Labeled

If you talked to those who know me best, at some point it would come around to the fact that I am not a sensitive person. It influences who comes to me for councel, mentorship, accountability, etc. Being insensitive gives me some kind of X-ray vision to see through certain screens and walls that get built up. Those who come to me usually like that about me because it is what they need. I have seen God over the last few years really working on my sensitivity. I have seen Him putting me around certain people and in certain situations where sensitivity is needed and yet I am unable to bow out and simply pass it on to a pastor who cries.

The other day my wife and I were flipping channels and for some odd reason she had the remote. I wasn't completely paying attention, I was in one of those TV comas, but we ended up landing on the very end of Mr. Hollands Opus. We sat there and watched the end, you know the part, he walks up on the stage in front of all this former students, grabs the musician's wand and as he fights back tears, begins to conduct his life's work. It is a stirring peice, as I am watching it I feel eyes on me. I turn and Lori is watching me, just waiting for me to cry! It turns out she stopped on the this particular part on purpose to see if it would make me cry! The Nerve! She said to me, "I want to see you cry." I didn't cry, but assured her that I would probably ball like a baby at her funeral and she could pile that on her plate of satisfaction along with everything else Jesus had already given to her.

I was thinking this morning. We all have labels. Some of them are good, some not so flattering. As I read Ephesians 4 and 5 this morning I was reminded that we are not to be labeled by the things of this world. The letter was written to a people who had grown calloused to the things of God, in other words, they had lost their sensitivity to the things of God. In verse 3 of chapter 5 of Paul's letter to Ephesus he says, "But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints." In others words, if someone were to talk about you, these things should never come up. He is very clear that we have been all these things and more, but have been rescued from that and given a new name, a new identity. Now we are to be named with the things that are named with Christ.

I don't know about you, but I have to quiet some of the noise of my life in order to regain some of my sensitivity. I need this on a regular basis, I have a time weekly for this but sometimes I pass up on it and God has to slow my life down in other ways for me to get it. This week it was a cold or something. It has completely clogged me up and left me with no ability to sing or talk, just type. Slow down, Jeff. Plan some time for nothing. Call it whatever you want. "Inspecting the Vinyl Siding," "Watch the grass grow."

What are the things that label you from the world? What are your bad habits? What is your answer to them? Your plan? Do you lie a lot to make yourself sound more important? Do you steal things from the people closest to you and call it borrowing? Do you download illegal software or take advantage of company software for personal gain without permission? Do you cheat on your taxes? I have been guilt of most all these at some point. Burning someone's cd verses sticking it down your pants at Walmart might make you an "Uncommon Criminal," but a criminal none the less.

SUPPORT UPDATE:

Team we are getting there. I am just over 70%. I think you guys are like me, you need a reminder to send it in. 70% is a close number but not quite there yet, so if you are planning on joining up now is a great time to send in your cards or contact me and let me know what you need.

PRAYER UPDATE:

Lori and I have been sick for the past week. My throat has been the biggest issue that and whatever makes mucus in the body working overtime. I had to bow out of a worship leading opportunity this past weekend. Hayden and Julia luckily jumped in for me and it went really well. We have rehearsal Wednesday night and my throat needs to show up.

One of the best TV series I have ever seen was the HBO series, Band of Brothers. It followed the 101st Airborne thru all of World War II. You met them when they showed up for training in Toccoa, Georgia and followed them to the very end of the war. The great thing you see in the series are the relationships that are built over the course of the war. You begin to understand that these friendships only grow deeper over the course of the war as members of the company die. Their story shows that it is often in the midst of hardship and struggle that real brotherhood is formed and refined. I know that to be the case in my own life as well. The men that I am truly close to are the ones that I have shared hardships and struggles with. I do not mean that I have had struggles or conflict with them. While that is true, I mean that I have shared burdens with them and they with me. Thru the sharing of each others burdens our friendship has deepened.

1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6: 1-2

SUPPORT UPDATE:

I am a little over 30%. I have spoken to some people who recieved letters and they have told me they plan on supporting me, but have not sent it in. I want to encourage everyone who plans on supporting financially to go ahead and send it in. This helps our team know where we are and how much work we have left to do. Thanks Team.

PRAYER UPDATE:

Continue to pray for our team as we are preparing. Specifically we are using a lot of rental gear and borrowed instruments rather than taking our own. While this is a little risky for me, it is the best option we have. Please pray that we will have the instruments we need, but that God would show up at these concerts and do a work even if for some reason no instruments were available.

The Church in England

John Wycliffe, Jacob Arminius, John Calvin, St. Augustine, John Knox, Thomas More. I could keep going, but the idea is that our heritage runs deep and much of it comes from Europe. As I googled “church in London,” I found a very interesting and
telling result. All of the churches had a very rich history page, but not much more in the way of current growth or progress. It seems that churches that once steered the course of the Christendom for some time have now become tourist attractions.
I country whose majority once followed Christ now has lost touch with what once lead them. While statistics will show that the majority of the country still claims to be Christian (70%) a walk down the streets and into these monuments might tell a different story. In twenty years, 1980-2000, the Church of England suffered a 27% decline in membership.
Here is the short of it, the church isn’t growing, it is declining. The committed faithful continue to go and grow older as the younger generation becomes more and more accustomed to hanging out on Sundays rather than going to church. Many now who are parents did not grow up going to church. Many believe that England is a glimpse around the corner and into the future of what America could look like down the road. The growth of Islam in England is a major issue. I think my friend Randy said it best in the book that will hopefully one day exist so that proper credit can be given. He said that there is something that happens to you when you know that you are a minority.
You live differently. You act differently. Everything is bent on you becoming a majority. You know things will not be easy so you do not expect them to be. You are not comfortable or complacent. You stay primed and ready for your opportunity to grow. You seize every opportunity you have to get ahead so that one day you might be a majority. The Christian church started this way, but has changed over the years as it has become the clear majority. It do not want it to sound like the church is the way it is because solely because we do not care anymore. We never really cared that much about the church anyway. In fact, we do not really care about the things of God at all like we should. God Himself is the groom of the church. She is under His care and watchful eye. We need not be worried or surprised that the church will prevail, but as in all other times in history it will be a remnant that God uses. Which could mean that in the years to come we could see Christianity become the minority in the England, as well as in America. There is reason to be concerned. I do not want to preach gloom and doom, although it sounds that way. I want us to remain hopeful. Even in the midst of darkness, God will not let his Bride perish. I also want the love of God to do such a work in our hearts that we are compelled to go and speak the truth in the darkest of places as God is still advancing his kingdom all over the world. He is advancing His kingdom in the hearts of those who would call us enemies, and will one day call us brothers and sisters.