Hey MABC family & friends,
Thank you for the prayers regarding Sherry’s health yesterday. After spending the day at home in bed she was able to make the trip to Dallas today to the Church Leaders’ Conference. It is a great place for learning and sharing ideas with other pastors and church leaders. There will be a total of 3200 of them here! During breakout sessions and at meals you are encouraged to sit with people you don’t know and exchange thoughts and ideas with others. Plus, the praise and worship and food are excellent!
What a great day yesterday with Tessie’s baptism! At some point, with her permission, we will share more about her journey to Jesus. It is a decision she didn’t make lightly as there may be a high cost for her to follow Jesus. Continue to prayer for her spiritual protection and prayer for her family.
I hope our message yesterday about being able to recognize a “rooted” or mature believer gives you something to think about in your walk with the Lord. As I said, many people go home after Sunday worship either unchanged or unmotivated to make changes in their life. Look, none of us will have it all together until we get to see Jesus face to face and that includes me. Just ask Sherry! I am still a work in progress myself. As I worked on that message during the week I asked myself the very question I asked you to ask of yourself: Are people’s faith stronger for having interacted with me? James 3:1 says those that teach will be held to a higher standard! That’s why I don’t take my preaching and teaching lightly.
There is a story told about President Abraham Lincoln going to church one Wednesday evening with one of his companions. He was always allowed to sit in the pastor’s study with the door open so he could hear the message without having to interact with the crowd. After the message as they walked back to the White House, the companion asked the president what the thought of the message. President Lincoln said “It was brilliantly conceived, biblically relevant and well presented.” The companion replied “So it was a great sermon?” “No,” the president replied. Iit failed.” It failed because the pastor did not ask us to do something great.’
Please know this. I will always challenge us to do more and do it better. Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great” says that good is the enemy of great. Why you ask? If you think you are good enough, or our church is good enough, we will never be motivated to achieve greatness. Kasey Kasem was a radio show host of The Top 40 Countdown. He would always close his show by encouraging his listeners to “keep their feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.” From what I can understand from reading about him, he meant keep it real but don’t get complacent.
Have you gotten complacent in your faith? Are you roots deep in Jesus or just below the surface? Wide maybe but not very deep? Is your foundation solid? Or are you building on shifting sands?
Have a great week. I know that Sherry and I will have one. It is so fun to get with other leaders and hear what is going on in the Kingdom Church.
Pastor Rick