One of my favorite verse in the Bible is Genesis 50:20. To completely understand it you need to know a little background information. Joseph was the son of a shepherd. He was loved by his father and had big dreams for his life. His brothers resented Joseph and sold him into slavery and hoped to never see him again. Years later his family would be reunited with Joseph and his brothers would always fear his retaliation. This fear reaches its pinnacle when their father dies leaving Joseph alone to decide their fate. Joseph responds by saying this one powerful verse.

Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

I love this verse for a couple of reasons. First, I love the idea that good things can come out of seemingly bad situations. Second, I love Joseph perspective on his life. He saw a big picture being played out in his life and did not focus on the daily feelings. Finally, I love those two words in the verse, “But God.” His brothers had one thing in mind, but God did something completely different with it. Things may have appeared to be going one direction for Joseph but God changed the direction.

I love these two words because I can use them every single day of my life.

My spouse was leaving me, but God …
My children were on the wrong path spiritually, but God …
My life was on a treadmill of pain, but God …
My parents, my friends, my neighbors, my co-workers are headed toward disaster, but God …

When God steps into a story the plot can changes, the characters proceed in new directions and good can come from bad situations. I am thankful for a God who can step into anyone’s story and change it. Then one day we look back and say I thought this, but God had other things in mind.

I have a few people in my life right now who encourage me on a weekly basis and sometimes it is more like daily. Honestly, in all my years as Pastor I have never received as much support and encouragement as I am now. God has surrounded me with people who are a huge blessing to my life by their words and deeds. Their support is teaching me how to be a better encourager to the people in my life. I know I have shared some of this before on my blog but much of it needs repeating. So here are some of the lessons I am learning:

1. Pray for People … and tell them that you are doing it. When the apostle Paul writes his letters to the Churches of the New Testament he will often say “I thank my God for you” or “for this reason I am praying for you” or something about what he is praying for that Church. I never really understood that till lately. I am so encouraged every time someone tells me they are praying for me. It helps me in my Christian walk to know I have the prayer support of those around me.

2. Tell People You Were Blessed By Them … right now. I have a group of people who immediately send me a text or email when a sermon hit home or a blog touched their heart or I did anything meaningful to them. I am so encouraged that people are listening and reading. I am even more encouraged that these people would then go out of their way to tell me about it. People saying things as I stand at the back door of the Church are pretty insignificant no matter how heartfelt. Everyone is forced to walk by the preacher at the back door and almost everyone is very positive, so the words kind of get lost. Taking a few minutes to send a text or email or a written letter or a phone call are especially encouraging.

3. Share Positive Gossip … in a positive way. I know that God is completely against gossip because it can divide and destroy a Church. Lately I have had a couple of people tell me about other congregational members who have said something positive about me. They told me about a conversation in which someone else was praising me behind my back. It has become a real source of encouragement because these conversations were not to my face. These people were honestly sharing their thoughts with others and when I heard that they had good things to share I was encouraged. Gossip it only destructive when it is used negatively but used positively it can be an encouragement.

4. Celebrate Other People’s Victories … with a pure heart. When we purchased our home last week several people have congratulated us. I am not going to lie – it is a very nice house. God used the equity we had from Alaska and matched with a couple desperate to sell and we got a great deal. As a result many people have said “congratulations” in a way that seemed jealous. There is a difference between hearing “Wow, you got a nice house” and “I am so happy you were able to get a house for you and your family.” People who are genuinely happy for me are a huge encouragement.

5. Small Gifts are a Big Blessing … when given without string attached. Since I have arrived in Adrian I have received dozens of small gifts from people in the Church. These gifts have ranged from meals to gifts cards to fresh produce to cookies to warm chocolate pie. It is a such a huge encouragement to know that people have thought about me and my family. A small gesture means as much to me as a large gift, sometimes even more. Just to know that you thought about me as a friend or family member and not just a pastor is a great feeling. A small gift can do great things for the heart.

These are some of the things I am learning about encouraging. Don’t get me wrong – I am not writing this post to get gifts or cards or words of praise for myself. I am writing this post to help build a community of people who care for one another. I am praying that God will touch your heart and you will do something today to encourage another person in the body of Christ. I want to be a part of a group of people who care for one another as much as people care for me. Thank God for them. Thank God for you.

Johnson Oatman Jr. was born the son of an excellent singer. He would soon discover he had not been blessed as a singer. Then he aspired to be a great preacher but lack the communication skills necessary to be the speaker of his dreams. It wasn’t until he was in his thirties that he discovered his greatest talent. He could write songs. For the rest of his life he worked hard to write songs everyday. Each year he completed over 200 hymns and when his life was over more than 5,000 Christian anthems had been written by his pen. His most famous is entitled “When Upon Life’s Billows.” In my Church we just called it “Count Your Blessings.” Maybe the song was born out of his search for his own voice or maybe it was born out of how blessed he was as an adult in his songwriting career. Whatever the case his words still inspire people over 120 years later.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done

I have been thinking of this song the last few days for several reasons. First, my life has been blessed with a new home for my family and I. God opened doors for us to buy a permanent home here in Adrian Missouri. Second, that purchase got my wife talking about all of the blessings that have led up to this purchase. We have been blessed by the sale of our home in Alaska last fall. We have been blessed by the sale of every home we have ever owned and all of them have at least made us a small amount of equity. We have been blessed by having no major expenses the last few years. We have experienced no accidents, no medical issues, and no big financial blows. God has blessed us over and over again. This latest house is just one of the ways we have been blessed in our lives.

Finally, I have been thinking about the overall concept of the song. Even Christians need to be continually reminded to count their blessings. It should be a natural thing to do, but it rarely is for most people. We have to purposely stop and think through all the ways God has blessed each one of us. I love the idea of counting them one by one, maybe even saying them out loud or writing them down. How wonderful it would be for each of us to stop today and start a list of all the ways God has blessed us. It may just surprise us what the Lord hath done.

Yesterday another Pastor showed me this talk from a few years ago. I know it is a little older but it was the first time I had seen it. It is a great story and a simple idea that most of us could apply to our lives immediately. Take 6 minutes to watch this video of a TED talk – I promise you will be glad you did.

I have read numerous articles lately that have been very good. I always want to share great links –

Christian Life –

1. It Took A Death to Purchase Life

2. 4 Ways to Pray

3. All the Radical I Can Manage

4. Fred Craddock Sermons

Church –

5. Five things people blame the Church for … but shouldn’t

Marriage –

6. Four choices that will improve any marriage

7. Assertive Communication: How to have a healthy conversation with your spouse

8. Six heart problems exposed by marriage

Bonus Music Video on marriage – Broken Together by Casting Crowns

Flipping through the latest Christian Book Distributors catalog I noticed a series of books and studies by one time football coach Tony Dungy. I have never read any of these books and to be honest, I didn’t even know they existed. They may be great books that God is using for His glory and the growth of His kingdom. This is not a critique of the material itself. Rather this is about a thought that spun through my head because of the title. The title of his books and studies are all based around the word “Uncommon.” The main titles were “Dare to be Uncommon” and “Uncommon: The Path to Significance.”

The reason these titles caught me is because of a thought I have had lately that is the exact opposite. I wonder if people who follow Jesus are willing to be common. Would Christians ever “Dare to be Common?” Are the followers of Jesus willing to not have their name in lights? Are we willing to blend into the masses of people who simply follow Jesus with our lives?

I recently read of a preacher who took a vow of obscurity. He committed to not writing any articles for magazines, not doing any interviews, not posting a podcast, not speaking at any other Churches or conferences. He simply wanted to preach and teach at his local congregation and that was it. No recognition beyond the walls of his own Church. I know of another pastor who was making a wave nationally. His blog was incredible, his Church was growing and he was being invited to speak at every conference. In a move some might see as crazy he left that Church and took a position as pastor in an inner city Church. He stopped writing, speaking and walked away from the spotlight. He said something like, “Anyone can serve in the spotlight but only a few want to serve the inner city.”

How many of us are willing to be common? Could we be ordinary people who serve without recognition or reward? To have our lives not make headlines, not have a huge numbers of followers or “likes,” rather to just live out our lives of faith in common everyday ways.

Somehow we have come to think of fame as being the same as faithfulness. We think of fame as being the same as having an impact. Those are simply not true. Just because we are common or unknown does not mean we have less of an impact or we are being less faithful. In reality, it might mean the exact opposite. Some of the greatest people I know are not known outside of their congregation. These people serve the Lord day in and day out without any glory. These people teach children, lead worship, clean, organize, keep the books, make copies and do a hundred different little things each week without any special recognition. The Church at its best is made up of people who are willing to be common.

Recently I ran across The Jubilee Project. I do not know the whole story about what they are doing but they have made some great “short movies” or videos about marriage.
Here are two of my favorites:

Blind Devotion –

Co-Pilots –

There are several others on Youtube. I look forward to watching more in the future.

The library at Ozark Christian College used to have a regular program to remove old books and tapes from their shelves each spring. They would then take those old books and sell them or even give some things away in a room off of the library in an effort to make more space. I attended one of those sales my freshman year at OCC and before I walked out of the library I noticed a box of sermon tapes setting against the wall with my favorite word written above it, “Free.” I went and dug through the box reading titles that were of no interest to me and seeing speakers that held no appeal I was becoming discouraged. Then I read a title that sparked my interest. It was a sermon entitled “The Sermon and The Text” and was given by a guy named Fred Craddock. I remember my preaching professor mentioning his name as a good speaker and as a new preacher myself I was interested in anything that would help me prepare a sermon. With the cost being right, I stuck the audio tape in my sack and went to my dorm room. It took me a couple of months before I put it in the cassette player to listen to this simple sermon, but “wow.” To that point in my life it was one of the top 5 greatest things I had ever heard.

From that day on I began reading all of Fred Craddock’s book, listening to every sermon or lecture on tape and even driving to hear him in person. A friend and I actually wrote the college he taught at and tried to set up a meeting in person, but his schedule was always full. Over time he became the single greatest influence in my preaching life. Still 25 years after picking up that first tape I listen to his sermons on a monthly basis. I have actually memorized some of his sermons by heart. In fact, one summer in England I was helping a missionary by passing out fliers door to door for upcoming events. I literally spent 8 hours a day walking and to amuse myself I would repeat his sermons and stories while I walked. Like a writer aspiring to be like Dickinson, Poe or Twain I had hoped to someday preach like Craddock.

Last Friday I posted one of my favorite Craddock stories. Little did I know that 800 miles away the Lord was calling Dr. Craddock home. He passed away at the age of 86 after a long life of preaching and teaching. Although I only met him in person one time his shadow is cast over every sermon I preach. He was a mentor through his teaching and writing and helped to mold almost every word I say each week, at least the way I say it. I thank God for Fred Craddock and his life and ministry.

You can go to YouTube and listen to a couple of his sermons for free. You can find a few downloads online. I can even loan you a tape or CD. However it happens, if you ever get a chance to listen to a Fred Craddock sermon or lesson be sure you do not miss that opportunity. You will be glad you did and who knows, it might change your life like it changed mine.

Thanks Dr. Craddock.

6209 days ago I became a parent for the first time. That is 887 weeks of being excited, scared, confused, worried, hopeful, proud, angry, sad, happy and every other emotion that God created in the human heart. I am my son’s biggest fan and his greatest critic. I used to feel sick to my stomach before I had to be in the spot light and now I am sick for him each and every time he performs. He turned my world upside down.

Before my son was born my wife used to babysit for kids in the Church. The sad result was that she thought I would be a terrible parent. I didn’t seem to care about the kids or connect with them in anyway. In fact, I couldn’t wait to get the little monsters out of my house. One time I even tried to be nurturing and got a cute little puppy. A few months later it was hit by a car and that was the end of the experiment. I looked doomed to spend my life as a grumpy old man with no soft side.

Then my son was born. It took over 20 hours of labor and he came into the world with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck while the doctor pulled him out with what looked like salad tongs. The moment he came into the world my heart was transformed. God has been remaking my heart and he has used my children to help in that process.

Hopefully those of you who are parents know what I mean.

So today I want to thank God for children. More than that, I want to thank God today for my oldest son.

A favorite story from Dr. Fred Craddock –

“I remember in an airport in Kansas City years ago, waiting for a plane, I fell into conversation with a fellow from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. He was in this country completing a study on the influence of the conversation between doctors and nurses with the patient in surgery who is under anesthesia. His view was, in fact, that he had established it beyond all doubt. He found that if the doctors and nurses were negative and grumpy, then the patient in post-operative conditions was depressed and pessimistic. If the doctors and nurses were upbeat, happy, merry, and cheerful, then the patient in post-operative care was euphoric and optimistic and proceeded to recover quickly.

The time came when I had to catch my plane. I thanked him for the conversation, and he said, ‘Why, are you a doctor?’

I said, ‘Oh, no, I’m a preacher… But if it’ll work in surgery, it’ll work in sanctuary.’

So when I go somewhere to speak, and people are asleep, it doesn’t bother me, because I know that several days later they may get a little Christian twitch. They won’t know what caused it, but I’ll know.”