Finding My Way

I heard this song the other day while out cutting grass. (Might be the last time this year. YES!) It really hit home for me. After almost 3 years of turmoil and loss I find myself asking the Lord "What's next?" (in a good sort of way). In other words where do you want us? What is it that you want us to be doing? What is your will for us at this time? Show me Lord. I don't want to do what I want, only what you want. Lead me, by your spirit.

Perhaps some of you are there too. Maybe you aren't coming out of the worst 3 years of your life, but you need direction. Ask the Lord to reveal it. Then be bold enough and trusting enough to walk in it. Be like Jesus and say, "Father not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42 paraphrase).

Enjoy the video!

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

The Heart of the Matter

Take a look at this video via this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXU3VE5eX4U (You will need to copy and paste it into your browser)

It's by Don Henley of the 70's band The Eagles. Listen closely to the words. Then read on.

I heard this song recently and it caught my attention. Why? Partially because The Eagles were one of my favorite bands back in the day but more because of the theme of the song, forgiveness. Here is the story of a broken relationship. There are some hurt feelings, but he has decided to make a choice. To forgive. It's a bit of a revelation for him too. If you listened closely you will see He realizes the power of forgiveness AND unforgiveness. The freedom of forgiveness and the bondage of unforgiveness. He also makes the choice to forgive "even if" he doesn't get a positive response back. Such wisdom and as far as I know Don Henley is not a believer in Jesus.

We believers in Jesus should have this same understanding and make this same choice. Jesus came and died for our forgiveness, even if. It's a gift and we need to take it. But just as importantly we need to give it, even if, because Jesus commands us.

Mark 11:25 ESV And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Matthew 6:14-15 ESV For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, (15) but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Luke 17:3-4 ESV Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, (4) and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Yet too often we don't choose to forgive. So many when hurt or wronged by another refuse to forgive and in some extreme cases go as far as to even try to get even. Yet forgiveness should be part of the fabric of a believer's life

Matthew 18:21-22

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

I am a firm believer that most offenses against us are not intentional. In other words people do not go out and deliberately try to wrong us. That should make it a little easier to forgive. Yet even if they do offend us intentionally, we still need to forgive. As I said before forgiveness is a powerful thing because it releases or frees people from a burden and you have that power when you choose to forgive, or not to. You can either free someone from their guilt and pain (like Jesus does for us) or hold them hostage to it.

So what are you going to do the next time you are confronted with this choice? Will you choose to forgive? Because just as the song says, for a believer in Jesus Christ, forgiveness truly is "The Heart of the Matter"

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

New Look Blog

So what do you think about the new design? Goes more with the theme. Right down to the dandelions. Looks just like my yard.

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

John Piper on Prosperity Gospel

Watch this link below. It should change your take on what it really means to have faith in God.

John Piper on Prosperity Gospel: In this three-minute video, John Piper delivers a strong and convicting message about the dangers of the prosperity gospel.

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

God is Good ALL the Time

Posts seen on Facebook over the course of the year. (These are not the actual posts but are created from pieces from actual posts I've seen). "Great day at work, God is good." "Going home to an amazing wife who has a great dinner waiting, God is good." "Great day at church today, the Spirit really moved, God is good." "I have the best husband and kids. I love my life. God is sooo good." I could go on but I think you get the picture. When everything is right in the world, when life is going good we are quick to acknowledge the source of why that is, God. That's a good thing. We should do that. Yet I wonder if I will ever see a post that looks something like this: "Just got home from an awful church service with my annoying wife and 3 bratty kids. Now I have to eat some horrible dinner she made. And oh yeah, I lost my job last week, God is good." Yes this is an exaggeration and quite a silly one, but here's my point. We like to say God is good all the time but do we really believe it and perhaps more to the point do we really understand what that means? It's pretty easy to acknowledge God and His greatness when everything is going well, but what about when the bottom falls out? Is God still good? Of course he is. Friends God doesn't change. He is good in our success and in our failure. In our joy and in our sorry. He is the source of all that is good. He doesn't cause our hardships but sometimes permits them in our lives. Either way it is all for his glory, not for our comfort. So why don't we really believe and acknowledge God's goodness all the time? In fact when the really bad stuff hits so many are closer to quitting than praising. Maybe that's because for so long the teaching of so many ministries is that believers should not have any bad times. We should be only properous and blessed all the time. If things are going bad it must be because we didn't have enough faith or because we didn't do something according to their formula. That's just plain nonsense. Bad things happen for a lot of reasons but never because we didn't have enough faith. If that were the case explain Job. No one was more faithful yet look at all that happened to him. The good news is he didn't quit. To him God was good all the time. (Job 13:15 ~ "Thou he slay me, yet I will trust in Him" KJV).

Friends there will be good times and there will be bad times in this life (Jesus said so). Neither will last forever. But in all of that God is good ALL the time. So let's remember that and acknowledge that. Let's keep on praising in the storm. Let's not become (or remain) "what have you done for me lately" Christians. You know the ones that only recognize God's goodness when things are going good. Because in spite of our circumstances of the moment, God IS good ALL the time.

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

Change of Seasons

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven".

As we live our lives things change. Sometimes by our choice or mistakes, sometimes because of others or circumstances beyond our control. Sometimes we embrace it, sometimes we want to run from it. But like it or not change is a part of life. One change we can't stop is aging. Time marches on. We all grow a little older each day and as such just like that we can find ourselves in a different season of life. For me I think it's early fall. For my kids probably late spring. It's the milestones of life that will help us to determine this. Recently my baby girl got her driver's license. A milestone for her and an alert for me. Next week Matt returns to college to finish his education and move on to his next season of life. It won't be long till we will be true "empty nesters". Our time of nurture and training will be done and it will be time for them to spread their wings and fly. It will be bittersweet as we will not be able to see our Mikey do the same as his season on this earth has come to an abrupt end. Yes this another season has changed.

Twenty five years ago I was looking forward to this time. Now I'm not so sure. Maybe because it means I'm closer to my winter, and don't we all hate winter here in the north? Maybe because I'm going to miss them being around. Yet in all of it I realize that this is how life is on this earth. It's not forever and things don't always stay the same. Yet we should make the best of it, especially as a believer, because whatever the season we are in He has some work for us to do. There is no retirement in our labor for the Lord until HE calls us home.

So what's the point of this blog post? I guess it's this, change is going to happen no matter what so why not embrace it? Change means new adventures and opportunities for growth. Sure there could be bad things that happen sometimes that really hurt and change for change sake isn't always good. Just like with the weather there are good things and bad about all the seasons. During the rough times of the seasons we can find ourselves complaining trying to wish the time away. Like during prolonged times of cold and snow, rain or extreme heat and humidity. We shouldn't do that. We should embrace and enjoy the whole of the season we are in because God is in it all. Warm, cold, sunshine or rain. He has a purpose for it and we just might miss it if we start looking too far beyond the here and now.

The words of two friends have stuck with me since I have heard them. The first come from a friend from high school who simply said "I don't get too concerned about the bad things, because I know they don't last forever". I like that. Gives us no reason to dwell on the bad. The other from a coworker some years back. While working in the hospital I was required to be on call quite a bit and one Friday afternoon I was sitting in the lounge lamenting how I hated being on weekend call and couldn't wait till Monday. My coworker simply said to me, "Paul don't wish your life away". Profound words. Yet we do that all too often and in the process can miss out on so much.

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

What's in a Name?

This post is nothing deep. Just some anecdotal thoughts. Something to think about on a lazy Wednesday in June.

Heard about a new church starting in our area of the country in the fall. How exciting! As a church planter it is always cool to see new works launch. There is so much that goes into a successful launch. I'll call it the 3 P's Prayer, Planning and Preparation. Part of those 3 P's is picking a name. Something that says who you are and what your vision and mission is. Something you want to be distinctly you. Something that will catch people's attention. In recent years there has been a move to be more creative and come up with shall I say less traditional names. As a result there's some pretty interesting names out there. Frankly I'm not sure where some of these names come from and who am I to say. We had some very specific reasons behind our name (see our website for those details) so this could be the case for others as well.

Anyway I have noticed over the years that in spite of trying to be unique, all of a sudden we have an abundance of similar church names. Thirty years ago it seemed every Assembly of God was First Assembly of God. Every Baptist was First Baptist. Now it seems every church is Journey, Cornerstone or Epic Church. (Do a google search). Gotta hand it to the Catholics. They have so many saints I don't think any two churches have the same name. Maybe if we want to be unique now we need to go back to First Assembly or First Baptist. Maybe church names are like fashion. Eventually they come back in style.

Whatever the name we should always remember the most important part of the church is Jesus. It exists for Him. No name no matter how creative replace the passion we need to have for Christ. That's what will make a successful church.

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

Anyone can be a Father,but it takes someone special to be a Dad

Many years ago my wife gave me a picture frame with that inscription. It still sits in my office today. Don't know who said it, but it's good.

Being a dad does take someone special. Because it takes time and sacrifice. You have to give up some stuff for your kids. To be there and to spend time with them doing the things they like to do, making memories and teaching them the skills they need for life. Playing catch, going swimming or fishing. Coaching their team or simply showing up for all the games. Buying their first car with them. Showing them how to write a check. Playing dolls with your daughter (Hey that won me a pie once) or when they are older taking them shopping at the mall without mom. ( I actually love this one) Doing homework, picking them up from school or work (It doesn't always have to be mom). Teach them to drive. (Yikes!) Listen to what bothers them. Be supportive in the difficult times. The list can go on and on but hopefully you get the picture. Perhaps the most important thing we can do as a dad is model Jesus. Let our children see his power lived out in us. Let them know that our great wisdom comes from His greater wisdom. These are the things a dad will do.

Dad we may not be able to do all these things all the time but we should do our best. Give up a day of golf, a little sleep. Don't stay so late at the office. Sure you have to provide but in the end your time spent with your kids will have greater and longer lasting value. Our children grow up so fast. Before you know it you will be looking back on what you once may have thought was a big hassle as now a wonderful memory. Too many fathers are absentee. And that includes the ones who live with their kids. Don't let that happen to you. It's a big responsibility. Rise up to it and give it your best effort.

Today will be my first Father's Day without my son Michael. I will miss him. It won't be the same. But I have the memories. The memories of going fishing, coaching his little league teams, watching and cheering him play football, listening to some of his crazy ideas and so much more. That took some time and sacrifice. I'm glad I did those things with him. I'm glad to have those memories. I'm glad I did those things with Matt and continue to do so even though he is an adult. I'm glad I do what I do with Bethany as well.

So dads don't stop doing what your doing even if you think it doesn't matter. Because it does. To them. They may say otherwise but they want you in the stands cheering. They're looking for you. They may shrug off the advice today but be back to thank you tomorrow. Keep making memories and handing out the advice. They need it and want it. Don't just be a father , be a dad.

Happy DADS Day Dad!

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

Coming or Going?

Recently I saw the Pastor of a very large local church being interview on church growth. This particular portion had to do with church marketing. He stated that he did everything he could to get people in the doors. That got me to thinking. Is that what we're really supposed to be doing? Don't misunderstand, I believe in marketing church....to an extent. A sign out in front, a newspaper ad, a website, facebook and twitter are all great ways to let people know you are out there. However many ministries go way beyond that, doing whatever they can, spending tens of thousands of dollars sometimes to get people to come. There are many different ways people come to Christ and a church service is definitely one way. But Jesus didn't say do what you can to have them come. He said "GO!" This is the great failure of the American church. We don't go like we should. Instead we wait for them to come. Try to pray them in. The more I think about it the more I know we need to change that and I have. Now I pray for people to come, but I pray for workers for the harvest. Jesus told us to do that in Matthew 9:38. I also pray for divine appointments for when I am out and about to share Jesus. I look for the opportunities he puts in our path. If every member of our churches were active in sharing their faith OUTSIDE of church, His kingdom would grow and so would our churches. There would be no need for us to do excessive marketing to bring them in.

What do you think?

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

Staying the Course

Recently I heard about another pastor who is leaving his church. First of all he is not leaving for anything bad. He feels lead of the spirit that his time is up. That's cool with me but it got me to thinking. More often than not pastors are leaving their church for all the wrong reasons. Here's two that seem to be common and they usually accompany pastoring a small church. They leave for a larger church in pursuit of a "better situation". Or they feel they have taken the church as far as they can and leave feeling somewhat of a failure. Many of these never return to ministry feeling frustrated and burned out. I have personally known men in both these situations. I will never question what God speaks to an individual but very often our flesh is the real reason behind it.

Unfortunately today success in ministry is measured in what one author stated as "The Three B's" Buildings, Budgets, and Butts in the seats. Numbers and size. A bigger building, higher attendance and a big balance in the checking account is the sign of a successful church and a great leader. Some have used this as the measure of a healthy church as well. Success or church health is not very often connected to the impact a church has. Lives that were changed. People being sent out as pastors or missionaries. Community reputation. Nope. Still the most common question a pastor is asked is "How many you running?" On top of that there are all these websites and seminars telling us what we have to do so we can "get more people to come and stay". Every year the speakers at these seminars are mega church pastors telling us how to make our small church big. All this can be a lot of pressure for any pastor to live up to but especially the pastor of the smaller church. And the truth is that most evangelical churches in America are 100 or under. They far outnumber the big churches.

With all this it's no wonder that so many pastors move on so quickly. Looking for relief or a better situation. But what about staying the course? Sticking it out. Not concerning yourself with what man thinks but what God thinks. You just may be surprised. I also heard of a pastor who was going to graduation parties for kids he saw grow up in his church. Now that's what I'm talking about. We will never know how many lives we really touch if we give up too easily.

I have wanted to quit many times. I pastor a small church. I wanted to quit when as a bivocational pastor I was laid off from my job. What was I going to do? Oh yeah go find a bigger church who could pay me a salary. No. We stayed the course and a year later God provided a salary. I wanted to quit many times when I thought I wasn't reaching anybody. Not making a difference. Then someone would tell me how a sermon touched them or give a testimony of what the church means to them. I could go on and on. I didn't quit. I stayed the course always reminded of the words from the parable of the talents. "Well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with little" What are we doing with what God has given us? Have we been faithful? Or are we having a pity party? Or looking for a bigger pay day? The next part of that verse says this, "Now I will put you in charge of much" (paraphrase). If we stay the course God will reward us. Maybe in this life, but definitely in the life to come.

Let me encourage you whoever you are, whatever you do to stay the course. Whether it's ministry, a job, a single mom don't quit. God will reward your faithfulness and obedience to Him.

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

Method or Message?

I came across this article this morning on a one hour church service. It's important you read it before you continue with this blog. Here is the link:

http://www.sermoncentral.com/pastors-preaching-articles/dave-browning-the-case-for-the-hour-long-church-service-933.asp?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BetterPreachingUpdate

Copy and paste it in your browser

The author makes a case for a one hour church service, an increasingly popular concept in an attempt to reach people for Christ. The case is being made that it is not necessary for a church service to exceed an hour and be effective. He cites examples of how much of everyday life is broken into 1 hour blocks (TV shows, doctor visits, classes, meetings). He talks of how services can be prolonged simply by not starting on time. I agree with this. I hate when we're even a minute late. He talks of how the spirit is not limited by time. No argument. He gives a schedule of how to make it happen and the the things that can get in the way and waste time. He then tries to debunk the arguments against it. While it's good to do whatever we can to reach people with the Gospel here are some things to consider about doing a 1 hour service:

#1 Our time with God should not be compared to a TV show or doctor visit. I hate going to the dentist. Do people think spending more than an hour with God is like going to the dentist? If they do maybe we are doing something wrong and need to change.

#2 While I agree with the author,the spirit is not limited by time, he can work in the blink of an eye. We however can quench the move of the spirit when we become fixated on a time schedule.

#3 This is people pleasing plain and simple. There are all sorts of surveys as to why people don't come to church. Some have great validity that the church should address. Others are just plain personal comfort issues. Length of service, quality of bathrooms or the space between each in the other in the sanctuary really shouldn't be that big a deal. Aren't we there for God, not us?

#4 Isn't the Gospel enough? When someone comes to a real relationship with Jesus I don't think they will care about how long a service goes. Time with him becomes more important. Soccer, baseball, football, American Idol won't matter much. If we really hunger a three hour service will seem too short.

#5 This is one more example of a great problem with the American church today. Jesus said "GO and TELL" yet we want them to come to us. Consequently we try to develop all sorts of ways to attract a crowd. (which is all we really do). But what if we obey and went out to share the Gospel and people got converted before they ever came to church? We may find that they don't want an hour service.

Now I'm not going to knock those who feel this leading. I have been to hour services and they have been very nice. good worship, good message. My biggest problem is that it allowed no time to connect with God or with others. Two very important things that should happen in a meeting of believers.

Our services aren't an hour and they're not two hours. Somewhere in between. To me church is not a TV show or meeting. While there is a structure there is no need to stick to a script just to appease people and put more in the seats. While this may accomplish that what kind of believer will they be? Someone who shows up once a week because it makes them feel good? Or a committed believer who wants to do HIS will? As illustrated in the article people have some pretty important things to do so they don't have too much time for God. They could squeeze in an hour before soccer or a run but that's about it. Is God really a priority? Or just another thing to do? Like a class or doctor visit?

Method is good. There are many different ways people come to Jesus, but in the end the message alone should be enough.

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

Pastor or CEO?

This blog is called "Thoughts form the Tractor" because so many of them come while I ride my "tractor" (now a zero turn mower) cutting my rather large lawn. This one occurred to me the other day as I was out there in between the raindrops and was reconfirmed in a discussion with a friend over lunch this past Sunday.

As a believer for almost 30 years, the last 7 as a pastor, I have seen a shift in what the role of the pastor is supposed to be. I have seen it trend from shepherd to CEO. Being on the "inside" as made this easier to see but you don't have to be on the inside to see it. There is a great emphasis on what it take to be a great leader rather than a great pastor. Websites, books and seminars focus on leadership. Many suggest "formulas" for success as a pastor. The thought being if we are great leaders then people will follow. We will build a great company, oops, church. This is true and not a bad thing. Part of being a pastor is leadership. But you can be a great leader but not a great pastor.

For some reason many pastors have looked to the world to show them how to lead people to Christ disciple them and build a strong church. Several suggest books used in the business world as a good resource for this. Is the bible not enough? I get that times have changed, but the bible is timeless. I have come out of the business world and can attest that while many of these principles can work in the church we should not look to this as our new model for pastors and church growth. We need to be different not the same. Those inside and outside of our churches want to see that. They're longing to see that. We need to return to being shepherds with the bible as our guide. Not use some formula we learned at a seminar or got out of a book. We should be bringing biblical principles into the work place, not the other way around. I have a friend who owns a very successful business. About twenty years ago they brought biblical principles into the work place including a mid week bible study. (Imagine that, a bible study offered at work? Many of our churches are cutting back such things). In spite of our economic times the business has been blessed. The point is God's principles still work. So why are we looking to incorporate worldly principles in our churches? Could it be because of how we measure success? Let's face it numbers are still big in the church. How many attend and what the bottom line on our balance sheet is still a very important measures of success. Maybe we should not use numbers as our measure of success but rather impact, on lives and on our community. Are we making a difference in these areas? Or is putting a large number in a data base the most important measure of success? Could it be because we are impatient? In the parable of the talents Jesus says "Well done good and faithful servant", we all know that part, but he goes on to say "you have been faithful with little, I will put you in charge of much" (paraphrase). I believe God rewards our faithfulness even more than our results. I think too many pastors become discouraged and quit because they are being presented a model of success that is not always attainable but more importantly not what God wants. When it doesn't happen they feel they have failed. Consequently they run to the seminars and books I mentioned earlier. They miss out on the fact that they have touched lives for the better. That they have made a difference. And those they have touched can go on to touch others. This would not have happened if they were not there. I know how that is. I pastor a small church. It can be discouraging from time to time. For me I look at it like my golf game. Most of the time I struggle on the course. But in every round I have that one shot, one just like the pros, that makes me want to come back for more. So just when I feel discouraged God will bring someone to me who says "Thank-you Pastor for that message. It was just what I needed". Or "Thank-you for this church being here". Those are the shots that keep me coming back. Faithfulness can be difficult, but God rewards it and is pleased with it.

I guess my point is this: Method is part of what we do, but the message is what's most important. But when we do look at method we should probably focus more on God's method for reaching and discipling people rather than man's.

So pastor, be a pastor, not a CEO. Follow the example of Christ, Paul and others in the bible. Lead by that example. I guarantee you people will follow.

Just one man's thoughts. What are yours?

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

Neva hava we seen such wisdom before

"Neva hava we seen such wisdom before" Back in I think 1995 our church did a short either Palm Sunday or Easter drama. It's been 16 years so some of the details are sketchy. I do remember that it had something to do with the blind Bartimaus and was written by our pastor. One of the lines was "Never have we seen such wisdom before" This part was given to our Italian brother Tino. With his accent it came out as "Neva hava we seen such wisdom before". For years after as I recalled this part I would laugh about it. Not very authentic but then again Hollywood always seemed to think that they spoke King James in biblical times so why not broken English with an Italian accent?

This year I find myself recalling that skit once again and laughing. But has I think about it this year it has even greater significance. That was not a very professional presentation. Just a small group of believers putting on the gospel message in hopes that it might reach even one that day who's heart would be touched and would be brought into new life with Jesus Christ. Shortly after this presentation an invitation was given to let Jesus into your life. As is usually the case everyone was asked to close there eyes. Those who felt the spirit's tug were asked to acknowledge that with a raised hand. A moment later I felt a tap on my shoulder. The women behind (I believe her name is Cheryl Selby) told me that my 6 year old son Mike had raised his hand (Hey why weren't her eyes closed? I'm glad they weren't.) We got to pray together and Mike let Jesus in his heart. I don't recall where Matt was and I think Tammy was in the nursery with our newborn daughter, Bethany. I think it was just me and Mike.

Mike went on to serve Christ in spite of some struggles in his later years until his untimely death in January. Although he may not have always had lived out the model we think we need to see, he lived out what Jesus wants to see. "Love God AND Love People" He loved people, helped people and enriched their lives. Message received.

This week many of you may be involved in a similar church drama, egg hunt whatever. Maybe you will be taking your family to one. It probably won't be the most professionally done but the message will be there and an opportunity will be there for those to become children of the King. That's why they do it. So don't play it down as just another church play. Don't criticize the actors. Soak in the message. Take a look at your life and see where you're at.

They'll be one less setting at our table for dinner this Easter Sunday. That's hard to take. But because of the obedience of a faithful few 16 years ago to unashamedly bring the gospel message we can have the peace to know he will be fellowshipping with the King.

Thanks Tino. Thanks Pastor Steve. Thanks Cheryl. Thank you others who were a part as well. Well done good and faithful servants!

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

The Other Side

In Mark 4:35-41 Jesus tells his disciples he wants to "go to the other side" What he meant was he wanted to cross the sea to get to another city for some more ministry. So they set sail. As the story goes quite a storm kicks in. Jesus is asleep and the disciples become terrified. They felt as though they were sinking. Quickly they awaken Jesus. They ask him if he even cares that they may about to drown. Jesus gets up and takes care of the situation by calming the storm. He then asks them why they were so fearful. Why they had no faith. They were awestruck at his power. They sail on. In verse 1 of chapter 5 it says "Then they came to the other side" They made it. Safe and sound. Another day to take on. Another day of ministry.

Sometimes we have to travel storms in this life to get to the other side. To experience something new or exciting. And often when we do we become just like the men in that boat. Fearful, anxious, low on our faith. We forget Jesus is right there with us and he is able to calm that storm and help us get through to the other side. Sometimes we may get a little bruised or beaten along the way but if we remain steadfast and faithful to him we will make it through just fine.

We need to take our eyes off the moment, the journey, and look ahead to the other side. Look ahead to the victory, the new chance, the new opportunity. So often we don't want to get in that boat to get to the other side because we fear the "weather report" which reads: "Storms are ahead if you try to go there" Don't worry about it. Let your captain take over and get you to the other side.

It's not so much about how you get to the other side, but rather that you just get to the other side. For in the journey is the growth. In the arrival is the victory.

So how about you? Afraid to jump in the boat? Like the safety of this shore? There's something to that. But there's also something on the other side. Something you will miss. Perhaps something he has for you. Or needs you to do or experience. Maybe it's time you took a trip with Jesus to "the other side".

Are you ready to hop in?

Until next time,

Pastor Paul

Impact!

It's been a while but I think this is good. I hope to be sharing some more thoughts soon.

My phone rang. I knew from the ring that it was Tammy. I had just finished praying and was looking forward to getting back into a routine after a couple of weeks of working two jobs. It was exhausting and I was looking forward to getting back into spending more time doing ministry. Just before I answered the phone I thought to myself “What does she want now?” I don’t want to be on the phone too long. I want to get started. I was not at all expecting or prepared to hear the words that came next. “Paul, I think Michael’s dead”. My heart dropped and all I could say was, “What?!” She described his appearance and I quickly rushed home. The 7-minute drive seemed like 70. Praying in the spirit all the way I raced toward home. I arrived and ran up the stairs. When I saw him I knew she was right. From my experience in surgery I had seen enough people who had passed away. My heart sank and the tears welled up. When I felt his body he still felt warm. As I moved him I thought I heard breathing. With that we called 911 moved him to the floor and Tammy attempted CPR. Moments later the squad arrived. They gave it a try but our worst fears were realized. He was gone. The house was a flurry of activity, people running all around, firemen, police. Friends arrived for support and comfort. There were questions to answer. It was and still is surreal.

In the days that followed I thought several times to myself, this was a life wasted. So much to offer, so much to do, so much potential that will never be fulfilled. It was not until his memorial service later that week that I realized this was NOT a life wasted. As I looked out into the crowd of over 300 people some of who traveled hundreds of miles just to be there, some faces I hadn’t seen in 20 years I was amazed. As we greeted these people, accepted their condolences and heard the stories of how Mike had touched their lives I realized this. This young man, my son, had touched so many lives for the better. Our Mikey had a positive impact on so many lives. As I later read cards and Facebook posts I saw the image of a loving caring and helpful individual. Mike had some struggles late in his life that may have kept him from doing some of the things he loved. But in spite of those struggles he remained polite, warm and friendly. Always ready to extend a hand and see how he could help someone else who needed it. Mike wanted to be a physician. A dream he never realized. Yet throughout his life and I believe even in his death he probably touched more lives for the good than he may have even if he did accomplish that goal.

A life wasted? I don’t think so. Rather it was a life cut short way too soon. Yet I am reminded that this life isn’t all there is. There is eternal life with Christ, which is far better than anything we could realize here. Mike got there sooner than we did. As for us as we await our time we need to live life as Mike did and impact lives in a positive way as God leads us. Then we can live life with no regrets. For it’s not about money or status, but loving God and loving people. Living a life of impact.

What kind of impact will your life bring?

Until next time,

Pastor Paul