Bill Sizemore

New Blog Site

2010-07-12T06:45:00.000-05:00

With our new Church website, I have started bloging on the new site. My new blog can be found at http://www.bethebible.com/. There is a link on the home page to the blogs.

A Long Time Coming

2010-04-07T09:51:00.001-05:00

WOW! It has been forever since I have written in my blog. Sorry everyone. I will try and through out some meaningful and insightful thoughts that are rolling around in my head more often, or maybe that’s why I haven’t written anything in a while. Anywho, God has been very busy build the Kingdom through Fellowship Baptist Church. we have had many people come to Christ and enter the Baptismal waters over the last few months. I have truly been trying to keep up with all that’s going on around here. From January through March we are getting ready for, having, and digesting our World Vision Conference. It was a great time this year will Epic International and Ralph Canada as our Key Note Speaker. God really moved us to be a Church that reaches the Nations. One of our goals this year is to learn how to pray with extraordinary prayer. And I have been so proud of the response of the Church body. We have people that have been praying around the clock here at the Church. It is so comical to me when we finally take God at his Word and then we are surprised and amazed when He does what He said he would do. I believe that our prayers have turned into actions, which have turned into people, which has brought honor and glory to our King. It’s not a complicated as we make it some times. We just have to learn to trust.

If you are in the Borger area, you should come and get in on the study through the book of 1 Corinthians on Sunday mornings at 10:30. God is bring clarity and understanding in a way that only God can do. The Church is alive with excitement about the missions trips we are taking this year, and the Summer promotion that is coming up (stay tuned). If you’re not in town you can catch us on the web at www.fellowshipborger.com.

The Will of God

2009-11-30T06:35:00.001-06:00

Question:

Hey Bill, I hate to sound stupid but how do so many people seem to know what GOD’S will is for their life.

Answer:

I get asked that question all the time. Have you taken "Basic Training" here at the Church? If so, I answer this question in session 7. If not let me know and I will get it to you.
Here is the easies answer for a Christian. When you have the Holy Spirit inside you. He will guide you into all truth (John 16:13). The way he will guide you is through peace. Always go in the direction that brings you the most peace in your heart. Read Philippians 4:6-9. The Bible is your boundary so don't do anything that is against the Bible. But there are a lot of good things you could do and this is where you must listen to you heart because that is where God is. He will guide you with peace.
This is not an easy concept and sometimes the peace of God looks crazy to everyone else, but you will know it. You just have to follow it.

If you have a question you would like to ask the Pastor, click here.

The RightNow Conference

2009-11-07T07:56:00.001-06:00

Thursday, Pastor Edgar, Shawn, and I went to the RightNow Conference in Dallas Texas. I was introduced to a new speaker that has truly blessed my heart. His name is Matt Chandler. If you are at all web preacher savvy, I’m sure you have heard of Matt. His topic yesterday was “The Enduring Gospel.” And I must say, he articulated the gospel message better than I even heard in my life. I felt so overwhelmed with the truth that I began to swell up with tears. It was so much of the things that I have been preaching and teaching, wrapped up with a pretty bow on top. I was not under conviction, but just felt like I found a new friend. If you have heard my preaching on the gospel at all, you know that I believe there are many people sitting in the pews that have prayed the sinners prayer some time during their life and are just as lost today as they were before they prayed. The problem is, you can’t find a sinners prayer in the Bible. It doesn’t exist.

I was approach by a married couple that didn’t attend our church and asked If I did marriage counseling. I said, “Yes.” So we set up the time. The first question I as then was, “Do you know the Lord as your personal Savior?” They, without hesitation, said, “Oh yea.” So I said, “Let me rephrase the question. Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?” The couple both stopped for a moment bowed their heads and said, “No, not like we should be.” So I clarified, I said, “Lets say that God didn’t exist as all. Would there be anything that changed in your life.” They again bowed their heads and said, “No.” I said, “Than why would you say your a Christian.” One thing that Tim Ross, from the Potter’s House, said was, “I am just a fruit inspector. If your life is thrown up on the dock and they tell me your an apple, but you smell like an orange and you have the texture of an orange, I have to call you an orange.” The blessing was that before we left that night. The couple bowed their heads and entered into a covenant relationship with the Lord. I remember early in my message preaching, “Why would you call yourself something that you are nothing like.”

I challenge you to take the time to examine your own heart. Are you a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. When you read John 10:27, are you a sheep that follows the lord or did you just simply bow your head and pray a prayer one day. God is seeking true worshipers, those that will worship him in Spirit and in truth. True disciples follow the Lord. That doesn’t mean they don’t sin or make mistakes but they do take the necessary steps to make things right with their Lord.

The Church is the Missionary

2009-11-04T07:07:00.001-06:00

On the morning of Halloween, Fellowship Baptist Church hosted a seminar facilitated by E.P.I.C. International called Finishing the Task. It was so wonderful to have Mike Jackson and John Hall with us as they shared their hearts on how we can reach the entire world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

For many years in many Churches we have been trained to support missionaries that are going to the field (somewhere besides home). I remember when I gave my life the Jesus back in 1981 for full time service. I walked down to the front of the church as a 12 year old boy. The man receiving people at the front ask me, “What did you come for this morning?” I said, “I want to give my life to Jesus for full time service.” Before I knew it I was on the front roll with paper work being filled out. They handed the paper to the my wonderful Pastor and he said, “Billy is going to be a preacher.” The whole congregation said, “Amen.” The pastor dismissed the service and I stood at the front as people rolled by this tears in their eyes telling me how proud they were of me. In all honesty I wasn’t coming forward to be a preacher. I was just coming forward to give my life to Jesus for full time service. It turns out that the preacher was prophetic that day, and that Jesus had given me the gift of pastor/teacher. But I know there are a lot of people that have done that exact same thing and they were also told they were going to be a preacher or a missionary. You see, as much as I can remember those were the only two choices for being in full time service for the Lord: Pastor or Missionary. The problem is that both of these positions, if done properly, require a special gift from the Lord (Ephesians 4:7-12), and not all men and women that come forward in a church service have been given these gifts.

The Bible teaches that everyone that comes to Christ is called into the ministry of God. Now the way that God uses you in his ministry is a different as the people he calls. We have got to get this idea out of our heads that ministry is done by the professionals and start to see what God has for each and every one of us.

We have adopted a people group in which we are going to pure our lives into reaching. This means that we will us any and all recourses to see this people group come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are not sending a man from the congregation to go and do the work amongst this people group. The Church is the missionary. First we pray with extraordinary prayer. We know that God wants to do big things and we are ready to join him in his activity. There will also come a time that we help with projects that we can do on this field. Maybe we plant trees, or build a playground, or put in a soccer field, or take over medical aid, or teach English as a second language, or teach some ladies how to sew, or teach personal hygiene. They sky is the limit on the things we can do to introduce the gospel to these people. The point is simply this. We are not sending someone else to do our work. Some of these places you can’t send anyone. So we will go as a Church, and we will share the gospel with these lost and dyeing people. We will be the missionary.

Oh, but it is so easy to write a missions check and call it good. But we never partake in the blessing of joining God in his mission or reaching the world. More to come!

In Remembrance of Ruby Stanton

2009-11-03T06:58:00.001-06:00

I remember nine years ago on October 27, 2000 rolling into Borger, TX to start a new ministry as the Pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church. This was my second pastorate and I was still pretty fresh in the ministry. I don’t care how long you’ve been doing something, a new place, with new people, is always an intimidating thing. I had told the Church board when I came that we would need to bring the Church up to speed on some things and it was going to cause some of the folks to be uncomfortable and I suspected some would leave. That’s just the way it goes! So, we hit the ground running and God begins to bless the work.

It wasn’t too long after we had got here that Ruby Stanton said, “Brother Bill, (I can still hear the soft tone of her voice when she said my name) I would love for you to come over and have coffee with Ray and me some time.” That was the beginning of a loving relationship between Ruby and me. Kim and I would go over and sit on their front porch and watch the neighborhood traffic. The yard was immaculate. The house was spotless. The coffee was good and the donuts were fattening: just the way we liked it. That was our treat with the Stanton’s for the years to come.

But, of course, we couldn’t stop at donuts. The next to come was a fish fry. It seems their son Larry is quite the fisherman and had filled their freezer with some wonderful catfish. So Kim I would come over on a Friday night and we would eat like kings. When we walked in the table was preset with all the fixings that would go with catfish. And the out come the sweet breaded juicy catfish with hush puppies on the side (my mouth started watering just thinking about it). And we would eat, and eat, and eat. Ray would say, “You gotta eat another one or it’s going to waist.” Here I am in my 30’s sitting at the table with some people in their 80’s and you would have thought we went to College together or something. Ray and Ruby would start telling stories, funny stories of their life, and of their kids, their adventures, and some heartaches. My point is they shared their life with us. And in turn we shared ours with them. I guess you could say, “We became friends.”

As the years went by, Ruby wasn’t quite able to cook the big meals. We would still come over, but the hush puppies were store bought, and the dissert was something from a box. All good mind you, but a little embarrassing for Ruby at times. Course, Kim and I didn’t care because we didn’t come for the homemade hush puppies or the homemade pie. We came to spend time with our friends, and we did just that.

These last 9 years have not been easy years in the ministry. People have come and gone. Problems have come and gone. But it seemed that in the lowest times Ray and Ruby were there cheering me on. Telling me what a good Pastor I was. Telling me how proud they were of us. They got me through some rough spots. If you know me at all, you know I work with my hands. Ray would always ask me, “What are you doing down there at the Church house?” I would say, “We building this and changing that…” He would say, “Don’t let it take you away from your studies.” I believe he loved to hear me preach. Not that I’m all that good of a preacher, but he loved receiving a message from the Lord. When Ruby began to get sick. Ray would come to Church without her, and he hated it. I can just see Ruby at home saying, “Ray, you goon now. I’ll be alright. They’ll be looking for us, and one of us needs to go.” And she was right. I have no idea what heaven is like, but I hope my house sits right next to the Stanton’s. I miss them. I love them.

New Blog Commitment

2009-10-29T13:59:00.002-05:00

I stand in wonder and amazement that people want to know what is rolling around in this little brain of mine. So, I am committing, starting in November to write something in the blog everyday. We'll see how it goes. There are so many things that the Lord is doing that it is hard to pick out which one to talk about. Stay Tuned!!!!

The Blessing of God’s Word

2009-10-05T21:58:00.001-05:00

Last Friday 17 high school and College students jumped in vans and headed up to KC to work all night at putting some Bibles together for people that have never had God’s Word. We traveled all day watching the Back to the Future Trilogy. Made good time and got to KC about 6:00pm. I had to take the group to Zarda Bar-B-Q for some authentic B-B-Q. You see, Texan’s know Chili and they think they know B-B-Q. But until you’ve had some burnt ends at Zarda’s life is just kinda “bla.” We were at the Church at 8:00pm putting the Bibles together. We did everything from collating to rolling to stacking to getting them ready for cutting and binding. We were hoping to pull an “all nighter” But seeing how I am now 40 I only made it till 3am and I was overcooked. I told the team I was out and they were welcome to head to the house if they wanted. But, they had just had some energy drinks and were just getting fired up. they made Bibles until 6:30 that morning. Then we slept. One of the host families had us over for burgers and volleyball Saturday night. It was a great time of fellowship and fun. When we got to Church on Sunday we joined back in making the Bibles for another hour or so and then went to the second service. It was amazing. The praise was hittin’ and the Word was wonderful. God really brought us together as a class. We grabbed some pizza at on the Plaza and headed for the house about 3pm. We didn’t pull into Borger until almost 1am. It was a fast trip but it was amazing. It always does me good to go home and see those that are still to this day praying for me and the work that God has called me to do. KCBT you’re amazing. Keep it up. We are praying for your conference this week.

Bearing Fruit in Ukraine

2009-09-29T05:29:00.001-05:00

For the past four years I’ve been praying and burdened that God would use Fellowship Baptist Church to bear some fruit for his kingdom among the Baptist Churches in Ukraine.

Ukraine was part of the old Soviet Union and was set free about 18 years ago. The underground Churches immediately began to live in the new freedoms they had to worship and serve the Lord. Because of the underground situation, the Independent Baptist Churches became very close in fellowship and have remained that way to this day. Ukraine is rapidly taking on some Western characteristics: some good and some not so good. American retail companies are taking every opportunity to indoctrinate Ukraine with materialism. Some of the innocence that families experienced under communism is quickly going away. Communism was very good at keeping out any outside thought and ideas, this was only good in regards to family life. Now, they are experiencing to spiritual growing pangs of a society that can make their own choices.

My goal in traveling to Ukraine has been to provide the pastors and next generation of pastors with solid Bible doctrine as I teach in the Baptist college established by Ron Minton. My first trip to Ukraine was back in January 2007. With my teeth chattering, I taught my class on Biblical Discipleship and it was received well. The pastor’s of the churches commented that they didn’t believe the Christians of America were so committed to Christ and the work of the Lord. I was glad to help correct that thinking.

The last two weeks in Ukraine was amazing. I again taught the class on Discipleship and I saw the proverbial “light bulb come on.” I think one of the most powerful moments of the class was the last day when the young men and elders began to talk about the generation gap of both thinking and practice and how they can start working together to reach the next generation. I made many life long friends on this trip. And many doors of opportunity for the Fellowship Baptist to minister in Ukraine have been offered to us. Our youth have been invited to come and help with the family camp that the Church in Rivne puts on every year. One of the pastor’s spent a lot of time with me discussing the need for a discipleship conference in his Church. I believe this is the start of a wonderful relationship between Fellowship and the people of Ukraine. I have been invited to come back next September and teach the book of 1 Corithians in the college. This request came from the pastors and Ron is in agreement this is just what they need.

My hope and prayer is that we will be headed back to Ukraine as a Church body to have even a greater impact for years to come.

Greetings from Ukraine

2009-09-15T07:08:00.001-05:00

We are in the city of Rivena here in Ukraine. I had a chance to preach at two Churches here in Rivena on Sunday. I felt the Lord leading me to preach on the topic “the Just shall live by Faith.” I had intended to preach the same message at both Churches but as God does so many times, the sermons were nothing alike. The morning sermon was about how your faith is proved out by your works. In the evening service we talked about how the church has failed at the ministry of reconciliation. If you are currently in my D2 class, this should sound familiar.

Monday we had our opening class of “Biblical Discipleship.” There are about 7 Churches that are represented in the class with many pastor’s and associates. We decided to give the class a break on Saturday and just have a Bible Q & A. They are excited as I am to answer as many questions as possible. God has truly blessed the class so far.

When I got up this morning, my back began to tighten up on me. I am not sure of the cause, but I do need your prayers. Please pray that God will heal my back issue so that it doesn’t interfere with the mission. I am running short on time, so I must go. I will send another update asap. I am praying for you church family, while I am gone. Hold the fort and I will be back soon.

Answers from Ask the Pastor

2009-09-01T11:24:00.001-05:00

There is a page on the website of Fellowship Baptist Church that people can come and ask me any question they wish. We have had some questions asked that I think would be good to share with the group. So here you have it.

Question:

Hey Pastor Bill,I was just wondering that if you know that your 13 year old is not reading the bible and praying on his own what should I do? I feel like if I make him then he won't get anything out of it anyway and also since he is saved isn't he the one that will have to answer to it.

Answer:

I remember when I was 13. I hated school. I didn’t read very well, so I didn’t read at all. I quite frankly I wanted to go outside and play. I loved the Lord and wanted to serve Him. Because of my lack of reading skills I became an audible learner. I would listen in Sunday School and Church to what the Pastor and teachers were saying and I did take it to heart. I have yet to talk to any adult that studied there Bible when they were 13. We know that in the pages of the Bible are the words of life. We know that God desires for our Children to learn the life lessons of the Bible. So how does God teach a 13 year old his truths. The answer is simple the child is watch the parent. What makes the Bible real to the child right now is the reality of it in the lives of the parents. The parent is the Bible that the young man or woman are reading every day. I don’t know about you but those are big shoes to fill. When they get in High School and college they will begin to study things out for themselves. My suggestion is to teach them with your life and voice right now. Tell them what the Bible says when you correct them, and then when they are older they will find their time in the scriptures.

Question:

At the last Q & A, right before the end, I think you said when we are in Heaven we will have flesh bodies. Where in the Bible does it refer to this?

Answer:

At the end of the last session I mentioned that there would be procreation when we go into eternity. Many assumed then that I must be talking about having fleshly bodies.

In Isaiah 14:24 the Bible says, “The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.” If we understand that God has had a master plan from the beginning, we can see that plan in Adam and Eve. They were to replenish the Earth with Sons of God; true worshipers that would worship God in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23). We know that Adam had a glorified body that was made from the dust of the Earth. His body was indeed fleshly (i.e. skin & bones) and he had the ability, yea the command to procreate. When we see Jesus in the scriptures after his resurrection, He has his glorified body, but it is a body nonetheless. I believe that Jesus will always bear the scars of the cross, as he showed them to Thomas after his resurrection as proof of who he is and what he had done.

With that said, procreation in a glorified body has been feasible since the beginning of time. We are told that we, the body of Christ, are not given in marriage in heaven, but you must remember that the Body of Christ is not the only people group in heaven. There is a countless # of Jews that will live through the Millennial rein of Christ and pass into eternity. Consider Revelation 22:2, “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” The same tree of life that was meant for Adam and Eve will then be available for the “healing of the nations.” Where do the nations come from and why do they need healing? I believe the beginning of the answer is found in procreation in eternity; the rest of the answer we will get on the other side of glory.

Question:

Bill can you tell me the scripture references that refers to communion, and that small children and unsaved adults should not partake of communion? I know that since our church practices that, it is in the Bible! But I don't know where. Thanks for you help.

Answer:

There are three practices of communion in the Church today, none of which are found in the pages of the Bible. These are traditions that have been brought about by Churches, so with Biblical backgrounds. The three practices are:

1. Closed communion: Only baptized member of that local assembly are granted the bread and the wine.

2. Close communion: Those that have been saved and baptized according to scripture are able to partake.

3. Open communion: It is left up to the digression of the person of whether to partake or not.

Before I came to Fellowship, the Church practiced closed communion. After I came I changed it to close communion. The scriptures that I used to decide on this issue are mostly found in 1 Corinthians 11:18-34. There are a few major lessons we learn from this passage. Communion should be taken as a group and in order (11:18-22). Communion must be taken remembering what the Lord has done for us (11:23-26). Communion must be taken discerning the Lord’s body, or considering its impact on your life (11:27-34).

The reason I choose not to let someone who is not saved partake of the elements is because there are grave consequences for doing so. Some become sick and some die. This also holds true for Christians that don’t judge their own lives.

The only reason we would ask the young children not to partake would be because they have not yet received the Lord as their savior and thus would fall back into the unsaved category.

If you would like to submit your question about religion, God, life, or the Bible, I would love to hear from you. Just give me a few days to answer. Submit your question here!

Stuck in Amarillo

2009-07-27T11:01:00.001-05:00

Well, Dallas is getting hammered right now with some bad weather which has caused our plane here in Amarillo to be delayed to the point that we have missed our connection in Dallas to Belize. So, we get a free hotel stay in Dallas and we will be flying to Belize tomorrow. God is so good. this is the first year that the rest of the team has flown on a different airline and flight. They are on time and on their way what this means is that they will be their to greet the kids and get them ready for the evening services. We just need to pray that nothing else happens with our flight and we will be there in plenty of time for the first service tomorrow night.

Dealing With Grief

2009-07-25T11:34:00.001-05:00

Over the past week we have had a lot of families in the Church that are having to deal with the loss of a loved one. My heart goes out to each and every family that has suffered the loss and separation of someone they love and care deeply about. It is in these times that many people struggle to know how to express their grief as a Christian. Sometime we are told by the world that real men don’t cry. We tell ourselves I have to be strong for the family. We hear from the Church that God is in control and that he knows best and therefore we should praise him for all that he does. We are assured of the hope that we find in the Lord, and he tells us to comfort one another with these words (1 Thess. 4:13-18). So we put on a mask and we try to be strong and we reassure ourselves that they are in a better place, and we look for anything positive that we can hold on to to try and ease the pain. I have seen people hold in their grief for years and then one day, out of the blue, there is a purging of emotions that were a long time coming.

Here is what I have learned after 18 years of ministry. Everybody grieves differently and that is OK. I have seen family members get mad at other family members because they are not crying enough or not crying at all. I have seen family member get mad at other family members because they have fallen to pieces and can’t seem to pull it together. There is no right way to grieve, there is just grieving. I will say that I think grieving is a healthy exercise that everyone should go through. I believe that God has given us the ability to grieve so that we may live in the reality of today. God has made a time to morn the loss of those we love (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Death is not the end, but rather the beginning of something new. Life goes on in a new way. Life for the lost loved one is a life of eternity, but I am speaking of the life here on earth. Life is different, never to be the same again. By recognizing the death, we can start again. This is the pattern of life and death.

God knows the pain of losing a loved one. God understand what it is like to lose a family member, a partner, a son, a friend. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15). I must believe that the three hours of darkness was God’s grieving over the death of his only begotten Son. But the darkness gives way to the light. When the Light returned there was a new beginning. Death had begotten light, and new life has begun. I always think of the time that Jesus met Martha and Mary, and in their time of grief over the loss of their brother, Jesus wept with them (John 11:35). Knowing what he would do and that in a few moments he would raise Lazarus from the dead didn’t change the sorrow of the moment, but life would never be the same. One thing passes that another may come.

Real men aren’t afraid to cry. Take the time to say goodbye. Take the time to lay to rest all the emotions that have been given to you by the one who created you. In doing so, you can start something new and life will begin again. Some laugh, some cry, some have questions, some get angry, some are hurt, and some go through the entire spectrum of emotions. As you feel, know that you are alive and bring those feeling to the Lord. He will hold you, he will help you, he will guide you in the new life that has begun, and he will comfort you (2 Cor 1:2-5). Jesus when confronted by Martha on the road was not upset with her questions and grief, but rather embraced it and guided her through it. And so your Lord with do for you. Bring your sorrow. Bring your pain. Cast your cares on Him for he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). When you have been comforted in your grief be ready to comfort those around you. God will never leave you nor forsake you.

Reaching Brazil with the Gospel

2009-07-16T10:52:00.001-05:00

We are very blessed this Sunday (July 19th, 2009) to have Frank Brim our missionary to Brazil in our worship service. Frank and Darla and their 4 kids have been serving the Lord in Brazil for the past 15 years. Fellowship Baptist Church was first introduced to the Brims in 1994 when they were blazing the deputation trail through the lone star state. We have been partners with them since that time. When I came to Fellowship in 2000, one of the first things I began to do is look at the missionaries that we supported to try and figure out who was getting the job done. When I came across Frank Brim it was like a breath of fresh air. I saw a man that was not afraid to pastor on the field. I saw a pastor training up his people through the local church and sending them out to reproduce the ministry God had given them. I felt from the very beginning that our heart were nit together in ministry. This feeling was only enhanced a few years back when Frank was able to come and visit from the field and share what God is doing in Brazil. Ministry on the field is not always easy. Some would even say that it is never easy. But over that last few years Frank and Darla have been dealing very heavily with sickness, and this is the last thing you need on a mission field. God has continued to bless in spite of their illness because they have been faithful to train up people to do what they do. What a testimony to the work of discipleship. Anyone that truly understands discipleship understands that the work must go on without you because it is bigger than any one person. Because of the faithfulness of the Brims to the work, the work has remained faithful to God. They have been in the States for a much need rest and a final recuperation before they head back to the field and we are blessed to have them here before they return. I know that God has a word for us through Frank Brim. Make sure that you come and shake his hand and let him know that we are and will continue to pray for the Brims.

God Has Saved Us For Himself

2009-07-16T10:12:00.001-05:00

I remember early in my ministry the Lord teaching me a simple truth that changed the way I looked at Christianity, Church, and life in general. It has been one of the guiding principles of my life and ministry. I had the opportunity to share this truth again last night in Bible Q & A. There was a question that was asked about how to teach someone that coming to Church doesn’t have anything to do with salvation. We began the discussion by establishing the difference between religion and relationship. Religion has been used by many different denominations and organization to control and manipulate people in to doing whatever the organization wants. This is very much the case when you have a religious setting without a relationship with God.

On of the hardest things for Americans to understand is that our salvation is not about us. God, from the very beginning, has been drawing a group of people to himself. I used the example in Exodus 19:1-4 where God tells Moses to go and remind the people how I bear them on eagles wings and brought them unto myself. God’s goal was not to get them to the promise land. God’s desire was and is to bring them unto himself. To have them close to Him. To be their God and them to be his people. This has always been the heart of God. Jesus said in John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” The desire of the Apostle Paul’s heart was revealed in Philippians 3:10-11 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (11) If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” As Jesus was about to go to the cross and prepare a place for us in heaven he said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1-3). God’s heart has always been to fellowship with Man. He is not trying to control us he is dying to have a relationship with us. It’s not that God needs us, but that he wants us. When he offered his only begotten Son on the cross, he didn’t do that so that you could go to heaven anymore than he saved the children of Israel to go to the promised land. He saved you for himself. God’s Word says in 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” That word peculiar does not mean odd or strange the way that we use it today, but rather it mean unique to ones self. It is more like your fingerprints are peculiar to you. They are yours and yours alone. This is the way we are to God we are his and his alone.

When you put the relationship with God at the center of your religious acts they will then have meaning. We go to Church because this is where God gathers together all those that are his. Therefore, I am privileged to be apart of this Body of believers. I witness not because I am supposed to but because I want to bring others into this fellowship with the Father and his Son, Jesus the Christ. (1 John 1:1-4) If the Church is going to grow we must get over this notion of what we can get out of the religion and start focusing on the relationship that God desires to have. I leave you with His words from 2 Corinthians 6:16-18, “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (17) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, (18) And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

All in all I would say it was a pretty good night at Bible Q & A.

In The Hands of God

2009-07-11T09:20:00.001-05:00

I have learned more than ever ministering to the Brooks/Lindbloom family that I am a fix it kind of person. When I go and make hospital visits my goal is always to get people through it so we can move on. No one likes the hospital, no one is trying to stay at the hospital, so what needs to be done to get them out. I am very detailed oriented, and therefore I am asking questions about the plan. What did the doctor say? Do you need surgery? When are you getting out? How long is the recovery time? What can I do to help you back on your feet? This is not that kind of problem. Little Braxton has been having seizures and brain loss, and the doctors don’t know what is causing it. There is treatment to keep him as comfortable as possible, but that is even hard to know from a baby. I was holding him while he was eating through the feeding tube, and just thanking God that I had this moment with him. I realized more than ever that it was not up to the doctors for they have no plan. There was nothing I could do for him but love him and pray for him. The only one that has any say in the matter is the Lord. The giver of life will decide what happens to this little boy. When the decision is made it will be right and good. It will be the best plan and the best course of action. He will be healed one way or another. Situations like this one are true revealers of faith. I am praying that God will pull him through. The doctors have said there is no hope, it is just a matter of time, but that is only because they have run out of answers. But, there is always hope when the Lord is in control. He has the answers, He has the power. We simple trust and wait on the Lord. When he moves we follow. I know this: God loves him and cares for his soul. I pray for a miracle because that is all I know to do. I trust in the Lord more than my prayer. My focus is on the family. God is always at work on many levels and it is marvelous in my eyes. Pray that God would receive the glory that is due his name.

What Should I Wear to Church?

2009-06-29T11:01:00.001-05:00

It has been so interesting in my life time to watch the changing of habits and culture on the issue of dress in the Church. I grew up in a Church where all them men wore suits and ties and the kids were dresses in the “church clothes.” We were also not allowed to wear shorts at Church or Church functions, period. That made for some really hot outings in Houston, TX. I have always been one to test the status quo, and dress was no different for me. The suit and tie thing was easy to get rid of for me because, Jesus didn’t wear a suit and tie. I have heard pastors make some pretty big stretches as they try and pull scripture about the priestly robes from the Old Testament and apply them to our life today in order to justify the necessity of dressing up for Church.

Now that being said, God does give the command of dressing modestly. The interesting thing about modesty is that the word means “of good behavior.” When you dress you should dress in such a way that people will not think that you are of bad behavior. I tend the think that this is a very cultural thing. I would imagine since the first set of leaf clothing that man has been making a statement with his cloths. For example if you see a man walking down the street in suit you would naturally assume that he is some type of business man and possibly even upper class (Unless of course the suit is purple, and that tells a whole different story). To dress modestly is not simply just to cover up, but rather not to suggest any bad behavior. For example you don’t want to wear something that seductive. This would suggest to people that you engage in that type of activity which is sinful to the Lord. When people look at you, you want them to understand that you have no intention of rebelling against the God you love and who love you. There should be no hint of wrong doing.

The second thing that must be considered is the culture and tradition in which you life. For example, I live in a place where there are real live Cowboys. But, traditionally you take your hat off when you come inside. To leave your hat on inside or in the Church is to show disrespect to the building and or organization that you just entered. Traditionally here in America and I believe around the world, we dress for the occasion. Traditionally it is not OK to wear shorts to Church and it is not OK to wear a suit to the pool. There is a certain dress that is acceptable by everyone. When I was growing up and we would take a youth trip to Astroworld in jeans, we looked ridiculous because in that kind of heat it is not acceptable to wear jeans. To be normal would have been to wear shorts. Now, not to wear provocative shorts. “Daisy Dukes” are not acceptable, especially on me!

The danger comes when people begin to equate a style of clothing with godliness. Spiritually is never determined by a style of clothing. Clothing can be a revealer of intent, but it doesn’t determine godliness. When I person wears cloths that are not appropriate for the occasion, they know it. What we have done in the Church is to demand a certain style of clothing to worship God or to attend a Worship service. That style has traditionally been a middle to upper class style of clothing. This was done on purpose for the intent of excluding the lower class from coming to the service. That way church people could blame their prejudice tendencies on the clothes instead of on the people. But, the result of exclusion in still the same. I have a motto that I have lived by for all of my ministry. I am a common man with a common message preaching to common people. We have removed the prejudice element of dress in our Church so as not to exclude anyone that would desire to worship with us. In doing so we have not removed the two main elements of dress. You should always dress modestly, and you should dress to fit the occasion.

Day 3 in Nebraska

2009-06-13T19:29:00.003-05:00

I am sitting on my Mother-in-law's front porch enjoying the cool evening here in Kansas City after a wonderful week in South Siew City Nebraska. Last night was a perfect ending to the entire week. As I prayed and asked the Lord what the Church needed for the last night, the overwhelming message was one of unity. If any Church is going to be successful in their mission they must be unified in the effort. I feel so strongly about a clear vision that people can get behind and follow. My fear is that to many Church lack unity because of an unclear vision, not because they are trying to be disfunctional. As I preached to the Church I could see the Lord melting the hearts of the people. When we came to the invitation God's people were ready to respond in a mighty way. The alter was full, and I believe the church went through a time of healing. By the time the service was over we were all gathered in a circle singing a song of unity to end the week. God has truly blessed. We had a great time taking pictures, and then we took some group pictures, then they wanted us to take some pictures. As we said "goodbye" to the host families, we left with the warmth of the Lord and a bigger family. There is nothing better than serving my Lord. Thank you for all your prayers. Now, say a prayer of thanksgiving for the Lord has done. Please continue to pray for Primera Iglesia Bautista .

3nd Day in Nebraska

2009-06-12T08:45:00.003-05:00

This morning I sit in wonder and amazement at the God that I serve. Last night was incredible!!!! The message last night was on reproducing fruit for our husband, the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe with all my heart the Church took a step forward, never to go back. The alters were filled with people crying out to God for a more intimate relationship. It was truly a beautiful and moving sight.

On Wednesday, after the service I saw one of the missionaries gathered around a group of people and they were praying together. It turns out that one of the ladies that had been visiting the Church needed to be saved. She prayed and asked Jesus to take over her life and save her soul. That bring the total of newborns to 4.

I know that God is the author of this wonderful week and Nebraska. I can only watch and pray to see what the Lord will do today. Continue to earnestly pray that God will bring more sons unto glory.

Day 2 of Nabraska Conference

2009-06-11T08:22:00.003-05:00

I have found my morning spot at Panara Bread, by the house of my host family. There is nothing like the fresh smell of coffee and the warmth of the Internet. Yesterday was wonderful. We had quesadillas in the morning and meatloaf in the afternoon. We keep telling them that we can't get enough of the authentic Mexican food, but I think they are trying to make us feel at home.

I finished up the two major objectives of Discipleship (Authority, and Accountability) in the morning sessions with the pastors and missionaries. There is a missionary here from Africa named Oscar. He is a native of Africa and has come to the States to learn as much as he can. I would have had the conference just for him. He is like a sponge soaking up ever word. When I was preparing for the evening services, I had received all the messages from the Lord save one. I prayed and asked and never received so I went without know that the Lord would provide. Well last night was the missing message. It was a message that I have come to know as "Noah's Ark Morte" Needless to say, We had tree teens receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. It was a huge blessing. I was also reminding the Church of why we are to be good stewards for the Lord's work: because we have received salvation from the Lord. Please continue to pray for the Church. Tonight the message is about the stewardship of the Church as a body. I know God is going to continue to bless.

Nebraska Discipleship Conference

2009-06-10T08:32:00.002-05:00

I know that many of you have been praying for this trip, so I want to try and keep you as updated as I can. The trip was without event which is good. The new trailer worked out great. It took a total of 14 hours and we pulled in about 9:45 P.M. We all met at the Church and met up with our host family. Rising early on Tuesday morning, we began with breakfast at the Church and me trying to understand and speak a little Spanglish. We started the morning session for the Pastor's School on the Philosophy of Discipleship. When we hit the 2 hour mark at 12:00 I was just getting started so they changed the time to 1:00 for lunch. I had no problem filling the time. Lunch was amazing! Veronica Suarez made the best fajitas I have ever tasted. We they at a couple of hours for Q & A, and the guys had some excelent questions. In the morning session David Sisson gave his testimony and did a wonderful job. This brings me to the evening session. I had been praying that God would move the hearts of the people and that is exactly what happened. As God spoke the Church was moved to the alter. I praise the Lord for all he is doing here. Please, Please, pray that God will continue to move the hearts of the people to take the next step in their journey with the Lord.

Our First Bible Q & A

2009-06-05T16:25:00.001-05:00

One might ask, “What is a Bible Q & A.” The answer is simple. On Wednesday nights through the summer at 7:00 we gather in the Fellowship Hall and you can ask me any question that you want (about the Bible, religion, politics, etc.) and I will do my best to give you a Biblical answer. Needless to say it can be a little nerve racking for me. But God is faithful and I know he will give me what I need so off we go.

We had a great group last night. Some were first time visitors to the Church. The first question that was asked was a great one. “Why are we allowed to eat animals today that were forbidden or unclean in Leviticus chapter 11?” I thought this was a great opening question. I will try to give you the short version here in my blog. The Levitical laws were given to represent spiritual truths about our Lord Jesus Christ. They were also given to preserve the nation of Israel and to keep it set apart from the rest of the world. Many of the dietary laws were given to protect Israel from harm and decease. But there is also a spiritual principle to be found in the clean and unclean animals. When we look in Acts 10, we see The Lord teaching Peter that it is alright for the Gentiles to come into this salvation of grace. Peter was resting on the roof before supper. While in a trance (I find myself that way before supper sometimes), The Lord brought down a blanket with all manner of unclean animals on it and told Peter to eat. Peter refused because of his religious beliefs, but God was teaching him not to question God when he gives a command. As Peter enters the house of Cornelius, he says,

Acts 10:28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Peter understood that the lesson was not about unclean animals but rather about people that were not Jews. Peter understood that salvation was for every man and no man was common or unclean to God. With this revelation, we find no need for the clean and unclean animals any longer. The lesson has been learned and is past.

This is just one of the examples of the wonderful question we had last Wednesday Night. Don’t forget we are not having Q & A next week because I will be out of town. But we will have it the following week. Stay posted and send me your questions.

What is Your Answer

2009-06-03T15:18:00.001-05:00

Here is a message I preached to the Church on September 1, 2002. It is amazing to see how the Church has changed in the last 6 years. As you read it I want you to consider your walk with the Lord. Enjoy this oldie but a goodie.

What Is Your Answer?

· When God brought me to Fellowship Baptist Church, I saw a people that were hungry for some fruit in their lives and in this ministry. I saw a community that needs the good news of Jesus Christ. I couldn’t wait to see what God was going to do with His Church. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy for me, and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy for you. I knew that there would be many changes to make. I knew some people would accept the changes, and some would not. I knew that some would leave and some would be saved. But I have never doubted that God is doing a work in our midst. And I have never doubted that I am right where God wants me to be. As I look over the last year and ten months I see many successes and many failures in my leadership. There have been times when I was so excited about this ministry that I could not contain myself, and there have been times I needed a word of encouragement. As I stand before you this morning I have mixed feelings in my heart. In many ways I am excited about this work, and in some ways I’m concerned. This morning I want to share my heart with you. Some of what I am about to say will be exciting to you, and some things you don’t want to hear, but I’m going to say them anyway. Before I start, I want to tell you that I love you and I love my Church. “Don’t you hate it when someone starts out like that?” Whatever this turns out to be, it will be. Whatever happens will happen. I just want to share my heart.

· Part of me is excited about the working of God in our Church. As I look around the auditorium, many of you have found Christ since I’ve been here. I’ve watched the Lord work in your hearts as he draws you closer to himself. Many of you are able to defend the faith better than you ever have before. Some of you have begun to understand that you are a missionary for the Lord, and you are inviting your friends and co-works to come and meet God. I look to the future and I see a church that is evolving into a place that God can make himself known to this community and to the world. I see many other people in our community coming to this place to meet the almighty God and find hope for this life and the life to come. I see a place that provides Biblical answers to the hard questions of life. I see a people that put their trust in God alone.

· There is a part of me that has concerns about what it’s going to take for God to make such a Church for himself. Over the past two years I have tried to do one thing in this pulpit and that is simply to give God full reign over His Church. To preach His message, His way, to His people, to accomplish His purpose, and fulfill His mission. All the messages that God has given me to preach in this pulpit can be summed up in one statement: “If God is going to use us to accomplish his mission, we must surrender to Him.” God has shown us His ministry (2 Corinthians.) He has taught us His message in Romans. He has shown us His love in 1 John. He has shown us His plan in Genesis. And He has shown us His power in Exodus. And after all that God has shown us, and after all that we’ve learned, my heart is heavy this morning, because some still refuse to join God in what he is doing.

You refuse to see the people that are finding God in our midst.
You refuse to see that people understand the Bible for themselves for the first time in their lives.
You refuse to reach out to the needs of others spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
You refuse to open your eyes and see where God is taking us, and therefore you refuse to go.
You refuse to fall in love with the God that saved you from your sin.
You refuse to give him the worship he deserves.
YOU REFUSE TO KNOW GOD.

· You might say this sounds like a resignation speech, and that couldn’t be any farther from the truth. God is not moving me anywhere. God has every intention and desire to use me to win people to Christ in this community right here and around this world.

I am convinced that God has used me for the past year and 10 months to do what he wants to do.
I am confident that God himself has made every change that has been made. The changes have proven themselves to be of God because they have produced fruit for Him.
I am confident that God will continue to make changes as He sees fit to make this Church what He wants us to be.
And I am confident that He will use me, as your Pastor, to make those changes.

· My concern is not whether God is at work in Fellowship Baptist Church, because I can see it all around me. My concern however is that some of you are not going to survive, because you refuse to let God lead your life and use you. There is one thing that is still holding back the work of God in our Church, and that one thing is selfishness. For years we have been pampered, spoiled, cuddled, bottle fed, and rocked to sleep. We have lost sight of the mission of God and turned it into a mission of self. We are more concerned with what we like or don’t like instead of what God wants. We are more concerned with being comfortable in our Christianity than we are with sharing it with someone else. We sit in our homes and tear down the work instead of getting off our butts and getting busy for God. We would rather complain about the ministry instead of accomplishing something for God. How many years are we going to waist remembering the way things used to be? How many years are we going to steal from God because we can’t get over our own selfishness and pride? How many people are going to go straight to hell because we can’t get passed our individual preferences? When do we get over ourselves and begin to live for God? I have an answer to these questions for myself, because I can only answer for myself. My answer is TODAY!!

TODAY is the day I live for Jesus!
TODAY is the day I get over my preferences!
TODAY is the day I stand behind the ministry of my God!
TODAY is the day I serve Him!
TODAY I surrender to His complete authority!
TODAY I give God His Church back!
TODAY I choose to love Him with all my heart, my soul, and my might!
TODAY I care more about building up others than I do about myself!
TODAY I lift my voice and sing praises to Him!
TODAY I seek His face!
TODAY I listen to His voice!
TODAY, and from this point forward, I AM HIS AND HE IS MINE!

What is your answer today?

Are you in or are you out?
Are you hot or are you cold?
Are you surrendered or are you selfish?
Are you committed or are you callus?
Will you worship or will you wine?
Will you serve or will you sit?
Will you build up or will you tear down?
Will you encourage or will you discourage?
Will you change or will you stay the same?
Will you love or will you hate?

WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER, TODAY?

Living in Vision

2009-05-04T08:56:00.001-05:00

One of the things that I praise God for is vision for the ministry. We were in our Sunday morning prayer meeting two weeks ago where I was laying out all the events that God has allowed us to be apart of this Summer. It is truly amazing: Discipleship trips, Discovery trips, Missions trips, Camps. We have a busy Summer ahead. The blessing was that it broke the hearts of the people before God and they realized the presents of the Lord working in our midst. After much prayer and tears we thanked God for his blessing and vision. As I was talking to one of the members, he made this statement God has given such a vision to this Church it is overwhelming. I stopped him and said. This is what you must understand. If you look down on the bottom left hand corner of the vision material it will say 2002. I received this vision from the Lord and wrote it down in 2002. I also published it in the World Vision Conference of 2002, and the Church is just now realizing the magnitude of what God told me 7 years ago. It has been a long wait. There were times that I got tired of waiting in all honesty. I would have conversations with the Lord like, “Maybe we need to go and give the vision to someone else that will do it.” But the Lord would be gracious and say, “Patients.” That was it, I just had to wait. It was so much Like Habakkuk 2, I had to wait for it being assured that it would come to pass. Praise God we are seeing the fruit of that vision today. Not just from me, because the vision was not for me. It was for us as a Church body. If you are not living in vision you are missing out. There is nothing like watching the Lord bring something to pass. Beg the Lord for vision. Plead with Him for direction. Seek Him with your whole heart and He will speak. He will visit you. And you too can live in the vision of the Lord.

Reflections from BBC

2009-04-21T06:57:00.001-05:00

As many of you know last week I had the opportunity to go back to Baptist Bible College and address the students for alumni days. I was a little hesitant in going because I left with a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth back in 1993. Then the education that I received did not, in my opinion, equip me for the ministry. Many of the things that I hold so dear in ministry today, such as discipleship, I didn’t get at BBC. But, after talking with the Lord about it, we agreed that it was a great opportunity to go back and tell the students some of the things that I had missed. Immediately when I arrived on campus, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t have to wear any certain clothes. The students looked like normal kids. And they were hungry to hear what we had to say. As we talked that week I believe that God showed up in the lives of many of the students. We had a great time just getting real and honest with the students.

The first day I spoke to the Sophomores on the subject of reproducing Sons of God. As usual I didn’t get to my prepared notes, but God was speaking and lives were touched. The second day, Friday, I spoke on rebuilding people. I was sharing with the students what the Lord has been teaching me about care for the souls of people that are fresh out of the world. They come into our Church much like they come into a trauma unit. They need immediate soul care. Many times people come to the Church as a last ditch effort for survival. If they don’t get help from us they are going to die spiritual. As we care for their souls, we stabilize the believer by addressing the immediate problems that are causing them pain. Then we can spend some time rebuilding the soul that has been shattered under the weight of this world. Then after some rehabilitation we can begin to send that back out into the world with a new vision and purpose in life. Without all the pain and suffering.

We also had a chance to meet up with a lot of old friends while we there. Some from school. Some from our ministry in Republic. God has been good to take care of everyone, and it was great to see you all.

Busy Work

2009-04-07T06:04:00.001-05:00

Have you ever noticed that people don’t seem to have any time. You have people, places, and things pulling you in all directions until you have a nervous breakdown. God never meant for life to be like that. We get this way because we are not trusting in the Lord, but trust in our own abilities to make things happen. When do you find the rest for your soul. I define busy work as those things that rob me of my time to do the most important things. A wise pastor once told me that “doing good things will keep you from doing the best things.” There are tons of good things that you could do so how then does one determine the best things. The best things are those items that the Lord has told you to do. I love the words of Christ in John 5:19, “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” What are you going to do today. How will you determine your priority list to accomplish. I believe prioritizing your day begins on your knees before the Lord, asking him to give you direction and purpose for the day, and then doing what he has said to do.

We are a busy Church, here at Fellowship. But I noticed something that just blessed my heart. In all the hustle and bustle, the things we are doing draw people into a closer relationship with the Lord. It is not just busy work. When we go to Living Water we effect the way people live and can preach the gospel unto them. When we have Celebrate Recovery we effect peoples lives from the inside out as the consciously choose to turn there will and life over to the Lord. These are just a few of the examples of what we do, but it is the “why” that gets me. We do them because God said so. We do them because this is in fact what God wants this body to do and we are submitted to Him. It is a blessing to serve the King. I am reminded of Exodus 5 when Moses and Aaron went in before the King and said, “Let my people go.” The kings response was simple, ‘If you have time to worship, you have time to work.’ And he put a greater burden on the people to keep them from serving and worshiping the Lord. I believe the Devil is still functioning in the same way today. Don’t let anything keep you from serving the Lord today. When you feel yourself getting busy and your are running out of strength, It could be that you are running in your own strength instead of the strength of the Lord. Let’s change the world today with the works of God.

God is good

2009-04-06T15:25:00.000-05:00

God changed lives yesterday. Need I say more!

Watching God Work

2009-04-02T06:25:00.001-05:00

Over the past month, the staff and I have set aside time together for prayer and supplication for the Body and the work of God here in Borger and around the world. It has been amazing to sit back and watch God work. I am so arrogant to think that I am supposed to figure out and plan everything. I feel like I am my worst enemy when it comes to the ministry.

Have you ever been driving with someone that doesn’t know where they are going, or better yet they know the goal of getting to the store but they don’t know the area or where the store is. And so they drive around with every good intention of making it to the store and back again. They will even say, “Well, there’s got to be a Wal-Mart around here somewhere.” When the whole time the one who knows the area was left at home. God so much wants to drive us to our destination. He knows right where it is and the short cuts on how to get there. But, instead we just drive around hoping we stumble across the destination. In all honesty, sometimes we do stumble across the destination, but it was completely by accident.

Life is to short to be lived by accident. We need to live on purpose, and with purpose. The only way to do that is for God to be in the drivers seat taking us where we need to go.

For example: yesterday morning we prayed that God would show up and take over our services last night. We prayed that if God wasn’t there, there was no reason to meet. And last night was amazing. The Word was going out with Power in D2. Two kids were saved in the Children's ministry. Couples were out having wonderful visits in the community. And all of this last night. God was just tearing it up (for you older folks, that is a good thing). All because we let him drive. I pray that God would drive you to your knees so that he could drive you through this life. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

Biblical Remarriage

2009-03-31T16:05:00.002-05:00

I was asked the age old question today about remarriage. The question goes like this: “If a person has been married and gets a divorce, can that person marry again according to the Bible.” There is no way in the scope of this blog that I can fully answer the question so I choose to limit my answer surrounding the scripture given to us by the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 7. I do so because this is the most direct and applicable passage given to the Church. Old Testament law was changed by Christ in Matthew 5 and 19. Christ’s comments were made to those under the law and before the Church was formed. That is not to negate the words of Christ, but just to understand them in context.

Let’s begin. Paul sums up the whole matter in verse one when he says, “it is good for a man not to touch a woman.” (7:1) meaning it is better to stay single and avoid the whole deal. Knowing that this is not the nature of man we see the context for the rest of the chapter which is to keep order in society: “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication…” (7:2) One husband, One wife, due benevolence. This would put a stop to fornication and fulfill the natural desire of man and woman.

Paul then addresses the two types of people that the Lord gave commandment concerning: the unmarried and widows, (viewed as the same, free from any bond) and the married folks. This thought of order and control continues in verse 8 when he challenges the unmarried and widows to stay that way, but to marry if they can’t control their urges. To the married, he repeats the same idea and commandment given by Christ in Matthew 19:8-9: divorce is a sin. A woman is not to leave her husband and a man is not to put away his wife. Remarriage is sin in the fact that there is no opportunity for reconciliation between the two couples. Here in lies the problem, the world if full of sinful people that have already done the deed. They have already been divorced, they have already been remarried. When Jesus was witnessing to the woman at the well he asked her to call her husband. Her response was profound. “I have no husband.” to this Jesus agreed and stated that she had had five husbands. It is interesting that Jesus didn’t say that she had one husband and was living in adultery, but recognized the five legal marriages of the woman.

Remember the goal is to avoid fornication. So, what do you do with all the sinners or as Paul calls them, “the rest.” (7:12) If you say they can’t marry then fornication abounds as is illustrated in the woman at the well, as she was living with a man at the time. So what do you do with a church body like Corinth full of sinners coming out of the world that are damned already because of their past marriages. Here is Paul’s advise. Stay in whatever situation you are in and make it work. If you are married to an unbeliever, stay with them and try and win them to Christ. (7:12-17) If you are a virgin, stay a virgin (7:25-26). There was much persecution in Paul’s day for Christians and being married just made it that much harder. If you are legally bound to a wife, stay bound. Don’t try and get out of it (7:27). If you are “loosed from a wife” i.e. the marriage has been dissolved (divorced), stay divorced.

Now for the kicker. Verse 28 begins with the phrase: “But and if…” There is no doubt that both the words “but,” and “if” are conjunction words that continue the thought from verse 27. The subject is still the man that has been loosed from his wife. “But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned…” The word “thou” is second person singular, meaning, Paul is talking to the one individual that had been loosed in the previous verse. If he had been talking to the church he would have used the word “ye” which is second person plural, meaning the entire group. (in newer versions the word would be the same, “you”, which could be either singular or plural with no way to distinguish.) Paul continues, If you have never been married (virgin) it is not a sin for you to get married. It just adds to the distress of the day.

From this we can gather that it is better to get remarried than to live in fornication. Paul is in no way giving license to divorce or the freedom to get remarried, but rather the lesser of two evils. Being married is better than living together. It would be nice to think that people that have been divorced would become eunuchs, but we know better. If you don’t know better wake up and look around. This is why Jesus even left room for Paul’s teachings in Matthew 19:11-12.

I would love to have your comments.

Keep the Fire Burning

2009-03-30T07:54:00.001-05:00

We live in a world of sensationalism. It is no surprise to me that so many people are taking or prescribed antidepressant medications due the the highs and lows of everyday life. People are constantly looking for the next thing that will give them that feeling of satisfaction and/or joy. I even find that some people use the Church house for this high. “I come to church because it makes me feel good.” “I am high on Jesus.” This is why so many Churches feel the need to out due the service that they had last week because people will get used to it and get board if we don’t.

I am having these thoughts this morning because of the great revival we just had at Fellowship Baptist Church during our World Vision Conference. I so much desire for the life with the Lord to be ongoing and not just passing. I realize I cannot maintain the Spiritual awareness in the lives of others, and therefore can only focus on my own revival with the Lord. We as a Church are learning to walk by faith; to walk in the Spirit; to be with God 24/7. My fear is that some will lose the excitement now that all the hoopla is gone. If that happens it will reveal that it wasn’t a moving of the Spirit but just simply a well designed conference that produced some endorphins for a while. I know that is not the case. God did in fact show up. My prayer is that we as a Church learn to walk in the new found relationship that was revealed to us by the Holy Spirit during the week of the conference; that we allow the Spirit to finish what he started in us, so that we can take the next step in him mission and ministry. God is faithful, so faithful. Pray for each other during this time of transition. Pray that God would keep us from the Wicked One. Pray that God would finish what he started a month ago.

Let Us Pray

2009-03-25T08:51:00.002-05:00

I find myself referring to the Church in a post-World Vision Conference way. God has moved our Church to a whole new plane of existence. Many of our members have discovered that living a life without faith is living a life without God. This is hard to swallow for some Christians, and I would say it took us about 8 years to swallow that pill. But, once you swallow it it is like taking the red pill in “The Matrix,” there’s no going back. Once you have been exposed to a life of faith the world is “blaaa” without it. There is nothing like living in the power of the almighty God.

Now that we know that we need to live by faith the ultimate test and question arises. “How do I live by faith?” What does it mean? What does it look like? When will I know it is happening to me? Does it mean to read my Bible more or pray more? Do I need to start tithing a full 10%? Am I required then to go through some discipleship process? Although all of these things are good practices, none of them will determine a life of faith in the Lord. Many of you have been doing these very things and have not lived a life of faith. So, what then is the missing element? What is the key that unlocks a life of faith? I believe the answer is simple. It is so simple and so plain that we stumble over it as though we were walking in the dark. The answer is relationship prayer. Prayer that causes you to interact with the Almighty. Prayer that comes from the heart of God and proceeds out of your mouth. Prayer that is honest and sincere before your Maker. We spend time on our knees with our heads bowed and eyes closed, but are we really saying anything? Do we know what to say? Doesn’t God know better than I do anyway? And so we resolve to pray for his will, and get up. That is not what God wants from you. He wants an interaction. We wants you to join him in what He is doing. I think he is listening for your good ideas. What are you thinking? What do you want to do? How do you want God to interact with you today. Let us Pray!

The Road to Recovery

2009-03-12T07:08:00.001-05:00

I want to thank all of you that have been praying for my Dad and my family. We were able to bring him home from the hospital last night. The doctor’s are saying that his pneumonia is getting better but it is going to take awhile. His kidneys are not yet functioning so he is having to do more dialysis on Friday. We are hoping that after he covers more from the pneumonia that his kidneys will start up again. I would ask that you keep praying for God to get his kidneys going again.

I was informed that the Discipleship Two class went well last night. It is odd that when the pastor goes out of town, people want to lay out from Church. I praise God that we have learned it doesn’t matter who speaks because the Holy Spirit can use anyone that is yielded to Him. The class was full and God showed up. Thanks, Shawn for being faith to teach in my place. Thanks class for being faithful to learn the Word of God.

I had the opportunity to attend a youth group fellowship at my brother Gregg’s house last night. There were about 35 kids scattered all over his house in small groups learning God’s Word: Beautiful! We were studying the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22. There was excellent discussion from all the groups. I believe that God blessed.

On The Road Again

2009-03-09T09:23:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday while I was in KC I received a call from my family informing me that My Dad had been admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. I wish that I could tell you that they treated him and everything was better, but that is not the case. Soooo, We jumped back in the car and are headed to Atlanta where my dad lives. I would ask that you say a prayer for him and the family. I will say, it is a blessing to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. When Dad was a young man he accepted Christ as his Savior and his life has never been the same since that day. You see, when you accept Jesus, it changes everything, your direction, your plans, your goals, and dreams. Life is no longer about you anymore it is all about him. I am who I am today because of my dad. One of my first memories is asking Jesus into my heart in Sunday School on July 7, 1976. After Sunday school, I remember walking into “Big Church” holding my dad’s hand. I look up at him and said, “Daddy!” he said, “Yes son.” I said with a big smile, “I just got saved!” I don’t remember his reply but he looked like a giant to this 7 year old boy. I don’t life without putting Jesus first in your life. We were living for one purpose and that was to serve our Lord with all our heart soul and mind. A few years ago he and my mom moved to Atlanta because they felt the call to help start a new Church plant in the Atlanta area. This is the life of my father. Before soul winning was a big money making program my dad was a soul winner. He will stand before the Lord and give answer with many souls by his side. When the Lord decides to take my dad home, I have no doubt that God will finish what he started with my dad, and that is the most precious promise to me right now. I serve a God that keeps his word. He doesn’t falter nor waiver. He finishes what he starts.

After a nights rest in Arkansas, we are back on the road for our second day of travel to Atlanta. I didn’t want to leave the Church. I had just finished planning out the week when the guys proceeded to tell me that I should be in Atlanta right now. I now that when I leave the ministry has to go on, and someone has to do it. The staff assured me they could handle whatever was needed for the ministry. The calls from the Church went something like this. “Pastor, you don’t worry about the ministry, you have trained us well. We can handle it.” WOW!! The best part about that is I know it is true. They can handle it, because they are walking with the Lord. I feel like a father that has just watched his son kick the winning goal in the championship game. I love you guys.

The Road Home

2009-03-08T18:35:00.001-05:00

Well, after a full week in KC we are headed back home. Shawn is at the helm and I am navigating from the passengers seat. Pastor Edgar is in the back on the phone (as always). And we are just trying to soak it all in. As we began this journey one of the main objectives was to discover what God wanted a Fellowship Baptist Church member to look like in 2010. After our conference in February I believe that many of the Church members caught a world vision. What do you do know? I think the answer is something we already know. Our first step in discipleship training is a book called “Experiencing God.” There are some basic biblical principles that every follower of Jesus needs. One of which is the crisis of believe or one might say, “stepping out by faith.” If we are going to take the attitude of doing the work of God around the world we must practice what we preach and start stepping out by faith. I was speaking with Morgan Jackson from Faith come by Hearing and he told me a story of when he was 13 years old. One afternoon he went down to a pond and after much prayer he tried to walk on water. As he put his foot on top of the water he sank. He prayed some more and sang some praise to the Lord and tried it again. As he put his foot into the pool he was anticipating a miracle, but his foot sank to the bottom again. He said, “God, I don’t understand. I have the faith. I believe your Word, and I know you have the power to let me walk on the water.” So, he tried it one more time. As He put his foot in the pool with all anticipation, it sank to the bottom again. He left the pond discouraged that he didn’t walk on water. Some time later he revisited the story of Peter walking on the water and understood his problem that day at the pond. In the Bible, Jesus had beckoned Peter out on the water. God is not obligated to do supernatural things for us. God will use us to do supernatural things for him. The problem with the pond was that God was not calling him out onto the water. What I have found is that we want God to bless and empower what we want to do instead of listening to what God is calling us into and following Him. We must learn to live by faith!!

It was a good trip. I can’t wait to see my girls. If you would pray for my Dad, Brian. He is in the hospital with pneumonia which has cause some kidney problems. I will keep you informed.

Are You Growing

2009-03-05T07:01:00.001-06:00

One of the things I love about coming to KCBT is the challenging thought I always receive from Pastor Jeff and the staff. Over the past 30 years of ministry at the Temple Pastor Jeff has kept the Church on the cutting edge of ministry. I don’t always do what he does because I don’t live where he lives, but I always walk away with good, and fresh ideas.

Yesterday, Jeff spent a lot of time talking about the growth patterns of people. With this basic thought. Is the person that you are mentoring moving forward in the things of the Lord. We can get so rapped up in plans and processes that we forget the main objective, which is a personal walk with Jesus Christ. As i evaluated the sessions yesterday, I had to consider our process of discipleship in the light of the one true goal of making disciples for Christ. And in that evaluation i believe that we are. I would encourage you, if you are one of my mentors, to consider if your disciple is doing what you ask them to do, or is he or she meeting with God everyday. it is easy to let the process do its thing and produce something, but this is not the fruit that we want. For then, you have people who think they have accomplished something.

Shawn has been my disciple for the past 7 years. In that time I have won him to Christ, brought him into the Body of Christ, trained him in the Bible and how to walk with God on a daily basis, challenged him to reproduce himself in someone else, and taught him how to preach from his heart and not just his head. We are still mentoring today. He has completed every book and workbook that I have asked him to complete, but we are still mentoring. Discipleship does not end at the completion of the lessons or program. There is always more to learn, always room to grow.

Hanging in KC

2009-03-04T09:16:00.001-06:00

After a long wonderful week at the World Vision Conference in Borger, The staff likes to take a break and get away for a week of teaching in Kansas City. Kansas City Baptist Temple is having their annual missions conference this week with a pastor’s school in the mornings. It has been wonderful. The Key note speaker for the conference is Morgan Jackson from Faith Comes by Hearing. This is an organization that takes the audible bible into the remote areas that have a low literacy rate and shares the gospel through audio and stories.

The morning sessions are the basics of discipleship taught by Jeff Adams. This is teaching that I have based by entire life and ministry on, so it is good to refresh. It is interesting to watch Shawn’s reaction to the sessions. Shawn grew up spiritually under my ministry for the past 7 years. What we are learning in class is the natural way of Christianity for him. This is a huge blessing to my heart, and to his.

We are getting much refreshment and I believe it will only get better.

The Tuesday Jitters

2009-02-25T06:59:00.001-06:00

When you run a conference from Sunday to Wednesday, Tuesday’s are usually the odd day. If something is going to happen it usually happens on Tuesday. I don’t know if it is because people are tired (I was) or if people get comfortable with their surroundings, or if the enemy starts to attack. More than likely it is all of the above. We had a great time again in the pastor’s school. We laid out a seven stage plan on how to build discipleship in your Church from the ground up. With lots of questions and discussion I believe, we accomplished the task at hand.

For the evening services, we kicked it off with the Jr. Praise band leading in worship. They did a great job of leading us to the throne room to praise the Lord. Pastor Don Evans from Village Community Church in Washington D.C. brought a message entitled “God Plan is Recession Proof.” In these troubled times the children of God can rest assured that God has the means to get us through. What grabbed my heart in the message was his point that if the King is coming there is no other way but in the center of God’s will. We were challenged to take anything that was keeping us from living in the center of God’s will and let it go, for the King is coming.

Dan Weaver, Missionary to Belize, finished up the night preaching about the coming judgment when the King comes. If we really believe that Judgment is coming and that Hell is the reality for those that don’t choose Jesus, do we believe enough to warn someone else, and save them from this coming judgment. God so moved the hearts of the people that the alter was filled with people, not praying for themselves, but naming the name of people that they knew needed to be saved, while asking God at the same time to give them the courage to witness. it was a beautiful sight.

We had a few glitches, throughout the night, but all in all God spoke and the people responded. God is Won. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Monday World Vision Recap

2009-02-24T07:23:00.001-06:00

We got to Church in the morning at about 8:20 and people beginning to role into the Pastor’s School. I never now who is going to show up and in all honest I am always a little never or maybe anxious to see who is going to turn out. The church people had prepared breakfast for the pastors and we all enjoy each others company with food and fellowship (good Baptist). The topic for the day was finding the essentials of discipleship. What came out of the session was beautiful. The first essential we discovered is the goal of discipleship can be nothing else but a heart to know God in a personal and intimate way. The second essential we discovered demands that the Bible be the top authority in the life of the disciple. There must be a faith placed in the words of God that goes without question. Not that we can’t reason the scriptures, but when a conclusion is drawn we will obey. The last essential we discovered with that of accountability. Once a disciple has a greed that God’s Word is true, then it is our job to hold them accountable to follow that Word. The sessions were awesome. I had five pages of notes and we cover the first to points, but if you know me that is normal the rest of the time of was spent in real life and not the one I had created on the page. That is always a better session.

The lunch from the Lunch crew was wonderful. We feasted and then began to get serious with questions about life and ministry and our Lord Jesus Christ. We ended by gathering together and praying for the strength of God to be active in our lives and ministries. After the Q & A, we had one of the pipes in the kitchen stop up, and the rest of the afternoon was spent snaking the kitchen. It happens. God brought help and the pipes are free and clear.

They came in excited last night and I must admit I was pretty overwhelmed myself with the Lord. We sang at the top of our lungs the glory of the Lord and gave him all our praise. It was beautiful to see God’s children love on him like that. We had Chris Moore, Missionary to East Africa, come and present his heart and vision for this work and it was incredible. Christ and his wife Lisa have started a not-for-prophet organization called Real 4 Christ Ministries, by which they plan on providing the necessities of life to the children of Africa while sharing the gospel with them. Chris is no stranger to Africa. He grew up in Africa with his family as missionaries. Lisa is getting her medical degree so that she can provide the medical peace of the ministry in Africa. I believe everyone in the room was challenged to serve the Lord from our hearts.

Dan Weaver, missionary to Belize, finished out the night with a message from Romans 10:14-16. The message was simple but strong. When we live by faith we remove the boxes we have built around God. God spoke, the people were moved, the alter was filled and we left how we came. Singing, excited, and ready for more.

World Vision Has Begun

2009-02-23T06:35:00.001-06:00

As I sit here and reflect on what happened yesterday, I’m taken back by the goodness of God. As the old saying goes from the TV Show the “A Team,” “I love it when a plan comes together.”

it is so amazing to me that God speaks to us the way that he does. I all honesty I go into these conferences wondering what God is going to say, and how he is going to direct for the coming year. How are the people going to be moved. I received a text message from one of the members last night that pretty much summed up the day for me, it simply said, “WOW!” The bottom line is this God showed up. I began the conference in the morning in Isaiah 6. In verses 1-7 we see the forgiveness of Isaiah has he comes face to face with the King. Then, in verse 8 we find the word “also.” Forgiveness is not the end of the plan it is just the beginning. God had something for Isaiah to do. Again in the evening service Dan Weaver, Missionary to Belize brought a message out of 2 Kings 13 about limiting God by limiting your faith. The conclusion I brought from the day was that God is calling some of our people into the mission field, and that excites me. Pray for the conference! Pray that God would send for laborers into the harvest!

We also became the sending Church for the Clarks in London. This was an exciting time. It has been quite some time that we have been a sending Church, so this will be a great step in the spiritual growth of our people. God has seen fit over the last 20 years to put Brian and Mindy in my life in a very real and personal way. I believe Fellowship Baptist Church becoming his sending Church is a perfect fit. I am in the process of talking to Brain about an upcoming missions trip to London so stay tuned.

Kiana Bullard, one of our college students, presented her short term missions endeavor to the Hope for Louisville this summer. She is going to living in the homeless shelter there in Louisville for the purpose of building relationships with people and sharing the gospel with them. I can’t wait to hear the miracles God does in her life over the summer. Please pray for Kiana, that God was give her boldness to speak the truth. If you would life to help by supporting Kiana on this short term mission endeavor you can contact the Church office at 806-273-7127.

All in all it was a great day in the Lord, and this is just the beginning. Today we start our Pastor’s School.

Get Ready, Set, Go!!!!

2009-02-19T17:10:00.001-06:00

World Vision is upon us. Ready or not the guest start arriving tomorrow and all the excitement begins. I have been a student of discipleship for the past 16 years. I have implemented discipleship in two Church from scratch, and after all this time I have seen some discipleship process that work and some that did not. In preparation for this conference, Pastor Edgar and I have been talking about what the visiting pastors really need from this conference. We feel like many pastors come to see a successful discipleship ministry that is in a Church that is more like theirs. But, what we have found is that many are having a hard time getting discipleship off the ground. So, Pastor Edgar and I began to really dig into the nuts and bolts of what has made this process of discipleship a successful one, and I believe we have some answers. That is why I am so excited for the next week. I finally have some answers down on paper that have literally been 16 years in the making. We are hoping to make the pastor’s sessions available online for download after next week, so keep watch or better yet come and join us and get it first hand. Hope to see you there!!

Writing Notes

2009-02-12T06:08:00.004-06:00

I remember the days when all I had to do was take notes that someone else had created and thought that was quit a chore. But now, I am the one making the notes and it is not an easy task. I have been preparing for the Pastor's school coming up in our World Vision Conference. The hardest part is not what to say but what not to say. For example, right now I am finishing up a Mentor training class in which I use basically the same notes, and it has taken me 6 sessions to teach it. I have to condense that information down into a 2 hour single session. That is not easy to do. It will however make to get to the point in a hurry.

Get The Ball Rolling

2009-02-11T06:03:00.004-06:00

As we were preparing for World Vision 2009, it was brought to my attention that many of the Pastor that have been coming to the discipleship conferences around the country are struggling to take the concepts that they are learning and actually implementing them in their ministries. It is one thing to understand and agree with a philosophy it is a whole different animal to implement it. I think the reason is there is no commitment level in the agreement with the concepts. You can make mental assent, know that it is good and right, and even be excited for those that are doing it, but struggle when it is time to do the work yourself. Let me see if I can bottom line this for you and make it easy to understand. The ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ is hard work! Have a position at a Church where people call you Pastor is not that hard. Preaching on Sunday and Wednesday is not that hard. But doing the work of the ministry, now that will rival any CEO in America. The work of our Lord Jesus, the Christ, is changing peoples lives with the gospel, and teaching them to observe, not just believe, but observe all things that the Lord has commanded us to do. When you are changing anything there is always opposition and obstacles. Do you have what it takes to stand up to the opposition. Are you will to barrel through the obstacles that stand in the way of change. In all honesty many are not. They don't want to "rock the boat," or hurt someones feelings, and all those things are fine as long as you want everything to stay just the way it is.

Think about this with me for a moment. When Jesus came did call for change and growth or just try and maintain the normal way. Come on guys, he "rocked the boat" so hard that they killed him for it. This is the same story for the disciples. They "turned the world upside down." These guys are my heroes. If you are going to live a hero's life, you must be willing to die a hero's death. I want you to ask yourself this question today, as we all prepare for the conference, "Am I will to make the necessary changes that are going to bring about change in the lives of people?" Yes, there will be opposition. Yes, some will leave your church. Yes, some will start and not finish. And when all that happens I will give you a smile and say, "Welcome to the ministry of our Lord." There is no greater reward the changing a life for the kingdom of God. It is worth the struggle and the pain. The ministries waiting the laborers are few. Come and join the Lord in his work you won't be disappointed.

Choose Your King

2009-02-09T06:21:00.003-06:00

The theme for Fellowship Baptist Church this year is "The King Is Coming." The Lord has just blown my mind, as I watch him communicate with his Church Body. Yesterday was one of those days when the Spirit just moves on me as a preacher and delivers just what the congregation needs to hear. We are working through the book of Isaiah. Our theme for the book is of course, "The King is Coming." We spent a lot of time talking about choosing your king. There is a course of this world that we are told in Ephesians 2:2-3 is the course of Satan. In 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, Satan is call the god of this world. We learned that Satan is at work right now to prepare people for his coming king, the Wicked, the anti-Christ. Satan is subtle so he has not yet announced who his king will be for there will not be a vote when it happens. Instead, he spends his time setting up the world through his current world system getting people reading to receive him when he comes. Satan's goal right now it just to get people worshipping something, anything, other than God. It doesn't matter at this point what else you choose to worship, just that you are worshipping something else. This will set you up for the anti-Christ to come. In the midst of this world system Christ has placed his church here in the spirit of Elijah to proclaim the kingdom is at hand. The message of the Bible has always been about choosing your king. The Church is calling as many as will come into the kingdom of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Choose you this day whom you will serve. Whose kingdom are you living in today?

As God spoke people were listening intently. A the close of the service I had asked if anyone wanted me to pray for them, that God would show them his kingdom, and one girl raise her hand. I pray for her and the rest of the congregation and we dismissed the service. As she was talking to one of the counsellors after the service, the young lady wanted to talk more about how to choose her king and the counsellor was able to lead her straight to the throne room of God and she received Jesus as her Lord and Savior. God is Great, God is Good! I love the ministry. Have a blessed day.

If you would like to here the message from Sunday, follow this link, "The Blessing of the Lord" it will be posted sometime on Monday.

A Warm Winter's Day

2009-02-06T16:19:00.002-06:00

I'm sitting here in the middle of winter with a t-shirt on because it's almost 80 degrees outside today. It's funny how we expect every season but we don't want them when they are here. I personally like all seasons. When it's winter I want winter and so on. When the seasons are off it messes with my head, needless to say, living in the panhandle my head gets messes with all the time. I think I am finally over the fact that we are in the year 2009 already. I feel like I'm settling in to what the Lord has for us this year. I am ready to win some souls!!! I can't wait for the activities that we have coming up this year, most of which are geared around winning souls to the Lord. Every month this summer we will be having a community cookout in the surrounding towns. Talking to people about Jesus, and inviting them to come and check out the Church. God always blesses the group when we go out and the whole church comes out to the park for games and snacks. It's a fun time.

We are midway through our Discipleship Two class. We are studing the rules of Bible study right now. It is exciting to see the class getting into the Bible more than they ever have. World Vision is just around the corner at the end of the month. If you still have not registered and you going to need housing, now is the time to do so. We are expecting a good number of Pastor's from all over the country as well as some from Mexico City. We are going to focus this year on how to impliment discipleship in your Church. There are many ways to disciple, but there are some major principles that should govern any type of discipleship process. Needless to say God is going to speak.

I had a great time with the Lord this morning as he was teaching me about the kingdom as a whole. I am using a great book on the kingdom that would be worth looking at, for you Bible students: "The Greatness of the Kingdom" by McClain. Most people take a self-centered approach as the look at the Bible and think that the purpose of the Bible is to tell them about a the cross of Christ that brings them salvation. The truth of the matter is the cross is a means to an end. God is seeking after true worshipers in his kingdom. Those that desire to worship God have been provided a means of salvation from their sin to restore the relationship with God and worship him. How your worship going? Are you spending time with God? Are you walking in the Lord and more importantly is the Lord walking in you (2 Corinthians 6:16-18).

Struggling with Faith

2009-02-04T07:31:00.002-06:00

There are so many people today that struggle with faith toward God. In Ephesians 2:8 we are told that faith is the agent whereby the grace of God is dispensed to us. If we have anything to do with our salvation it is simply to believe, but we must have faith to receive the grace of God. This leads us back to the element of choice that everyone has to accept or reject salvation. Accepting salvation is not just believing the facts about God, but in fact, putting your trust in him. In Hebrews 6:3, Paul describes faith as one of the basic and essential elements and building blocks of our faith. Again in Hebrews 11:6 we are told that "without faith it is impossible to please God, for those that come to him must believe that he is and that he a rewarder of those that diligently seek him." So why do we struggle so much with putting our faith and trust in God. Do we not believe what he says? Do we not know what he says? Are we just weak?

I have come to understand that our faith is just about as good as the rest of our natural abilities. If we are going to live by faith it cannot be our faith. Again in the Hebrews 12 we are told that Jesus Christ is the "author and finisher of our faith." In Galatians 2:20, Paul says, "I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me, and the live that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." We stand in awe of the ministry that Paul had for the Lord, and we should. But I believe every Christians has the ability to live in the same faith that Paul had/has. Try living in the faith of Jesus today. Don't live in the feeble faith that you can muster up. Let that pride in you die and live in the faith of the Son of God. What a ride. What a rush. What a life. Enjoy the day in the Lord.

No Computer

2009-01-29T06:47:00.003-06:00

It has been so odd not having my computer this week. I have truly started using by notebook as a notebook. I take it with me everywhere. I preach off of it half the time. I have been having to go old school. and write stuff down by hand, and my hand writing is horrible. I have no idea when I'm supported to eat or sleep. My calendar reminds we of such things. OK, so it isn't that bad, but close. Isn't it amazing how we come to depend on electronics the way that we do. Yesterday when I was studying I had like 5 books out on my desk at one time. This is strange because most of those books I have in the computer, and therefore I normally have nothing out but the computer. We live in a wonderful time. Everything that your finger tips. But yet we seem to know less than the guys that had to do everything the hard way. There is something to be said for the journey. I teach all the time that the main ingredient that is missing in Bible study today is meditation. People don't take time to ponder the scriptures anymore. We learn the truth as fast as we can so as to go on to others things or truths, never letting the first one sink in to the deepest parts of our soul. When you read God's precious book today, I challenge you to read it slowly. Catch the meaning that God is saying and apply it before you move on. You won't get as much under your belt, but you will get more in your heart.

Dan Weaver ,our missionary to Belize will be our Keynote Speaker at our World Vision Conference this year. We have spent the last 4 years with Dan in Belize running Summer camp for kids in the Valley of Peace and other parts of Belize. We have gotten to know the kids very well and it is such a blessing to see many of them come to Christ and grow in Christ over the time we have known them. Dan and Vicky do such a good job, giving every ounce of their being to the work of the Lord. I am sure they will enjoy this time to come and minister but yet be ministered too. If you have not yet registered please do so today. There is no cost once you get to Borger unless you are getting a hotel in the area. If you need a place to stay registration is a must, so that we can get everyone into a home. We look forward to seeing all of you.

Disciplined

2009-01-28T06:14:00.002-06:00

As I read Proverbs, there is a dynamic theme that runs throughout the entire book: Lazy is foolishness, diligent is wise. "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." (Ben Franklin) Here in 2009 I find myself wearing so many hats that it is hard to be disciplined in all of them. Husband, Father, Pastor, Teacher, Professor, Music Director, Office Manager, Board Member, Student, Son (of God), Friend, Co-laborer. I look at some of my mentors and I am amazed at the diligence they have to not only do the job set before them but to enjoy life along the way. I think it is beautiful. What I am trying to do in the year 2009 is find all the time robbers in my life that keep me from doing what I really want to do. (Kinda sound like a Franklin covey book, uh.) All the great men that I see, those that are accomplishing great things seem to have the trait of discipline. They can get it all done. Some are Christians and some are not, but all are disciplined in what they do. It seems to be the little things that stand out to me. How much time does something actually take. Yet, how much time to I spend doing it.

The theme verse for our World Vision 2009 Conference this year comes from the book of Luke. It basically says when Jesus comes back he needs to find me doing what I am supposed to be doing. I need to be on task. What I see in my own life and the life of those around me is that we can all improve in this area. One of the major pieces to this puzzle is to make sure you are taking care of the whole man: soul, body, and spirit. You should be exercising your whole person to stay healthy and fit. A lazy spirit leads to a lazy soul which leads to a lazy body. It is funny that when we try and correct things we always start backwards. We want to exercise the body what we don't have the soul for it because we don't have the spirit for it. All power comes from God he needs to be the source of all we do. How are you doing on that new year's resolution?

As Time Passes

2008-12-30T09:46:00.002-06:00

I want to thank all of you for praying for Kim and her family as they laid her Grandmother to rest last Friday. She was 93 and in great health until about a year ago. She was a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ and is safe with him today. Kim was with her family during Christmas as they had the funeral on Friday. When she got to the airport on Saturday she found out that her flight to Atlanta had been cancelled due to bad weather in Dallas. They told her the earliest they could get her out was Monday. We prayed that God would make a way for her to come in that night, and God worked it out. She was put on standby with a direct flight on Delta and she got on. It turned out to be even a better flight. She arrived in Atlanta safe and sound in Saturday night. We have been enjoying our vacation with the family. Happy New Year. See you all Sunday.

Christmas Time is Here.

2008-12-17T10:07:00.002-06:00

It has been a great holiday season. It was good to have family in for Thanksgiving. I am absolutely overwhelmed with the blessings of the season. There is such a sweet spirit in the church right now. The ratio of people that are ready and willing to follow the Lord are at the highest I have seen them since I have been here. The discipleship classes are full. We just finished our first semester of "Ministry Training," which is our college level courses of Bible study. For many years I felt like an ox plowing a field. Every step was difficult because of the new ground we were covering. I slowly began to build team that could help me pull, but never the less, we were still pulling. In the last year, or really the last three months I have felt like we traded in the plow for a wagon and are headed down the road. We are on a sure foundation and people are ready to go. I can't wait to see all the adventures coming our way in 2009. We will be spending time in Atlanta this year with my folks. I am ready to go today, but we must take care of business here first. I pray all of you have a very marry Christmas.

The Season of Giving

2008-11-29T09:05:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends. We were blessed enough to have family come and spend the holiday here in Borger. We had a great time. I remember growing up and having Thanksgiving at my Grandfather's house in Norman. He lived in the country, which was awesome for making forts, shooting guns, and playing hide and go seek. PaPaw loved to feed and watch the birds on his front porch. He would put out the bird seed and watch the all come in. One of the things he was watching for was the Blue Jay. The Blue Jay's were mean and would run off all the other birds that were feeding on the seed. So, Papaw for a long time had a pellet gun that solved the problem. he was an excellent shot. As he got older the pellet gun was replaced with his 12 gage shotgun. He was still and excellent shot. Papaw passed away a few years ago and the only gun that I wanted of his was that 12 gage; not so much because it was a 12 gage, but just because that is what I remember sitting by the front door of his house for years. Last year my Uncle gave me Papaws shotgun. It was awesome. So this year we took the time to clean it all up, and it is sweet. it was cool just running back through the memories. I think this is what Thanksgiving is all about.

The Conference Finished Strong

2008-11-10T06:31:00.002-06:00

We had a great time on Saturday at the "Love Link" marriage conference in Glorieta. We began the morning session at 9:00 and continued discussing how to listen and take care of the whole person: spirit, soul, and body. We then broke for lunch and came back for the afternoon session. This is the hardest session to teach. Everyone has a full belly in a warm room; not a good combination for teaching. We spent most of the time discussing soul to soul communication, and how to listen past the words that someone says. As far as I can tell to conference was a huge success. God has blessed once again.

We had the opportunity to attend Church at Sangre de Cristo Bible Church in Santa Fe where John Romero is the Pastor. They had just come back from a discipleship conference and were have testimonies about discipleship from some of the congregation. Pastor John was so gracious to allow us to join in on the testimony time. I was so proud of our Church body for stepping up and wanting to share what discipleship has meant in there life. It was very moving for me. It reminded me of the words of Paul, "Ye are my crown of rejoicing."

It is good to be home with the girls once again. It is good to get away, but it is aways good to get back home.

The First Day of the Marriage Retreat

2008-11-08T07:03:00.003-06:00

Yesterday morning we left the Church with 16 people packed into two vans and headed toward Santa Fe, New Mexico; destination: Glorieta Conference Center. We pulled into the Center right at 2:00 PM with no road troubles whatsoever. We got settled in our rooms and went to dinner after surveying the land for a bit. This is beautiful country. The conference center sits on the side of a mountain and we are just surround by God's creation. Dinner was excellent. After we took it all in physically, it was time to take it in Spiritually. We started the conference by talking about how long people had been married. The longest couple was 43 years and the youngest couple was five years. Needless to say, we have a good mix of experience. I then asked the group what they wanted to get out of the conference; what I heard was communication, communication, communication!!!!
So we took last night to define the purpose for our marriage and what the goal of the communication would be. The reason why many couples struggle to communicate is not the listening skills, it is the difference of agenda. You must be moving in the same direction if you are going to communicate properly. I think we had so real breakthroughs last night. This should prove to be an exciting day. Stay tuned.

Glorieta Marriage Retreat

2008-11-07T06:21:00.003-06:00

We are heading off this morning to the beautiful Sangre de Cristo mountains in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We will be staying at the Glorieta Conference Center just outside of Santa Fe. The entire group is excited with anticipation expecting God to change our lives and restore marriages. We will be hitting on three major subjects: 1) Finding the Purpose of Your Marriage; 2) Learning the Primary Needs of Your Spouse; 3) Learn Rules of Engagement (How to communicate without fighting). I believe it is going to be a great weekend. We will also be meeting up with John and Larry Romero in Santa Fe. John is the pastor of Sangre de Cristo Bible Church and a very close friend of mine. I look forward to spending time with him and being in his church on Sunday. I will be giving update through the weekend so stay tuned.

Righteous Living

2008-11-03T07:19:00.004-06:00

As I sit here typing this morning I am reminded of the verses in 2 Timothy 3 that describe the last days as ungodly and unholy from people that call themselves holy and godly. I believe with all my heart, we are living in these last days. As I minister to people, I am amazed at the lack of commitment to the Lord, and the lack of conviction by the Holy Spirit in the lives of the people that claim to walk with God. In some ways that excites me because I can see the fulfilment of scripture coming to pass, and my Lord's return drawing near. On the other hand, It tares me up to see people that have so much potential to do extraordinary things for God fall prey to their own fleshly desires. One thing that I have learned is that I can't force anyone to be a disciple of Christ. People do what the want to do. There is a way that seems right to man! It seems impossible sometimes to renew the mind of people that have been walking in a certain direction all of their life. I know that God has said that his word with renew the mind of the believer, but the reality is that many choose to fall back into their old lifestyle and generational habits. In Discipleship 2 last week, we were discussing this very thing and came to the conclusion that if a person is truly going to change their mind they must replace it with a new one. Our minds are corrupted with sin and continue to be corrupted with the filth of the this world. We must let the mind of Christ be in us. We can no longer think for ourselves, but let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom. We must replace our thoughts with the thoughts of God. Then and only then can we modify our actions. Then we can change generational habits that have negatively affected out lives for years. I challenge you today to renew your mind by getting a new one. That is why God has given you his words, his thoughts, his actions.

Church Around the Country

2008-10-19T09:54:00.003-05:00

We had a very exciting week last week. Pastor Edgar was asked to speak on discipleship at the conference in North Carolina where he spoke to about 15 pastors and church workers on the need for discipleship. Shawn Dunigan had the privilege of attending the 6th anniversary celebration for Village Community Church in Washington D.C. with Pastor Don Evans. He had a great time preaching on the knowledge of God. Last year we were able to have a discipleship conference that has changed the lives of many people in the D.C. area. Vaughn Lusk was asked to go to Colorado to give his testimony in one of the homeless shelters there as he ran a crew to remodel some of the buildings. In all of these ministry opportunities, God blessed and touched the lives of people. It is just amazing to me that God would take a Church of our size and do such amazing things with it. It always reminds me of the story of Gideon and how God would not use the big army because Israel would say that done something. We must give God all the credit for the work that he has done here at home and abroad. He is awesome.

We are really gearing up for our World Vision Conference in February 2009. The theme this year is "The King is Coming" and he is. I hope you are ready and that he will find you about the Father's business. If you would like more information on the things that are going on at the Church please visit our website: www.fellowshipborger.com.

Questions That Need No Answers

2008-09-03T14:14:00.003-05:00

I was watching the TV the other day and I saw a trailer where there was a girl talking to her friend on the phone; and after a juicy piece of info her friend said, "Honest to blog!" I had to laugh because that is how I feel some times when I think about writing something in my blog. It is so calculated. What do I really say? What can I say? If I say to much am I going to expose myself as a real human being with feeling and struggles? Maybe I just keep it business like and talk about the things that are going on at the Church. But, then I sound like a talking bulletin. So sometimes I just don't! It is easier that way. What is it about typing something that you know is going to go out to the whole world if they want to see it. There is some kind of inner pull to spill your guts, but you know you can't do that. We are funny creatures: we want everybody to notice us, but we don't want anyone to see us. (Let that soak in for a moment.) Can I really be honest? Can I let the cat out of the bag? (that got your attention) What if there is no cat in the proverbial bag (I hate it when people use the word proverbial when it is obvious that it is indeed a proverb, it takes the fun out of the proverb: just let it stand)? What if I wonder if I'm going to make it? Does that make me a bad leader? What if people find out that I struggle like everyone else? Will they still love me, or accept me, or dare follow me? The truth is I am all of these things and more. The truth is I hang on by a proverbial thread most of the time. The truth is if Jesus ever stops catching me I am going to fall flat on my face. The truth is I am human and I am OK with that. The question is, "Is everyone else, OK with that?"

39 and Still Climb'n

2008-08-23T16:39:00.002-05:00

Today is my first full day into the 39 year since my birth. Feels pretty much like it did yesterday. I don't know what all the hype was about. Celebrate recovery through me a nice little get together complete with Ice Cream. Anything that's an excuse for ice cream works for me. I got a bicycle for my birthday so that I could continue to focus on staying in shape. I got it a day early and have been riding it around town. Kim asked me yesterday if I felt cool while riding it. I wasn't sure how to take that. I'm always cool no matter what I'm doing. Anywho, The sun is shining the sky is blue and "my future is so bright I have to wear shades."

We had a great work day today at the Church we were finishing some work on the balcony in order to have classes up there this fall. We are staring our Ministry Training Classes for those that are wanting a higher education in Bible and pastoral type classes. God is raising up some great leaders in the congregation. We are going to get back on track tomorrow with the sermon series out of Ephesians. It has been hit and miss through the summer with camps and trips and vacation: usual summer stuff. I am excited to continue teaching on the Mystery of the Church. You won't want to miss it. Come on in or tune in and find out what God is doing with his people today. (that was my commercial).

I will try to be more faithful to this blog. I know some of you look everyday to see what is going on inside my head (scary). Here is the truth that God has been slamming me with the last two weeks. "The Just Shall Live By Faith." "Without Faith it is Impossible to please God." How many Christians are truly living by faith. My fear is that most don't even know what that means. I would love your feed back.

The Spirit is Moving

2008-07-23T06:41:00.004-05:00

Since the beginning of time the Spirit of God has been moving accomplishing the work and will of the Father. I have been in many places where it felt like the Spirit of God had left along time ago. And I have been in places where the power of the Spirit is so overwhelming that it has brought me to my knees. What is the difference. I know the truth of the matter is the Spirit is everywhere all the time. The first discipleship class that we offer at Fellowship is Experiencing God. The purpose of this study is to show you basically what God looks like as he is working around you; to open your eyes to a whole new world that is full of the activity of God. God has not stopped moving. He is just as active today as he has always been. If you have not yet taken Experiencing God, the next class is slated for September. You can follow the link to learn more.

The reason why I bring this up is because I here people all the time talking about the Spirit of God coming down. There are songs written and prayers prayed for the Spirit to join our meetings. Here is the bottom line: it is very cool when you can see the evidence of the Spirit on the outside as well as on the inside. We know that God always works for the inside out and not the outside in. I have found that one of the major factors, if not the factor is the unity of the people that are gathered. The work of the Holy Spirit is to unify the people of God for there is One Spirit (Eph. 4). When people are drawn together by the Spirit of God there is power in the midst of those people. The group will naturally conform to God in every way because of the unity of the Spirit. This is what I felt in our services last Sunday. It was one of the best services that I believe we have every had since my tenure there. It was not a special day or event. The thing that made it special is that no one was fight with God. We were there to enjoy and celebrate the King of Kings and we did that through the Spirit. God showed up.

We are getting ready to take our missions trip to Belize. I have heard that they are experiencing some food shortage, so please pray for the people of Belize and the team as we god to minister to the kids. We will be running a youth camp for the teens of Belize it is always a great time as we see kids and adults coming to Christ.

Living in the Future

2008-07-16T06:50:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I feel like my life is one big preparation for the future. It seems like all I do is plan, plan, plan. I understand the Biblical principle that we are not to worry about the future, but I think that is different than planning. Right now I am plan for the Belize Missions Trip, plan for the Parenting Class, planning for the new Ministry Training classes in the fall, Discipleship two, the Marriage Retreat, World Vision 2009, the new balcony, and Sunday morning. In the midst of all this planning for the future I struggle sometimes to find the time to stop and smell the roses, and if I do that puts me behind. In the midst of all this stuff, God wants to spend time with me and I want to spend time with him. Kim wants to spend time with me and I with her. My kids need my time whether they want it or not. The dear saints of the Church want to spend time with me and I with them. My disciples want to spend time with me and I with them. I had a person ask me the other day, "How do you do it all?" The answer is simple I don't. It is only through the power of God and anyone can do these things. There are times when I try to juggle all these things in the flesh and that last for about an hour and I am "down in the dumps." It is only through the Spirit of the most high God; and by his strength go I. This is not a pity party, this is just reality. God works it out: He has too. That is why I stay amazed at his faithfulness. I have leaned that when I am week he is strong.

The Mercy of God

2008-07-07T16:30:00.002-05:00

As I prepared my heart Sunday morning for the service I bowed my head and my knee and asked God to speak to his people. I offered myself as his mouth piece and begged him to speak. As I got up to preach I knew something was happening because I had the people turning to a passage that was not in my notes and that I had not meditated on prior to that moment. All I know to say is "God took over!" He had me meditating on the difference between mercy and grace all week long. When we got to the pulpit God wanted to camp on his mercy. By the end of the message this is what I had learned: You can't fully live in God's grace until you understand God's mercy. The reason why the Church is so lukewarm today, I believe, is because we have not fallen under the condemnation of death. Jesus said, 'If a man would save his life he must lose it.' The example that God brought out in the message (which was not premeditated at all) was the Saul on the road to Damascus. Don't you know that when Saul was hit by the light of God that knocked him to the ground that he thought he was dead. He had come face to face with God about his sin and persecution / murder of God's people. When the light was gone and the men around him helped him up, Saul understood the mercy of God because he should have been dead, and he knew it. The rest of his days were days lived in God's good grace. It was easy for him to say, "I am crucified with Christ." So many of us fail to realize the mercy that God has shown by allowing us to keep breathing. If we really come face to face with God in his mercy, then we can live in the fullness of his grace. How rich is the grace of God to a dead man walking. How rich is forgiveness to the one who is found wanting. How dedicated in the man to the one who has saved him. My friend here the voice of God today! Step into the light of God and get knocked to the ground and then live will be different when he lets you stand back up.

Showers From Heaven

2008-07-01T07:16:00.001-05:00

God has been blessing in so many ways! We went out to Huber park last Wednesday just to witness and saw 25 people accept Christ. we have done a lot of soul-winning events here in the Panhandle over the years but I have never seen result like that. In the middle of the park we set up a prayer station. This was a place that people could come if they wanted someone to pray for them about anything. As I was manning the station, I looked around the park and everywhere I looked there were people from our Church sharing the gospel. It was one of the most beautiful things I have every seen. I am so encouraged by the Lord and his mighty works. I have always believed that God would really grow our Church when we, as a body, began to take responsibility for the gospel message of Christ. What that tells me is that people are beginning to understand that the ministry is not about them but others. This is a very exciting time.
I believe God is about to move our Church into a new and exciting phase of growth. I have had some people call and desire to come to the Church as interns to learn the ministry. Some for the US and some for other countries. This is truly amazing to me, but I knew this was God's plan. It is just awesome to sit back and watch it happen. Be in prayer for me and Pastor Edgar as we continue to map out a plan for those that are coming to learn the ministry and God's word. I could go on and on about the what God is doing but I must get back to work.

In The Fight

2008-06-25T07:02:00.002-05:00

It has always been interesting to me the way that Satan (more than likely his demons) attack the man of God in his pursuit for the Kingdom. Sometimes it is an "in your face" head on attack and sometimes it is more subtle. I find that the enemy likes to attack me with tons of little things (that really don't matter much) that keep me from doing what I feel I need to be doing. Each thing with just enough merit that I feel in needs some of my attention. I think that is called "chaos". I seem to have a lot of chaos right now. We have been fired up at the Church to personally evangelize our town, and I don't think the enemy likes that to much. God has blessed us with 8 salivations in the last two weeks. It has been amazing. Tonight we are headed to the park to witness and I just believe God is going to bring a harvest. It is very trying on me, or any pastor, when all these little things (construction, operations, computer problems, rebellion against God and Man, envying and strife, etc.) get in the way of sermon preparation, and the care of the souls of people. I guess that is a long way of saying pray for me! I need it. With all that God has called us to do, I must have his wisdom and strength (James 1:3-6). I have asked God and I know he will provide all I need for his glory.

Denial

2008-06-22T07:18:00.003-05:00

As I sit here Sunday morning reflecting on all that God has done over the past few days, it just blesses my heart. This has been one of the busiest weeks in a long time. Katie has been a basketball camp all week and won the leadership award and the MVP of the Camp. That's what I'm talk'n about!! Needless to say, I am a proud father.

In the midst of that, we were able to hang all the trim in the new foyer (beautiful). I will have new pictures of the finished foyer posted on the website in a few days.

Spiritually, We were preparing for our second week of "Celebrate Recovery." We had another great ground with some new and old faces in the mix. We are on the principle of "Denial." The cool thing was God was teaching me while I was preaching. God just got to the heart of the matter in the life of the people that were there. There was no one there in Denial about their unmanageable drug problem. They were in denial that a just God would be willing to forgive them and give them a life that has meaning, purpose, and worth. When you feel like the "prodigal son" you are unsure what your Father will say if you try to come home. As we made the journey together we found a loving father patiently waiting with open arms it was a beautiful thing. Read the lyrics of this song entitled "When God Ran."

Almighty God, the great I Am, Immovable rock, omnipotent, powerful, awesome Lord. Victorious warrior, commanding King of Kings, Mighty conqueror, and the only time the only time I ever saw Him run was when He ran to me, He took me in His arms Held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again” Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes With forgiveness in His voice He said,“Son do you know I still love you?” He caught me by surprise when God ran.
The day I left home I knew I’d broken His heart And I wondered then if things could ever be the same. Then one night, I remembered His love for me and down that dusty road ahead I could see It was the only time – it was the only time I ever saw Him run. And then He ran to me. He took me in His arms Held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again!” Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes With forgiveness in His voice He said,“Son do you know I still love you?” He caught me by surprise. He brought me to my knees When God ran – I saw Him run to me.
I was so ashamed, all alone, and so far away. But now I know He’s been waiting for this day
I saw Him run to me. He took me in His arms Held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again!” Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes With forgiveness in His voice I felt His love for me again. He ran to me, He took me in His arms Held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again!” Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes. With forgiveness in His voice He said, “Son.” He called me Son. He said, “Son do you know I still love you?” He ran to me, and then I ran to Him.............. When God ran

Camp Day

2008-06-17T21:08:00.003-05:00

I started out early this morning going to view a Church in Amarillo that we are going to be taking the youth to later this summer. The place is called City Church. It is a Church that ministers to the kids in the inner city of Amarillo. We got there in time to eat breakfast and talk to some of the kids that were having their camp this week. They had come all the way from Mississippi. I was amazed. He went on to tell me that this was his fourth year to come to this camp. That in itself spoke volumes to me. We sat through the chapel service and then watched the kids begin to prepare the bags to be delivered later that afternoon.

Kellie is at girls camp this week at Panfork Baptist Encampment with another Church in town. The camp is about 1 1/2 hours away a little south of Shamrock, TX. It was family night at camp tonight and she asked me if I would go. So I did. I need to go and see the camp because we are thinking about having an elementary camp for our Church kids next summer. The camp was nice. It reminded me of the camps I went to when I was a kid. Needless to say I have been driving all day. I had a great time with Brian this morning on the ride into Amarillo, and I also had a great time with Shawn on the trip Panfork this evening. Thanks for the company guys.

Living With Your Mistakes

2008-06-16T21:47:00.003-05:00

OK. So I get up this morning and do all the finances, entering all the receipts, Reconciling the Checking account, and paying all the bills. It was good to get all caught up. So I go to the grocery store to get some bagels for breakfast and go to pay and my debit card doesn't work. I was so embarrassed when the checker said, "you can just bring me the money later." It is not a good thing when you buy something for $429.00 and forget to enter the transaction into quicken. I couldn't believe it. I was helpless to change it. I had made a huge mistake. What do you do. I didn't do it on purpose. It was to late to undo it. I guess you just live with it. I wish I could tell you that there was a miracle around the corner. That God made up the difference or that I found my error and it was all better, but that is not the case. I just made a mistake and now I have to live with it. That is the way life goes sometimes. Now I have to decide how I am going to handle the mistake. I can get mad and throw things (been there, done that). I can try and figure out how I can fix it (which I can't). Or I can just live with it and go on. I choose the latter. Mistakes are ruff because there nothing to repent of. It's just a mistake. The blessing is I was able to pay the checker back before lunch. God is good. Tomorrow is coming. This too shall pass.

Love, Joy, and Peace

2008-06-15T20:34:00.003-05:00

God has been doing such a work in me over the past year. It seems like every time a turn around he is showing me the difference in the Christianity that we have created compared to that of the Bible. At the end of last year God was teaching me about why people really come to God. Most of the time there is a hidden motive or agenda. "My live is a wreck!" or "I don't know how to love of my wife and kids." or "I need help with my job and finances." On and on it goes. There are as many reasons for coming "to find grace and help in the time of need" as there are people. What I learned at the end of last year is that very few times to people come to Christ because they are seeking a personal relationship with the one that created him or her. As we have been in preparation this year for Celebrate Recovery I began to understand the need that every person has to feel accepted and loved. I sad thing is some come to Christ because of the acceptance and love of the Church they attend. Although this is not a bad thing it should not be the reason someone makes a decision for Christ. In one of my leadership meeting someone mentioned that some of the hardest times of temptation is after a great service at Church. This showed me that a person and actually experience somewhat of a high on the Lord. You want more, you need more. Before to long a normal service is not good enough it must be bigger and better to get the endorphins flowing.
This weekend at the conference in Pampa, God taught me yet another reason people come to the Lord. People desire "the good life;" a life filled with love, joy,and peace. There is no doubt that these things are benefits of salvation, but they should not be the reason for the decision. When I was selling accounts and loans for the bank I used the benefits to close the deal. It is the features that determine how something works. People should come to Christ because they have come to the understanding that they are guilty before God, and the need is not for a better life but for righteousness before the Judge. When and if we ever come back to the real reason for coming to Christ, repentance will be revived among true believers.

Whirlwind Weekend

2008-06-14T16:05:00.002-05:00

It has been a great weekend so far. Busy, but awesome! We kicked off Celebrate Recovery in our Church last night and it was a huge success. We had some hurting people that found help and comfort. All of which said they would be back next week. We got out of the Church last night around 10:30 and then got up this morning and headed to the Evangelism Conference at Crosspointe in Pampa. After the conference and lunch we when out soul winning using "The Way of the Master" techniques to introduce the gospel. It was a huge success. It was awesome to see our mentors walking around with their disciples sharing the gospel together. Not to mention there were some sweet cars out there. I began the conversation by introducing myself and asking the individual if he or she thought he was a good person. I only had one individual say he wasn't a good person, and he was not interested in the gospel. Way to go Church! We had an impact on the Kingdom today. We saw the coolest video posing the question to people: "If I were to give you $100 for every person you witnessed to how many people would you talk to today?" It was amazing to see how fast people will come out of their comfort zone for money. It just reveals how cheap we value the blood of Christ. Think about it.

Summer Camp 08

2008-06-13T10:17:00.003-05:00

For those of you that have been checking my posting, I need to apologize. I had every intention of posting everyday, but life gets in the way. There has been so much going on that I am just trying to keep my head above water (Can I get an Amen!). But God is good and faithful. Pastor Chris has made it to KC and started his new position. I'll bet he would give me an amen. With his leaving we were asked to take the High School to camp this year. It was a very sweet time with the young people. We had some that were just going into High School (very giggly), and we had some that had just graduated (very sleepy), but all in all a great camp. God spoke and moved our hearts to understand that God is looking for the Elijahs of our day. Kim and I came back exhausted. it took me a few days to recover. Trying to get this 38 year old body to go like an 18 year old takes its tole.

Celebrate Recovery begins tonight. There has been so much hype with the papers and such, that I am hoping it lives up to the expectation. The bottom like is God is going to change people's lives and I want to be there when he does it. It is so cool that God lets us be apart of what he is doing. Everything is ready and we have a green light. This is not going to be easy. We are entering into the battlefield for the souls of our community. Pray for us! And after you pray, pray again. Stay tuned.

Back To Business

2008-05-14T09:16:00.002-05:00

It is always hard to get back into the swing of things after such an awesome trip. My mind has been on high alert as I was trying to take in as much of the culture as humanly possible in the short time that I was in Egypt. When I got home I was mentally exhausted. It took me a few days to truly recover and begin a good though process again.

I would like to tell you about the missionary that I visited in Cairo. His name is Wagih Boutrus, and he is a native to Cairo and the surrounding area. He has got such a heart for the people there. I felt such a kindred spirit with him. His philosophy of ministry is the same as mine. He is training people with the word of God. Teaching others to walk in the ways of Christ. He is reaching out to new areas that are not easy to reach in a Muslim country. He is reaching out to the pastors around him and partnering with them to further the gospel. He is in the process of making a missionary apartment on the next level of his house so that when people like me come to minister they will have a place to stay. He did not ask for help with this project although I know he needs it. I am hope to raise $1000.00 for this particular project. I would like you to pray and ask God if he would have you be a part of this love offering. If you would like to contribute to this love offering please contact the Church office through our website www.fellowshipborger.com.

My hope is that we will be going back on another missions trip some time in 2010. The cost for this trip was $2600. It was not cheep, but it was well worth it. It might be time to start saving so you can start living. Really living!

Coming Home

2008-05-06T07:46:00.002-05:00

I have just a few minutes before I have to catch the shuttle back to the airport. After a long flight from Cairo to Germany to Washington D.C. My flight was cancelled due to mechanical difficulties (praise God). The airline paid for me to stay in a hotel last night and I slept like a baby. I really feel refreshed this morning ready to come home and get busy. I will be back in Borger about 5:00 this evening. It is good to be back in the states. I might have some time this evening to give a more in depth update on Egypt. God has blessed.

The Pastor's Conference

2008-05-01T22:41:00.004-05:00

It seemed like a wirlwind the first real day in Egypt. We got off the plane on Wednesday about 2:30 P.M. in Cairo and the rest of the day had clear objectives settle in, last minute preps for the conference, and sleep. I stayed up as long as I could to try and get my body adjusted to loosing a whole night of sleep and finally crashed at about 8:00 P.M. I has a pretty good sleep waking up a few times because not everyone was in bed yet. Then 5:00 A.M. roles around and the prayer guy from the temple begins to pray. You talk about loud. The windows are open because there is no air conditioning and it was like he crawled into bed with me. This goes on for about 30 minutes. Needless to say it is time for me to get up.

I didn't know what to expect for the pastor's conference. Wagih seems like me in the fact that he get nervous right before the conference not knowing who will actually show. He was expecting 15 pastors and we had about 35 people that attended. It was a great turn out. Right before the conference started the power went out for the entire block. It didn't come back on until about 3:00 that afternoon. We had to do the conference in the dark. When the power goes off the water goes off. Everyone did great. The guest just took it in stride and everything was fine. I felt like we challanged many of the people in some brand new thought that they can grow on for a life time. God only knows the fruit in this type of thing.

We got out on the streets of Cairo and Giza last night. I can't discribe to you the traffic. I have never experienced anything like it in all my life. There were people cars and horse drawn carts and a little thing called a "took took" that were all mingled together on this thing called a road. That is the best I can do for you. You just had to be there. Crazy!!

Today we are going to the pryamids where they think Joseph was laid during the 400 years of slavery of the Jews. the time of the book of Exodus. I will write about this tomorrow when I have more detail. We also have more opportunities today to share the gospel so be praying that God blesses with some souls.

First Day in Egypt

2008-04-30T11:26:00.004-05:00

I am sitting here in Egypt. It is sunset and the prayers are being offered here in this muslem country. All through the city and right by my window There is a man chanting to Alla over a lowd speaker. The interesting thing to me is that I opened up the window and looked outside and no one was reguarding the prayers or performing them. I am afraid it has just become tradition and rutine for this to happen everyday. One might ask why do you care. The answer is I just see to much of Christianity doing the same thing. Going through the motions, and not doing a very good job at that. When does the world see that God is more than a religion to be followed, but a Spirit to be worshipped. This is the topic of my piece to the pastors tomorrow.

I started out yesterday morning at 6:00 a.m. headed for Egypt and 24 literal hours later I arrived in the country. It was awsome. We flew over the pyramids on our final approach into Cairo. That was a sight that film cannot catch. On the way to Wagih's house, we crossed the Nile and stopped to take some pictures. It is a sight to behold.

The Airport

2008-04-29T07:50:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting here in the Dallas airport waiting for my flight to Washington D.C. From D.C. I will be headed to Germany, and then finally to Egypt. I arrive in Cairo at 2:15 P.M. tomorrow. I will be catching up with Mark and Keven at the airport in D.C. I can't believe I am on this trip.

I have no idea what it is like being in a Muslim country. I am sure it will be totally different in every way. I would like to ask that everyone pray that God would speak to the pastors in the conference. I feel totally dependant on God to speak to their souls seeing I don't even know how they think. I know that truth is truth, but how people receive that truth can be very different. god will come through. He has already come through is so many ways for this trip that it would be silly for him to stop now. Pray for Kim and the girls. If you are in Borger please watch over them. We are boarding!!

Busy Busy

2008-04-27T07:31:00.004-05:00

Yesterday turned out to be a very busy day. I started out teaching my disciple Ecclesiastes 3:15. After I fried his brain a little, we started working on the Church and got quit a bit done. We finished up Kim's new office. She gets new carpet in on Thursday and should be in before I get back from Egypt.

Kim and I attended the Gideon's banquet last night and it was a real treat. We try to go every year but this year was the biggest I had seen. I was pleased to hear so much talk of personal evangelism as well as the distribution of God's Word. It was a good time.

My uncle Alan is in town staying with us this weekend. He has just gotten back from holding some revival meetings in Salt Lake City. We stayed up talking about the lack of intimacy people have with the Lord today. He will be preaching in the service this morning. He always brings a great word from God. He needeth no microphone!

It is crunch time for the Egypt trip. This is so exciting to me I can't wait to see the life of an Egyptian Christian. I love it when God broadens by thinking and gets me out of my comfort zones. Pray that my eyes will be opened to the culture, so that I can soak it all in.

Reflections

2008-04-26T06:57:00.004-05:00

I am not a night person. When I come home in the evenings I am so exhausted mentally and physically that I just try and veg before I go to bed. So I do all my reflecting and / or blogging in the morning. I am sitting here this morning in front of my bay window watching the Sun come up and it is a beautiful sight. I always take the time to reflect on what God did yesterday. Friday's are normally my day off, but with the building project I have been giving my Friday's to the construction project at the Church. We decided to tackle some sheet rock on the ceiling of the new foyer yesterday. It went so smooth that it had to be God. A word of advise if you are putting sheet rock on a ceiling: spring for the sheet rock jack! Go to your rent-a-tool place and pay the 25 bucks; it will be well worth it.

The sun is just peeking through the horizon now. It has started its trek across my sky. The day has begun, and there is much to be done. Today I hope to get most of the walls done in the foyer so that the rest of the guys and work on it while I am gone. I still have some preparation to do for Egypt in the way of notes. I have tons to say, but I am waiting not so patently on the Lord to give me the outline. All in his time. I will try and throw some new pics of the project on the website soon. http://www.fellowshipborger.org/

True Worshipers

2008-04-24T07:25:00.002-05:00

It seems that everywhere I turn, both physically and spiritually, I am teaching someone the true meaning of worship. What is God worth to you? I think many Christians are struggling today because God is not their prized possession. So many times we value other things just as much if not more than we value God himself. In any relationship there are rules of engagement, and boundaries that must be respected. We submit ourselves to the rules because we value the relationship. I believe when people begin to value true fellowship with God above all else we will act accordingly in this relationship with God. This is the whole issue of the book of James. To many Christians view their live as a set of standards instead of a heart felt relationship with a person. God is not simply an idea to be understood, but a person to be loved and adored. What is the most valuable thing in your life right now? If you could only have on prized possession what would it be? God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. Your relationship with God cost him his most prized possession. What are you holding on to?

Egypt is just around the corner (Tuesday). I has written is my last blog that I was in need of the final installment of money for the trip. The trip started out to be $2000, but with ticket prices soring in became $2600. When I blogged that prayer request on Monday I knew the Lord would provide. I had a person come into my office on Monday and ask me how much I still needed for the trip. I shared the amount and they gave the balance. God is so cool!!! This person does even have Internet. God is so faithful. I have always said when God is doing something he writes the check. This just excites me more about the trip because I know God has provided in miraculous ways. Pray that God will speak in a might way to the Pastors of Giza and Cairo.

And The Hits Just Keep On Coming

2008-04-21T07:43:00.002-05:00

We announced to the Church yesterday that Pastor Chris will be leaving us in June. He has taken a new position at KCBT in the office and will be working with the pastors in the youth ministries of the church. I am so proud of our members and their understanding of how God works and moves people to accomplish his will. 2008 seems to be the year of new beginnings for me. I am doing things in the ministry that I have never had to do before. This is the first time that I have had to deal with staff issues on such a great scale. The whole office is changing around me everyday. Everything from the office building to the personnel. In the midst of all that, somehow I am not having a nevus breakdown. I truly believe that God is in control of all these changes. He has been blessing the Church so much that I just know these events are just a continuation of those blessings. God is preparing us for a great work and I can't wait to see it. I would ask that you would pray for the Church body. Loosing Pastor Chris is not going to be easy. At least we have him for another month.

Egypt is just a week away. I am heavy into preparing all the materials to teach over there. God is so awesome the way to does things. When I was asked to go over a year ago, I was going to be speaking to the men of one church, "but God" (don't you love that phrase) has turned it into a pastors conference for the area. I am feeling the wait of the responsibility, but that just gets me excited. For those of you that have given toward the trip I say thank you. If you would like to be apart by sponsoring the trip I am needing the last $600 for the trip. God has provided and will continue to provide. Pray! Pray! Pray!

On Any Given Sunday

2008-04-14T20:39:00.002-05:00

The more time I spend on this earth the more I understand God's design of the Body of Christ. My Church family is everything to me. I'm sure that this comes from my upbringing. We were in Church every time the doors were open. All my friends were from the Church, and all my activity was based out of the Church. I saddens me when I see God's children more concerned with the affairs of this life than the ministry of God. According to Colossians 3 we have no life but the life that is found in our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. I do understand everyone is not like me. If someone were to ask me what is your hobby? I would have to say serving the Lord. I really love it. I love serving. I love sharing. I love helping others. This is the life of a minister, but it is the only life for me. It is amazing to me that on any given Sunday we will have 40, yes 40 adults that are MIA from the the services. I tend to think it is because of the town we live in. Being small like it is, I think people need to get away to see some trees, or smell the roses, or visit family, or going camping at the lake, or sleeping in, or going on a business trip, or whatever.

I must say it is awesome when someone begins to understand how wonderful it is to be a part of the body of Christ. When the light bulb comes on and people understand that there is nothing else that matters in this life, I know I am doing my job. I have no desire to control people or get legalistic about Church attendance. I just want people to experience the fullness of God's family as we build the kingdom of God together.

Send the Rain

2008-04-10T06:52:00.003-05:00

We finally had a rainy day yesterday. It was wonderful. Here in the Texas panhandle that is a big deal. It seem like months since we had any precipitation around here. God is just blessing on every front. In the middle of March we turned our midweek bible study into class electives and let people choose what they wanted to attend (Experiencing God, Woman to Woman, Finding Jesus in Genesis). The response has been great. We had a lot of people coming in last night excited about their class. I love it when a plan comes together. While I was spending time studying yesterday some of the guy of the Church were doing some electrical in the new foyer, which is such a blessing to me. I have given my Thursdays and Fridays to the project but any more than that and everything else starts to suffer. One thing that the Lord has taught me is balance in all things is a key to happy living. Even good things out of balance become bad things.

By the way I am taking suggestions for raising a teenager! It is so exciting and scary watching your children come into their own, deciding who and what they are going to be. She is filled with so many more questions than she is answers right now, but my prayer is she will make the right choices on her own. If you pray for me today, pray for the protection of my little ones from the wiles of the Devil.

An Ordinary Day

2008-04-08T22:26:00.003-05:00

The title might sound like a downer but to have a ordinary day in the life of Bill Sizemore is a good thing. I asked prayer for Frank that fell of the ladder yesterday and I am glad to report that the only thing he hurt was his pride. He is a little bruised up but all things considered, we will take that. Thanks for your prayers. Last Sunday I was sharing with the Church some of my frustration in the new foyer project. It seems, like with anything, when the new wares off people struggle to stay motivated. The blessing is I have gotten tons of encouragement and tons of help. We now have a balcony. Thanks everybody. I take that as a gesture of love for the Lord and your Church. Keep up the good work and we will be done in no time. If you offer up a prayer for me, pray that God gives me the wisdom to help all those that are coming in for counseling to find the life answers from God's Word.

Let's Build Something Together

2008-04-07T22:18:00.003-05:00

As I was working in the office today the retired guys were tearing out the main wall in the balcony. It has been fun watching them get excited about the new foyer and balcony. I spent most of the day today laying out logistics for our new Celebrate Recovery ministry we are starting in June. I believe this ministry is going to change our town, literally.

One thing I can say for the ministry, "it is not boring." I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene. He is most definitely at work around me all the time. I have heard some pastors complain of people coming in for counseling and though I know it is draining and time consuming; it is also wonderful to see God literally changing the lives of people right in front of me. I am learning that when I take care of God's people everything else takes care of itself.

At the end of the day, one of the men of the Church was finishing up the tear out of a wall and fell off a ladder and had to be taken to the hospital. He is doing all right but you might still offer up a prayer for Frank and the rest of the workers.

I have to go. Kansas just tied to send the game into overtime.

A Long Ride

2008-04-07T06:42:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of postings. God has been taking me on a journy that I didn't feel I could discuss. There is a freedom in writing a blog that is almost scary. I am afaid I will put just a little TMI on the table for everyone to see. That comes with the nature of my job I guess. So, I just didn't write.

I will say this, these last few weeks have been the toughest in my ministry to date. God has been teaching me tons of truths and some lies as well, but all for the kingdom. I received my tickets for Egypt last week I can't wait to step on that plane. This is a dream trip for me. I will be teaching some pastors about "Kingdom Theology." Much the same thing that I am teaching right now on Sunday Mornings at Fellowship. I have gotten wonderful feed back from the Church on the messages. I had a lady tell me yesterday that she has been in Church for 60 years and has not learned the basics of the kingdom. That is amazing to me but not surprising. I grew up in Church and never learned these things either.

Things should be calming down some this week and getting back to normal (whatever that means). So I will try and keep you posted. I have changed my settings to allow comments if you would like.

Thought for the day: How can you be controlled by God when you are trying to control others?

The Day of the Lord

2008-03-16T22:22:00.000-05:00

We began this morning by attending Church at KCBT (Our old Church in KC), and saw tons of friends. It was good to sit under the Word and get preached too. That is always good for the soul. I love to here Jeff deliver the words of the Lord. He brought a great message on the secret disciples. What I received from the message was a simple truth: not all disciples of Christ are believers. There are people like Judas, like the disciples of John 6 that only followed when it was convenient for them. When God (Jesus) doesn't fit into their idea of god, then they turn and fall away. Great message.

I concluded the afternoon with some deep meditation (i.e. a nap). Then spent the rest of the evening with family kicking back with a movie (Ghost in the Darkness).

All in all, for a day of vacation it was pretty nice.

Spring Break

2008-03-15T22:21:00.001-05:00

It is spring break and I headed to KC with the Kim and the girls to the in-laws. The trip was good today Kim drove and I had a chance to sit back and read and reflect with the Lord (very nice). I am trying to rap my head around all that it will take to run a successful recovery ministry in Borger. There are tons of things to do in prep, just so we can kick it off this summer. I believe this ministry will change our town and bring lots of people to Christ.

God is teaching me how broken people are when they come to Christ. I am not talking about spiritual brokenness but emotional brokenness. People are a wreck. Everybody seems to be embarrassed about the fact that we all messed up when we come to the Lord. I always want to be a minister that can fix the broken hearted. It is so hard to learn people. I am constantly reminded how young a am in the ministry. Maybe life will make more sense when I'm 40.

I am having a meeting about the Egypt trip coming up next month, tomorrow. We forgot to bring contact solution so I have to go to the store. The joys of travel.

Shaping Up

2008-03-11T23:11:00.000-05:00

I love it when a plan comes together. I have been able to work on the new foyer for the last few days and it really to shape today. It is a good feeling when what was in your mind becomes a reality. It was not an easy day. We spent most of the time pulling Plaster off the ceiling (I can still taste it). But the plaster is gone, the framing is done, and we are ready for the new to come in.

When we start things like this I have a hard time thinking of anything else. So, as long as I have direction I try to get it done. I do this mainly so I can get it off my plate and get back to business. The cool thing is that with every project I learn more and more of how things are done and how to do them. God has been blessing this project left and right. I left the church at 7:00 P.M. last night and came in this morning to find that someone had donated a load of sheet rock. It is like manna from heaven. God is good and I am tired so I'm going to bed.

Learning to Frame

2008-03-10T23:02:00.000-05:00

At the Church we are building a new foyer and I have been framing in some of the walls. The thing about framing is you have to be about 3 steps ahead in your mind or you are going to do it wrong (which I am very familiar with). I seemed to be take more walls apart today than I was putting together. I would get one built and then think ahead and realized I had not prepared for the next step. Such is life. The very essence of the name gives it away. "Framing" not finishing. It is the preparation for something else.

I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 3:9-11. I am to build on the foundation of Christ a habitation for the Lord, but I am to take heed how I build. I have found that in my life God is always thinking ahead to the next phase in this building project he calls Bill Sizemore. The better I frame the project the smoother everything else goes. If I don't frame it properly I am fight my own work for the rest of the time. I am learning to take my time and think it through so that the end result is not all scabbed together, at the Church and in my own life.

2008-03-08T21:03:00.000-06:00

Today is the Sabbath right. So much for a day of rest. I started out this morning by putting up a 40' beam in our new foyer. It did look good when we got done. We are ready to start ripping out walls. Loads of fun!!! I did so more finalizing on my trip the Egypt. Now I need to check and see what immunizations I need. This is a trip of a life time for me. I have books on the pyramids and have watched every discovery channel special on Egypt and the kings. I can't wait to see it in person. On top of that I get to minister to some Egyptian men about the kingdom of God. There is nothing like serving the Lord.

I am trying not to stay up to late tonight with the time change (don't forget). I can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for the services tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Is anybody listening

2008-03-06T23:17:00.000-06:00

It is amazing to me that so many people are willing to share the deepest parts of their souls with total strangers all around this globe. The more I think about it the more I understand that people are dieing to be heard. They are willing and wanting to be recognized by anybody and everybody. It sounds like a lonely place to me, but here I am writing this blog when I should be sleeping. Does anybody recognize? Does anybody care?

The cool thing is I don't care. I feel so blessed to have godly people around me that love and care for my soul. I sit here tonight just recapping on all the joyous opportunities God has brought my way, and I am amazed that he loves and cares for me the way that he does.

It was a good day today! Got a lot of work done on the new foyer at the Church, had a great D2 class, had a good time with the family, helped a recovering addict with their addiction, met some new guys at the pipe yard. Yea, I would say it was a good day. Who knows what a day will bring.

Just Getting Started

2008-03-05T16:41:00.000-06:00

I have no idea why I would want to start a blog. I guess I don't want to fall behind. I entitled this blog "simple thoughts" because that is about all I have. I have been so busy lately, I don't know if I will even have time to do this. We will see!