I came up in a denomination where many of its churches were an island to themselves. There was much infighting in this group over trivial issues that were made out to be like fundamental doctrines of the faith. Churches would be deemed liberal if they used handheld microphones during their worship service or if woman wore pants. This legalistic thinking kills the life of a church and any spiritual growth in a believer. I was always bothered by this separatist mentality because it reminded me so much of the Pharisees that Jesus dealt with.

I have always believed in the universal church. By that I mean, born again believers from every tribe, tongue and nation without man made denominational labels. I understand that there are some denominations that are more liberal than others but that does not mean that every church in its group are not Bible-believing and evangelical. My philosophy is if I am going to spend eternity with people I should work with them now to advance the kingdom of God. We should focus on the majors and not get hung up with the minors.

I have worshiped in the bush in East Africa and it resembled nothing like a North American worship service. And you know what, that is OK. My African brothers and sisters were singing, dancing, jumping and praising the Lord! I was blessed to see that they had not been tainted by some missionary from the States trying to force the "American Way" of worship on them. I think that we could learn something from our African brethren . . . worship and the body of Christ does not fit in a nice little box.

It was December of 2000 and things were pretty tough for my little family and I financially.We had enough food to feed ReAnne (who was 9 months old at the time). Our cupboards and fridge were completely empty. My wife Christi, our daughter ReAnne and I were were sitting on our bed when Christi suggested that we pray for God to meet our need. I did not want to pray because I felt that God had let me and my family down. I had never felt so discouraged or defeated in my whole life. I told Christi that I could not pray because my heart was not right. So she took my hand and began to praise and thank the Lord for all His blessings in our life. She thanked the Lord for our little baby girl. She closed her prayer by asking God to show Himself faithful to His Word by providing food for our family. After the prayer we put ReAnne to bed, went to the living room and sat on the couch. Within a few minutes we heard a knock on the door. I went to the door to see who it was and it was my parents with 12 bags of groceries. As I let them in God gently spoke to my heart as clear as day the words, "I shall supply". We thanked mom and dad for their generosity and they went on their way. God taught me a lesson that night that I have never forgotten. "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Most people will carve out time for what is important to them. For example, Sally's soccer game is at 6pm so the family blocks out the evening to be there for her. Bobby's Boy Scout meeting is at 10 Saturday morning so dad cuts the grass Friday evening so that he can be there to support his son. I have no problem with families getting involved in activities like this. I think that these are good things. What I do have trouble with is when time is allotted for extra activities but the family spends little to no time in the Word or praying together. My intent in sharing this concern is not to put anyone on some kind of guilt trip. My desire is to challenge parents, particularly fathers, to ensure that their family maintains these to disciplines. Satan wants nothing more than to keep us from the Scripture and prayer because they are the life line for spiritual growth. What greater investment can a parent make than to invest in the spiritual well being of their children? I want to be clear on one point. Parents are commanded to raise their children in the admonition of the Lord. Mom and Dad do not outsource your duties to the pastor or the church. Any pastor who is worth his salt would be glad to come along side you and offer you suggestions and help locate resources to help build strong families. But remember, it is your job to spiritually nurture your children. The whole idea of "raising children in church" is not what God expects from parents. Raising disciples is work. Hard work! But it can be done. If you are serious about raising godly disciples, it all starts at home.

I am currently reading through the book of Genesis and it has been refreshing to reacquaint myself with the recorded events that took place many years ago. Since before the foundation of the world God has demonstrated His Sovereignty over all creation. Man is merely a speck of dust in the Hands of His Creator. God still would have been just and righteous had He not provided His Son as the Sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. God, in His infinite wisdom and power orchestrated ever detail that His Son might be born as the Scripture teaches, "in the fullness of time". The Lord does not react to man's decisions. His Sovereign Hand has guided the affairs of men for centuries. God's people must grasp that He is in complete control over all creation. We live in a world where Satan has blinded the multitudes. Man seeks power, wealth and prestige. These are shallow and empty pursuits. The prophet Micah teaches us in chapter 6 verse 8, "He has show you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you but to do justly, to love mercy and walk humbly with your God?" When a person abandons his selfish ambitions and humbly seeks God He will find true life.

It has been awhile since I have posted an entry but I thought I would give a summary of the Bible Conference that I attended this weekend. For the past four years I have taken a group of men from my church to Englewood Baptist Church's East Coast Men's Bible Conference in Rocky Mount, NC. Our men had a great time as we listened to heart stirring messages and music. It was a great weekend. One of the leaders started off the meeting with a salvation invitation and two men came forward to receive Christ!

After they went forward, we then began our services and heard from two men of God who did a good job. At the end of the evening the preacher led an invitation where 30 men came forward to receive Christ as their Savior. It was very encouraging and uplifting to see the Holy Spirit work as He did.

I cherish time spent with my family and I do my best to protect it. I love my family very much and I would do anything for them. As much as I cherish my family time, I must be very intentional with my time with the Lord. If I am to be the best husband and father for my family, I can only accomplish this through the power of Jesus Christ resting on me. I must get alone with God and the Lord must be my priority. I so desire to be God's man for my family. I am not perfect and I do not claim to be. I've made mistakes. Mistakes I wish that I could take but they are mistakes that I can learn from. The greatest legacy that I will leave my family when I breathe my last breath is not how much money they will have when I am gone but whether my children and the generations to come will walk in the admonition of the Lord. I would rather die a poor man having done all to invest in my family's spiritual well being than a rich man who lost his family to the cares of this world. This will only happen by getting alone with God.

You will discover much about a person by just listening to them. As a pastor I have learned how to work with different types of people. Some are easy going and some are difficult. Some are reliable and some are not. Rarely will you find two people that are the same. There have been times in my ministry when all I had to cling to was God's calling on my life. I have experienced dark days and joyful days. Notice that I said the word joyful. There is a big difference between happiness and joy. True joy is unquenchable.

As followers of Christ we have much to be joyful about. My joy in Christ is unwavering and unmovable. The Lord has spoken to me in a fresh new way recently and He has filled my heart with joy. My time in His Word has been rich, and my time with God's people has been joyful. I have enjoyed sweet fellowship with my brethren. When God's people are fixed on Christ we will have true joy. Dr. John MacArthur makes the following statements about happiness and joy, "Happiness is an attitude of satisfaction or delight based upon some present circumstance. Joy is a deep down confidence that all is well, no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the difficulty and no matter what the problem is."