Pastor Mike’s Blog

Have you ever stopped to wonder what success looks like in the eyes of God?  The recent issue of World magazine reports that some mega-churches have been inflating their attendance numbers.  The group that collects and reports the numbers say they are not worried about the errors because “it’s about taking a look at what God is doing.”

Does God measure success by numbers?  It’s hard to say.  Surely, God wishes that all would be saved (1Tim 2:4).  We are to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18-20).  Numbers do seem to matter, but is it a measure of success?

Jonah preached a short, mean-spirited sermon and an entire metropolis repented.  The rest of the Old Testament prophets had very little recorded impact on the numbers.  Was Jonah a success and Jeremiah a failure?  Apparently, they both had success in the sense that both were obedient (although Jonah took some persuasion).

I think that’s the key.  If we begin with personal obedience and then corporate obedience we will always be successful in God’s eyes.  And, our obedience comes from our love of God.

Mike

There has been much misinformation and emotionalism surrounding the stem cell debate.  It looks like it has all come to a screeching halt with the latest scientific finding that there is no need to use human embryos for embryonic stem cells (there has never been a debate over using adult stem cells, which are the only ones to have a proven record of medical use).

Isn’t it grand.  Perhaps God’s mercy has shown upon us for holding the line against killing embryos for the purpose of gaining stem cells.  In other words, we were not willing to take one life to save another and another way has apparently been found.

Sadly, the battle continues.  Sometimes, we get frustrated and angry when a pet inconveniences our lives by excessive barking or poor behavior.  That has translated into our human relationships, too.  Whether it’s the thought of caring for a newborn or an aging parent or a needy friend, we too often think first of our own convenience.

Pastors are not immune from this.  Relationships take time and there are always sermons to prepare, meetings to attend, and programs to plan.  I am slowly, agonizingly slowly, learning that ministry is in the interruptions to my planned day.  I’m beginning to see what God sees: a wounded world.  I’m beginning to love others because God loves them.

It is a slow process, this transformation.  It takes a lot of God’s time to help me along.  As we approach Thanksgiving, I’m thankful that God does not see me as an inconvenience but as his child worth the effort.  I pray as he replaces my heart of stone with a heart of flesh that I will see others as he sees me.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Pastor Mike

I’m in Tacoma, WA today, attending a class for Pastors.  As we touch on Covenant history and character, I continue to enjoy what I find.

Our lineage comes from Christ, through the Apostles and the early universal church, through the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church, through Luther’s reformation, through the Pietist movement, and to its current manifestation.  We are parts of all of these things.

Luther, of course, revived “faith alone, through grace alone.”  Over the course of a couple of hundred years, the Lutherans became sterile as radical intellectualism became common.  The Pietists expected more.  They believed that faith should be transformative.  They did not through out the intellectual side of our faith, but they expected personal transformation leading to cultural transformation.  This was Christ’s expectation.  A question commonly asked by Pietists and early Coventeers was, “How is your walk with Christ?”

How is your walk with Christ? It’s okay to say you are struggling or to wonder where God is in a particular situation.  We should be open and honest with each other. Fake smiles are not what we are about.  The early Coventeers came together in small groups to examine Scripture, feeling that such work together would transform them individually and collectively.  This was a way they supported each other.

Next time we great each other, let’s ask, “How is your walk with Christ?”

Pastor Mike

Last time I talked at Ignatius…I’d like to continue on that theme just a bit.  Last week we looked at Ignaitus’ quote that:

“Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to experience salvation.”

He goes on to say:

“And the other things on the face of the earth are created for man and that they may help him in prosecuting the end for which he is created.”

You see, this is the basis for us to properly understand that we are to push aside the things of the world.  It’s not the we are to avoid having possessions, it’s that we are to keep them in their proper place.  If we use them as a means to the end, which is to “praise, reverence, and serve God,” then our perspective is pure.  If, however, our possessions compete with God, run from them!

It’s a beautifully, simple test (2Cor 13:5).

Pastor Mike