Daily Grit by Wes Thorp

Should a leader be afraid to show his weakness?

Don Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz and other books and a movie-maker, has a great quote about leaders who are afraid to show their weakness.  Will you follow somebody who acts perfect and not human.  Miller makes great point.  It affects all kinds of leaders, including pastors.

This was on his Facebook page which is worth following.

Related articles

How to Turn one's Weaknesses Into Strengths easily

Lessons in Blue - Chapter 1

Are you scared of yourself?

We may be starting a new tradition with our Saturday night house church

This is the third Saturday where we've eaten supper in front of the computer while we watched a live service from our church.  It our own litte house church with just the two of us attending.

The service is broadcast live from Ada Bible Church just east of Grand Rapids and goes from the beginning to the end.  There's the worship songs and the teaching with various other items intermingled.

Why do we do church twice?  Same service with the same songs and sermon.  We see it as preparation for the in-person service tomorrow.  Tonight, I took notes about the song and about the sermon.

I feel excited about going tomorrow.  I have some time between tonight and the time of the service tomorrow to think about the service and what's going to be said and sung.  

My relationship with God needs to be closer.  I'm excited to have God help that along.  I need to get rid of the life distractions for tomorrow's service.  This helps.  We will be ready.

Related articles

Getting my tank filled with hope before going to church on this Sunday morning

The House at 11 Church Street - Part 2

What are you praying for as your Saturday morning gets underway?

China's House Churches Continue Growing in Face of Persecution.

Baptist monks and Couch-surfing apostles: Signs that the Future church is here already.

My Lutheran pastor friend took on the State Department about wearing his clerical collar and won

My friend Mark Powell is a Lutheran pastor just south of Indianapolis who just challenged the U.S. State Department and won.  He was denied a U.S. Passport because the picture he submitted showed him wearing a clerical collar.

For him the clerical collar on his shirt is part of his daily work clothes and important to the practice of his religious beliefs.  When the State Department said he had to change his clothes he recruited a lawyer to send a letter on his behalf.  The passport agency backed down and apologized.

Way to go, Mark.  He and I worked together in the Michigan Legislature where we were both staff members.  He also baptized my grandson Xavier.  Here's a tv news story from Indianapolis about what happened:

 

Click on this picture to reach the video player for the story.

 

 

Beer drinkers tweet more than church members in Michigan

Are Michigan churches missing an opportunity to get their word out by not using Twitter?

Check this recent study of Twitter use in Michigan reported in mLive to see if resident tweeters write more about beer or church.  It's beer.

Are pastors and church members missing a chance to go where people hangout?  In Twitter groups.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: I'm not afraid of being dead, it's getting dead that bothers me

I'm drawn to people with stories who are facing these bigger than life-sized challenges.  And that's why I added the blog of Pastor Ed Dobson to the blogroll on this blog.  You'll find it by scrolling down in the right margin.Are you facing a bigger than life challenge today?  I think of the people in Marysville, Indiana who lost everything to a tornado over the week.  Their whole town was wiped out.  There are people facing severe health problems with huge suffering and no answers in site.  The list could go on and on.

Pastor Dobson has a nasty, degenerative disease called ALS.  Hearing it described, it sounds like wading through the fires of hell before you die.  He writes about it in his blog.  Now like a lot of blogs, it hasn't been updated in a few months.  But his posts are timeless.  He's a real guy who's facing a disease that can shove you through the door to the dark side.

I found this quote on his blog:

I’m not afraid of being dead. It’s getting dead that bothers me. For me, “getting dead” involves choices about wheelchairs, communication assistance, feeding tubes and breathing assistance. It’s not pleasant when I think of the future. Of course, I try to ignore it but the underlying reality is always there. 

He does share how he deals with this.  It's very real.  He's not always, "Glory Alleulia" and "Onward Christian Soldiers" and "Thank-you God for giving me this disease."  

Even though his blog hasn't been updated in a while, I will keep it in my blogroll as a reminder on facing obstacles.  I've seen a few, but none like his.  Perhaps, others might find it helpful.

 

Trying to decide what I learned from the Seven Churches of Revelation

What about your church?  What about my church?  How would they compare to the seven churches mentioned in the Bible's book of Revelation?  

Super-wife and I listened to and pondered eight sermons about these churches at Ada Bible Church where we were astounded by how similar their challenges were to those in our culture.  Pastor Jeff Manion used the sermons to examine the lives of individual Christians rather than look at churches as a whole.

The challenge after hearing him talk about the last church--Laodicea--is how to make this personal to each of us and to operationalize this in our lives.  

I have lots of questions and thoughts after the sermons, but I have one big one that I haven't heard an answer to.  Each of these churches got a letter written to them in Revelation.  How did they respond to the affirmation and then the criticism?  Did this make a difference for them?  How has these letters affected Christians down through the ages?

What difference did these sermons make at our church?  It's hard to guage this because the place is so huge.  It would be helpful is worshippers had a place to talk about the sermons.  I know there are small groups.  But they have their limits.

 

Getting ready for church in Port Au Prince, Haiti

I remember going to church on our first Sunday in Haiti exactly one year ago.  I hope I never forget getting up in an orphanage filled with noisy children who had either lost or been abadoned by their families.  As we crossed the small compound, they would reach out with their hands wanting to be picked-up.  Their eyes were windows to a world that most never experience.

Our bus driver Leonard drove us through the heart of Port Au Prince where thousands of men, women and children were dressed in their Sunday clothes with Bibles in hand walking to church.  Exhaust from the vehicles on the road was borderline nauseating.  

It's hard to imagine that they had more than two sets of clothes, one for Sundays and the other for everyday.  

The church was on the side of an inner-city hill and its outward appearance it was very humble, but inside it was a cathederal of hope.  Everybody in the service introduced themselves to us and shook our hands and they shared their Creole hymnals during the singing.  The liturgy was an occasion for them to shout out their faith in God and to state their hope in Jesus.

They had so little.  In fact, they had almost nothing, except down deep, we saw that they had everything.  They were free.  Check this video from the Billy Graham Evangelism Association about how they are sharing the Gospel there this year.

I'm still processing yesterday's sermon about the church at Smyrna-- #7churches

Yesterday at Ada Bible Church, super-wife and I heard a great sermon from Rev. 2:8-11 about the ancient church at Smyrna located in what is modern-day Turkey.  It was one of the seven churches in that part of the world to receive a letter evaluating their ministry and their fealty to Jesus Christ.

What we heard was a down-to-earth, very relevant to contemporary life sermon that contains ammunition for dealing with the sometimes crushing circumstances of everyday life.  

Pastor Jeff Manion carefully explained the historical background of that particular church and how its members faced crushing persecution that made their life seem impossible.

Two points from the sermon:  1)  Don't be afraid and 2) Be faithful.  That was the encouragement that Jesus gave to church member at Smyrna.  And as Manion pointed out the power to do this comes from good news of the Gospel.  

I'm processing all this and trying to make it part of my life.

I invite you to view this.  Listen to what he has to say from the Bible.  Does it resonate with you?  Is there an answer here that makes sense?  

Here's a good link to info about the ancient city of Smyrna from Biblical times

I did a Google search for Smyrna, the ancient Biblical city, from the Bible's book of Revelation and found this site giving information with pictures about the ruins left there today.  This is part of my effort to prepare for church today where we are learning about the Seven Churches from the last book in the Bible.  This site is helpful.

Trying to read ahead about the church at Smyrna and how it relates to me in mid-Michigan

Do you understand what John says in Revelation 2 about the Seven Churches?  That's what we are learning about in church.  Today we are on the second church, the one at Smyrna in what is now modern-day Turkey.  Here's the portion that we will be learning about today:

To the Church in Smyrna

    ⁸ “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

   These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. ⁹ I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

We are a lot of years away from when that was written and we are a long way from Turkey.  What is God saying here?

Is his church going to face persecution?  It does in some parts of the world.  How about here?  Is that to come?  Have the candlesticks been removed from our local churches?  What does this say to me as an individual?

Getting ready for church: What can I learn from the Seven Churches of Revelation?

Have you ever read about, meditated on or understood the relevance of the Seven Churches of Revelation?  Today at Ada Bible Church, Pastor Jeff Manion will talk about the church at Symrna, an ancient city in present-day Turkey.  What does that mean to me living in Michigan almost two thousand years later?  I'll be listening carefully and taking notes.  We will be talking about it on the way home.

Click here to watch the first two sermons and click here on Monday for today's.

Grace Lutheran in Destin, Florida tackles God's expectation of church versus the cultural church

We've been to Grace Lutheran Church in Destin, Florida several times and if we ever snow-birded it or moved to that area of the Panhandle, it would have to be a church we'd have to consider getting involved with. 

Check out their present sermon series on firing up the church and getting it to be an active, productive extension of the hand of God in their location.  Keep in mind this church is part of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS).  It has a reputation for being pretty staid and set in its ways.

 

What about this Florida church praying for the soul of Osama bin Laden?

Check out this Time magazine article about the Florida Catholic Church praying for Osama bin Laden's soul during services this Sunday.  What about it?  Is this right for Christian churches? 

It should be noted that Protestant churches don't pray for the dead compared to Roman Catholic, Episcopal and Anglican churches which do?  Protestants feel that once a person is dead that the fate of the deceased's soul has been decided.

Given that shouldn't churches have been praying for bin Laden all along?  What if he had confessed his sin and accepted Jesus as his Savior?  Would we see him in heaven?

How do you fight despair in your everyday life?

Watch this video of Emily Colson talk about dealing with a son who has autism and how she moved from despair to celebration.  She speaks with her dad, Chuck Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship.  She also wrote a book about this experience, Dancing With Max.

I'm a firm believer in learning from other's stories. This is real life and it seems relevant to today's circumstances where life is pretty rugged for a lot of people. 

The message was given as Seacoast Church in Charleston, South Carolina.  Look at their website for all the outreach the church is involved in.  How big of an answer is the church to today's societal problems if it filled its biblical role?

 

Michigan needs to become familiar with the late Pastor Henry Covington of Detroit

Thanks Mitch Albom for writing your column this morning in the Detroit Free Press about your friend Pastor Henry Covington of the Motor City who is an icon for the whole state of Michigan and the country as it struggles through some tough challenges.

Pastor Covington's congregation were the homeless and the down-and-outers inside the city that most everybody had given-up on and for whom daily life is a matter of survival.  Many struggle with habits and addictions that keep them down. 

That's where Henry came from.  He knew dope and violence and had been in prison and then he developed a relationship with Jesus whose birthday we are celebrating this week.  That's where Albom and Henry met and became friends and co-workers to help others.  It's a great story and one everybody needs to hear right now.  Albom wrote a book about their efforts:  Have A Little Faith.

 

 

Join the conversation: Why are young people bailing out of the Lutheran church?

Young peope are bailing out of the Lutheran church in Michigan and leaders of the Michigan District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) are digging deep to change that.

I think they are going through the painful realization that more and more of their young people have left the church and are wandering and looking for meaning and purpose in their lives.

The LCMS is conservative Christian and is solidly anchored in the hope of the cross of Jesus Christ and what that means for eternity.  But, the relevance of that seems to be blowing by many young people and others.

Check out this blog from the Michigan District of the church where they pose these questions and they invite conversation.  Your opinion should be important to them.  The answers will determine where many will spend their eternity.

Strip me naked and leave me alone in a room

This is a quote I picked up from church yesterday:

Strip me naked and leave me in a room and I will still have more than I deserve.

For yourself, can you agree?  Disagree?

We learned about "contentment" in church yesterday

I need to listen again to yesterday's sermon in church about contentment.  It seems so relevant in many different ways living in Michigan, a severely challenged state that seems to become more politicized with each passing day.

There are also other things that can challenge contentment.  Lots of people have lost jobs, lost their houses, lost family and lost hope.

At Ada Bible Church, Pastor Jeff Manion preached about how the Apostle Paul went through the "school of contentment" and how he had to learn about it through all phases of his life.  At the end of his life, he was a Roman prisoner and he was content.

I will listen to it again.  Then I may share more about what I learned or re-learned.

 

Martin Luther must be seething about the Lutheran Church Missouri Syond

I presume that Martin Luther, the great church reformer, is in heaven.

And if he's looking down on earth at the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), he must be snarling at their defense about why they don't share their faith in Jesus Christ.

Look at this post from Pastor Paul McCain, one of the Synod's leaders, and check his explanation for why members don't share their faith.  "They lost their voice," he claims.  Pretty lame, I would say.

Do they believe what they preach and do they practice it?   Are they just talkers?  What does God's Word say about the talkers who are not doers?  The LCMS leaders would play their get out of jail free card and say they are forgiven for their lack of enthusiasm about the only true hope that exists.

Yes, I was born and raised into the LCMS and left within the past two years.  Its lethargy was becoming toxic to my faith and my belief in God.

I will have more to share about this down the line.

Greg Laurie says I need to turn my world upside down today

Greg Laurie made me feel uncomfortable this morning.

He's a pastor in southern California and I became familiar with him after hearing him at several Promise Keepers rallies around the country.  I get his daily e-mail devotion.

This morning's devotion was about how the church today has been permeated by the attitudes of the world unlike the early church which turned the world upside down.  Today's church has become flaccid and seems to have less effect than a pothole on a busy road.

He says the world needs to see Jesus Christ through each one of us who believe in him.  He writes:

The world needs to see a genuine man or woman of God living the Christian life. They need to see the real thing. In short, they need to see you. God can use you. Maybe you are not a preacher, but you can proclaim the gospel message through your life and through your words. You can turn your world upside down.

I'm very imperfect and I know it.  My only claim to worth is being a saved sinner.  My prayer this week is that I can reflect the love that has been shown to me by Jesus.