I am not a fan of Church hoppers and shoppers. I grow weary of people who change Churches over and over through their lives without ever actually connecting to one Church body.

With that said, let me tell you a story. When I was 5 years old, my parents changed Churches. Because of my age, I do not know all the details. I do know that my family had attended the local body of believers in our small town since they first moved there. My dad was saved in that little Church and took his first steps of Christian leadership in that building. Then when I was 5 years old, we attended a different Church. I distinctly remember the first day in the new Church because they had a group of children who were my age. They had special worship for me, and everyone was so glad I was in attendance. I told my parents how much I loved it. After that day, I never remember attending another Church. We connected to Woodland Heights, and my mom still attends today.

My life was significantly affected by a Church hop after my parents had done some Church shopping. I am thankful they moved so let me offer some thoughts from a person who has seen both sides of this issues.

1. Feel Free to Leave a Church When They Reject Biblical Teaching. This can take several forms. I have seen Churches openly embrace sin. I have seen other Churches deny clear Biblical teaching. Some have chased after a certain cultic teaching or cultic personality. I do not mean you are free to leave whenever they teach something with which you don’t completely agree. I have found no Church where everyone completely agrees on everything, in fact, if you found that type of unified thinking on everything it might just be a cult. Test all teaching against the Bible and ask for an explanation if you are unsure.

2. Don’t Leave If the Church Gets a New Minister. Honestly, preachers come and go. Connect to the people of the Church first and foremost. Quite often the people who don’t like the new minister are still healing from the old one leaving. They felt deeply connected and now that bond is broken. I have found that people who love the old minister eventually love the new one too. Sure, with each new leader there will be changes within the local Church setting, but the Bible is still true, God is still on his throne, and his people will move forward.

3. Never Leave if There Was a Conflict. Seek to heal. Pursue forgiveness. Fix what is broken. Christians do not run every time things get a little tough. Families have issues and so do Church families. In the book of Acts, whenever there is a conflict of any kind it is handled directly and gracefully. The statement that always follows is that the Lord added to their number. Working through our problems grows our faith and increases the work of the Lord as people see us working together through anything.

4. Consider Issues Involving Sin with Extreme Care. I have seen two sides of this issue. On one side is when someone in the Church, especially a leader, commits a continual sin and no one addresses it. There are numerous questions to answer in this situation. Who knew? When did they know? How was it handled? Was it handled? In many cases, you may need to consider leaving if sin and holiness are not being prioritized. The other side is when we have sinned. This is when I see people run and I think they should stay. One time a guy sinned and confessed it all to his wife and the Church leadership. Their lives were open at a level they had never experienced. Feeling vulnerable they left for another Church. I really thought they should have stayed and let us love them as Christ called us to do. When sin is exposed in the Church, it may require a move, or it might be best to stay. Choose wisely.

I will never know all the situations surrounding my parents moved in 1977, but it was a good move for my family. I do not think that is always true. Most of the people I encounter as a leader are running from something more than they are moving to something. Your Church experience will be best if you spend a lifetime in one faith community. I am not saying it will all be pleasant. I am saying that like in a long marriage you will never know the benefits of staying together until many years have passed. Then one day you will look back and see all the ways God has blessed your life.

The whole week had felt like the forces of evil were working against me. I didn’t sleep much the night before. I was tired and emotional already. My heart was racing, my stomach was churning, my head was pounding, and I could not sit still. The next two hours were going to go against every fiber of my being. I am introvert by nature. I am not a people person in any way. It was too late to call in sick. There were no other options. I knew it was not going to be fun, but this is what God has apparently called me to do.

This is how my Easter Sunday morning went.

On Easter, we had the highest attendance at any one service I have ever preached. I have always felt called to preach and lead smaller congregations and try to help them turn around. I am now charting new waters, and it is challenging. There are so many people and every week I want to run and hide. I know that sounds so unpastoral, but it is true. I do not find leading a growing Church fun. It is difficult work that takes every ounce of faith for me to survive.

Everyone tells me that I look so natural up there on the stage preaching. For me, it is anything but natural. There are moments I want to scream and shout. There are times I want to hide and watch the program on a screen. Each week is a battle of my will versus God’s plans for me. What I do each week is not fun for me, it is what I feel God wants me to do.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not asking for sympathy or pity. I just want you to know two important things. First, whatever goes right in Church is not because of me, but because of God. Second, if God can use me, I know he can use you.

Be warned up front. Following God’s plan for your life and using your giftedness will not necessarily be fun. In fact, it may go against all of your natural inclinations. The last time I checked though, I did not find that Jesus promised anywhere that following him would be fun. He spoke of taking up your cross and dying to yourself. He talked about a narrow way. Jesus indicated that his kingdom would be built on self-sacrifice rather than self-satisfaction.

Sunday afternoon I was exhausted. I felt like I had run a marathon emotionally. It was a good day for Christ’s kingdom. No matter how I felt about it, God did his work in spite of me. I know he can do the same thing with you.

Yesterday was a great day. We had 254 people in the front of our Church for worship. It was packed. We also had 61 children and workers in the back. It was an all-time high for me at Adrian Christian Church in every way. It was exciting to see everyone and experience a wonderful day of worship.

This morning I feel a little blue. I know months of work are behind me. I know the Christian calendar turns toward Mother’s Day and then a summer slump in attendance until VBS. On days like this, I fight the darkness in the only way I know how: I pray. Here are some of the things I am praying for today.

1. I Pray a Prayer of Thanksgiving for All Those Who Helped in Some Way. I am so thankful for the people who cleaned, decorated, prepared, cooked, served, lead, taught, sang, greeted, prayed, invited, and did one of the thousand things to make yesterday happen.

2. I Pray We Made a Good Impression. First impressions can shape a person’s thinking for a lifetime. I pray we made a good impression on our visitors. By we, I mean that all Christians made a good impression on others as individuals. I also mean we as a Church. I pray our Church did all it could to shine the light of Jesus into people’s lives.

3. I Pray Joy Was Felt by All. I hope that everyone who came to worship with us yesterday was blessed in some way. Maybe it was a song by some sweet little girls or a kind word from a greeter or a song the congregation sang together. I hope something helped each person feel the presence of God in their life and the joy of the Lord.

4. I Pray Seeds of the Gospel were Planted. One of my biggest hopes and dreams is that people begin to take those fledgling steps of faith because of being here on Easter. Maybe an idea was shared that starts them thinking more about God. Maybe the sermon helped someone to understand the Christian message a little better. I pray God used yesterday to move someone far from him closer to home.

5. I Pray People Made Connections that Will Lead Them to Return. It was great to have a full house this week. What would be greater? Having a full house again next week. I know we had several out-of-town guests, but if a few of the locals were able to connect with other Christians in a positive way, that would be wonderful. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how many people were here yesterday. What matters is how many lives were changed by being here.

All Mondays can be hard on preachers and Church staff, but Easter can be particularly challenging. We have been planning and praying for this since Christmas. Now it is over. That does not mean the praying for yesterday has to cease. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if yesterday was the start of something great and not the end of it?

May God bless you this Easter.

Here are the best pieces I came across this week. I hope you enjoy.

10 Ways to Provide A Welcoming Environment for Your Guests this Easter

Busy is the New Stupid

Today is the day the Church celebrates Good Friday. This is the time we remember Jesus died on the cross for humanity. I am never sure what to say on a day like this so today I thought I would let Jesus speak for himself. Scripture records that he said seven statements while he was on the cross. Each one is full of meaning for us to ponder and apply.

Here is what he said over those six hours –

“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

“Into your hands, I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)

I hope that sometime today you stop and think about what Jesus was doing, and maybe saying, from 9:00 am till 3:00 pm. He gave his all so that we might have salvation.

Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Last night I finished a study leading up to Easter on the ministry of Jesus from the upper room to the empty tomb. We started six weeks ago by studying the Thursday night before Jesus went to the cross. Today we traditionally remember that day.

On the Church calendar, this is called Maundy Thursday. The word Maundy comes from a Latin word meaning “command.” This was the day that Jesus commanded his disciples to “Love one another, as I have loved you.” It is also the day that Jesus celebrated the Last Supper and instituted the Lord’s supper. While this whole week is considered “Holy Week” today moves us closer to Jesus sacrifice on the cross.

Today many Churches across the world will gather for special communion worship programs to remember the events of this night. Some Churches I know are celebrating the evening by having a Passover meal recreation to help people fully understand that night. The group of Churches I serve have gone a different direction in their emphasis. We take communion every week and remember the last supper and Jesus death on the cross whenever we worship.

Communion is the interesting time in any Church. Each place does it a little different. Some chose one loaf of bread and one cup. Other Churches like us use little-precut pieces of bread with little individual cups, mainly for hygiene reasons. There are dozens of variations on these methods. The beautiful part of this little celebration is that God gives us the freedom to take it in our own way as long as our emphasis is correct.

Quite often when I speak of communion, I hear someone quote a verse of scripture from 1 Corinthians 11:27 that says, “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” This quotation is usually followed by some sort of explanation that we need to be careful about having our life right with God before we take the bread and the cup. The problem with that understanding is that it is not a very good interpretation of Paul’s words.

Please let me explain. The passage is about a Church that comes together for a fellowship meal, and at the end, they were to take communion. The Church had people showing up ahead of other people and eating all the food. There were even those who were getting drunk. At the end of their meal, the people took a piece of bread and a cup just like it was another part of the meal without ever thinking about Jesus. Paul writes to remind them to focus on Christ and his work on the cross at communion. The bread is to remember his body broken. The cup is to remember his spilled blood. We celebrate the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy manner” when we forget about what Jesus did for our sins on the cross.

Paul is not telling them to clean up their minds and actions before they take communion. If that were the case, no one could take it. He is telling them to focus their thoughts on Christ. The emphasis is not on us and our shortcomings, rather on Jesus and his overcoming.

If you are a believer and tonight, you take communion for Maundy Thursday, or if you take it tomorrow at a good Friday program or if you simply take it on Sunday morning as part of your Easter celebration you need to know that no one is good enough to take communion. We take communion because Jesus did an excellent work on the cross for us.

Today and this weekend may Jesus love for you be ever close to your hearts as we meet to worship him.

There is something I need to say. It has bothered me for a long time, and I see it creeping into the Church more with every passing year. This is not true of everyone I know. It is honestly not a generational thing because I see it happening with all age groups. Here it goes, “I am tired of people being self-centered and acting like the world revolves around them.”

I am continually convicted by the behavior of others. I notice people who regularly give no regard to other people or their things. I used to call these things “common sense,” but I now realize these actions are not so common. As followers of Jesus, I think we need to lead the way in putting others above ourselves.

With that said, let me make a few suggestions –

-Hold the door open for other people.
-Share your umbrella.
-Open car doors for the elderly.
-Pick up your own trash and throw it away.
-Then pick up someone else’s trash and throw it away.
-Empty the trash can (at home, the Church and anywhere possible) when it is full.
-Say please and thank you.
-Let other people in front of you in line who only have a couple items to purchase.
-You don’t have to be first in line.
-Don’t eat all the best food and leave the leftovers for others.
-Take care of your own dishes after a meal.
-Leave the last piece of pie for someone else.
-Let someone else pick the restaurant and the TV channel.
-Give a good tip.
-Write cards to those who do something special.
-Keep quiet at concerts, movies, and Church when someone else is speaking.
-Ask other people what you can pray for on their behalf.
-Ask people how they are doing and then listen to their answer.
-Don’t take anything without asking.
-Offer to help.
-Give.
-Flush the toilet.
-Turn off the lights when you are done.
-Clean up after yourself.
-Speak kindly to anyone in the service industry.
-Be willing to help people move.
-Go above and beyond what is required.
-Smile.
-Tell other people how much they mean to you.
-Never act like anyone owes you anything.

I know this is not a complete list. It will get you thinking. Some of these will come naturally to you and others will be difficult. I know some of them seem minuscule, but I believe it is most often the little things that change the world. A selfish and self-centered attitude has never moved the work of God forward in the world. When people of faith begin to value others and their stuff the world becomes witness to the kingdom of God in everything we do.

One of the things that might surprise you about being a preacher is how lonely it can sometimes be. Through the years, I have noticed that no matter what Church I lead very few people to have me into their home. It is not that people don’t like me. Occasionally people ask me to go out to eat, and several people love to stop by my office, but few people want me in their home.

I used to take offense to this truth. Was it my table manners? Was it my lack of people skills? Was it my children? Then one day the truth hit me, it is not that people didn’t like me personally, rather they do not like me professionally. Most people are not comfortable with “the preacher” in their home.

If the preacher comes into my home, he will see how I live. He will see how messy my house is all the time. He will see projects that are not finished. He will see the real me.

If the preacher comes into my home, he will see my priorities. He will see my collection of shot glasses highlighted nicely by my Budweiser mirror. He will also see my dusty Bible hidden on the shelf.

If the preacher comes into my home, he will see how my children actually behave. He will see their bedrooms and their stuff. He will see how they are not little angels but closer to demons. He may hear them say inappropriate words or phrases. He will know all about my parenting.

If the preacher comes into my home, he will see how my spouse and I relate to each other. He might hear us yell or get angry. He may see us ignore each other as we live separate lives. He may see how awkward we are when we are not at Church putting on a show.

If the preacher comes into my home, he may see how little Jesus has anything to do with my daily life.

It is a frightening thing to have the preacher into your home. His life and work represent God. It is easier to keep him away than to change our life in some way.

Here is the thing, as a believer, God already sees your lifestyle. He hears what you say and how you interact with your spouses, your children and guests. God sees every minute of your life with all its flaws. God knows all about you.

I once heard a preacher challenge his congregation with a simple question. What if you lived every day as if the preacher were in your home?

Would your life be any different if the presence of God walked into your home?

Honestly, God is already there, and you have just forgotten.

In the past three months, the Church I lead has grown by over 20 people in average weekly attendance. It has been a time of excitement as we see many new people coming every week. This has also been accompanied by a season of spiritual growth. People are attending small groups, I am counseling several people, and weekly I hear stories of life change as people trust Jesus more completely. Wonderful things are happening around this Church, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

The interesting side note to this story is my own personal issues. The past three months have been very hard on my emotionally. With my father’s death, I have struggled weekly with the weight of loss. Each week I seem to have a moment where I break down at my desk and start crying. His importance to my life and my relationship with him molded and shaped me as a man. It really hurts to say goodbye for now. The result of this personal struggle has been less time and emotion invested in sermons than I typically give each one. Few of my sermons during this period have “felt” right to me. I definitely would not call this my best season of ministry. Yet, during this time the Church has grown.

Yesterday I looked out the window thinking about my life and ministry, and a couple of verses of scripture came to mind very clearly. The Apostle Paul wrote the Church in the city of Corinth, and he was speaking of his ministry. In chapter 11 he tells of all the things he has suffered for the gospel. At the end of the section he pens these words in 2 Corinthians 11:30 “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”

In the next chapter, he writes about this “thorn in the flesh” and how it hindered his ministry and then he adds this secondary thought. 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But (God) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” The Apostle Paul saw his weakness, not as a place of shame rather a place where God’s strength could work.

This year has not been my best performance as a minister, and I am okay with that. In fact, I will boast about it, because in my toughest season of ministry God’s power has been doing amazing things. Whenever I feel like I do not have the power to get through another week, God shows up and does his work. The glorious truth is that the God I serve is greater than I am and how I feel at any given time.

This truth is not just for the minister but for all of us. When you feel like you do not have the strength to do the tasks that lie ahead, God meets you there to do more than you ever imagined. Most of us shy away from our weaknesses, and God says that at those moments is where his power is its greatest.

Keep working and serving, and God will take your feeble efforts and mine and couple them with his power to do more than we ever dreamed. Just remember, give him the glory in return.