This past weekend I watched two very similar events that ended up looking nothing alike.

First, my wife loves to watch cooking shows. Often at night I read or lately I am on the computer working on my class or just surfing Ebay. During this time my wife loves to watch all kinds of cooking shows. She is looking for new ideas and tips on old recipes. One night I noticed how smooth everything goes on these shows. It makes cooking seem like such a joy.

Second, I watched my wife actually cooking. Let me be honest, it doesn’t look as smooth and such a joy. To begin with she doesn’t have the luxury of making just one item at a time. Next, she doesn’t always have the ingredients in the place she thinks they should be stored. Can you imagine a cooking show spending 10 minutes just looking for the misplaced olive oil? Then when she does find the ingredients, there may not be the right amount. For example, imagine an unthinking husband drinking all the milk before the desert was to be made. (Hypothetically speaking, of course!) What would Rachel Ray say if her husband did such a thing? Finally, I notice that they are never distracted on TV. My wife was trying to help with homework, have a conversation with me and wash dishes at the same time she cooks.

In the end, the meal was delicious. Great ham, delicious potatoes and cookies to die for were the end result. But all this has me thinking about how doing something in reality is far more difficult than others make it look. Faith may look easy in some people’s lives, but it may be messy for you. Love may come easy for some, but it may be difficult for you. Life may seem like a joy filled ride for some, but for you there are many twists, turns and difficulties. Just remember that real life is always more difficult than it appears for others but with perseverance the end product can be just as sweet.

This past weekend I was listening to a new video I purchased from one of my favorite comedians. After I finished listening I wanted to hear more of his comedy, so I went to Youtube and searched his name for more videos. I found an appearance he made on the David Letterman show. I was watching and enjoying what I was hearing, then I scrolled down to the comments section while I was listening. There I was surprised to read through the comments because about every other one was very negative. People didn’t like the comedy, they didn’t like delivery and others didn’t like anything.

This experienced reminded me of two things. One, whatever you do in life there will always be critics. Not everyone will like what you do. That’s okay, do it anyway.

The second thought of mine was based upon further review. I re-watched through the presentation and there were problems with the delivery. Some of the jokes were not as polished as they were on the video I had purchased. I could honestly see why some of the critics made their comments. Then I thought about the need for second chances. Sometimes a second chance comes through forgiveness but sometimes they just come by us standing up and trying again. God gives us a new day and a new chance to simply do better.

Not everything we do is done perfectly, thank God for another day to try and do better this time.

Musharaf “Mushy” Asghar has a massive stutter.

New headmaster Mr Mitchell from Thornhill Academy in England saw The Kings Speech and had an idea for Mushy.

Mushy found his voice.

Educating Yorkshire is filmed at Thornhill Community Academy near Dewsbury, and captures every detail of life in the school following the work of headteacher Jonny Mitchell to better the chances for all his students and build on successive years of improving exam results.

My family and I watch the show “Alaska: The Last Frontier.” I don’t know if you have seen the show on the Discovery Channel. It shows the life of the Kilcher family as they live and survive on the wild frontier of Alaska. We watch it for several reasons.
First, my son attends school and is friends with August Kilcher – one of the boys who appears sometimes on the show.
Second, we watch it to laugh a little. Don’t get me wrong, the Kilchers do live on a homestead in Alaska and some of their lifestyle choices are hard. But if you watch the show you might get the idea that the Kilchers live out in the middle of nowhere and have to struggle to survive. The reality, the Kilchers live down the road from my house just a few miles. They can have running water, electricity and even the internet if they want it. I have those things. They also live just a few miles from a grocery stores, restaurants and a nice farmers market. There are all kinds of jobs in the area where you can live and work a normal life just like the people in the lower 48. In fact, so you know, my wife worked at a local restaurant this summer where the Kilchers frequent and eat some very nice meals.
While life in Alaska is different. We can hunt for food and catch enough fish for our primary diet, no one has to do it to survive. There are other options.
Here is the reality. Things (especially on TV) are not as they appear. I live and work as a preacher where I am always challenging people to believe in something. For one moment I want to stop and tell people the exact opposite, somethings you do not need to believe. This is just one of them.

Last week in my evangelism class I spent a few minutes talking about this one passage:

1 Corinthians 3:6-9 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. (7) So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (8) The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. (9) For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

After talking about the meaning of the verse and several points of application I added something I really hadn’t planned on adding to the lecture. I told this group of students that one of my biggest frustrations today is with the Church growth movement. I want to see my Church grow. I am trying to do everything I can to plant seed, water seed and even till the soil. (Some people say I add a little fertilizer too). But if I read the verse right then God gives the increase. My creativity, my leadership, my effort, my great sermons, my deep insights, and anything else you want to add to that list do NOT grow the Church. God may use those things or He may not.

I need to be constantly reminded that the difference between a growing congregation and a non-growing congregation is not the pastor’s ability or lack of it. It may be that God is doing something unique in each situation. I need to trust God far more than anything else in the role of Church growth and evangelism.

The past 7 days have been a wonderful experience for me. You may not care, but I wanted to share anyway.

First – the whether in Homer, Alaska has been amazing lately. I picture perfect fall so far.

Last Thursday was Halloween. I started the day by teaching my class at ABI. I ended the day with my two younger boys trick-or-treating for a while and bringing home lots of candy to share.

Then Friday – My youngest son had his 11th birthday. Michelle took the day off and we played and enjoyed the entire day. It was one of those days you never want to end. I truly love my family.

On Saturday I ended up not needing to go to a basketball game and we had a free day. Slept in, ate late, did some chores and enjoyed another day outside metal detecting and playing.

Ended the day by setting the clocks back. I will never understand this in Alaska but we still practice Daylight Savings time. I do enjoy getting an extra hour of sleep. I do not look forward to the spring though!

Sunday was a wild and wonderful day. We had lots of guests with us for worship. That is always nice. Then I had a unique experience. During the sermon there was a high-pitched squeak. I finally had to stop the sermon while people looked for the noise. It ended up being a person shaking their leg and causing two chairs to rub together. This person is a little hard of hearing and could not hear the high-pitched squeak. The odd twist is that God used it for good by causing everyone to be wide awake and on full alert. God then used the second half of my sermon to touch the lives a several people. It was a “total God thing.”

The afternoon was another beautiful day I spent outside with my two youngest boys and my wife. We enjoyed metal detecting, throwing the football and a walk. It was just another picture perfect day.

This morning I was up early so my older boys could play basketball. It is quiet here in the building and I am getting a lot done. This should be another wonderful week.

Praise God for all he has done and all he has given us.

While having a conversation with a local pastor about his Church, I realized I knew the family he was talking about in his story. In fact, I had several conversations with this family myself. As I listened to the pastor’s side of the story I quickly realized it was very different from the story I knew.
Unfortunately this experience is far too common and we end up with only half of the truth.
Let me be clear, neither person was lying to me. The basic facts were the exact same. The difference was in feelings about the experience and the overall perception of what happened. Each side of the story was giving the truth as they remembered it mixed with their own personal emotion and perspective. That is when things get clouded.
My fear is that far too many people believe everything they hear, especially in Church. Maybe that is why the Bible lists gossip and spreading rumors as sins. There is the potential in every story we tell to only be giving half of the truth.
So let me offer this one simple word of advice to everyone: Get both sides of the story. Before you tell another negative story about a Church, a pastor or anyone in the Church, be sure you have heard the story from both parties involved. Then make a decision about what really happened. Finally, keep your mouth shut about the whole situation.

I recently asked a lady if she would be willing to do something for a volunteer organization I am a part of (not the Church). Her response was “no” because she was a part of another organization in the summer and she wanted to do one thing well and nothing more.
I understand her point clearly and in some ways agree with it, but I also think that it can be an excuse for not pushing ourselves. I am currently pastor at this church, plus the Pop Warner president, plus a volunteer professor at ABI, plus president of the local ministerial alliance and I am currently coaching 7th grade basketball. I believe I do each one of these tasks well and still find time to do a few things I enjoy.
I am reminded of a line from Ben Franklin that I read several years ago. He said, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” His point is simple; busy people are doers. They may not be the most organized but they are active all the time and they usually get things done. That is why they are busy.

Here are my thoughts on being busy. These are my notes from the field:)

1. Be sure God is first. If you wait till the end, He will never fit into your schedule.
2. Include your family. My family is a huge part of every activity I do. I use these opportunities to teach and develop my boys into men and leaders. I also like for my wife to see what I am doing.
3. Schedule everything as much as you can. I set aside certain days and times for certain activities. Unfortunately, lately blogging has been lower on the list.
4. Remember that sometimes, good enough is good enough. Each week I have to say to myself, “Okay, it is time to be done with that task.” This is true even when I am not 100% happy.
5. Let God handle the outcome. Honestly, this is the lesson I am trying to learn right now. I do my best and I have to let God handle the details. This is hard for a control freak like me, but I am trying.

While it is true that many people need to say “No” to more things. I also believe it is true that some people need to say “Yes” to more things. I firmly believe that volunteers make the world go round, and groups need you to give your time.

Several years ago I ran across a list by Robert Fulghum, the author of “All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” He wrote about how he started or maintained conversations with strangers. Then he gave a list he had developed he called conversational lifeboats. Here they are although I have removed one because it was a little inappropriate for Christians.

1. Did you ever have a great teacher – in school or out? Tell me.

2. What would you be learning – if you had time?

3. What would you have learned to do if you knew then what you know now? (Language, for example – which one and why – or music?)

4. What would you teach, if you were asked?

5. Teach me something.

6. Do you know any silly tricks? Coins, cards, face contortions?

7. If you could be an eye-witness to some event in history, which one?

8. If you could see someplace in the world before human history – where?

9. Who do you admire? Who admires you?

10. Answer an unasked question – something you know but nobody would ever ask about and you would never volunteer.

11. Decisions of consequence – what forks have been on your journey so far?

12. Pick another place/time in modern history – since 1700 – to live.

13. Book, movie, you’ve read/seen more than once – twice – three times.

14. What ability/talent do you not have but would like to have?

15. Ever thought about changing your appearance or identity? And?

16. If you were a spy, what would be your cover?

17. If you could know how your life will end, but you still could not change it, would you want to know? Why or why not?

18. If you could live one short episode of your life over again – a day, week, month – which would it be? And why?

19. If I did not tell you anything about me, what would you imagine me to be just by what you’ve seen so far?

The second part of my lesson on evangelism for this week was on the living example of Jesus. There are numerous examples to draw upon like the calling of the 12 or Nicodemus or the rich, young ruler. In fact, I would recommend that you read all of those and learn from Jesus encounters.

For today my focus was on two passages.

1. Jesus and Zacchaeus

This story is about an outcast who has a spiritual longing and is found in Luke 19:1-10. I find this extremely relevant because he is wealthy. The idea is that his wealth did not bring him the fulfillment that he thought it would. (Much like many people in our culture) We need to evangelize the weary of the world but they are not the only ones who need to hear the message of Jesus.
Jesus then notices the man’s search for meaning and responds to it. The man’s life is changed and Jesus states that salvation has come to his house.
The final part of the story is that Jesus gives us a mission statement. He says that he has come to seek and save that which was lost. Most Christians understand that Jesus came to save, but he is also seeking those who feel the spiritual void in their life.

2. Jesus and the woman at the well

This is the story of an encounter at a well Jesus has with a Samaritan woman and is found in John 4. Here Jesus gives us a useful model of sharing our faith.
First – He varies his routine and meets someone new.
Second – He starts a conversation. This conversation starts by general chatting about water. It moves on into questions about her. He takes it slow and is never condemning.
Third – He addresses the need behind the question. She has a spiritual longing and tries to veil it by talking about the temple and worship. She is really looking for a God who will love her and fill the void in her life she has tried to fill with men.
Fourth – He shares that he is the messiah.
In the end there is this great response that she tells everyone, I have found a man who told me everything I have done. She is no longer filled with shame but uses her past as a place to teach others about Jesus.

Once again, there are lots of lessons from the life of Jesus, but I found these two to be essential to Christians today to begin sharing their faith.