The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Would Jesus Twitter?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:25:00 +0000

OK, so my youth guy convinced me to join the Twitter nation a couple of weeks ago. It's not that I resist new technologies, I was just not convinced that that many people cared what I was doing every minute of every day. Do I really want to know when Aaron Rodgers (NOT the football player) blows his nose or changes his kid's diaper?! But alas, I caved and began Tweeting on Nov. 5^th.

I know have 37 Tweets, I am following 13 people, and I have 39 followers of my own. Not really stellar numbers, but hey, we're only 13 days into this thing, right?

But this Twitter business got me to thinking? If Jesus were among us today, would he Tweet? (I know, it almost sounds blasphemous:)

The whole idea behind Twitter is social connection. It is the next link in the evolutionary change of > email > texting >MySpace >Facebook >Twitter.

Here's the thing… you only follow the people you really care about or that you think will have something significant to say into your life.

We've been doing a lot of work at Grand with Discipleship in recent weeks. In fact, it has become a major focus of everything we are doing. So what is a disciple? Isn't a disciple, by definition, a follower?

Jesus had 12 followers, 12 disciples. The idea of followership is that you walk as closely as you can with your leader. You eat, sleep, literally walk with, listen to, the one who disciples you.

So, yes, I do believe that if Jesus had chosen to come during our generation, that he would have indeed joined the Twitter nation too. Twitter would have been ONE tool that Jesus would have used to disciple those who followed him. I think you might be able to say that Jesus even originated the concept of Twitter!

So who do you follow? Who have you given permission to speak into your life? Who do you disciple? Are you a follower of Jesus?

Tweeted Blessings,

Jeff

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:23:00 +0000

I just finished a great book called The Long Snapper by Jeffrey Marx. I was first introduced to Marx when I read his other book, Season of Life. That first book is one of my all time favorite books, especially for men and especially for fathers. I give Season of Life away more than any other book I’ve read except for the Bible.

In The Long Snapper, Jeffrey Marx has given us another wonderful, and true, story. The subtitle is, A Second Chance, A Super Bowl, A Lesson for Life, and it chronicles the career and “second” career of Brian Kinchen, the LSU standout whose time in the NFL was cut shorter than he planned. Brian was left with a bad case of the “what if’s.” The book caught my attention immediately on the first page when the story begins in a Bible classroom at Parkview Baptist School, a ministry of Parkview Baptist Church, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Parkview was the church where I began my ministry career after graduating from college. My wife and I know many people in that church and school and have wonderful memories from our time there. I was struck at how small our world really is.

I won’t spoil the book for you BUT if you are looking for a great holiday read or if you know someone who struggles with the “what if’s” of life, this would be a nice giveaway.

Blessings,
Jeff

Today Is Veteran’s Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:40:00 +0000

Today is Veteran's Day. Today I am thinking of the countless men and women who have given of their lives, and some, given their lives, so that we can be free in the United States of America. May God bless our veterans.

This particular Veterans Day has been touched by the shadow of the attack on Fort Hood, when last week, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, walked onto this military installation, on American soil, and opened fire killing 13 people and wounding another 29.

Many have asked the question, "Why did he do it?" In many cases of seemingly random shootings, we are left to wonder "why" such a tragedy. But that is not the case with the Fort Hood shooting. We KNOW why Major Hasan killed. He declared with his own words his motivation when he shouted the words, "Allahu Akbar!" while opening fire.

"Allahu Akbar means literally, "Allah is the Greatest." It is the Islamic declaration said before every prayer that a Muslim utters. It has also been a phrase used by terrorists in the act of killing themselves and others.

So it is clear. Major Hassan was an Islamic extremist, acting as a terrorist, on American soil, in the name of his religion.

I blogged six months ago in May about three cultural shifts that every Christian in America needs to watch. The first of those three cultural shifts is the growth of Islam in our country. As Islam grows, so will these kinds of terrorist attacks. Not because the majority of Muslims are jihadists, but because there is a potent and radical element within Islam that calls for the destruction of the infidel. As Islam in America grows overall, so too will this radical element grow in our country.

In light of the attack on Fort Hood, I now amend the title of my blog post in May. The growth of Islam is not a cultural shift that ever Christian in America needs to watch, but one that every American period, needs to watch.

May God bless our veterans,
Jeff

It’s About Making Disciples

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:31:00 +0000

Passage for Reflection: Matthew 28:19-20

Why has discipleship become optional? I think it's because it has become too easy to be a "Christian" in USAmerica. When Christianity began, you had to really want it. I am mean you had to want it so bad that you were willing to lay your life on the line. Prospective church members were screened for fear of a spy who might lead them all to the arena for slaughter. Church services were hardly "seeker sensitive." In fact, the term Christian and disciple were synonymous. Point of fact: the word disciple occurs 269 times in the New Testament. The word Christian appears three times – and all three times it appears, it is was used to refer to the disciples of Christ. But that seems to have all changed now. I wonder how many disciples are really coming to my church. In our efforts to get bigger, so many churches fall into the trap of methodology that leads to quantity but not quality. Volunteers but not disciples. There is a BIG difference between a volunteer and a disciple. Jesus never commanded us to go and make volunteers, he told us to go and make disciples. In the book Reclaiming God's Original Intent for the Church, a disciple is defined in three ways:

1. One who lives in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. One who obeys all that Jesus commanded.

3. One who seeks to imitate the life of Jesus.

Hardly sounds like a volunteer, huh? Dallas Willard reminds us in his book, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives, that, "The New Testament is a book about disciples, by disciples, and for disciples of Jesus Christ."

Would all the disciples of Jesus Christ please stand up?

"Lord, make me a disciple. Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

Convention Time

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:47:00 +0000

I spent two days this week at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. It's so hard to leave town because there are always so many plates spinning and I don't want any to hit the ground. Of course, that's probably my inflated ego speaking, in my heart I know that the earth will continue to spin on its axis even while I am away.

It's hard to leave but it was a nice change of pace. I saw lots of good friends I haven't seen in a while and I got to be encouraged by some great preaching. I love to hear new voices and it causes me to take notes and think in new and fresh ways. I came back energized.

There were two highlights for me personally from this year's convention:

1. On Tuesday, J.D. Greear preached the afternoon session. J.D. is the pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina. He represents the "now" generation of pastors. He's probably my age or younger (Mid to late 30's). In just a few years, J.D. has led a turnaround church growing from 350 to 3000+ on three campuses.

J.D.'s message was powerful. He spoke to the centrality of the Gospel and called for a turning away from any and all distractions to that Gospel. The quote of the sermon for me:

"Any gospel that talks about what we need to go do for God rather than what God has done for us is a false gospel."

The Gospel is an announcement, not an invitation. It proclaims what God has done. It is EXACTLY what the world needs and longs to hear. We must be about the business of proclaiming what God has done.

2. Following the afternoon session on Tuesday, J.D. joined Dr. Ronnie Floyd for a 2 hour+ listening session on the Great Commission Resurgence. Dr. Floyd chairs this task force and J.D. serves on the task for as well. In a "standing room" only room, there was honest and frank discussion about the state of Southern Baptists as a denomination. We are in a desperate situation. We are declining. Fewer people are coming to Christ today because of Southern Baptist efforts than in 1950. The discussion was pointed but healthy and the spirit was good. The Great Commission Task Force has an enormous job ahead of them to weed through all the voices they are hearing and to deliver a report this summer in Orlando to the Convention. I believe thier report could be the most important document for us as a denomination in a generation. It has the potential to redefine and refocus us. If we fail on the Great Commission, we will have failed as a denomination and thus we will truly be irrelevant. As Dr. Floyd reminded us all, "God will fulfill His Great Commission and we need to realize that He does not need us (Southern Baptists) to do it." Well said. We need to get on board or get left behind. It is a privilege to be used by God, not a right.

Blessings,

Jeff

Tzitzit

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:40:00 +0000

I've spent the last two months preaching on the life of Moses. It has been a fascinating study, looking deep into the life of one of the greatest leaders in all of human history. The story of Moses is found primarily in the books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These books also chronicle the activity of God as he formed the religion that we know today as Judaism. This formation took place as God and Moses had many, many conversations. These conversations happened on Mount Sinai and in a place called the Tent of Meeting. All that Jews do that makes them "Jewish" flows out of these conversations God had with Moses. All the feasts and laws and ceremonies and instruments of worship and sacrifices came from God, through Moses, to the Jews.

Part of the Jewish faith includes the wearing of a special prayer shawl called a Talit. The Talit is not just any piece of cloth, but it is made of special material, with special colors and Scripture on it. There is another curious feature of the Talit.

Passage for Reflection: Numbers 15:37-40

I want to focus on the "tassels" that are mentioned in this passage about the Talit. These tassels are called Tzitzit (pronounced "zseet-zseet"). Notice that God is very intentional that the prayer shawl must have one Tzitzit at each corner. In addition, and this is very important, the Tzitzit should also have a cord of blue thread in it. So what's the big deal with "blue" thread? Just this: blue was the most difficult color to obtain in the ancient world. You could only get it from extracting the gland of a specific type of snail. That's right, a snail. It would take 12,000 snails to fill up a thimble with blue ink. A pound of blue ink would go on the market for the equivalent of $36,000. That makes blue very special and rare.

God wanted something that would pop, something that would get the people's attention. Something that required sacrifice to obtain and would thus have immediate and continuous impact. You see, the Tzitzit in general, and the blue chord in particular, were to be seen and to remind the people of God and his law. Specifically, God wanted people to see the blue chord and remember that they should "not follow after your own heart and your own eyes…."

Isn't it true that we are forgetful people? Even leaders forget. Especially leaders forget. We forget that we are never as great as we think we are. We forget that we only lead at the pleasure of God. We forget that we lead in order to point people to God and not our own ambitions. We forget…

But God wants us to remember. And so he commanded the Talit and He commanded the Tzitzit.

We don't use Talits and Tzitzit today. Oh, Jews do but "we" don't. But the principle remains. When we place something in our lives, something that is tangible that we can't help but seeing, it serves to remind us of our place before God.

Go find a Tzitzit to carry with you as you go…

"Lord, may I remember who you are and what you expect of me. Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

Homosexuality and Junior High Civics

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:02:00 +0000

My oldest son is a student at one of the junior highs here in Fort Smith. A week ago he came home and told me that his civics teacher shared her views on homosexuality in class. The gist of her comments were that it's okay for people to be gay and that there is nothing wrong with it. She also made another comment that later in the year they would be discussing this more in class. My son took it that it would be a part of the class material in the future. Apparently the comments of my son's teacher not only caught his attention but also the attention of others as it was a topic of discussion among my son's peers over lunch that same day. A very good friend of my son's (who is also a member of our church) commented over lunch, "Doesn't the Bible say that homosexuality is wrong?"

My son came home telling me all this and several thoughts went through my mind and have been running through my mind over the course of the last week.

First, I am thrilled that my son feels free to come home and share all these kinds of details with me. It could very easily not be this way.

Second, I was struck that, even though he is only in junior high, he has officially joined the "big leagues" of the adult world. It doesn't get more cutting edge, culturally, than a discussion on the rightness or wrongness of homosexuality.

Third, I was reminded of the tremendous influence teachers have over students. I have no problem at all with teachers, through the course of a school year, letting students see who they are as people. Even if they do not represent the values we teach in my home. This is all a part of life and I know that I can't keep my children in a bubble. At some point they need to learn how to interact with the world and I would rather them learn this while under my roof and under my guidance than later in life when they go to college.

Fourth, I am very concerned that there would be an extended discussion on homosexuality in the future as part of any class unit. This is a civics course. My brother who teaches civics in an adjacent town served on the task force that wrote the course standards for civics for the State of Arkansas. I checked with him and he assured me there is NO unit on homosexuality as part of the civics curriculum. They will not be tested on it at year end and it is not a bench mark. I am further concerned because any discussion or education on homosexuality in a civics class would prohibit including the Bible and its teachings on the basis of church/state separation, thus it would be an incomplete discussion or education.

Fifth, I was struck by a desire that my son expressed that he really wants to see his teacher bring the topic up again because he wants to debate her from his biblical worldview. This makes me very proud as a father. This whole thing has caused my son and I to talk a lot about homosexuality, why some people think the behavior is okay and why we as Christians do not based on the clear teaching of God's Word. We've talked about how people become gay, are they created that way or is it learned. We've talked about why God prohibits the behavior. And we've talked about God's best for all people, even people who are oriented toward same sex attraction. It's not necessarily the kind of thing I was looking forward to him bringing home from civics, but overall it's been a healthy experience…for my child. Obviously this may not be the case for others in the class.

Sixth, I am reminded that I have to watch very carefully to see what is really going on in my children's classroom(s). I am their parent and I am charged to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

My son's civics teacher is a wonderful woman. My son just loves her as a teacher (he had her last year as well), and he says that she claims to be a Christian. All the interaction I have had with her these last couple of years through conferences and open houses has been positive and professional. In no way is this blog post an attack on a very good teacher.

But, I also want my son's civics teacher to, first and foremost, teach him CIVICS. I have no doubt she is, and the personal social commentary, while appropriate at certain times in the course of a school year, should not make its way into the curriculum of the course.

My wife and I pray for all our children's teachers.

And we will continue to do so…and watch as well.

Blessings,

Jeff

The Angry Leader

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:27:00 +0000

There is a curious scene in the life of Moses as it involved the infamous incident with the Golden Calf. You remember, I'm sure, that while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, the people of God were in the valley building an idol. Moses actually tells God to calm down, but when Moses lays eyes upon the scene himself, he explodes with his own vent of anger. He takes the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them and throws them to the ground, breaking them.

Why would Moses do this? These were the Ten Commandments after all. The Bible describes the tablets this way,

Exodus 32:16 (ESV)
The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

Moses took something that God had actually made with His own hand, engraved with His own hand, and destroyed it. Did Moses deserve to be angry because of the actions of God's people? You bet. But as a leader, he should have acted better than to throw a tantrum and destroy these Ten Commandments that were meant for God's people.

I have a friend who pastors a church in a rural part of Arkansas. He is a man of God, has a godly wife and kids, and is an excellent pastor. Recently a deacon in his church attempted to lead a movement to get rid of him. This same deacon was actually on the search committee that called my friend, but he was the one person on the committee that voted "no." This deacon's wife has been known to single out the children of my friend, and to scold and discipline them publically in front of others. It's a bad situation for sure. Things escalated when this deacon, on a Sunday morning, called for a vote of confidence on my friend. I wonder how I would have handled this situation. Did my pastor friend deserve to be angry? You bet. Did he decide to throw his Bible down or kick over the pulpit? No. He handled the situation with grace. He stood in front of his congregation, next to the man calling for this ridiculous vote of confidence, and held himself with great composure. While he may have been steaming inside, he was cool and collected on the outside. What happened next? The people in the congregation overwhelmingly rejected to even hold the vote of confidence. In doing so they rejected the viewpoint of this deacon. Good for this church, and good for my friend.

Moses blew it when he threw down and broke that which God had made. He lost his cool. But Moses is a work in progress as a leader. Did God do away with him? No, BUT God did not ignore Moses' actions either.

Passage for Reflection: Exodus 34:1-4

Exodus 34:1 (ESV)
The Lord said to Moses, "Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

Don't you love it? God wants His people to see these Ten Commandments but this time, God makes Moses cut the tablets out of stone himself. AND he gives him a deadline that requires him to work all night long. Can't you just see Moses chipping away on some giant piece of granite, working to fashion two tablets of stone for God to write on? Each blow of the hammer reminded him that it is always better to exercise control in the face of anger…even if that anger is justified.

So the point of all this? God never gives up on us…but neither does he let us stray from his corrective hand.

"Lord, teach me control. Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

2.56%

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:54:00 +0000

What could we do with an extra $161 billion dollars?

By "we" I mean the Church… Christians.

Every church has only two earthly resources: people and money. And both of these resources are limited. And the second resource, money, comes via the first resource, people.

As a pastor it is my job to get the most out of the people and the money that God gives us. I can tell you that on a daily basis I feel like we bump into barriers due to a lack of both.

According to a recent study by an Illinois research firm, Empty Tomb, inc., it was found that the average church goer gives just 2.56% of their income to their church. Let me put it a different way. For every $1000 someone makes, they give only $25.60 to God. I gotta tell you that's pretty pathetic. Some people spend more than that at Starbucks every week.

It was also estimated by the study that if everyone who attended church would tithe, that "we" would have an extra…you guessed it, $161 billion dollars a year with which to work!

What could your church do if everyone in your church actually tithed?

I'm not talking about giving. Lots of people give. 2.56% is giving. 10% is tithing. And there's a big difference, not only in money with which to see vision become reality , but in blessing.

You see, as a pastor, one of my chief desires is to see all the people of my church blessed to overflowing by God. And the area of finances is the one and only area where God gives us permission to "test" him (Malachi 3) and just see if He won't open the blessings of heaven upon us.

I am broken, not over lost dollars, but over the lost blessing that my brothers and sisters in Christ are missing out on because of lack of obedience and faith.

And yes, extra dollars would be nice too!

Jeff

The Freeing of a Leader

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:26:00 +0000

Every leader has followers who gripe and complain. That is because it is in the nature of Man to gripe and complain. We are a species of grumblers. But this can be very difficult for a leader. Leaders, by our nature, want to make people happy and see them growing and moving forward. The truth is that at any given time, there may only be a few people who grumble about this or that, BUT to the leader, those few people can feel like a mob.

Here's the key for dealing with grumblers and complainers. As a leader you must be sold out to God's will; not only for your own life but for the lives of those who follow you. A leader must never make the mistake of seeing him or herself as the top of the food change. No matter what level of leader you may be, even if it is President of the United States, there is always One who is higher than you. God. He is the ultimate Leader of everything and everyone. When you can sell out to this truth and put the will of God for yourself and others as your highest goal, you will find yourself free from the grumbler.

Consider these words of Moses who dealt with an entire nation of grumblers:

Passage for Reflection:

Exodus 16:6-8 (ESV)
⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
⁷and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?"
⁸And Moses said, "When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him— what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord."

You see, when God is first, the grumbler is not really grumbling against you, but against God. I think this realization had to be freeing for Moses. He was able to take the criticism and complaints and let them roll off because he understood that the problem with these people was not a Moses problem, but a God problem.

Listen, my friend, as long as you are in the center of God's will for your life and leadership, you are free from the grumbler!

"Lord, thank you that the buck stops with you. Thank you for freedom. Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

The Leader’s Tent

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:58:00 +0000

"Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend."

Moses had a special place where he would meet with God. The Bible refers to it as the Tent of Meeting. We are told that it was just a tent, set up "far off" from the rest of the camp. This is how it worked. Whenever Moses needed to talk to God, he would go into the Tent of Meeting. The presence of God in the form of a cloud would descend and rest at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. What happened next was both ordinary and extra-ordinary at the same time. God and Moses would talk. That's it, just talk. The human and the Divine in conversation.

What did they talk about? I don't know. It doesn't say. But the Bible does say that their conversation was that like one friend talking to another. I wonder if you or I could ever be that comfortable talking to God. I imagine that their conversation involved the two million plus people that Moses was leading. Talk about a BIG job. Moses was, in essence, the leader of a nation, much like a president or a prime minister. No doubt he felt in-over-his-head on a daily basis. So what did this greatest of all human leaders do when frustrated, or confused, or stuck? He went and talked to God.

I think there is something else interesting about the Tent of Meeting. The Bible says these meetings that Moses had with God were not secret. In fact, it says that whenever Moses would leave the camp for the Tent of Meeting, word would spread throughout the camp and everybody would stand in the doorway of their own tent and watch as Moses would enter and the cloud would descend. The people knew how often and how long Moses would spend with God.

It is said that people will mimic the habits of their leaders. This seems to be the case with Moses and the Tent of Meeting, for while Moses was in his tent talking to God, the people would bow at their own tents and worship God themselves.

It's all a very powerful and vivid picture.

Passage for Reflection: Exodus 33:7-11

How often do you talk to God? Where do you go to speak with Him? Do you have your own "tent" of meeting? Do your family, your friends, your co-workers know that you and God talk? Can you say that you and God are friends?

"Lord, speak to me and I will obey. Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

The Kind of Person God Uses

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:07:00 +0000

I'm in a season right now where I have about 35 plates spinning all at one time. I am spending my days making sure none of them fall and break. It's ALL great stuff and I am having the time of my life.

In the midst of my plate spinning activities, I was handed an old classic book by one of my pastors, Walter Henrichsen's, Disciples Are Made Not Born. I first read this book in seminary and somewhere along the way I gave my copy to someone who never returned it. It was a breath of fresh air to revisit the timeless truth regarding disciple-making. One of my plates is a sermon I am working on for October 18^th. This will be a special day at GABC that we are calling Vision Sunday. We just completed a six month strategic consultation with Lifeway Church services (that's another plate I've been spinning), and the results have given us a roadmap for our future. This little book by Henrichsen and the principal of disciple-making is something the folks at Grand will hear more about on the 18^th.

The first chapter is titled The Kind of Person God Uses. In it, Henrichsen submits 9 characteristics of a potential disciple. And so today, I give these to you to consider and measure you own life against.

1. He has adopted as his objective in life the same objective God sets forth in life.

2. He is willing to pay any price to have the will of God fulfilled in his life.

3. He has a love for the Word of God.

4. He has a servant heart.

5. He puts no confidence in the flesh.

6. He does not have an independent spirit.

7. He has a love for people.

8. He does not allow himself to become trapped in bitterness.

9. He has learned to discipline his life.

Blessings,

Jeff

Never Forget...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:00:00 +0000

This is a haunting video...also graphic in nature.

Given the times in which we live with the maniac, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, serving as Iran's president, this message is even more poignant.

A Leadership Mistake

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:26:00 +0000

"You are not able to do it alone." These were the famous words uttered by Moses' father-in-law to Moses as he was emerging as the leader of God's people.

Leadership is lonely business, that's for sure. And it is that feeling of leadership loneliness that can lead to one of the most common leadership mistakes – trying to do it all by yourself. After all, if you're the leader, aren't you expected to do it all?

This is where we find Moses after he successfully leads the people out from under the tyranny of the Egyptian Empire. But one advantage of being under Egyptian rule was that everyone knew what was expected. They knew where to go when injustice reared its head. But now, delivered from Pharaoh, they people have no government order at all. No laws, or politicians, or lawyers (imagine a world with no lawyers!), or tax system, you get the idea. All the people have is Moses.

Passage for Reflection: Exodus 18

Moses falls into the leadership trap of believing that he has to do it all. He begins to spend each and every day sitting in a tent with lines of people standing outside with their problems. They've come to Moses to pass judgment. This goes on day after day. Finally, Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, comes for a visit and sees what is going on. He sees the problem immediately. He confronts Moses with the obvious, "Hey Moses, you can't do this by yourself. You need help."

He then gives Moses a plan, a system to divide the people into thousands, then hundreds, then fifties, then tens. Each group will have someone over them. Moses' job will be to oversee the system. This will free up Moses and make him a more effective leader. It also engages other people, giving them ownership, which in turn will instill loyalty to Moses. It's a win-win for everyone.

Listen, I know the temptation. It's always easier to do something yourself rather than train someone else to do it. For one, it will take two hours to train someone to do what you can do in five minutes. But this is short-sighted thinking, because once trained, you can then walk away. Plus never underestimate the value of empowering someone else.

Have kids? Remember it is vital that you practice delegation with your kids – washing dishes, mowing the lawn, taking out the trash, dusting, vacuuming, etc. Not only are you not able to do it alone, you shouldn't do it alone.

A leader must focus on the things that ONLY they can do. Everything else must be delegated out.

Remember: "You are not able to do it alone."

"Lord, may I practice the wisdom of delegation. Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

The Color of Worship

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:53:00 +0000

I have been in the ministry for over 22 years in some form or fashion. I began cutting my teeth as an intern for my home church in Salt Lake City, Utah when I was 17. I got out of school at noon my senior year and would spend each afternoon working at church and learning by observing. In college I was able to serve in a local church as its youth pastor. Between college and seminary I served in two churches, one as a church planter and another as a minister of discipleship and singles. In seminary I pastored my first church. After seminary I worked in Christian education, served as an associate college pastor, and later as one of four start-up campus pastors for a new location of a mega-church. Currently I serve as the pastor of one of the larger churches in the state of Arkansas. I've done a lot of ministry and learned a lot about leadership. I've seen good leadership and bad leadership. I've practiced both as well!

Out of all my experience in leadership and ministry I can say very clearly that the most difficult aspect of leadership within the church is in the area of worship. Everybody, it seems, has an opinion about worship: how it should be done, how long it should go, how loud/soft the music should be, what instruments to use/not to use, where people should stand or sit or how much of each, the configuration of the stage, whether to have a stage, how bright or dim it should be, what style of music is appropriate, whether praise singers enhance or detract from worship, the "biblical" way to worship, and it goes on and on it seems, endlessly, ad nauseum.

Worship is such a personal issue that it is hard to "let go" and just "let God" take over. Take over our hearts, and passions, and egos, and wills.

Curiously, in my study of Moses, I ran across an interesting aside as it relates to worship. In the Book of Exodus chapter 12, the people are preparing for exodus, to be delivered from Egypt. God is giving very specific instructions for the preparation to leave the country. After receiving these instructions, it says in verse 27 that, "The people bowed their heads and worshipped." Did you catch that? They bowed their heads….and worshipped.

Now jump ahead to chapter 15, post-exodus. The people are so excited at being delivered from the hands of the Egyptians. Moses even composes a new worship song. It has come to be known as The Song of Moses, pretty fitting I think! The song declares the glory and majesty of God and celebrates His crushing victory over the Egyptians. A nationwide worship service was held. Notice the language in verse 20:

"Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing."

Can you get two more contrasting pictures of worship? One is very quiet, solemn, with heads bowed. The other is loud and celebratory, with instruments, and yes, even dancing.

And they were both worship. And since they were both in the Bible, and the language is nothing but affirming, that means they were both biblical.

My point: The color of worship changes just like the leaves in season. As the people of God, we must be willing to lay aside our prejudices and be led by God and His appointed people into worship.

We have a saying around my church: We (all) perform for an audience of One.

Worship is never about us, it's always about God. The question on any given Sunday is not: did I like what I heard? The question is: Did God like what He heard?

If you are in a Bible believing church that loves Jesus and seeks to worship him, and you cannot worship, the problem is probably not with the church, or the worship leader, or the musicians, or anything or anyone else.

If you can't worship, its most likely not a leadership issue but a followership issue.

Passage for Reflection: Exodus 15

"Lord, may I be a worshipper of You! Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

Scary Words

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:44:00 +0000

Today, President Obama addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations. A focal point of his speech were remarks regarding the Israeli / Palestinian conflict. Said President Obama, "We continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements."

These are scary words.

President Obama is treading on very precarious ground. You see, the very land that Israel occupies, including the West Bank, where the disputed settlements are located, is land given to Israel by God.

President Obama's words are scary not because of political implications but because of spiritual ones. The Bible is clear in Genesis 12:3 regarding the nation of Israel,

"I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

America has enjoyed the favor of God in its history for various reasons, not the least of which has been a strong support for the nation of Israel. I am convinced, because I believe the words of God, that if America moves to a posture of opposing Israel, especially her claim to the very land God gave her, that America will face the judgment of God.

That is why these are scary words.

To be fair, President Obama also called for the Palestinians to "to end incitement against Israel." In addition, he called on the nations of the world to recognize "Israel's legitimacy and its right to exist in peace and security." President Obama is in a tight spot as are all U.S. Presidents, trying to appease both sides of the conflict.

President Obama is a politician not a theologian, but his words and policies will have spiritual consequences for our nation. He would be wise to garner theological counsel from those who understand the spiritual stakes.

Blessings,

Jeff

The Development of the Leader

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:54:00 +0000

Are leaders made or born? I believe leaders are called and developed. God calls and God develops. If anybody ever looked like they were a born leader is was Moses. And at the pinnacle age of 40, just when it looked like he was ready to emerge as the hope and future of the Hebrew people, he fell flat on his face. The problem: Moses had never been developed. Yes, you could argue that he was born with certain characteristics, like charisma, that would aide any leader, and it is true that the call of God was on Moses. BUT the call of God also involves the timing of God. And it is the timing of God that has everything to do with the development of God.

After Moses spent 40 more years being developed by God (he spent the first 40 being developed by the Egyptians), God is ready to put him on the stage of leadership. But even then God was not done with the development of Moses as a leader. You see, the development of God is really a life lone process.

The continued development of Moses as a leader is clearly seen in within the narrative of the 10 Plagues of God upon Pharaoh and Egypt. It's easy to miss this leadership development system because you can easily become caught up in all the details of the drama, but look closely and you will see God's guiding hand. The story within the story is one of Moses continuing to grow as a leader.

The Leadership of Moses – Plagues 1-3:

In the first three plagues, you will see if you read closely, that God would speak to Moses, and then God would instruct Moses to tell Aaron to speak to Pharaoh. Remember that Moses was very unsure of himself so God sent him a helper, his brother Aaron. During these first three plagues, God would talk to Moses but Aaron would talk to Pharaoh.

The Leadership of Moses – Plagues 4-5:

With the next two plagues, a change occurs. Aaron drops out as a speaking voice and Moses begins to speak directly to Pharaoh. Moses is maturing as a leader. He is developing right in front of our eyes! After standing back and watching Aaron, something clicks in Moses and he says to himself, "I can do this. Why am I standing here and just watching? I don't need Aaron to speak for me anymore. Let's cut the middle man out!"

The Leadership of Moses – Plague 6:

Moses may be the one talking now, but Aaron is still the one doing the physical acts that bring the plague. Things like tossing down the staff. But with the arrival of this plague, Moses and Aaron begin to share in the physical act of demonstrating God's power. They are doing it together.

The Leadership of Moses – Plague 7-10

It doesn't take long before Moses becomes fully independent of Aaron. In these last four plagues, Moses does all the talking and all the acting. Aaron is just an observer and supporter at this point. BUT don't miss this: Moses is never fully independent. He is always dependent on God. He is never out there alone. The moment the leader steps out on his own, out from under the protection, guidance, and development of God, the process becomes short circuited.

There will be more to learn about leadership. Moses is still not done. We are never done learner and growing and developing. God has a plan. A customized program just for you.

It is said that wherever God guides, He also provides. That is so true. God will always enable you for that to which He is calling you. Your part is to simply obey.

Passage for Reflection: Exodus 7-11

"Lord, may I be sensitive to your call and your developing hand in my life. Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:57:00 +0000

I had a great lunch today with the pastor of First Baptist Church of Fort Smith, Dr. Dale Thompson. We were also joined by Dr. Jeff Thompson (no relation) who is the Associational Missionary for the Concord Baptist Association (CBA). The food was good but the fellowship was better. The purpose of our meeting was to discuss our mission partnership to the unreached people group called the Pare located in northeast Tanzania, Africa. My church and Dale's church have both sent mission teams in the past 6 months to Tanzania to piggy-back off of each other's work. Additionally, the CBA has adopted the Pare people as well and we are hoping to see other churches in our area send mission teams as well.

We met today, just two pastors and our association missionary to discuss how we can better work together in the most effective way possible to reach the Pare. I've got to tell you it was very refreshing. You see, my church and First Baptist Church are two of the larger churches in Fort Smith and we are located on the same street in town just blocks from each other. One could look at our two Southern Baptist Churches and think, "Boy, I'll bet they really don't get along. I'll bet they have to have to really compete over people." Maybe something like this has been true in the past, I don't really know. And yes, I guess there have been times throughout the history of churches in America (and even Fort Smith, or your town) where churches have "competed" over trying to "get people." But I've gotta tell you that this just is not the case with our two churches.

You see, in my view (and I think this is very biblical), there is the Church. And the Church is made up of little churches. The Church, capital "C", consists of all orthodox Christians. For the purpose of winning the world for Christ, we have organized ourselves into smaller units called a "church" (little "c"). But we are all part of ONE Church, Jesus Christ's Church. That means we are all on the same team. We all have the same goal.

Now, that doesn't mean we all look alike or do things the same way. Rick Warren, the pastor of one of the largest churches in America, Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, has a saying: "It takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people." I think he's right on. If you know anything at all about First Baptist Church and Grand Avenue Baptist Church you would know that we are very different churches. From the architecture of our buildings, to our worship styles, to our church polity structure, we are very different from one another. Most likely a person who loves how things are done at one of our churches may not enjoy so much they way things are done at the other church. That's because we are different. And that's OK, because ultimately we are on the same team, serving the same God, working to accomplish the same Great Commission. Fort Smith is FULL of all kinds of people and this city needs BOTH of our churches (and many more) to accomplish the goal given to us by Jesus Christ.

So today, I had a great lunch with the pastor of a sister church down the road. Dale Thompson is a great guy. He has a warm and engaging personality, he's a very smart man with tons of ministry experience. I quizzed him about the remodel currently taking place of his worship center because we need to do some work in our own worship center. Dale has a passion for the gospel and it was a joy to talk strategy and about working together to reach the Pare.

May God bless FBC. May God bless GABC. And may God bless all of His churches as we work together to be the Church.

Blessings,
Jeff

In the Company of Greatness

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:14:00 +0000

Yesterday was the 75^th Anniversary of the church I am privileged to pastor, the Grand Avenue Baptist Church. It is difficult to describe in words, the emotions that surged through my being as the events of yesterday unfolded. Seventy-five years is a long time. Many churches never make it to 75 years and many of those that do are on the verge of closing up shop. To be a part of a church that is 75 years "young" and to have that very distinct sense that God has only just begun is an awesome feeling.

For me personally, the highlight of all the events surrounding the anniversary was the opportunity I had to sit in the company of greatness. There have been only 12 senior pastors in the 75 year history of GABC. Yesterday, five of these men (along with myself) came together in one place at one time. Six out of 12 pastors – half of this churches pastoral legacy all together at one moment in time. To be in the company of these men was extremely humbling and almost overwhelming. What's that? These are just "men" you say? Yes, it is true, they are just mortal men, BUT it is what God has done in and through the lives of these men that made this a company of greatness.

Every church that celebrates a significant anniversary (20, 25, 50 years, etc.) has a pastor that is chosen by God to lead that church through the anniversary moment. Providence has chosen me, Jeff Crawford, to be the pastor of Grand as we celebrated our first 75 years. While that, in and of itself, puts me in a unique position in Grand's pastoral legacy, as I reflect upon this particular company of greatness, I think that perhaps I am in the most unique of circumstances that any pastor could ever be in. For you see, each one of these former pastors has crossed paths with my own spiritual development in one way or another. To understand this you first need to know that GABC is the church of my youth, my home church. I cannot think of any other pastor who could be in such a unique and privileged position in which I find myself.

Clifford Palmer – I arrived at GABC as a child AFTER Bro. Cliff's tenure as pastor. He moved on from GABC to pastor the First Baptist Church of Springdale, AR. It was his vision that led that great church to relocate and to start a school, a Christian School called Shiloh Christian School. If you know my history, you know that I spent almost 10 years on the staff of FBC Springdale serving at Shiloh Christian School. Palmer had already left by the time I arrived, but once again, I found myself in the wake of the fruits of his ministry.

Don Moore – Bro. Don was the pastor of my childhood. It was many a sermon I "listened" to as I sat in church as a child coloring on offering envelops. I loved Bro. Don and I always thought it was cool how he knew my name, the name of a child. It was Bro. Don that led GABC to tremendous growth and established the church as a significant force for the love of Christ in Fort Smith.

James Bryant – Dr. Jim was the pastor of my formative teenage years. I was saved under his watch. Baptized by him. I was called to the ministry under during his tenure. I learned more sitting under Dr. Jim's pastoral teaching each week than any other pastor I have ever had. It was Dr. Jim who invited a 16 year old kid into his private study and taught him how to craft a sermon. It was Dr. Jim that opened up his pulpit to this same young "preacher boy" a year later and let him preach to his home church.

Ed Saucier – Bro. Ed was the pastor of my college years. He was the pastor leading GABC on those Sundays that I would "come back home" from college. Bro. Ed would eventually leave GABC but he did not leave Fort Smith. He felt the call of God to plant a new church in Fort Smith. So as I would one day arrive in town to pastor my home church, Bro. Ed became not only the pastor from my college years, but also a colleague in ministry.

Bill Blanchard – Bro. Bill once tried to hire me as the youth pastor at Grand. Things did not work out because it was not the timing or call of God. But through that exchange, Bro. Bill became my friend. Bro. Bill led GABC to adopt a new constitution and by-laws, a new form of church government. It is a brilliant structure and frankly, I do not think I would have come to Grand were it not for the foundation of church governance laid by my predecessor, my friend.

So maybe you can see, in some small way, how utterly humbled, and yes, even, dare I say it, out of place I felt, to be in this company of greatness.

Seventy-five years is a long time. A great 75 years depends upon great leadership. As I sat in this company of greatness on Sunday, it was my prayer to God that I would be found worthy and equipped to carry the torch of pastoral leadership that was passed to me by those who had gone before.

Passage for Reflection: Hebrews 12:1-2

"Lord, may the cloud of witnesses, inspire, encourage, and strengthen my spirit as I run YOUR race. Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

The Call of the Leader

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:20:00 +0000

The greatest leaders never choose the greatness that finds them. Most great leaders find themselves reluctantly in the position of influence. This is certainly the case with Moses. Moses, in fact, is a study in contrast. When he was 40 he sought the greatness of leadership. He wanted to be the one to lead the Hebrew people out from under the thumb of Pharaoh. But for all his training, confidence, skill, and political position, Moses flopped as a leader. But then, 40 years later at the age of 80, Moses is flying "under the radar," living a quiet and, the Bible says, "content" life. He is a shepherd working for his father-in-law. Hardly the position, age and location from which one of the greatest leaders in world history would be born.

But when God is in the mix, anything, and I mean anything, is possible. As you read through the third and fourth chapters of Exodus, you get the very distinct impression that being a leader is the last thing Moses wants for his life. He is the consummate reluctant leader. He tries to weasel his way out of God's call through various forms of questioning and self-deprecation. He even reaches the point of telling God, "NO." After enduring the wrath of a God that will not take "no" for an answer, Moses reluctantly submits and goes along with God's plan to free the Hebrew people.

Reluctance: that is the operative word here. And I actually think that it is the reluctance of Moses, coupled with the clear call of God, that made for a powerful mix. In all of this, I think there are several items worth noting:

Great leadership understands that God has to be the one calling the shots. Moses tried it his way and failed. He submitted to God's way, in spite of incredible self-doubt, and succeeded.
It is a dangerous thing to reject the leadership call of God. I sometimes wonder at the enormous lack of blessing that my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ might be experiencing because they say "no" to the call of God.
Leadership is a balance between self-confidence and God-confidence.
God uses past failures to help us face greater challenges.

Passage for Reflection: Exodus 3-4

Can I share with you a moment of transparency? There are times when I feel woefully inadequate to serve as the pastor of GABC. The position seems so much bigger than me, what I can handle, what I can do. But what brings me back each and every day is the clear call of God. Ministry is tough, pastoring is very difficult – it is so easy to focus on the many ways in which I fall short rather than where I succeed. I must tell you I would not be doing this were it not for the call of God. In a sense, I am more afraid not to pastor than I am to pastor. It is my prayer that this tension makes me good pastor, a good leader.

"Lord, may I be humble enough to know what I can't do, and submissive to You in order to cover the gap. Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

The Great Commission Resurgence

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Last week I attended a pastors' luncheon at the Church at Pinnacle Hills in Rogers. Pastors within a 100 mile radius had been invited to come and engage in a talk-back session based around the topic of The Great Commission.

Our church is a cooperating member of the Southern Baptist Convention. The SBC is showing signs of decline. Last year the churches of the denomination baptized fewer people than in 1950. In 1950 the SBC had around 30,000 churches. Today we have 43,000 churches and vast amounts of resources. So why has this happened?

In order to answer this question and to set a course for the future of the SBC, current convention president, Dr. Johnny Hunt, appointed a Great Commission Task Force this past summer at the annual meeting. Dr. Ronnie Floyd is heading this task force. I love Ronnie Floyd and was privileged to serve with him for 10 years at the First Baptist Church of Springdale, Arkansas. In fact, I was on the first staff of the Church at Pinnacle Hills when it launched back in 2001. Everybody who knows Ronnie Floyd, or knows of Ronnie Floyd, has an opinion about him. Regardless of yours or anyone else's opinion of Ronnie Floyd, I can tell you this: He is the perfect person to lead our denomination's Great Commission Task Force. Ronnie Floyd bleeds the Great Commission.

I've not been one to be involved with national SBC matters. In fact, I have never even been to an annual meeting of the convention. I've got my hands full pastoring one of the larger churches in the State of Arkansas. I just don't have time for the climate of national denominational polity. But the Great Commission? Now that's something I have time for. And so, I drove up to Rogers last week to eat, listen, talk, and pray. I was encouraged by what I heard. Much needs to be done within the SBC to return this denomination to what made it great. I believe the key is the Great Commission.

I encourage you to check out the Great Commission Task Force website: http://www.pray4gcr.com/. I also encourage you to join the 4500 plus people from around the country who are praying for a national resurgence of the Great Commission.

The Great Commission is something that crosses denominational lines. It is the Lord's Great Commission for all believers.

Blessings,

Jeff

Monday Morning Leadership Devo: Lessons From the Wilderness

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:33:00 +0000

I am preaching on the life of Moses this fall. He is, without a doubt, one of the major figures, not just in the Bible, but in all of history. Everybody knows about Moses.

I plan to preach 11 sermons on Moses' life, but in my study I have found such rich and voluminous source material that is has been, at times, like drinking out of a fire hydrant! So I am going to be funneling the overflow of my study on Moses into these Monday Morning Devotionals.

Passage for Reflection: Exodus 2:15-22

This passage of Scripture describes Moses' life from the age of 40-80. It was at the age of 40 that Moses fled Egypt as a fugitive and disappeared into a desert dweller's life in the Land of Midian. Midian was the perfect place to hide, the perfect place to become a nobody. The desert is also the place where God leads us to work on us, call it the University of the Wilderness. Has your world ever come crashing down around you and you found yourself retreating into your own personal wilderness? The Hebrew word for "desert" is midbaar, which comes from another Hebrew word: Dahbaar. Dahbaar literally means "to speak." In a very real sense, God speaks to you when you are in your personal desert.

It is in the desert that you will find the real you. I think it is very interesting that God led Moses into the wilderness for 40 years, and that God would then turn right around and use Moses to lead His people out of Egypt and into the wilderness for another 40 years.

When the bell rings and classes start in the University of the Wilderness, you will study several important subjects:

1. Obscurity – the desert is a lonely place. You can feel like a nobody. Moses became a shepherd working for his father-in-law. He didn't even have his own sheep! Talk about obscurity. But in the midst of this obscurity and isolation, God was working on Moses.

2. Time – Remember sitting in class in junior high just waiting for the bell to ring? Remember thinking that class would NEVER get out? Class time in the desert can move very slowly. Moses was not dismissed for 40 years! And I thought four years of college was a long time. Only God knows when you are ready and it's time to ring the bell signaling that class is out. But TIME spent in class is another way God works on us. The NOT knowing when the bell will ring is part of the learning process.

3. Discomfort – the desert is NOT a nice place to be. It is a survival culture. Water, food, shelter, are all hard to come by. And life is the same each and every day. Monday feels no different than Friday. The weather is hot and then cold and then dry and then wet. And once again, God is in it all.

And as I said before, only God knows when you are ready to move on. There are no short-cuts. If you try to leave the desert pre-maturely, you will short-circuit all that God is trying to do in and through you. Moses had already rushed God's timing once when he jumped in and murdered the Egyptian who was abusing the Hebrew. He wasn't about to rush God's timing again…even if he had to wait until he was 80 years old!

What about graduation day? You know the story, Moses would go on to become one of the greatest leaders in all of human history. He would lead over two million people out of the clutches of the Egyptian empire.

Remember that God is the Lord of the Desert…even your desert.

"Lord, thank you for being the Lord of my desert. Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

Gay Clergy?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:35:00 +0000

The mainstreaming of homosexuality took a big step forward last weekend as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Amercica (the nation's largest Lutheran denomination), in a 68% affirmative vote, chose to allow "non-celibate gays and lesbians in monogamous relationships" to serve as clergy. What the ELCA has basically said is that homosexual behavior is not a sin. What they have essentially done is chosen to ignore the clear biblical teaching in this area.

Just two days before the vote, an "out of the blue" tornado descended on Minneapolis where the ELCA was holding its convention. The rouge tornado tore off part of a 90-year-old steeple of the Central Lutheran Church and ripped apart large outdoor tents set up to serve breakfast to the delegates to the ECLA convention. The tornado also damaged the convention center itself. Local Christian pastor and prolific author, John Piper (Baptist General Convention), was quick to publicly pronounce the tornado a warning from God on the eve of the historic vote. Said Piper, the tornado was a "gentle but firm warning to the ELCA and all of us: Turn from the approval of sin." I think Piper was correct. It's one thing for the secular culture to approve of sinful behavior. It's a whole different animal when the Church, carrying the name of Jesus Christ, ignores clear biblical teaching and begins to call acceptable what God has said is unacceptable – what God says is sin.

The ECLA's decision will have numerous repercussions:

The denomination is at risk of splitting. There are many wonderful Lutheran folks who understand and respect what God's Word says and who will not accept the decision of their denomination.

The demonization of Christian denominations who hold to the clear biblical teaching that homosexual behavior is a sin. As yet another denomination has caved to the homosexual agenda, those denominations who do not cave will find themselves under renewed pressure to "get with the program." It will be asked, "What's wrong with the _______________ denomination? Why can't they be more progressive? Why are they so intolerant?"

The abandonment of people who need deliverance from the sin of homosexuality. Sex is God's gift to His children. When sex is between one man and one woman within the bounds of monogamous marriage, it is beautiful. It is God's BEST. By mainstreaming homosexuality, the Lutheran Church is robbing people who struggle with this sin from finding God's best for their lives. Instead of God's best, they will find nothing but bondage and slavery to a lifestyle of sin. They will be deluded into thinking this IS as good as it gets, and ultimately they will blame the church and God and reject both. The scope of the personal tragedy here is incalculable.

By rejecting God's Word in the area of homosexual sin, the Lutheran Church has opened itself to jettisoning God's Word in other crucial areas. This is a slippery slope that is unavoidable.

How could such a thing happen? How could an entire Christian denomination evolve to the point that it ordains a man or a woman who actively engages in sexual intercourse with another person of the same gender and is proud of it? The answer is really very simple. The embracing of sin is always the natural next step when we refuse to accept God's Word as the final word on all matters of life and spirituality.

The words of Pastor Dan Friberg, of Springfield's Messiah Evangelical Lutheran, sum up this perversion of God's Word. Said Friberg, "Jesus said a lot of hard things. Love your enemies, but one of the hardest things we have to do on a daily basis is love one another. Love them. Try our best to understand them, and when we can't understand them, still love them. That's probably the hardest part of this whole decision."

Does the Bible say that we need to love all people including one another? Yes! Does the Bible say that we need to love people who are actively involved in sinful behavior? Yes! But what Friberg and the ECLA have failed to remember (or perhaps it is willful ignorance) is that as Jesus was loving and ministering to the woman caught in adultery, he also said to her, "Go, and sin no more" (John 8).

The church is called to take the love of Christ to all people. The church is called to love all people no matter their flavor of sin, be it homosexual perversion or heterosexual perversion, or whatever else. But the church is also charged with leading people to God's best. And God's best is a life in Christ where we say "NO" to our sin nature and "YES" to Jesus.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church has abandoned this call.

Blessings,

Jeff

The New Persecution

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:40:00 +0000

I blogged last week about the firing of Gerald Marszalek, a Christian wrestling coach in Michigan, by a Muslim principal. As I was thinking about this travesty of a story happening right here in our own country, it began to occur to me that we have seen a radical shift in our culture in recent months. I don't mean years, I mean months.

It seems as if overnight, that normal, average Americans are being targeted and attacked for doing nothing more than living their lives and speaking out about what they believe. I am thinking of Joe the Plumber and the way his life was given a rectal exam by the media (that included looking at his tax records!) after he showed up at an Obama campaign stop and asked a very simple question of the man who would soon be his president. I am thinking about Carrie Prejean, who was asked a question about her opinion on gay marriage. After explaining that her personal beliefs affirm that marriage is between one man and one woman, the media set out to destroy her and she eventually lost her crown as Miss California. I am thinking of Katy Abram, a stay at home mom, who showed up at one of those "town hall" meetings last week and was caught on tape expressing her views. Once again the smear machine went into overdrive to marginalize and ruin this young woman in the eyes of the public. I guess this kind of thing has always gone on among people who have chosen the public spotlight as a career – I am thinking of people like Bill Clinton during his presidency and more recently Sarah Palin. But what is striking me now is the attack on the average American citizen who is just going along, living their life, and all of a sudden they are the topic of late night talk shows, 24 hour news channels, and countless Op-Ed pieces. And it seems that it has become particularly hazardous to be a Christian expressing any kind of Christian views anywhere outside the walls of a church building.

Our country has definitely changed. It is not the America that I grew up in and in some ways is doesn't even feel like the America I was living in just a few years ago.

So as Christians we have a choice to make. We can cower in silence and play it safe. We can hope that if we go "underground", we will be ignored and we can just keep doing life and going to work and school and church as normal, and maybe we will be left alone. As long as we keep our mouths closed and our Bibles and opinions to ourselves, we can hope that everything will be okay.

OR…

We can live Christian lives the way Christ called us to. We can make it known we are Christians, tell others that Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven, and actively work to grow the Kingdom of God. And we can take our lumps.

Listen, persecution has, more than not, been the norm for Christianity. We have been blessed to live in a nation that for over 200 years was sympathetic to Christianity. But those days may be over.

Now, more than ever, Christians must lead.

Passage for Reflection:

John 15:18-27

"Lord, give me the strength to live and lead for Jesus in such a time as this. Amen."

Blessings,
Jeff

Silent Jihad

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Crawford) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:21:00 +0000

I have periodically blogged about a serious cultural shift taking place in America: Muslim immigration. There is so much focus today on the radical wing of Islam that seeks to install a Muslim state via Jihad, or holy war. But what "flies under the radar," almost totally ignored by everyone, is what I call the silent invasion of Muslim immigration. Using our laws and our system, Muslims are quietly moving into neighborhoods all over America. Knowing that we operate as a democracy, what will happen to our country should the day arrive that Muslims outnumber all other groups?

That question has been partially answered in Dearborn, Michigan.

Because of legal immigration, Dearborn has become one of the most heavily populated Muslim communities in America. It is estimated that 30,000 of Dearborn's 98,000 citizens are Muslim. One of Dearborn's high schools, Fordson High School, is 80% Muslim and has a Muslim principal, a man named Imad Fadlallah.

Last year, this Muslim principal fired the school's long time wrestling coach, 64 year old Gerald Marszalek. So after a 35 year career of coaching at Fordson High School, this state legend who is a member of the Michigan High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame is not coaching this year. Oh, did I mention that Coach Marszalek is a Christian?

So why was this Christian coach fired by his Muslim principal? The answer is both shocking and disturbing. One of Marszalek's volunteer coaches was a local Christian pastor named Trey Hancock. During a summer wrestling camp that Hancock was conducting, that had nothing to do with the school, Hancock led a Muslim student to faith in Christ and then baptized him.

Because of this faithful act of evangelism, that all Christians are called to, Fadlallah ordered Marszalek to bar Hancock from any association with the wrestling team. This request was impossible to enforce because Hancock's own son is a member of the wrestling team. Fadlallah accused Hancock of using his access to the wrestling team to proselytize students to the Christian faith. Hancock and Marszalek vehemently deny this. The student in question, while a Muslim, was a friend of Hancock's son and had been attending Hancock's church for two years before coming to Christ during the independent wrestling camp last summer.

Because it was impossible to bar this Christian father from association with the public school wrestling team that his Christian son was a part of, a Muslim principal, in turn, fired the Christian coach.

Of course the ACLU has come charging to the defense of Marszalek…oh, wait, no they haven't. BUT the Thomas Moore Law Center has come to Marszalek's aid by way of a federal lawsuit.

Separation of Church and State? Not in a world where Muslims are the majority. That's the way it is in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, and even now in America…at least in the corner of America known as Dearborn, Michigan.

Blessings,
Jeff