The Barnabas Blog

Guard the Gates--Part 2

2012-02-01T07:57:00.000-08:00

The expression of guarding the gates really has to do with guarding the mind. As noted yesterday, John Bunyan wrote another classic although much less recognized than Pilgrim’s Progress entitled The Holy War which tells the story of Mansoul being captured and taken over by Diabolus because of the gates being compromised. That same plan is still being effectively carried out in our generation. People of every kind and status within the church have a responsibility to not let this kind of thing take place. This is especially true of those who are actively called into the ministry. If the shepherd can be toppled, the sheep will scatter.

In the last post, it was explored how that study allows a man who serves a church to guard his mind. While that is a good measure to take up, there is another crucial “guard” that we have to recognize. It is the aspect of prayer. Of all the disciplines involved in a Christian’s life, prayer is the most difficult one to maintain conversely it can be one of the most joyous and powerful tools we can find in our spiritual arsenal. A preacher must maintain regular habits of communion with God in prayer. If a minister is not careful he can come to the place in which he will neglect his place of prayer because of his attention to the Kingdom. He may have all kinds of grand truths rolling through his soul because of the constant exposure to the Word. He can be so busy with various meetings, discipleship of new converts, and counseling of those who are in the throes of some dilemma of life, and obligations to duties of the organizational stripe, that he can entirely neglect his prayer life. In fact a minister is more likely to omit his praying than a new convert who has just come in to the church.

Diabolus loves to get the men involved in ministry to fall to the temptation of substitutes for prayer. Sermons on prayer, reading books on prayer, attending prayer conferences, and hearing sermons on prayer can never take the place of prayer. One can even come under the belief that church attendance, praise, singing, giving, and doing measures of physical labor at church can be a valid substitute for prayer. What soon happens is a tendency to resort to all of these things to move us into a position for revival without true heart-felt prayer.

Pastoral prayer is a great biblical concept and it has great authority. There is an ingredient of spiritual authority that comes to life when a pastor will discipline himself to prayer for his people. From the outset, I have to tell you that this is NOT an easy task to do. Prayer that is truly heart-felt and sincere rarely takes place (for me, perhaps not others) when we just decide to get on our knees and begin to pray. There has to be some stimulus of preparation that is involved in it. There are useful things that you will learn to use to help put your mind into a vein of prayer.

There are times when reading books on prayer will be very helpful to put you into a mindset of prayer. Some of the ones that I have regularly gone back to frequently and year after year are listed below:

E. M. Bounds Complete Works on Prayer—There are eight books in a single volume and are very rich and motivational toward opening my heart for prayer. The Necessity of Prayer, The Essentials of Prayer, The Possibilities of Prayer, The Reality of Prayer, Purpose in Prayer, The Weapon of Prayer, Power Through Prayer, and Prayer and Praying Men.

Leonard Ravenhill on Prayer—Ravenhill’s material is becoming increasingly rarer to find in bookstores these days. He was a staple for many of the preachers who attended the Deeper Life conferences scattered around the nation in the 1970’s. There have been times that I have read just a page or so of Ravenhill’s material and found it incredibly rich in preparing my heart and mind for prayer. Particularly helpful are his two books entitled Revival Praying and Why Revival Tarries. A recent biography about Ravenhill entitled In Light of Eternity by Mack Tomlinson is a very inspirational book.

Wesley Duewel—This author was one of those that I was encouraged to try sometime in the early ‘90’s when I went to Because of The Times. I have found much value in the books he wrote, Mighty Prevailing Prayer and Touch the World Through Prayer. Not only will these books inspire you to pray, it will inspire you to preach on prayer.

Another means of putting my heart in a bent toward prayer is listening to sermons. There are some sermons that I have heard over the years that are almost worn out because I have listened to them so much. You have to be careful about listening to them too often or they will become so common they lose their ability to touch you. However, David Fuller’s The Master Key of Prayer (1986), Anthony Mangun’s Passion In Your Prayers (1994), and anything that Vesta Mangun has ever done on prayer are sermons that will inspire your prayer life.

Prayer is a place of surrender but once that surrender takes place, the wellsprings of heaven seem to burst forth and the glory of God is declared. But Diabolus wants to scale the gates by causing you to abandon your post in your prayer closet. If he can make you appear to be a man of prayer but not really be given to prayer, he will do everything he can to make this happen. If he can make you impatient with the results of prayer, you will finally give in and quit praying. Can I tell you this? The work of the Kingdom means a lot of weeding, watering, and waiting! What we have to understand is that ministry is going to take you longer than you thought, cost you more than you had planned, but you will be surprised by what happens in the end!

Prayer is not very glamorous and it is very hard work. But to the man who will give himself to a life-long persistence of prayer, he will make the most of his calling. We have to pray because of the condition of our heart. Prayer empties the heart of its cares, anxieties, and pressures that attempt to choke us. We have to pray because we know that the answer is beyond our human ability, talent, and strength. We have to pray because it is the key to divine direction. By actively taking up the prayer mantle, we find our relationship with God being empowered and strengthened. When that happens, we find that old man beginning to be changed into the image of Jesus Christ. Conformity to his image will cause us to have to endure some necessary pressure.

I have no doubt that the pastors who read this blog have done this multiple times in their tenure where they serve. I call it “walking the pews.” What I mean by that is going into the empty sanctuary whether in the day or in the night and walking the length of each pew and praying for the people who sit in those slots every week. Because people are creatures of habit they mostly sit in the same place year in and year out. It can be very useful to pray for these people during this time. As you pray for them there are unexpected crosses that will be thrust onto your own spirit as you contemplate the calamities that people have to navigate through. Troubled financial situations, marriages under pressure, wayward children, health issues that debilitate, and the all out assault of pressure and stress are all scenarios that people drag to church with them. Add to all of these things the need for a heightened measure of spiritual life and you soon discover the real meaning to pastoral prayer. If you as the pastor are not praying for them, then who will do it?

Pastoral prayer will also shape your soul. I am sure that where you serve that everybody is going in the same direction and that everybody fully supports everything that you are doing. However from the seat I currently occupy, I have my share of critics, skeptics, and maligners. Trust me I have prayed imprecatory prayers on every one of them until one day (thankfully) God turned my agitation with them into compassion. I begin to feel sorry for them! I have to say I almost couldn’t believe it when that shift began in my own soul. Furthermore, it would have never occurred had I not been “walking the pews.” Suddenly the Lord turned my aggravation with them into empathy because I saw them for who they really were. So now instead imprecatory prayer has been replaced by intercessory prayer and in some I see a change but sadly in some I can only see a hardening take place. It is situations like this that you realize that prayer is something that does indeed guard the gates.

Pastoral prayer will cause you to pray over your preaching too! In fact, you ought to lay hands on the pulpit and ask God to turn it into an altar that all human performance, talent, education, pride, ambition, and personal vendettas can be gutted and sacrificed on. Don’t waste your pulpit on frivolous and unimportant matters. Ask God for your heart to be emboldened so that you will have clarity of thought and the courage of conviction when you lead the church to worship through the act of preaching.

Sometime ago, I purchased a little book called The Valley of Vision which is a collection of Puritan prayers by Arthur Bennett. One of those prayers called “A Minister’s Preaching” I copied and wrote in the front of my Bible. I share it with you and think you will be blessed by it.

My Master God,
I am desired to preach today,
but go weak and needy to my task;
Yet I long that people might be edified with divine truth,
that an honest testimony might be borne for thee;
Give me assistance in preaching and prayer,
with heart uplifted for grace and unction.
Present to my view things pertaining to my subject,
with fullness of matter and clarity of thought,
proper expressions, fluency, fervency,
a feeling sense of the things I preach,
and grace to apply them to men’s consciences.
Keep me conscious all the while of my defects,
and let me not gloat in pride over my performance.
Help me to offer a testimony for thyself,
and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting thy mercy.
Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people,
and set before them comforting considerations.
Attend with power the truth preached.
and awaken the attention of my slothful audience.
May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted,
and help me to use the strongest arguments
drawn from Christ’s incarnation and sufferings,
that men might be made holy.
I myself need thy support, comfort, strength, holiness,
that I might be a pure channel of thy grace,
and be able to do something for thee;
Give me then refreshment among thy people,
and help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way,
or bear a broken testimony to so worthy a redeemer,
or be harsh in treating of Christ’s death, its design and end,
from lack of warmth and fervency.
And keep me in tune with thee as I do this work.

More tomorrow. . . Thanks for reading. . .

Philip Harrelson

Guard the Gates--Part 1

2012-01-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

Early on in my days as an RN, I greatly enjoyed working with patients who had come through multiple trauma situations. Even when I was in nursing school, I would frequently spend my evenings at work as a patient care tech, in the Emergency Department or in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. The reason was because these areas were generally the hubs for patients who had multiple trauma insults to contend with. Then when I graduated from nursing school, I went to work in the SICU and it was there that I found a niche specifically with neuro-trauma and the other injuries associated with the brain and the spinal cord.

There have been numerous times that I have seen patients that hardly had a mark on their body but had been dealt a massive blow to the head to the extent that they never recovered. In fact, far more than I would have liked to seen, were sent to long-term care facilities basically in a very obtunded or comatose state. Never again would they function normally and be able to assume even the most basic of daily functions of living. A perfectly healthy body but with horrific brain injury that disabled them.

John Bunyan wrote another classic besides Pilgrim’s Progress. It was a book called The Holy War. The focus of the story was the capture of a city called Mansoul. In it Diabolus (the devil) has taken it and the battle rages as the Prince Emmanuel works to recapture it. The way it was overcome was because the gates of the city had been compromised. Diabolus and his wicked imps had traversed it by taking advantage of the Eye Gate and Eye Gate which are symbolic of the use of the senses to cause the capture of the city.

It is imperative that a minister guard the gates of his mind. He is constantly under the assault and duress of the devil and because of this, our mind must be worked on very diligently to prevent the capture of it. Don’t be surprised at the tares which may loom among the wheat because this is the way it has to be. In fact Paul cautioned the ever vigilant servant when he expressed the fact that there must be heresies to grow like clover in a pasture. The reason is for the church to be approved by God (1 Cor. 11:19).

So over the next several days, I am going to give some specific things that will help those involved in the everyday work of the ministry to guard their gates. You will soon discover that there are certain habits that cater toward strengthening your character. Because of our role as a leader it is of utmost importance that we have a bent toward personal godliness. It cannot be an ordinary godliness but it has to be something that is motivated by a hunger for God and desire to do His work.

The real fact of the matter is that our society and the churches we serve have a certain level of expectation toward our own personal godliness and level of holiness. One of the chief things we can do to benefit our church is to have an increased level of prayer, grasp of Scripture, and purity of mind. For this to come to life in our churches there are some things that we MUST do! Yet this expectation they have of us is actually a good thing because our calling should produce this in our hearts. I am always taken aback by men who are in the ministry but appear to be more in step with the world than with God. We cannot afford to be worldly and unspiritual men! Every day is an opportunity for me to grasp the plow that is working the ground of the Kingdom of God and never look back.

Recently my name was drawn in a random drawing and I was able to go to a John Maxwell leadership seminar for the day. I haven’t attended a Maxwell seminar for well over a decade however I can honestly say that he is a gifted and talented communicator. In the course of that day, he mentioned that all men need to indentify the Big Five that they will do every day. He said, tongue-in-cheek, that every day meant holidays, birthdays, and weekends. His Big Five that he does every day is: 1. Read, 2. Think, 3. File, 4. Ask, and 5. Write. He said it took him about seven years to come up with the Big Five but once he did, great benefits have come out of it. With that analogy in mind, I thought that there are five things that a minister or anyone who desires to have a deeper relationship with God ought to do every day. In no particular order, here are some things to help you guard your mind.

A man has to study. We are very much molded by the books we read and things we study. What a man does in the study will have a great impact on what happens in the public arena of ministry. If he is weak in the study, he will be weak in pulpit. To be absorbed in God’s Book will create a sincerity and personal sanctification that will go a long way in making him effective. Furthermore the sanctifying work that goes on in his soul will have a cleansing effect on the people to whom he is called to minister to.

Persevering study will improve the heart. A man who does not have a high regard for his own personal library and neglects the Word and the books that helps him to gather nectar to make honey will soon have an empty soul. There is something that happens to a man who will give himself to the constant, steady, and disciplined study of the Word. There are great elements of truth that will march through his mind. The Scriptures will preserve the soul against the vain imaginations that ruined men in Romans 1.

Truth is a sobering matter, a heavy matter that provides great support for a preacher’s soul. If the mind of a preacher is going to be something, then it has to do something in the area of stretching. More often than not, Scripture will speak very clearly to issues that present themselves in the common areas of pastoral ministry. Be it far from me to give them my opinion when I can tell them what God has to say about the matter. But to know what God has to say about the matter, I have to know what He said about it in his Word. Can I implore you to stop looking for and even giving “words” or “revelations” that are not based on what God’s written word has to say?! Men who are given to study and a great familiarity with the Word can see through these scandalous words.

However to be an effective student of the Scripture there will be a requirement of disciplined time management. My time is at my disposal and if I do not carefully guard it and plan what happens to it, at the end of the day very little return is gotten from those precious minutes. While it cannot be an all encompassing statement there is much truth to be understood that some of God’s holiest men were those men who were students of His Word. When you read of some of the old preachers in the bygone era, you will discover that they were men who spent long days and sometimes even their nights in study.

The benefits of the study are the glorious, inspiring, convicting and life-changing sermons that will be born in the heart of that man who gives himself to guarding the gates by studying. There will be nuggets of truth that will be expressed in counseling sessions that you will wonder where they came from only to remember later that those thoughts came to life in the study. There will be a depth that comes to prayer and you will find yourself praying things out of the soul that you will wonder where you learned that vocabulary of prayer only to discover later that these things were because of the labor and sweat of the study.

Study involves several things in itself. It involves a mental seriousness of the task you are undertaking. Consider the seriousness of a medical researcher who is pouring over solutions, equations, and experiments in his pursuit for a cure for cancer. Can our discipline be any less serious than the researcher?

Study also involves a devotion to good books. Our age has drastically changed and the way we work with information is constantly evolving. However, I have to confess that despite the wizardry and power of the iPad, there is still nothing like taking a bound volume of paper and retrieving it and then marking in the margins and underlining things that stand out to us. I have discovered the value of some books may be just a single sentence or paragraph that sets your soul of fire! Books cost money and you can look at it either as an expense or as an investment. I feel sure that some preachers spend more on their hunting rigs or Harley’s than they do on their personal libraries.

Study also involves the development of a mind given to meditation. This is an art to work toward crafting. A godly imagination can open up a biblical character as never before. Case in point, think of Jael hammering a nail through the temple of Sisera and then think of Jacob’s reeling mind as he was about to meet Esau for the first time in twenty-years.

I would encourage taking the evening and going and just browsing about your own personal library and seeing what is there. You might be surprised at some of the hidden gifts that God has waiting for you on the shelves. Furthermore, it is going to help you guard the gates.

More tomorrow. . . Thanks for reading.

Philip Harrelson

The Dark Side of Spiritual Abuse -- Part 5

2012-01-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

This is the last post on this particular series. I appreciate the comments, e-mails, and phone calls that I have received concerning this very sensitive subject. The genesis of this blog series actually begin when I was asked by J. R. Ensey to put together a paper to present at a theological forum that he hosts annually at various places around the country. I am very appreciative at the response I received when I delivered this paper at the forum in Albany, Georgia a few weeks ago. I have just a few final thoughts to add before moving to other areas on the blog.

What I increasingly discovered was in these dark spiritually abusive environments that it serves as excellent and fertile conditions for hypocrisy to prevail. As you dig deeper into these environments you soon discover dark, deviant sins and moral corruption simmering beneath the surface. I believe that the huge level of repression that takes place in these “churches” does nothing except bring out the worst sins of the flesh. Although when someone finally does decide to speak up concerning the matter of these dark sins, the leader usually resorts to efforts of damage control so that the leadership and the church do not have a soiling of “reputation.” Man hasn’t really learned any new tricks about covering sin; he still resorts to insufficient fig leaves just as Adam and Eve did at the beginning of the state of man.

What I also found to be very surprising is that most of the time the wife of the leader will also work toward damage control. She will do everything within her power to live up to the social pressures of maintaining some semblance of normalcy in the various relationships she has within the church. She apparently has come to understand that the dark side of her mate can shift on her as much as it does with those people he is taking advantage of. So instead of dealing with the moral and spiritual failure that is present things are left to follow the course of gravity. Gravity leads the person to maintain an environment of manipulation and absolute mind control on those people he is supposed to serve.

While I have written about the traits and characteristics of those who are involved in a spiritually abusive environment, I have not been specific with practices of spiritual abuse. I will list some of the practices while leaving some of the most extreme situations out as some would probably be absolutely shocked to know this kind of thing takes place under the guise of religion. So here are some actual practices of spiritual abuse:

• A member having to submit financial records to the church leader and the leader determines how and when they are to spend their money.
• A member having to sell various things on a constant basis to feed the coffers of the church so that it entirely benefits the leader.
• A wide disparity between the lifestyle of the leader and the members. He lives like a king while the members appear to live at a level of poverty or barely just able to get by.
• The leader using a “word of knowledge” or “word of wisdom” to pick a spouse for those who are in the congregation.
• Members being absolutely forbidden to question the direction the leader takes or question the decisions he is making.
• Members being forced to totally forsake their extended family who do not attend the “church.”
• Members being told that if they leave the church for any reason that “the hand of God will be against you.”
• The leader gives the implication that his “church” is the only place that people may be saved with the hope of going to Heaven.
• A “pastor” who has a tendency to want to befriend the congregants on a social level but when he gets in the pulpit he uses that avenue to browbeat, condemn, criticize, and name-call those who hear him.
• A “pastor” who may call out several people or a single individual and call them to the front of the church for a public humiliation in front of everyone.
• A “pastor” who catches people in extremely vulnerable positions and when they need grace most, he turns up the control to humiliate them and ultimately control them.

There are some other unnamed situations that involve deeply personal matters that spiritual abusers will attempt to get involved in as a matter of control. If you go to a place that has these kinds of traits, it would probably be a good idea for you to carefully seek God, read your Bible, and find someone to confide in who can help you. I have also come to understand from people who have been in terribly spiritually abusive situations that God would speak to them through very vivid dreams. While I am not one to necessarily over-play those situations, I do know that there are times when God does indeed speak to us very clearly and directly through dreams. I encourage you that if this is taking place, do not ignore it! Seek out spiritual advice from a trusted source and you may even need to give yourself to some extended times of prayer and fasting so God can become even clearer to you. I would also add that if what you are experiencing from this “leader” anything that is outside the realm of Scripture, that man is wrong! He may violate you with intimidation and control but if he chooses to go against Scripture, he is wrong! He has no liberty whatsoever to go against the principles of Scripture!

On the other hand, if you go to a church that has an incredibly warm, spiritual environment where God is exalted and His Word is preached, sometime today you owe it to God to breathe out some gratitude.

When I addressed the forum in Albany, I prefaced my remarks by saying that there are some could literally have a field day with this subject. There are some who are unconverted, resistant to the Gospel, and are presently lost but have been deceived in their minds and truly believe they are part of the church who scoff at and malign every church that has any spiritual requirements and label them as spiritually abusive. So for those who may have come to this blog looking for a loop-hole, I am going to close it before you make it down that path. Because there are some things that are NOT spiritual abuse but as the church has increasingly come under the assault of culture and the devil, some very godly, separated, and righteous churches may look like they are spiritually abusive. But because they have a high level of respect for doctrine, holiness, and the mission of the church, our world has changed so much that much of what is passed off as Christianity has become so watered down it is powerless to save. So let me address in conclusion what spiritual abuse is not.

• Spiritual abuse is not preaching a steady diet of the Word that is cross-cultural and opposes the modern humanistic mindset of most of the world. In fact it is spiritual abuse when a pastor does not have the intestinal fortitude to do so.
• Spiritual abuse is not when a pastor gets involved and helps financially challenged people set up a budget in an effort to help them gain control of their money. (By the way, people don’t have money problems, they have behavior problems! Thanks to Dave Ramsey for that quote.)
• Spiritual abuse is not when a pastor determines that there are biblical standards of modesty that are to be honored no matter what our culture says and does. I believe it is spiritual abuse when a pastor does not set a biblical level of expectation on the church he is called to serve.
• Spiritual abuse is not when a pastor calls for a church to support the work of God with a tenth of their income that serves as a tithe and also encourages giving beyond that to accomplish the work of national and global missions. It is spiritual abuse when we allow the materialism of the age to grip a church until its spiritual life is choked out while chasing “stuff.”

Obviously this list is not all-inclusive however it is enough for you to understand that there are some very good godly men who are doing their best to make a difference in their churches. Pray for them!

Thanks for reading. . .

Philip Harrelson

The Dark Side of Spiritual Abuse -- Part 4

2012-01-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

This post may seem as if there is an overlap from the last post. In our last post, I tried to show you what actions the spiritual abusers resorted to. In this post, I will attempt to show you what a spiritual abuser looks like.

Leadership seems to be the buzzword of our times. Bookstores now have multiple rows upon rows of books concerning this particular subject. Some of the content is very good and can help a person to hone their management skills and work toward becoming self-disciplined in a manner that will prove good for the organization that they are serving. I personally have benefited from some of the secular leadership books that I have read over the years. Despite all of these necessary and good resources only a small, in fact, microscopic amount of these books address spiritual issues in the life of the leader.

There aren’t any spiritual leadership concepts given in the books that Jim Collins has written. Patrick Lencioni does not address the spiritual side of a man who wants to build a Fortune 500 company. Peter Drucker’s works have almost elevated him posthumously to an exalted messiah among the leadership gurus of the last century. If we are not careful, there can be a tendency to think that we can build a church the same way that Steve Jobs made Apple successful. Once a spiritual leader buys into that particular idea that he can build a spiritual church with the same techniques that a profit-driven company is built, he deceives himself and he will create spiritual mayhem with the sheep he is meant to feed.

Spiritually abusive leaders are often very ambitious and driven toward success. It is important to understand the motives that drive men in spiritual leadership because our motives say much about our true intentions. Gary McIntosh in his book, Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership, identifies five types of leadership styles that lead toward tendencies to be spiritually abusive. The compulsive leader is characterized by being status conscious, looking for reassurance and approval from those in authority. He will have a tendency to try to control activities and keep order at all times doing this by being an extreme workaholic. They can be excessively moralistic, conscientious, and judgmental. He may have an angry and rebellious attitude but will repress his true feelings and hold in the anger and resentment. When these dark emotions turn on the church, the atmosphere immediately turns into one of control and extreme authoritarianism.

There are certain traits that usually show up in the preaching style of a compulsive leader. He will frequently be a gifted and charismatic speaker but has the tendency to minimize any impact of the Scriptures unless they are going to serve his own agenda. He will also be the hero of all of his stories and listeners will be “amazed” at his feats in personal outreach/evangelism, prayer schedule, and devotion to the Scriptures. He may even say something like this; “I am God’s appointed authority in your life. If you oppose me you’re opposing God.” He will almost have the capacity to turn himself into a rock star for a lack of a better description. He leads people to follow him instead of the Lord.

The narcissistic leader is driven to succeed by a need for admiration and acclaim. Often he will demonstrate an inflated sense of self-importance as well as great ambitions and grandiose fantasies. These leaders are generally very self-absorbed but will have a sense of uncertainty because of deep feelings of inferiority. Frequently they are unable to enjoy any success that comes into their life. He will have an outward presentation of discontentment and dissatisfaction with life. As his feelings of discontentment surface, he will seek to have more control in the operation of daily spiritual life. Additionally this leader will become embroiled in the financial decisions, career choices, and various day-to-day functions of life. The interesting thing is that some people allow this up-close intrusion in their lives and seem to think nothing of it.

The paranoid leader is suspicious, hostile, fearful, and jealous. He is constantly afraid that someone will undermine his position and are hypersensitive to the actions of others. He will attach subjective meaning to the motives of those around him and will create rigid structures for control. He also demonstrates strong feelings of insecurity and a lack of confidence. This leader is the most dangerous of all because he will work to manipulate the entire body of believers into docile, intimidated followers who are afraid of him. Anyone who opposes his methods of madness will be horribly ostracized and publicly humiliated.

A couple of the methods that this kind of leader will use can be incredibly intimidating. He will use outside “ministries” that appear to operate in the gifts of the Spirit. After spending time with the pastor who informs the “prophet” of the shortcomings and failings of the people, this “prophet” will call people out and confront or shame them in front of the entire congregation. They will be accused of stirring dissension, creating a mutiny, or of hosting demonic spirits of rebellion. The other method is a little less direct and more private. It usually involves a time of “counseling” in which the Lord has supposedly revealed some form of dark hidden character flaw to the pastor and he uses this as a way to control the people he is leading.

The co-dependent leader is marked by being a peacemaker who covers up problems rather than facing them. The reason he covers up the problems is to maintain the balance of the group. He can be very benevolent with a high tolerance for deviant behavior and willing to take on more work so he does not have to ask anyone for assistance. He would rather react than act decisively. Often they are a repressed, frustrated person who has trouble giving full, honest expression to emotions or problems. Often one may scratch the surface of communities like this and there will be a discovery of dark, deviant sins that have been covered over for years. The reason that sin is covered is because the leader is more concerned with appearances than true spiritual substance and spiritual growth. If the sin is uncovered or if there have to be instances of church discipline this can destroy the perception the abusive spiritual leader has worked to build.

The passive-aggressive leader has traits such as being extremely stubborn, forgetful, and intentionally inefficient. There is a tendency to complain, resist demands, procrastinate, and drag out assignments as a means of controlling the environment and those around them. Periodically they may exert control by the use of short outbursts of sadness or anger. These leaders are generally filled with anger, bitterness, and a fear of success since it will lead to higher expectations.

In an atmosphere where a passive-aggressive leader rules you will rarely see young men coming to develop a calling into the ministry. The most prominent reason for this is because the leader does not want anyone to outpace him. Passive-aggressive leaders have a strong affinity toward a messiah complex in which they believe all ideas must come from them or through them. In fact what you will discover is that the people who do dare to oppose him operate on the premise that they will advance their cause first and get forgiveness later. They understand that they will not get permission if they ask, so they engage their plan or project and wait for the fallout to develop. Passive-aggressive leaders rarely want to sit down and deal with problems face-to-face and if they are forced into this kind of meeting, it immediately becomes heavy-handed and often the leader resorts to angry rants. The leader will work everything to play to his advantage so that he can humiliate the person who has dared to oppose him.

When all of these processes are set into motion, a very dark environment comes to life. There will be a revolving door of members who come and go. Every honest-hearted pastor must admit that he has lost some people for various reasons over his years of pastoral ministry. Truthfully some fault rests on both sides of the pulpit. On the other hand, if you are a pastor, take a look at the people you are leading and ask yourself if you can see all stages of various Christian growth in the congregation. In fact, I personally believe that you ought to have a range of the most mature to the most immature of Christians who show up every week. That can usually be a good sign of spiritual health in a church. If the congregation is all new folks or all “old” folks then it very well could be an opportunity to address some of your own spiritual issues.

I appreciate you reading about this very sensitive subject. I realize the volatility of it and know that there will be detractors on both sides of the fence who say there is not enough authority expressed by spiritual leaders and others who will say that there is too much authority taken. I will use a couple more posts to tell you what spiritual abuse is not and also some resources that will help a pastor to see the ultimate priority of his calling should be about.

The Other Parts of this series are listed below:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The Dark Side of Spiritual Abuse -- Part 3

2012-01-14T05:38:00.000-08:00

This is the third installment in a series on spiritual abuse (Part 1 & Part 2). The whole idea of spiritual abuse is a very troubling at best. The church was intended to be a place of redemptive recovery facilitated by the grace of God. When manipulative control moves to the forefront it can have a very harmful effect on the people who gather to worship. It also has to be established that spiritual abuse can take place in a reverse order. It can originate from the congregation in the form of a board of elders or a single influential member who controls the pastor through financial means or sometimes through psychological and physical intimidation. Increasingly one will find the reverse order in churches that once had to deal with a pastor who was spiritually abusive.

Spiritual abuse is defined as “the mistreatment of a person who is in need of help, support, or greater spiritual empowerment, with the result of weakening, undermining or decreasing that person’s spiritual empowerment.” It can be defined another way as “destructive and dangerous involvement in a religion that allows the religion, not a relationship with God, to control a person’s life. He also goes on to say, “People broken by various experiences, people from dysfunctional families, people with unrealistic expectations, and people out for their own gain or comfort seem especially prone to it.” Spiritual leaders who resort to this kind of activity may or may not immediately recognize the control they are exerting. The trend usually isn’t immediately recognized but as time passes the cycle of behavior manifests in a manner that has a horrific effect on people’s lives. Even worse is the leader who acclimates himself to a state of denial of his own personal responsibility. To compensate for the increasingly unsettled environment, he may begin to assign all of the spiritual shipwrecks of the past as those who were “wolves” or “rebellious.”

As I filtered through all of the material concerning spiritual abuse, I jotted down a series of questions concerning not just the church but the leader too. They were based more on a rhetorical nature that did not so much require an answer but rather an evaluation of the spiritual health of the place where this activity is taking place.

• What does spiritual abuse do to those who worship there? How does it affect their sense of worship and understanding of God?
• Can God have freedom to transform and can grace really do an adequate work in this atmosphere where fear, intimidation, and manipulation prevail?
• Can true spiritual growth and discipleship take place in this setting?
• What do the actions of the pastor have on his soul in the long term? This was a very troubling question to me personally. What dark things begin to take place in the soul of the pastor who exerts force in such a way that he is never challenged and held to a standard of accountability himself?????
• Are his actions motivated by pride of place or position?
• Has he moved from being an under-shepherd to a lord over God’s heritage? Such spiritual abuse literally takes the place of God in the working of the church.
• Is there a sense of the grace of God reflected in any of the public ministry of the Word?
• Is there an attempt to place heavy weights on the people he is called to shepherd?
• Does he empower people to live in a venue of spiritual growth in a public setting as well as within the private confines of the heart?
• Are implications given that the church one serves in is the only church that has the ability to prepare people for eternity?
• Is there an attitude by the spiritual leader that seems to promote a sense of spiritual elitism and aloofness around the members of the church?
• Is he placed on a pedestal on a spiritual plane and material plane above them?
• What is his standard of living compared to those he pastors?
• Is there a feeling of subtle paranoia expressed by the people of being afraid to associate with other churches that may not be entirely similar in principles but hold the same level of doctrinal commitment to the apostolic message?

A pastor who resorts to spiritual abuse will use shame and manipulation to wield his sense of authority. He will take emotional and traumatic failures and use them in a manner to spiritually blackmail and discredit them. Shame is a very powerful tool to use when it comes to having absolute control over the people. Johnson and Vonderen in their book The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse identifies seven distinct characteristics of shame based relationships that pastors will resort to using. Shaming takes place in the course of general church life. It is used such a way to imply that this person may be so weak and defective that they are nothing in comparison to other church members. Through this kind of action the shamed person may feel unloved, unaccepted, an inability to fit in, of no real value, and isolated and alone.

The abuser will begin to quite verbally and publicly shame people. He will use name-calling, belittling put-downs and comparisons to others. A focus on performance that implies how a person behaves is more important than real spiritual change that takes place at the level of the heart.

Another technique that is used will manipulate people into various circles of influence that helps him to control the whole group. It works with a series of unspoken rules that people are afraid to over-step because of their fear of the fallout. There is almost as if they think that some measure of punishment that may come to them and will either hurt them or embarrass them. There may be times that he will even resort to work within a family so that the majority of a family stands with the abuser against a single victim. Now the person who is experiencing the brunt of the abuse has no one to turn to because the pastor and his own family is opposed to him.

The abuser is masterful at using a “grapevine” network instead of meeting them face-to-face to work toward a solution to the problem. When there is a face-to-face meeting the abuser pours on humiliation and contempt in such a way that the person has no way to respond positively to the correction. It can be very wilting both spiritually and psychologically to the person who experiences this kind of treatment.

The fourth characteristic of shame-based relationships works with a system of idolatry that makes God nothing more than an impossible to please judge who is constantly seeking to destroy. Instead of changing God into a graven image, He is changed into a nit-picking, harsh, and very narrow being who is so concerned with performance at the expense of grace that no person can live up to. The necessary observation to be entertained is this changing of the nature of God breaks the first commandment and encroaches on the change in the nature of God. This is the great mistake that the reprobate man was guilty of in Romans 1. There was the nature of being changed into something that He was not. Spiritual abusers are guilty of this action!

Another characteristic is a preoccupation with fault and blame. The force behind this gives the abuser power because any confession that is given will be an opportunity for him to know who to shame and hold them hostage to their actions. Buried reality is a principle that gives the implication that any thought, opinion, or feeling that is opposed to the one who is in authority must be denied. This dilemma creates angst in the mind of the followers because should they see some principle in operation in their church environment that they do not agree with; instead of dealing with it in a healthy and spiritual way, they are forced to suppress their own thoughts that oppose that of the leader.

Because of this people are unable to work through the challenges of life that life present to them for the fear of having to endure the shame that will be poured out on them if they are not in lockstep with the rest of the group. This is the most dangerous of all of the actions of shame-based relationships because it operates in such a way to induce mental pressures that may lead to a complete collapse of their psychological system. The people who are often under the duress of this kind of dynamic will experience stress-related illnesses. Sometimes it can lead to a total mental shutdown requiring psychiatric care. There are various types of medical conditions that health care professionals immediately recognize to be related to the mental hygiene or lack thereof in the presentation of the patients. The mind is a very powerful device that has much impact on the natural function of the human body. Some spiritual abusers may or may not be aware of this but usually in the cases where the victim finally does breakdown, it is looked upon almost gleefully as an act of God that “took care” of the problem so to speak. What does it say about the abuser who feels this way???

The last characteristic of shame-based relationships has to do with the relationships within the group. There appears a great disparity that is demonstrated by a strong over-involvement or a complete lack of involvement. This kind of relationship with the group causes people to manifest various traits such as a fear of being deserted, lack of self-discipline, rebelling against the structure, a high need of structure, a sense that if there is a problem the solution comes only through self-reliance, putting up boundaries that keep safe people away, and strong feelings of guilt even when nothing has been violated. As you can see, the enemy of the soul loves to take advantage of these kinds of situations so he can create strongholds in their minds that warps them for future service (2 Cor. 10:1-5).

In the environment where spiritual abuse predominates there are frequent references in the public setting of preaching and in the private times of counseling that commonly brings up subjects like rebellion, accusations of causing dissension, and other methods of emotional intimidation. He will emphasize his own personal “anointing” and calling in an exclusive manner which serves in a way that dictates more than it serves. Frequently he will state that you cannot touch God’s anointed. He will call to mind biblical references of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, Absalom, and even Judas as a measure of control that heaps on guilt and further empowers the leader. He can also even resort to bringing in outside ministers who serve as nothing more than “hired guns” to eviscerate emotionally, spiritually and psychologically a congregation with a so-called sermon. Usually there is some aura about the merchants of Balaam and they are cast in the role of a prophet that is not to be crossed. However my strong contention to this kind of manipulation is that the visiting “prophet” has done nothing more than to merchandize his own calling to a lesser standard motivated by what Peter called “filthy lucre.”

This emphasis on authority will be so much to the effect that the person enduring this malicious behavior of the abuser will soon discover a creeping depression or a spiritual numbness overcoming their mind. The cycle darkens when the accused begins to manufacture feelings that if they were “spiritual” enough then they would not be in the place where they are now. They have a real concern that they are indeed living in open rebellion to the authority of God. Over the course of time, spiritual abuse will damages spiritual development and leads to damaged souls who have no real ability to respond properly to God and the church. In fact, I have witnessed with my own eyes what I call spiritual pygmies who have never overcome the abuse that a spiritually abusive leader heaped on them decades ago.

Spiritually abusive leaders constantly drive home the fact that members are never doing enough. It can be a very simple laundry list of good and disciplined practices that enhance our relationship with God but the demands of performance have such power over the person until it wilts them down. The demands can be: not praying enough, not giving enough, not “spiritual” enough, not praising enough. In doing this the abuser gains even more control by placing the heavy burden of human performance on the congregation until it will never measure up to the spiritual demands that are being made.

Spiritual abusers are usually very tuned into the personal lives of those whom they tower over and will use their knowledge of those details to control them. They will take personal sickness, sick children, financial maladies, nagging wives and abusive husbands, unruly children, and a myriad of other life situations to say that this is the judgment of God because of their lack of submission to authority. There are times that the spiritual abuser will imply that he has come to the information because of direct revelation from God. In actuality the information came to him simply because he fills the role of a pastor. His truth twisting that God has revealed this to him only serves to heighten his control of the people because they may fear his seeming clairvoyance into their lives. The truth is that all people have problems and it simply comes with the territory called life. While the church is confined to the world there always will be constant struggles with the world, the flesh, and the devil. To place a heavier burden on people for these kinds of calamities of life is unconscionable, deceptive, and malicious.

More next week. . .

Thanks for reading. . .

The Dark Side of Spiritual Abuse -- Part 2

2012-01-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

To give a little history as to how some of the heavy-handed authoritative traits came into play among pastors you have to trace back to the charismatic movement. Out of the charismatic movement there was the evolving of a concept called “shepherding.”

The Latter Rain movement actually had its earliest beginnings in the late 1800’s and was born out of the Methodist and Holiness camp-meeting environment. It would continue to generate momentum and experience growth during the post-World War II years and be much encouraged by the Charismatic movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Marked by extreme excess and abuse of the gifts of the Spirit, this activity led to the production of “prophets” who had little use for personal holiness and consecration. After a while it appeared that they only had a desire for their own personal kingdoms to grow.

As time went by these intruders became susceptible to moral and ethical failures. The subsequent fallout from their failures caused many who followed them to be led astray by their repulsive actions. In an effort to recover from these shenanigans a group of leaders came together and formed what was called “The Shepherding Movement.” Bob Mumford, Derek Prince, Charles Simpson, and Don Basham were the primary founders of this loosely formed organization who determined that its sole purpose would be to form a system of personal accountability. Later a fifth leader, Ern Baxter would be added to make up what was referred to as the “Fort Lauderdale Five.”

They decided that their work would be modeled after the pattern of Paul mentoring his sons in the faith, Timothy and Titus. They would work toward building a system of accountability that would form deeper relationships among pastors, ministry development at all levels, and ethical standards with emphasis on moral and financial dealings.

The whole system worked with the idea that anyone who came into the church needed a “shepherd.” After witnessing the moral collapse of several prominent men, this seemed to be a good and necessary thing. Who could object to the need for spiritual leadership and accountability? It became very heavy on authority and control in a manner that even simple decisions of daily living had to be monitored and approved by the pastor/leader of local congregations.

As an example, the leader would have to make the final decisions on car purchases, home mortgages, and job opportunities. In some cases, the “shepherd” would designate who young men and young women would marry to the degree that the marriages were arranged and carried through. The “shepherd” would have almost complete control over the personal finances. The parishioners would bring their paychecks to him and he would cash them and take his cut which was oftentimes more than 10% and give them the remainder. So as you can see the role of the pastor changed into an extreme form of authoritative control.

Some of the characteristics of the Shepherding system are as follow:

• Discipleship only takes place when one is committed to the group, cell ministry, and its leader.
• The only hope of salvation is extreme devotion to the shepherd of the group. This indicates the leader has more power to save than does Jesus Christ.
• Jesus Christ does not work directly in the life of the follower but rather He works through a system of delegated authority that flows down from the shepherd. You are to submit to this man as you would submit to God.
• Our relationship with God is not primary but rather it works in tandem with the power of a shepherd who has total control over the present, material world we live in.
• Our obedience to the shepherd and his direction is to be unquestioning even if it is discovered to be faulty. The idea being that God is more concerned with submission to authority than the nature of the orders being given.
• The shepherd is an extension of God and we are to allow him to have the final say in every decision that we make in life.
• Our submission to the shepherd causes us to come under the “umbrella” of his authority so that our response to his control opens to us a “door” of God’s approval.

While all of these components may have a portion of truth in them, they have the ability to seriously hinder the sanctifying work of the Word and the Spirit in the believer’s life. Over the course of time, a leader who operates in this manner is throwing wide open the door for corruption to gain entrance into his soul (If you haven’t read the Perils of Power by Richard Exely, it is a very good book on this matter although somewhat dated). Very few leaders have the consecration of a Cross-driven life to maintain this kind of leadership for a long period of time. In fact one writer noted that there is a dark side to every leader that has to be constantly brought into the presence of the Lord for careful scrutiny by the Spirit. The dark side of a personality has been affected with examples, emotions, expectations, and experiences that come during a lifetime of service for the Lord. Some of them are spot on and others are faulty.

The entrance of the “shepherding” leadership model entered our ranks through two other influences. While many men were vigilant against the excesses of the Latter Rain and would not be taken in by the ideas and concepts of the Shepherding Movement, our guard was dropped a bit with the influence of the works of Watchman Nee.

The books The Spiritual Man and Spiritual Authority had an appeal because of their seemingly very simple directives that led to a “deeper spiritual life.” Because of the rampant promotion of revival, renewal and outpouring, the door was opened for the influence of these writings. The Spiritual Man had a greater appeal for a deepening spiritual life that promoted prayer and a sensitivity to the work of the Holy Ghost among both leadership and laity. While there are some solid Scriptural principles in The Spiritual Man, Nee had a tendency to lean toward a heavy sense of mysticism and subjectivity when it came to understanding Scripture.

The second book, Spiritual Authority, made inroads to those who were in positions of spiritual leadership. It promoted the concept of unquestioning obedience even if the advice was suspect or even faulty in doctrine. In some cases the emphasis of the book even insinuated that if the pastor was absolutely wrong in his leadership, the people were still supposed to follow him. Nee believed that God would not hold the people responsible but rather the leader would be held responsible.

I am certain that deep within the heart of every authentic godly pastor there is a great desire for holiness, harvest, prayer, and the Word. Sometimes the passion for these elements of the Kingdom of God overcomes the ability to honestly discern what may be bad for the apostolic church. If zeal is not tempered and directed by knowledge it can lead to the downfall of many. Through the influence of personal consecration in prayer, devotion to Scripture, and well-placed elders a minister can find a sense of spiritual safety. But that sense of safety is very carefully preserved by having a sense of discernment. At some point, discernment always forces us to make choices that will separate fellowship from those who abuse their authority.

The second influence besides Watchman Nee also approached very subtly. It was through a role that Bill Gothard would play. Through his books and his seminars, Gothard managed to influence those who were willing to give credence to his material. Bill Gothard appealed to the apostolic movement because of his very structured and conservative views on lifestyle. In fact, his teachings promote personal purity, morality, and a devotion to the Bible as the greatest guide to life. Those who follow Gothard manage to live by his checklists and formulas and through behavior modification seem to promote righteousness.

Throughout his writings concerning life principles that are set about in series of “conflicts,” there are continuous inferences concerning absolute submission to authority and the problems of rebellion. While some of his principles in both of these matters carry some weight, they can get out of control very quickly. Gothard popularized the idea concerning the “umbrella” of authority. He believed that a pastor had ultimate authority that was never to be questioned. Those who were under his “care” would find protection if they submitted blindly to his teachings. To the spiritually discerning, it should be very easy to understand how dangerous that this position of ministry can be to even the man whose motives have been completely purified by God through sanctification and suffering. A pastor/elder who has no one to whom he answers to will at some point make a terrible decision that will affect many of those that he is trying to lead.

I will never forget a friend of mine, who had a busy itinerant ministry all across the United States in the mid-90’s, recommending a book to me. He had managed to gain an entrance to preach in some of the more prominent leaders churches’ during that period of time. In one place, he was told that if he wanted to replicate what he saw in that church as far as growth, numbers, leadership, and direction that he should read a book called Atlas Shrugged. When he called me late one night and recommended that book to me, I had never heard of it. But all of us young guys wanted “success” and so over the next few days (this was before the internet and all the gadgets we have now) I scoured various bookstores and finally found a copy at the library. The book was written by Ayn Rand who I soon discovered was a proponent of the survival of the fittest mentality with the concept of crushing any opposition that attempted to oppose the progress that was being promoted. It was shocking to me to discover that this humanistic and secular kind of fodder was being used to build a spiritual kingdom.

Lastly, I remember another time that a pastor who was a bit older than I was told me that if I would follow the principles by Watchman Nee in Spiritual Authority that I would build a “big” church. I soon determined I wasn’t so much interested in building a “big” church as I was a godly, faithful, and righteous church and to do that I would have to pray and teach/preach the Bible and by being a sower, God would let the growth take care of itself.

More tomorrow. . .

Thanks for reading. . .

The Dark Side of Spiritual Abuse -- Part 1

2012-01-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

For the last six weeks or so, I have been researching, reading, and taking notes from various places concerning the difficult subject of spiritual abuse. One of the reasons for my doing this is in preparation for a theological forum to be held in Albany, Georgia in a few weeks. It is being organized by the former president of Texas Bible College, J. R. Ensey, and hosted by Pastor Steve Waldron.

Back in the summer, Brother Ensey sent out an e-mail soliciting papers to be written on various subjects and after musing through the choices, I started thinking more along the lines of a pastoral theology kind of subject. Although I am not quite sure how I finally settled on this particular issue, I have been thoroughly enlightened on this subject.

In the past, I have written on church trouble from the angle of people in the congregation who found great enthusiasm for tormenting pastors until they finally ran them off. The religious landscape is littered with men who no longer pastor churches and gave up the calling of a ministry because of a situation where they found themselves in great contention with the hidden powers that ran the church. If you are interested you may read those old Barnabas Blog posts from a couple of years ago (Part 1 & Part 2). Since writing those posts, I have observed a few more of these unfortunate situations as they unfolded.

On the other hand, there are also churches that have had endure terrible abuses at the hands of heavy-handed, manipulative, and dark pastors who fall into the category of being a spiritual abuser.

I must say from the outset that this kind of activity to me is totally foreign because of the environment that I grew up in with my own pastor (and now father-in-law) Joe Patterson. Because of his spiritual leadership, I grew up with the idea that the church was the most incredible, warm, and safe place on the earth. It was only after I begin to travel around a bit and grew up some spiritually and mentally that I was exposed to the dark side of the church and ministry. To be quite frank with you, it was a bit unnerving and initially faith-jarring.

Once I saw the dark side, I was forced to go back to Scripture and really analyze what the church looked like in its early stages. I discovered that Pentecostals have a very romantic view about the early church and usually see nothing but a bunch of miracles, exponential numerical growth, and great displays of spiritual authority and power. However, every where the early church went there were problems and generally the problems had a name on them with a body attached. Paul’s struggle with the raging beasts at Ephesus no doubt had a human body attached to it!

When you look at the book of Acts from a chronological standpoint, it covers a 30 to 40 year time frame, depending on what scholar that you read. Furthermore when you look at it from a geographical point of reference, there were hundreds of thousands of square miles covered. So from the vantage point of time and space, there weren’t miracles and amazing growth going on every day. There was a lot of trouble mixed up with the expansion of the church. Correlate that with Paul’s catalogs of calamities in 2 Corinthians 11 and you will see a man paying a heavy price to be involved in the expansion of the Kingdom. Tie that in with the words of Ananias in Acts 9 which were directly from the Lord when Paul was informed by God that he must suffer, and then it puts the whole process into proper and much clearer perspective.

So the Scripture helped to shed some light on my faulty view of the church. There are troubled people who come into them including laity and leadership. These people who refuse to allow the Cross to really transform their lives can very easily become spiritual abusers. While the Church Trouble series highlighted the abuse that comes from the pew, my paper opened up the avenue of when abuse comes from the pulpit.

There were four books that particularly helped me to gain some insight into the whole concept of spiritual abuse. The first one was a book that focused primarily on leadership patterns by Gary McIntosh and Samuel Rima entitled “Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership—The Paradox of Personal Dysfunction.” They did a very good job of shedding light on the reasons that leaders can go bad. The second book was one written by David Johnson and Jeff Van Vonderen called “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.” There were a lot of helpful case studies that were scattered throughout this book that showed how the culture of spiritual abuse can develop in a closed church system. Two books by Stephen Arterburn called “Toxic Faith” and “More Jesus, Less Religion” also caused me to look at ministry in a whole new way.

Over the next few days, I have the intentions of sharing some observations about spiritual abusers.

Thanks for reading. . .

Let's Pretend

2011-09-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

For the sake of getting you to think, let’s pretend. Let’s pretend I am a physician. Let’s pretend you have a family member (spouse, child, parent, etc.) who is hasn’t been feeling well lately. To make it even more pretend, put someone’s name in the blank. So anyway, you come to see me and tell me that they are having back pain that is intermittent but at times it is very intense.

Let’s pretend that I press on their abdomen, press on their back, and elicit a few grunts of pain. Let’s pretend that I tell you that I don’t think it is anything serious but just in case, I would like to order a CT scan. Let’s pretend that you take your family member to get the scan and then return to see me a week later.

Let’s pretend I have the results and pull up the scan on a monitor in the exam room. Let’s pretend my trained eye notes something that your untrained eye does not see. Let’s pretend there is a tumor sitting in the middle of one of your family member’s kidney. Let’s pretend that I have noticed that you and your family member are very nice people. Let’s pretend that I don’t want to give you the bad news. Let’s pretend I don’t want to say, “One of your kidneys has a tumor in it and we need to get a biopsy to make sure it is cancer.” Let’s pretend my training has taught me that renal carcinoma is highly treatable in its early stages and with surgery, possibly chemotherapy and radiation, a full recovery can be enjoyed.

Let’s pretend that I think, “I don’t want to tell them the bad news because they are such nice folks.” Let’s pretend that I say, “Your CT looks good, probably just a back strain, and I am going to give you a script for Lortab for pain control.” Let’s pretend that I enjoy the looks of relief on both of your faces.

Let’s pretend that you fill the script for Lortab and your family takes several runs of Lortab since I have given you a refill option for several passes. Let’s pretend six months later, the back pain returns with a vengeance and suddenly frank blood shows up in their urine. Let’s pretend that you jump in the car with your heart in your throat and worry ripping your mind apart. Let’s pretend you get to the ER and the friendly ER physician gives your family member something for pain and then says that he wants to get a CT scan.

Let’s pretend that two hours later, the ER physician returns with a grim look on his face and says, “I am sorry to tell you but it looks like the abdominal cavity is full of tumors that has spread to various organs.” Let’s pretend that he asks, “Have you seen a physician recently?” Let’s pretend that you say back to him, “Yes but it was six months ago and he told us that it was a back strain.” Let’s pretend that you are referred to an oncologist and he informs you that the previous scan six months ago showed the problem and could have been corrected with surgery, chemo, and radiation. Let’s pretend you spend the next six months working with hospice to keep your family member as comfortable as possible.

Let’s pretend that it is just before the holidays in December. Let’s pretend that you are sitting at the graveside and you hear but you don’t hear the words of the ministers. Let’s pretend they read the last passage of Scripture and pray the last prayer over your loved before they are lowered into the ground in that silver casket. Let’s pretend you feel overwhelming grief and sorrow and regret. The grief and sorrow over the loss and the regret that all of it could have been prevented.

Let’s pretend that one year later, you are awarded a five-million dollar settlement for medical malpractice. Let’s pretend that I, the physician who did not want to give you bad news, never see you again. Let’s just try to pretend that you determine that all of it could have been prevented but medical malpractice cost the life of your loved one.

Now, let’s quit pretending. I am not a physician but I really am a preacher. I know that you are lost but I don’t tell you because I don’t want to upset you with the fact that you are a sinner and that there is a holy God you will have to face after this life. I don’t want to tell you the bad news so you can understand the good news. Instead I only preach comfort, encouragement, blessing, prosperity, and motivational stuff but I never tell you really what the Scripture says. In the quiet, alone moments your mind tells you that there is more than what you are hearing but the rat race of life rarely provides moments of quiet introspection so that thought gets blown off. Don’t be fooled, we will end up either in Heaven or Hell, no in between, and no opportunity for a second chance. This is real life and you can’t pretend.

A physician can be sued for medical malpractice. Shouldn't a preacher be able to be sued for religious malpractice? Sad to say but people rarely think of things in this way. A soul is far more valuable than a human body is yet most people never even entertain that thought.

If you are one who hears a preacher, you have a responsibility to know what the Bible says for yourself. If you are one who preaches, you have a greater weight of responsibility to get it right because your words will either bring eternal life or eternal death. Get it right!!!

Book Recommendation--In Light of Eternity--A Biography of Leonard Ravenill

2011-09-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

I will never forget the first Leonard Ravenhill book that I bought and read. I had just started by first year (1989) at TBC and one of my instructors, A. B. Keating, mentioned a book to us in class by Ravenhill entitled “Why Revival Tarries.” It was not too long afterwards that I went to a conference and found a paperback copy that I still have this day. Ravenhill is not for the faint-hearted and I have a feeling that most probably would not warm to his writings too well especially in our entertainment driven age.

Ravenhill writes in such a way that you can grasp the majesty of God and immediately understand the frailty of man and his efforts to go through the motions of the ministry. Ravenhill’s books are always very good for personal revival and spiritual renewal. I have especially benefited from his books during the early months of every year when there is a tendency to want to stretch the soul. I would encourage you to read all of his books and then set aside a time for personal revival. Ravenhill will convict and encourage you all at the same time.

Up until yesterday, I was unaware of any biographical material on Leonard Ravenhill who died in 1994. However, I stumbled over a biography that was written by Mack Tomlinson in October 2010 entitled “In Light of Eternity.” It is a 600+ page book and it is well worth your time either downloaded through Amazon of purchase of the hardbound copy. I spent much of the evening and morning with this biography and it is one of the best biographies that I have ever read.

Tomlinson goes into a very good historical account of Ravenhill (whom he calls Len in his book) of the early days of revival in England. This is immediately prior to Hitler flexing his muscles in the late ‘30’s. Tomlinson explains the itinerant evangelistic ministry of LR and several other young men as they walked across England which is 400 miles twice from 1931-1937. They only had their Bibles and sleeping bags and what few clothes they were wearing as they worked closely with the holiness movement that was brought to life by John Wesley. Much of their preaching was open-air either on street corners or under tents at the edges of the towns they went through.

Tomlinson does an excellent job explaining about the patterns of prayer that LR and his cohorts gave themselves to. They spent entire days in prayer leading up to their nightly evangelistic singing and preaching events. As I read this account, I could not help but think about what a pastor from across the country said to me the other day, “You can hardly find a praying evangelist much anymore. They are too busy playing golf or fishing during the day.” Perhaps the same could be said for the ministry at large. There cannot be very much spiritual success achieved in our churches without the prayers of its leaders.

There is a chapter that Tomlinson devotes entirely to the pastor and his prayer. In this chapter, he also wrote about some of the avenues and discipline of prayer that Ravenhill undertook. It is both inspiring and convicting to read of this man and his praying. Some of the quotes from this chapter follow:

I’ve always loved books and I collect them. I hope to collect more. There’s a two-volume Life of William Booth by Harold Begbie and two volumes on Hudson Taylor, The Growth of a Soul and The Growth of a Work of God. . . I see more and more that the weapon God has give us is prayer. Jesus’ disciples never said, “Lord, teach us to do miracles; teach us to heal; teach us to preach.” But they did say, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

Samuel Chadwick, who was Ravenhill’s teacher, wrote: The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from prayer. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil and mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray. No man is greater than his prayer life.

Tomlinson wrote about some of Ravenhill’s preaching concerning prayerlessness: In his lifetime, the twentieth century American church had forsaken the historical practice of a daily or weekly prayer meeting, which was only a downgrade in his view. He would offend or awaken pastors by telling them the weakest thing in any church is the prayer meeting. Leonard directly connected the effectiveness of true ministry with the prayer life of a church.

From one of Ravenhill’s sermons: Oh, my ministry brethren! Much of our praying is only giving God advice. Our praying is discolored with ambition, either for ourselves or for our denomination. Perish the thought! Our goal must be God alone. It is his honor that is at stake. . . Do you have a weekly prayer meeting in your church? Your answer reflects how spiritual you are and how much you are depending on God or on human ability and organization. . . If we are weak in prayer, then we are weak everywhere.

From another sermon: Can we let our swords rust in the scabbards of doubt? Shall our prayer harps hang tuneless on the willows of unbelief?. . . I pray that you and I might covet something of this holy art of intercession. . . Prayer is taxing and exacting. Prayer means enduring and denying self, a daily dying by choice. It is wrong when, instead of praying, we do things just to please others. . . What a millstone the preacher has around his neck if he is not a praying man!

There are two other extremely provoking chapters later on in the book. Chapter 17—Preaching: The Most Serious Thing In the World and Chapter 18—The Marks of a True Preacher are very good. There are five appendices in the back that are very good resources to help you find LR’s sermons (MP3) and books on the internet. Most of the MP3s are free.

As E. E. Jolley used to say, “This sentence (or paragraph or chapter) is worth the price of the book!” You will find the whole book to be profitable for you.

You can get it from Amazon for Kindle users or you can purchase the hardbound copy.

Pastor J. H. Osborne On Sermon Preparation -- Part 3

2011-09-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the last post on some more observations (Part 1, Part 2) from Brother Osborne’s advice he gave to a group of young men in Bossier City, Louisiana on October 27-28, 2003 and October 25-26, 2004.

7. Discipline Your Days

For every man who is called by God to preach it will have to be more than just a passing fancy with him. You must have an element of endurance and to do that a sense of discipline will have to be developed about the way that you live your life. In Egypt the water was carried from the Nile so the children of Israel could have water in Goshen. When Elijah was at the Carmel showdown, prior to the fire falling the water had to come from the Mediterranean Sea so the salt could be placed on the sacrifice. After you have been in the ministry for a length of time, it becomes work that you have to make sure you continue to fulfill. This will not be an easy task. You will come to the place where you preach far more out of the responsibility of your calling than the inspiration of your calling.

If a man jumps into the ministry without counting the cost, the perils of privilege will ultimately be the demise of your life. To be an able minister means that there will be a level of anointing that will carry you along however anointing and purpose are very closely related and the purpose you have will dictate the place in life that you live up to. Discipline helps us to find and fulfill this purpose.
Men who do not have discipline of ministry—prayer and ministry of the Word—will be a man who is out of place. When men are out of place, he lives in a state of massive frustration. There are some downward steps that will be noted.

Misplacement, discontent, and a lack of roots will mark that ministry. An example of this is how that Saul took the best and turned it into the worst and David took the worst and turned it into the best.

Discipline of your days means that the power of the journey is in the ability to take one more step. That is where greatness will be won or lost because it is the greatest challenge of all—day in and day out continuation in what you have been called to do. Never forget that a measure of grace has been allotted to you to fulfill this great task.

8. Odd Books Sometimes Birth Great Sermons

Brother Osborne encouraged that one look beyond his standard patterns of reading. One such sermon he mentioned that came to him when he ran across a book called “The New Goat Handbook.” He took the characteristics of goats and worked with the passage in Matthew concerning the goats separated from the sheep. I am sorry to say that I did not write down the analogies that he used on this part of the lecture. However I do remember some of the points to be hilarious and others to be very sobering.

Another book he mentioned that produced an out of the way sermon for him was from a book “How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found.” It was a book he ran across while browsing in a Books-A-Million. One of the reasons that people disappear completely is because they try to take on too many roles in life.

He mentioned that a minister gains sermons because of a sovereign act of God, a need in the church, or an experience that births the message. During these times our prayers are more heart-felt because of what we have to endure.

How a minister handles the Word of God is also very important. He cannot handle it in such a way that personal agendas and impure motives are behind his preaching. He cannot use it in a way that is deceptive to what the intent of the passage is about. His life has to be God-centered and prayerful if the text is to come through in a way that will help the church.

9. Use Your Ability to Observe Things

Sometimes in the hustle of ministry, preachers get in a rush and often miss things that will come out by the simple power of observation. Between Genesis 16 and 17, there is a thirteen year time gap. Kids grow up, people change homes, jobs, and various things during a time gap like that. He mentioned taking this text and preaching a sermon called “When You’re All Done, Then God Becomes Almighty.” It centered on the actions of Abraham trying to accomplish the promise of God through human means. It ended when Ishmael was born and for 13 years, Abraham probably thought he had done God a favor but in Genesis 17, God becomes Almighty and Isaac enters the picture.

There is another avenue of expression which will require the use of imagination in preaching and that is making an observation of the unnamed characters in the Bible. He went to 2 Samuel 12 and began to take about the unnamed characters in Nathan’s parable. He noted the rich man to be David, the poor man to be Uriah, the great herds were David’s wives and concubines, and the little lamb was Bathsheba. David became angry with the “man” who took the poor man’s lamb. David was agitated enough to want to kill this “man” not realizing that he was the man.

However, Brother Osborne picked at the traveler, the wayfaring man. He began to describe him as a hungry traveler. In Job we find the devil to be a traveler roaming to and fro. The wayfaring man passed through and the lamb was devoured and then the traveler left. He had his meal and then he left the wreckage behind.

There is a traveling appetite that has laid low many a man and it left David with the lament of a life-time. David had to bury the past, marry the present, and produce the future. I would have greatly enjoyed hearing Brother Osborne preach this sermon but he only gave about a 5-7 minute treatment of this passage showing us how to use observation to create something worthwhile with imagination. This is where meditating on the Scripture brings great dividends to preaching.

10. Fellowship Is Crucial

The good man will always be inclined toward being with other good men. Men we meet are like tributaries that flow into rivers. Whatever is in the tributary, good or bad, will feed the life of the preacher and will affect how he lives. If dirty water flows into your “river” (i.e. soul) you are going to develop a dirty “river” but if good water flows into your “river” there will be a great deal of clean thoughts present there.

There are three aspects of preaching: The Logos which is the way that the Word is reasoned out and it will not change. The Pathos is the passion by which a preacher will deliver the message. The Ethos deals with the ethics or credibility that a preacher has. The Logos is what it is! The only way for it to be changed is for false doctrine to come into play but in the end, the Logos cannot change. However, both pathos and ethos are very strongly affected by who a preacher fellowships with. The Word is unforgiving to those who do not have high ethics. Furthermore there are times when there is no right or wrong thing to do but rather what is the honorable thing to do!

If a preacher always runs with rascals (Brother Osborne’s choice of wording), he will soon become a rascal himself. However, if a preacher is very careful and makes good choices about what “tributaries” he allows to empty out into his life, it will be a very honorable thing.

11. What Carrot Do You Chase?

This aspect of the time in 2004 was more of a life lesson than one dealing with the elements of sermon preparation. Although most preachers soon understand that how they live their lives will greatly affect what the quality of their ministry will be. A surgeon does not need a “fresh anointing” every time he does surgery. But the unique situation with the ministry is that we must have an active and fresh touch of God on our lives every day to effectively do the will of God.

It is normal for all men to seek for some measure of success in the ministry. There will be a carrot that he will chase. However, the mule never gets the carrot, he only gets hay! What is the carrot that motivates you? What keeps you going to visit the sick? What keeps you praying for the folks you are called to serve as pastor? What keeps you preaching even to deaf ears? What pushes you to go back at it again? What consumes you to pull the weight of ministry? What is the overall motivating factor of ministry for you? The list could go on and on. There are a lot of men who are under a delusion about what the carrot really is.

In Matthew 19:27, Peter was under the impression of gaining something for his efforts. Yet when you really analyze the men the Lord worked with, many of them were down and outers. In fact when the Lord turned away a man who had some means, it aggravated Peter. The Lord then informed him that a rich man will have a more difficult time getting to heaven than a man who does not have anything.

One of the most difficult things about ministry is that often the carrot will change. The ministry is not an inheritance or a house, the Lord is what we get out of the ministry. The Lord said, “I AM” your inheritance. The Lord has to be enough to get us into the place of duty because you will get bored/frustrated with the carrot chasing. You will get bored once you get it or you will get frustrated when you can never reach it. States of boredom and frustration are disastrous times of ministry because far too often poor choices are made during these times.

Be careful about what carrot you choose to pursue!

Thanks for reading. . .

Philip Harrelson

Pastor J. H. Osborne On Sermon Preparation - Part 2

2011-09-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

This is the second part in the series given in sermon preparation by J. H. Osborne. The first part is here.

4. There Has To Be Something “More”

Paul picks up a striking illustration in 2 Corinthians 11. When he begins to bring about a defense of his ministry to his detractors he finally tells him that he is more than what they are. Why would he say something like that? He tells them that he is more because of what he has come to suffer in his own life. If you are not willing to go through some things in life your preaching will be very shallow. The “more” part of your life is going to be something that will bring life to others.

Shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonments, and loneliness were all things that Paul had to endure to bring about hope to the lives of the hopeless. Trouble in life always helps a minister to bring about hope for the lives of people. Find the hope in Scripture!

Some might say that there is no hope in Judas going out and hanging himself. But when you oppose Judas with Peter, you can find some hope. Judas died at the end of a rope, Peter died when he went out and wept bitterly. When Peter failed at bring supper home with empty nets, Jesus cooked breakfast for him. Fail at Supper and He Cooks Breakfast! That is hope you mine out of the low ebbs of life. No matter how bad you have been, there is a God that can pull us from the doldrums of circumstances.

The things that were written for us are all for a deposit of hope to the lives of men (Romans 15:4).

5. Learn How To Make Inclusive Notes

Learn to get into the discipline of taking notes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (emphasis mine, not Brother Osborne’s). He mentioned that he had some sermon notes that he jokingly referred to as a “marathon.” It was eleven pages of material. He mentioned that some preachers proudly confess how they write down notes on napkins, toilet paper, paper bags, and so forth. They might scribble with a crayon or a worn out pencil and they seem to be proud of it. However, in the long term these kinds of notes end up being worthless no matter how good the sermon may have been simply because there is no retrieval system to work with. It is important for a preacher to have the ability to pull from his studies in the past.

(ADDENDUM: I am for preachers taking notes when they go to conferences, events, goat-ropings, and everything in between. You need a “capture” device whether it is an iPad or a Moleskin. Some time back I wrote a series of blogs on “How To Listen.” They are in four parts and might be helpful with your own note-efforts. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, & Part 4.)

Brother Osborne mentioned the need to take what he referred to as “inclusive” notes. You may not necessarily use all of the material or preach from all of the material but it helps you to master the content of what you have been studying. You need to discipline yourself enough to put down rigorous, solid, and legible notes so that if you were to give that set of notes to another minister, he could preach those notes without any difficulty.

Brother Osborne also mentioned that over the years he has worked at arranging his sermon notes in 3-ring loose leaf binders. He has thirty-seven of these for his thirty-seven years of pastoring in Indianapolis. In the front of each binder is a ledger to help him find the sermon and he has arranged all of them alphabetically by title. The paper in the front lists the title and the Scriptural reference so he can go back at any time and retrieve that message. These inclusive notes have created a library for him to work with.

He mentioned a sermon as an example that he had with him. It was titled “The Binding, the Blinding and the Grinding.” He starts out with the end of the message and then works backward in the life Samson. He started at the grinding post where he was grinding corn. He then covered the blinding by having his eyes burned out with hot irons, and finally on the lap of Delilah that led to the binding.

He was a Nazarite from birth and he had been separated from some things in his life. He had to stay away from anything that catered to the vineyard—its vines, its seeds, and its wine. He also had to stay away from dead bodies. But it was the seven locks of his hair that made him separated unto the Lord. It is not enough to be separated from the world, you also have to be separated unto the Lord. Ultimately the source of his great strength did not come from what he was separated from but what he was separated unto.

His eyes were not the factor and although he lost them, they would not grow back. It was his hair that made him separated from the rest of men of Israel. Although it was shaved, over time it grew back. Once it became restored back to him, the power of God could once again operate in his life. That is the hope in this message. Hair is the only part of the body that can be cut off, so to speak, and it will grow back. He failed everyone—his family, his nation, and his God but there is the possibility that he could gain it back.

The session concluded with again the reiteration of the point that until God stretches you with pain, no ministry will ever be conducive to helping others.

The following observations are from some notes I gathered in Bossier City, Louisiana on October 27, 2003. All of these sessions were delivered to ministers and some of the points he brought out was directly related to personal life with others being related to sermon preparation.

6. You Must Pursue Excellence As a Servant

From the life of Elieazar who was the steward of Abraham’s house a great lesson was drawn. He was the heir of everything that Abraham owned. That went well until Isaac was born and then everything changed because he was no longer the rightful heir. He encouraged us to make sure that when we were older to pass on our experiences to our “sons” so that they would not have to walk through all the valleys that we have been through. Abraham did not do this to Isaac. He allowed him to pick up and walk on from the point that he had brought him to.

Back the Elieazar and his pursuit of excellence. This bride that he was about to go and look for was going to cost him everything. In fact, after this incident Elieazar totally disappears from Scripture. The command of the Lord for every minister is to take the yoke and wear it and in that element of burden bearing we learn ways of the Lord that will never be learned in any other way. There is a great educational (and unending) process that will take place in the minister’s life. For us to present a bride to the Lord, it will cost us everything! Sleepless nights, unceasing prayer, endless sacrifice, the weathering of criticism and misunderstanding, and the task of dealing with the messiness of people’s lives and many other details are portions of the God-called minister.

In the OT, there are two uses for an ox. First, he was either out working the harvest or he was being offered on an altar as a sacrifice. That is where the ox-like servant, which is also a picture of the Lord, will spend his entire life; out working the harvest or being consumed on an altar of sacrifice. It is either a plow or an altar that a man will have to embrace.

Elieazar very well could have gone out and found the ugliest, scraggliest, homeliest little bride that he could but he did not lower himself to that. He found the best for the one who was replacing him as an heir. A pastor will have to take the same kind of care in working to get the most beautiful Bride that he can to present to the Lord. It will require every bit of the vision, determination, anointing, and perseverance to give yourself to making the Bride a clean pure lady for the Lord. This places a premium on preaching on holiness, prayer, evangelism, and service to the her. Do it with excellence!!!

More Later. . .

Thanks for reading. . .

Pastor J. H. Osborne On Sermon Preparation -- Part 1

2011-09-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

These are some notes that I took from a session that Pastor J. H. Osborne participated in at a young ministers meeting among the ALJC organization. I listened to the MP3 and gathered these thoughts from his session. In addition to these notes are some other things that I pulled out from when I went to the Fall Classic that Pastor Jerry Dean hosts annually in October in Bossier. I will make a designation so you will know what came from that event. In 2003 and 2004, Brother Osborne addressed about 50 men that were invited.

He mentioned that the only motivation and instruction he had came from one of the parishioners who told him, “You better be good because we have got a mortgage to make!” I think sometime I am going to do a blog about some of the crazy things that parishioners say to pastors. He felt that pressure to produce which is not all bad. One thing Brother Harrell routinely tells me is that Sunday comes around pretty regular. There are times when I am sure that every pastor feels like that it always seems like Sunday is the next day unless you are like my friend Ben Weeks who always has his gun loaded and stays ahead five or six at a time!

He also mentioned that in the early days not very many pastors were willing to share any of their notes, techniques, and methods for preaching. Many of those men were sermon graveyards and everything they did went to the grave with them. If we could gain from all the wisdom from the grave, it would be a huge blessing to us. Much of their progress in life never made it beyond the grave because of the lack of opportunity to pass it on to younger men.

Henry Clay, when he was about to speak out against slavery, was told by his closest friends that he shouldn’t make such statements if he wanted to be the President. His remarks were not going to help his cause but when he heard them out he answered them and said that he would rather be right than to be the President. This is what it all comes down to in life! Right in doctrine, in ministry, and in life needs to be the motivation for every man who is involved in ministry.

1. Look At Things That May Not Make Sense

When reading the Bible, there are events that are recorded that sometimes in reading them there is a tendency to think that it does not make sense that this character got involved with this, did this particular thing, or did not give himself to a particular action.

Ahithophel, who was one of David’s closest counselors and because of his human nature to hold on to things, changed his allegiance to Absalom. Absalom was doing his best to revolt against his father and now one of David’s strongest supporters became somewhat of a traitor. His counsel was like an oracle of God but when it was not received by Absalom the way that he felt like it ought to be, he went home and hanged himself. Actions like this that do not make sense in the grand scheme of things can be very ripe areas for sermons.

If a pastor was to go home and hang himself every time someone did not take his advice, you may as well leave the rope up. It just does not make much sense what Ahithophel did. There had to be an underlying source of motivation for his suicide. This is where the sermon production can grow. Find out what it was that caused him to do such a thing. Backtracking in his life, you will discover that he was Bathsheba’s grandfather and he apparently never could let go of what David did to her and killed her husband. When he finally figured out a way to retaliate against David, the plan did not work.

The sermon is worked out in this manner: Revenge eats away like a canker and it will destroy you. David had gotten over it, Bathsheba had gotten over it, God has gotten over it but Ahithophel never could get beyond it. This is typical for those who hold on to malice, anger, hate, and grief; it will end up killing them. This is the great value of letting things go and getting beyond it. The Old Hanging Tree! Look around you and you will discover that there are many people who are caught up in this kind of life.

2. Timing & Relevance

Timing and relevance is very important with preaching. A man can have a great sermon but if it is preached at the wrong time, it is going to be wasted. The revelation that you have has to be relevant. Brother Osborne made the analogy that if you happened to be called to work with a man that had been receiving care from a hospice, you probably ought not to start with the Tabernacle in the wilderness to explain salvation, you might need to move a little further over to the New Testament. The silver sockets and badger skins aren’t going to be very helpful despite the fact that you might have an awesome sermon on them! Sermons don’t necessarily need to be deep but it needs to be relevant to where they are living in life.

The badger skins came from porpoises in the Nile River. But the way that Moses got them was that their shoes were made of badger skins and they were needed to make the roof of the Tabernacle. So the children of Israel give up their shoes just before making a forty-year trek into the wilderness. That doesn’t make much sense! But when they had given up their shoes, God provides them with shoes that never wore out.

3. Cheap Bread (or The Cost Involved in Bringing the Bread)

John 6 mentions bread and Jesus identifying himself as the Bread of Life. In Matthew 4 the temptation took place in the wilderness and the devil tried to get the Lord to turn the stones into bread so he would be able to eat. All through the life of Jesus, he was a man who was very humble and his life would end in untold pain and rejection. He would finally suffer the excruciating and humiliating pain of death on the Cross. All of it had been laid out for him and his path was very difficult.

All three of the temptations were in actuality an easier path for the Lord to accomplish his goal. No need for divine order, future pain, and other matters that was required. The devil was simply offering the ability for him to get it all immediately. This is perhaps one of the greatest temptations to overcome.

He had been languishing in hunger and now his body is screaming for something to eat after the forty day fast. Just looking at this passage of Scripture and understanding these things is not particularly hard to grasp. In fact, when the Bible speaks of bread, in the general sense it is making the comparison to all food that would nourish someone. The word of the tempter always comes through our appetites. It was a reasonable solution to a physical problem. It was a cheap miracle that would have met the need for his hunger.

The reality of falling to this temptation would have meant that it would have set the tone for the rest of his life. It would have bypassed the whole set of necessary disciplines that his life was to be based on. Cheap bread would have saved him from the hardship and poverty. But instead of falling to the whims of his flesh, he chose to wait. In overcoming this pull for cheap bread, he then could go to prepare a feast that would meet the needs of everyone but it comes at a future point. The choice: Cheap bread today or wait and prepare a more expensive bread later that will feed the generations to come. He would have to eat alone if he chose cheap bread or in waiting, multitudes would be fed.

This generation of ministers is tempted by cheap bread. Bread that is painless and doesn’t cost anything will not last beyond the day. Cheap bread is not the plan or purpose of God for his church. The point to hammer home is this: Preaching genuine, heart-felt messages will not come some easy and painless way. There is a cost involved that is exacting, holy, godly, and excruciating but it will last beyond the day. Cheap bread always feeds the ego of a preacher but it does not last in the long run! Jesus chose to make bread in the costly way which put him on a trail of death. Yet through that death would mean redemption for all. His body is the bread!

The ultimate question: Does preaching feed the ego of the preacher or the needs of the people? The answer to that question helps us to understand volumes about a preacher’s motives.

Isaiah mentions bread corn that is bruised. The only way for bread to come about is for the corn or wheat to be ground to powder and then baked. Crushing, winnowing, and then the heat are the process that brings real bread. This is the way that God chooses to make His men preach the Gospel unflinchingly. There is going to be a great brokenness involved in a man who is going to be a true minister of Jesus Christ. You may fight it or you may settle for cheap bread and in the end, it will all come to nothing. Or you can resist the temptation to get involved in the trinkets of religion and pay the price!

More Later. . .

Thanks for reading. . .

Time to Sacrifice the Queen

2011-08-31T11:41:00.000-07:00

During an international chess competition many years ago, a man named Frank Marshall made what is often called the most beautiful move ever on a chess board. In a crucial game in which he was evenly matched with a Russian master player, Marshall found his queen under serious attack. There were several avenues of escape and since the queen is the most important offensive player, spectators assumed that Marshall would observe convention and move his queen to safety.

Deep in thought, Marshall used all the time available to him to consider the board conditions. He then picked up his queen—paused—and then placed it down on the most illogical square of all. He placed it in the square that the queen could be captured. He placed it in front of three of the most hostile pieces of his opponent. There was no way the queen would be able to withstand the attack.

Marshall had sacrificed his queen! It was an unthinkable move to be made only in the most desperate of circumstances. The spectators and his opponent were shocked with his uncanny move. But ten seconds after the move was made, the Russian chess master and the spectators realized that Marshall had made a brilliant move. It was clear that no matter when or how the queen was taken, his opponent would soon be in a losing position. Seeing the inevitable defeat, the Russian master conceded the game in defeat.

When the spectators recovered from the shock of Marshall’s daring, they showered the chessboard with money. Frank Marshall had achieved a victory in a rare and daring move—he had won by sacrificing his queen. By doing the unthinkable, he had won the match.

There are times in life when the most important thing to do is to sacrifice your queen. More often than not it is the key to gaining the greater measure of success. I am constantly drawn to the fact that men who are disciplined in life both spiritually and materially find a great measure of reward by sacrificing their queen.

Recently a fellow traveler in ministry pointed me in a direction to hear some great preaching and good advice by a man that was relatively unknown to me prior to 2003. I remember the very first message I ever heard this man preach and it only took about five minutes of hearing him to understand that this man was incredibly well acquainted with the Book. From all accounts, he had labored quietly in both discipline and obscurity and it had pushed him to a place of great depth.

As time has passed, I have had the opportunity to spend a brief amount of time with him. During that time he told me about his work ethic and it was clear that this man had sacrificed the queen a long time ago and it had paid huge dividends to him. The way he approached Scripture and then worked his mind with it was incredibly inspiring and I am a better man for being exposed to his instructions.

If you are going to accomplish anything great for God it will be because of a disciplined choice to sacrifice the queen, not once or twice, but regularly throughout your life. You cannot afford to buy into the idea that you only have to make one great sacrifice and then you are done. It has to be a constant ongoing process and one of the worst things that can take place in my life is for me to feel as if I have “paid my dues” so to speak.

You will encounter those who at some point in the past managed to sacrifice a queen and it gave them a measure of success. But then they never allowed themselves to be put in that role again perhaps because they felt like they had arrived or because they had “paid their dues.” Those who think they have paid their dues lose their humility and pride chokes their relationships. Those who think they have paid their dues get up every morning and drink a large glass of self-importance. Those who think they have paid their dues become an authority on everything (and everyone). Those who think they have paid their dues lose a connection with God because they don’t necessarily need Him. Those who think they have paid their dues put a lid on their life and never grow beyond that.

Sadly, I have known many people in the medical field and now in ministry related circles that stifle their own growth because of an inability to continue to grow spiritually and mentally. They hoard their queens by pulling rank with seniority, refusing any kind of continuing education, preaching old sermons and praying stale prayers. They give themselves to holding grudges, refusing to forgive, and then turning into bitter old souls because life did not meet all of their expectations. I have to battle against that tendency as much as the next man. Furthermore, I am learning the frustrating part of life is that the older that one gets the more of a tendency that there is for this process to take place. You have to do battle with yourself. Sacrifice the Queen!!!

Tomorrow starts a new month and it would be good for all of us to sit down before this day is over and write out a list of goals that we want to accomplish before September 2011 is completed. It may involve sacrificing your “queen.” Maybe I can help nudge you in a direction with some suggestions.

• Watch your spending. Figure out where your money is going. You will get to retirement a lot faster than you anticipate.
• Find some commitments and promises that you unintentionally did not live up to and go at them again.
• Clean off your desk!
• Get rid of the clutter!
• Wash your car.
• Get back on track with memorizing Scripture.
• Get back on track with your praying. Seek to have a life of fervent prayer.
• Preach your own sermons.
• Go see someone who is far advanced beyond you in your particular field and develop a friendship.
• Find some people you need to forgive.
• Spend time with some of the people you have been meaning to spend time with.
• Let go of the unrealistic expectations that you have for others and focus on getting your own backyard clean.
• Get back on your bike.
• Go back to the gym.
• Quit overeating.
• Post new blogs.
• Make sure that Twitter and Facebook are avenues of encouragement and your behavior is ethically clean.

Go sacrifice the queen!

Thanks for reading. . . . .

NAYC 2011-Columbus, Ohio - Day Four - Crosses Versus Mountain Dew

2011-08-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

We have had an awesome trip for the North American Youth Congress 2011 in Columbus, Ohio. The praise and worship, preaching, split teaching sessions, and connecting with people has been very enriching. However we are at sixteen hours and counting before we leave Columbus and head back to Dothan. Gracie’s picture sort of sums up how a lot of us feel right now. Half-comatose, worn-out, carb-overloaded, and sleep-deprived although as one of the old black saints once said, “My feets is tired but my soul is at rest!”

One thing that really stands out to me is how that technology is changing a lot of what we do. I have to confess that I have spent some time texting during the sessions primarily zipping messages to Twitter (@barnabas14 if you want to follow me). Also, the GYD has used technology in a couple of unique ways. For the talent contest, you are instructed to text your choice of singer to a certain number. Then last night, there were instructions of how to text an offering to the GYD to help defray the cost of the event. Many of the guys who have preached have used Ipads for their notes and the quarterbacks for the worship team have also used their Ipads for music lists (I think). Since I am not a musician, I am unsure of what they can do with Ipads.

This morning I missed the Jumpstart session because Stephen Williams wanted me to UPS him a DVD of last night’s message by Jimmy Toney, A Generation of Giants. For the Dothan bunch who are not aware of it, Stephen Williams and Jimmy Toney have been pretty connected at the hip for the last several years. So on the way to the media booth, I ran into Jimmy Toney and have tentatively scheduled an Accent Weekend in Dothan sometime in January. When I get home, we will nail down the dates and see when we can accommodate him. When I told those here who attended NAYC, they all were very excited about it.

After securing the DVD, I knew that the Jumpstart session was just about over and so I headed to the convention center for the young ministers session. It is probably a half-mile to three-quarters a mile walk from the Arena. Nathan, Jeremy, Stephen, and Chad caught up with me on the way. When we walked in the room, General Superintendent David Bernard was up on the front row awaiting the start of the session, so I took our guys up and introduced him to them. A memory-making moment for all of those guys, I am sure.

Brother Bernard addressed the room full of young ministers. I would guess that somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500-3000 were there. He started by saying that everyone needs to find a place to serve. As a general rule when you don’t know what to do just do what you know to do.

That involves personal spiritual disciplines, such as:

1. Prayer
2. Personal Bible Reading/Study
3. Personal Evangelism
4. Being Faithful to Church
5. Following Spiritual Leaders/Elders

Everyone who is called may not necessarily feel a call to a pulpit ministry but there are avenues that all can follow in the Kingdom of God. He also encouraged that a five year goal be set up in your life. You might consider a career that will help support you when you get involved in ministry. I personally believe that all who are in the role of ministry need to be able to build a “tent.” I get this from the fact that Paul was a tentmaker who could financially support himself during his missionary journeys.

Brother Bernard addressed the importance of a continued emphasis on doctrine, lifestyle, and evangelism despite the rapid changes that are taking place in our society. We cannot trade any of these things just for the sake of being relevant.

After that session was concluded we headed back across to the Nationwide Arena. On my way, a friend of mine, Myron Powell, who pastors in Omaha, Nebraska sent me a text and I have to admit that I skipped the general session because I was doing a little “hall” ministry. For about thirty minutes or so we had a great time of fellowship. Toward the end of the conversation, his wife came up and he introduced me to her. They are good folks who are representative of a lot of good faithful people who make up the fabric of the UPCI.

I would definitely be remiss if I did not tell you about Bucca's Italian Restaurant located in the Arena district. In 2006, Rhonda Lewis, Tina Caskey, and Regina Worley (aka "The Cooper Girls") sort of stumbled into this place accidentally. It has out of this world Italian food and when you walk in, one of the things they do is parade you through the kitchen on the way to your table. There was 32 of us today and the service was awesome, the food incredible, and the camaraderie fantastic. Go to the photos to see our experience.

One final thought. . . Most of us who have any inclination of direction have understood the UPCI has been challenged doctrinally by a number of men who fit into the role of those who crept in unawares mentioned by Jude. Some of the cardinal elements of separation from the world have also been mocked and sneered at by those who just a few years ago were preaching our camp-meetings, conferences, and regional meetings around the country. They were some of our so-called “top guns.” I have thought about some of those guys in the last couple of days and it is obvious to me that their influence wasn’t nearly as deep as they perceived.

There were a number of pastors, evangelists, and various ministers who had become quite frustrated by this sort of thing and in 2007 was sort of a watershed moment for us as a movement. We lost some good men in a deadly cross-fire of sorts. However, the pruning process also pulled away some dead branches and from my view this week, we are trending back in the right direction. While we will never have a day again when all seem to be doing the same thing, it is increasingly obvious that at least the direction has begun to turn back around. I salute all of the good, godly men who hunkered down in the trenches, and gave themselves to prayer, fasting, and ministry of the Word because it is paying off!

Six years ago, Mountain Dew was splattered all over the stage here in Columbus at NAYC, last night Jimmy Toney re-oriented us and a Cross replaced that little “relevant” trick. Don’t ever forget that there is power in the Word! I salute the General Youth Division: Shay Mann (President), Michael Ensey (Secretary), and Matt Johnson (Promo Director) for the outstanding job that they and their staff have done. They have a great hand in what is happening with the good shift in the UPCI.

Thanks for reading my NAYC ramblings. . . Headed to Dothan in the morning to see my little wife, Teresa.

By the way, the Pentecostals of Dothan should get ready for a fired-up bunch of young men and women Sunday!

NAYC 2011-Columbus, Ohio - Day Three - A Generation of Giants

2011-08-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

It took a while for us to come out of our comatose state this morning. However, it didn’t take long for the world to get after us. First a leaky iron to contend with and then Josh Sibley going around and knocking on doors and telling all the guys that the vans were leaving in five minutes proved to be a source of stimulation for us. We wanted to toss the iron and Josh out the window but we couldn’t do that because it would have broken the iron, I think Josh is already broke. We implored his wife and mother-in-law to do something but they said he was beyond their control.
The continental breakfast is very good at the Hampton and the lobby area is very large and very clean. Again, David and Shannon Goodwin did well with their selection of this place.

We had the vans loaded and going shortly before 9 and had everyone deposited at the unloading zone at Nationwide Arena by 9:20 for the Jumpstart session led by Paul Price. The New York Metro youth have a group called Wrighteous Word Drama that did a short but thought provoking skit about catching a plane to Heaven. They were followed by the Clark Brothers Band (and two sisters also) who sang through a medley of old hymns in bluegrass style. Even if you don’t particularly care for bluegrass you have to admit that this group of young men and women did an excellent job. I think that all of them are less than 22 years old and both of the girls were late teens. Closing out the Jumpstart session was the Woodlawn Drum Corp who also was quite talented if you like folks banging on drums with no other music.

Every year one of the things that take place in the mornings at NAYC is the split sessions. Numerous groups are divided up in various places around the convention center. They have a teen category, young adults, youth workers, young ministers, and one other session that slips my mind.

I always enjoy going to the Young Ministers group. This year I was particularly interested in going because a friend of mine was taking care of that session. Pastor Jerry Dean from Bossier City was in charge of that session and it was inspiring and convicting at the same time. I went to that session with Chad Kirkland, Jeremy McCoy, and Stephen Kovach.

Brother Dean mentioned that last night when GYD President Shay Mann was preaching that he looked around the arena of the 20,000 and thought to himself about the rejection that he had felt when he was growing up in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. Those were the days when Pentecostals were looked down on as a bunch of “holy rollers” who were ignorant, uncouth and probably looked on with the disdain of the unwashed. He told a story that hit very close to home with me.

He said that when he was in the gym class that because of his convictions, he would not dress out in shorts. Apparently his dad had already cleared it with the principal that the four Dean boys could participate but not dress out in shorts but the coach did not know this. He humiliated the Dean boys with a lot of sarcasm for their convictions and Brother Dean said he can remember to this day the red-hot embarrassment that burned his face that day in his high school when he felt all alone.

While his father did go to the school to speak to the principal about the matter, there never was a public resolution that came to it. The coach did apologize to the Dean’s but it was in private and it was never rectified in public before the gym class. I remember well several times having to endure the criticism of some fellow students and teachers during my days in school because of my own convictions. As time has passed, I have just realized that what we endured back then has helped us not to buckle in our era. Some may wonder why we are so protective of our separation from the world and worldliness it is because we have known what it is to endure much pain and rejection in the old days. My fear for the modern Apostolic Pentecostal movement is that the world accepts us far too well. I have a feeling if the truth were to really be known that one of the reasons that folks like Brother Dean’s gym coach fought him like he did was because the Dean boys’ lives convicted him.

Anyway back to the point, Brother Dean said that on Wednesday night when he looked around and saw all of the NAYC students worshipping, singing, praying, and preaching that he was so glad he did not toss what he had been given as a heritage. This was the leaping off point for him to inspire the young ministers.

He referenced Habakukk when he desired for the Lord to revive His work among men. That seemed to be the force of the United Pentecostal Church back in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s. He mentioned that we weren’t a very large movement back then but there were elders who gave themselves to preaching in such a way that men’s lives were challenged and changed. He named J. T. Pugh who passed away several months ago as one of those elders who inspired him to want to change the world. He told about preaching in small congregations that had ratty buildings but there was a genuine breakthrough of the Holy Ghost in those little churches. Folks were hungry spiritually and it was lived out by the way they lived.

He talked about Evan Roberts who at 22 years old stimulated the Welsh revival which in turn influenced the old Methodist church and the Holiness movement. Out of those groups came the hunger and desire that pushed the folks at Azusa Street to experience the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. Evan Roberts was a young man who had a heart for God and spent time memorizing Scripture and from the age of eleven until he was twenty-two, he memorized vast volumes of Scripture that would help him during the time of revival.

Robert’s actually started the Welsh revival on a Wednesday night after church. His pastor was not too keen on him preaching but told him that if he really wanted to preach that he could do so after he dismissed church and the people on that mid-week. When he dismissed the church, only seven old women stayed to hear him preach. He preached four points:

1. We need to confess all sin.
2. We need to remove anything in our lives that is a hindrance to your walk with God.
3. We need to hear the voice of the Spirit.
4. We need to publically confess all sin.

Those four points served as a hinge for revival for those Welsh folks and it began to extend beyond that church. Brother Dean’s point was that God can use young men who are called into the ministry to do great things for Him.

Brother Dean passionately preached to a large room full of folks, I would guess at least 2500 in three ballrooms at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center, about the North American church battling the Laodecian spirit. I won’t spend a lot of time with this because I have intentions of fleshing out a sermon on this theme in the near future.

Furthermore he preached about how those earlier generations had a great fear of the Lord and that is a very key ingredient that is missing in modern day America. To restore an honor and respect of God would put a lot of people back on the right path once more. We left inspired from that session and with some determination to do better with purpose, spiritual hunger, missions, and evangelism in the future.

The convention center where the split sessions are held are probably a half a mile from the Nationwide Arena. After Brother Dean finished we all trooped back down the street toward the Arena. It was a pretty amazing site to see all these people headed back to the general session where Jason Staten was going to preach.

I have met Jason Staten a couple of times in the past but have never heard him preach. His words were geared toward the youth and he did an incredible job. I took quite a few notes while he was preaching on “Misplaced Lamentations” from Judges 11:30-39. He preached about Jepthah’s daughter who met him in the gate after his great victory over the Ammonites. While I won’t continue to write a lot about his message, I did fire up my Twitter account while he was preaching and I post them below:

Dont be a halfacostal!... Jason Staten NAYC 2011

Jepthah's daughter misplaced her lamentation over her purity. Never weep over your spiritual and doctrinal purity... Jason Staten NAYC 2011

I have never heard Jason Staten preach b4 but he is banging it out of the park at NAYC 2011...

Does your Facebook profile and pics reflect your Apostolic identity? Jason Staten NAYC 2011

For the uneducated about Twitter you can only use 140 characters to send out a message to your followers, so that explains the short statements. There was a lot of inspiration flowing in the morning sessions.

After the general session was completed, we headed out for lunch. Last time we were in Columbus we ate at an amazing Italian place called Bucca’s. I think that Regina, Rhonda, and Tina accidentally found it and we all had a fine dining experience. When I went in today and asked about a group of 30, they said it would be 1 ½ to 2 hours to wait or I could make a reservation for tomorrow. So we are on for tomorrow at 12:45 to eat at Bucca’s although we are going to have to backslide and leave the general session early to get there. So all of you pray for our sorry souls that we won’t be in category of Esau who sold his birthright for a bowl of stew!

We ended up eating at Red Lobster which is right at our Hampton Inn. It was very good; food and service was awesome!

Back at the Arena for the last general session little did we know that one of the NAYC classic sermons would be preached. Jimmy Toney, pastor from Richmond, Indiana and alumni of Texas Bible College. He took his text from Ephesians 4:11-14 on “A Generation of Giants.” There was a strong call to make a difference in our generation with apostolic doctrine, sacrifice, commitment, and separation. At the end of the message, he climbed a 30-foot cross and the whole place again ended in an altar of commitment. My apologies for not going into more detail but my brains and writing are deteriorating.

On a closing point, we did manage to find somewhere to eat tonight. We went to White Castle which is similar to the Krystal’s that are scattered about in the south. Small hamburgers, great fries, and good milkshakes hit the spot for all of us.

One more day and then heading home. . . . By the way, don't let the day count confuse you, I started counting the day we left Dothan.

More tomorrow. . .

NAYC 2011-Columbus, Ohio - Day Two - Upside Down!!!

2011-08-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

After getting in the bed around 2 AM, we were about half brain-dead this morning and adjusted the schedule a bit and slept late. We left the Hampton Inn around 12:45 and went to a mall just down the road and ate in the Food Court. Overall they had excellent food that ranged from Chinese, Italian, and Deep South BBQ ribs and everything in between. After everyone had been fed and watered, we went to the Nationwide Arena where the North American Youth Congress is being held to register some of the additional folks who did not pre-register.

Chad Kirkland and I drove around the Arena district in search of a paid parking lot that was cheap and safe and we managed to find a parking garage off of Vine Street. This is where we parked six years ago when we were here and the walk from the parking garage to the Arena showcases the uniqueness of the district. Cobblestone walkways, rustic restaurants, and coffee shops are all within walking distance of the Arena. Columbus is one of the best areas to host a conference of any of the multiple ones that I have been to over the years.

When everyone got back on the vans to go back to the Hampton, you could tell that they were excited and ready to get things rolling on why they had made the trip. The theme is Upside Down from Acts 17 where it states that the apostles were the men who turned their world upside down. Just as the 1st century church needed such a demonstration of the Spirit, our world is in the same need in the 21st century.

By the time we got back to the Nationwide Arena, the crowds were beginning to pour in. While we parked the vans, our gang managed to lock down excellent seats for us in Section 121 right off the main floor. We were probably 25 yards from the platform. They started with the North American Music Talent Search which introduced five guys that I had never heard of. We listened and then sent a text message to somewhere out there where all text messages go for who we thought was the best one. I forgot the fellow’s name I voted for but did remember it was Male4. I think they will tell us the results tomorrow.

When this was over, the countdown for the opening night started with the roll-call of the states. Since Alabama is always first, I think we all get caught off guard when to yell out and it always comes across as sort of week. Of course, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, and Louisiana always blow the roof off with their yells because they have the biggest groups.

While I watched the electronic countdown, I thought of the hour-glass which only has so many grains of sand in it before it succumbs to the state of empty. When we see things like this, it ought to stimulate our thinking into doing something valuable with our lives. I think that my greatest fear is that I will waste my life on the superficial and immediate instead of investing in it a depth and consciousness of the eternal.

The General Youth Division announced an app for Iphones and Ipads. You can download it free through the app search function on a variety of smart phones and Ipads. One of the things they are encouraging students to do with a portion of this app is to memorize Scriptures. They have designed a Scripture memory system called M90 which will put you on track to memorize 90 verses in 90 days.

A fellow named Ryan O’neal got up and begin to promote Bible Quizzing. He did an awesome job and with the use of technological wizardry, he inspired many folks to want to get involved in Bible Quizzing next year. The content the next time will be basic Pentecostal doctrine. I found out later that this guy is the Arkansas Quizmaster.

Then the General Youth Division Shay Mann preached a sermon geared toward apps. He called it “Apostolic Apps” and proceeded to preach a very good message that was geared toward students. I will give you the three that he mentioned: Prayer, Praise, and Proclamation. I took a fair amount of notes and will have to add them at a later date. When he finished preaching, the whole place turned into a huge altar service. All parents who farmed out their kids would have been incredibly proud of the way they responded to the Spirit. Good kids are this bunch and those who came to ride herd on them got in the mix and we prayed with all of them. I have to confess that while Shay Mann was preaching, I resurrected my dead Twitter account and posted a number of things that he said. Very Good!!!

After all the great part, we ended the day in the same situation that we get into every year at NAYC and that is the restaurants all close down or require hour-long plus waits before we are served. So after driving a 20 mile search for a place to eat we ended up back at the Hampton to see what we can scrounge up. My guys and I loaded up on junk food in our room and then quickly collapsed knowing that 7:30 AM is coming quickly. We have our first session @ 9:30 and it is called jumpstart. We will certainly need some of that tomorrow!

More tomorrow. . .

NAYC 2011-Columbus, Ohio - A Funny Thing(s) Happened To Us On the Way

2011-08-03T00:51:00.000-07:00

We started early this morning heading north to Columbus, Ohio for the North American Youth Congress. A funny thing(s) happened to us on the way. We left Dothan at 7:45 AM two van loads of folks. We weren’t sure what to dub the folks in the vans; one the “cool” and the other the “uncool” or one the “quiet” and the other the “noisy.” That is what we finally decided on the “quiet” crew was the van I was driving: Stephen Kovach in shotgun, Tina Caskey and Rhonda Lewis in Row One; Regina Worley in Row Two; Caitlin Ulry in between Row Two and Three with Amanda Collette; and on the caboose, Christy Joyner, Hannah Worley, and Gracie Collette. (With Christy also in multiple places to during the trip.)

As for the other van driven by Chad Kirkland, I have no idea the seating arrangement but I do know they were loud! Nathan and Lauren Harrelson, Angela and Clay Forrest, Jeremy McCoy, Austin Collette, and Karah Loveless were the folks in the short bus.

I heard much stuff in my van. I shall relate to you how that Annette McCoy’s sisters threw her under the bus. They told on her about when they went to the last women’s conference in Montgomery back in April. She apparently goes to bed early so she can get up very early. Sometime around 4:30 AM, she comes out of her coma and sits quietly for 2 minutes and 36.6 seconds and then gets in Regina’s ear and tells her, “Get up Regina, somebody needs to get up and talk to me!” Regina apparently didn’t take this too well and told her emphatically to go back to bed. So Annette quits aggravating her and goes over to the coffee pot (which she brings with her) and starts banging around on the counter top getting all of her coffee gear together much to the duress of Regina, Rhonda, and Tina. They then start pleading with Sister Cooper to tell Annette to go back to bed. I thought sibling rivalry was over when you got to be twenty but these girls are keeping it going well into their forties!

Regina then told us a dog story. Poor Hannah can’t seem to have a dog and when she becomes an adult, I feel sure that her bouts with dogs is going to create all sorts of hang-ups, breakdowns, and so-forth because she has gone through about eight dogs in her eleven years. The latest one was Moe. He went to heaven Tuesday, a week ago. Regina said the poor dog must have been chasing cars and caught one or it caught him and he didn’t fare too well. Hannah goes out into the driveway to check on him and comes back in the house crying because poor Moe isn’t moving.

Younger brother Nicholas, who is five decides he needs to go investigate. When he comes back in the house, Hannah is on the phone with Regina and is telling her about poor Moe. Somehow little Nick manages to get the phone and report his version of things. No tears or regrets for him just cold, clinical, and composed he gives a description to Regina. “Momma, Moe has got blood on his mouth, he is laying in the driveway. Momma, he is shut down! Moe has done shut down!” While Regina is telling this we are all howling like poor Moe should have been last Tuesday. I can assure that hilarious things happen to our church folk who live in the country!

Then the conversation turned so she could throw Annette back under the bus again. Regina said that a few weeks ago, on a Sunday night after church, the crowd all piled into the southside McDonalds. I go every once in a while and when I have been there, there is usually 40 of our church folk in there and they sort of commandeer the place. This apparently happened that night too! Regina said that Annette sat down with them and was soon holding court with anyone who would listen to her.

On this night, Sister Sanders sat down next to Regina. After a while, Sister Sanders leaned over to Regina, and in her quiet, polite way told Regina, “I think Annette needs to see about that artery in her neck, it looks like it might be blocked.” Regina said she peered closely at Annette’s neck while she was talking and diagnosed the situation for Sister Sanders. She said, “Aw Sister Sanders, they ain’t nothing wrong with Annette’s neck. That is pure muscle. You get it from talking and since Annette is a talker, she has a big muscle in her neck.” Then she said that Annette says something about her fries being cold to which Regina replied, “Annette, those fires were as hot as firecrackers twenty-minutes ago but you have been talking so long that they got cold. Go ahead and eat them cold or throw them away there not faulty fries!” Again, we all are howling with laughter at Regina telling on her sister.

But then the story turned to Regina in which she told on herself. Six years ago, we came to NAYC here in Columbus and Regina got into a raging battle with a monster escalator. There is no way for me to do it justice and tell it like it needs to be told but suffice it to say that a few details might shed light on the whole affair. Regina falls backward on an escalator that is going up. Tina is behind her and trying to hold her up. Before it is over, Regina is on her back, Tina is bruised all over, purses are dumped on the floor, Hannah is laughing at both of them, and one old guy who happened to witness it all is so dumbfounded he can’t do anything but stand there with a gaping mouth. Hilarious stuff! I told them I would be happy to take my camcorder and do a video replay if they would try it again. Needless to say, this idea wasn’t received too well.

We were making great time until 1:30 PM when about 15 miles south of Athens, the “loud” van blew out a right rear tire. That set us back two hours and we pulled out of Athens with four new times and a lighter wallet but we had a thankful heart. This thing could have led to a terrible accident that would have affected us greatly. I cannot help but thing that on Sunday night when we laid hands on all those going, that God put a hedge of protection around them. While the tires were being changed, Chad and I waited at the Big 10 Tire in Athens while all the rest of the gang spent some time at Starbucks and a Nestle Tollhouse cookie shop.

When we got back in the van, we discovered that Rhonda, Tina, and Regina had gotten very serious with our girls and the conversation had turned to spiritual matters. Their words were well received by our bunch and it is in moments like this that we know that we really are an extended family in Dothan. In my thoughts, that old-fashioned Pentecostal church is the best one in the country. They practiced what I tried to preach to them on Sunday morning. They got involved in the ministry of refreshment and followed the lead of Onesiphorus.

Add in one other factor to all of this and you have a race. Josh and Emily Sibley along with Robbie Kovach were running hard to catch us all day. They left Dothan around 10, stopped in Ozark for lunch at 11 and then Josh drove like Jehu until he caught us in Bowling Green, Kentucky around 7:15 PM. From what I understand, Emily and Sister Robbie weren’t too impressed with Josh’s driving skills and by the time he caught us the cat had gotten all of their tongues. My advice to Josh: do what your wife and mother-in-law want you to do or you are in for a long miserable trip.

We rolled into Columbus, Ohio at 1:45 AM (OH time) to a very nice Hampton Inn which David and Shannon Goodwin had worked hard to plan for us to be here. Furthermore, John and Renee Butler got here about 2 ½ hours before we did and had all of our key cards ready and the rooms on high cool for us.

I am expecting this NAYC to be a good one for all of us who were blessed enough to attend. Pray for us!

More tomorrow. . .

A Presidential Challenge to Begin Summer 2011

2011-06-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

School is out! All of our summer church camps are over and I have a challenge for our church in Dothan. When I was in the 7th Grade, our history teacher, Mr. Richard Williamson passed out a list of questions concerning all of the United States Presidents. I will never forget the homework assignment of having to work with these 200 questions or so and having two weeks to get all of the answers for a major test grade.

These were the days prior to the internet and we had to use the library (some of this is tongue-in-cheek) with its massive card catalogs. In addition, we also had to use a set of books called encyclopedias which were a large storehouse of information on a multitude of subjects. If you were lucky, your parents had invested in a set of World Book Encyclopedias and there was a smaller accompanying set of books made up primarily of pictures with brief articles called “Child Craft” which was around 20 volumes. My parents thought it important enough for Mark and me to have and so they purchased the set to have in our home. I diligently searched through the books in the hunt for the answers.

Somehow I managed to find a book in the Reference Room at the Houston Memorial Library in Dothan that was totally devoted to the US Presidents. After accidentally finding this book, I discovered that many of the questions that Mr. Williamson had on the test came from this book. The problem was that you could not check books out from the Reference Room and had to use it there. My mother dropped me off at the library and I managed to spend several evenings in there working on this project.

Additionally that year, we had Mr. Charles McQueen for our biology teacher. He was one of the most colorful characters of all the teachers that I would have in my educational experience. However, he believed in homework. . . as in a lot of homework. One of his favorite tactics was to assign all the italicized words in a new chapter and then we had to write out the definitions and have it turned in to him three or four days after he had assigned them to be completed. There were usually 75-100 words in this particular assignment that was running along with Mr. Williamson’s presidential task.

So I have decided to challenge our youth group, Power Supply, in a presidential skirmish. The questions that are listed below are on the presidents. I realize that you have the internet and can probably tack down the answers rather quickly without learning a thing. That is not the goal! I would like to use this to get you to learn something over the summer about the presidents; in fact I hope this list will stimulate you to read some books about the presidents. It is important to read all the way through the questions because there are some stipulations at the end. The person who completes the questions in the award categories first with ALL of them being correct will find a small award.

1. He established the National Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture:
2. His wife died of apparent tuberculosis eighteen years before he become POTUS:
3. He appointed Roger B. Taney as Chief Justice to the U.S. Supreme Court:
4. This POTUS was nicknamed, Poppy:
5. He had four goals in his term of office and he achieved all four. 1) A reduction in tariffs; 2) The creation of an independent treasury; 3) A settlement of disputes with Great Britain over Oregon; and 4) the acquisition of California:
6. “Wealth can only be accumulated by the earnings of industry and the savings of frugality.”
7. Referred to the Soviet Union as the “evil empire”:

8. Defeated William Jennings Bryan, the free-silver Democrat, to become POTUS:
9. He proposed domestic legislation that he called the “Fair Deal” which repealed the Taft-Hartley law, reinstated the Wagner Act, increased price supports for farm products, improvements in housing, and the protection of civil rights:
10. The only POTUS to serve four terms in office:
11. How many Presidents were assassinated in office and who are they?
12. “There is nothing more corrupting, nothing more destructive of the noblest and finest feelings of our nature, than the exercise of unlimited power.”
13. This POTUS is the only one to ever have received all electoral votes cast, not once but twice:
14. His son died when train from Boston to Concord, New Hampshire de-railed in a terrible accident in January, 1853:
15. The POTUS that was involved in the Watergate scandal:
16. Who was the only President to never marry?
17. “We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves; that is our only commitment to others.”
18. Nicknamed “Ike”:
19. Was the POTUS during Black Hawk’s War when Black Hawk led Sac and Fox Indian warriors in the Wisconsin Territory and Illinois following the War of 1812:
20. His nickname was “Red Fox.”
21. What President served as the role of an executioner as a hangman prior to going to the White House?
22. What President as a young man had a fear of going insane (lyssophobia)?
23. Called for the famous “War on Poverty” in one of his State of the Union addresses:
24. He said, “There are two types of education. . . One should teach us how to make a living, and the other how to live.”
25. Nicknamed “Young Hickory of the Granite Hills”:
26. This President lost the sight in one eye while he was involved in his hobby of boxing while serving in the White House.
27. The oldest President to be inaugurated?
28. His home was Mount Vernon, Virginia:
29. He created the President’s Commission on Civil Rights on December 5, 1946:
30. His entire cabinet, except for Secretary of State Daniel Webster, all resigned in protest in September 1841:
31. Assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963:
32. Born in Milton, Massachusetts June 12, 1924:
33. Won the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in orchestrating an end to the war between Japan and Russia in the Portsmouth Treaty:
34. Who is the only President who never threw out a traditional “first pitch” to open the major league baseball season?
35. His main interest in Congress when he served in the House of Representatives was high tariffs because he believed this would protect farmers and laborers from cheap foreign competition:
36. “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”:
37. Was the author of Crusade in Europe; The White House Years: Mandate for Change, Waging Peace; and At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends:
38. Ran on the campaign slogan of “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.”
39. “You have summoned me in my weakness; you must sustain me by your strength.”
40. “And so my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
41. How many Presidents had already served as Vice Presidents before they were elected?
42. What college has the most Presidents as alumni and how many came from that school?
43. What President had a photographic memory?
44. His wife was nicknamed “Lady Bird”:
45. His nickname was “Ten Cent Jimmy”:
46. What President started the traditional “first pitch” of the major league baseball season between the Washington Senators and Philadelphia Athletics?
47. He pushed through the Embargo Act which closed the American ports to international trade on December 21, 1807:
48. Appointed Harold H. Burton and Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson to the US Supreme Court:
49. Who was the youngest President to be inaugurated?
50. He declared war on Spain after the USS Maine was sank in the Havana harbor:
51. The first and only POTUS to resign from office:
52. Delivered the longest inauguration speech of all the Presidents:
53. What President had a personal library of 6,000 books that became the formation of the Library of Congress?
54. Who purchased Florida from Spain for the cancellation of $5 million in debts and what year did this take place?
55. Appointed Oliver Wendell Holmes to the U. S. Supreme Court:
56. His nickname was “The Father of His Country”:
57. “Our government sprang from and was made for the people—not the people for the government. To them it owes an allegiance; from them it must derive its courage, strength, and wisdom.”
58. What President died on September 14 whispering the hymn “Nearer My God to Thee?”
59. Wrote Why England Slept and Profiles in Courage:
60. Called for the Strategic Defense Initiative, better known as Star Wars during his presidency:
61. What President was wounded in a duel and carried the bullet to his grave, although it was not fatal at the time?
62. Who was the first President to wear a beard?
63. This President was an excellent extemporaneous speaker and once delivered 140 speeches in 30 days?
64. “Wealth can only be accumulated by the earnings of industry and savings of frugality.”
65. He became the first sitting POTUS to be denied the nomination of his own party for reelection:
66. In his inaugural address, he announced the end of U. S. Navy patrolling in the Formosa Straits:
67. Appointed David Souter and Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court:
68. Negotiated the end of the War of 1812 for James Madison:
69. Who dedicated the Statue of Liberty on October 28, 1886?
70. Nicknames were “Young Hickory” and “Napoleon of the Stump.”
71. He was the POTUS when the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan:
72. The House of Representatives voted to impeach him for violating the Tenure of Office Act on February 24, 1868:
73. Only served one month in office before he died due to pneumonia:
74. His occupation prior to becoming the POTUS was surveyor, soldier, and planter:
75. “I have only two regrets: that I have not shot Henry Clay or hanged John C. Calhoun.”
76. Colin Powell was the Secretary of State for this POTUS:
77. Nicknamed “Old Man Eloquent”:
78. Appointed Byron White and Arthur Goldberg to the U. S. Supreme Court:
79. In his second term, Theodore Roosevelt, was his Vice President:
80. His Vice President was Thomas Jefferson:
81. A firm believer of Jeffersonian democracy and was skeptical of banks and paper credit:
82. Nicknamed “Tennessee Tailor”:
83. POTUS when the space shuttle Challenger exploded a little over a minute into takeoff:
84. He was the author of the New Deal:
85. The following states were admitted during his term; North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Kentucky:
86. Born April 23, 1791 in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania:
87. Nicknamed “Accidental President”:
88. He was the POTUS when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941:
89. Nicknamed “Old Hickory.”
90. This POTUS married Martha Dandridge Custis:
91. This President served as a deputy sheriff prior to serving in the White House.
92. Appointed Robert Trimble to the U.S. Supreme Court:
93. Known as the Red Fox of Kinderhook:
94. His attorney general was Roger B. Taney:
95. His entire cabinet resigned except for Daniel Webster:
96. What President served as the C.I.A. Director before his election to the POTUS?
97. He secured the Louisiana Purchase for $15 million which covered 828,000 acres stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains which doubled the size of the United States:
98. Became known for the doctrine named after him that contained the points that America would no longer be considered subjects to European colonization and the Americas are a unique and separate political system from Europe:
99. The first to become POTUS without being elected after the elected president died in office:

100. Signed the Social Security Act which provided guaranteed pensions for those over the age of sixty-five:
101. Appointed Nathan Clifford to the U.S. Supreme Court:
102. His Secretary of the Interior was receiving bribes in what became known as the Teapot Dome Scandal:
103. He was the hero of the Revolutionary Army and prevailed over the British at Yorktown:
104. What President died in office of a cerebral hemorrhage?
105. Appointed John Marshall as the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court on January 20, 1801:
106. This POTUS fired General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War:
107. Signed the Missouri Compromise on March 6, 1820:
108. Served very closely with Great Britain Prime Minister, Winston Churchill:
109. Calvin Coolidge served as the Vice President to this POTUS:
110. Who was the oldest President to leave office?
111. Argued a case against slavery in 1841 before the U.S. Supreme Court and won:
112. He was the POTUS when the Lewis & Clark expedition set out on the Ohio River:
113. He believed the POTUS should live where he worked and helped design the first capitol city:
114. His nickname was “Father of the Constitution” and “Little Jemmy”:
115. Served in the U. S. Navy as a pilot:
116. What two Presidents were impeached?
117. Born November 2, 1865 in Blooming Grove, Ohio:
118. He was POTUS when the Mountain Meadows Massacre occurred:
119. Was the author of A Charge To Keep:
120. Appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to the U. S. Supreme Court:
121. Henry Knox was this POTUS Secretary of War:
122. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
123. Asked his Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to resign:
124. Appointed William Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia to the United States Supreme Court:
125. Thomas Jefferson was this POTUS Secretary of State:
126. Nicknamed “Accidental President.”
127. He said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
128. Was nicknamed “Young Hickory” and “Napoleon of the Stump”:
129. He was the POTUS when the Dred Scott V. John F. Sandford decision was reached:
130. What three Presidents were avid marble players and had large collections?
131. “Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person’s own mind, than on the externals in the world”:
132. Assassinated by Leon Czolgosz, a Polish-American anarchist:
133. He said, “Of all the cankers of human happiness, none corrodes it with so silent, yet so baneful a tooth, as indolence. . . Idleness begets ennui, ennui the hypochondria, and that a diseased body.”
134. Negotiated the cessation of Florida from Spain for James Monroe:
135. What President could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other hand simultaneously?

Here are the stipulations:

You can be a rising senior (Class of 2012) or below.
Category 2 is for Class of 1984 to 2011.
Category 3 is for all who graduated prior to 1984.
You must e-mail me (philipharrelson@gmail.com) for an answer sheet to use with this. Also, if you would like a PDF document of the questions, I can send that along to you also.

Happy Hunting!

A Month of Puritans--Thomas Watson--Part 3--The Godly Man's Picture

2011-04-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

The next portion of Thomas Watson’s material that I would like to encourage you to read is a book that is almost the same length as The Mischief of Sin. It is a book called, The Godly Man’s Portrait. The initial title was Drawn with a Scripture Pencil or Some Characteristic Marks of a Man who is Going to Heaven. It was first published in 1666.

Watson takes his stimulus from Psalm 32:6, ‘For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee.’ As before I want to provide you some of the quotes from the preface which he begins, “To the Reader, Christian Reader. . .”

The soul being so precious and salvation so glorious, it is the highest point of prudence to make preparations for another world.

What a rare thing godliness is! It is not airy and puffed up, but solid, and such as will take up the heart and spirits. Godliness consists in an exact harmony between the holy principles and practices.

Godliness is our wisdom. . . Godliness is a spiritual queen and whoever marries her is sure of a large dowry with her. . . Godliness has the promise of the present life and that which is to come (1 Tim. 4:8). . . Godliness gives assurance, holy triumph in God, and how sweet that is (Isa. 32:17). . . Godliness puts a man in heaven before his time. . .

Christian, aspire after piety; it is a lawful ambition. Look at the saints’ characteristics here, and never leave them off till you have got them stamped upon your own soul. This is the grand business that should swallow up your time and thoughts. Other speculations and quaint notions are nothing to the soul. They are like wafers which have fine works printed upon them, and are curiously damasked (brightly decorated) to the eye, but are thin, and yield little nourishment.

He then picks up with an introduction of the phrase from Psalm 32:6. . . For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee. . . This is the portion that Watson will then draw from to illustrate the godly man’s picture.

Godliness is the sacred impression and workmanship of God in a man, whereby from being carnal he is made spiritual. When godliness is wrought in a person, he does not receive a new soul, but he has another spirit (Numbers 14:24). The faculties are not new but the qualities are; the strings are the same but the tune is corrected.

Seven Maxims Concerning Godliness:

1. It is a real thing—It has truth as its foundation.
2. It is an intrinsic thing—Godliness is a holy sap which is rooted in the soul.
3. It is a supernatural thing—A man has no more power to change himself than to create himself.
4. It is an extensive thing—It is a sacred leaven that spreads itself through the soul of the man.
5. It is an intense thing—It can never lie in dead formality and indifference but it is vigorous and flaming.
6. It is a glorious thing—It is a partaker of the divine nature.
7. It is a permanent thing—When godliness has taken root in the soul, it abides to eternity.

A Reproof To Those Who Are Pretenders of Godliness:

1. To have only a show of godliness is a God-enraging sin.
2. To make only a show of godliness is self-delusion.
3. To have only a name and to make a show of godliness is repulsive to God and man.
4. To be only comets and make a show of piety is a vain thing.
5. To have only pretence of godliness will yield no comfort at death.
6. You who have nothing but a specious pretext and mask of piety expose yourself to Satan’s scorn.

After these opening chapters of introduction, Watson then turns to the characteristics of a godly man. With each characteristic there are multiple points that he makes as application. The characteristics of a godly man:

• A man of knowledge.
• A man moved by faith.
• A man filled with love.
• A man like God.
• A man careful about the worship of God.
• A man who serves God not men.
• A man who prizes Christ.
• A man who weeps.
• A man who loves the Word.
• A man who has the spirit of God residing within.
• A man of humility.
• A man of prayer.
• A man of sincerity.
• A heavenly man.
• A zealous man.
• A patient man.
• A thankful man.
• A man who loves the saints.
• A man who does not indulge in any sin.
• A man who is good in his relationships.
• A man who does spiritual things in a spiritual manner.
• A man who walks with God.
• A man who strives to be an instrument for making others godly.

Watson also takes another chapter called “An Exhortation to Godliness,” and he covers the following points:

• Let men seriously weigh their misery while they remain in a state of ungodliness.
• What rare persons the godly are.
• To strive for godliness is most rational.
• The excellence of godliness.
• There are only a few godly.
• Consider how vain and contemptible other things are about which persons void of godliness busy themselves.

The last chapters are as follow:

• Prescribing Some Helps to Godliness
• A Exhortation to Persevere in Godliness
• Motives to Persevere in Godliness
• Counsel for the Godly
• Comfort to the Godly

Various Quotes:

A humble soul has a low esteem of his duties. Pride is apt to breed in our holy things as the worm breeds in the sweetest fruit and froth comes from the most generous wine. . . He sees his best duties weigh many grains too light; therefore he desires that Christ’s merits may be put into the scales. The humble man blushes when he looks at his copy. He sees he cannot even write evenly, nor without blotting.

A Christian is better after prayer. He has gained more strength over sin, as a man by exercise gets strength. The heart after prayer keeps a tincture of holiness, as the vessel favors and relishes the wine that is put into it. Having been with God on the mount, Moses’ face shone. So, having been on the mount of prayer, our graces shine and our lives shine. This is the sign of the godly man—he prays in the Spirit.

The test of a pilot is seen in the storm; so the test of a Christian is seen in affliction. That man has the right art of navigation who, when the boisterous winds blow from heaven, steers the ship of his soul wisely, and does not dash upon the rock of impatience.

Thanks for reading. . .

Philip Harrelson

A Month of Puritans--Thomas Watson--Part 2--The Mischief of Sin

2011-04-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

I am continuing from yesterday’s post about Thomas Watson and will for the rest of the week introduce you to his writings. After stumbling across the book by Jack Hughes Expository Preaching with Word Pictures, I purchased Watson’s The Mischief of Sin. Never had I read a book that exposed sin in such a way as this one did.

The key to the Puritans discipline and insight was that they were some of the very first men to have copies of English translations of the Scriptures. So when they got their hands on the Bible they would intensely study, memorize, and meditate over what they had read. Furthermore they were men whose lives were marked by much intense and emotional praying. You will discover the disciplines of their prayer as you read through their various journals and writings. They had a passionate heart for God and were willing to set aside the necessary time to pray. This is one of the weaknesses our generation constantly has to contend with. Prayer is routinely preached about, talked about, and read about but lacks in the area of simply developing the discipline that will be required by all who aspire to pray. So when you mix this fuel of prayer with the tinder of the Word, a depth will be created because of the fusion of spiritual activity.

First I want to give you some very thought provoking quotes from The Mischief of Sin.

From “The Epistle to the Reader” (Preface):

Men’s lust grown fierce and insatiable and, like imps, lie sucking them.
Sin is such a trade that whoever follows is sure to break. What did Achan get by his wedge of gold? It was a wedge to cleave asunder his soul from God. What did Judas get by his treason? He purchased a halter. What did King Ahaz get by worshiping the gods of Damascus? They were the ruin of him and all Israel, 2 Chronicles 28:23. Sin is first comical and then tragical.

From Chapter 1, “It Brings a Person Low”:

Sin lays men low in the grave and in hell too, without repentance. Sin is the Achan that troubles. It is the gall in our cup and gravel in our bread, Proverbs 20:17. . . . Sin is a coal that not only blackens but burns. Sin runs men into briars. Sin conjures up all the winds. All the crosses which befall us, all the storms in the conscience, sin raises them. Never let anyone think to rise by sin, for the text says it brings him low.

Sin first tempts and then damns. It is first a fox and then a lion. Sin does to a man as Jael did to Sisera. She gave him milk and then brought him low. Sin first brings us pleasures which delight and charm the senses, and then comes with its nail and hammer. Sin does to a sinner s Absalom did to Amnon. When his heart was merry with wine, then he killed him, 2 Samuel 13:28. Sin’s last act is always tragic.

We are apt to plead for sin, “Is it not a little one?” Who would plead for the one who seeks his life? We are ready to say to the minister concerning sin, as David said to Joab concerning Absalom, 2 Samuel 18:5, “Deal gently with the young man.” So we are ready to say, “Sir, deal gently with my sins. Oh, do not be too sharp in your reproofs!”

From Chapter 6, “Hell’s Furnace Heated Hotter”:

Sins against illumination and conviction make deep wounds in the soul. Other sins fetch blood; these are a stab in the heart. Every little hole in the roof lets in rain, but a crack in the foundation endangers the fall of the house. Every sin of weakness is prejudicial, but sins against illumination crack the conscience and threaten the ruin of the soul. To sin in this matter makes sin the heavier and hell the hotter.

Watson follows the similar role that most of the other Puritans seemed to gravitate toward. They would form what they determined as a doctrine and then they would use various ways to illustrate their doctrine. Each point would be followed by Scriptural cross-references or documentation. This would be followed by some practical applications that they called “uses.”

His opening doctrine is that sin brings a man low (Psalm 106:43). Then he lists the ways that sin brings him low:

1. It brings him low in God’s esteem.
2. It brings a man low in his intellect.
3. It brings a man low in affliction.
4. It brings a man low in melancholy (depression).
5. It brings a man low in spiritual plagues.
6. It brings a man low in temptation.
7. It brings a man low in desertion.
8. It brings a man low in despair.
9. Sin brings a man without repentance into the bottomless pit, and then he is brought low indeed.

Watson then progresses to the heading, “Consider the Plurality of Hell Torments”:

1. Darkness
2. Bonds and chains.
3. The worm that never dies.

From there he goes to “The Severity of Hell Torments”:

1. The torments of hell shall be in every part of body and soul.
2. The torments of hell have no period put to them.
3. The pains of hell are without intermission.
4. In hell, the wicked shall see the godly advanced to a kingdom and they are devoted to misery.
5. In hell, the wicked shall have none to sympathize with them.

Next Watson sets forth the following reasons as to “Why Sin Must Bring a Man Low”:

1. Because sin is a disease that brings him low.
2. Sin must bring a man low because the sinner enters a contest with God.
3. Sin must bring a man low because the sinner labors to do what he can to bring God low.
4. Sin must bring a person low because sin is the only thing God has an antipathy against.
5. Sin must bring the sinner low because it exposes him to God’s curse, and God’s curse blasts wherever it comes.

Another quote: God’s curse drops poison into everything. It is a moth in the wardrobe, a plague among cattle, and rot among the sheep. If the flying roll of curses enters into a man’s house, it consumes the timber and the walls of it, Zechariah 5:4. When Christ cursed the fig tree, it immediately withered, Matthew 21:19. Men’s curses are insignificant—they shoot themselves without bullets.

Watson then goes to three “branches” that serve as an application for the Scriptural teaching that he has already brought out. Next he names the sins that have brought the city and the nation low.

1. The first sin that has brought us low is pride. Spiritual pride that has three parts—pride in the position they hold, pride in their duties, and pride in their graces. Carnal pride has two parts—some are proud of their bodies and some are proud of their estates. (Remember this was written back in the 1600’s. Not a lot has changed has it?)
2. Another sin which has brought us low is Sabbath profanation. Very little honor takes place in our days to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy.
3. The third sin that has brought us low is neglect of family worship. A quote from this section, “They more often look at a deck of cards than a Bible.”
4. Another sin which has brought us low is covenant violation. They had forgotten the covenant to honor God.
5. Another sin that has brought us low is the abuse of the Gospel. Israel got tired of manna and people today have grown weary of the Bread of Life.
6. Another sin which has brought us low is covetousness.
7. Another sin which has brought us low is barrenness under the means of grace.
8. Another sin which has brought us low is the sin of swearing.
9. Another sin which has brought us low, and is likely to bring us yet lower, is uncleanness.
10. Another sin which has brought us low is our un-brotherly animosities.

This entire little book (162 pages) is filled with material like this. I have a feeling that is why that many have shied away from reading the Puritans.

The other chapters that follow this one are:

• The Desperateness of Sinners
• An Alarm to Sinners
• Hell’s Furnace Heated Hotter
• Appendix: Contains a message called “The Mystery of the Lord’s Supper.”

This whole treatise of Watson on sin is worth your time and energy. To read it in a devotional manner will spark all sorts of material to preach. Don’t be concerned that the Puritans are not relevant for our times. I have a thought that this book is a direct response to the new one that Rob Bell has just written which is universalism in its lowest common form.

More tomorrow. . .

Thanks for reading. . .

Philip Harrelson

A Month of Puritans--Thomas Watson

2011-04-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

The ministers of Christ should wait for all opportunities of soul service, because the preaching of the Word meets so many adverse forces that hinder the progress and success of it. Never did a pilot meet with so many Euroclydons and cross winds in a voyage, as the spiritual pilots of God’s Church do when they are transporting souls to heaven. Some hearers have bad memories (James 1:25). Their memories are like leaking vessels. All the precious wine of the holy doctrine that is poured in runs out immediately. Ministers cannot by study find a truth as fast as others can lose it. If the meat does not stay in the stomach it can never breed good blood.

If a truth delivered does not stay in the memory, we can never be, as the apostle says, ‘nourished up the words of the faith’ (1 Timothy 4:6). How often does the devil, that fowl of the air, pick up the good seed that is sown! If people suffer at the hands of thieves, they tell everyone and make their complaint they have been robbed, but there is a worse thief they are not aware of! How many sermons has the devil stolen from them! How many truths have they been robbed of, which might have been so many death-bed cordials! Now if the Word preached slides so fast out of the memory, ministers had need the oftener go up to the preaching mount, that at last some truth may abide and he has a ‘nail fastened by the masters of the assemblies’ (Thomas Watson).

The quote above was my introduction to Thomas Watson. I was browsing around in a bookstore and happened to run across a copy of “Expository Preaching with Word Pictures” by Jack Hughes. The subtitle was “With Illustrations from the Sermons of Thomas Watson.” This was sometime back in 2002 or 2003 when I really begin to benefit from the wellsprings of the Puritans. Through this book, Jack Hughes does a masterful job of pulling much from the sermons of Watson and piquing the curiosity of the soul. Hughes nudged me in a direction to read after Watson. I have to also not about Hughes book in that it has many pages that are dog-eared and there are scores of notes that I have written in the margins. It has been a valuable tool in my personal library and one that I would commend to you also.

Watson lived from 1620 to 1686. He pastored a couple of churches during his life time. The first one he was thrown out of by the government because he was a non-conformist, as were the majority of the Puritans. From that time until the great fire in London in 1666, he was confined to preaching in barns, lodging houses, homes of individuals, and occasionally from a haystack in the various fields in the country-side of Yorkshire. He had to contend with much persecution from various detractors but despite all of this, he maintained a constant discipline with preaching. So remarkable was his grasp of Scripture that he did not just have much of the Bible committed to memory, he was also very adept at cross-referencing.

His writings can be downloaded from Google books (free!). His works are listed as follow:

• All Things for Good

• The Art of Divine Contentment—This is a very good book for our times. American consumerism works at making the vast majority of us very discontent with what we have. I would go as far to say that the gnawing discontentment that fills the lives of many is a sinful practice. Discontentment leads to other sins such as complaining, envy, jealousy, and bitterness. Yet because we often do not perceive sin in this arena, we have been spiritually eviscerated. This little book makes for an excellent series of mid-week Bible studies or even a Sunday morning series.

• The Beatitudes—This book is a very convicting book also. In the treatment of meekness, Watson states that those who are meek will bear injuries, forgive injuries and return good for evil. In bearing injuries, meekness opposes a hasty spirit, malice, revenge, and speaking evil of others. In forgiving injuries, meekness forgives truly, fully, and often. When he writes of returning good for evil, he notes, “To render evil for evil is brutish; to render evil for good is devilish; to render good for evil is Christian.” As you can see, this is not your typical ‘your dreams are going to come true and all is going to be happy in your life’ swill that many books today are trending toward.

• A Body of Divinity—The collection of the doctrinal views of Watson that have been compiled from his sermons.

• The Duty of Self-Denial—This is a collection of 18 sermons. The first eight are from Luke 9:23 about denying yourself and taking up a cross. Another very provoking book that flies in the face of much of the feel-good atmosphere we encounter today in American religion.

• The Fight of Faith Crowned—This is a collection of six sermons of Watson. “The Crown of Righteousness” from 2 Timothy 4:8. “The Righteous Man’s Weal (wound) and the Wicked Man’s Woe” from Isaiah 3:10-11. “Time’s Shortness” is based on 1 Corinthians 7:29 and actually was a funeral sermon for another Puritan preacher. “The Fight of Faith Crowned” is another funeral sermon based on 2 Timothy 4:7-8. “A Plea for Alms” is taken from Psalm 112:9 and “The One Thing Necessary” is from Philippians 2:12. This last sermon strips away every excuse for not seeking God and pleads that we bow to the demands of the Gospel.

• The Godly Man’s Picture—Notes twenty-four marks of a godly man. I will have more to say on this book in a post later this week.

• The Mischief of Sin—This book is my favorite of the Watson material. It is also one of his shorter books and I will have a post on it also later this week.

His other books are: Heaven Taken by Storm, The Lord’s Prayer, A Plea for the Godly and Other Sermons, and the Ten Commandments.

I am going to leave you with a few quotes from Thomas Watson that I believe will arrest your attention.

St. Paul’s preaching was not with the enticing words of wisdom but the demonstration of the Spirit and power (1 Cor. 2:4). Plainness is ever best in beating down sin. When a wound festers, it is fitter to lance it than to embroider it with silk or lay vermillion upon it.

Zeal in a minister is as proper as fire on the altar. Some are afraid to reprove, like the swordfish which has a sword in his head but is without a heart. So they carry the Sword of the Spirit about them but have no heart to draw it out in reproof against sin. How many have sown pillows under their people (Ezek. 13:18), making them sleep so securely that they never woke till they were in hell!

There is a great deal of difference between a stake in the hedge and a tree in the garden. A stake rots and molders, but a tree having life in it, abides and flourishes. When godliness has taken root in the soul, it abides to eternity (1 John 3:9). Godliness being engraved in the heart by the Holy Ghost, as with the point of a diamond, can never be erased.

Last week there was a series on Jeremiah Burroughs. They are linked below:

Jeremiah Burroughs--Part 1

Jeremiah Burroughs--Part 2--Earthly Minded-ness

Jeremiah Burroughs--Part 3--The Evil of Evils

More tomorrow. . . .

A Month of Puritans--Jeremiah Burroughs--Part 3--The Evil of Evils

2011-03-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

One of the things that give the Puritans a seemingly bad rap is that they appear too obsessed with sin, worldliness, and the coming judgment. That might be a fair statement although there is a host of their writings that deal with the so-called “positive” elements of the Christian life such as liberty, blessing, and seeking after character qualities that reflect the presence of God in our lives. But it must be taken into consideration that the Puritans were as Alexander Whyte termed them, “specialists of sin.” They had a way of describing sin in such a way that would be considered graphically repulsive to most people.

One of the reasons that they had such a huge disdain for any kind of sin was because of their high view of God and Scripture. When you have those two elements at play in your heart, much spiritual progress can be made. Suddenly God is no longer the meal ticket to accomplish whatever dreams you may have for this very short and limited life down here. They believed that by having such a relationship with God it created an atmosphere for them to live a faithful and godly life. They diligently pursued times of privacy with God that involved private prayer, Scripture reading, and meditation on the Scriptures. This action is what led to their understanding of who God was and what He desired of them.

Jeremiah Burroughs found himself in this vein of thought when he wrote this book that contains sixty-seven chapters. As with the book on Earthly-Mindedness, there are various divisions that he works through. The opening chapter informs the reader that these were actually a series of sermons that were preached on Sunday mornings beginning in November, 1641 and concluding in February, 1643. He works with the thought of the corruption of sin through seven different avenues:

1. It is an evil choice to take sin over affliction (trials and/or temptations).
2. Sin is most opposite to a man’s good and far more opposing to the good of man than any trial he has to endure.
3. Sin is opposed to all that is good. It takes away the goodness of all things in life. It brings a curse on us. It is a burden to heaven, earth, and all of God’s creatures. It turns the greatest good into the worst evil. Sin, if left alone, will bring all things to massive confusion.
4. Sin works like poison.
5. Sin has an unending power and fallout that one has to deal with in life.
6. Sin makes a man very pliable in the hands of the devil. (Unique thought in that because Rob Bell’s new treatise has done away with the devil and Hell.)
7. The last part deals with many comparisons and observations that Burroughs makes when he notes the outcome of sin in a man’s life.

As E. E. Jolley would tell you, “This chapter is worth the price of the book!” That chapter to me is Chapter 52. Burroughs spends much effort in making a determination what the difference between depression (melancholy) and a troubled conscience. The question arises for our modern day society; Is the vast evidence of depression really a troubled conscience that God is attempting to use to turn the unconverted into the converted?

Other observations that Burroughs uses in regard to sin come in this manner:

1. What is gotten by sin costs dearly.
2. What is gotten by sin is accursed to you.
3. What is gotten by sin must be cast away or the soul must be cast away.

He also marks three things that happen to men who become more prosperous by their sin:

1. Their prosperity becomes more fuel for their sin.
2. Their sin soon gives them more liberty to sin.
3. Their liberty and sin simply hardens their heart to indulge more and more.

Various Quotes:

Many of you, when it comes to it, will be more loathe losing a coin than commit a sin, more loathe enduring the least shame or nick-name than to commit a sin. Are there not many servants here, or children, who will tell a lie (when they have done evil) rather than suffer a little shame in the family from their parents or masters, fellow-servants and children? What a difference is there between your hearts and the heart of the martyrs!

(Speaking of the Apostle Paul) But when he comes to sin, that is heavy! O wretched man that I am! Thus he gives a dreadful shriek at sin. See what a difference he makes between affliction and sin, and accounts it abundantly more evil to be in sin that to be in affliction.

A gracious heart may bless God for afflictions, bless God that ever He did call him into an afflicted state; but he can never bless God for putting him into a sinful state, though God works good out of it.

More tomorrow. . .

Thanks for reading. . .

Philip Harrelson

A Month of Puritans--Jeremiah Burroughs--Part 2--Earthly-Mindedness. . .

2011-03-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

A Treatise on Earthly-Mindedness

The next few blogs will be about the writings of Jeremiah Burroughs which have been preserved via the printed press and now very accessible through various e-formats. As with all of the Puritans, their writings primarily consist of the sermons that they preached in their churches. If you take their sermons and compare them with what passes for sermons in our days, you will immediately notice the great lack in our times. Most of the sermons that the Puritans preached were around 1 ½ to 2 hours in length. People in our generation think that 40 minutes is a long sermon and some even conclude that the less the better. Furthermore, you will discover that the Puritans loaded their sermons with Scriptural exposition and frequently they would come at their texts from many different angles. I have no doubt that much of the Puritan preaching would probably empty out our modern day churches because there would be very few who could track with their messages.

As you begin to read their material you will immediately notice that they set forth a doctrine in the opening chapter and then spend many pages following to document and cross-reference that particular doctrine. The same practice is noted in Burroughs’ “A Treatise on Earthly-Mindedness.” It is as follows:

DOCTRINE: The great difference between a wicked man and a godly man is that one minds earthly things and the other has his conversation in heaven. I intend to handle both these in order.

Next you will find that they Puritans will give their points as to how they expect to do this. Burroughs’ says he will do it in five ways.

1. What it is to mind earthly things in a sinful way.
2. The great evil that there is in minding earthly things and I shall help you discover a greater evil in it than you are aware.
3. Lay down some proofs whereby those men and women that think they are clear of this sin may have it revealed to their consciences that they are the men and women that do mind earthly things.
4. I shall search into the reason why the hearts of men and women are so much after earthly things.
5. I shall labor to take your hearts off of earthly things.

For those who are interested in doing sermon series, this is the introduction. There are seven more that follow this introduction and when you get finished with reading this sort of thing, much conviction will have settled into your heart.

They are listed as follow:

1. Earthly-Mindedness Discovered in Nine Particulars
2. Six Evils of Earthly-Mindedness
3. Eight Additional Evils of Earthly-Mindedness
4. Five Things may be Wrought in an Earthly-Minded Man
5. Seven Reasons of Men’s Earthly-Mindedness
6. Eleven Considerations to Take the Hearts of Men off of Earthly-Mindedness
7. Five Directions How to Get Our Hearts Free from Earthly-Mindedness

This is how the Puritans worked their preaching to their congregants. These congregations were people who read their Bibles intensely and were very knowledgeable to Scripture. Because of their proficiency with Scripture it forced the ministers to a greater depth of preaching. I pray for a revival of this kind of hunger for the Word in our generation.

Burroughs then goes into the aspect of what he calls “A Heavenly Conversation.” This is the mindset that is opposite of being worldly-minded. The sermons are as follow:

1. How Far the Examples of Godly Men Should Prevail with Us
2. What’s to be Done when Examples of Godly Men are Contrary?
3. Rebuke of those that follow the Example of the Wicked and Reject the Example of the Godly
4. Two Doctrines Observed from the Text
5. How the Saints are the Citizens of Heaven
6. How the Saints Have Their Conversation in Heaven
7. The Saints’ Trading for Heaven
8. Seven Evidences of Men’s Having Their Conversations in Heaven
9. Four Reasons Why the Saints Have their Conversations in Heaven

I can only recommend to you to dig into this work of Burroughs and you will find a soul-stretching, heaven reaching, and sin-hating attitude to develop within your own heart. I daresay that if you are a minister that there will be quotes and concepts that will stimulate sermons to come to life in your own preaching.

Various Quotes:

An earthly-minded man is like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. We read that they were swallowed up by the earth. So, the truth is, the things of the earth, contentments, provision for themselves and families in earthly things, opens up and swallows up the very hearts of earthly-minded men.

There are dangerous temptations in following after the things of the earth, and there is a snare in them that you do not think of. You think only of the splendor of the things of the earth, how sumptuously you should live and how fine you should be, in your house, in your clothes, and what table you may keep. You only think of those things that may give the flesh contentment. But you do not think of the temptation and the snare that is in them; and those whose hearts are set upon this thing fall into the snare, the temptation.

Earthly-mindedness is the root of apostasy.

Earthly-mindedness is that which will bring destruction at last, as it will drown your soul in perdition.

More tomorrow. . .

Thanks for reading. . .

Philip Harrelson

A Month of Puritans--Jeremiah Burroughs--Part 1

2011-03-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

If you are a preacher, you have discovered that you must have an effective devotional life to continue to preach week-in and week-out. If your preaching is profitable to you and the congregation that you serve, you probably have discovered that good preaching has a price-tag on it. I am aware that the majority of readers of this blog are those who are actively involved in ministry of some sort and I am thankful for the privilege that you give me by visiting my ramblings. It is always my hope that when you are finished reading that you are more encouraged toward becoming better at what you do.

A part of a preacher’s devotional life is that of reading. I heard J. T. Pugh say in a licensing seminar one time that you will never be a great preacher if you are not a great reader. I have also become very aware of what we think is heavily influenced by what we read. GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out or Good In, Good Out!) really is a principle that we need to remember.

I remember stumbling across a book a number of years ago, entitled “The Minister’s Opportunities” by Ralph Turnbull. There is also a companion volume entitled “The Minister’s Obstacles” which has also been extraordinarily beneficial to me. But in the “Opportunities” book there is a chapter that is devoted to the study habits and study life of a preacher. I think I probably read that book back in 1993 or 1994 and just running over the part where Turnbull encourages the reader to seek out the Puritans. At the time, I hadn’t the foggiest idea who these writers were.

A bit later, I picked up a book written by Tony Sargent (The Sacred Anointing) that was a biography of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and discovered that D ML-J had spent much time with the Puritans. More recently I read the two-volume biography written by Iain Murray on D ML-J and really found much expansion on the Puritans. One last book that I read was the small biography written by Earnest Bacon on Charles Spurgeon who was considered an heir of the Puritans.

When I started delving into the sermons of the Puritans, I soon discovered a wealth of devotional material that served as priming points for sermons. With this information, I started building into my personal library a segment totally devoted to the Puritans. Oddly, I found that very few modern preachers really read much of their writings. So for the month of April, I am going to blog a series of articles about some of the more prominent Puritans that might be helpful for you. To further assist you and save you some money, you are going to discover that the great majority of their writings are in public domain and you can download them for free if you have any kind of e-reader. (I am still without an IPad and probably will be for a while unless one of you great fellows out there decides to send me one!)

First up is one of the lesser known Puritans but he has much to offer to your devotional life. Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646) was a student of Thomas Hooker. He had a relatively short period of ministry where he served in four churches. Although his life was relatively short, it was a productive one that was marked by zeal and faithfulness. It did not take him very long to face the teeth of the opposition of the state run church. King James, around 1627 published a book called the Book of Sports. In it he stated the dancing, archery, pole vaulting, and other games were lawful recreations on the Lord’s Day.

Burroughs and many of his compatriot Puritan brothers refused the directive of the King that it should be read in the church. I have a feeling that many in our generation would scoff at this kind of thing and would acquiesce to the folly of reading this today in church. However, the Puritans found a number of great themes that they preached around; Heaven, Hell, Sin, and Calvary and the work of Atonement. Therefore any encroachment of what they deemed as worldliness was ardently preached and fought against. When was the last time that you preached a message on worldliness? That is a sobering question because this is not a “hot topic” that many preachers give their efforts to nor would our hearers purposely choose to listen to a sermon on this kind of content.

I realize that some of my Pentecostal brothers are going to swipe at my recommendation of the Puritans. However if you are even remotely acquainted with church history, you will discover that the Puritans and their preaching against sin and high calling for holiness affected the Wesley’s who were the founders of the Methodists. Whether we want to admit it or not, the Methodists and their call for personal holiness and separation from the world led to the so-called Holiness movement which in turn ushered in the Pentecostal revival that took place in the early 1900’s.

Burroughs had to endure some political and social sanctions against his ministry because of his disapproval of what he felt like was a work of the king to turn the church into a social activity instead of a spiritual one. His associations were very important in their influence on his ministry. Thomas Hooker, William Ames, and Edmund Calamy all had a part in helping Burroughs come to some of his strong convictions. What I found interesting about these Puritans is that many of them preached every day! They would have morning sessions that was designed much like a Sunday School and then at night they would teach various Bible classes and they were well attended. Burroughs died in 1646 after a fall from a horse.
Many of his books are still available through reprints or e-format.

The Evil of Evils, or The Exceeding Sinfulness of Sin—Has 67 short chapters that expose sin and urge believers to fight sin in their personal lives.

The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit—Based on Numbers 14:24 where Caleb is described as having “another spirit.”

An Exposition of the Prophecy of Hosea—It is considered one of Burroughs greatest works and fills 700 pages.

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment—This is an excellent work on Philippians 4:11—I have learned! It describes the fruit of contentment in a believer’s life.

A Treatise on Earthly-Mindedness—A great warning against allowing the mind to live and breathe the world that it has to live in daily.
Tomorrow I will break some of these down so that you will be able to discover some helpful things. If you choose to acquaint yourself with the material of the Puritans, you will soon discover how superficial that many of the books that are being churned out these days are.

Thanks for reading. . . .

Philip Harrelson

A Life of Preaching--Rev. John Harrell--The Tape Lady--Paula Thompson

2011-03-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of weeks, I wrote several blogs honoring Brother Harrell in Bridge City, Texas leading up to his and Sister Harrell’s 40th pastoral anniversary. Today, I want to go with one last blog post on that before I move on to other things. I called Paula Thompson who is responsible for what used to be the tape ministry at BCUPC but has evolved into the CD ministry there. I wanted to get some of her reflections on how much the preaching has affected her over the years.

She started attending BCUPC in 1980. She relocated from Indiana because of a sister who lived in Bridge City. Prior to her arrival in Bridge City she hadn’t attended church of any kind for over twenty years. Formerly a Jehovah’s Witness, she had walked away from all trappings of religion at a relatively young age. When her sister started attending BCUPC, she told the person who was making tapes to send some of Brother Harrell’s sermons to her in Indiana. She told me that she would get ten at a time and would listen to them all in one day. Although she had little respect for ministers and had never sat under a pastor, Brother Harrell’s preaching connected with her because as she said, “I was spiritually starving to death.” She couldn’t wait to get those tapes out of the mailbox. She would later realize how important that tape ministries are to churches.

So when she relocated to Bridge City, she started going to church there with her sister in 1980. It wasn’t too long before she received the Holy Ghost when an evangelist named Richard Nyhart came through and preached a revival.

In 1983 after some difficult health issues arose she was unable to work any longer. She approached Brother Harrell and asked him if there was something around the church she could volunteer to do. It just so happened that the lady who was taking care of the tape library moved away and someone needed to undertake the tape ministry at BCUPC. When some families relocated away from Bridge City to various parts around the country, they requested for her to mail them tapes. This is how the mail-outs started. It then grew until they were going out everywhere.

Through all of this she landed in her spot that has helped her to get Brother Harrell’s sermons out to the world. She is coming up on her thirty year anniversary in 2013. So that means Brother Harrell has to keep preaching and she has to keep making CD’s! She is seventy-two years old and needs to make it until she is eighty-five so that means Brother Harrell has quite a few sermons still left in him even after forty years!

She told me that when she started, only one tape at a time could be duplicated. Then they moved up to three and then up to six at a time. Before the tapes were replaced by CD’s she was mailing out 200-250 sermons per mailing to 15 states.

While she is responsible for taking care of CD recording and duplication, there are some other key people who assist in the process. Tom Snyder and Roy Vanhess run the sound board and the projection/video system at BCUPC. Tom has been in his slot since 1976 or 1978 and Roy has been involved for a long time also but Sister Paula (as they call her in BCUPC) did not know how long.

She told me that there has never been a sermon that Brother Harrell preached that she did not get something out of it. She knows the sermons well enough that if someone asks her what might be good for them at that particular time she can recall and recommend something to them. She periodically finds that ministers call the church and ask her if there is a particular message that might lift their spirit and she always is able to fill the bill.

She related to me recently about a lady who had just had a catastrophic and tragic event to take place in her life. She was fighting with a lot of despair over the situation and just happened to ask Sister Paula if there might be a sermon that Brother Harrell had preached that might help. She recommended “A Dark Place” to her and in a short period of time, she had called for twelve copies of the sermon to give out to others. Additionally she took several of them to work with her and passed them along to people who came to her office and would begin to tell of their own struggles in life.

One of the very popular sermons that ministers call for is “A Call and A Burden.” This sermon was one that Tim Delano recommended in a previous blog post. I have had others to mention this one to me also. She said that another sermon that she cannot keep copies of is “The Butterfly Effect” that Brother Harrell has preached within the last year.

When I asked her if there were any sermons that had stood out to her over the years, she gave me the following:

• An Ear Bored by an Awl
• Moab Is My Washpot
• You Can’t Carry Your Own Cross
• You Can’t Choose Your Own Cross
• Consistency, Thou Art a Jewel

A Life of Preaching--Rev. John Harrell--The Top Five--1. A Perceived Slight

2011-03-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

# 1. A Perceived Slight

We have reached a concluding point of a two week series of this blog honoring Rev. and Mrs. J. W. Harrell who will be celebrating a 40th Pastoral Anniversary Sunday, March 20, 2011 in Bridge City, Texas. For those who have been reading these series of blogs, you owe it to yourself to at least visit the Bridge City United Pentecostal Church and if you cannot do that then call and order some of Brother Harrell’s CD’s of his preaching and you will find a great blessing.

Pastor Ken Gurley has posted a tribute to Brother Harrell on his Houston Chronicle blog and is worthy of your time. Brother Gurley showcases another one of Brother Harrell’s sermons, one of which I failed to mention, “The Hidden Part of a Dream.”

One other thing of note, pack a lunch before you read this one! It is very long, the longest one of all of them! I have received a number of e-mails that I am going to lightly edit and add to this blog of those who wanted to honor Brother Harrell. Furthermore, I trust you will forgive me for some personal references I will make at the end of the sermon synopsis of “A Perceived Slight.”

The lesson I learned with this sermon is that you never judge Brother Harrell’s sermons by the titles. That is what I did with this one. I looked at the title a number of times and did not listen to it because I judged it by its title. I am sure that I carried it around for six months in my car before I listened. However, in my opinion it has been the greatest sermon that he ever preached!

I listened to it on a very early Monday morning in 2002. I can’t remember a time in my life when I had been wearier spiritually, mentally, and physically. I was so tired that I was almost cross-eyed and still had a good 200 miles to drive before I could find a place to stop. I had gone to take care of an assignment for the weekend and a gripping discouragement had crept into my heart. It was almost as if Giant Despair had me in the dungeon at Doubting Castle and was beating the life out of me.

So after driving an hour and a half, I reached into my box of cassettes that I kept Brother Harrell’s sermons in and pulled out this one. I still remember that this one had the gold label on it instead of the silver one that was on many of the others. I read the title, “A Perceived Slight” and almost put it back in the box to move on to another one. Instead, I slipped it into the cassette deck of my little white Mazda 626 and little did I know that God was about to get in the seat next to me for the next 200 miles.

The text comes from Numbers 7:1-9 where the princes of Israel come to Moses and Aaron with a gift. The gift is six wagons and twelve oxen. I didn’t even have an inkling of where Brother Harrell was going with this sermon and even after he mentioned that Paul said in Ephesians 3 that we fellowship a mystery, I was still in the dark. However it did not take long to understand that God was using this message to help me get my focus back where it needed to be.

God’s math is sometimes fuzzy. So when Moses, under the direction of God, divided the gift up, it came down to this: Gershon was given two wagons and four oxen; Merari was given four wagons and eight oxen; and Kohath received nothing.

There seems to be a hint of injustice here. If one were to be fair about the whole matter, it would have been easy to come to a point of outright division. Three men so the logical conclusion would be to give two wagons and four oxen to each group. What an insult to Kohath and it appears he had been willfully and purposely mistreated. Invariably in life and even sometimes in the kingdom of God this is the way that things sometimes appear to us from the surface. Unfairly treated!

Periodically all of us have found ourselves encouraged by the words of Paul from Romans 8:28. All things work together for good. Not some things or many things but all things are working in our behalf. A whole lot of life will have many things that are not as they appear. Therefore the entire length of the way to heaven is a faith route. We must walk it by faith! Put your trust in God because He knows exactly what He is doing.

There are many dark threads of life and a lot of loose ends that you will not be able to explain or understand. Your life is not made up entirely of bright colors and everyday will not be sunshine and flowers. The sons of Merari used their two wagons as they were directed and the sons of Gershon used their four wagons as they were told to do. But the sons of Kohath, the Bible informs us that they had to shoulder their burden.

They were the most burdened of all. They had to take those old poles and slip them into place to carry the ark. Other men’s burdens rode on carts but Kohath’s burden rode on his shoulders. But God in his providence and in His economy and in His wisdom gave Kohath something that Gershon and Merari did not have. We are told that Kohath and his sons were given a song to sing as they were bearing the Ark of the Covenant.

There were some things of the Tabernacle that were too precious to be placed on a wagon. Moses did not trust the wagons for the precious cargo. He wanted the burdens to be carried in the hands and arms of the sons of Kohath. These consecrated hands carried something that they really did not comprehend. The Bible tells us in the previous chapters of Numbers that the furniture of the Tabernacle was wrapped up before they were given to the burden bearers. They were carrying something that they could not see. However that Ark represented the glory of God. For years on end, as they wandered through the wilderness, they carried their burden with the song that God had given them.

Some scholars say the Ark weighed in the neighborhood of 750 pounds and others say it was upwards of 1500 pounds. Regardless of what it weighed, for four men to carry something they couldn’t see for forty years had to a great duty. There is something about duty and says “I am going to get up and do it again.” Sometimes what we perceive as a slight is the vehicle by which God carries his glory. Hurting shoulders, weary feet, tired backs, and over-taxed minds pull at us because our circumstances don’t seem fair. But if I could only take this bit of truth and break it off in your heart like Brother Harrell did in mine, it would bring much assurance and encouragement to you in the place you are presently in right now!

God never fully explains Himself. The soldier on the front lines cannot see the whole picture that the General sees. He is simply at the command of an officer who does know the full detail. More often than not we find ourselves withering at the point of doubt and discouragement that forces its way into our heart. We sometimes look around and attempt to compare our burdens with others and from all signs; it sometimes appears that we may have to endure more than others. We want the right opportunity, the right chance, the right relationship, or just some intangible to be right.

Sometimes the sheer monotonous length of the journey gets to us and we feel as if we are simply spinning our wheels and accomplishing nothing. But just do what you are supposed to do and keep carrying your burden. Watch the burdens of others riding on carts and pulled by oxen but don’t dare get bitter or cynical or sarcastic or hard-hearted, or. . . you get the picture of what Brother Harrell was driving at.

It just so happened that I had gotten to a precarious place of watching a lot of burdens riding on carts and I didn’t have one for mine to ride on. But remember you are in great company! Simon the Cyrene got a cross he didn’t want, Abraham had some rocky valleys to contend with while Lot had well-watered plains, and John the Baptist had to decrease so Jesus could increase but all of these great men stepped into immortality because they didn’t let a perceived slight get to them.

Comparisons are deadly and they can give you a much skewed idea about what success really entails so don’t feel slighted in where God has you, it is a place of strength and an opportunity for development!

So often in my own personal life I thought that I had been slighted. One of the huge slights that I routinely had to battle with was the fact I worked full-time in a secular job along with ministry responsibilities. My situation was a bit different in that much of it was spent working with Brother Patterson who was actually the pastor. I was with him in much of the day-to-day operation of the church and he bore the primary load, I was still in a position that required much responsibility. I spent from 1992 until 2006 juggling work, family, and church until I left Flowers Hospital and assumed role as the pastor here in Dothan.

I can well remember going to various conferences and events and having ministers walk up to me and ask, “When are you going to get a real ministry?” or “When are you going to take a step of faith and do what God wants you to do?” or “I wouldn’t put up with what Brother Patterson is making you do!” How those things cut me deep into the soul and much wrestling would take place that no one could see.

One time just prior to leaving the hospital allowing my tongue to get out of hand and sarcastically responding to one of my detractors. He said, “When are you going to really do something with your life?” My response to him was, “You mean do like you? Play golf three or four times a week and fish away the spring and waste the winters hunting?” And I concluded with “I don’t think I want to work for God like you’re doing.” It was the wrong thing to say and later the Lord took me down a notch or two but the frustration of my perceived slight would sometimes make me want to throw it all in and further my education and be a CRNA and forget this business that God had called me to do.

I was like Kohath’s boys, wilting down under a burden that I couldn’t see. It was heavy; it was more than I thought I could bear but duty said, “Keep going!” and that is what I did. More times than not I had to keep my head down and my eyes cast to the ground because I dared not let anyone see those tears of weakness rolling down like a river. I know what Jeremiah felt like when he longed for his eyes to be like rivers.

A couple of times the battle came tremendously difficult. I started at Flowers Hospital just before I graduated from RN school and have known a lot of the old-timers there since the summer of 1985 and that helps when you want to get things done. One time several of the members of the anesthesia department and finally the director of the department approached me and told me that they would pay my way through school if I would just go and work there when I graduated. Another time, I had a physician approach me who was representing his group and wanted to send me to school to be a physician’s assistant. Both of these positions would have tripled my salary and would have been much more prestigious jobs but I couldn’t give in to those. Don’t think the battle was not monumental because the angst within was ripping me apart. But I just kept on walking while I watched the burdens of others riding on carts. I prayed desperately that my spirit wouldn’t get infected with jealousy, envy, and bitterness that sink even the stoutest of men. I would be remiss to leave out Brother Patterson in all of this for there were many times he helped me to keep my priorities right and my vision focused.

I have preached countless times; I have spent time praying with folks in the altars; worked at church “work” days; tried to encourage and help others and all the while had a beeper on my belt. At any moment it might go off and I would be summoned to an interventional radiology lab to work. Several times it went off in church and I would have to leave. Another time we had a big Accent weekend going and I was with the minister who had flown in to preach and I had to leave him and spend about half of Saturday night in the IR lab. What I did not know was that those moments were building character in me, I just couldn't see it.

A couple of other occasions stand out in my mind. One was a call weekend when our team (RN and two RT(R)s) spent most of Saturday both day and night, Sunday morning before church, and Sunday afternoon after church working with Dr. Downing. Another time, I had managed to get away all weekend without being called in and I told my wife just before 11:30 on a Sunday night that I thought I was going to make it without a callback weekend. Ten minutes later, I was called in and we worked all night long (12:15 until 6:30 AM) with Dr. Ahmed stopping a hemorrhaging kidney with coiled stents. Then our team ran home and got cleaned up and made it back to the hospital a little after eight to go at a full schedule in IR. The devil and your mind will take advantage of you during those times like that. He will say, “Boy, if were a real preacher you wouldn’t be doing all of this!” And you feel the weight of something you can’t see. In those times you no longer ache physically but it becomes mental and spiritual. Brother Harrell saved my soul with “A Perceived Slight.” That sermon breathed something into my soul.

Let me tell you just a few things my perceived slight did for me. It taught me incredible discipline and time management. It taught me a standard of excellence. It taught me that material things will pass away but the Kingdom of God will last forever. The practice of medicine added much wisdom to my understanding of human suffering. It taught me that big is not always better and that better is not always big.

The situations I worked around put me in contact with some of the most intrepid minds in our city and they motivated me to no end. I learned vast things from that group of physicians and our health care team. Dr. Veale taught me kindness and had a bedside manner that no one else rivals either in Dothan or Houston. He could bring bad news in a good way. Dr. Ahmed was a literal guru when it came to performing procedures and I wanted to do that with preaching. Drs. Lund and Alexander taught me how to be humble despite much success that had come their way. Dr. Fernandez taught me how to be kind to those who were seemingly working to undermine you. Dr. Downing taught me to leave no stone unturned because if we miss something the patient could have a bad outcome. Dr. Turner had the most brilliant mind in the group and I wanted to give my mind to theology like he had given his to the practice of medicine. Dr. Brink taught me how to be a workhorse that just steadily moved the mountain. Dr. Storm never allowed his position as a physician to be lorded over us. With Kevin, Regina, Michelle and Tara, I saw what teamwork could do.

There are qualities that I have in my life now that I would have never gotten if I hadn’t had to deal with these challenges. “A Perceived Slight” is only an opportunity for God to smooth out the rough edges of your soul. But you don’t see that too much when you are trudging around in a wilderness that is provided a defining moment in your life. I hope you get the picture with what I am writing to you. I plead with you that wherever you are at don’t let your burden get so difficult that it destroys you! It is not a slight, it is God’s plan! I could go on and on with this but I know you can see the same pattern in your own life if you look for it.

No sermon that Brother Harrell has preached before that one or after that one washed my soul like this one! Obviously I am not minimizing any of the previous sermons or the ones that have followed but God in His sovereignty let this one catch me at a time when I was slipping and sliding all over the place. I am not sure if this sermon is still available because it was one that captured on cassette before Hurricane Rita destroyed their tape archive. But you owe it to yourself to find this one!

On to those e-mails I mentioned in the beginning. One comes from our General Youth Secretary, Rev. Michael Ensey. He wrote:

Thank you once again for your inspirational writing and for helping so many of us see into the life of an amazing preacher and even better person. I have not heard that many of Brother Harrell's messages, but I have heard a few through the years. My mom has been a faithful subscriber for over a decade (I think she gets the top five each month) and she has passed on several of his messages to me that she thought were the best of the best.

One of them I believe was titled, "In Spite of Everything." The text was Phil 4:22 KJV 22 All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. The main point: those who were Christians in Caesar's household were doing so against incredible odds and opposition, and they were putting their lives on the line by doing so. They were living for God in spite of everything. It was an incredible message and thought taken from one simple phrase in this verse.

Another of the most memorable and interesting messages I heard him preach was titled, "Slip." This nautical term means, "The difference between a vessel's actual speed through water and the speed at which the vessel would move if the screw were propelling against a solid." It is a message that encourages church attendance and explains the reason we need to hear preaching every week, and why we need to hear certain topics and themes repeated often. The point is this: God speaks a message into the heart of a preacher. That message is filtered through that preacher's life experiences and knowledge, and a little slip occurs. The preacher then delivers that message to his church. The message is shaped by the preparation and presentation ability of the preacher. A little more slip occurs. Then the hearer receives the message into their heart. It is filtered by the hearer's life experiences and knowledge. The hearer is also battling all of the distractions that occur at church both in their own mind and from others around them. More slip occurs. The end product is not quite always the same message that originated from the heart of God. That is why we need to go to church and hear preaching often even on the same subjects over and over again.

I have one final thought about Bro Harrell's preaching. One thing that stands out to me and seems to be pretty consistent in his messages: he repeats his titles often in a message. He drives home the main thought of his message (most often the title) and will repeat it over and over again. Maybe that is why his messages and especially his titles are so memorable.

Thanks again for your investment of time to share about Bro Harrell. God bless!

Another came from Pastor David Elms. Brother Harrell took him under his wing in the early '90's when he was a traveling evangelist. He wrote:

Thank you for doing this honorable thing for Bro Harrell. Here are my thoughts:

On every man's horizon there appear stars. They are not the Sun, yet they are dependable points of light by which one may chart the direction of their life. These steadfast lesser lights will always be shining amidst the haze of shifting things. They speak of life's fixed and stable qualities. Rev. John W. Harrell has been just that for me. His loving guidance has been a constant in my life. I am eternally grateful.

I cannot number the sermons 1-10, I will just name 10 which jump to the front of my heart.

You Can't Carry Your Own Cross
The Ear Bored through with the Awl
An Appeal from the Present into the Future
The Idolatry of a Friendship
Long Ropes Need Strong Stakes
Repairing the Gates I & II
Take What You Want, Take It, and Pay for It
The Conquest of Holy Eyes
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
A Thief Named Familiarity
A Ribbon of Blue
The Long Way Home

I could go on and on! I know I have neglected some of the best.

I owe so many of my victories to Rev. John W Harrell. He taught me to cut off my mountaintops and fill in my valleys. I love his soul! His sweet Hazel (his wife) is just as amazing. He is also great because of this great woman of God.

One more came from Pastor Andrew T. Urshan. He wrote:

I came across your blog, have enjoyed it, and want to add honor to Bro. Harrell.

The details are difficult to recall, but approximately 10 years ago after preaching somewhere down in the South, an old acquaintance approached me and in our conversation said that I would like her pastor's preaching. Back at home, in the days following that conversation, which I had though little more about, I received a padded yellow package in the mail. I noticed the package originated from Bridge City, TX. Inside the package were five cassettes with maroon labels with Pastor Harrell's name on them. I had listened to many hours of cassette preaching through the first eight years of my ministry at that time especially while driving. Little did I know how much I would appreciate the messages on those tapes. To a young minister, the preaching of an elder is very important. Along with my father and a very short list of other elders, Bro. Harrell's messages had a ring of stability, dependability, and depth of thought. As others, I also enjoyed the phrasing, thoughts, and texts of those messages. There will be times that I go back and listen again to those cassette tapes. As I write this, there are two messages that really stand out in my memory. 1) "The Carpenter Encouraged the Goldsmith" 2) "I Can"for

I also want to express my appreciation to the audio personnel of the Bridge City UPC. Without my request, there were several more yellow padded packages from Bridge City that appeared in my mailbox. What a great care package this was to one young minister! In one package there was a note that expressed the desire of the sound personnel to help strengthen my ministry with the messages that were sent. I would like to personally express my gratitude to those who cared enough to send those messages. Those individuals who record, duplicate, and distribute those quality tapes and CDs do a great job.

Brother Harrell has a son, Darryl, who has engineered a masterpiece computer program to track sermons. I have been using the program for about six or seven years and it is very useful. You can track the sermons by subject, date, Scripture reference, location, and subject. Additionally it exports the records in PDF format and also in Microsoft Excell. Another unique feature is that it allows one to track his personal library by purchase date, price, author, and subject. I do not have a contact number for him but drop me an e-mail if you are interested and I will see as to how you can purchase it. It is very economical and I have found it to be much more valuable than the modest price than I paid for it.

Brother Harrell many of us are in great appreciation for what your preaching has done for us. Bridge City, I hope you have an awesome weekend! I regret that I cannot attend but will be thinking of you. . . . .

God Bless to All. . . .

Thanks for reading. . . .

Philip Harrelson

A Life of Preaching--Rev. John Harrell--The Top Five--2. Oh Consistency, Thou Art a Jewel

2011-03-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

# 2. Oh Consistency, Thou Art A Jewel

We are winding down toward Number One leading up to the 40th Pastoral Anniversary of Brother and Sister Harrell in Bridge City, Texas on Sunday, March 20, 2011. Before going any further, I have had a number of e-mails asking about sites that have MP3’s of Brother Harrell’s preaching. To my knowledge there are none out there. However, I am going to give you a person who can send along most of the messages that have been featured on the Barnabas Blog in the last two weeks and you can order them on CD.

None of Brother Harrell’s preaching would have made it out of Bridge City as we have come to know and appreciate if it weren’t for the assistance he has of some very good audio support folks. I think Tom (sorry I don’t know a last name) is responsible for the sound; another man is responsible for Powerpoint and Paula Thompson has been doing the tape/CD ministry for a long time. I am not sure when she started but I do know that she was taking care of it in the early ‘90’s maybe even longer. You can reach her at the church at 409-735-5844. She can send along requests that you have or put you on a subscription list and you will receive CD’s in the mail on a regular basis.

I have had a bit of a dilemma in coming down to these last two slots. I actually had three choices for this spot at Number 2. Oh Consistency, Thou Art a Jewel won out after a phone conversation I had earlier in the week with Brother Harrell. The other two choices that I had were “A Loaf of Bread and A Flagon of Wine,” and “The One-Hundred and Fifty-Six Mile Race.” I would recommend both of these to you to listen to at some point.

Over the years, this sermon is one that Brother Harrell has repeated perhaps more than any other. However, when you are logging in 90 or more times to preach per year out of 156 opportunities, even if he makes it around to preach it once every other year that is only once every 312 opportunities. It is a message that we need to hear much more than once every other year. This sermon is more than just a sermon Brother Harrell has demonstrated this with his life. When your life is consistent, it is easy to preach something of this nature.

Brother Harrell took his text from Matthew 25:21 where the phrase is found that you have been faithful over a few things. This is the way that we will get to heaven by being faithful over a few things, not doing great things, just being a responsible person. Shove off the patterns of inconsistency in life and look forward to hearing the voice of the Lord saying, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.

Jehu was a man who was anointed to be the king of Israel. He immediately set about to making proper reforms. He brought a brief revival of reform but because he was not consistent it was short-lived. Consistency would have brought much to the soul of Israel if Jehu would have done what he was called to do.

• Consistency hates tardiness and absenteeism.
• Consistency thrives on sacrifice and unselfishness.
• Consistency is a mark of maturity; it hangs in there day-in and day-out.
• Consistency makes people very valuable to God and His kingdom.
• Consistency is a vital ingredient to a happy home and marriage.
• Consistency won’t let you wallow around in self-pity.
• Consistency does not get weary in well-doing.
• Consistency works in season and out of season.

What many people do not realize is that the everyday mundane routines of life are actually creating a sense of stability in the lives of many that are associated with us. I can remember well what Brother Harrell told me one time. He said, “When those folks walk in that church in Dothan every Sunday and see you and Brother Patterson sitting on that platform and preaching the Word, it very well could be the only consistent thing in their lives. You need to be consistent amidst all of the ups and downs that people have to deal with. Job pressures, financial setbacks, and all the other stresses of life will wilt them down and they need to see a pastor who just keeps on doing the same thing over and over. That is how you build a church. It’s going to take your whole life to build that church!” This is wise advice not just for me but for a host of other ministers out there.

He concluded the message with this thought: The last thing the world needs is people who are not consistent in their lives and in their profession. One of the things the church is here for is to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. He said that numerous people who are totally backslid tell him how worried they were that one day when they decided to get in a right place with God and their wouldn’t be an old-fashioned apostolic church for them to go to so they could get right. Even if those kinds of folks don’t come right now, they know that you are going to be here. Consistency, Thou Art a Jewel! They can drive down the road at night and they are thankful that the lights are on and someone is inside being consistent in the apostolic doctrine and lifestyle despite it being under great challenges in our day.

Brother Harrell said when he was growing up in Lake Charles that he wasn’t right with God. He would tell the boys in the car “Don’t go down 6th Street tonight.” He said he never did tell them why but on Friday nights, the First Pentecostal Church of Lake Charles, Louisiana was having church. He said that every time he went by there in that condition, it was like a dagger plunged in his heart. Even though he wasn’t right with God, he knew that he ought to be there with them. That is why we have to be consistent is because there are a lot of folks out there who deep down in their heart know this is the right way and one of these days when they make it back, we don’t need to have changed a bit!

Quotes from the sermon:

“Pastors have it when they labor in rocky soil. It reveals itself when employees show up on time, roll up their sleeves and commit themselves to doing their job instead of watching the clock.”

“Diligence is the brother of consistency. Dependability is its partner. Discipline is its role model.”

“I’m not mad, I’m just preaching!”

Murry Ray has dropped me another e-mail that I thought would be a good part of this blog post. It is as follows:

I noticed that several people have remarked about certain phrases Bro. Harrell has used over the years. I realize you have probably heard some of these but I thought you might be interested in them anyway.

1." I'm not mad I'm just preachin!"
2. "What's the deal?"
3. "What's that all about?"
4. "I'd like to drive this into your heart and break it off! Then I'd like to drive the rest of it in on top of that!"
5. "Dear, God! Have mercy!"
6. "Somebody punch me with an Amen!"
7. "Everybody, warm up your Amen!"
8. "I wish somebody would help me preach!"
9. "I just love that!"
10. "You can hold a bear that long!" (My personal favorite)
11. "Awesome!"

Never ask his opinion if you can't handle an honest answer. I was getting ready to buy a motor home once. I felt a little uneasy about it so I called him to get some advice. I was on my way to sign the papers when I finally got in touch with him. He said, "Oh, Murry. You have called the wrong guy to ask about a motor home! You might as well stop on your way home and get a loaf of bread and a large jar of mayonnaise. When you get a chance you need to slather the miracle whip on both pieces of bread and slap the bread on each side of that motor home because you are going to be eating it for a long time!" I never bought a motor home and haven't even considered one since!

Coming tomorrow is the greatest sermon that I think Brother Harrell has ever preached.

Thanks for reading. . .

A Life of Preaching--Rev. John Harrell--The Top Five--3. Four O'clock In the Morning Courage

2011-03-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

# 3. Four O’clock In the Morning Courage

The third sermon of the top five in my opinion that Brother Harrell has preached was entitled “Four O’clock in the Morning Courage.” I have mentioned several times in the last few blogs how important it is to listen to sermons and how that the state of mind and of the soul all influence how we hear the sermon. Some time back I wrote a series of blogs about how we should listen to sermons (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) and there is a prominent responsibility that must take place with the hearer. As a listener, we need to go beyond just hearing what a preacher is saying.

Before I get into a brief summary of this sermon, I would encourage all of you who listen to Brother Harrell to go with me on a bit of a trip with those sermons. Don’t just hear them! Mull them over and consider what is beyond he is preaching and for that matter any preacher is preaching. I have noticed over the years the sermons that Brother Harrell preaches have a theme or principle behind them. When you go beyond the sermon itself and glean the nugget that the Word is bearing out then you have gained a treasure. When you listen to preaching in this manner, it suddenly opens up a new world to you that will lead you to spiritual growth.

For the sake of an example, I will stimulate your thoughts with some of the sermons that I and others have mentioned. Consider the “Comfort” series and you will find that there was comfort or encouragement that was invested into every one of them.

• The Carpenter Encouraged the Goldsmith—Encouragement; Excellence
• Truth Crushed to the Earth Shall Rise Again—Justice
• Nachon’s Threshing Floor—Personal Sacrifice; Commitment
• Forgetful Green: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth—Ingratitude
• Tell Hell I’m Getting Back Up—Persistence; Perseverance
• Vanity Fair—Parts 1 & 2—Worldliness; Corrupting Influence of Sin
• That Which He Took in Hunting—Laziness
• The Bitter Is Better—Challenges of Life
• Making Change Your Friend—Adaptability
• The Seed by the Wayside—Dangerous Distractions
• A Sermon on Diamonds—Tribulation and Trials
• Roadblocks—Hindrances to Progress
• The Treasure—Priorities
• The Battle Is in Your Mind—Taking Thoughts Captive
• Between A Rock and a Hard Place—Trouble
• The Price Can Be Too High—Stubbornness
• Fading as a Leaf—Death
• A Basket of Summer Fruit—Judgment
• The Art of Looking Away—Patience
• Somebody Helped You Get Where You Are—Brotherhood
• Open Your Hand and Let It Go—Overcoming Bitter Experiences of Life; Pruning
• Remembering the Fish, Cucumbers, Onions, Leeks, Melons, and Garlic—Glamorizing the Past; Temptation; Backsliding
• Living Under Tension—Obstacles and Irritations of Life
• Don’t Fail Backwards—Making the most of Failure
• It Behooved Christ to Suffer—Value of Suffering

I know many ministers who are listening to Brother Harrell every week. I implore you to pay attention to what he is doing, every time you listen to one of the CD’s or tapes you are sitting in a Homiletics lab or sorts. Go beyond just listening to him but think with what he is saying and it will make you a better preacher. Take note of the themes that are listed beside the sermon titles and you notice a very balanced delivery of virtues and themes that will make better Christians.

I go back to a quote from my Bible college days when a teacher said, “Poor preaching is a heavy cross to bear.” The burden is on the pulpit to communicate and if the people aren’t getting it, it is not their fault but rather the fault of the one preaching. Good preaching is hard work and it doesn’t just happen. A preacher has to spend time working at his craft. It is curious to me how that the most important thing that preachers do—preach; often gets the least amount of their time. After forty years of devotion to preaching, we admire Brother Harrell because of his gifts but it did just happen, he worked day after day with it. Bridge City has been built on preaching. Brother Harrell has told me numerous times, “It’s hard to improve on three songs and a sermon!” I couldn’t agree more.

The sermon, “Four O’clock in the Morning Courage” gives away its theme in the title. He took his text from Luke 9:51 where Jesus is going to face the crucifixion. He knows what is in store for him and the greatest quality of it all was his sense of courage. It is a cold-blooded courage that usually has no one watching. It is a place where one does what he is supposed to do regardless of the situation.

• Four O’clock in the Morning Courage is bearing untold grief for the loss of a loved one.
• Four O’clock in the Morning Courage is taking care of a family member who has a long debilitating illness.
• Four O’clock in the Morning Courage is dealing with severe financial setbacks.
• Four O’clock in the Morning Courage is fighting things out to the finish.
• Four O’clock in the Morning Courage is ignoring the odds and facing it down with honor.
• Four O’clock in the Morning Courage is overcoming a difficult childhood.
• Four O’clock in the Morning Courage is what is demonstrated by a lot of parents, Sunday School teachers, and those who live the rank and file of life and they face life and get the best of it.
• Four O’clock in the Morning Courage is a young married couple pressing through obstacles of life while they have to endure wagging heads and tongues.
• Four O’clock in the Morning Courage a young person living for the Lord in a school when no one else around them is.

God is aware of the struggles of those who manifest this kind of courage and the angels observe but the eyes of all others are never aware of the difficulty they face. Esther had this kind of courage when she said, “If I perish, I perish!” Job had this kind of courage when he said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust him!” The Lord set his face like a flint to go on.

Read about Emily Bronte and you will discover the actions of one who is filled with courage. She worked steadily despite a terrible dog bite, a fire that destroyed her home, and a host of other calamities of life. She wrote these words not long before her death, “No coward soul is mine, No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere: I see Heaven's glories shine, And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.”

You have to get back up again and again after you fall. Brother Harrell ended by saluting the congregation in Bridge City by telling them that many of them over the years had demonstrated tenacity that had inspired him.

I include another e-mail that I have lightly edited to remove some of the personal comments from Tim Delano who pastors in San Marcos, Texas:

My favorite sermon by Brother Harrell is a "A Call and a Burden" preached on 7-6-2003. It starts out with the words: "There is nothing more overrated than a burden". He goes on to say that many have followed a burden and have messed up their lives following that burden when they did not have a call. He also makes this statement: "When you answer the call of God then the burden will come." I tell many ministers that this is the sermon that they should listen to. In fact I would go as far as to say that every minister needs to listen to this sermon. Sitting in front of me are many more sermons that I have not listened to that I look forward to hearing. I have been blessed by the ministry of Brother Johnny Harrell.

More tomorrow. . . .

Thanks for reading. . .

A Life of Preaching--Rev. John Harrell--The Top Five--4. You Don't Choose Your Own Cross

2011-03-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

# 4. You Don’t Choose Your Own Cross

In trying to pin down the best sermons that I gained the most from that Brother Harrell preached has been difficult. I also realize that when a man preaches those in the congregation are listening with various difficulties of life that they are facing. While one may say that it was the most encouraging sermon he has ever heard, another hearer may not even be stirred by it. Much of the way that we listen to sermons is what we are struggling with at the time. This message came to me during a time of personal disappointment for the cross that I was having to shoulder at the time. Doors were not opening as quickly as I wanted and the doors that were open to me were not the ones I wanted to walk through at the time. I look back now from a vantage point of seventeen years and see that God could not have worked it out any better. It will happen with you too but you don't choose your own cross.

Over the years, Brother Harrell has routinely preached about the Cross. Sermons such as “You Can’t Carry Your Own Cross,” “Paradoxes of the Cross,” “It Was Dark at Calvary,” “Calvary,” “Bearing the Cross,” “They Ministered at Calvary,” “The Cross You Can’t Carry,” and “The Fading Cross.”

Brother Harrell preached “You Don’t Choose Your Own Cross” on January 12, 1994. Over the years, he would occasionally repeat it particularly when he would do the “Favorite Sermons” to the church in Bridge City. The gist of the message is that God’s children will periodically have to endure the firm hand of discipline that comes from the Lord. He does this because He loves us and our chastening is not grievous but it is helpful in that many times it will be the salvation of our soul.

The surrounding text from 2 Samuel 24 was the time when David was to be punished by God for numbering Israel. He was given choices by God as to what the judgment would be but instead he deferred and allowed God to determine what to do. This is always the best choice because God knows far more about the future than what we even could perceive to understand.

David had a choice of seven years of famine which would mean that there would people would be starving to death. Another choice was fleeing from the enemy for three months in the wilderness but he already knew what that was like also. Thirdly, he was given a choice of having to endure a plague that would have tormented and even destroyed the lives of those he ruled over. The dilemma was difficult at best.

One of the greatest mistakes in life is that we look on the hardships and difficulties of others and secretly wish that we had their cross instead of our own. We have the idea that we would be able to handle it so much easier to contend with. However the very nature of the cross is that it will be difficult for a man to bear. It is quite foolish to long and pine for another man’s difficulties in exchange for your own.

Brother Harrell rarely uses poems in his sermons but during this one he used this one:

I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

God knows exactly what He is doing when He chooses our cross!

Your cross will blossom and bloom just as Aaron's rod did in the Old Testament. But you have to stay with it and don't lose faith in God. Brother Harrell encouraged that we must have a blind faith in the plan of God for our lives. Again, looking back in retrospect it was all for the best. There are gifts and talents that have made my life so much richer but it was made so because I didn't choose my own cross.

He concluded with something that many would probably enjoy. He said that he would like to have a preaching marathon. He thought he would start at eight with just him and Sister Harrell. Then he would preach at the ten o’clock service, dismiss and go eat and come back and preach that afternoon and then again that night. He would preach the marathon. I have no doubt he could do it!

Quotes from the sermon:

“Men have a tendency to quarrel with their own cross. They would have chosen something else to contend with. If it would have been another situation, I could have borne it better.”

“One man’s meat is another man’s poison and it is certainly so when it comes to crosses. When we get over there, we will see how wisely the Lord has chosen our cross for us.”

“Churchanity wants to do away with cross-bearing but if there is no cross there will be no crown.”

I have had a few more e-mails of those who have heard Brother Harrell over the years and have sent in their “Top Ten.”

Garrett Delano—1. They That Were Ready; 2. A Call and a Burden; 3. The Holy Ghost Sat on You; 4. Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again; 5. A Branch with Berries on It; 6. Contented yet Discontented; 7. The Blood and The Ground; 8. God Knows How to Thread the Needle; 9. Heaven on the Road; 10. Nachon's Threshing Floor.

I received the following e-mail from Murry Ray who pastors in Trumann, Arkansas. I have edited it somewhat but you will again see the impact of Brother Harrell on a young preacher. It is as follows:

Murry Ray--Bro. Harrell has been my pastor for 32 years! It’s hard to believe that so much time has passed by so quickly. I was ten when my family started attending BCUPC and received the Holy Ghost shortly thereafter. I have many wonderful memories of growing up in that church and cherish the Word preached so effectively and masterfully by Bro. Harrell. Sermons I remember most are some of those already mentioned, but there are a few more I could add to the list. Here are just a couple:

The Carpenter Encouraged the Goldsmith
One of the Days of the Son of Man
Nine Miles to Hell (Probably stirred me more than any message I've ever heard)
The Bells on the Horses
What To Do When You Panic
The Carvings on the Wall
Light Sown for the Righteous
The Word of a Gentleman

Bro. Harrell not only has the unique ability to reach into the depths of God's Word and draw out precious truths. He also has the rare ability to preach profound sermons from simple, if not, unusual thoughts. Three that come to mind: Apple Blossoms, Hope Seed, Hymn Number One.

More tomorrow. . .

Thanks for reading. . .

A Life of Preaching--Rev. John Harrell--The Top Five Sermons

2011-03-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

# 5. Getting Used to the Dark

Today and through the rest of the week, I am going to pull out the top five sermons that Brother Harrell preached that personally caught me at the right time. I could easily do many more that have helped but for the leading up to the fortieth anniversary in Bridge City this coming Sunday, I limit them to five. The greatest power that a sermon has is when it makes those who hear want to do something, make some sort of adjustment and give themselves to a noble cause. This one did exactly that for me. It made me want to be holy and to rise and preach holy.

Brother Harrell preached “Getting Used to the Dark” on January 8, 1984. I was a senior in high school and at the time had no idea that I would be where I am today, much less the pastor of a church. America was somewhat in her height of being a super-power with Ronald Reagan in the White House and the economy had significantly turned around from the previous Carter era.

The United Pentecostal Church had N. A. Urshan as its General Superintendent, C. M. Becton as its General Secretary, and Harry Scism as the Foreign Missions Director. If memory serves me correctly, Rex Johnson was the General Youth Division President, Jerry Jones was the Secretary, and Jerry Dean was the Promotions director. The Youth division men were in their thirties and Brother Harrell was in the neighborhood of forty-three or forty-four years old. Around that same time, Because of the Times, a conference that would have far-reaching effects would be in its infancy led by Anthony Mangun in Alexandria, Louisiana.

The sermon text was from Ephesians 5:11. “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” He starts by telling a story about a visit to a restaurant that had poor lighting and the challenges of reading the menu and then having to eat in the dark. He used that as a starting point and how that after a while when he was able to read the menu and eat because he had gotten used to the dark.

He then turned his preaching to the fact that if we aren’t vigilant and determined that our society can literally stand us on our heads spiritually because of the gradual desensitization that takes place with us concerning sin. The message is timeless because what Brother Harrell preached in 1984 is very applicable for today. We have gotten so acclimated to the darkness that what we think is normal and acceptable now would have been anathema to those who were in the early church or for that matter those in the church in the 40’s and 50’s. The rising argument from our opponents is that we have embraced legalism and bondage with our lifestyle when the sad reality is that we having gotten used to the dark. I have a feeling that if Brother Harrell were allowed to preach this message at a large conference, he would be mocked, shouted down, and chided because we have gotten so used to the dark. Live in the darkness long enough and you get accustomed to it.

Lot never got around to correcting his direction of his life. He pitched his tent toward Sodom and it wasn’t long before he moved in. There was only one message of righteousness that Lot heard to try to get him to turn around. But because he had gotten used to the dark, he had made too much money there, he had lived there for way too long and he lost so much. He lost his family because he got so used to the dark. There are many things he lost because of doing business so long in Sodom.

There are many “Lot’s” in our generation that are telling us that we need to associate with Sodom in order to convert them. They say keep the lights off and get used to the dark. Theological shifts are creating Mulligan stews that are crippling our movement. They are saying that the darkness is lifting and there is more light coming our way but the sad fact is that we are simply becoming more accustomed to the dark. The moorings have been lost and the church is in deep trouble. Remember this was in 1984 and it was a sure word of prophecy then. For those who are old enough, you would have to admit that we have had incredible shifts away from where we once were. I can even see that in my own life. However, it isn’t too late! All we need is for a few to be willing to take some criticism and misunderstanding and get back to preaching this kind of content and plead with a church to turn around and listen to the warnings of Scripture.

Brother Harrell again reaches back to Pilgrim’s Progress and pulls out the story of Christian when he and his companion get to Vanity Fair. He notes that Bunyan wrote, “and as they wondered about their apparel, so did they likewise about their speech. Few could understand what they said for they naturally spoke the language of Canaan. But they that kept the Fair, that is Vanity Fair, were men of this world and they seemed to be barbarians to each other.” Their clothes and their speech were so different from the citizens of Vanity Fair that they were spectacles. How sad it is that there is little difference between the church in their clothes and their speech now from those who live in our modern “Vanity Fair.”

When the fences get down all sorts of things begin to creep in the church. When preaching on holiness becomes absent from the pulpit the church will get more and more like the world. All the while we are getting used to the dark. Desensitized to the degree that we often get angry when a preacher rises to the pulpit and tries to turn us toward God and so the darkness is ruining us because we are used to it.

There is great power in consecration and sacrifice that will come to your life if you will make the commitment to live in the light. Some of that consecration and sacrifice will mean that you will have to have a preacher. The watchman has to get on the wall periodically and send out a clear call to holiness. God has limits that have to be applied in every aspect of our life. If we lose our consecration our personal lives and the church will become nothing more than a swamp. We need a river flowing through the church. It brings depth and cleanliness to our lives.

I have a few questions for you:

• How do you respond when a preacher makes you uncomfortable with preaching standards of holiness?
• Do you accuse those who have standards of holiness as embracing legalism and bondage?
• Are you doing things now that you would have blushed at twenty years ago?
• Are you making allowances and excuses for your acclimation to the dark?
• What are your spiritual disciplines like? Prayer? Fasting? Devotion to the Word?
• Are you more spiritual since you made all of these changes or less spiritual?

Some quotes from this sermon:

“There is a slow brain-washing that has taken place with our society and sin.”

“Many of the magazine articles and television shows of our day are nothing short of vile and have put America in the darkness of Sodom and Gomorrah right in their own living room.”

“There are people who have had convictions for years but now their values are crumbling. The strange thing is it is taking place just before the end of the age. Spiritual deadness is settling down on our generation.”

“There is more pressure on the ministry to compromise than ever before. You are feeling the pressure too! Not only on the pulpit but on the church too!”

“Grace, grace, grace. . . . Mercy, mercy, mercy. . . we are hearing that more than ever but God is still a righteous God and immorality is not justified. What is happening is that we are just getting used to the dark.”

“There is a hot coal from hell that the devil has taken and laid it on the conscience of men. Their conscience has been seared. It has been cauterized by a hot iron.”

“We have lived to see the day that if a preacher preaches on holiness, he is called a redneck. Well. . . just let my neck get red!”

Routinely in Brother Harrell’s preaching, he says “I want to take this Word and break it off in your heart!” This one got broke off in my heart and I am not letting go of it. Too much is riding on me not getting used to the dark.

Thank You, Brother Harrell!!!!!! May God give you ten more years of good health and a ready mind. . . .

More tomorrow. . . .

A Life of Preaching--Rev. John Harrell--Part 4--Helping Preachers

2011-03-11T13:09:00.000-08:00

I appreciate all the e-mails and comments that have come my way during this time that I am honoring Brother Harrell from Bridge City, Texas. One week from this coming Sunday (March 20), Brother and Sister Harrell along with the church will be celebrating their 40th pastoral anniversary.

Along with the consistency and stability that Brother Harrell has modeled for the last forty years, there is another outstanding quality that he has that goes along with his preaching. He is very willing to help preachers. Whether it is with a sermon they may be working on, a church problem they are attempting to work out, or personal problems that are deep-seated and challenging, he does his best to help them out. This is not something that has just started but has been going on for years.

In the neighborhood of thirty years ago, a young preacher from Texas lost his wife and son in a tragic motor vehicle accident. At the time, in addition to being a pastor, he was also the Texas District Youth President. When Pastor Rex Johnson wrote his book, A Palm and A Willow, he documents that Brother Harrell called him every day for a year to help him get through that terrible accident. You have to remember that this was in the days before cell phones so there wasn’t much multi-tasking going on. You were confined to wherever the phone was. This is just one of the examples of many that Brother Harrell has helped over the years.

He was also more than willing to help young preachers get the hang of preaching. For those who listen to preaching, I will tell you that it is a whole lot harder than it may look! In years gone by numerous young preachers have gone to Bridge City and sat down with him and while he talked, they scribbled furiously on legal pads. They ended up going away from that meeting and working with that material and turning it into a sermon. I know of several prominent men both in the UPC and in other circles who would have a series of camp-meetings to preach and would spend time with him preparing for it. Brother Harrell laughingly told me one time that then they would go off and preach it better than he could. Just for the record, I don’t believe it!

One such man he has helped who has in turn done the same thing is Pastor Ken Gurley who is also the South Texas District Superintendent. Brother Gurley has helped multiple young preachers over the years. In fact, Brother Gurley was one of my instructors in Bible College and I attended his church numerous times during my time in Houston. He is also a masterful preacher.

After I graduated from Texas Bible College in 1992 and had come back to Alabama, I became involved in Senior Bible Quizzing. I had a tournament up in north Alabama on a Saturday more than fifteen years ago and found out that Brother Gurley was to be preaching a Friday night service in the Huntsville area. I drove about 300 miles to be in that service with hopes of possibly being able to catch up with him. That night he preached a message Dance Like Nobody Is Watching, a classic Pentecostal sermon about worship.

After the service, I found out that he did not have any commitments and so we went to a local Appleby's in Huntsville. So for about two hours we talked about preaching, books, putting messages together, and sermon delivery. I left that night with the proverbial wagon loaded and further forged my friendship with Brother Gurley.

Here is where Brother Harrell enters the life of Brother Gurley. He told me that in the early days, that he was an administrative assistant to E. L. Holley, Texas District Superintendent. One of his responsibilities was to go and preach in churches that were in transition between pastors. After he had been out of the circuit a bit Brother Holley started getting complaints about how terrible of a preacher that he was. He told me that everyone would always say, "Brother Gurley is the nicest young man but he is the most terrible preacher we have ever heard!!!" He was devastated by all of this and started trying harder to put it together but he just could not do it. It seemed as if the harder he tried, the worse it got.

I am not sure if Brother Holley sent Brother Gurley to Bridge City, Texas or if he had Brother Harrell to call him. However Brother Harrell soon took an active interest in Brother Gurley. He said that Brother Harrell started calling him twice a week. He would call him on Thursday night and say, "Ken, what are you preaching Sunday?" Brother Gurley would say, "Well, I don't know yet." He said then that Brother Harrell would start "rambling" about a story that he had heard and then would connect it with basically a Scripture that went with a sermon. Then Brother Harrell would call him early the next week to find out how things had gone.

Brother Gurley said that it took him about a month to figure out what Brother Harrell was doing when he would call. He said then that as soon as Brother Harrell would call on Thursday or so, that he would go flying through the house and find a legal pad and then scribble down everything that Brother Harrell said while they were on the phone. Then he would go preach it on the weekend!

But then the piper had to be paid!!! Brother Gurley said that when Brother Harrell would call him early in the week and ask him what he had preached that Brother Gurley would say, "Ahh, uhh, well you know, Brother Harrell, ahh, uhh, I just sorta preached what ahh, uhh. . . me and you talked about last week." I will never forget Brother Gurley telling me this in that Appleby’s in Huntsville. I laughed until my sides hurt when Brother Gurley told me about all the hemming and hawing he did on the phone. He said that Brother Harrell never criticized, castigated, or humiliated him. He said that Brother Harrell was always very affirming with his comments.

Brother Gurley told me that Brother Harrell called him for a solid year or so until he had determined that Bro. Gurley had a grasp on putting things together. What a thing to be said! This is where mentoring must play a role in the lives of preachers! As time has passed, I have met a number of men who Brother Harrell has helped.

On yesterday, I requested that those who had heard Brother Harrell preach memorable messages to send me an e-mail with those sermons. I got the following responses.

Jerry Dean— He preached a message called “Oil from the Flinty Rock” to the General Youth Committee. I am not positive that the title is exact but I never forget the sermon. I think the text may have been from Psalms where it says something like oil from the flinty rock.

Shannon Stanley—I guess I contribute an incredible amount of my ministry to Pastor John Harrell - someone that I have admired and been touched by over the years (especially my formative years). I owe probably 75% of my personal library to Pastor John Harrell's recommendations. The sermons are: When We Walk, We Save Something; That Which He Took In Hunting; Yokes of Wood and Yokes of Iron; A Branch on the Breakers; A Thief Named Familiarity; An Appeal From the Past; How to Argue with God and Win; Making Change Your Friend; and Rest Your Soul in a Patch of Light. You are free to use any of these. I also could list others, but I think you listed a lot already and I was trying to list a few that I hadn't noticed.

Tony McCall—In my opinion his legacy is much like that of Spurgeon, who he often references. He is truly the "Prince of Pentecostal Preachers." I have a neighboring pastor that originated in his church. Every time I'm around him he gives me a handful of Harrell CDs to listen to. I've never been disappointed and often I've been challenged. Many of them have found their way into my preaching. In response to your request, my all time favorite sermon by Brother Harrell is "The Bitter is Better", about the bitter springs that God first took the Israelites to in the exodus from Egypt.

Alfred Gibson—Brother Harrell was my pastor for 17 1/2 years. One of my all time favorite sermons was "Treasures of the Snow."

Jonathon Sanders—One of my favorite sermons that Brother Harrell preached based on Pilgrim's Progress was "Forgetful Green, the Most Dangerous Place In All These Parts." Powerful message. “When Prayers Are Feeble" changed my life.

Thanks for reading. . . More on Monday. . .

A Life of Preaching--Rev. John Harrell--Part 3--Stability

2011-03-10T12:45:00.000-08:00

I am using this series of blogs leading up to the 40th anniversary service of Brother and Sister Harrell in Bridge City, Texas on March 20, 2011. For all of the church growth experts who pontificate that you can’t build a church on preaching ought to go visit Bridge City! It has become even more obvious to me as I have written just two blogs about Brother Harrell and his preaching how much effect he has had with his devotion to preaching.

My first visit to Bridge City was in December of 2003. After the morning service, I went to eat with Ken Raggio and his aunt and uncle at a restaurant just outside of Bridge City. While we were eating, Brother Raggio’s uncle started talking about Brother Harrell’s preaching. I think I am correct in saying that he has been attending the church for more than thirty years. He started pulling out titles of the sermons from the ‘80’s. I have to admit that I cannot recall the sermons that he mentioned but I do remember him saying that during some of the most difficult times in his life that not only were the sermons effective but he also talked about the stability that Brother Harrell modeled. He said that no matter what was going on in his life or in that of his family, he always knew that Brother Harrell was going to be in that pulpit on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.

The longer he talked, the more I felt something rising in me. I wanted to do the same thing with my own preaching here in Dothan. However, I did not just want it for myself; I wanted that for every friend of mine who pastored a church and those younger men coming along behind me. I do have to add to this post that in my own situation, I knew the same stability with my own pastor who later became my father-in-law, Joe Patterson. That stability modeled in those elders lives needs to prevail in our day too! I am reminded of the strong character trait of stability when I think of Brother Harrell. In character of this thought, I am reminded of a sermon that he preached entitled, “Oh Consistency, Thou Art a Jewel.”

When you think of stability, especially in the context of being a pastor, you realize that there is an opportunity to create a vast body of work. With that in mind, the following is nothing more than just a listing of some of the different series of sermons that came out of the Bridge City pulpit.

The Favorite Sermons series was initially preached in 1994. Brother Harrell reached back into his tenure of twenty-three years of preaching and re-preached some of his favorite sermons. A similar series was repeated after Hurricane Rita came through in 2005. The listing of the original ’94 series is as follow:

1. When God Smiles
2. When Jesus Sighed
3. The Day I Declared My Dependence
4. The Seed by the Wayside
5. Three Precious Things
6. Doubting Our Doubts
7. Power to See Life Through
8. You Can’t Carry Your Own Cross
9. Supposing Him to Be the Gardener
10. Long Ropes Need Strong Stakes
11. Oh, Consistency, Thou Art a Jewel
12. I Will Love You, Tomorrow

Another series of messages he preached was called Messages on Comfort which was preached in 1996. They are listed:

1. Healing In His Wings
2. Jesus Is So Approachable
3. The Foothill Principle
4. You Can Face Into the Wind
5. Branded by the Marks of Jesus
6. Chains
7. The Storm of “Not Yet”
8. Light Sown
9. The Father Is With Me
10. Mysteries That Defy Explanation

Another series of messages was on the life of Peter in 1995.

1. Peter and His Call
2. Peter and the Question that Never Got Answered
3. Peter’s Lesson on Forgiveness
4. And Peter Followed From Afar

Brother Harrell preached a series of eight messages on the life of David in 1994. Other various series of messages came at different times and I do not have the dates available to me for those. There were fifty-six on Genesis, Exodus had forty-four, there were six messages on Nehemiah, Luke had thirty-six, Acts had twenty-seven parts, Romans had twenty, 1st Corinthians had eighteen, Ephesians had twelve messages, Hebrews had nine messages, 1st John had eight, and the Revelation had sixteen. He also did a fifteen-part series on the Tabernacle. Women of the Bible comprised a fourteen-part series. He also did a series on “Thoughts” and on Justice.

These are the kinds of things a man can do if he will go in and stay through thick and thin. I realize that as one looks back over a forty year period that it was not always a yellow brick road to walk but through discipline, determination and devotion, Brother Harrell has impacted the church in Bridge City.

I have had a number of e-mails sent concerning his preaching. They have originated from both laity and ministry. I have a request for you. Next week, I am going to pick out the best sermons that I heard Brother Harrell preach. I realize that all hearers listen differently to preaching and some sermons seem to home in you because of the state of mind and life you may have been when you heard the sermon. My request is that you would e-mail me your favorite or even a “top ten” you have heard Brother Harrell preach. My intentions are to list the titles next Friday as a last entry for this series of blogs. I will place them there with your name by them or if you wish to remain anonymous that will be fine also. This is where I need your help beyond just reading. My e-mail address is philipharrelson@gmail.com .

Thanks for reading. . . . More tomorrow. . .

A Life of Preaching--Rev. John Harrell--Part 2--A Pilgrim's Progress

2011-03-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

I am continuing the series on Brother Harrell and his preaching at Bridge City from yesterday. I mentioned how that Brother Harrell had encouraged me to dig into Pilgrim’s Progress and dig out the treasures that were there. He told me that he thought that Pilgrim’s Progress was one of the most neglected books among most Pentecostal preachers. When I really started applying myself toward it, a vast storehouse of material was opened up to me.

The whole allegory is concerned with Christian getting to the Celestial City (Heaven) and the battles and characters that he encounters along the way. Mr. Facing Both Ways, Worldly Wiseman, Hopeful, Faithful, and the Man in the Iron Cage are just a small few of worthy characters that will work for very good “sermon spice.” Over the years Brother Harrell has preached from multiple angles using the characters in that book.

One of the most memorable sermons that I heard him preach was “A Loaf of Bread and a Flagon of Wine.” It just so happens that I was in Bridge City on a Sunday morning when he preached it. He worked with the portion where Christian descends into the Valley of Humiliation and has a long protracted fight with Apollyon. Bunyan described the fight in a notable way when he said that you have never heard such a battle in all of your life—the clanging of weapons, the shouts of anguish, the cries of pain, and the sheer noise of it all was disconcerting to say the least. Christian almost loses the fight but in the end manages to find his sword and barely escapes with his life. The whole scene is indicative of any man who serves the Lord and his certain battle he will have with the devil.

Brother Harrell went to the scene immediately following the fight when Christian reaches in his backpack and finds a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine. It is what the porter’s daughters had placed in his pack prior to him leaving the Palace Beautiful (a symbol of the church). The bread and wine revived Christian and healed his wounds after the battle. Brother Harrell went on to say that there are untold benefits that you get every time you go to the house of worship. There are things that are put into your spirit that you may not find for months but when you descend into the Valley of Humiliation and have to fight it out with the devil, after the battle, you will reach into your pack and discovery a bit of bread and a flagon of wine that will bring communion with Christ! It was an incredible message that I will never forget!

Brother Harrell would also take specific characters and build messages around the characteristics that formed these characters. He preached about Mr. Ready-to-Halt which is one of the characters who seems to get challenged by every situation he faces along the way. Every straw along the way is the one that breaks Mr. Ready-to-Halt’s back. He seems to thrive on discouragement and much of his life is live in the “ain’t it awful club.” When you hear sermons like this it makes you want to do better and get out of the doldrums and man up and do your work. We all encounter difficulties along the way but we must continue to go on.

Another character he preached a sermon about was Mr. Fearful. Mr. Fearful had one overarching fear that made him miserable. He was concerned about whether or not it would turn out well for him when he died. He seemed to manage to do well with most of the difficulties of life except for this overriding and unreasonable fear that he was going to be lost in the end. Interestingly when he was in the Palace Beautiful and he was around all of the shields, weapons, and past trophies that were on the walls to commemorate the victories of many in the past, his faith would soar and he knew all was going to be well. However, when he left that room his faith sank like a rock. Brother Harrell would uniquely use these characters to motivate you to get some grit for your craw to make it for another round.

He also preached a sermon on the “Three Shining Ones” that Christian met along the way. He met them when the burden of sin was removed from him. The first Shining One tells him after the burden has been removed that his sins have been forgiven. The second Shining One brings him a royal coat to wear during this journey. Up to this point, Christian clothes had been ragged and torn and worthless but they were soon replaced with something far more valuable and worthy to him. The third Shining One came forward and put a mark on the forehead of Christian to show that he was owned by God.

Brother Harrell preached two sermons on Vanity Fair when Christian and Faithful are attempting to navigate through it. I am not sure if they still have these available but you would be very well served by these sermons. Vanity is the city and Vanity Fair is the place of commerce in this vile place. It is created by the construction of the devil as he attempts to get every saint along the way to trade spiritual things for the superficial. Vanity has been around for a long time, in fact its origin is from Babylon. It is populated with cheats, fools, knaves, rogues, and apes who spend their time fooling about with games, thieving, murders, adulteries, and false swearers. These types are the salesmen of the things that are being sold. In reality the merchandise there are nothing more than idols of distraction for the travelers.

It is a carnival that lasts year round and its devious salesmen are masters at their trade. According to Bunyan, they are selling merchandise to entrap even the heartiest of souls. The wares they offer are houses, land, trades, honors, titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, and sinful delights of all kinds. In addition to that other things for sale are husbands, wives, children, masters, servants, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, and even a mix of precious stones. There is something for every man because the trade of Vanity Fair is a serious affair. In fact it is as serious as heaven and hell and the currency of trade there is not money but rather the souls of men. The whole goal of Vanity Fair is to get men to turn away from the path of salvation and throw away their hope.

Immediately striking about this place is the voices that call out and attempt to get Christian and Faithful to turn from the path and sell out their soul. However, it was not very long before the hawkers of Vanity Fair realized that these two men were not going to be dissuaded. “Sir’s, if you aren’t interested in buying what we have, what do you want to buy?” Christian speaks quickly and surely, “We buy Truth.” That is the only real commodity in the realm of the Kingdom of God.

When the citizens of Vanity heard this they immediately began to persecute them for three reasons. First, for the way they dressed. They were dressed simply and modestly compared to the citizens of Vanity who were dressed provocatively and immodestly. In fact their clothing was in such contrast that the citizens of Vanity called them fools. Secondly they were persecuted for the way they talked. Their speech was clean and godly compared to the coarse, vile words that poured out of the heart of Vanity’s barbarians. Thirdly, Christian and Faithful did not even want to look at the merchandise that was for sale in Vanity.

Brother Harrell did a fantastic job with it! There is much more to the scene at Vanity Fair but you find some unsavory characters there. Men like Judge Lord Hategood, Lord Carnal Delight, Mr. Blindman, Mr. Live-Loose, and many others.

As with “A Loaf of Bread and a Flagon of Wine,” he would take scenes out of the book and make them work for him. One such message he preached was entitled “What Faithful Met On the Hill of Difficulty.” The Hill of Difficulty was a huge towering spire that was filled with various obstacles that were meant to hinder the progress of Christian and Faithful along the way.

There are multiple other sermon illustrations from Pilgrim’s Progress that Brother Harrell used over the years to weave into his preaching. There is one scene that reminds me of Brother Harrell in so many ways. It is where Christian is approaching the Palace Beautiful at dusk. He looks up the lonely road and discovers two huge lions along the path of the trail. He sits down in discouragement, ready to quit. Soon he notices the great doors of the Palace gate beginning to open. He notices that a beam of light runs the length of the trail and a voice from the inside calls him to come in. He starts to argue with the man inside and informs him that if he comes up the trail that the lions will devour him. The comforting reply returns back to him that if he will stay on the trail and walk in the light that the lions cannot reach him. The lions had heavy chains about their necks and the chains would not allow them to get on the trail to devour him.

The character who opened the door and called out the instructions was the porter. He is symbolic of a pastor. How many times in the last forty years has Brother Harrell stood in that pulpit in Bridge City and his voice called out instructions and his actions sent a bold beam of light for folks to walk on? Not only did they make it past the lions but the darkness did not stop them. The goal was to get in the Palace Beautiful so they would be equipped to make it to the Celestial City. If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we will not fall prey to the lions that Satan has at the sides of the trail.

When Brother Harrell told me to get a grip on Pilgrim’s Progress, I started looking around for various commentaries on it. One of first ones that I found was a tattered, dog-eared copy of Alexander Whyte’s “Characters of Pilgrim’s Progress.” There are four volumes of Whyte’s musings but they are absolutely essential for one who wants to look a little deeper. I also found a Pilgrim’s Progress devotional written by Cheryl Ford that also was useful because of the summary that she did with characters and scenes. Additionally, I found a book by Barry E. Horner entitled Pilgrim’s Progress—Themes and Issues which is also loaded with thought provoking nuggets. I also found the updated version by L. Edward Hazelbaker published by Bridge Logos to be an excellent resource.

As I mentioned yesterday about Brother Harrell reading Spurgeon, I also purchased MTP from Pilgrim Publications. It is a hefty investment but they still offer the same opportunity to subscribe and get books monthly or quarterly. When I read Spurgeon and his interest in Pilgrim’s Progress, Spurgeon mentioned a number of Puritans that also used Bunyan’s allegory. Thomas Watson, Thomas Brooks, William Gurnall, and Jeremiah Burroughs all used illustrations that have helped me with preaching. So I commend these works to you although you will quickly find that the content is nothing like a lot of the lighter things that are selling today. Reading Spurgeon, the Puritans, and Bunyan is something you will have to grow into but it will transform and church and the next thing you know folks will be showing up to hear you preach!

I have had several very positive e-mails from all over about Brother Harrell. Some have asked about how to get CD’s. The lady in charge of that is Paula Thompson and you can reach her at the church. The number is 409-735-5844. Sister Paula, as everyone calls her, has been doing the tape/CD ministry for a long time and can tell you more about Brother Harrell’s sermons than anyone, except Sister Harrell and Jahnette, Brother Harrell’s daughter. One of the most terrible things happened when Hurricane Rita blew threw a few years ago. Brother Harrell’s library and notes were shredded by the storm and every one of the cassettes at the church were lost.

On a closing note, one of the funniest e-mails that I got was from one of the young men in the church. He said that one of the elders told him that he hoped he died before Brother Harrell retired. That is the kind of preaching I want to do in Dothan, I want to preach my way into these folks heart’s. It may take forty years to do but Brother Harrell’s example shows all of us that it can be done!
More tomorrow. . . . Thanks for reading. . . .

A Life of Preaching--Rev. John Harrell

2011-03-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

A Salute to Rev. John Harrell--UPC Bridge City, Texas--Part 1

On March 20, 2011 the United Pentecostal Church in Bridge City, Texas will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Rev. and Mrs. John Harrell in the role of pastor of the church. For the next several days, I intend on saluting Brother Harrell on the Barnabas Blog. He literally has lived out a life of preaching and has affected a vast amount of people, both laity and ministry, with his preaching ministry. Perhaps the noblest thing about it is that he rarely ever preached out of the church in Bridge City. His preaching in that pulpit has been the sole place of his efforts. In fact, I only know of four places that he has been to outside of Bridge City over the years. He preached for Pastors David Fuller at Atlanta West UPC, Ken Raggio in Commanche, Texas, Ken Gurley at his 25th anniversary in Pearland, Texas, and Ron Macey at Royalwood in Houston. Pastor David Fuller was a peer and the rest of these pastors were those whom Brother Harrell spent time working with when they were young preachers.

I first heard about Brother Harrell in the mid-90’s when I went to preach for Ken Raggio in Birmingham. Generally when I get around closer friends, I immensely enjoy talking about preaching, sermons, the craft of sermon building, books and tools that will help me become better, and other various elements of pulpit ministry. I can remember so well talking about preaching one night in Birmingham with Brother and Sister Raggio. We were at the kitchen table and as the conversation progressed, I told them who one of my heroes was among our men in the UPCI.

Almost immediately, Brother Raggio said, “I know where he is getting his ‘stuff.’” Mentally, I went into my scoff mode and asked, “Really! Where is he getting his stuff from?” Brother Raggio then told me, “From Johnny Harrell in Bridge City, Texas.” The scoff mode really went up then because I had never heard of Johnny Harrell much less Bridge City. But I went along with the whole thing and got a little more inquisitive. I asked him about some tapes and he told me he had a drawer full of them but did not have any blank cassettes to make copies. However, he promised me that the next time I came up to preach in Birmingham, he would have some tapes for me.

As time went by, I forgot the conversation until six or eight months later when I went up to Birmingham to preach again. I look back at the foolishness of some of the things I did when I got an opportunity to preach. I was still full-time at the hospital so I had to be back at work on Monday morning at 7:00 AM. I would drive up to Birmingham and get there in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday, and then preach Sunday morning and Sunday night. After the Sunday night service, Teresa and I would go out with the Raggio family and I would be pulling out of Birmingham around 11 or so and drive the three plus hours home arriving usually a little after 2 or so. By the time the car was unloaded with kids and such, it would be pushing three and I would have to be back up shortly after six to make it to work. I look back on that time and wonder how in the world it was managed.

On that next trip back to Birmingham, Brother Raggio had a bunch of blank cassettes and Chad, his son, made me a set of twenty-five of the sermons that Brother Harrell had preached. Still somewhat skeptical because I had never heard of Brother Harrell, primarily because he was not on the conference circuit, I put in one of those tapes. I started south on I-65 and hadn’t gotten ten minutes into the tape before I thought to myself, “Where has this man been?” It wasn’t long before I put in the second and the third and the fourth one before I reached home. I wasn’t the least bit sleepy despite it being after 2 AM; I had discovered another hidden treasure among Pentecostal preachers.

I still have those cassette tape copies that I got from Brother Raggio. The first sermons I heard of Brother Harrell were:

• The Lame Shall Take the Prey
• The Root of Prayer
• When Wounded Men Rise Up
• A Talk about Prayer
• Conformed to the Image of the Son
• Moab Is My Washpot
• Snow, Hoarfrost, and Ice Melted by His Word
• The Snare of the Fowler
• A Sermon on Diamonds
• No More Sea
• The Palanquin
• The Favorite Sermons (total of 12 which I will blog about later)
• You Don’t Choose Your Own Cross
• Messages of Comfort (total of 10 which I will blog about later)

Those tapes were my introduction to the preaching ministry of Brother Harrell. I finally met Brother Harrell in October, 2003 when I was honored by the Raggio family to assist in preaching the funeral with him for Sister Raggio who fought a long drawn out fight with cancer before passing away on September 29, 2003. It would be in December 2003 that I would go to Bridge City and spend a weekend with the Harrell’s and Brother Raggio. (The connection with the Raggio’s and Brother Harrell is that he was their pastor in the early ‘80’s.)

We got to Bridge City late Friday night and stayed in Beaumont. Saturday morning around 10:30, Brother Harrell let me into his world. We went to this hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Sartan’s. It was a seafood joint that didn’t look like much on the outside but to this day, I have not had fried crab like I did on that day, it was fantastic. While we were eating, I started asking Brother Harrell about the ins-and-outs of preaching. I was not disappointed! For the next six hours or so, I got my wagon loaded! We finished there and he took us somewhere in the vicinity of Bridge City to a place called Rao’s where we had coffee, dessert and talked about preaching while I furiously scribbled on multiple napkins. When I got back to the hotel, I translated those scribbles into a notebook that I kept specifically for material like Brother Harrell had given to me.

Brother Harrell told me that when he first started preaching that he was off somewhere up in a little town in Louisiana working as an evangelist. In those days (late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s) the Pentecostal evangelists would stay in the homes of the pastors. So Brother Harrell told me that one of those pastors encouraged him to read Charles Spurgeon. He said one night after they got home from church the pastor lent him Volume 8 of the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit which was being published by Pilgrim Publications in Pasadena, Texas. Long into the night did he read! It ended up that the pastor realized that he liked the book so much that he gave it to him.

At the time, Pilgrim was printing one volume or so about every two or three months. They had formed a subscription service of sorts and Brother Harrell said he started getting the MTP. He told me that he could hardly wait for the next volume to get to his house and when it did he would devour it. Over and over he read the Spurgeon sermons and gleaned things from them. Another fortuitous thing happened with this also. Spurgeon read Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan over one hundred times during his lifetime and he was so familiar with the text of Pilgrim’s Progress that it would come out in the illustrations that Spurgeon used. Brother Harrell encouraged me to dig into this allegory and it has also proved very useful to me also.

A few observations for the preachers who read this blog that I have picked up from Brother Harrell along the last seven years.

• You have to be a disciplined student to preach well.
• You are no better than your devotion to God.
• Good preaching does not just happen, you have to work at it.
• Your personal library will either make you or break you. Be willing to spend money to get better.
• You’re local church is where you are going to make the biggest impact. Do your work well there and it will get out to the world without you having to go anywhere.
• Do Your Work!!!!

I will pick up tomorrow with some other things about Brother Harrell and his preaching. I have to say that I immensely appreciate the way that God used primarily Brother Raggio to get me attached to Brother Harrell. Furthermore I am thankful for the time Brother Harrell has taken with me in the last seven years primarily by way of phone. He has made me long to be a better preacher.

Continuing Education for Ministers

2011-02-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

If you have any professional license and practice some skill in the United States generally the board that provided your certification requires some form of continuing education. This is particularly true for those who work in the medical field. From physicians all the way down the totem pole there is a general requirement for at least 24 hours of continuing education in the course of a two-year period. This is a way for the varying boards that provide licensure to help keep these people at least remotely proficient in how they practice.

I am for this sort of activity because it sharpens the mind and usually provokes the mind to focus a bit so that certain skills will improve. It also keeps you aware of the various changes that are taking place in the field. However, since most ministers do not have someone holding their feet to the fire for continuing education, if it takes place at all, it is because of self-initiative and motivation.

If a man is not careful, after he has been in the ministry for ten years or so, the pounding his soul and mind takes through the normal avenues of ministry creates a very stale and often pessimistic view toward the church. Add to that various other hazards of ministry, church life, and denominational politics that he has to endure along the way and continuing education becomes an afterthought if it even merits that much attention.

I can remember the first John Maxwell seminar that I attended back in 1994. He made a very profound statement about putting yourself on a personal growth plan. I remember the three things that he said that personal growth would cost: time, money, and discipline. At the time, Maxwell was just beginning to step into the leadership genre that would move into the church world. Some of his influence has been very good while some other areas have obviously hurt the church. Particularly in areas where doctrine and lifestyle were directly sacrificed on the altar of convenience for church growth at any cost. But if there was anything that Maxwell said that stuck with me, it was the fact that any personal growth that took place in my life was going to be my responsibility.

Recently I have been reading Decision Points by George W. Bush. As I was reading one of his anecdotes about one of his history professors at Yale, I was bowled over by the statement that this professor made. He said, “My business is history!” Former President Bush said that this professor could make historical characters so real it was almost as if they were walking the aisles of the classroom and they were teaching instead of this professor. I thought to myself as I read, “My business is going to be the Bible!” I am going to give myself to it in such a way that when I preach or teach, I want people not only hear the Word but to encounter the Word. There is a price tag on being able to do that! That is where continuing education will have to take place.

Here are the challenges that a preacher faces with our generation:

• A very low-level biblical knowledge of any kind has become the norm for even regular church-goers.
• A highly distracted society because of the various forms of electronic media that is overwhelming our minds.
• Shortened attention spans because of the effect of television and highly appealing mental and visual stimulation that takes place.
• A mostly unconcerned population concerning what takes place after they die.
• A lack of hunger for spiritual things or instruction.
• A mentality that is appalled at a sermon that lasts for an hour but thinks nothing of watching a sporting event that may last 2 ½ to 3 hours or a movie that lasts for 90 to 120 minutes.
• A population that rarely reads anything but web-pages and text messages (txtn mkng us dummer n dummer 2day). Thought I would throw that text message in for you so you could see!
• An attitude that scoffs at anything that even half-way promotes an absolute view of anything. Which is what the Bible does.
So how does a man who has the very words of life combat all of this?

First, he has to be a man who is given to prayer and the care of his soul. Continuing education has to start with a minister forcing himself into a place of prayer. I do not speak of the kind of prayer that we do when we are in our cars traveling to various pastoral appointments and so forth but the kind of prayer that puts the world on hold until the soul can be emptied of the world and filled with the things of God.

How many men are willing to put themselves on a personal growth plan for prayer? We often relegate prayer, especially in Pentecostal circles, to being spontaneous, vehement, and passionate. Spontaneous prayer holds an important place but what if our praying was more prepared and systematic than the disorganized way that it often is. What if for six months you developed a list of specific people and specific needs that you desired for God to take care of? I am mostly told that prayer doesn’t work as if pragmatism is the whole reason that we pray anyway. My standard response to people who say that prayer doesn’t work is that the only prayer that does not work is that which is never prayed. The common reason that prayer does not work is because we are not given to consistent and organized prayer. America is mostly prayerless until some national disaster strikes and then people pray for a couple of months after that and then drop back into their prayerless state. Just in case you are wondering, listening to someone else pray does not count for you praying.

The continuing education of a preacher means that prayer is on the agenda. I doubt you would want a surgeon to perform surgery on you if he did not scrub his hands for ten minutes prior to the procedure taking place. I can only wonder how many times that Charles Conner and Joe Sugg, two of Dothan’s finest general surgeons to operate and who have both retired been several years, washed their hands in a standard ten-minute surgical scrub prior to surgery? If a surgeon scrubs his hands prior to surgery, don’t you think a preacher ought to scrub his soul in continuous, sincere prayer?

The Lord needs for his servants to be abiding, praying, and fruit-bearing. Prayer attaches us to the Vine that is mentioned in John 15. Once I start abiding in the Vine, I will find that I want to relate to the Lord. I will want to reject what the Vine rejects and conversely in doing this I will receive great nourishment from the Vine. That is way that prayer works.

One of my favorite quotes on prayer was one I ran across years ago in Ralph Turnbull’s fine volume entitled “The Minister’s Opportunities.” Thomas Armitage said, “A sermon steeped in prayer on the study floor, like Gideon’s fleece saturated with dew, will not lose its moisture between that and the pulpit. The first step towards doing anything in the pulpit as a thorough workman must be to kiss the feet of the Crucified, as a worshiper, in the study. (Preaching: Its Ideals and Inner Life, 1880.)

Another way to jump-start the passion and purpose in your prayer is to memorize Scripture. I have undertaken quite a task this year. I am endeavoring to memorize the Sermon on the Mount. I am doing so in fits and starts but I can quote more now than I could at the beginning of the year. This is despite being about a week behind on the schedule that I discovered last November. The more Scripture you know, the more weighted your praying will be. You are going to find that Scripture pushes your prayer into areas you had never before contemplated. You cannot ask God in prayer to help you be humble, meek, and pure in heart and then go directly into the mud-holes of the world and have a clear conscience about it.

The prayers of the Puritans will help you grow too! You cannot read the prayers of Thomas Manton, Richard Baxter, and Thomas Watson and it not affect the inner spiritual life. Consider a portion of one of their prayers: I bewail my coldness, poverty, emptiness, imperfect vision, languid service, prayerless prayers, and praiseless praises.

Another tool to help your prayers grow is a little Moleskin. Go spend the $5 or $6 it will cost you and then set it up as a personal journal of sorts. Write down the date and then keep track of how long you prayed that day. I am certain that there will be those who will accuse me of being a legalist with this method but you have a choice with that. You can call me a legalist while I will smugly call you prayerless! No, not really. I would not want you or I to drop down in such a slime pit but I am challenging you to take a look at how little you really pray every day and the way you will assess it is to keep track of the time spent in prayer.

So I am encouraging you today to get yourself on a continuing education path for prayer. If Maxwell can cause us to reach for levels of excellence in leadership, then maybe this blog can cause you to turn the corner toward godliness and fresh revival for our day!

More tomorrow for continuing ed. . . .

The Struggle of the Will of God

2011-02-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

Recently it struck me once again how challenging that finding the will of God can be. I can remember not too long ago how that there seemed to be a much more desperate search for God’s approval in the choices that people made that really affected the whole direction of their life. Decisions such as career choices, job transfers, choice of a spouse, and certainly a direction for ministry were deemed as crucial moments that would need the utmost approval of God.

I can remember reading in numerous biographies of those great men who accomplished something for God, the near state of spiritual angst that went with finding the will of God. One particular man wrote of very rapid spiritual growth that took place in his life but that spiritual growth was accompanied by an intense struggle to find the will of God. After the agonizing internal battle, he left to study for the ministry at a Bible school. In the process of doing this, he left an elite college to which he had a full scholarship to cover all of his expenses. His family was wholeheartedly opposed to this and expressed great concern that he was wasting his future. He went on to have a very fruitful ministry.

Our days seem to have left those things of inner spiritual struggle which are deeply thought through, earnestly prayed out, and allowing the Word to direct our choices. Maybe we are too busy and not given to much thought as to whether or not God approves what we are about to do. But the reality is that this inner tension is what seemed to mark some of the greatest of God’s men. The greatest longings of life are those things which are godly, righteous, and spiritual in nature. The hunger of the heart will never be substituted with anything less than God’s will being fulfilled in your life.

The servant of God has to go through the experience of things before he can make a study of those paths he had to take. How often have you endured struggles and trials and then looked back to gather the sweetness that came from the struggle? Honey came out of the lion’s carcass for you just as it did for Samson. There is a discipline of life and spirit that God uses to harness the great spiritual power of the soul. A few points about this process might help.

First, you will usually travel alone. In the dark hours of this decision, it generally will be a solitary place. Our society is so connected now that it is often frightening for us to get to a place where we are alone with the voice of the conscience. Most of this struggle will be hidden away somewhere from the prying eyes of the curious. The benefit of this comes when we discover and find great dependence on God.

Second, you will have to make some trade-offs. They will generally be clear to you but very difficult to embrace. You will know of anointing instead of acceptance. You will experience ostracism instead of inclusion. There will be the miraculous for the mundane. You will know the choice of being prophetic over being popular. You will find a trade involving the dangerous for the comfortable. It will be a life of sacrifice instead of ease. Ultimately the trade you are making means God instead of self.

One final thought on the process of making the trade: When you make them you won’t know the value of it until well into the campaign. It may take ten or fifteen years or even a lifetime to discover the importance of the choice you have made but go ahead and make the trade. There is a huge purpose of life that will never be grasped and realized until you make the trade.

Thirdly, you will have to resist the overwhelming urge to quit and go in another direction. Get beyond the idea of throwing in the towel. Stand up and persist! The longer I live the more impressed I am with the thought that those who make it and are successful are not the most talented, gifted, best-looking, and so forth. The people who make it are those who just stay at it. There is a blessing in doing something again and again.

I have a question for you. If you were to require a coronary artery bypass today would you want a surgeon who had done 10,000 over a 20 year period or a surgeon who had done 750 over a 20 year period? It is obvious that you would want the surgeon who had worked steadily for 20 years and did 10,000. The reason is because that just staying with something and doing it over and over increases your skill. Stay where you are and become great in that place! Resist the urge to always be looking for the greener grass somewhere else.

For this matter of quitting, if you quit, there are a host of blessings that you are never going to benefit from in the coming years in your life.

Thanks for stopping by. . . .

While Europe Slept

2011-02-22T19:06:00.000-08:00

Last year, I was encouraged by two good friends of mine to add Daniel Silva to my reading stack. After listening to them for over a year, I happened to walk into a used bookstore and decided to spend a whole dollar for a somewhat beat-up hard-bound copy of Silva’s The Secret Servant. I was a little surprised at the alacrity that this new author drew me in. It was one of those books that you start in the evening and end up sitting up way too late to see how it ends.

The story was about an Israeli spy who ran throughout Europe thwarting the efforts of Muslim assassins and their plans of destroying democracy. However, what really captured me about Silva’s works was the endnote. Silva listed several sources that he had used to research the background for the book. I subsequently tracked down most of these books and read most of them over about a four month period.

What I discovered was that there has been a growing Muslim influence in Europe over the last thirty years as they have slowly infiltrated geographically by immigration, politically by their fear and intimidation techniques, and religiously by building mosques and developing multiple cell groups that disseminate Islam concepts. This spread of Islam is well-documented by multiple sources although a recent Pew forum seems to suggest it may not be spreading as rapidly as once believed. But despite the fact of the Pew forum stats, one would be foolish to suggest that Europe and for that matter our world has not drastically changed through the ominous influence of the Muslim extremists.

The first book that I read was by Bruce Bawer entitled While Europe Slept—How Radical Islam Is Destroying the West from Within. While I cannot vouch or even condone some of the sinful lifestyle choices of the author, the book is incredibly well written and his documentation is impeccable. He is not just spitting in the wind and pulling numbers out of the sky.

He starts the book telling about the murder of Theo van Gogh. He was killed by a radical Muslim for some of his views on the Koran. Bawer then moves on with extreme precision in documenting events all over Europe and the fear of the media and its politicians to speak out against the radical imams who host mass rallies that encourage violence against Jews, Christians, and other groups whom are perceived to be “infidels.”

Bawer also documents where free speech is coming under fire and it is being outlawed and some writers are being prosecuted because when they bring to attention the violence of the radicals. Be warned that there are some parts of the book where Bawer gets bogged down with stats and lengthy explanations concerning the backgrounds of the various groups on both sides of the issue.

Book Recommendation--Why Johnny Can't Preach

2011-01-06T12:42:00.000-08:00

One of the most important things that a pastor does is to preach. The longer I am involved in ministry the more I realize how crucial that solid biblical preaching is to a local church. I have not come to this particular thought overnight but rather a process of about fifteen years. I am constantly in the hunt to look for books, MP3’s, seminars, and journal articles that will make me a more effective preacher. I am often surprised at how infrequently that preachers read books that sort of fall into the “how to” mode of preaching.

I have recently purchased a book that I have had on a wish-list of sorts for almost a year now and have not been disappointed in its ability to deliver some hard facts about our generation of listeners and the preachers who preach to them. Why Johnny Can’t Preach by T. David Gordon is a must read for all preachers. The sub-title of the book is The Media Have Shaped the Messengers. It is a little over 100 pages and can be read through in an evening. I feel certain that you will be provoked by reading it if you are actively involved in preaching.

One of the random thoughts that came to me while I was reading it was to compare the preachers of yesteryear to those who are preaching today. So I made a comparison to some of Charles Spurgeon’s sermons from the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit which is a 63 volume set of sermons to Max Lucado’s various books which are his sermons from the last 10 years or so. I also compared Joseph Parker’s twenty-plus volume set called Preaching

Through the Bible to Andy Stanley’s book, It Came from Within, and I am shocked at the lack of depth between modern day preaching and what was commonly preached back then. Spurgeon and Parker loaded their sermons with Scripture and the illustrations and applications were all scripturally oriented. Lucado and Stanley were more geared toward warm fuzziness that at the end of the day will be like cotton candy.

David Gordon tackles some of the issues facing our generation and points out how modern media methods have literally decreased the ability of both preachers and listeners to think for lengthy periods of time. Gordon takes his title from a book that was written sometime back Why Johnny Can’t Read that explored some of the reasons that children were having difficulties with reading comprehension.

So before you scoff at what the book is implying, think for a moment back to Genesis 3. The first thing the serpent did in the Garden was cause Eve to doubt what God had said. Fast forward over a period of 6000 years and you still have the same thing going on. The serpent is still trying to get us to doubt what God is saying through His Word, the Bible. If he can degenerate the Word and dumb down the ability of the listener to accurately grasp the meaning of Scripture about 90% of his work is done.

Gordon explores some of the pitfalls that preachers fall into. First of all he states that over years he has listened to multiple sermons that really had no discernible point whatsoever. Secondly he noted that many of the sermons had a text that was read by the minister but did not relate to the sermon and instead of hearing God’s will he heard a man’s opinion. Thirdly he discovered that most churches in their pastoral searches aren’t really looking for a preacher as much as they are looking for a social coordinator, a nice guy, a social fellow, and so forth. Gordon noted the reason pastoral search committees fell into this trend was the fact that most congregations had never really heard sermons that literally grabbed them by the lapel and held them to God’s high and holy standard. I am certain that some readers of this blog might associate such preaching to that of “hell-fire and brimstone” content. While that is a component of true preaching, it is by far only a small portion of the preaching content a pastor will do.

Gordon explores Robert Lewis Dabney’s Lectures on Sacred Rhetoric and asks some very potent questions to the man who preaches. You will not go wrong considering what Dabney and Gordon ask about preaching.

If you are a preacher and are content with your preaching—don’t buy this book, you will waste your money. However, if you are a preacher and there is a pressure in your soul to communicate well and promote truth, get this book and read it through once and then go back and read it again with a red pen. Mark it up and make notations in the margins because it will only help you to do more effectively what God has called you to do—preach the Word!

Resources for Reading the Bible In 2011--Memorizing Scripture

2011-01-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

This last post to encourage you to read the Bible through in 2011 will be the most challenging one of all. It perhaps brings back those fears you had when you were in high school and you had a major gaffe when you were trying to quote “Mending Wall” by Frost or some ancient line of Shakespeare’s in front of the whole class.

Frankly, I associate memorization of any sort with all sorts of torment particularly after Gerald Bryant, my old A&P teacher in college, who much against our will forced us to memorize the Kreb’s Cycle and the ins and outs of Frank Starlings law. Add to that the forced labor of Ellen Borland exhorting us to memorize Hamlet’s soliloquy and my fleeing from these sorts of modes of education are highly warranted. However, I have to think that memorizing Scripture does not even nearly fall into the same category.

In fact, Don Whitney in his fine book on the Spiritual Disciplines stated that our whole attitude would change about memorizing Scripture if we were told that we were going to be paid $1000 for every verse we memorized. I have a feeling I could memorize at the very minimum, ten every week, probably more. It is a matter of motivation and priority as to whether you want to give yourself to such an activity.

There are multiple benefits in memorizing Scripture. One of the foremost is that it gives us a sense of spiritual power. By memorizing Scripture, we can know what to do in situations that life brings to us. Psalm 119:11 encourages us to put Scripture in our heart so that we will not sin against God. One of the elements of armor in Ephesians 6:10-18 is that wielding of the sword of the Spirit. An accomplished and skilled soldier knows how to use his weapons. Every Christian should know how to use the Word. If you give yourself to the goal of reading through it in 2011, I have a feeling that there will be some changes in your thinking. You will find that Scripture opposes much of the common and pop psychology that the world dumps on us every single day.

Scripture memorization will stimulate your mind toward meditation on godly things. Our society has increasingly become enamored with yoga and its supposed health benefits that it has. However, when you analyze the process of yoga, it is an emptying out of the mind rather than placing something in it. Empty minds create empty lives while Scripture-filled minds will create a godly mind. If anyone ever needed such an experience it is our generation. We need godly minds in pastors, husbands, wives, children, employees, employers, teachers, physicians, construction workers, attorneys, politicians, and every other occupation.

The way I ended up memorizing the Kreb’s cycle for the famous Gerald Bryant, who was a local celebrity on our campus, was by drawing it out on a 3X5 index card and keeping it with me all the time. By the time I got to test time, the card was in terrible shape but I passed the test and that was what was important. I encourage you to do the same and write down 2 or 3 Scriptures on a card and keep it with you. Don’t lower the bar and stumble around with quoting it but hold yourself to a high standard and lock in your mind to the task.

I recently found a link that has broken down Philippians in a way that if you are diligent about it, you can have it memorized by Easter. I also found a link to help you use a Moleskin to be very creative with a memorization plan. If you use a Moleskin this link can help to create your verse list. I also found a list that broke down the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 that will allow you to memorize it entirely by the end of the year (listed below).

It is also important to remember that you are not memorizing Scripture just for the sake of being able to say that you have a certain amount of verses in your resume. The goal of memorizing Scripture is for personal holiness and godliness. You will find the importance and necessity of reviewing what you have committed to memory as time passes but stay with and be a godly person.

Thanks for reading. . .

PH

Week 1 - Daniel 2:20b-21 - To recite January 9 & 10
Week 2 - Matthew 5:3-6 - To recite January 16 & 17
Week 3 - Matthew 5:7-9 - To recite January 23 & 24
Week 4 - Matthew 5:10-12 - To recite January 30 & 31
Week 5 - Matthew 5:13 - To recite February 6 & 7
Week 6 - Matthew 5:14-16 - To recite February 13 & 14
Week 7 - Matthew 5:17-18 - To recite February 20 & 21
Week 8 - Matthew 5:19-20 - To recite February 27&28
Week 9 - Matthew 5:21-22 - To recite March 6 & 7
Week 10 - Matthew 5:23-24 - To recite March 13 & 14
Week 11 - Matthew 5:25-26 - To recite March 20 & 21
Week 12 - Matthew 5:27-28 - To recite March 27 & 28
Week 13 - Matthew 5:29-30 - To recite April 3 & 4
Week 14 - Matthew 5:31-32 - To recite April 10 & 11
Week 15 - Matthew 5:33 - To recite April 17 & 18
Week 16 - Matthew 5:34-36 - To recite April 24 & 25
Week 17 - Matthew 5:37 - To recite May 1 & 2
Week 18 - Matthew 5:38-40 - To recite May 8 & 9
Week 19 - Matthew 5:41-45a - To recite May 15 & 16
Week 20 - Matthew 5:45b-46 - To recite May 22 & 23
Week 21 - Matthew 5:47-48 - To recite May 29 & 30
Week 22 - Matthew 6:1-2 - To recite June 5 & 6
Week 23 - Matthew 6:3-4 - To recite June 12 & 13
Week 24 - Matthew 6:5 - To recite June 19 & 20
Week 25 - Matthew 6:6 - To recite June 26 & 27
Week 26 - Matthew 6:7-8 - To recite July 3 & 4
Week 27 - Matthew 6:9-13 - To recite July 10 & 11
Week 28 - Matthew 6:14-15 - To recite July 17 & 18
Week 29 - Matthew 6:16 - To recite July 24 & 25
Week 30 - Matthew 6:17-18 - To recite July 31 & August 1
Week 31 - Matthew 6:19-21 - To recite August 7 & 8
Week 32 - Matthew 6:22-23 - To recite August 14 & 15
Week 33 - Matthew 6:24 - To recite August 21 & 22
Week 34 - Matthew 6:25-26 - To recite August 28 & 29
Week 35 - Matthew 6:27-29 - To recite September 4 & 5
Week 36 - Matthew 6:30 - To recite September 11 & 12
Week 37 - Matthew 6:31-32 - To recite September 18 & 19
Week 38 - Matthew 6:33-34 - To recite September 25 & 26
Week 39 - Matthew 7:1-2 - To recite October 2 & 3
Week 40 - Matthew 7:3-5 - To recite October 9 & 10
Week 41 - Matthew 7:6 - To recite October 16 & 17
Week 42 - Matthew 7:7-8 - To recite October 23 & 24
Week 43 - Matthew 7:9-12 - To recite October 30 & 31
Week 44 - Matthew 7:13-14 - To recite November 6 & 7
Week 45 - Matthew 7:15-16 - To recite November 13 & 14
Week 46 - Matthew 7:17-20 - To recite November 20 & 21
Week 47 - Matthew 7:21 - To recite November 27 & 28
Week 48 - Matthew 7:22-23 - To recite December 4 & 5
Week 49 - Matthew 7:24-25 - To recite December 11 & 12
Week 50 - Matthew 7:26-27 - To recite December 18 & 19
Week 51 - Matthew 10:18-20 - To recite December 25 & 26
Week 52 - Catch-up/review - To recite December 26 through January 1, 2012

Resources for Reading the Bible In 2011--Different Translations

2011-01-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

Before getting into recommending the various translations for 2011, my thoughts drifted back to 1990 or 1991 during my TBC days in Houston. Every year the campus would have a progressive dinner for all of the married couples. The staff and faculty of the school would host the couples in their homes and we would spend 30-45 minutes before moving on to the next course of the meal. When we got to the Griffin’s home, we all walked in and Brother Griffin greeted us. The girls gravitated to the kitchen with Sister Griffin and all the guys went in the den with Brother Griffin. He took his seat and one of the fellows asked, “Brother Griffin, what are you reading now?” His reply was met with a few loud guffaws and a few open mouths of surprise. He told us that he was reading through Nave’s Topical Bible and had almost finished with the “H’s.” We could hardly believe that he was serious but he was as serious as the proverbial heart attack.

Brother Griffin’s normal plan of reading the Bible in a year was comprised of reading entirely through the KJV in the first three months. He would follow this with a varying translation such as the NIV, NKJV, NASB, or Nave’s Topical Bible. When he finished the second translation, he would then pick up a set of commentaries and read through that set of commentaries for the remainder of the year. He was very high on R. D. Lang’s commentary as he had read it numerous times. I do realize that his job so to speak of teaching at a Bible college caused him to have to spend time with the Bible and all matters surrounding it but there was sufficient motivation for me to attempt to follow his pattern. When I discovered some of the older translations of the Bible, I found a gold mine of sermon fodder and Bible study material that hopefully enhanced my preaching. I will share some of those a bit later in this post.

What follows are some suggestions of various translations of the Bible:

ESV—The English Standard Version is probably the hottest (and newest) translation that is being touted on the market today. If you have the means to purchase the ESV Study Bible, you will have a wealth of material to glean from.

NASB—The New American Standard Bible is a translation that I have come to enjoy over the last five years or so. While my primary will probably always be the KJV, I do find that the NASB has the ability to open up some passages in a greater way.

NIV—The New International Version is another translation that is quite modern in some of its renderings. This is a version that I have not spent a lot of time with in the last 10 years or so. Occasionally I will look up verses to see what the comparison with the KJV is but it hasn’t been a primary focus for me.

Moffatt’s—This translation by James Moffatt is a fire-starter if you are a preacher. It is absolutely loaded with inspiration. I read it when I have found the well to be a little dry with my creative thoughts on what to preach. Furthermore, if you are savvy enough to run down all of the old sermon collections by Halford Luccock and read his sermons along with Moffatt’s you are in for some seriously good material. (All you preachers reading this owe me a Barnes and Noble Gift card for putting you on to this source!!! It is one of my secret fishing holes that never fails to add something to my study efforts. Furthermore, if you have an e-reader you can look for Luccock’s books in epub formats and download them all for free because the copyright has expired.)

Weymouth—This is another translation that I happened to stumble across. I found a 1902 leather edition in a used bookstore several months ago. It was in awful condition but I took some leather cleaner to it and it cleaned up remarkably well. You should read Ephesians 4:20-32 and you will see what kind of wallop it packs. I used it one Sunday night several months ago. I am continually awed at the power of the Word in my own life and the life of a church that honors the Word.

J. B. Phillips—This is a translation that was written in the 1940’s. It was written by a pastor who was preaching through the epistles in an expository fashion. He took the original Greek text and re-wrote it according to the word studies that he did in preparation to preach. I also found out that Elisabeth Elliott in her early years had a leather copy (which is unavailable now) that she had underlined with a pencil and written in the margins of it before it was lost in her luggage during air travel.

The Message—This is a paraphrase written by Eugene Peterson and is a very potent expression of the Scriptures. I have enjoyed reading Peterson’s books over the years and I think he did a very good job with his paraphrase. Just as a word of caution, with any paraphrase (Living Bible, New Living Translation, etc.) the focus has to be for devotional inspiration and not for doctrinal instruction. A paraphrase of the Bible is never a good benchmark for doctrine. A paraphrase is only good to stoke the fire of your imagination.

The Chronological Bible—This is a good Bible that arranges Scripture in a chronological fashion which is sometimes helpful for us. I have not spent a lot of time with this particular Bible although I have benefited from it with individual studies.

Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible—This is handy little tool to have if you can find it. I have a copy of it that was published by Family Christian Stores 10+ years ago. I have never noticed a copy again at any bookstore that I have gone into. If you have the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit which is Spurgeon’s massive 63 volume collection of sermons, you have probably noticed that there are some passages of Scripture that CHS annotated. The Spurgeon Devotional Bible is the collection of those found in the MTP.

The Word (The Bible in 26 Translations)—This is another very good tool to have in your library. It is filled with 26 different translations and it will help you with some great devotional thoughts.

There are various other Bibles that are not necessarily different translations as much as they are a collection of material that the author has written. For instance, the Max Lucado Grace for the Moment Daily Bible and the Charles Stanley Life Principles Bible are a couple of good ones. Charles Swindoll also has an Insights Bible with a lot of his notes in the margins. I have found that these Bibles and their devotional additions are helpful to me when the gas tank is empty.

Read your Bible through in 2011. . .

Thanks for reading. . . PH

Resources for Reading the Bible In 2011Reading Plans and MP3 Downloads

2011-01-03T11:53:00.000-08:00

One thing that generally comes with the New Year is a commitment to read through the Bible. Where is the best place to start? Old Testament? New Testament? What is the best translation? Can I do it? What are some things that will keep me accountable? Of what importance are all the genealogies? How do I stay motivated? Why can I never make it all the way to the end? Why do I get distracted with other things? All of these questions and a few others have been asked of me over the years.

Where to start? The easy way to do it is to start with Genesis and don’t stop until you get to Revelation. A good general rule of thumb to remember is that reading through four chapters a day will get you from beginning to end in a year’s time. Obviously by doubling to eight, you can make it through in six months or by reading sixteen chapters a day you can make it in a quarter.

Another way to add a twist to it is to take the Psalms and read five of them a day although when you get to Psalm 119 you will have to allocate a bit more time. Additionally read one chapter of the Proverbs every day. When the end of the year comes you will have read through the Bible completely once and have covered the Psalms five times and the Proverbs twelve times. Obviously with this pattern you will omit the reading of the Psalms and Proverbs when you come to them in a sequential manner.

Another plan to use actually helps you to read through the New Testament thirty-one times in a three year period. To get the idea for using this pattern, begin with Philippians which is a short book consisting of four chapters or 1st John which is five chapters. Read the epistle you have chosen every day for the month of January and then move on to another epistle in February. When you come to the larger books like the Gospels, Romans, and Hebrews break them up into seven or eight chapter increments and read them as you did with the shorter epistles. I can vouch for this method working as I have used it at various times in the past and you will find a great increase in the ability to cross-reference Scripture. Furthermore, you will find an ability to loosely memorize what you are reading. When I say loosely memorize; it may be that you won’t quote it exactly but you have a good head of steam in doing so.

What follows below are some links that you can download reading guides and print them out.

ESV Reading Plan.

Robert Murray McCheyne Reading Plan -- This works through the Bible in different areas.

Don Carson gives a helpful explanation for the McCheyne plan.

Don Whitney Reading Plan -- This downloads as a Word doc so you can cut it into an 8 ½ X 5 ½ sheet and slip into your Bible.

Professor Grant Horner’s Reading Plan -- Very interesting approach.

Read through the Bible for Shirkers and Slackers (I am not kidding).

A Two-Year Reading Plan.

The Discipleship Journal Reading Plan.

What follows below are some links to download MP3 readings of the Bible for your MP3 player:

KJV on Audiotreasure.

Faith Comes by Hearing offers multiple translations and even some dramatized editions.

Firefighters for Christ KJV downloads.

When people begin to read through the Bible, there is a component of spiritual growth that starts to develop in their life. Suddenly what God has to say is more important than all the advice that the world is feeding to us. Furthermore it will heighten your attention to the Word when a pastor is preaching.

More on translations tomorrow. . .

Thanks for reading. . .
PH

$56 and Change

2010-12-13T08:21:00.000-08:00

Every year for the past 43 years our church has participated in the annual Christmas for Christ offering. It is the main force that helps fund the Home Missions Department of the United Pentecostal Church to start new churches around the United States. We make a big deal about it and wrap up our offerings in Christmas wrappings and try to give our best gift to the Lord so that somehow and somewhere a church can be planted. After placing our gifts around the altar area, the whole church prays over what we have given.

This year we did something a little different with our promotions. Director Carlton Coon and his team put together a DVD with four clips that ranged from about three minutes to seven minutes or so that focused on the history of the CFC program and some of the accomplishments of several church planters around the nation. With those clips, instead of an instrumental while we were receiving the offering, I played those clips. The last one that we used was sort of a “highlights” clip that spotlighted a church planter in Louisiana and another in Chicago. Both of the segments were quite moving and if you have any desire at all to be involved in reaching lost people this was a shot in the arm. It was also a provocation to look at priorities and consider where the best gift ought to go this Christmas season.

What I did not know was that during these four Sunday nights that two boys were intently watching Director Carlton Coon as he navigated us through history and the impact that church planters make on communities. Two boys, Josh and Alex, were on the verge of doing something that would reach out and change the world and probably change the course of their lives for the future. I believe that when kids are touched early on in the church that God has a way of setting their lives in a direction for Christian ministry.

Josh and Alex have faced incredible odds most of their lives. Without a lot of details, suffice it to say that their world has been very unstable as far as their home life goes. Jerked about from pillar to post and living behind the proverbial eight-ball, nothing has been easy for them. If I were to write about all of the calamities they have gone through in their short lives, I have no doubt that you would be weeping as you read through their troubled tale. Despite that, somewhere along the way the grace of God stepped in and slowly began to turn things around for them. Now there are warm beds and hot meals and clean clothes. Grandparents now provide some stability for Josh and Alex and also for their little sister Maddie, who is two.

About two years ago when their grandmother gained custody of Josh and Alex and Maddie, she and Mark, begin bringing them to church. I would notice that during our old-fashioned Pentecostal altar services that both of these little guys would be fervently praying the best way a seven and nine year old could pray. I had no doubt that God was touching them and helping them in ways that neither their grandmother nor our church could. I also noticed that there were several times that they would follow Brother Patterson around the platform while he was praying for people and take in all that was going on. I also noticed that there were times that Josh and Alex would cling to Brother Patterson and a few times to me. We would both pray for these little fellows and I suppose that my praying for them was more out of desperation than faith because I knew some of the sordid details they had to live with.

Josh and Alex’s grandparents save their change throughout the year and when the year is over, they give the change to the boys so that they can go and buy Christmas gifts for others. Last week, Josh and Alex approached their grandmother and asked her if they could give that money to Christmas for Christ. I think that their grandmother was as shocked and surprised by their request as I was when it was related to me.

So last night, they brought their little box to the altar and laid it up there. I saw it, Brother Patterson saw it, our church saw it but others saw it too! Heaven was watching last night, God saw, the angels saw, and that great cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews 12, they saw it too. Two boys with a box had no idea who all was watching because they were caught up in the innocence of true sacrifice. They heard a story from Chicago about a church planter pulling a drug-dealer out of the depths of sin and something clicked in their little hearts. We have to get involved they thought. How shall we do it? Somewhere in the plotting and planning of the small world they live in, it came to them, our box, and our money. But it is not really our box, it is God’s box, and it is God’s money. So why don’t we give it back to him?

This is how God builds churches, this is how God reaches the world, and He works in the grass-roots. Josh and Alex are part of the bunch that Elijah never saw when God told him that there were some who had never bowed to Baal.

In that box? 56 and change. What can 56 and change really do?

It can fill up a church planter’s car with gas.
It can buy literature for a church planter’s Sunday school department.
It can support one foreign missionary for one month.
It can pay a portion of the electricity bill for a church planter.
It can be put with a whole lot of other folks sacrifice and it can help to reach another lost person.

Most of us don’t know what to buy our families for Christmas because we have far more than enough. iPads, iPhones, and iStuff have a way of choking the life out of our souls. We are like that barn-building fool who Jesus spoke of that had so much that he was going to tear down his barn and build a bigger one to hold his stuff.

Last night, Josh and Alex gave every bit that they had to the cause of Christ. 56 and change will go a long way to accomplishing something in Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh, and other metro areas here in America. I have a feeling that 56 and change will confront some of us at judgment.

What if every member of your church gave 56 and change this year for Christmas for Christ?

Reflections on "And the Shofar Blew" Part 1

2010-10-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

One of the most provoking works of fiction that I have ever read is And the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers. It was published in 2003 and having read one of her other books, I picked it up on a whim and read it. In the subsequent years that have passed, I have re-read it a couple of times. Recently I picked it up again and read it for a third time. This time I had a pen and underlined a number of places in the book that can serve as jumping off places for blog posts in the next several days.

If you are involved in ministry in any form, it is a very worthy book to be read and then ruminated over for the rest of your life in ministry. So as not to totally spoil it with a lot of details, it basically is a story of a young man who is called to take over a dying church who allows a maddening personal ambition and uncrucified dark motives to destroy him.

The first lesson that boldly stood out to me was the gradual deceptiveness of the gravity of human means. H. B. London of Focus on the Family gave some statistics about those involved in various forms of Christian ministry of all denominations some time ago. He noted that 1500 men left the ministry on a monthly basis. Five years after commencement fully half of the men who graduate from seminary are no longer involved in ministry. Another major denomination asserted that for every twenty men who enter ministry only one would still be involved by the age of 65. They gave up despite all of the energy and effort they spent on education, training, and adapting to the call.

Various reasons were given in the statistical study for their exits of public ministry. Health reasons, personal issues, others may determine that they misread the initial calling, and some give up because of the monumental stress that is placed on them. Others are forced out by their churches and determine never again to allow themselves to get into a position to be hurt again, so they walk away. Some give up in discouragement, others give in to frustrating challenges, and others give up because of the constant nagging feeling of failure.

For some money becomes an issue—either the heady pursuit of it or the bitter gnawing battle of not having enough. For some, immorality derails them. For others, ministry becomes a power struggle. This can take place on a local level in a local church or it can be a pursuit of power through the positions that denominational work may offer to them. For these men, political twists and turns become the sole motivation of what they ministry is all about. Those who find power to be a temptation have to become adept at manipulating and jockeying for position so that the seat they occupy is safe from attack. The struggle with pride also hammers them.

Paul Hudson, the major character in this story, struggled with every single one of the issues that have been listed. As he pursued the building of his own personal kingdom, the more he had to resort to political and human workings to build something that would ultimately fall apart. A recent Twitter that I received noted that far too many pastors have come to fill the roles as a CEO or board chairman rather than that of a humble shepherd.

At the outset of the story, the heart of Paul is soft, humble, and open to hearing the voice of God. However, it was not too long into his role of pastor, two or three years at most, that he had started an ominous change that would destroy him. He got so busy building his kingdom that he neglected the priorities of the inner life. The longer that you are in the ministry the more that you must understand that the joys of ministry begin to turn into assignments and responsibilities. This is why it is crucial to know that the ministry is not a sprint but rather a marathon. You are either making progress in your personal ministry or you are slowly becoming an enemy of the Cross. The longer you are in ministry the more you realize that every day you run across people who have empty buckets that have to be filled, if the well-spring of devotion does not find itself being replenished, you will find yourself being poured out in such a way that soon depletion will destroy you.

One of the paradoxes the Lord mentioned was that the Kingdom of God was going to be built only when our heart was like that of a child. Life and ministry will get complex, especially if a church starts growing. However, you must still maintain the discipline of a personal devotion on your heart. You have to make some choices about what to do with that situation. Far too many men buy into the idea of a messiah complex who believes that if they weren’t there the whole thing would implode. The real test of ministry is this; if the church implodes, you built it! If it lasts, God built it; you just happened to be a worthy servant for Him to work through! Those who fall admit after the fact that they quit reading the Bible and they quit praying. Prayer and devotion to the word is the life-source of ministry and you have to make sure that the ministry does not keep you from Jesus! There is a barrenness of busyness!

Paul Hudson soon learned that there were complainers in the congregation and he let them get the best of him. I will never forget a number of years ago when a physician I worked with (George Veale, M.D.) gave me a very good piece of advice. We (he more than I) were having to deal with another recalcitrant, obstreperous, arrogant physician (and every other adjective you can think of to describe him) who was not a happy camper on that day. In fact, I think the guy only had three or four happy camper days per year and he had already exhausted those when he found us. But Dr. Veale told me, “Philip, that guy just isn’t a happy guy!” Most chronic complainers are not happy campers and you will have to ignore their gripes and come to realize that they complain everywhere they go. Restaurants, department stores, and so forth seem to be in the complainers sights at all times. Paul Hudson let those complainers turn him into a cynic and his heart began to harden. Tie that up with less time in prayer and the Word and disaster is lurking.

Another element of gravity on the down grade put Paul Hudson into a place of professionalism. The more professional he became the more that style gave way to substance. He allowed the shortcuts to sink him. This is where technology can become disastrous to us. You can download sermon notes, MP3 sermons, and Powerpoints and use them without ever having to do anything spiritual again. But as the shortcuts are embraced, increasingly shallowness will rob your soul.

For the last two weeks, I have found that 1 and 2 Peter in the ESV has been more than just words on the page of the Bible. There are words that Peter left us that can stimulate great spiritual growth in our lives if we will allow the Word to transform us.

Do it for yourself and do it for me. . . Go somewhere and find a closet of prayer and open up your Bible and mark up 1 and 2 Peter. . . Your life and ministry depends on it. . .