People always ask me how I can memorize a whole sermon and preach without notes. Usually, they mention how smart I must be to do it. One of my most common responses is to say that it is my job.

Then I ask what they do for a career. Once they answer, whatever the job is – mechanic, plumber, welder, teacher, chef, administrator, whatever – I tell them that if I had to do their job, I would have to have a notebook to write down all the things they do by memory.

People have all types of skills embedded in their minds, and they use them so much that they are second nature. Most of them only notice their vast knowledge when they encounter a novice at their job and have to keep explaining things to them.

My point is this: many people limit themselves and the ways they think God can use them because they don’t think they have the needed abilities. Skills are learned and developed through experience and repetition. The more you do it, the smarter you become. 

I am here to tell you that you are smarter than you think.

Often, before Christians can share their faith with others, some work needs to be done.

This usually includes trying to overcome bad Christian experiences and stereotypes. Those outside of faith frequently have negative views about believers, and many even have stories to share with their thoughts. 

One of my goals whenever I encounter a non-Christian is to give them a positive impression of Christians.

For years, this was my approach to doing weddings. I wanted to give people their very best experience with a pastor and the Church. Our Church does VBS for the same reason. We want children and their families to love their time at the Church. This is part of the plan behind our weekly youth group. This thinking shapes our Easter and Christmas programs as well.

This mindset also flows into my interactions with restaurant wait staff, neighbors, and every casual encounter with people in my community. Those people might not know I am a Christian initially, but if they ever do, I want them to remember me with joy.   

Most of the time, before someone is open to the message of Jesus, there needs to be some work of “pre-evangelism.” We need to open people’s minds to the possibility of faith by letting them see and experience it in action.

If you want people to hear the good news, you often have to work the ground before you can plant the seed.   

The person asked, “What is the purpose of this blog of yours?”

My first reaction is to state all the things that it is not. It is not a way for me to build followers and construct a platform for my ministry. There is zero financial gain as well. I am not attempting to dig into my sermons and further my work from Sunday morning. This is not even a deep Bible study of passages that some people want every day.

This blog is a collection of thoughts, ideas, meanderings, and writings that fit nowhere else in my ministry. They are little nuggets that I want to share with people that might challenge, encourage, or cause people to act or think a little differently.

The articles here are intended to be short clips of how God is working in my life and ministry. They are tiny pictures taken from a preacher’s mind about faith and the Church.

I have no agenda and no reason to do this. The purpose of this blog is the same as the purpose of my life: to bring glory to God in even the smallest of things. I gain nothing by doing this other than the joy of knowing that maybe one life was impacted for the kingdom of God.

Christians believe they are saved in Christ Jesus to do good works. We receive salvation not by our works but for us to do good works.

One problem area for many Christians is they define “being good” passively.

They did not yell at the lady at the supermarket. When everyone else was speaking meanly about a coworker, they remained silent. As their anger increased at the spouse, they chose to walk away. At the time, they could have made things worse, but they decided to let things go. 

In reality, they did not DO anything. They refrained from doing what felt natural in the moment.

While this may be an excellent first step in changing your life for Jesus, the next step is to become actively good. Jesus gives us the “Golden Rule” in Matthew 7:12, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Actively doing for others what we would want them to do for us is different than passively not doing to others what we would not want people to do for us.

One enormous step in your spiritual growth is to make the shift from passivity to activity.

Sometimes, you may feel like you are not enough.

You are not smart enough, strong enough, or equipped with enough skills to do what you think God is leading you to do.

The Biblical answer to this feeling is, “You are right. You are not enough on your own.”

Once, Paul felt like an issue was keeping him from doing all that he wanted him to do. He prayed about it. He literally pleaded with God to fix his shortcomings three times.

Paul wrote this in his second letter to the Church at Corinth. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

You are not enough. You will never be enough. But when you walk with God, he will compensate for all you lack. His power is made perfect in your weakness.

God and you together are enough to accomplish anything.

Whenever a difficult situation arises, the best group of people to help are Christians. They are equipped with love, compassion, grace and forgiveness. They have servants’ hearts, are generous, have no pride to keep them from doing anything, and desire the best for others. If struggles occur, the group of people who follow Jesus should always be the first to act.

The thing you need to understand is that if you are a believer, then YOU are the best person to act.

There is a major shift in the heart of an individual when their thinking moves from “the Church should do something” to “I should do something.”

As a Church leader and a follower of Jesus, I always have my eyes on issues that Christians are currently facing. I also watch for topics that I need to address in the coming year or two. Here is my current list. (Is there anything you would like to add?)

1. Proper Interpretation. There is a growing need for people to understand how to interpret the Bible correctly. With so much information available today, most people do not know how to read and understand the scriptures. As a result, they accept anything anybody says about the Bible without asking the right questions. I plan to teach the best practices and tools.

2. Understanding Covenants. I see an enormous need to help people understand the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. This issue will help people to understand the role of the laws and how they align with grace.

3. Redefining Terms. I do not mean giving old terms new modern definitions but instead giving the old definitions again and again. People use words like sovereignty, predestination, covenant, baptism, and even discipleship and do not know the Biblical definition. Often, what people know is how someone in the media defines it. So, we end up using the same words but do not mean the same thing.

4. The Holy Spirit. For years, I have struggled to understand and teach the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. I am sure this is also true for most Christians. We need to get a Biblical understanding of the Holy Spirit and how he works in us.

5. Discipleship. Gaining a better understanding of discipleship has been my most significant project of the last two years. I am growing more convinced that it is not a book or quick program. It is about connecting people and walking with them for an extended time until they reach maturity in the faith.

These are some of the things I am seeing. As I plan my sermons for the future and programs for the Church, these linger in the back of my mind. I am sure that as soon as I address these, new issues will be just over the horizon.   

Reading through the stories of the kings of Israel and Judah in the Old Testament is a painful historical ride. There are so many of them who disobey God, follow idols, do not listen to the prophets, and suffer the consequences.

I find that as I read their stories, I continually say to myself, “This isn’t going to end well.” One by one, they choose to do evil and then receive punishment for their behavior.

My next thought is usually, “How could they be so foolish?”

Why did they not listen to the stories of their ancestors? Why did they not learn from the mistakes of others? Why could they not see that disobeying the Lord always has a disastrous ending? Why do they think they are the exception to the rules?

The final question that haunts me is, “Why do I not learn from them too?”

The Apostle Paul writes to the Church in Corinth, and he is warning them about ungodly behavior. He uses the story of the nation of Israel and its leadership to illustrate his point. Then he writes, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11)

These stories should not only serve as warnings to future kings and leaders but also serve as negative examples for us. They tell us about the joy and blessings of following God and the destruction that awaits those who disobey him.

It is easy to see in the stories of the kings the foolishness of their choices, but it is much harder to see in our own lives. Know that no matter when you live, a life that rejects God’s will is not going to end well.

A parable that Midwesterners will understand.

There is a guy who owns lots of guns. He loves the feel of them, the look of them, and the sense of power that owning them brings. In his spare time, he loves to read about guns, listen to podcasts about them, and talk to his friends about firearms.

His friend group consists of a few people who also enjoy guns. They all agree that they are the best form of protection and that when the world goes crazy, they will be the only ones genuinely prepared.

The entire group likes to get together once a week and spend some time targetshooting. They practice their technique, talk about what they know about guns, and discuss possible ways to get better at shooting.

They also love to talk about the superiority of the range they shoot at, the exact proper set-up they use, and the fact that they are far more serious than any other shooters in the world.

When the meeting is over, he takes his gun home and puts it in the safe. He looks at it every day and often practices conceal-carry, just in case it is needed.  

The one thing this man never does with his gun is go hunting.  

And this story is about the Bible and not guns.

After years of observation and research, it is possible to construct a logical line that people take as they walk through a new experience.

One example is the cycle of grief. People generally walk through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance as they move through loss. Other examples of this include addiction and recovery, along with poverty and abuse.

There are often predictable paths that people walk as they move through an issue. The same is true for coming to faith in Jesus and how we grow spiritually. Rick Warren famously created the Purpose Driven Church as a model of discipleship. He built classes 101, 201, 301, and 401 to help in the process, and he pictured it as moving around a baseball diamond. The idea was that people would first commit to Jesus and his Church. Then, they would grow spiritually. Next, they would start serving in a ministry, and finally, they would engage in the worldwide mission of making disciples of everyone.

I loved the idea and began to build classes around the concepts. All until I hired a church consultant for the Church plant I was leading. I told him my plan and the class system I was building, and he leaned in and said, “That sounds great, but how many people do you know whose faith has developed like that?” He looked me in the eyes and continued, “Most people’s journey of faith is all over the field.” 

That one conversation sent me searching for answers. I read books, had deep conversations, conducted surveys, and reflected privately. I think the consultant was right. While there may be a few notable signposts that occur on everyone’s faith journey, most of us walk a non-linear path. No one’s spiritual life looks exactly like anyone else’s.

Suddenly, my goal as a pastor became clear. My job was to help people determine their next step of faith and then help them take it. Ministry became individualistic. It also became more productive. Instead of fitting people into my predetermined path, I would help them take steps on the road God had marked out for them.

If you desire to see others grow in their faith, start helping people find their next step with God and take it. The process may be slow, but in the end, people will get to where God is leading them. Some people’s paths are non-linear as they walk with God. Understanding that fact will enable you to help others thrive in their faith.