Faithful Or Famous

Former US President Theodore Roosevelt once remarked, "It is better to be faithful than famous."

Which one are you truly seeking?

In Matthew 6:5 (TNIV), Jesus said, "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full."

In Luke 11:43 (TNIV), Jesus smacks down the Pharisees again, saying, "Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces."

Jesus is showing us a couple of classic examples of prioritizing fame over faithfulness in the first century.

And it continues today, in many churches and ministries, around the world, all the time, some 2,000 years later.

And so I ask again: What is your priority in your church or ministry, faithfulness or fame?

God knows your heart. And your ego.

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Faith & Sight

Do you live by faith or by sight?

That's the question behind 2 Corinthians 5:7.

Noah lived (and constructed an ark) by faith, even though he had never even seen rain, and wouldn't see it for another 100 years.

Abraham lived (and travelled) by faith, even when God didn't initially tell him where he would be going.

Moses' parents lived by faith, hiding him for three months after he was born, knowing that God had special plans for their son.

Moses himself lived by faith, leaving Egypt with the Israelites instead of merely luxuriating in the role of the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

Rahab lived by faith, putting her life on the line as she hid two spies.

David lived by faith when he used just one smooth stone to slay the 9-foot giant Goliath.

Do you live by faith or by sight?

If any of the above people had lived by sight instead of faith, they never would have accomplished what they did.

Living by sight is short-term and emotionally-based.

Living by faith is long-term and God-based.

There's a world - and an eternity - of difference.

Live by faith, and not by sight, and watch the difference that God makes in your life, in your church, and in your ministry.

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Can & Can't

Do what you can, then let God do what you can't.

Moses and the Israelites were at the shores of the Red Sea. They were trapped. The ocean raged in front of them, and Pharaoh's army raged behind them.

Moses and the Israelites did what they could. They stepped into the raging Red Sea waters.

And then God did what they couldn't. God calmed the waters, divided the sea, and Moses and the Israelites went through the Red Sea on dry ground, with walls of water on either side of them.

Moses and the Israelites made it safely to the other shore. The Egyptians didn't.

Moses and the Israelites did what they could, by taking a huge step out in faith and into the raging Red Sea waters, and then God did the rest. God did what they couldn't.

Do what you can, then let God do what you can't.

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Speeding

A thoughtful man once said, "Sometimes I think that God is going to come down and pull civilization over for speeding."

Very profound words.

But it wasn't a pastor or a church leader who said that.

It was a comedian named Steven Wright.

And Wright was ... right.

We live in a high-tech, high-speed amped-up, supersonic, immediate-demand world ... and that includes churches and ministries.

We want everything done yesterday ... if not sooner.

But sometimes God makes you wait. Sometimes He makes you slow down. Sometimes He doesn't let you speed on down the road.

God told Noah to build an ark, and then it didn't rain for about 100 years.

God let Joseph spend about 13 years in prison before making him the second most powerful man in Egypt after Pharaoh.

God let Moses tend sheep for his father-in-law for 40 years in the desert before calling him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land.

Is God curbing your speeding?

Let Him.

In Psalm 31:15, David sings about how "my times are in your hands ...."

Sing the same song.

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Big Faith & Big Risk

Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, USA, and the author of the wildly-successful book, "The Purpose-Driven Life", recently wrote, "Success is not being larger than some other church; it is bearing as much fruit as possible, given your gifts, opportunities, and potential. If you're not taking any risks in your ministry, then no faith is required to do it. And if your ministry doesn't require any faith, then you are being unfaithful."

Frequently you can measure the level of your faith by also measuring the level of risk you are willing to take.

Big faith can be measured by big risk-taking abilities, and this can lead to big reward and big blessing.

We serve a big God. He's looking for big faith and big risk on your part. He offers big reward, big favor, and big blessing as a result.

Are you up for it?

Are you big enough for it?

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Crisis = Danger + Opportunity

There is a crisis in the USA right now. An economiccrisis. It has hit the nation very hard, with nearly 10% unemployment all across the country. People have lost their homes, their jobs, their savings accounts, and their retirement funds. Here in Orlando, Florida, there are boarded-up restaurants, car dealerships, and storefronts everywhere we go. Sometimes we see an entire plaza or strip mall all boarded up, with nothing but weeds growing in the abandoned parking lots.

There is a crisis in the USA.

But according to the Chinese, crisis = danger + opportunity.

That's right. In one of the two main Chinese languages, the word "crisis" is formed by using two characters: one character for the word "danger" and a second character for the word "opportunity."

Crisis = danger + opportunity.

It's true here in Orlando, Florida, USA, and it's true wherever in the world that you are doing church or ministry.

Don't look at just the danger that is inherent to whatever crisis you are going through right now. Look for the perhaps-hidden opportunity that is there as well.

Then step up and seize it!

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Eric Clapton

Dorcas and I saw Eric Clapton live in concert on Saturday night in Orlando, Florida, USA.

Eric Clapton turns 65 years old in two weeks.

65.

The age when most people retire.

And Eric Clapton is still performing - and magnificently so - almost 50 years after he first took to a stage with his guitar.

Clapton has battled drug, alcohol, and relationship demons all of his life (just listen to his song lyrics and his passion for blues music), and he suffered the devastating loss of a young child several years ago, which was the subject of his song, "Tears in Heaven."

But at (almost) age 65 Eric Clapton is a great example of someone who, at retirement age, is not retiring.

God doesn't seem to be into retirement, either.

God told Abram to pack up his family and his belongings, and to leave his country, his people, and his father's household, when Abram was 75.

God told Moses to go to Egypt and get all up in Pharaoh's grill when Moses was 80.

God later told Abram that he would father a child when he was 100. And his wife was 90.

And if that's not enough for you, God told Noah to build the ark when Noah was 500. And then Noah was pushing 600 when it finally started to rain.

What do you get someone as a gift for his 600th birthday? Do they still serve cake?

In any case, whether we're talking about Abram, Moses, or Noah, it seems clear that God's not looking for believers to start coasting once they hit retirement age.

And even Eric Clapton preached that message to a congregation of about 20,000 in Orlando on Saturday night.

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Laughter

Marcos Witt, the Spanish-language pastor at Joel Osteen's enormous Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, USA (weekly attendance around 40,000 people), recently said, "Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of the heart."

When was the last time you had a really good laugh?

Sometimes it's easy to think that as Christ followers we are supposed to be sober, straight-faced, and serious all of the time, but that's not so. Sarah laughed when God told her that, at about age 90, she'd soon be having a baby (I think any 90-year-old woman would laugh at that). Sarah then named her new baby boy Isaac, which means "he laughs." In Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes about how there is a time to laugh. And in Psalm 2 it says that even God laughs up in heaven. Maybe He's a fan of old Marx Brothers movies or Abbott & Costello's "Who's On First?" routine.

Laughter is good for the soul - your soul. Laugh more. It's a divine prescription for better physical and spiritual health.

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Mistakes

U2 is one of my favorite bands, and recently I read a quote from the lead singer, Bono, about his heroes.

Bono said, "My heroes are the ones who survived doing it wrong, who made mistakes, but recovered from them."

Amen.

You are not perfect. You are forgiven, but not perfect. You will screw up. Again and again. And again and again. God knows this. He sees your screw-ups. He's also interested in how you respond to them. Do you throw in the towel and quit? Or do you persevere?

Success in life, as in church and ministry, involves survival skills, recovery skills, doggedness, and the hide of a rhino.

James tells us to persevere. Paul tells us to endure. When you screw up, learn from your mistakes, get up, dust yourself off, and get going again. Our God is a God of second chances. Watch how He helps you to do better the next time around.

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Fruit

We're here on sabbatical in Orlando, Florida, which is the citrus capital of the USA. We are surrounded by endless groves of oranges, grapefruits, and other citrus fruits.

It all reminds me of the words of Jesus in John 15.

In John 15:5 (TNIV), Jesus tells his disciples, "If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit ...."

In John 15:8 (TNIV), Jesus adds, "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit ...."

In John 15:16 (TNIV), Jesus reiterates, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit - fruit that will last ...."

Jesus wants us to bear fruit.

Much fruit.

A lot of it.

But here's the question: what's the state of the fruit you are bearing?

It is quality fruit?

Or is it all rotten?

There's been a recent cold snap here in Orlando, and so much of the fruit in the citrus groves has spoiled due to the frigid weather. It's no good to eat. It's of no use. It's rotten.

There's much fruit, to be sure, but much of the fruit is now worthless.

Just like in a lot of churches and ministries.

Many churches and ministries like to trump their large numbers of members and followers - their "fruit" - but the question that needs to be asked is how much of this "fruit" is a quality harvest - "fruit that will last", as Jesus said - and how much of it is rotten fruit that will spoil on the vine or in the grove and be of no use at all.

It's good to "bear much fruit", as Jesus said.

But it's also important to check on its quality.

Good fruit and bad fruit are both fruit, but only one is good for the body.

Be sure you know the difference. Your health - and that of your church or ministry - depends on it.

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Disney & Christianity

We are here on sabbatical in Orlando, Florida, USA, which means that we are right next door to Walt Disney World, the top tourist attraction in the world, and it also means that we are surrounded by both Disney lovers and Disney haters.

Several years ago, a certain conservative evangelical church denomination in the USA tried to boycott Disney, claiming that the company was anti-Christian in the values it was promoting in its movies.

The boycott failed.

Even today, there are certain pastors and church leaders who consider the Walt Disney Company to be "anti-Christian."

I don't agree.

As we travel around the vast expanses of Walt Disney World (which is about as big as the entire city of San Francisco, California, USA), we have noticed three clear-cut examples of what we would consider to be "pro-Christian" values exhibited at Disney. To wit:

1) Disney sponsors a 2-day concert featuring top contemporary Christian artists every September at the Magic Kingdom or at one of its other Orlando parks. The annual two-day event draws hundreds of thousands of fans, and offers believers a great opportunity to invite non-believers to an exciting and energetic event, and to enjoy music and lyrics that clearly promote the good news of Jesus Christ.

2) At the "Hall of Presidents" exhibit in the Magic Kingdom, which honors the 44 Presidents of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln clearly and unequivocally speaks about his faith in God and about God's control over events as he leads the divided United States through its bloody Civil War.

3) On Sundays at the House of Blues at Downtown Disney, there is a gospel brunch. The food is tremendous and the joint is jumpin', and the gospel singers and musicians, normally from local Florida churches, clearly present the gospel of Jesus Christ to the crowd that is there.

Those are three straightforward examples of Disney allowing pro-Christian values and beliefs to be promoted at its parks in Orlando.

Remember, too, that Disney is a secular company. It has never held itself out to be a church or ministry. In that regard, Disney should be measured no different than one would measure Microsoft or Google or IBM or Coca-Cola as to whether any such companies are "pro" or "anti" Christianity. A secular company such as Disney, which offers three clear examples of the promotion of pro-Christian values and beliefs in its otherwise secular parks, should be commended for such actions.

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Greetings From Orlando

Greetings from Orlando, Florida, USA!

Dorcas and I arrived safely in Orlando last night, all the way from Lima, Peru. It's a high tourist season here in Orlando right now, with US colleges and universities having their spring breaks all throughout the month of March, but it's hardly tourist weather here, as it's cold, gray, cloudy, and very windy - hardly the type of weather that a frozen vacationer from the snow-buried north would be looking for in usually warm and sunny Florida.

The US economic crisis has hit Orlando very hard. There are empty storefronts everywhere. We've even seen large hotels and auto dealerships that now are shuttered tight. Many strip malls and shopping plazas are only half occupied with tenants.

Many pastors have told me, with furrowed brow, that this is totally the wrong time to start a new church, and that we should "batten down the hatches" and "ride out the economic storm."

I disagree entirely.

Millions of people in the USA, as well as worldwide, as a result of this global economic crisis, have lost their jobs, lost their money, lost their savings, lost their bank accounts, lost their retirement funds, lost their health insurance ... and also now have lost their hope.

All of these people are now searching.

For hope in the midst of this storm.

That's why this is not the worst time to start a new church.

In fact, it's just the opposite.

This is the very best time to start a new church.

Anywhere.

This is the best time to start a new church - anywhere - because people are hurting and feeling hopeless, and it's time to give them the words first sung by David in Psalm 62:5 (TNIV), "Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him."

It's time for us to show hope - and not hopelessness - to this world, wherever you are located in it.

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