When Blood & Water Hit The Ground...

One of my new favorite singers is Phil Wickham. At the gym this morning I was listening to him and this song came on my IPOD. The words were rocking me pretty hard and I was fighting back tears and trying not to look silly. I came back to my office and stumbled upon a video for this song. I wanted to share it here, because it really is so very powerful to me.

Anything that inspires me to love God even more... is just special.

God bless.

Phil Wickham - True Love (The Wall) from DanStevers.com on Vimeo.

What Are You Shouldering?

This past weekend I was part of a community of people that canceled our regular services and handed out groceries to those in need. We transformed our Worship Center into a huge grocery store. As pastor of this great community, I was deeply proud to be a small part in the "Kingdom coming on Earth as it is in Heaven"... and truthfully,what I believe to be what Jesus would be doing.

Before we began handing out food, I shared a quick devotion from the Gospel of Luke to those gathered. In case you missed it, the following is that devotion:

Luke 1:26-38
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. "For nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

As we are preparing to minister to our community today by handing out groceries to those in need, I want to remind us all that we are doing so in the name of Jesus. We, like young Mary in this passage, are simply ‘bondslaves of the Lord’.

We’ve all heard and thought about how incredibly hard it would have been for a young woman to be pregnant outside of marriage in the time period we are talking about here. Yet, this girl had a deep passion to serve and be used by her Lord. She even considered it an honor. I see in Mary, what I see in all of you today, this attitude of someone that is living with a different Kingdom in mind.

The angel here begins to explain to Mary about the Son she is soon to have. He mentions that “He will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David”… and so on. The things the angel was speaking were things that Mary probably would have recognized as coming from passages of Scripture found in the Old Testament referring to the Messiah! This would have been extremely exciting… and maybe even a bit intimidating. However, Mary responds, “I’m sold-out to God, I’m His bondslave, so bring it on. Whatever He says, as weird as it may sound, I’m in!” Again, this is the attitude of someone that is “Kingdom minded”, not someone who is “of-this-world minded”.

Interestingly, one of the passages that the angel was referring to was Isaiah 9. Verse 6 of chapter 9 in Isaiah’s Book states, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” I’ve always loved that verse, especially around Christmas time!

Think back to all the stories you know about Jesus and ask yourself; “When are Jesus’ shoulders ever mentioned?” I can think of stories where His hands are mentioned, His feet, His breast, His head, His back, even His eyes. However, the only time I can think of where anything at all might have “rested on His shoulders” was when He was walking up the road to Calvary. We’re told that as they led Jesus to be crucified that they had to recruit the help of someone named Simon to actually help Jesus with the burden of carrying His Cross. However, we can assume that Jesus at least carried it part of the way. He would have done this by placing the cross-beam upon His shoulder and dragging the entire Cross behind him. It would have been incredibly heavy, and it would have been tremendously difficult considering the physical beating He had been taking all night long.

Now, follow my thinking for a minute: The prophecy was that “a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders”. Jesus was that Child. What rested on Jesus’ shoulders? The Cross.

Could the “government” of God be symbolized by the “Cross of Jesus”?

When we talk about the Kingdom of God, we’re describing, among other things, I believe, a mind-set. We’re describing a person, or group of people, that have determined to live their lives according to God’s rules. Although we may live in America, or Africa, or China, or some other physical local, we admittedly live under the rule of another King. We pledge our allegiance to another Kingdom entirely! I do not mean that we do not submit to the governing authorities of the land in which we live, but should they ever run contrary to the Laws of God, we’d submit to a higher authority (Acts 5:29). So, our mind-set is that we are true God-followers. We serve the King of all other kings and rulers. In a very real sense, we consider ourselves “governed” by God.

By the way, did you know that that is what Israel means, “Governed by God”? Pretty cool when you think that they are called God’s chosen people and that the New Testament describes all those that believe in Jesus as having been ‘grafted in’ to that chosen family. [Romans 11].

The idea that God’s government is symbolized by the Cross of Jesus is intriguing to me. You see, it means that God’s Kingdom is totally upside down when compared to the kingdoms of this world. In God’s Kingdom you have a King that gave His life for His subjects. You have a King Who became poor to make others rich. You have a King that leads His subjects by example by actually living His message, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13).

This is the attitude that I see in Mary when she responds to the angel’s outlandish announcement, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” This is the attitude I see in those here today to simply love others by practically meeting their needs.

May each of us always be those that are ‘Kingdom-minded’ and follow the example of our King, Jesus, in laying down our lives that others might live. At times it may be a difficult thing to do. At times it may be an uncomfortable thing to do. However, it’s the mandate of a bondslave. It’s the mission of a God-follower. It’s also the privilege of carrying God’s government on our shoulders.

Let’s pray…

Football or Church?

Alright, here's a nice, tongue-in-cheek, hopefully semi-fun look at my warped sense of humor.

Recently, I 'tweeted' a series of 'tweets' that related some standard football phrases and words to the average church-goer. I had gotten the idea last week when I received a long list of 'tweets' from Rob Bell that told a story in short 140 character bursts. His series was much more substantive than mine, however, I've had some requests that I re-post my attempt at humor here. So... here ya go:

At DC we’ve got a lot of Kansas City Chief football fans, & that can often interfere w/ church. I’ve come up w/ some definitions for your amusement...

QUARTERBACK SNEAK – Church members quietly leaving during the message to go home and watch the game

DRAW PLAY – What most children do during the worship and what Pastor Bil does during the messages.

HALFTIME – The period between praise & worship and the message, when many choose to leave… or come in.

BENCHWARMER – Those who don’t sing, pray, work, or apparently do anything.

BACKFIELD-IN-MOTION – Making a trip up the aisle to the back (rest room or water fountain) during the service.

STAYING IN THE POCKET – What happens to a lot of money that should be given to the Lord’s work.

TWO-MINUTE WARNING – The point at which you realize the message is almost done and begin to gather up your belongings and tune out.

INSTANT REPLAY – The speaker forgets to look at his notes and starts saying the same thing over and over.

SUDDEN DEATH – What happens to everyone’s attention span when the speaker goes way overtime.

TRAP – When an Elder has asked you to pray over the offering and you don’t know how to say “I stink at praying in public!”

END RUN – Getting up and getting out of church by quickly bolting out the back doors before anyone has a chance to talk to you.

FLEX DEFENSE – The ability to allow absolutely nothing during the message to affect your life.

BLITZ – The rush for restaurants and anyplace showing the big game immediately following the final prayer.

CALLING AN AUDIBLE - Any time a cell phone goes off and the pastor makes a stupid comment about how distracted he has become

Whew... okay... glad I got that out of my system. I hope to see you all at DC this weekend! BTW... we'll be done way before the game starts now that our Sunday service starts at 10am!

(There will be special prayer offered for the Chiefs to be victorious over the Denver Broncos. Seeing as the Broncos are God's least favorite team, this prayer time should not require us to take much time. Truly, He hears us when we pray.)

Pastor Appreciation Month

Being a pastor is really crazy. It can’t really be compared to any other profession that I can think of. To say that it has its ‘ups and downs’ is a bit of an understatement. At one moment it is as if God Almighty is my Boss, and the next moment it seems that I have hundreds of earthly bosses all demanding something different. Sometimes it seems as though I’m filled with the courage and confidence of Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), and other times I’m as nervous and intimidated as he was in the darkness of that hidden cave in the very next chapter. In some cases the Lord’s Will is apparent and obvious, while in other circumstances each and every word and action feels as though it demands a leap of faith. At times there is such an assurance of the Lord’s presence and blessing that it would seem I would never again entertain another doubt concerning His faithfulness or love. Unimaginably, those times can be followed by cold and shadowy moments when I am honestly questioning His very existence. Some of the people that I come in contact with in this ‘profession’ are open, extremely grateful, and hungry for what it is I’m promoting. Others, however, see me as nothing more than a salesman who is peddling an out-dated, inappropriate, and irrelevant basket of fables and fairy-tales. While still others compare my talents as a ‘salesman’ with the myriad of other salesmen they’ve seen and heard throughout their lives. These comparisons are usually communicated in a multitude of creative ways; everything from well-crafted emails to simply walking out of my life, never to be heard from again. Truly, the pastorate is full of inconceivable ups and unimaginable downs.

Like I said, being a pastor is crazy.

It has been said that the majority of people in our world today do much better with a “pat on the back” than they do with a “kick in the butt”. I think that is true. No matter the profession, or the situation, most folks will soar when their accomplishments are recognized and rewarded in some positive manner. Years ago, Focus On The Family instituted the month of October to be national “Pastor Appreciation Month”. As a pastor, I am very grateful for this. Of course it goes without saying that Jesus Christ is the only One that should ever be placed on any kind of a pedestal. However, to have a time set apart for those who are being ministered to through the ministry of the local pastor to have a chance to verbalize that appreciation is a powerful thing indeed. Perhaps it is powerful for those individuals, but I can tell you from personal experience that it is most definitely influential and powerful for the pastors as well.

When the appreciation month is over, when the ‘thank-you’ cards stop coming, when the cookies stop being delivered, when the pats on the back stop… the job of a pastor continues. As much as all of that has built-up, strengthened, and majorly encouraged the heart of a pastor it will never, ultimately, be enough. The singular thing that must drive a pastor is the call of God.

The apostle Paul once said, “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it” (I Corinthians 9:22-23).

Paul was a man who could have put most others to shame with his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures (the Torah and the Law). When Paul hung out with the guys who did nothing but study that stuff, he could easily hold his own - He was absolutely no novice in the areas of theology and Biblical understanding. Yet, when his travels took him to those that did not know the Scriptures, he didn’t come off as a know-it-all snob. He came off “weak”. Why? His answer is that He does everything for the sake of the Gospel (translated “Good News”) and then he adds this awesome line: “so that I may become a fellow partaker of it”. The Message Translations says it this way, “I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!”

I like that.

As a pastor, I so appreciate that God is moving and that He could actually use a goof like me, even in the slightest of ways, blows my mind. To be appreciated for the work that I do is so completely encouraging and blesses me more than I can express. However, God really does deserve the applause on this one. You see, whether there are way more ups than downs, or way more downs than ups, doesn’t matter in the end. What does ultimately matter is that this Good News is truly, really, authentically, radically, beyond a shadow of a doubt, indescribably… good. This Gospel is something that is so real and so awesome that I seriously just want to be in on it. It is a privilege and an honor to be called “pastor” and I’ll gladly take the lumps, as long as I am afforded the opportunity to be a fellow partaker of this Gospel… a fellow partaker of God’s Story.