Weekend Recap

We had a great time Rockin’ For Haiti on Friday night! This was our fundraiser for Convoy of Hope, to assist them in their work in both Haiti and Chile. Based on the amount of money we raised, we’re helping COH provide nearly 500 meals!

We’ve already got our next benefit show planned. Save Friday, April 30, for Rockin’ For Smiles. More details coming later, but Edge From Falling will be our headline guest.

A couple other things to keep on your radar screen (and your calendars):

  • Tomorrow we’re wrapping up our two-part series on the life of Andrew. This is an amazing disciple of Jesus. Although he’s only mentioned by name 13 times in the Bible, and only has 27 words recorded, we see something desirable about his life: all he did was bring people to Jesus. I could talk a lot more about this man (and we will do so later on), but we’re wrapping up Be An Andrew on Sunday.
  • Passion week is coming up quickly. We’ll have a noon Good Friday service on April 2. And don’t forget about Conspiracy! An Easter Breakfast Drama on Sunday, April 4. Breakfast, music, a celebration of Christ’s resurrection, and an original Easter play. It’s going to be fantastic.
  • One final thing. I’m really excited for our special guest speaker next Sunday, April 28. Our Assembly of God Michigan District Superintendent will be with us. I love Bill Leach, and you won’t want to miss the powerful word he is going to bring.

So many great opportunities to invite your friends to meet Jesus—just like Andrew did. I hope to see you at Calvary Assembly of God soon.

Interruptions: The Relationship Killer

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

Don’t you hate it when…

…someone finishes your sentences.

You’ve got a brilliant thought to share and…

…your friend shares it for you.

Like that killer joke with…

…the great punch line.

Yeah, the one about…

…the guy running to the restroom.

Sometimes it can…

…work.

But sometimes…

…it doesn’t.

No, it gets really…

…creepy?

Annoying. Like when I’m trying to tell you about…

…that great ski weekend.

The great church service where…

…the band really rocked it.

Where the pastor totally connected with me. And I realized…

…he’s a great speaker.

That I really need to make some changes in my…

…prayer life.

Listening skills.

Oh, um, yeah.

Scientists estimate that our brains can process up to 25,000 words per minute, but a normal speaking pace is only 140-160 words per minute. Since my brain is zipping along about 150 times faster than my friend is speaking, I really have to guard against jumping to conclusions.

Interruptions never build intimate relationships.

But you can reverse this tendency. Resist the urge to run ahead, to interrupt, to anticipate where your conversation partner is going. You can do it. You can reverse the tendency to interrupt.

I shared a series of messages on Relationship Builders And Killers, if you want to dig deeper into this topic.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials, like this recent video where I explain how God reveals previously-unknown truths to us. ◀︎◀︎

Efficient, Friendly Or Both

It was interesting going with Betsy to her eye doctor appointment. The office was big, modern-looking and filled with patients.

As we walked in, we were immediately directed to the line in which we were to check-in. Betsy filled out her forms and turned them in to the front desk staff. They were very efficient, but not so friendly.

As Betsy moved through the process of her appointment, we noticed that most of the efficient people were also the most friendly-deficient people. Until the doctor walked in: Immediately we had BOTH friendly AND efficient.

When we got ready to check out, the lobby was virtually empty. Now the front desk staff were much more friendly, but they were also less efficient and more error-prone than when we arrived.

So I wonder: What does it take to be BOTH efficient AND friendly? Is it only one or the other?

If I had to choose one way, I’d take friendly over efficient every time. Friendly AND efficient is even better.

I know I have a tendency to be very efficient, which makes me wonder, “Am I friendly-deficient in my efficiency? Or am I efficiency-deficient in my friendliness?”

Always remember: Both-AND > Either-Or.

High Five Etiquette

Challenging Concepts

Part two of our Spiritual Self-Defense series went well last night. Considering this was a difficult concept to wrap our finite, human brains around, I felt that everyone was tuned in. Trying to wrestle with the concepts of God as omnipresent, the unique Three-in-One arrangement of the Trinity, or Jesus as fully God and fully Man are not easy. But it is so important to keep learning and keep growing in our understanding of who God is.

Some people bail out too quickly. “It’s too hard,” they complain, and then walk away. But we have to keep stretching.

A couple of thoughts I’m pondering today:

“If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” —Augustine

“It seems that when we encounter a hard truth about God, we either bend our understanding to Him or bend Him to our understanding.” —Chris Tomlinson

I want to believe the Bible more, so I’m asking the Holy Spirit to continue to bend me and shape me to the deeper truths about God.

Bad Theology

I’m working on the next lesson in our Spiritual Self-Defense series. It’s a tough topic to address: the deity of Jesus, who was fully God and fully Man.

I know it’s very hard for a finite human mind to grasp an infinite concept like this. However in my studies I have found some really bad theology posted on the web. I realize as soon as I say, “It’s like this…” that I’ve already diminished the majesty of God coming to earth in human form, because Christ’s virgin birth, sinless life, sacrificial death and resurrection is nothing like anything we can comprehend. But still, I need to find a way to capture it and explain it to our students.

C.S. Lewis wrote about the need for good philosophy to address bad philosophy. I’m adapting his quote in this instance to say,

“Good [theology] must exist, if for no other reason, because bad [theology] needs to be answered.”

Prayerfully my good theology can answer the bad theology that I’ve been seeing.

Theology is a compound word: Theos (God) + Logos (wisdom, revelation, thought). I’ve been praying that God will give me greater revelation about Him. And I’m grateful that the Holy Spirit has given me some like analogies to use. But I’m still blown away by how unlike anything we’ve ever known was the coming of Jesus to earth. It is truly the grandest of all miracles.

Crave (book review)

 

Chris Tomlinson’s first book is a winner! Sometimes when I read books from guys who have Been There Done That, I get the feeling that they’ve somehow arrived and I’m still so lacking. Crave reads like Chris’s personal journal. He’s a BTDT guy, but he humbly paints the picture of someone still on the journey for more of God (which is also, aptly, the subtitle of his work).

The fifteen chapters all point to the same overarching theme: how can I get more of God? Chris opens up his heart and lets us peek inside to see what his journey has looked like, and what it still looks like. Never did I have the feeling that he was telling me what I should do, but more like he was saying to me,

“Here’s where I struggled; here’s where I blew it; here’s where I overcame; here’s what I’m still learning. Learn from my successes and failures, and let’s go after more of God together.”

Many times I gauge a book by how many passages I highlight, but I couldn’t do that with Crave. Too much of it rang true to me. If I were to highlight the heart-tugging passages, pages and pages would have become saturated with orange ink. Instead of the pages soaking up ink, I let my spirit soak up the truthfulness, applicability and timeliness of Chris’s words.

If you’re craving more of God, if you want a more satisfying relationship with Christ, even if you feel like your relationship with God has parked on a plateau, Crave can help you rekindle your pursuit of intimacy with your Creator.

I am a Harvest House book reviewer.

Out Of The Tomb (Box)

I’m getting more and more excited about Easter Sunday. Jesus is out of the tomb, so we’re going to do something out of the box.

We’ve written an original play called Conspiracy! We’re going to present it on April 4 as a part of our Resurrection celebration at our Easter breakfast drama. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but let me just say, this play is going to take a lot of people by surprise.

There’s no cost for the breakfast, and we’ll be presenting the breakfast drama twice: at 9am and 11am.

Make your plans now to join us… it’s going to be an incredible celebration!

Wind Or Anchor

I so appreciate my church Board!

They are by no means a bunch of “yes men” (especially since one of our Board members is a woman!), but they are definitely great teammates. When I want to dream, they dream along with me. When I’m looking for a new way to do something, they help me explore our options. When I propose that we experiment, they give me the latitude to make the attempt.

They are the wind in my sails.

Unfortunately I’ve been around too many board members who feel it is their job to play devil’s advocate, or to hold the pastor to the time-honored traditions (without any regard to their effectiveness), or to always play everything safe.

They are an anchor around a pastor’s ankle.

French novelist Andre Gide noted,

“One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”

Thanks, Calvary A/G Board, for allowing us to lose sight of the shore every once in awhile so that we can see what new lands God will help us discover. You are definitely the wind in my sails.

What about you, dear reader? You may not be on an official board, but your comments and attitudes can either be wind or an anchor to someone close to you. Which are you?

Holy Curiosity

Brandon and I spent the morning at the Van Andel Science Institute for a great father-son time called “Science On Saturday.”

What fun we had exploring God’s creation close-up and hands-on. Albert Einstein talked about the value of continual learning. He said, “Never lose a holy curiosity.” I’m a big believer in science and exploration because I believe the more we learn, the better we can worship God.

Here’s to lifelong learning and a greater wonder and awe of our Creator.

By the way, pictures of our exploration time are here.