Monday, November 27, 2006
Be Hopeful Rick Warren
Hey man, I know it’s not fun. You went to Syria to be salt and light and instead you feel like a pig on a spit slowly roasting without being able to respond like you’d really like. God knows and that’s all that matters. I’ve had to learn that as a senior pastor and as someone who works globally and you know that, too. It still doesn’t lessen the sting of the pain and price that goes with leadership. Have courage, stay steady--use it as an opportunity to grow. As I once heard a guy say 20 years ago in how they handled criticism, all you have to do is outlast your critics. I think he was right. I also heard that same guy say that sometimes God allows people to say things that aren’t right to keep you humble. If you’re going to bring real PEACE to the world two things are necessary. David exemplified both of these in:
Ps 78:70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; 71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. 72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. NIV
You gotta be the real deal--integrity of heart. You gotta know what you’re doing--skillful hands.
Having learned a lot from you, I tried to use your "teachin on preachin" to bring you a "Rick Warren" message on encouragement and endurance!
HOW TO HANDLE SPIRITUAL ATTACKS!
Matt 5:11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt looses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. NIV
R ecognize God is at work in you.
E xpect significant attacks proportionate to impact.
J ust blow them off.
O pen God’s Word for comfort.
I ncrease your vision every time you’re attacked.
C riticism can always make you stronger.
E xercise discernment.
Ps 78:70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; 71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. 72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. NIV
You gotta be the real deal--integrity of heart. You gotta know what you’re doing--skillful hands.
Having learned a lot from you, I tried to use your "teachin on preachin" to bring you a "Rick Warren" message on encouragement and endurance!
HOW TO HANDLE SPIRITUAL ATTACKS!
Matt 5:11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt looses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. NIV
R ecognize God is at work in you.
E xpect significant attacks proportionate to impact.
J ust blow them off.
O pen God’s Word for comfort.
I ncrease your vision every time you’re attacked.
C riticism can always make you stronger.
E xercise discernment.
NorthWood--You Guys Are The Real Deal
For me, the only normal thing about Thanksgiving last week was getting up, having my personal worship and running. After that, it all changed. Nikki, Ben, Jill, Ti and I decided this year to spend Thanksgiving working at a church in the inner-city of Haltom City and then coming home and eating a late lunch around 3:00pm, with just our family. Normally, people from all over the world, or seminary students, are in our home. We wanted it to be just us so we could work and not make anyone feel obligated.
We headed down to the center and, as we arrived, people were already lined up outside the doors and in the parking lot--it was only 10:15am. As I got closer, I realized they were the workers--not people waiting to be fed. Those waiting to be fed were on the other side--some dressed up as nice as they could--with their families. I got inside and found the guy in charge. He was overwhelmed with all the NorthWood people there to help. At first he said, "Everyone is going to have their own individual server this year!" A few minutes later, he was telling me there are way too many. People were still arriving--some seeing the long line of workers were turned away at the door--they couldn’t even get in to volunteer.
All the volunteers were brought in and I told them, "No pastor could be more grateful to be the pastor of a church than I am today. You guys are just incredible." We called several other shelters to send our people but they were all full with workers, as well. We wound up sending a few hundred people home. It led us to thinking two things. First, we could probably man several homeless centers and places. Second, we need to continue to develop our work in the inner-city to a point that we can lay a model over every domain of the inner-city.
Yesterday, I got to brag on you guys even more. Keep it up. As I was leaving the shelter one guy told me, "You know, maybe Thanksgiving is changing--maybe it’s more than just turkey and football!" Let’s pray it is.
We headed down to the center and, as we arrived, people were already lined up outside the doors and in the parking lot--it was only 10:15am. As I got closer, I realized they were the workers--not people waiting to be fed. Those waiting to be fed were on the other side--some dressed up as nice as they could--with their families. I got inside and found the guy in charge. He was overwhelmed with all the NorthWood people there to help. At first he said, "Everyone is going to have their own individual server this year!" A few minutes later, he was telling me there are way too many. People were still arriving--some seeing the long line of workers were turned away at the door--they couldn’t even get in to volunteer.
All the volunteers were brought in and I told them, "No pastor could be more grateful to be the pastor of a church than I am today. You guys are just incredible." We called several other shelters to send our people but they were all full with workers, as well. We wound up sending a few hundred people home. It led us to thinking two things. First, we could probably man several homeless centers and places. Second, we need to continue to develop our work in the inner-city to a point that we can lay a model over every domain of the inner-city.
Yesterday, I got to brag on you guys even more. Keep it up. As I was leaving the shelter one guy told me, "You know, maybe Thanksgiving is changing--maybe it’s more than just turkey and football!" Let’s pray it is.
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