Friday News

This Sunday - A Pastors Talk

Hello PCC!

2013 is going to be a big year for us.  I’ve been doing ministry for a long time and I can honestly say that I am as excited right now as I ever have been.  In fact, I am as excited looking at 2013 as I was in 1998 when we first started PCC!  There is something unique happening at our church right now.  God’s Spirit is moving, exceptional talent is emerging, I have total clarity about our direction, discipleship is deep, lives are being changed, and we are about to enter a new season of ministry.

I am very glad that God has called us to be a part of what His Spirit is doing at this exact moment in time.

Following last Sundays message – How to Make a Fresh Start – I want to have a pastoral talk this Sunday.  The message is entitled:  “Some Things We Need to Hear Again & Again.”  It’s not going to be my typical style of sermon.  Rather, it’s going to be more of a heart-to-heart talk; a shepherd to his flock; a refresher in the fundamentals of the Christian life, as well as the inner life of our church.

I never assume that a single sermon or class will firmly establish spiritual truths in people’s lives, set the direction of our church, or embed key values in our congregation.  Neither does publishing them in the bulletin guarantee that people have learned them, or even read them!  There are some things that I have to say over-and-over so that they don’t fade from memory.

This Sunday is one of those times.  There are some things I need to say that are long overdue.  Yes, we will be talking about the Christian life.  But we will also be talking about church life – particularly PCC.  This is really going to be an “in house” conversation and I encourage you to be in service because I want to challenge you to embrace the timeless lessons in this message.

This is only the beginning.  There is so much I wanted to say this Sunday, but cannot cover it all in one message.  So I will follow up the following week or two by sharing more of what’s on my heart, having a vision talk, and our annual state of the church address.

My Blog

This blog is where I write about making disciples, the local church, PCC, the challenges and joys of being a pastor, personal stories, and a variety of other topics.  These entries are usually directed to the congregation I lead, hopefully exerting some measure of influence, as well as informing them about the state of our church.  In many ways, this is my second pulpit.  

In 2012 there were 65,000 page views on this blog, so in the very least there are some who care about my thoughts.  Therefore, I will continue to write and publish articles here.

Some People Cannot Be Reasoned With.  Don’t Try.

A few millennia ago, Solomon said, “Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.”

On Monday of this week I wrote about my Facebook account and what I’m doing about it.  Here’s an update:

I have unfriended some people on my “friends” list who seemed to thrive on the negative.  Their favorite activity was finding a statement from some well-meaning person and begin a controversy.  And when someone else responded to them – thinking they were dealing with a rational person – they were off and running accusing them of caving in to liberals, not taking a stand, contributing to the moral decline in America, that sort of thing.

I’ve also unfriended some gossips and naysayers.

Life is too short for this sort of foolishness.  Deleting them from my friends list was a privilege, one I thoroughly enjoyed.