Sunday, January 31, 2010

A Lifetime of Ministry

This posting is about a friend of mine, one of the associate ministers at my church.  His name is Rev. W.  His favorite name for everyone is "My Dears".  Another favorite phrase of his is, "Alright, alright, alright..."  I must admit that I don't know exactly how old he is or how long he has been in the ministry.  I'll try to give you his resume as it has been told to me, and as I have seen for myself. 

I am told that he was a Pastor of a church in Kyle, Texas for well over twenty years.  When I first met Rev. R.W.  around 1998, he was already the Minister of Pastoral Care at my church .  The minister of Pastoral Care's responsibility is to visit the sick and shut in members of our church.  Rev W. has always been a valuable asset to the pastor because he was able to spend time with those who were unable to attend church on a reagular basis.  Over the years, he has prayed with countless members and their families.  He has been there for weddings, funerals, and baby dedications.  He became such a comforter to the membership that he was usually the first one requested by the family in the event of a crisis.  I can remember visiting older members on the days that he was unable to make it out and having to console them not on the fact that they were sick or shut-in, but due to their concern about Rev. W.  It's a wonderful testimony of his life and his ministry. 

Unfortunately, Rev W. is unable to drive out to visit the members anymore.  He is (I believe) over 90 years old, can no longer drive, and is currently living in a rehabilitation hospital.  He is not one that visits the members, but he is the one that the members will go to visit.  God is not through with his ministry yet.  He is now teaching a bible study class to his fellow residents in the rehab hospital.  He is continuing to be a servant even now, and he is still a blessing to others.

I used to wonder why someone would stay in the ministry their entire life. I wondered what the point was.  I now see I was blessed to watch Rev. W and others serve proudly and diligently for decades, without celebrity status or exceptional wealth.  God has allowed me to see the benefits of serving others and the blessing of seeing them grow and mature as they go through trials and successes.  The blessing comes in seeing someone else grow closer to God so that they can be what He would have them to be.  The second blessing is in knowing that God allowed you to be a part of that growth process.  Rev. W has been a part of the growth process for a lot of members (including me) over the years.  And he has shown me how to be a better comforter as I continue my own ministry.  For that I am eternally grateful.  Thank you Rev W, for helping me to grow stronger in and for Christ.

Peace and love,

Rev. Mike

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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Real Men Love Jesus Picture

Remember this post (Jesus Marketing)?  Well, I saw the same truck again at a stoplight and was fortunate enough to click a picture of it with my trusty camera phone with the mega mega pixals!

So now that you see it, what do you think?  Too much or great testimony?  Let me know.

Peace and Love,

Rev Mike

p.s.  I promise I was stopped at the time that I took this picture.  But please pray for me because I'm trying not to text and drive at the same time :(


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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Misc and Other Blog: But I'm Not Sleepy

I started a second blog a while back called "Miscellaneous and Other".  I did about four postings on it before I decided that I didn't feel like investing time in two completely different blogs.  Here is one of my favorites posts from that blog:

But I'm Not Sleepy

There is no such thing as sleeping late when you have a child. For those of you without children, you have no idea what it’s like to wake up to the sound of the toilet flushing at 6 am, bathroom light shining in your face. And the first thing you think when your five year old son climbs into bed with you is NOT how much you love them. The first thing you think is “Did he wash his hands?”. That’s because the hand in question is currently caressing your face and you know that you did not hear any sink water running after the flush. So you ask, “Is that the pee-pee hand?” “No”, your angel answers. “Are you sure?” “No”. You have just been awakened by the joy of your life. Now those of you with pets might think you go through the same thing with your “babies”. But I beg to differ. You can tell your animal to go away, and it might look at you as though it does not understand. If you tell your child to go away, your child will usually look at you and say, “But, I’m not sleepy.” Once your child utters these magical words to you, your sleeping time is over.

This is my morning: I set my alarm to go off at 7am. This means that I really want to get up at about 7:15 or 7:22. My son usually wakes up around 6 am and goes to the bathroom. I know that he is in the bathroom because I hear the toilet seat as he slams it while raising it up. I am also aware of the fact that he did not close the door while going to the bathroom because the light is shining in my face. I hear the sound of him “doing his business” and an alarming thought comes rushing to my sleepy, half-awake brain. “ Dear God, please don’t let him miss,”. After he is done, I hear the slam of the toilet seat as he lets it clank back down. At this point, there is a fifty-fifty chance that he is going to wash his hands. I listen to hear the sound of running water. If he does not wash his hands, then you have to go through the aforementioned pee-pee hand interrogation. If he does wash his hands, then you will probably get the wet fingers of affection. That’s because he probably didn’t dry his hands completely after washing them. Either way, you are going to get something because he is going to climb into bed with you. Now my son takes after me. What that means is that it is impossible(and I do mean no chance in the free world), for him to get comfortable while lying down for at least the first 10 minutes. Remember that it is still only 6:04 in the morning. So he climbs in and begins his quest of manafest destiny by scooting me over with his butt. “Hey you,” I say, “Why don’t you go get in your own bed?”. Sometimes he protests. Sometimes he does not. This time he does not. So he goes out of the room leaving the door to my bedroom wide open.

I don’t know what it is about the door being open, but when I am serious about sleeping, I want it closed. So I ask as politely as I can, “Close the door!”. Please don’t judge me. I’m sleepy. So he comes back and shuts the door. Fifteen or twenty minutes later he comes back in and climbs in on my wife’s side of the bed. He does that because he figures that she won’t send him back out like the evil man that she married just did. But my wife is wanting to sleep until the sun actually rises as well so she gently kisses him on the cheek and sends him back to bed also. The time is now 6:35am. Ten minutes later he comes back in and says, “Daddy? I’m hungry,”. My wife replys that breakfast will not be served until 8am. My son answers, “But I’m hungry now.”. At this point your parental mind tells you that you should not have taught your child to fight for what he believes in. So my wife and I begin the ritual of determining who has done the most work for the sake of the family in the last twenty-four hours. The loser has to get up and make our son breakfast. The winner gets another ten minutes of sleep. Dang it! Lost again.


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Monday, January 18, 2010

Can't We All Just Get Along? Racial Concord in the Church

As we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., I can't help but to feel a sense of pride in my city.  San Antonio usually has one of the largest MLK marches in the United States each year; an amazing accomplishment considering the city is only about 7 to 9 percent African American.  I didn't go to the march because I was working (like every year), but I have heard that once again it was a great success.  But along with this sense of pride in my city comes a desire to deal with the real issues that God's children must deal with as it pertains to race.  When you think about race relations in this country, you must understand that we still have a long way to go.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the modern church.

It's been said that Sunday is the most segregated day of the week.  All the black people go to the black church.  All the white people go to the white church.  Other races mix in where they can.  I want to stop right here and apologize for the tone that this post is about to take.  But this is truly how I feel.  There are certain problems that I have with certain racial groups.  Because the majority of my experiences have been with black people and white people, I will deal primarily with each of these groups.   Here are the problems that I see in each race and why these problems must be dealt with in order for God's Church to grow.

1.  Black people need to come to terms with history and ourselves.
Yes it's true that black people have gone through many horrible things in the past.  We have had to deal with slavery, Jim Crow laws, false accusations, unfair criminal prosecution, and every other horrible thing you can possibly think of.  I have been called the N-word, had a gun pulled on me by the police because I "fit the description of the suspect",been described as the angry black man, and many other negative things over my thirty five years of life.  But I also realize that God says that we should forgive those who trespass against us as we continually ask for forgiveness.  I also realize that no one owes me a thing in life and I should stop waiting for someone to give me a handout in order to make up for all the wrong things that have been done to my people.

2.  White people need to understand that healing takes time.
Martin Luther King was killed in 1968 (forty-one years ago).  The Montgomery bus boycott that King started as a result of Jim Crow laws was started in 1955 (fifty-four years ago).  I have members of my church who were born in the twenties and thirties; and they have vivid memories of the pain and suffering of those times.  They have relayed these stories to their children and grandchildren and built up a wall of distrust.  Many of those people are now in their seventies and eighties and are just beginning to accept the fact that they need to love all people... not just black people.  White people need to understand that this wall of distrust in the black community will not come down overnight.  They have to patiently chip away at it.

3.  Both races need to calm down, stop being so sensitive, and tell each other how they feel.  Then listen without being judgmental. 
Nothing to add here.

So how does the the church fit into the race question?  Well, I have a dream (couldn't resist).  And my dream concerns the church of the future.  The church of the future is not a white church, a black church, a hispanic church, or an asian church.  It is God's church.  The church of the future needs to provide a worship service that unifies all races; not a worship service that validates one group at the expense of the other.  In the church of the future, the worship experience will encourage, edify, and uplift all the people.  And what about the preacher?  The preacher should make sure that the sermon is colorblind.  That means it should challenge all people on a spiritual level, not on a social, racial, or economic level.  The only people that should be uncomfortable at the end of service should be the unsaved and the non-believers.  When all is said and done, we should focus on the only race that is truly important in this world.  The Christian race.

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike

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Sunday, January 17, 2010

You Are A Blessing

I heard "The Starfish Story" a long time ago and always remembered it.  This is something to remember when you feel like nobody is being helped by the things that you do.

The Starfish Story
adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley (1907-1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.  He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.  One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer.  He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.  As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all.  The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.  He came closer still and called out "Good morning!  May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"  asked the somewhat startled wise man.

The young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out.  If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile?  You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean.  As it met the water, he said,"I made a difference to that one!"

Point of story:

Young Man--- you
Starfish---those that you can influence, help, and minister to.
Old Man---The world telling you that you don't make a difference

You may think that you only have a small audience that you minister to.  You may wonder if it is worth it.  I believe that it is. 

Moral of story:  Help as many people as you can and realize that they will appreciate you for it.  More importantly, God will be pleased.

Peace and love,

Rev. Mike

 

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Thursday, January 14, 2010

Public Service Announcement

Dear Family,

Due to an unfortunate event, I will now be monitoring all comments before they become available for viewing.  God bless the individual that made this a neccessary precaution.  End of Announcement. 

Peace and Love
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Monday, January 11, 2010

Jesus Marketing

I was at work a couple of days ago talking to a fellow employee.  As we were talking, a nice sized SUV pulled up in the nearby parking lot and we could not help but notice the lettering it had on it's side:

REAL MEN LOVE JESUS

was written in huge block letters that ran the entire length of the vehicle.  It also had:
3:16

written on the rear driver's side window on it.  I am assuming that this is a reference to the scripture in John 3:16.. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"(KJV).  I didn't think to try to take a picture of it with my mega-megapixel camera phone; we were too busy discussing whether or not it was a great testimony or too much of a display.  Now I don't know if my co-worker is a believer or not.  But I do know that he didn't care for the display.  He commented that whenever he sees someone with a huge display of some kind on a vehicle or a T-shirt he has usually discovered that they are hypocrites.  He didn't like the fact that the owner of the vehicle was professing his or her faith so loudly.

I will admit that I thought that it was a bit much for my taste.  I have found that I am usually able to witness to people when I use a more subtle approach.  I have also found that one of three things happen when you make a grand display like the one we saw. 

1.  Either they turn off people because they come accross as arrogant.. 
2.  They receive a loud ovation or condemnation from other people who like to demonstrate their beliefs the same way.
3.  They become a target for those who looking for an opportunity to challenge the Christian faith.

My co-worker and I ended up talking about organized religion for ten minutes as a result of seeing the SUV.  And I was able to let him know that I was a "Real Man " that believed in God and Jesus as the Son of God.  I don't think I converted him; but perhaps a seed was planted.  Which brings me to the point of this particular thought.  How much should we as Christians advertise our beliefs?  Would you wear any of these T-shirts?







Or do you think that it is trying too hard to make Jesus cool or hip?  How about these?








Would you use these items to show your faith?  Or do you think that they cross the line?  Again, are we trying too hard to make Jesus cool?  Or should we just let the Holy Spirit do it's work?  What do you think?

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike






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Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Bible in Your Cell Phone

I found a neat little website that you can use on your cell phone for those times that you need a bible handy.  It's called http://versetogo.com/ .  I just discovered it a couple of days ago and it works really well no matter what type of cell phone you have:






Try it out and let me know what you think.  Also, let me know what other websites or applications you use for looking up scriptures too.

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike

P.S.  Man!!!  It feels good to be back!

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Sunday, January 3, 2010

Money Ministry

Don't look at me that way.  I'm not talking about asking for money for a ministry.  I am talking about something that happened to me on the way to work a couple of weeks ago.  I was reaching for my wallet to pay for my unhealthy breakfast when I noticed that the money had something written on it.  Someone had written "God loves you" on the money.  Now I don't fully know what their intentions were when they wrote that; but I do know how it affected me.  As I stated below, my family and I have been going through a bit of a stretching process over the past couple of months.  To be quite honest, we have been going through the process for the majority of 2009.  So to see that on something as common as a 5 dollar bill made me stop for just a moment and reflect on the fact that God does indeed love me. 




And while I thought about the things that God had allowed us to go through over the last few months, I also realized how God has kept us over the past few months as well.  I received encouragement to go on right there in the drive thru.  And this particular moment of encouragement was brought about because someone wrote "God loves you" on a five dollar bill. 

After I took the pictures of the money, I used it to pay for my food.  Imagine how many times that one five dollar bill would change hands over the next week.  I gave it to the lady at the drive thru window.  She probably gave it to someone as part of their change for a larger bill.  That person probably gave the 5 dollar bill to someone else to pay for something else.  That 5 dollar bill probably passed through the hands of a number of people during the remainder of the week.  And who knows how many people touched it before I received it.  Just by looking at those three words, I received encouragement.  I just wonder how many people were encouraged by just seeing those words as well.  Now I am not encouraging you to write the twenty-third Psalms on all your money!  I'm simply saying that there are many ways to minister to people that are unique and effective.  What unique method can you think of to minister to someone?  Go ahead and put it into action.  The world is waiting to be encouraged. 

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike


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Happy New Year!

Hello everyone!  I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's celebration.  It appears that I needed to take an unexpected vacation from blogging for a season.  Let's just say that the last couple of months have found me and the family being "stretched" by God.  But we are doing better now and I am looking forward to connecting with everyone in my blog family again over the coming year.  I am working on a couple of posts for later on today and I will be pushing more posts out on a reagular basis once again.  Thank you to everyone that checked up on me and the family and everyone that asked how we were doing.  It has been a rough winter so far but we are stronger sprirtually because of it.  More posts coming soon...

Peace and Love,

Rev Mike

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