There is a long list of excuses that I can give you from waiting on insurance to just being stubborn, but I waited five years to get my eyes checked. This might not be a problem for someone younger than I am but when you’re in that place in life where things begin to fail it was far too long.

Almost three years ago I noticed I had to move my glasses around to be able to see better. Progressive lenses enabled me to compensate for a while. Then it proceeded to get worse and worse. During 2018 I started having dizzy spells. I would occasionally fall and hope that no one was looking. I knew the cause was my eyes, but I still refused to do anything about it. I kept telling myself that I will do something when I have more time and money. The problem reached its peak last fall when I could no longer read the words on the screen during worship without headaches and nausea.

Finally, in January, I went to the doctor, and he did inform me of a significant change in my prescription. I ordered new glasses, and they arrived in the middle of January. I have now been wearing them for over two months. While wearing them, I have not had one headache, dizzy spell or a case of nausea. The problems are gone, and I can read without adjusting my glasses or straining my eyes.

Sitting here this morning reading my Bible I started thinking about my glasses. One question filled my mind. Why did I wait so long? Was it the cost? Was it my stubborn attitude? Was it my headstrong nature? Whatever it was inside of me that made me wait to change was utterly wrong.

What about you? What is there in your life that you put off changing? What will it take for you to act? How long will you wait? When we embrace the changes instead of hiding from them, we usually find that life is better. Then a new question emerges, “Why did I wait so long?”

This past Sunday our Church had its annual congregational meeting. It is a time for the staff and treasurer to give reports and for us to talk about our future plans. This event has been on my calendar for a couple of months, so my thoughts were clear on what I was going to say. As I think about the future of our Church and Christians in general, I am focused on one word: Discipleship. I want to help people grow as believers into fully devoted followers of Jesus. This one concept then branches into my two most significant concerns in ministry.

1. How does the Church leadership help people grow as believers?

The numbers I read tell me that people used to attend Church 3-4 times a month minimum and today it is 1-2 times a month maximum. This creates enormous issues for all Churches especially smaller ones in rural settings. In the past, the leadership relied on a person to come on Sunday morning for both a small group called Sunday school and stay for a large group time of worship. Many times, believers would return for an evening gathering and possibly another Bible study through the week. The opportunities for discipleship were easy and abundant. Today the landscape has changed. Many of the people I lead will only be on our campus once a month for one hour. How do we help those people grow in the Lord?

Honestly, I don’t have any solid answers, but I continue to read, study, ask questions and watch what is working across the country. One thing does seem clear; for many people, spiritual growth is going to include technology. It will consist of online small groups, social media groups, internet resources and video from our own setting.

Church attendance is not a goal of the Christians life. It is part of the journey as it helps us to connect, grow, serve and worship. The ultimate goal is for people to become like Christ. One of my biggest concerns is how to facilitate that as a Church leader with the current culture.

2. How does the Church help young people to grow in their faith?

Once again, I am watching the numbers of teens who attend youth group shrinking. In fact, this is the first Church I have led where the youth group size has continued to decline. Two primary factors are contributing to this reduction in teens involved in Church. One is the cultural obsession with entertainment and second is sports. The people I talk to give me only one of two reasons that they do not come to youth events anymore. They either say, “It’s boring” or “I’m busy.” The problem then becomes twice as difficult if their parents are only at Church once a month and are not growing in their faith.

I clearly understand that involvement in the youth ministry of the Church is not the ultimate goal for teens. The goal is to see them grow in their faith and hold onto it for a lifetime. Youth groups were formed to help them accomplish that end, but it no longer seems to be working.

Honestly, I have no idea how to fix this problem either. I think part of the solution is getting parents to grow toward spiritual maturity and then they can teach better in the home. Also, technology is going to be a significant factor in helping teens develop. I am not sure what else is going to work. As a parent of teens along with working as a youth leader, my heart breaks to see so few kids who grow up coming to Sunday morning worship having little spiritual depth.

These are the two issues that keep me up at night. I spend more time thinking about these topics as a Church leader than any others. What is it going to take to help people of all ages grow into disciples of Christ in the immediate future? I am not sure.

What are your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions? If you have none, then I suggest you begin praying about these issues because they are not going away anytime soon.

Occasionally people will ask me, “What made you decide to become a preacher?” While the ultimate answer is that God led me to this position, I also know that I am the result of several Christians I encountered along the way who help to mold my faith. Today I want to thank a few of those people.

1. The Nursery Workers. Growing up at Church I never spent a Sunday in the worship program. Instead, I was entrusted to volunteer nursery workers during the worship hour. These selfless volunteers enabled my parents to grow and serve in the Church. Dad and mom’s freedom to mature in their faith then led them to teach me at home through word and deed. Obviously, I cannot remember the names of these people, but they made a difference by giving my family a chance to grow in faith.

2. The People Who Donate Time to Teach Children. I cannot count the number of people who volunteered to teach Sunday school, lead children’s Church, and organize events like VBS for students like me. My life was shaped by people who were willing to sacrifice their time to work with other people’s children. I am sure it was not easy as I was a little hyperactive, but they worked with me none the less.

3. The Youth Group Sponsors. Our Church had a youth program on Sunday evenings that the paid youth minister put together. Looking back, I never really thought much about the other four to six people who came those nights. They did activities with us, went to events with us and even seemed genuinely concerned about our lives.

4. The Leadership of the Local Church. While I did not realize it as a young person in the Church, we had elders and deacons who were serving to lead the Church. They gave countless hours to make decisions about things like budgets, staff, selecting teachers, protecting the Church, visiting the sick, along with giving of themselves so that our church could exist.

My life was shaped by people whose names I didn’t know or can’t remember. There were an untold amount of people who served hours to mold and shape me as a believer. Not only did they make an impact on my life, but our Church had several people who went into Bible college and then into full-time ministry. I never had a chance to thank any of these wonderful people, but I am a life that was changed.

The same group of people still exist today. Sure the names have changed, and the methods they use to lead are entirely different, but their impact remains the same. The kingdom of God is moved forward by people willing to give their time to the work of the Lord. We will never know the lives we touch on this side of eternity. Still to all the volunteers out there serving in the local Church I want to say Thank You.

Some days I wonder if I am making a difference at all. Every week I preach, and most of the time, nothing seems to change. Every week I blog, and the number of readers rarely goes up. I have received little acknowledgment for my service, no awards from my peers and no outstanding opportunities to further my career.

Most days are the same. I pray, read my bible, look through several articles on the internet, write a blog, work on a sermon or lesson until I go home. There are only a few variations in my routine. This happens day after day, month after month and year after year.

Some Mondays I set at my desk and feel weary. The hours pile up, and I am not sure they have amounted to anything. Maybe you have experienced this type of feeling in your life. You work and work only to see little results for your effort. You thought you would have achieved more for the amount of work you have done.

At times like this, there is one verse that I hold onto to get me through. Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (New International Version 2011)

Paul reminds the believers in the city of Galatia that it is easy to get weary, but don’t let those feelings overcome you. Keep plugging away. At some point, we will see all our hard work come to fruition. There will come a day when we will reap the reward for all the effort we have given in his name.

His final statement is the most critical. Don’t give up. When you feel weary, do not quit. Hang on and keep doing the right thing. You will probably not appreciate this advice today, but one day you will. Keep doing good, today and every day.

Here are the best articles I have read over the past two weeks. Enjoy.

Q&A: HOW DO I START A CONVERSATION WITH A FIRST-TIME GUEST? Great information for everyone who attends Church, especially as we head into the Easter season.

The Marble Jar Analogy… with a twist I have used this analogy, and this is a great twist. The link is a 4-minute video that is worth your time as a parent.

Nadia Bolz-Weber and the Sexual Revolution We Need Great thinking in this article. I really like the last few paragraphs. What if we actually lived out God’s plan?

Girl, Follow Jesus – I have not read Rachel Hollis but if you have, this article is worth considering.

Everyone and no one Business guru Seth Godin with another simple yet powerful thought.

When people come to me for counseling, it is usually because they are hurting inside. These pains can come from things like the loss of a loved one, separation in relationships, personal failure and poor decisions. Regularly people pour out their heart and soul with stories that generate tears filled with deep emotion.

After I hear about their pain, I pose some different possibilities to them. First, sometimes pain comes from open wounds. These types of injuries are still fresh and hurt the most. What lies underneath is exposed and open to the world. They feel a sense of agony every time something brush up against it.

The second possibility of pain comes from a wound that is covered with a scab and is healing. These types of issues still hurt, but they are recovering. The initial shock is gone. The cut is clean, and while things are improving, they are still not finished mending.

Then I tell them about scars. Scars are wounds we have received from past hurts that no longer bring constant pain. Occasionally, if we dwell on them long enough, the pain feels real in the present, but the continual suffering is gone.

Finally, I ask them how they would evaluate their current situation. Is this an open wound, a healing hurt or a scar? Once they understand the situation, then I ask them what they think it will take to move their pain to the next phase. Like a doctor of the soul, I want them to regain emotional health and spiritual wholeness.

The tendency of people is that they make one of two mistakes. On the one hand, they have never addressed the wound. They blame other people, make excuses or try to avoid the hurt they have in their life. Occasionally this has gone on for years. On the other hand, many people like picking at the scab. They start on the road to recovery, and they do something that opens the cut and makes it start bleeding again.

Healing in life is not about removing all the consequences of our mistakes. It is about making open injuries into scars. There will be a scar left on our souls, but the pain is gone, and life can return to normal.

Most of the people I know who walk the road of faith have big scars. Their pain was once tremendous, and they thought they were going to die. In those times of hurt they worked toward healing and are here today as better people even with the ugly past still haunting them.

Everyone gets hurt; the great physician wants to fix you. What will it take to turn your pain into a scar?

When the Israelites leave Egypt after their period of slavery, God is concerned about the mental state of his people. In Exodus chapter 13 he leads them away from the country of the Philistines which would be the shortest and most direct way to the land of Canaan. God fears that “if they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt (Ex. 13:17).” As a result, he has them go south toward the Red Sea. Now you probably know the rest of the story, the Egyptians set out in pursuit and catch the Israelites at the edge of the water. The people fear for their lives and cry out to God. The pillar of cloud that had been out in front of the people now moves behind them and separates them from Pharaoh and his army.

I think about that picture regularly. The Israelites standing together with the Egyptians on one side and the Red Sea on the other side. They are trapped between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Where do you turn when you have nowhere to turn?

You know the rest of the story. Moses stretches out his hands, and God causes a strong east wind to blow and push back the water. The people walk over on dry ground to safety. The waters recede, and the army is crushed under the weight of their armor and the rushing water. Everyone is saved, and they walk away free, safe and happy.

The story inspires and encourages us, but it is easy to forget when our struggles are closing in on us. We know how the story of the Israelites ends, but we have no idea how ours reaches completion. Whenever we stand surrounded by evil on one side and hopelessness on the other, there is this feeling of defeat that overwhelms us. I am sure when Moses walked up on the rock and held out his hands declaring to the people, “Trust God,” that some of the people in the crowd laughed in disbelief. I know some of them doubted they would find a way out and felt like Moses was an optimistic fool for his faith in God amid such an impossible situation. Trusting an unseen God when all hope is lost seems like a useless venture that crazy people make.

Here is my growing belief. God puts us into moments like these so that we will learn to place our faith in him entirely. If we can find a way out on our own, then we do not need God. If our hard work and optimism can defeat the enemies, then we will never turn to God. Impossible situations are made for us to trust the one who makes all things possible.

The moment all hope is lost means only that all hope is lost in ourselves. It is in the darkest moments that the light of faith shines brightest.

If you feel like you have reached the edge of the sea and the army is closing in behind you, then you are not near destruction. Instead, you are closest to faith. God cannot open the sea for you until you realize that you need him alone. Faith grows more in struggles than in seasons in blessing. Sure, some people will call you foolish and crazy, but that is because they have not been beside the sea yet.

Keep trusting that God will show up once again. He will show you a way forward just like he did for Israel.

I recently spent a few hours reading several articles that were posted as links on social media. These links lead to different authors and materials, and soon I had absorbed more than a dozen posts from all over the internet. Repeatedly I kept saying to myself something like, “Wow, that is really wrong.”

The writers of the New Testament continually warned the Church against false teachers, false doctrine and false prophets. Even Jesus himself warned his followers by saying, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. (Matthew 7:15 – New International Version 2011).

Being on your guard against false spiritual information sounds easy, but it is difficult to keep from being seduced by a gifted speaker with a kind face. Here are a few simple questions to remember when you hear anyone speaking about matters of the soul.

1. Do they use the Bible? Ask yourself, “Is this person using the Bible?” If not, that is a huge red flag. I say this because I have read countless sermons and posts on the internet where the Bible is completely ignored. Just because someone says an article is Christian, does not make it so, only the word of God can bring clarity.

2. Do they use the Bible in context? The meaning of a passage from the Bible is found in its context. Ask yourself these basic questions: To who was the passage written? At what point in history was it written (Old or New Testament, before or after Jesus)? What was said right before and right after the quoted passage? Many times, words and phrases are pulled out of context, and the meaning is changed to fit a modern idea. Remember Satan quoted the Bible to Jesus, but he misused it.

3. Does the teaching have historical support? People have been teaching the Bible for thousands of years. Yes, at times it has been misunderstood by some, but most of it has been agreed upon for hundreds of years. Anytime someone has a new interpretation on an old verse, that is a huge red flag. Do some digging and read some dead authors to get their thoughts.

4. Does the teacher’s life reflect Jesus? I know that appearances are deceiving so you must look carefully. How does the person respond to people who disagree with their teaching? How do they handle other people’s opinions? Things like name-calling, shaming, anger, abuse, belittling, inflated ego and a host of other issues point to a personal problem. Be careful with people proclaiming Jesus but continually show evil in their behavior. Jesus said, “you will know them by the fruit.”

5. Is this making someone rich? My friend used to say, “follow the money.” If someone is making mountains of cash because of their teaching, that is another huge red flag. Many times, people are not interested in your soul, they are interested in a life of leisure and a nice retirement. Controversy sells, and if you can find the right category of people to target, the best seller list is easy to achieve. Also be cautious with sex, fame, and power as these are equally destructive forces.

These are some of the fundamental questions that I ask. Do you have anything that you would add to my list? I recently heard a preacher say that one of the biggest challenges facing the Church is the amount of false teaching being spread today. I believe he is right and a few hours on the internet confirmed my suspicions. Remember to be wise and on your guard lest you be devoured by those with evil intent who destroy people’s faith in the name of Jesus.

The snow and ice this winter have resulted in several Sunday mornings in which we canceled our Church’s worship programs. Finally, yesterday the weather was better, and we were able to resume meeting together as a Church. Usually, Sunday mornings exhaust me because of my introvert nature but yesterday invigorated me. I was excited to see people and have numerous conversations that brought joy to my heart.

Typically on Sundays like this, my mind focuses on the selfish aspects of being a part of a Church. This day when I sat down on the front row, I wondered to myself, “do these people know how much of a blessing they are to me?” Immediately my mind went to a passage of scripture.

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, (25) not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (New International Version 2011)

I have used this passage repeatedly to instruct people to come to Church gatherings so that they might give of themselves to others. The emphasis is on what we have to offer other people. We are not called to attend Church for what we can get but rather what we can give. As a result of passages like this, most Sundays my life is focused on providing everything possible to other people. I share my thoughts, my ears, and my heart with people to encourage them. That is why I am usually exhausted at the end of Sunday.

Yesterday I was the recipient of the gifts other people are to me. They encouraged me. They spoke kindly to me and about me. They listened and loved. At the end of the day, I went home with my heart full of the joy of the Lord.

It is easy to think of Church and wonder, “what do I get out of Church today.” I would love for you to know that even if you do not receive anything on Sunday, other people were blessed by your presence. Some weeks you give, and some weeks you receive. You never know which one is going to happen. Yesterday I gave a little, and I received a lot. I am so thankful for people who show up in the name of the Lord because I am a life that was blessed.

I am a part of a pastor’s social media group that was put together by Church consultant Dave Jacobs. Dave spends numerous hours working with Churches all over the country from different denominations. Many days he calls on pastors to discuss their situation and offer coaching advice. After most of these calls, he then posts a “coaching takeaway” for the rest of us to learn from his interactions. Here are ten of the best ones I have read over the past year. They apply far beyond just Church leadership, and I thought you might learn something from them too. Enjoy.

1. They say when God closes one door He opens another. That can be true, but it’s those dark halls between the two doors that are scary.

2. When a church is doing well and growing the people’s confidence in their pastor increases. This may be warranted, or maybe not. When a church is struggling, or not growing, the people’s confidence in their leader decreases. This may be warranted, or maybe not.

3. You never really know how open to change people will be until you change something … and then it’s too late.

4. It’s amazing how one or two trouble-makers in a church can sabotage the whole momentum and goals of the church. Some people just need to go, and the pastor’s reluctance to set this in motion perpetuates the problem.

5. Coming up with good ideas is not the problem. Coming up with a wise, well-thought-out plan for implementation is the problem.

6. When someone brings you an idea, you are under no obligation to say yes or no to it right there and then.

7. Never process anything of significance by yourself.

8. You won’t find out if you are someone’s pastor until you tell them “no.” How a person handles “no” tells you a lot about that person.

9. When we’re (or are leaders) under pressure, when we feel squeezed, whatever is inside will come out. This is the problem with character, it doesn’t show up until something comes up.

10. When Christians visit your church and express an interest, they are either running from something or running to something. It’s helpful to know which it is.

*Bonus – Both Pastors and parishioners are broken. We’re all in this together.