Today I mentioned in the service that I am transitioning my weekly congregational e-mail to a new blog I have been developing the last couple months.  This blog will become the means I will use to send a letter to all of you every week.   This blog will also serve a broader purpose of communication even beyond the family at Grace as I communicate happenings in my life in various capacities. 

If you would like to subscribe to this blog or continue receiving weekly e-mails through the blog, go to the top and click “Options when Subscribing.”  This will give you a little better explanation. 

As I mentioned this morning, I am hoping to post a journal every other day while in England to give everyone the ability to take the journey with me on this trip.  Scott Jester and I head out Thursday.  It should be quite an adventure!

This Sunday, we will ask our middle school teens to come on stage so that we can pray for them. We want to spend time as a family praying for them at this crucial stage of their life. Middle school can be difficult years. Look forward to our time of meaningful prayer.

One week from today, Scott Jester and I will be heading to England for some intense house church training for 10 days. There is a church there in Sheffield, England called St. Thomas that is one of the largest churches in England. They have been practicing house churches for many years and have had a major influence in the U.S. and in other countries in the house church movement. They were the ones who originated the triangular UP, IN, OUT language and many other practices that many churches today are following.

In our research of house churches over the last year with other churches and leaders in the U.S., many have suggested that we send a couple of leaders to live the experience of Sheffield. It is called the Pilgrimage, and they offer it to leaders once a year. We will spend our time over there staying with a family of the church and living out many planned experiences within the house churches and with their leaders. There will be one hundred of us there – 25 from the U.S., 25 from the UK, and the other 50 from Europe and other countries. It should be a rich experience and one that we anticipate will have very positive affects for Grace as we seek to move forward with as much training and wisdom as we can – particularly at the beginning of our house church journey. Please pray for us, and please begin to pray for the 60 people going to Mexico, who leave in two weeks.

Also, please pray for Aubrey Anderson (who has led worship for us many times over the last couple years). He was involved in a severe motorcycle accident in Indianapolis this past Sunday. He was seriously hurt but is now slowly improving. He is in an Indy hospital. Praise God his life was spared.

Look forward to our time together Sunday. ..See you then.

Sometimes, it is good to be a Detroit fan.  This is one of those times.

Chris Chelios (2002) and Chauncey Billups (2004) celebrate their titles.

Twin titles? Pistons, Wings are pulling for each other in quest to make history

BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG • DETROIT FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • May 22, 2008

“There are two ways to distinguish springtime in Michigan. One is that it arrives a month later than pretty much everywhere else. The other is that the Red Wings are occupying one half of Michigan’s brain and the Pistons are planted in the other half.

But it is hard. How hard? This hard: The NBA and NHL have held championships in the same year 60 times, and no city has captured both at once. A few have come close: In 1994, the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup and the Knicks went to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, and in 1992 the Chicago Bulls won the NBA title and the Blackhawks were swept in the Cup finals.

But nobody has done it.

Now Detroit has its chance at history.”

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe God has blessed me with Kathy for 14 years. Our marriage has been so blessed by God. I do not deserve my wife, and I don’t deserve our children.

I know that she, as well as they, belong to God, and I try to hold all of them with an open hand. Kathy is my greatest confidant, counselor, and friend. I try hard not to take her for granted, but I know I fail to do that too often.

Even though we are married today, I know that one day in eternity we will simply be brother and sister. I am not sure I understand all that, but one thing I know: I want to be faithful to God as I try to unselfishly love her and our children while I live this short life here on earth. I am thankful for both her grace and God’s grace as I make a flawed attempt at leading my family in Christ.

Today on Mother’s Day we not only spent time with my mom, we spent time as a family watching another mother in her element.  We have a nest that a bird has been making on our porch the last couple of weeks  (see above with the baby birds awake).  Today we watched the mother feeding her babies as she flew back and forth to her nest with food. 

Another example of God’s beautiful creation and the joy of motherhood!

First Corinthians seven addresses a subject that unfortunately is not very common in the church: the benefits of being unmarried. The Apostle Paul made some pretty radical statements regarding his encouragement for people to remain single as he was.

Often society, and even the church at times, makes the importance of family almost a god. Family, as we know it today (parents, spouses, children, etc.) are unique relationships that are tied to this earthly life only (Luke 20:27-36). We will retain these relationships on the New Earth, but they will not be based on spouses, parents, children, etc.

People are encouraged in Scripture to remain single so that they are not distracted by the needs of a spouse or family, and can therefore, have a more undivided focus on Christ (I Cor. 7:25-40). How often do we hear this message in the church?

Even Jesus made some radical statements that did not seem too family-friendly (Matt. 10:34-39, Matt. 12:46-49, Luke 14:25-27). In fact, most of these passages are down right disturbing.

I absolutely love my family with all my heart, but I need to make sure that my love for family never overtakes my love for God. How do we flesh this out? I think we need to wrestle with this question whether we are single or married. I am not sure the answers are as simple as they might first appear.

Does God call some people to full-time ministry and not others?  This is another question I wrestle with and have wrestled with for many years.  My recent study in the first half of I Cor. 9 has caused me to ponder this question. Biblically I am not sure.  I believe God calls all believers to ministry.  That I know.   

Depending on the needs of the local church, there may be occasions where it would be beneficial for a few to devote more time to the ministry and forsake other vocations.  In these instances, the Bible does communicate that there should be compensation for these workers. 

I am not sure that God has a special calling on a person’s life for full-time ministry, however.  Maybe he does or maybe there are simply several factors that are all working at the same time that provide the opportunity for full-time ministry for some.  What are those factors?  How about the following: 

1)    The church has a need for someone to devote more hours to a certain area of ministry that could not be sustained if someone was working full-time elsewhere.

2)    The church has the financial resources to create that position.

3)    There is a gifted, faithful, and available individual who is willing to devote his/her time to this area of ministry while the need and resources are both there. 

Only when all three of these elements are there, should anyone ever be compensated in the church.  The fact is these elements will be applicable to less than 1% of all believers. This is why I am not so sure God “calls” certain people to vocational ministry but perhaps he simply provides the circumstances for full-time ministry in a few unique settings.  Again, I know he calls all of us to ministry in a general sense.

There is a middle of the road circumstance that seems to be common both in Scripture and in the world – if you look at the church worldwide. It is the circumstance typically called “tent-making.”  The Apostle Paul was a tent-maker, which meant he worked part-time utilizing that skill and then received compensation from the ministry to devote the other half of his time to ministry.  He had a unique role of apostle and church planter and devoted his time there. This circumstance is called bi-vocational ministry.

Some people feel strongly that they have been “called” to full-time, vocational ministry.  Maybe God has called them. I don’t know.  I know that I love what I do, and God has provided the circumstances for me to do it vocationally at this time in my life.  Is there a difference between God providing the right circumstances at a particular time and a specific “calling?”  ….  Good question …   Are there implications depending on the answer? …  I think there are …

This past Sunday I taught a message from the first half of I Corinthians 9.  In this section of the letter Paul makes a case as to why pastors should be paid but then explains why he gave up that right while ministering to the church in Corinth.  

I don’t think I would ever specifically choose this passage to teach on if I was randomly selecting passages.  However, when going through a book study, you cannot just skip an entire section because it seems awkward.   This is both the beauty and the difficulty of teaching through a book of the Bible. 

I have to admit I was very inspired by Paul’s willingness to relinquish his rights to compensation for a greater good at the church in Corinth.   I spent some time really thinking and pondering this thought.  What if the church didn’t pay anyone for the purpose of some greater good? 

I probably should not be asking these kinds of questions because it is somewhat self-incriminating.  Throughout Scripture, and certainly within this particular passage, pastors who devote their time to minsitry should be paid by the ministry. 

Has the church today become too professional, however?  What if as an experiment I didn’t get paid for a year?  I would certainly have to seek income elsewhere, probably work a different job on the side, and I would spend far less time in ministry.  Would this hurt or help the church?  Hmmm …

This line of discussion is getting a little uncomfortable for me.  I better get back to my senses.  After all, isn’t the Christian life about comfort and conventional wisdom?