A Letter to My Friends
February 20, 2012
To my friends,
I pray this letter finds you and your family doing well. With the turmoil in the world, a sincere family who rests their hope on the Lord is a blessing. If you have children, enjoy their innocent words and their hilarious antics; they grow up fast.
As I write today, I struggle with words to express my gratitude and appreciation for our friendship. Whether we have physically met, talked online, talked on the phone, or never met, I thank God for you. It is my prayer that you find the articles, eBooks, videos and other resources on the Preacher’s Pen to be valuable and challenging.
Allow me to challenge you to begin living better today. The lights of Christians must shine brighter than they ever have before. Our nation is in turmoil and the influence of the church needs to increase. No matter who is the president, they will not save us…it will be Jesus! We must begin living better and shining our lights as much as we can so God may be glorified!
Here are my Monday challenges of encouragement…
Spiritual Encouragement:
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Grow yourself before growing others – Spend time working on your spiritual life, then to work on others. Not only read God’s word, but dive into the meaning and the application.
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Pray three times a day – Daniel did it and we know where his strength resided…in God! Where does your strength reside? Each of use is in the midst of battle and we need an open communication with our Father. Pray three times a day.
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Commit to not missing services – Make a month long commitment to attend every service of the church. Grow with your spiritual family and let your children see a totally committed attending member.
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Invite someone to services – Sacrifice time this week and begin inviting others to services. Ask them to attend because you will be there. Tell them of the benefits of attending services and ask them to come with you.
Physical Encouragement:
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Play with your kids – Turn off everything, including your phone and take an hour each day and do something with your kids. An hour may not seem like a long time, but it is everything in the eyes of a child.
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Date your spouse – Dating should not stop once you are married, Continue to schedule dates with your spouse (and do not take the kids along) enjoy your time together. Building a living, lasting marriage through courtship leads to a powerful life.
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Plant a garden – Develop a hobby. For me, it is working on and in our garden. I used to despise getting out and working in the yard, but I have found this to be one of my most relaxing times. Getting my hands in the soil provides a sense of peace that I richly enjoy. (Plus, having fresh vegetables is not too bad either.)
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Spend less – Many of people’s frustrations come as a result of finances. For some, every month there is more month left than money. Stress like that feeds more stress and many times a negative attitude and actions. Take a month long commitment to spend less money and save more.
These are just some thoughts to begin you on the road to better living.
Just my thoughts,
Chris
4,000 Americans Lost
I sat in horror as the buildings crumbled to the ground. A tear ran down my cheek and I knew at that very moment the world had changed. The world had changed because some selfish religious radicals and it ticked me off! There were people in those buildings who never harmed anyone, but some selfish, conceited terrorist took their life. What about the Bible words of, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you?” Didn’t those radicals know those words? I guess not.
Even seeing the footage of those towers crumbling raises my blood pressure and angers me. Close to 4,000 people died in a few hours. The mainstream media has strict regulations on showing the videos because a few psychologists deemed it “negative viewing.” Who cares?! I wish they were shown more often. People need to see the evil that exists in the world. They need to see how selfish people can destroy others!
4,000 people!
4,000 people!
4,000 children die every day as a result of selfish terrorism. Our country will refuse to call is a selfish act of terrorism, they call it abortion. 4,000 children! Did I mention the 4,000 number is the number of children aborted every DAY! That number is not since Roe vs. Wade, that number is well over 40 million. Some estimate the total number of abortions is over 53 million. No matter the number, it is wrong!
Americans try to make it a softer murder by calling the baby a embryo or fetus. It is nothing more than a selfish act of terrorism. No one will call it that, but I will. God created life and man has made the selfish choice to end it. From the beating of the heart at Day 22, to the detectable brain waves at week 6 and the grasping of the baby’s hand at week 17, this baby is growing and developing. It is a baby, not a thing…it is a baby!
When Americans disrespect life, they disrespect God. When you disrespect innocent life, you disrespect Jesus. How can the children come to Jesus if Americans are taking their lives?
Every day an “event” larger than the terrorist attacks of 9/11 are happening every day. Are you speaking out against it? Are you teaching others the respect of those innocent lives?
By the way, when the “leadership” of our nation says the words below, we definitely have a problem respecting human life:
Can you tell this “issue” ticks me off?
Just some thoughts,
6 Issues Dividing the Church
The church will face struggle which it must encounter and conquer throughout 2012. (See 6 Things the Church Must Respond To) In this post I want to outline 6 Things Dividing the Church. I believe it is important to understand the challenges of the church to better understand the battle waged against the church each day. As Christians, and members of the church, we must understand the force of the battle we are facing. If we do not, we will leave our children with a huge mess because we will not act, but cower.
Challenge yourself by growing spiritually each day.
Here are “6 Issues Dividing the Church”
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Instrumental Music – The battle is always waging but over the course of 2012 I see the issues of bringing instruments into worship being more of a significant issue than in times past. Further, I see members of churches leaving to worship with other churches having the instrument. To put it another way, I see a continued, more intense struggle with “worship authority,”
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Ultra-Conservativism – As the pendulum swings to the left, it will always swing back to the right; it rarely stays in the middle. The same “pendulum swing” is true in religion as it is in politics…the pendulum will swing. As the religious progressive movement pushes to the left, the ultra-conservative movement will push to the right. The pendulum is swinging to extremes, but the key is to keep it in the middle.
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Apathetic Younger Members- The generations to come will suffer from the consequences of the current generation. Future generations are keeping a strong eye on the current one to see their example in handling issues and even if those issues are worth fighting over. Even the current generation is showing signs of being an apathetic church. When issues arise, will the future generations see a people who fought for the beliefs and principles of the Bible, or a people that crumbled under the pressure? Will they see a church that moves and embraces their values or a church full of apathetic members?
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Unbalance Budgets – As the economy tries to find stability, so will the budgets of churches. There will be budget problems resulting in missionaries losing support, preachers losing jobs, great works being stopped, all because of budget concerns. If Christians will begin to sacrifice outside of the realm of comfort, the budgets of local churches will skyrocket. I believe too many people are “inconvenienced” by giving and not sacrificing. For example: which do you think is higher, a monthly cable bill or a monthly contribution amount? Just asking.
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Politics – Yes, this is an election year and for many politics will find their way into the church. I enjoy talking about politics and religion because it reveals people’s inconsistences. Maybe politics should enter our churches so we can see where the true allegiance of men stand: with their earthly citizenship or their heavenly citizenship? We must remember that the human mind is limited in its understanding whereas our Savior is not limited, because understands the path of which we walk and has prepared the best home for us.
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Selfishness – It all boils down to “what I want.” How many congregations are split because some selfish person derailed a ministry a good work or a good church? We must face the fact that Christians are and can be selfish. Paul informs the Philippian church to look at for the best interest of others as they look out for their own interests. We need Christians who care, not who care about self!
As Christians, we must ask ourselves where we stand on the battle field of brotherly conflict. Are we looking out for the best interest of the church , the lost and future generations? Or are we concerned about our own self-interests?
Just some thoughts,
Book Review: Losing Our Religion
When I found out an atheist wrote a book entitled, “Losing Our Religion: Why the Liberal Media Want to Tell You What to Think, Where to Pray, and How to Live,” I had to read it.
S. E. Cupp is a conservative political commentator and writer who has appeared on Fox News, Larry King Live, GBTV, the Alan Colmes show and many others. She is an atheist, even claiming so in Losing Our Religion.
S. E. Cupp takes on the issue of the removal of “In God We Trust”, one nation “under God” and “God Bless America” by sharing that the worship of Americans is not God, but “political demagogues” (her words). Cupp says,
“Not only has the liberal media seemingly stripped the word from its lexicon, but when it does bring it up it’s to mock believers or champion the cause of the angry atheist, who, the media promises us, represents the mew majority opinion about God and faith – that faith should be banished to the far corners of the earth (Alaska would suffice) so that it is spoken of only in hushed tones in one’s own bedroom.” (Chapter 1-3; Kobo electronic version)
From the National Day of Prayer to Prop 8 to the worship of Profits, not Prophets, Cupp takes on the media by using their words to provide overwhelming evidence of the bias persuasion of the media to the left and to a removal of God.
Cupp tackles the debate over evolution with the consistent views of a religious scholar. (By the way, she has a master’s degree with a concentration in religious studies from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University.) Cupp states,
“But the debate over the legitimacy of evolution isn’t really about a battle between fact and fiction. It’s about Christianity, and the liberal media’s attempt to eradicate it from all corners of society.
Overall, the book is filled with example after example (sources cited) of the unending battle the mainstream media has on religion.
It is definitely worth the read.
Just my thoughts,
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VBS Planning Starts Now!
I have run this article every year and it yields tremendous results because everyone has a connection to Vacation Bible School (VBS). From my experience, VBS does not start a the month before; to have a successful VBS the planning starts at least six months from the VBS date.
Take a moment and read the thoughts below. I would like to hear your feedback.
First published in May 2008.
Summertime is just around the corner and that means the everlasting rush to get VBS done. A close friend of mine and I were talking about the process of getting ready for VBS and I thought I might give some hints to get VBS done better each year. Remember, I am no VBS guru, but I have learned some vital necessities of getting VBS done well and it has nothing to do with me, but the people involved make it happen.
It used to be the preacher was the one "volunteered" to handle VBS, but the trend is changing and people are now more involved. So if this does not apply to you, pass this list along to someone else.
Here are Gallagher’s Rules for VBS:
Start early – Don’t wait until two weeks before VBS to begin handing out the material and drafting teachers! This is possibly the second worst mistake you can make with VBS.
Here is a timeline I used for VBS:
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Six Months from VBS Start Date – First meeting to gather teachers, helpers, maintenance crew, snack people, and any other area needed.
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Five months from VBS Start Date – Begin gathering material or ideas for material if your plan to create your own.
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Four Months from VBS Start Date – Begin sending postcards to family, friends, visitors, and even the congregation to remind them of the VBS date. Publicize the VBS date on the Internet.
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Three Months from VBS Start Date – Gather your Decorating Crew together and brainstorm for materials and ideas for decorations.
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Two Months (8 weeks) from VBS Start Date – Pass out material to the teachers and ask if they need anything and be sure to get it. Advertise VBS again in the community paper, direct mail, word of mouth, postcards, whatever is takes to get the word out. Be sure a sign is placed on the church property noting VBS is coming.
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Six Weeks from VBS Start Date – Begin Door knocking opportunities and create posters to be passed out to the community bulletin boards in grocery stores, etc. Arrange for transportation of kids whose parents cannot bring them; begin now to get volunteers.
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Four Weeks from VBS Start Date – Gather every VBS member together and as if there is anything needed. Whatever is needed, get someone other than yourself to be responsible for getting it and delivering it.
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Three Weeks from VBS Start Date – The Decorating Team should be placing the final touches on the decorations and material. Also, more flyers need passed out and sent to each contact.
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Two Weeks from VBS Start Date – The teachers need to be asked if there is anything they need. Constant encouragement is needed because of their powerful role.
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One Week from VBS Start Date – Pray! The final touches need placed on VBS and the congregation needs to be regularly encouraged to be there.
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The Day of VBS – Drink Coffee, Jolt Cola, Mountain Dew and eat lots of Twinkies – you will need it!
Gallagher’s Notable VBS Techniques:
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Always encourage your VBS staff – Write them notes weekly, email them, call them and be there for them. Make sure they are taken care of, because they will take care of the children during the week.
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NEVER MICRO-MANAGE! Now stand up and say it with me, "I WILL NOT MICRO-MANAGE VBS!"
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Involve Everyone – Make sure everyone in your congregation is involved in some way. Get those who like to talk on the phone to make phone calls inviting people, get the computer savvy to develop a web page for VBS, let no one out. Get a new Christian to be an assistant and watch them grow.
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No Skimping on Snacks – No generic gospel, no generic snacks!
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Reward the reward-able – make sure you reward the children for a job well done. Give Bibles to those who brought others, give good gifts to those who work hard.
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Acknowledge your staff each day – At each gathering thank, show appreciation and acknowledge the great qualities of your staff. Provide your staff with rewards as well.
Gallagher’s After VBS Techniques
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Food! After VBS is over, have a meal for everyone who took part in VBS and thank them for all the work they have done.
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Review VBS! Soon after VBS, but separate form the Appreciation Meal, have a VBS review. Be open and honest, let people voice opinions and discuss situations that could be improved and situations that are great. Bring the good and the improvable to the forefront of the discussions.
The techniques listed above is a brief look at the way VBS worked for me. Here in Mount Pleasant, we do not have a VBS yet, but I am sure we will one day. I look forward to the day to put theses techniques back to work.
I took these techniques and tweaked them over the years and saw a great increase in attendance and performance, but most of all the gospel being spread each year.
Remember — Start Early! and NEVER MICRO-MANAGE! (The micro-managing point will come in a few days!)
Just some thoughts,
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