Crossroads Celebration Church

I won’t name names, but one day we went into a favorite Ankeny restaurant that we have eaten in about ten times before this visit. We were seated and then waited. We watched as others were seated at their tables after us. We watched as those coming in after us were asked for their beverage orders and received their orders. All of this time no waiter or manager or anybody came and gave us a menu, asked for our order or anything. I even waved at the guy who had seated us and got no response. So being hungry and probably frustrated by a few other things going on in the day earlier, we got up and left. We went to another restaurant to eat.
Now the ten or so times we had eaten there previous to this incident, we had great and prompt service and excellent food. It was an all around good time and experience, except for this one time.
Now I will go back to this restaurant because, it might have been an off day for them as it had been for me to begin with. And because I had plenty of good previous experience.

Now church shopping.
If you are church shopping, do not just attend once and make your judgement. Maybe the pastor had an off day or the guitar strings broke on the worship leader that day. Maybe the person seated next to you had a bad day and didn’t think to greet you.
So my recommendation is to try a church more than once. Give them a chance to see if this one day was not good or maybe you just didn’t connect yourself on this day. Ask some questions about the church, things that might be of interest to you.

Now for the congregation. We need to remember that as we come into church, sit down and worship and as we leave, it is our job to do customer service. Put on a smile, greet someone with a welcome. Do not overstep your greeting with a whole encyclopedia of information on the pastor’s hair cut. Find a good balance of friendliness and welcome. Offer your name and let someone new know that you really are glad that they are there.

When we went on vacation this summer and attended a church we had never been to, just about everyone there greeted us. It was almost a little overwhelming, but they were friendly. When we went up for communion, the pastor called my wife and I by name as she offered the elements to us and the usher gave us a coffee mug before the benediction. If I moved to that community I would go to that church. And maybe there would be a day that no one said, “boo” to us, but if the overall service and friendliness is there after several visits, I still know that it’s the place for me.

Church Shoppers, you are welcome at Crossroads anytime, just give us a second try before you make any final decision.

In preparing for my sermon this Sunday, I found some material I liked but will not be able to place it within the sermon.  In a statement about the Book of Judges, someone suggested that this era of Israelites had no battle experience in the art of war.  I found out the a Chinese strategist General Sun Tzu is noted for the phrase, “Art of War” and has written a book.

As I look at the thirteen chapters of his writing  on the art of war, I see that his concepts apply to the church as well.

1. Assessing and planning.  2. the challenge.  3.  strategy (plan of attack)  4. position/disposition  5. force/energy/direction  6. weak points/strong points     7. engage/maneuver   8. adapting   9. movement  10. terrain   11. battle grounds/situations  12.  response to attacks   13. intelligence

Whether  it is spiritual warfare or simply planning a Vacation Bible School there are certain concepts that apply in both the art of war and the running of a church ministry.  Planning and strategy are basic no brainers, but sometimes we have to think about the disposition of the people we are working with and the energy level it will take to get something off the ground.  There is aways adapting and terrain, and so much more to getting things accomplished.  Is it sometimes difficult to do ministry?  You bet it is.  Is it worth it?  Even more than a resounding yes.

We are not just planning a Vacation Bible School for some kids for a few days – we are doing the Lord’s work for His Kingdom and the devil doesn’t usually like that kind of positive thing.  So there are additional hoops to go through and sometimes we have to smooth some ruffled feathers, but it is most definitely worth it when kids and their parents come to know the love of God and start living a life not just based on the here and now, but get connected to an eternal future.  That’s powerful.

Round up the troops, there is some strategy that needs to be assessed and planned.  Yes, this is the church at work!

These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. 2 He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle.    Judges 3.1-2

What is the insomniac, dyslexic agnostic thinking at 3 am?     Is there a dog!

Or as I remember from years ago on a banner hanging in a Sunday School classroom:  Dog spelled backwards is still man’s best friend.

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you.”    James 4. 8

The dyslexic agnostic joke came from World Magazine.  I read it today and it has become my new favorite line.  I’m still clinging to an old favorite:

“Love extravagantly, like a millionaire intent on giving it all away.”

Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”  Psalm 14.1

Some say this is the atheists holiday, since the Christians have all the good ones.  But I am not here to pick on any one today but myself.  This probably should be called March Fool because that is where I am coming from this past month of 2011.  Why can’t I learn from previous mistakes and not repeat history.

The other day I was boiling eggs for my salad at lunch.  And I meant to turn off the stove, but was insistent on getting to the dentist on time.  So I made the dental appointment and then went to the grocery store next door and in the store remembered the eggs.  Yes they had been on the stove, boiling for over an hour.  Boiling?  Baking – once the water evaporated.  Yes, I was mad at myself and would have kept the incident from my wife, but the house smelled so bad, you couldn’t hide it.  And to think that I had done this less than three years ago.  Boiled eggs and went to the store.  Why can’t I learn from my mistakes.

And the hard part for me is  that in this same month, I have done two other major foolish things.  I will spare you the details and myself the embarrassment.  I am a fool.  No doubt about that.

I have even been foolish in my faith at times.  But I can say that this verse of scripture is not true for me.  I do believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  I am a sinner and even keep repeating the same foolish sins over and over again.  But I do know and am blessed by a God who loves me and forgives me.

Have you done foolish things?    Laugh it off, it will most likely happen again.  Forgive yourself.  Seek forgiveness of others, if your foolishness has affected others.  And most importantly, trust in God, for the fool who says in their heart, “There is no God”  does not have that eternal hope.

First this is not a complaint and it is not bragging.  One of my pet peeves is to have someone say, “I am too busy”.  Now that it is out of the way, what I believe, let me share this thought for this blog.

For the past month, besides my three part-time jobs, I have been involved in activities that have basically taken up almost every evening of the week.   I have been volunteering with Chrysalis, a youth retreat, and volunteering with the community theatre acting and painting the set.  I have continued a Sunday evening bowling league.  It has been manageable, but busy.  Again, I am not complaining or making any excuses.  I am glad that the retreat is over and it will free up some time.  Five play rehearsals a week will be over at the end of March when the play begins in April.

The point – focus on what we are doing, while we are doing it.  Get your work done – everybody is busy; make no excuses.  Do everything with the heart of Christ.  My wife and I discussed the busy schedule when I signed up for some of these duties and I have been hoping and praying that by doing these things that Christ would shine.  So, do everything – work – community – recreation – with the heart of Christ.

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good.  At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”  Galatians 6.9

Tired will happen – but I find that it is a good tired – when we are doing good; seeking God’s blessings for others.  Being blessed ourselves along the way.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Then tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”  Numbers 16.23

I am going to greatly oversimplify this text in Numbers 14 and 16. There was a lot of complaining by the Israelites throughout their 40 year wandering in the wilderness.  We are thirsty, we are hungry, are we there yet?  In these two chapters of Numbers, God cleared out the complainers.  Ten of the twelve scouts that explored the Promised Land who complained were wiped out with an immediate plague.  14.37   Then at the end of this episode, 14,700 also died in a plague and they were all complainers.  16.49  But in the middle of this these three leaders in a complaining session are swallowed up by the earth along with their supports, 250 to be exact.  16.31

God’s Word – “tell all the people to get away from the tents” of these complainers is good advice.  Today, we should stay away from complainers, or we will go down with them.  Complainers are not productive.  They are not part of the vision of our company or our church or whatever we are collectively a part of.  If we get sucked into the complaint, we become complainers ourselves.

It’s time to join God in a complaint free zone.  Be positive and supportive of your leaders.  Let’s all move toward the Promised Land.  For Christians that promised land is the Kingdom of God.

Step away from the complainers or go down with them.  Join God in the glorious journey He has planned for us.

So I finally read through Leviticus.  And now have entered into Numbers.  The men age 20 and older were in a census, and the count was 603,550. [Numbers 1.46]  This of course does not include the tribe of Levites and it does not include the women and children, so the guesstimate would be over 2 million Israelites marching through the wilderness.

Here’s the point or perhaps more the pondering.  With the census are we more organized?  effective?  prepared?  I do know that when we go camping or away on an overnight it helps to be packed and prepared.  I remember last fall going to the in-laws for one night and leaving my sleep apnea breather at home, what a miserable night’s sleep.  I remember a picnic BBQ at a park and not having a spatula or any utensil to take the burgers off the grill – try flipping burgers with sticks.

So maybe the census helped Moses organize over 2 million people to wander through the wilderness for 40 years.  I wonder what Moses forgot to pack?  But it certainly helped him know who was camping where and who was taking the lead and who had the tail end of the march through the wilderness.  I read that it would take 12 square miles to set up tents for just the 600,000 counted.  I am guessing it took 20 – 30 square miles to set camp for the over 2 million people [ and don't forget livestock].

So here’s the real point or pondering for you and me.  Does it help us to stop and occasionally take inventory of our lives?  If we do this on a regular basis, we will serve more effectively before digging in to a project or mission or ministry.  Here are some suggestions:  take inventory of your possessions, your relationships, spiritual conditions, time and goals.  I looked at about three different spiritual inventories online that helped me.  [Note: not spiritual gifts inventory - which are good for looking at your spiritual gifts]  Your spiritual inventory should look at things like, how is that prayer life going?  or how much time do you spend with God in His Word?  or are you tithing?  have you signed up for a mission trip?  have you  witnessed the love of God to others?

As is suggested by Jesus in Revelation 3.16 are you hot or cold or lukewarm?  What is your spiritual temperature?  In one of the online spiritual inventories I took there were four categories and each totaled 0 to 60 in their scoring.  I had two categories in my 50′s and two in my 40′s.  As I look at those I can continue to do my best in the 50′s and try to get to 60; but I really need to improve on my 40 scores.  I believe when we do there will be a better balance in our spiritual lives.  What’s missing in your life?  Do you need more prayer time?  Better understanding of God’s Word?

God is calling for a census.  Take inventory of your spiritual life.  Be organized, effective, and prepared for hearing what’s next in the Kingdom of God.

Are they signs?  Probably not, but the strangest things have been happening.  The old dog was wandering around in the bath tub yesterday.  As far as we know she has never done that in 14 years.  Sunday I saw a fire truck going down I35 north of Des Moines, Iowa.  Of course the strange part was that the truck said, Miami Dade on it and figured it was a long ways from home.

Then of course there are the shake-ups in the Middle East, the large snow storm that hit the U.S. last week and the cyclones that hit Australia.

Signs are nothing new.  We’ve survived Katrina and the Tsunami’s a few years back.  And as Jesus said, ” no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself.  Only the Father knows.”  Matthew 24. 36

But just in case, are you ready?  Are you committed wholeheartedly to God through Jesus Christ?

For me the sign that says it is not time, is the number of people who believe in a heaven, but think that somehow they will just make it there, by being good.  We have a job to do in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ!  To share the whole truth.

Tithing is down, even in the most evangelical churches.  I’ve recently read about the tithe [10%], the gift [11% and more], and the sacrifice/painful giving [100%].  But I was wondering what you call under 10 percent – the tip?  ”Here you go God, it was a good week, so let me spot you a twenty!”  Some weeks I think the waiters and hair stylists do better than God.  The average giving in church is 3-5% and for good, or great service a waitress might get 15-20%.

Just some tid-bits I’ve been mulling over.  Maybe the tip is motivated by guilt and the tithe is motivated by obedience.  Also I heard a quote, “Whenever you know the purpose of something…it is less likely to be abused.”  I think if we know that the tithe goes to pay for the churches mortgage or rent and lights and the pastors salary and the bishops salary and we appreciate those things, we have purpose.  I believe the tithe and the gifts above and beyond the 10 percent are for the glory of the Kingdom and for redemption.  I believe that if every giver had that as their purpose of giving, tithing would be up in the church.

Let me share with you some testimonies of tithing.

R. G. LeTourneau the inventor of earth moving machines reached a point of tithing 90% of his income.  ”I shovel out the money, and God shovels it back to me, but God has a bigger shovel.”

Henry P. Crowell, couldn’t go to school because of tuberculosis.  He became a business man and for forty years gave 60 to 70% of his income to God.  He bought the run-down Quaker Mill at Ravanna, Ohio and made Quaker Oats a household name.

William Colgate [need I say more] gave 10% of his first dollar in soap sales to God.  He kept increasing his tithe until he gave 50% to the Lord.

But I have to say that my motivation is not just from these persons from multi-million dollar businesses.  It’s not about the amount of money one can give, but about the openness of our hearts to God.  Here is one more story of tithing, may it bless your heart.

Soviet Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, author of Tortured for Christ, writes.  While in prison, he saw fellow Soviet believers practice generous giving.  ”When we were given one slice of bread a week and dirty soap every day, we decided we would faithfully ‘tithe’ even that.  Every tenth week we took the slice of bread and gave it to the weaker brethren as our ‘tithe’ to the Master.”

It reminds me of the widow and her two mites[pennies, if you will] that were given.  Jesus was watching the giving and noting the amounts given.  It wasn’t much.  In fact to some it’s what we overlook on the ground.  But to her and to Jesus it was more than a tithe, it was a sacrifice, because that was everything she had.  Luke 21.1-4

It is true, you cannot out give God.  But you can undercut the Kingdom with your tip.  We have an opportunity to invest in the redemption of souls, ours included, for the coming Kingdom.  What is that worth to you?

Then the Lord told Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh.  When he feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the people go.  In fact, he will force them to leave his land!”   Exodus 6. 1

The first domino was set up hundreds of years earlier.  Genesis 15. 12-13 says that God promises Abraham’s descendants the promised land, but they would be enslaved for four hundred years.  Skip to the time of Moses and some other dominos set up, God sends Moses back to his people who have been crying out in their slavery.  Another domino is set up, increase the pain of their slavery by making bricks without the straw provided.  Harden Pharaoh’s heart – another domino.  Ten plagues – ten more dominos.  Finally every one is fed up and ready for the Israelites to leave.  God set up the dominos to have the Israelites want out, and the Egyptians to want them out.

Skip ahead to the Gospel of Luke and the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.  ”For the third time he [Pilate] demanded, “Why?  What crime has he committed?  I have found no reason to sentence him to death.  So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.”  Luke 23. 22  I am thinking there is this whole other domino effect set up by God.  Of course the first domino may have been the wise men bringing gifts intended for burial – myrrh and frankincense.  But here at trial, Pilate for three tries – wants to release Jesus, as does Herod.  Even after the dominos fall – the death of Jesus on the cross.  The Roman officer worshiped God.  Luke 23.47   All the crowd went home in deep sorrow.  Luke 23.48  Despite those who defended the life of Jesus, who could have put there foot down in protest, the dominos fell.  Jesus had to die, so that we could know and appreciate the resurrection.  The Israelites had to be in the worst of slavery to want to leave.  And God set it all up in motion like a row of dominos.

Have you ever wondered if God were setting up the dominos in your life?  Not to fall or fail or die, but so that you can be prepared to move on to the next step.  God may have some big challenges in store for us and unless we are fully and totally ready we would not be ready to move on.  As I look back on the details of my life, I see the dominos set up and fall, and the places that God has taken me.  And it was all good.  It was for my betterment.  Do you think God has something better in store for you?  I believe He does!