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Back from NC…

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Yes, we are back from our trip to visit the Stickels in North Carolina. There are many things I’d like to say to many people on the heels of this trip, so here goes…

David Stickel is an amazing artist. You must check out his website.

I appreciated getting to know both David, his wife Julie, and their family (Rochelle, Sean, Daniel, Christiana, and Jubilee). They live an amazing life of devotion to God and service to others.

I appreciated all the many who fill up what is missing at Crestview in my absence. This includes people opening up doors, making coffee, running sound, working with the musicians, preaching (Josh’s sermon, Is There Any Hope? is now online BTW), and countless other small things that make the weekend work.

I think that many of us are prejudiced towards internationals, and we need our eyes opened afresh to Gospel realities and categories so that we can relate to them in a way that pleases our Father. This is one of the big lessons that sunk into me this weekend.

At any rate, I should be back with regular posts here soon. Thanks for your patience, prayers and encouragement as this traveling has taken place.

Happy Anniversary Baby…

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Today, I am in North Carolina, visiting one of our missionaries and, in so doing, missing an opportunity to celebrate my 5th Anniversary with the dearest gift God has ever given me: my wife.

5 years ago today, I made this vow before God and the witnesses present, and I happily confess it again today before all who will hear:

My Dearest Meg,

I kneel before you today a frail man in this holy and happy moment. As I make this vow, I realize the seriousness of it. First of all, I am making this vow before our God. God knows our hearts and vowing before Him is a serious thing. Secondly, I am vowing these things to you. You are the only woman I’ll ever say these things to. You know me well and love me in spite of my weaknesses, so this makes it a serious vow. Finally, I am making this vow before all our family and friends. They will be witnesses to make this serious, so I do not make this vow lightly.

Meg, it seems like yesterday God brought us together. I was a whining single person trying to find contentment and you were that chipper little Sonic employee. I remember walking into Sonic and seeing you, knowing that something was different. I remember the great foundation we had in this relationship—diving into the Scriptures, understanding God’s love and praying together. In those moments, God set us on a path to make us one. You are my greatest supporter, my biggest encourager, my best friend, and my devotion. I vow to you today to seek to love you as Christ loved the church. This selfless, sacrificial model will be what I seek to imitate. Not just loving you, but leading you in humble service will be my aim all my days. I want you to increase through my decreasing. I promise to cling to you alone all the days of my life and, someday, when this life ends, may I have led and loved you in such a way that you declare – the body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.

My God, I make this vow before You, knowing it is Your love and headship that makes it possible. Before the foundation of the world, You set Your affection on me, when I was an unworthy, unlovely sinner. You sent Your Son to die on the cross and rise from the dead to demonstrate Your love. May Your grace enable me to be a man worthy of such a woman. May You continually teach me what loving leadership looks like, so that when my life on this earth is over, I may be able to say – the body they may kill, Your truth abideth still, Your kingdom is forever.

I pledge to be all this I am so that Meghan is all she can be. God, will you make us one, as the fellowship the Godhead enjoys is one? I promise all these things before my God, you Meghan, and all these witnesses, this 28th day of August, 2004, that God may be greatly glorified in us, as we pursue glorifying and enjoying Him, forever. AMEN.

As a token of my love to you — promising to love you as Christ loved the church — and promising to lead you in humble service — I give you this ring. — May it remind you of the God who set His love on you — and a husband seeking to imitate that love. — May God perfect this marriage to His glory — in the name of the Father — and of the Son — and of the Holy Spirit. — Amen.

I love you, princess, and hope that God gives you a great day pondering His work in us.

I Wish My Pastor Were More Like…

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Like me, you’ve probably been to a conference or heard someone preach on radio or on the internet and wished you could sit under the ministry of that person consistently. I was really edified, then, when I read this post from Steve Burchett on When Your Preacher is NOT John Piper. This encouraged me in two ways…1) It encourages and exhorts me to be a better pastor, specifically in the ministry of the Word. 2) It encourages and exhorts me to listen better to preaching. Here’s the five tips Burchett gives:

1) Rejoice that your pastor preaches the Gospel.
2) Recognize that certain men are uniquely gifted by the Lord to have an international ministry and appeal, but this is not the norm.
3) If your pastor is (honestly) dull, but he preaches the truth faithfully, a little statement I once heard might be helpful for you to remember: “The mature worshipper is easily edified.”
4) Listen “outwardly” to the preaching.
5) Verbally encourage the preacher(s) in your church.

Read the full post for the expansion of these ideas and, better yet, put these things into practice this coming Lord’s Day.

Sermon/Recap – 8/23

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Yes, the sermon from today, 8/23, is online. It is entitled “Compassionate Father and Lost Sons (1)“. I thought we had a great Lord’s Day morning. Full fellowship and lots of people serving one another and working to make the morning be pulled off in a way that brought glory to God. So I praise God for that, first of all.

I thought the sermon on Luke 15:11-16 was especially good is exposing what lost people see. I have a hard time remembering what it was like to be lost, since I am so entrenched in church culture. This sermon was really eye-opening in that regard to me.

And, it had been some time since we came to the Lord’s table together. That was an especially deep time of fellowship. So, I’m full. What a wonderful work God has done today. And we still have small group tonight.

Senior Pastor Model Questioned…

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Challies pointed to this discussion on the failures of the Senior Pastor model. Now, as a senior pastor, why would I allude to such a thing? I think many pastors, even those how have elder-led church governance, deep down act as if they are the center of the universe. God wants us to be servant leaders, though. Too many pastors feel as if God’s given them a leadership team so that they don’t have to do ministry they don’t feel like doing (often couched in terms of giftedness). But God has called pastors (read: elders) to be shepherds and overseers of the entire work of the church. This means that we are called to do more than just sit as a board and make decisions and that there is more involved than just being relational with people. Pastoring means oversight and shepherding. It means doing things we don’t FEEL like doing and laying down all of our selfish proclivities for the glory of Christ and the good of His bride, the Church. This is the kind of ministry that characterized Christ and the early apostles and this the ministry that should characterize us. Not some SENIORPASTOR-centered limitation that stifles the plurality of leadership that God has ordained in a local body.

More on prep for Lord’s Supper…

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I thought Kevin DeYoung’s post on Tears and the Table is another helpful consideration in our preparation to come together at the Lord’s table this coming Lord’s Day. Here’s the quote from the Heidelberg Catechism that is so helpful…

Question 75 asks, “How does the Lord’s Supper remind you and assure you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all his gifts?” Here’s the answer:

In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken break and to drink this cup. With this command he gave this promise: First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup given to me, so surely his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross. Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the one who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, given me as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood.

Weekend Prep (Part 2)

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I just finished the sermon for this coming Lord’s Day from Luke 15:11-16. It is part 1 of 3 sermons on “The Compassionate Father and Lost Sons”. In this sermon, I hope to engage hearts as God’s Word shows us what it looks like to be lost. Honestly, I think one reason so many of us don’t love the lost like we should is that we have forgotten what it was like to be lost. God’s Word is up to the challenge of engaging us on this idea. Plan to join us this weekend.