Joy in Christians

I have been thinking about what to preach on when I go to Fort Bragg next Sunday. Karen suggested something on joy, like from a sermon series I did on Philippians 4--"How to have joy".
It is interesting that I came across this article from Preaching Today about the joy that Christians have. I will give you a few excerpts:
...our preacher shared an interaction he'd had with a supermarket clerk. As she checked each of his items, she stopped to look him in the eye and say, "We always know when your church lets out on a Sunday—saddest, meanest group we deal with all week long." I look back on the state of our church and wonder how our attitudes were affecting the children of the congregation. The Sunday School teacher probably stood before the class each week, singing, "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands," only to be met by a dreadful stretch of silence. But who could blame the kids for not even flinching at the invitation? Their little, peering eyes had been on a downcast mom and dad all week! We held fast in our hearts to the Good News, but joy—even that wonderful state of happiness that joy often brings about—seemed just beyond us. At the beginning of "A Christian's Happiness," Timothy Keller confesses that even as a Christ follower, he often struggles with issues of joy and a more consistent state of happiness. So it pleases him to no end that Paul's words in Romans 8:28–30 show a pathway toward a more impervious, relentless joy.

And then a sermon illustration that I might use in my message:
America Is World's Saddest Nation
According to a recent study by the World Health Organization and Harvard Medical School, America may very well be the saddest nation in the world. Researchers found that 9.6 percent of Americans suffer from depression or bipolar disorder—the highest among 14 major nations polled. Those nations that scored better than the U.S. suffer from ongoing wars and rumors of war (Lebanon), vast unemployment (Mexico), and profound poverty (Nigeria). In his Wall Street Journal article, "The Great Depression," Bret Stephens argues that perhaps America scores poorly as a nation because its population is generally comfortable and wealthy. Such luxuries allow more time for critically picking apart life situations and personal circumstances. Those who live in countries torn apart by varying social and economic issues have less time to fret over personal gain and ambition. They are simply too busy trying to survive. So what could turn our sad nation around? The research shows that the citizens of the world's happier nations find a steady source of joy in their families, their religion, and their traditions. —Brian Lowery, associate editor, PreachingToday.com; source: Bret Stephens, "The Great Depression," The Wall Street Journal (3-9-07)

How is YOUR joy?

Going to Church

After I typed the title of this post, I remembered a quote that I heard on the radio this past week when I was traveling. It was something like this, "Too often people just think of 'going to church' instead of 'being the church.'" Anyway, I was going to write about 'going to church' this morning--I think you know what I mean by that. We went to the Mennonite church around the corner from us as they had asked me to speak. As we sat in the adult Sunday School class of about 10 people (with everyone older than us), I was again reminded of the state of mature Christians in the church. I wondered how long the older people had been Christians and reflected on the questions and answers during the discussion. There seemed to be a lack of spiritual insight in the discussion considering the age of the participants.

I had thought previously that it might be nice if a church in the area asked me to be their pastor so that we wouldn't have to move. But after being with this church today, I am excited about the possibility of going to a church that is only a year old. Many established churches, like this particular one, are just too "old fashioned" for me, I guess. I hope that the people of the Fort Bragg church are willing to be a bit more contemporary. We will see....

Seeking His Will

It is often difficult to know God's will for your life. There are many verses in Scripture that give us instruction regarding His will, I know. For example, it is God's will that we not sin. It is His will that we tell others about His great love. It is His will that we love others.
And then there are those areas about daily living that we wonder about His will which He hasn't specifically revealed in Scripture. Is it God's will that I should go to college? What college should I go to? What is His will regarding marriage? Should I marry? To whom?
And of course, there is the question of serving Him. Should I be a pastor, a missionary, a teacher? These are all questions that I have wrestled with. And right now, is it His will that I should continue to serve Him as a pastor, and where?
I bring this all up because of the opportunity to go to Fort Bragg, CA, to serve Him. We want to know God's will. We have been in communication with a leader from the Fort Bragg church (I didn't even catch the name of it, only that it is a So Baptist church). Bill Yeomans is the father and father-in-law of one of the young couples who were members of our church in La Junta. He has asked us to consider coming to be their pastor. So we are flying out there next weekend, Oct. 19-22 to meet them, interview, speak, and to determine if this would be God's will for us.
We appreciate your prayers for us--going there would mean a sacrifice in many areas, especially financial, and perhaps of being separated for a while until our house sells. God seems to be closing all other doors at this time; yet we want to be in His perfect will and move in His time.
By the way, I was asked to speak at the Mennonite church in our community that is without a permanent pastor. I will be speaking there tomorrow. Thank you again for your prayers for us.

Back Home

Wow, what a drive from La Junta to Dalton, Georgia, and back! But it was great to visit with Jeff and Joylene and see what their life is like. It is also great to be back home with Karen and our life here. (I even killed a wolf spider for her within an hour of being back!) We are still praying that God would open up a church near Joylene and Jeff or other family. We miss them!

Last week I had a link to the Christianity Today site about maturity in Christians. They took a little on-line poll about the maturity of believers today. Very interesting results! How would you answer the question?

Results of Last Week's Poll
Big Babies: Compared to what we know about believers a generation ago, how would you assess the maturity of most of today's Christians?
Less mature; so many spiritual babies: 74%
About the same level of maturity: 12%
I'm not sure: 10%
More mature; so many strong believers today: 5%

Relaxin'

Not much new to add lately. I have just been spending time with Joyelene and Jeff and kind of relaxing and hanging out with them. I have seen a few sights around the area such as a civil war battlefield (Chickamuga) and the 1820's Cherokee council site.

We are still praying about whether God would lead us to go to Fort Bragg to the small church that has contacted me. It is a situation where a church plant of a year ago lost their pastor and are asking me if I would consider coming. In light of that, I spent some time with Jeff talking about what he has learned about church planting. (Although his ministry is not a 'church', he has studied a lot about the subject.)

One key area is to get the core leaders to have a vision. I think this applies to any church, large or small, new or ancient--the leaders need to have a vision of where and what they want the church to be. And the pastor is one key element to helping the church form that vision.

As I said, we are still praying about the Fort Bragg position and seeing if God will open or close other doors while we are waiting. Thanks for your prayers for us!

Not to Turlock

I heard from the Turlock church yesterday--they have decided to pursue another individual for their pastor. God has closed the door there, and now we are waiting on Him to show us where He would have us serve Him. We know God is in control, but we also want to know the 'where' and the 'when' of His control. We are still praying that we would be able to move closer to family.
Please pray for our house to sell at just the right time and for our car to sell so that we wouldn't have that financial burden.

Georgia on my mind

Yes, I've felt this way lately!

But now I am in Georgia after 2 long days of driving. Boy, is Kansas a long state to drive through! I made it to Columbia, MO, on Monday, and then on in to Dalton, GA, on Tuesday. I arrived in time to have a great fried-chicken dinner with Joylene, Jeff, and Karen (Jeff's mom) before heading out to ONE, the ministry that Jeff heads up.

It was great to see 60 young adults worshipping in their way--with a live band playing quite loud, even for this Baby Boomer. While I prefer to worship in a softer, yet comtemporary style, it was interesting to see how these 20-somethings were really "into" the worship. Some of the praise songs were the same as we have done at our church, but the delivery was a lot "bolder"! Our generations have become quite distinct in their worship styles, which makes a "blended" service harder to accept for the generations at each end of the age span. I understand why some churches choose to have separate services for each generation although I feel it tends to lead to less community in the whole body. Do you think it is better to have a worship style for each generation separately, or to have a blended service in which many may have to compromise in their favorite way to worship?

Jeff did a great job of communicating his message. He told me afterwards that he never had any preaching classes in seminary (since he was a theology major), and he felt that was probably to his advantage in how he communicates in this particular setting. I agree.

What a challenge to get this generation to really grow in their walk with Jesus without "doing church" which many of them have rejected!

Here is an interesting article that I read about the lack of "mature" Christians in the church: http://www.christianitytoday.com/leaders/newsletter/2007/cln71001.html