“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.” 1 Timothy 3:1

I’ve been teaching on leadership in the local church and working through Paul’s first letter to his apprentice Timothy. Chapter three really stirred me up. Paul begins saying, “This is a faithful saying.” It’s the equivalent to Jesus saying in the Gospels “Truly, truly or Verily, verily.” When Jesus said those words He was saying, “Hey! Pay attention! This is important!” That is what Paul is doing here as well. Then he says, “If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.”

The word “desire” really jumped out at me in this passage. It appears twice in my translation, but it is actually two different words in the Greek. The first word translated “desire” literally means “to stretch oneself” or “to reach out for.” The image is that of a child reaching out for his mom or dad. The second word translated desire means “to set your heart upon.” It has to do with the inward emotions and this word is also translated “covet” or “lust after.” So the Bible says, it is a good thing to "stretch yourself" and "set your heart" on a place of service for the Lord.

In the tradition I have grown up in, those who served the Lord were those who received a specific calling to serve. It’s still part of our tradition – you ask people about doing things in the church and you may get the response – “I haven’t been called to do that.” That is a legit response and we shouldn’t force people into positions they are not qualified for nor passionate about. But it is also a response that is often abused. The next question to ask is, “What have you been called to do?” and the answer may be, “I don’t know?” It seems it’s easier to identify what we’re not called to do than it is to identify what we’re called to do.

What do you want to do in the church? Many Christians don’t want to do anything; they don’t have the desire to serve the Lord. I want to say, “Do you believe Jesus died for you and saved you so you could do nothing for Him? Do you believe God brought you to a church so you could ‘do nothing’?" It’s good to have a desire to serve the Lord; it’s good to stretch yourself and reach for a place of service in the Body of Christ. Our general calling is to serve the Lord in some capacity. That’s the spiritual principle this verse teaches and it applies to all of us.

Recently God has been pushing me to get out of my comfort zone. I'm a really "hands-on" guy. I grew up with the these words being drilled into my head: "If you want something done right, do it yourself." As a result, I want to do everything myself. So God has been working to reprogram my thinking for leadership. Leadership is not doing everything yourself. Leadership is empowering others to do what God has gifted and called them to do.

I've been studying Simple Church, and one of the keys to a successful church is leadership development. In the Scriptures it says that God gives leadership to the church so that the members are equipped to do the ministry (Eph. 4:11-13). God always begins with leadership - people who are called to influence others for Christ.

You may be the leader God wants to develop to do something great for His glory. Most of the great leaders we read about in the Bible didn't think of themselves as great leaders: Moses made all kinds of excuses; some of the first words God said to Joshua were "Be strong and courageous" (He said it three times in one conversation); Gideon was hiding out in the threshing room when God called him; Paul was working to destroy the church. None of these guys seemed like candidates for "Leader of the Year." But when they surrendered themselves completely to God, He used them to move His people to victory and for His glory.

You may not see yourself as a leader, but God sees something in you that is greater than you can ever imagine. Would you be willing to let God have a shot at doing something great through you? The first step is to say "Yes, Lord", and then get ready for a great adventure.

Transitions

Recently our Leadership Team (staff and Deacons) met for breakfast and to discuss making some changes to our church and ministry. We're reading together the book Simple Church by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger. The crux of the book is that every church needs a simple process (key word) which enables disciple-making. (Maybe that's not the intended crux, but it's what I've gotten from it.) The simple process evolves around four concepts: clarity - movement - alignment - focus. We're in the very beginning stages, so we're focusing on clarity. The title for Chapter 5 of the book is "Clarity: Starting with a Ministry Blueprint."

During our Saturday meeting we talked about the importance of developing a simple process that can be (and will be) easily communicated to the rest of the Body. Again, we're in the very beginning stages of this process, but it was abundantly clear that clarity in communication can be difficult sometimes, and that not everyone understands everything the same way. Even among our Leadership Team there was discussion about what was meant by certain words or statements. There was some great discussion, and in the end a common agreement that we are moving in the right direction.

In an effort to help communicate clearly, I'll be posting some things here about Simple Church, about our discussions and the process we are going through. You'll be hearing about it in sermons and small group discussions as well. I'm excited about what the Lord is doing.

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Tim 1:17 (NKJV)

Great Bible study last night! We talked about “A Leader’s Passion”. Paul was passionate about truth, about Jesus, and about relationships. He was especially passionate about Jesus. As he was writing to Timothy about what Christ had done in his life and what Christ meant to him, he broke out in the wonderful verse of praise above. He was so moved for his love by Christ, he couldn’t help but praise him, even in a letter.

What are you passionate about? When was the last time you were so overwhelmed by the grace and goodness of God that you broke out into a song of praise to Him. May our hearts be hot for Jesus, the Savior of our souls and the redeemer of our lives!

We welcomed Lilli Roberts to our family of faith last night. Lilli prayed to receive Christ as her Savior a couple of weeks ago at a First Priority event at her school. Her dad, Trevor will baptize her this coming Sunday morning.

I can’t wait for Sunday! Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, worship and praise and a word from the Lord! A few years ago one of our former Youth Pastors preached a sermon on Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). He titled it, “When You Show Up, God Shows Out.” Often all God is waiting on to do something great, is for His people to show up. I wonder how many miracles we’ve missed being a part of just because we didn’t give God a chance to work.

I hope you’ll show up in faith expecting God to do something supernatural this weekend. God is just waiting to show you how great He really is.

See you Sunday!

I’ve been studying 1 Timothy as I am teaching from it on Wednesday nights. I’m blown away by the passion of the Apostle Paul. He wrote this letter later in life, after he had served the Lord for many years and had given his all for the cause of Christ. Yet he is as “fired-up” about the work of the ministry as he ever was. How was he able to maintain his passion and his fire when some of his fellow workers had given up or fallen away? One simple answer – Paul never forgot what Christ did in his life. His salvation experience was fresh on his heart in the latter years of his life as if it had just happened.

In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul writes, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” Notice he says “I AM chief.” Paul was still a work in progress; he never saw himself as being better than a sinner. He knew the Gospel still applied to his life. He was passionate about serving Christ, because Christ was at work in Him!

Many of us today have lost our fire for serving the Lord because we’ve forgotten what the Lord has done for us. We’ve forgotten what it means to be saved. We’ve considered the task at hand greater than the God who saved us.

As we approach the Memorial Day holiday, and as we remember those who paid the ultimate price or our freedoms as Americans, I want to challenge you to also remember the One who gave His life that you would not only go to heaven when you die, but that you would have the power and the passion to serve Him till you die.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

KIDS DAY

Great day of worship yesterday. The kids did a great job leading the worship. Our two young speakers did an amazing job; very evangelistic. We've got a bright future @ MVBC!

Seeing the kids yesterday fueled my fire for VBS. We're just two weeks away from our biggest outreach event all year. Saddle Ridge Ranch is going to be a blast! We're going to be "Rounding Up Questions and Driving Home Answers!"

We need all hands on deck for a great VBS:

• We need prayer warriors to be praying now for children to come, hearts to be open and lives to be changed!.
• We need floaters to be available to help out where needed. We won't know all of our needs till the week begins, so we need people just to show up with a "how can I help" heart!
• We need ENCOURAGERS who will love on our workers and our kids. Encouragers are kind of like the oil in a car engine, they keep things running smooth.

Our goal for VBS is to help kids connect to Christ and then help them and their families to get connected to the community of faith. Don't let the enemy keep you from being involved in God's great work!

Big thanks to the Wilmoths and the Ellis's for a great Spring picnic last night. We had about 120 people out at Cedar Pond Farms and it was a blast. We have some very serious Cornhole players - we may have to start a league (BTW, there is an American Cornhole Association - www.playcornhole.org) Thanks for coming out. One of the best things I heard last night was, "I got to know some new people tonight." That's one of the main reasons we do these things - build relationships in the Body of Christ. Thanks again to everyone who came out.

Tested Hearts

The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the hearts. Prov 17:3 (NKJV)

The writer of Proverbs draws a parallel between an activity of the Lord and a process used for refining or purifying precious metals. In his day, a silversmith (or goldsmith) would use a metal pot over a hot fire to purify the precious metal. He would heat the melted metal until the dross or impurities would rise to the top where he would sweep them off. He would then increase the temperature and repeat the process until all of the impurities were removed from the metal and he could see the perfect reflection of his face in the melted metal. The process separated that which was of no value from that which was of greatest worth.

As the fire tested the purity of the metal with increased intensity, so the Lord tests the purity of our hearts. He does so by allowing the circumstances of our lives to be “heated-up.” We may find ourselves faced with a temptation or a crisis; we may be facing a difficult decision or a troubled relationship. In each instance we have the opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to remove the dross or impurities in our hearts in order that the image of the Savior may be seen more clearly. God’s goal is always to help us become like His Son Jesus, therefore everything He allows into our lives is for our good (Romans 8:28-29).

I was about three-fourths of the way through writing this devotion when there was a power surge and the computer shut-down. My initial reaction was … well … in the flesh. But then I realized God was just illustrating for me what I was hoping to convey to you – that He is at work in all the circumstances of our lives to bring out and remove those “fleshly” impurities so that we can be more like Him. It was a small “test”, as many of them are, but a test none-the-less. As the old song says, “He’s still working on me…”

GO VOLS!!!!

Just watched the Tennessee Volunteers basketball team defeat Ohio State to move into the "Elite Eight" of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in team history. It's been an amazing season. I was also glad to hear the commentators making some positive comments about the team (these were CBS commentators, not ESPN). One of the men talked about the team being very talented; he's the first one I've heard say that outside of our own commentators and sports casters.

The other commentator talked about how the team had come together after going through some difficulties earlier in the season. On Jan.1 four of the players were arrested on drug and weapons charges. Three of the players were suspended for several weeks and one, who some said was the best player on the team, was kicked-off. Nobody gave them much of a chance after that, but they proved them wrong. The team really did pull together and it seemed like each game a different person stepped up to contribute to a win. They really began to play as a team rather rely on one or two players to make all the plays. Now they've gone farther than any TN team in history.

There's a great life lesson here - when going through difficult times, pull together, play like a team and you will survive and advance in life. I've seen too many families where, when things got tough, family members bailed out instead of pulling together. The family ends up broken and miserable. I've seen it happen in churches as well. Instead of pulling together and working together as the Body of Christ, members turn on one another and then bail out. It leaves the church broken, hurting and struggling.

Fortunately Jesus never abandons His Body. He is faithful and will see His family through. Praise be to the Lord!

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's one of my favorite days of the year because it honors one of Christianity's greatest missionaries. Some people believe Patrick was Irish, but actually he was Welsh. He was captured by Irish raiders as a young boy and taken as a slave to Ireland. After he escaped a few years later, he felt the call of God to go back to the people who had held him captive to share the Good News of Christ with them. This passage from the book of Hosea was significant for Patrick, Those who are not my people I will call my people, and those not beloved I will call my beloved, and in the very place it was said to them, You are not My people, they will be called Sons of God. Patrick spent his adult life evangelizing and discipling the people of Ireland.

If you would like to learn more about Patrick and his life and ministry, here is a brief but good article from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: http://ow.ly/1nouy . Thomas Cahill's "How the Irish Saved Civilization" is also a great resource about the evangelistic work of Patrick and his fellow missionaries.

Survivor

I'm watching the new Survivor program. It's probably not the most spiritual thing for a pastor to do, but it is an amazing study of human behavior. On one hand, each player is playing for himself/herself, trying to win the million dollar prize. On the other hand, no one can make it through the game alone. They have to work together and that requires a certain level of trust. But how do trust someone when you know that in the end, they want to be the last player standing?

I think the show is a microcosm of the world at large. At some level, everyone lives for themselves. We are born with a mechanism for self preservation. But we also realize that we cannot make it through this life without the aid of others. From the beginning we had to depend on others (parent's to feed us and clothe us, teachers to educate us, etc). Without the help of others, we would not have made it past day one. Yet as we grow, we become more self-sufficient and independent. Some people reach a point of believing they don't need anyone else, and they may isolate themselves or withdraw from others.

I was reminded of that this week. I was asked to speak at a funeral for a person who had withdrawn from the community at large. He had never married. His parent's were deceased and his siblings had nothing to do with him. He spent the last days of his life in a nursing home with only 1-2 friends who occasionally visited him. In the end, only 10 people attended his funeral. He had no church family or circle of family and friends to mourn his passing or celebrate his life. He did things his way, but in the end, did he win the game of life? I don't know his spiritual condition. From what I could gather he didn't show any evidence of a relationship with God. But even from a secular standpoint, I don't think I could say he succeeded at the game of life. You can't win by living only for yourself.

I discovered today that my blog is being posted on a local business man's website. I was a little embarrassed that I hadn't posted since Thanksgiving. I'll try to do better. You can check out the website at www.jeffersoncountytoday.org.

No church services at Magna View tonight. This has been an unusual winter for snow here in East Tennessee. I love it; I like the cold weather and of course the snow. I heard Mike Huckaby's "The Huckaby Report" yesterday, and he said that when Washington, DC digs out from the blizzard, Pres. Obama plans to develop a cabinet level bureaucracy to deal with issues related to Global Warming. I love it.

I'm not too keen on the global warming theory. God is in control of the climate, just like everything else!

With Thanksgiving

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. Psalms 100:4-5 (NKJV)

Praise the Lord for His blessings. He is good and His mercy is eternal! Praise the Lord for the blessings we received over the weekend. We collected 150 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, more than we have ever collected before. Those boxes will go into all the world and be used of God to bless children whom He loves. Thank you for your generosity.

There was a sweet Spirit in our worship service yesterday. The singing was wonderful. A special thanks to the East TN Dance Academy and our own Hannah Jackson for their presentation yesterday morning. And we welcome the Rice family into our family of faith: Ryan, Karen, Amaris and Elise.

There was plenty of delicious food at our Thanksgiving meal last night. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much turkey in my life. We had to pull out some extra tables and chairs for our crowd as well. Thank you for sharing your Thanksgiving thoughts with your church family.

As you can see, my “cup runneth over” this morning. I’m thankful for a great God, a wonderful family of faith, and a hopeful future (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

Remember that our schedule has changed this week because of the holiday. There is a community Thanksgiving service tomorrow night at Pleasant View Baptist Church on Lakeshore Rd in Talbott. This is a great opportunity to worship with brothers and sisters from other churches and denominations.

There are no activities at the church this coming Wednesday, and the church office will be closed Thursday and Friday.

Please remember to bring 5 lb bags of flour for Christmas in Jefferson County. So far we have collected about 35 bags toward our goal of 100. The deadline is Dec. 6th.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

‘May the LORD bless you and protect you.25 May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.26 May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.’ Num 6:24-26 (NLT)

APPLES OF GOLD

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
Prov 25:11 (NKJV)

Last Friday I attended the inauguration service for Dr. J. Randall O’Brien, the twenty-second president of Carson-Newman College. U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander was the keynote speaker for the service. He shared some of his experiences with famed author Alex Haley. Haley had taught him something very important, as he was always saying, “Find the good and praise it.” It was Haley’s philosophy of life. What a great way to live.

There is a lot of good at Magna View Baptist Church that we can praise. It was wonderful to be home and in the pulpit yesterday. There was a sweet spirit in our worship service. And our hayride/cook-out last night was a blessing; our thanks to Richard and Barbara Byrd for the hay wagon, and everyone who helped set up and clean up. Last night was fun.

Saturday night was fun as well… a little damp, but fun. Our hand counter registered 1700 people coming through our Trunk or Treat. So many people who came through thanked us for providing a safe place for their kids to come and celebrate the Halloween holiday.

In the vein of “finding the good and praising it” let me challenge you to do the same. Each day this week, find something good in another person and praise them for it. Words are valuable; like the above Scripture says, good words are like “apples of gold in settings of silver.” Share some gold apples with someone else this week.