when trying to access my blog and sermon archive please dial in my new blog .

Check Out a Great Blog Post

Jeff Gauss is a Pastor in Cushing, MN. Read his excellent post, Risk and Reward. A link to his blog is found at the bottom of this post.

My father was a financial advisor for 20 years. He taught me a lot about money management – credit, debt, saving, and investing. Everything I’ve learned about financial responsibility, I learned from him. I remember sitting down with him about 10 years ago when Heidi and I were ready to make our first investment. As we were trying to decide where to put our money, he told us this fundamental truth of investing: “Never invest anything you aren’t willing to lose.” This caution is the application of the principle of “risk and reward” which is simply this: the greater the risk, the greater potential for reward; the lesser the risk, the lesser opportunity for reward. In other words, you can put your money in a bank savings account and it is virtually guaranteed to be safe, but you will only earn 3% on your investment. Conversely, you could invest your money in the stock market where you could earn 10, 20, 50, 100% or more on your money… or you could lose it all and have nothing. If you play it safe, you are guaranteed a little return. If you play it risky, you aren’t guaranteed anything. You might lose everything, or you might strike it rich. With great risk comes great (potential) reward.

I have come to realize over the years that there are basically two kinds of Christians: those who like to play it safe and those who like to live on the edge. Those who play it safe tend to be comfortable, secure and satisfied. They risk little, and so, consequently, their reward is little. In terms of spiritual maturity, their growth amounts to a mere 3%. On the other hand, the risk-taking Christians lay it all down on the line. They throw everything into following Jesus. They go when God says, “Go!” They give when God says, “Give.” They risk comfort, security, and personal satisfaction for the reward of a life lived in obedience to the Master. Their risk is great, but the promise of reward is greater. Often times they lose everything (money, jobs, family, friends, even their own life), but they consider it all gain for the privilege of serving Christ and the promise of future reward (Philippians 1:21 & 29).

Truly, my dad’s precaution about investing was first spoken by Jesus: “You cannot be my disciple unless you pick up your cross and follow me. But don’t begin until you count the cost” (Luke 14:27-28a). In other words, Jesus says, “Don’t invest your life unless you’re willing to lose it.”

Many times I am still tempted to play it safe – to take the comfortable and secure path of religion. But as I seek to follow Jesus, I’ve come to realize that a relationship with him is anything but safe. With great risk comes great reward. I’ve gotten a taste of God’s reward and I’ve determined that I can no longer settle for a mere 3% return on my investment. I’m throwing it all in for Jesus and expecting a great return.

What kind of investor are you?

Rurality Bytes

Powered by ScribeFire.

Transformational Leadership

A very timely reminder for those of us contemplating the meaning of "transformation".



Sub-biblical Transformation | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Powered by ScribeFire.

Sermon Updates

I uploaded my last few sermons today. We finished the series on the list of qualities we are admonished by St. Peter to cultivate (2 Peter 1:5-11) with talks on Brotherly Love and Love, the capstone of Christian virtues.

My most recent talk at Temple is on embracing the redemptive mission of God. In preparing this talk I benefited from a sermon on this subject I recently read by John Ortberg, Pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and former Teaching Pastor at Willow Creek. John is an accomplished speaker and writer.

Maintenance or Mission?

Check out the following blog I stumbled on during sermon prep today. We're praying and hoping and working to move from a maintenance to a missional mode here at Temple Baptist Church. I found this inspiring and helpful.

1. In measuring the effectiveness, the maintenance congregation asks, "How many pastoral visits are being made? The mission congregation asks, "How many disciples are being made?"

2. When contemplating some form of change, the maintenance congregation says, "If this proves upsetting to any of our members, we won't do it." The mission congregation says, "If this will help us reach someone on the outside, we will take the risk and do it."

3. When thinking about change, the majority of members in a maintenance congregation ask, "How will this affect me?" The majority of members in the mission congregation ask, "Will this increase our ability to reach those outside?"

4. When thinking of its vision for ministry, the maintenance congregation says, "We have to be faithful to our past." The mission congregation says, "We have to be faithful to our future."

5. The pastor in the maintenance congregation says to the newcomer, "I'd like to introduce you to some of our members." In the mission congregation the members say, "We'd like to introduce you to our pastor." [this is because the members are bringing folks, not the pastor...Bob]

6. When confronted with a legitimate pastoral concern, the pastor in the maintenance congregation asks, "How can I meet this need?" The pastor in the mission congregation asks, "How can this need be met?"

7. The maintenance congregation seeks to avoid conflict at any cost (but rarely succeeds). The mission congregation understands that conflict is the price of progress, and is willing to pay the price. It understands that it cannot take everyone with it. This causes some grief, but it does not keep it from doing what needs to be done.

8. The leadership style in the maintenance congregation is primarily managerial, where leaders try to keep everything in order and running smoothly. The leadership style in a mission congregation is primarily transformational, casting a vision of what can be, and marching off the map in order to bring the vision into reality.

9. The maintenance congregation is concerned with their congregation, its organizations and structure, its constitutions and committees. The mission congregation is concerned with the culture, with understanding how secular people think and what makes them tick. It tries to determine their needs and their points of accessibility to the Gospel.

10. When thinking about growth, the maintenance congregations asks, "How many Baptists live within a twenty-minute drive of this church?" The mission congregation asks, "How many unchurched people live within a twenty-minute drive of this church?"

11. The maintenance congregation looks at the community and asks, "How can we get these people to support our congregation?" The mission congregation asks, "How can the Church support these people?"

12. The maintenance congregation thinks about how to save their congregation. The mission congregation thinks about how to reach the world.

originally posted by William H. Willimon @ 10/23/2006

Powered by ScribeFire.

Godliness

I forgot my little digital recorder and cannot upload last Sunday's sermon. We're continuing the series of sermons based on the virtues commended in 2 Peter 1:5ff. as leading to productive and effective lives. Last Sunday the theme was godliness. Literally translated "good worship", it indicates (ala Elwell, EDT) "reverence for God and a life of holiness in the world."

The only worship that matters is the kind that produces a life that in growing measure reflects the character of God.

Patience

Our series from 2 Peter continued on May 13 with a study on patience. You can listen to these sermons if you like by scrolling down to the sermon player on the left side of this page.

I was reminded that the Christian virtue of patience implies suffering and is more than a stoical acceptance of some painful reality. It is a kind of suffering in hope, i.e., while trusting in God and relying on His promise to be with us and to bring us to a desired end.

The following poem by Martha Snell Nicholson (read by Elizabeth Eliot as a part of her address at the funeral of Missionary Veronica Bowers and her infant son Cory, mistakenly killed by the Peruvian Military in 2001) captures this idea:

I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne

And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.

I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart

I cried, "But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.

This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me."

He said, "My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee."

I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore,

As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.

I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,

He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.

Self Control

I've been preaching on the character qualities we are admonished to cultivate in 2 Peter 1:5ff. One of them is self control. This is a phrase that brings me back to my childhood school days. Remember the dreaded Parent/Teacher Conference nights? "Your son has a great deal of potential as a student. He only lacks self control." I'm afraid the battle still rages on.

I have learned a few things. That there are no magic formulas. No quick solutions. No mere adjustments in terminology, no repetition of affirmations describing the self from God's point of view. No once and forever consecration or eradication of the "old man". Peter's admonition to control the self refutes perfectionism. If the self were perfected it wouldn't need to be controlled.

The very idea of self control assumes that the self is divided, complicated. It continues to present us with a serious challenge by producing tendencies to do wrong. The challenge is to "deny ourselves" and "take up our cross daily," as Jesus says, and follow him (Luke 9:23).

Sermon Player 2

I just noticed that the sermon player does allow downloads. When you select a sermon the details tab opens. There is a little mp3 icon just below the volume adjuster. This little button facilitates the sermon download.