REAL Men RoCK

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

2012-01-22T20:31:00.002-06:00

The United States Declaration of Independence, which was primarily drafted by Jefferson, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The text of the second section of the Declaration of Independence reads:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I want you to think about a few things:

When you have government controlling all aspects of health care there will come a time when those in control of government will decide whose life is worth receiving life saving care.

When you have government providing for your every need there will come a time when those in control of government will decide what you deserve and need.

When you have government regulating all activities there will come a time when those in control of government will decide what is best for you to be happy.

The founding fathers of the United States wrote our constitution to protect us from government controlling our lives. They knew very well because of King George's example what it meant to have government trying to control every aspect of our lives.

They knew that government involvement in our every day lives would mean a reduction of LIFE, limitations on LIBERTY and a restriction on the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS.

I have a question for you: What part of your life, your liberty and your happiness are you willing to let government decide is best for you?

236 years ago the 13 colonies fought a war for freedom from a repressive government. 150 years ago a great war was fought in our country. It was a war all about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It was a war to hold this country together and resulted in the releasing of a people from slavery. Now 150 years later we are faced with a new war. It is a war for the heart and soul of free people. This coming fall an election will take place that could be the most important election ever held. In this election we will make the decision to either remain a free people or to become enslaved to a new and more powerful repressive government.

As a Christian my first pledge is to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but a part of that pledge is to seek justice and liberty for the repressed. I am not ashamed to admit I am a conservative and that I will vote for the conservative candidate. As a conservative I am for less government control and more personal responsibility.

The reality is no human government is or will be perfect. It will always be flawed by the fact that it is a government of fallen human beings. The only government offering true Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness is the one that our Creator is King of.

The purpose of this post is to get you to think about your own thoughts about Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Your idea may not be like mine but I hope you will take the time to really think how much you want another person deciding those three things for you.

What If the Mayans Are Right?

2012-01-03T18:21:00.003-06:00

Actually the Mayans did not predict the end of the world. Their calendar just ends. What could that possibly mean?

It could mean the end of the world and if so as Christians we should rejoice for this would usher in the rule of Jesus over the entire world and God would eventually the coming of the New Jerusalem.

It could mean the Mayans just simply could not picture the world lasting this long. In that case most of us probably would agree that it is amazing that humans haven't wiped each other off the face of the earth along with all other life. For me it just proves God's plan is not accomplished yet.

Often we as Christians get all caught up in the speculation of how and when the end will come. We get so focused on pre-rapture, rapture, post-rapture stuff that we end up not doing what Jesus told us to be doing.

Matthew 28:19-20

The Message (MSG)

^18-20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

We are not given the job of either convicting people of their sins by pointing them out to them. We are not commissioned to convert anyone to our way of life.

Simply put our job is to be an example of how Jesus lived and to teach that to others. As the seed we planted in their life begins to grow we are to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then we are to mentor them in the way of life Jesus taught.

Now I do not believe it is wrong for us to debate or discuss whether there is a rapture or not but I do think when we get so focused on it we take our eyes off of what God really wants us to be doing.

What are your thoughts?

Justice & Mercy

2011-12-04T16:06:00.004-06:00

I recently was transferred from one area of our store to another. I found myself supervising 10 people who were not use to having a manager who actually expected them to do something. Most of the people accepted me and the new direction but three resisted my every move.

Over time two of the three moved on to other departments but one stayed. Over the past month he and I have butted heads often. I have gone home frustrated and he has left angry. Something has to change and today I found out what it is.

In our sermon today at the Vineyard Church of Overland Park, KS, Associate Pastor David Andersen spoke from Micah 6: 8 He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God? As he spoke the Holy Spirit convicted me of my failure to live up to the things God requires of us. To deal justly with others, to grant them kindness and to walk humbly with God.

What is it that needs to change? Me! I have tried to deal justly with my associates but I have failed to grant them kindness or as David put it Mercy. I have been wanting hand out Justice but should have been wanting to grant them Mercy. You see these associates have gotten away with doing nothing because management has not given them any expectations or direction. They have been doing only what comes natural to humans. As an ordained pastor and a follower of Jesus I should have approached them in a different way than I did.

Starting tomorrow I will apply today's sermon to my fellow workers. I will seek out the two associates who left and apologize for how I approached them. I will take the one who remains and share with him how wrong I was and that I will change my approach in dealing with him. I believe if I do I can write a new post in a month or so that will be very different than this one.

I encourage you to go to http://www.vineyardop.org/Vineyard-OP-Audio and listen to the sermon and see what God says to you.

The Race, The Fall, The Victory

2011-12-03T19:54:00.003-06:00

I want to share a couple of videos with you that I believe point out two things we as followers of Jesus Christ need to always remember.

1. We should never give up. We are in a race for life and no matter what we should never give up. We will no doubt fail and fall at times but we must never, never give up.

Watch More Christian Videos on GodVine.com

2. When our enemy falls we should not rejoice in his falling but turn and give him a hand up.

Watch More Christian Videos on GodVine.com

What's your story? Have you fallen? Have you been hurt by others? Have you seen your enemy fall? Let the next video move your heart and get up and continue running the race or turn and give a hand to someone you know is against you. Then watch what God does in your life.

Watch More Christian Videos on GodVine.com

Faith Heritage

2011-11-24T09:18:00.002-06:00

Faith Legacy

By Larry Clark

On April 9, 1865 the American Civil War came to a close and the job of reconciliation began. For Missouri and Kansas the war began in 1855 long before the official beginning of the War Between the States. The history of Missouri and Kansas was shaped by events surrounding John Brown’s raids into Missouri and those of the Border Ruffians into Kansas. In some respects the war has never really ended but is relived every winter when the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jay hawks meet on the basketball courts.

On August 25, 1863 Union Brigadier General Thomas Ewing issued General Order No. 11, requiring all people living in Jackson, Cass, Bates, and northern Vernon counties to vacate the area unless their loyalty to the Union could be proven. Those who were forced out had their houses and barns burned and this area became known as the Burnt District.

At the close of the war, western Missouri, which had been repeatedly ravaged by both armies, retained but few of its former inhabitants and scarcely any churches. At the request of Dr. Henry Kendall the Presbyterian Church commissioned Reverend Seth Gold Clark to assist in reorganizing Presbyterian work on the Missouri/Kansas border. What a daunting task the Presbyterian leadership was asking of Mr. Clark, who served as a Union Chaplain, who was captured by the Confederates in the siege of Atlanta and spent time in the Andersonville prison. He was schooled at the Western Reserve College, which was a hot bed for the anti-slavery movement. Could he gain the trust of a people who had suffered so much at the hands of fellow Americans who were anti-slave and who experienced the results of the order by a Union General Ewing? I believe we can by looking at his record reach the conclusion that Mr. Clark let God be the one who guided him and not his life experiences.

Of his beginnings in Missouri he once wrote: " The Board, by my request, made full provision for my salary the first year. I told them that if I went to such a burned-over country I did not want to intimate to any man, woman or child that a missionary needed anything to eat, drink or wear. I did not say money for a year, except when I paid my bills. The people were just as modest as I was—they never said money to me.

I obtained a hardy mustang pony, and went in all directions, preaching the gospel wherever I found an opening." Does that seem a haphazard method, not to be reasonably expected to produce good results?

In less than three years he organized churches at Holden in Johnson county: Greenwood in Jackson county; Harrisonville and Austin in Cass county; Butler, Lone Oak and Papinsville in Bates county; Hudson (now Appleton City) in 8t. Clair county, and Lamar in Barton county. Each of these churches he supplied until they were able to obtain regular services otherwise. Some years later two of these towns, unable to obtain expected railroads, died a natural death, as did their churches. Two other churches were outstripped by later organizations by other Presbyterian denominations. There remain today five good churches organized before 1870 by that one missionary " settled on horseback."

He was everywhere gladly welcomed. This tent work he was accustomed to regard as the most successful work of his life. During 1877-78 he supplied the churches of Iola and Carlyle, Kans.; 1879-80, Baxter Springs, Galena and Empire, Kans.; 1881-5, Rich Hill, Rockville and Hume, Mo., all three of which he organized.

He then spent ten years in southwestern Kansas, where he found nine counties adjoining, in neither of which was an organized church. During those years he organized eight churches, seven of which, in spite of drought and consequent depopulation of large districts, are still on our " Minutes."

The year 1895 was spent with the Church of Raymore, Mo., which under his labors was much revived, and built a beautiful house of worship.

At last, when nearly eighty, with mind and voice unimpaired, he was forced by physical infirmities to give up his active ministry. It was an affecting scene, when by vote of Presbytery he was " honorably retired," and recommended to the Board of Relief. All knew of his active life, and realized that it was not boastfulness, which led him to rise and say that, able as he then supposed to preach better than ever before, he would gladly sacrifice his right arm rather than go onto the Board, if only he were physically able to continue in the ministry. No service did he ever shirk as too hard, no field as too unattractive. Always and everywhere he loved to proclaim salvation to the uttermost through Jesus Christ. Like every other true missionary, he recognized no bounds of race or clime, but worked and prayed for the universal spread of the gospel. No wonder Miss Mary Clark, the daughter of such a home missionary, should be found today a foreign missionary in distant Persia.

What a record! It will never be fully written on earth. His mission work in at least five states, the organization of 31 churches, most of which during the time of his ministry erected houses of worship, his army chaplaincy, his evangelistic work in prisons, battle fields, mining camps, frontier settlements, and in well-established communities east and west, his vigorous advocacy of education at home and abroad—these are a few reasons why he will be long held in grateful remembrance. A few months ago he modestly wrote of himself that his had been “a very busy, checkered life; possibly some good may result.”

This is the story of my great, great grandfather who was a son of a small farmer. It is very interesting to me because today I am an ordained pastor who is getting ready to become a small farmer. This is a true legacy of faith.

I hope the above story has inspired just one person to take the time to trace their family tree and find out what nugget of interesting history they might uncover.

Restoration Farm

2011-10-21T19:38:00.002-05:00

Greetings.

For the past five years I have been asking God to show me a ministry that my wife, Kat, and I can do together. At first I thought it might be an inner city ministry, then I thought it might be as traveling hosts and fill in ministers but neither of those panned out.

What God finally showed me through my wife exactly as I asked Him to was that we would purchase and develop a small farm. You can read about it at The Restoration Farm. In a nut shell it will be a small farm of 10-20 acres and we will grow crops that have been grown chemical free. We will also raise chickens and goats and give them only feeds that have been grown organically. We will produce cheese and soap from the milk that we get from our goats. We will sell eggs laid by our chickens, ducks and guineas. A key part of the farm will be one or two cabins, the Restoration Cabins, that we will invite missionaries and ministers to come and stay in when they need to be restored from the battles that they are fighting.

Our plan is to make enough income from the farm and other income producing endeavors to fund the two small cabins or RV Trailers that will be used for the Restoration Cabins.

What I want to share in this post is something I have struggled with for years. It has to do with funding for the ministry I believe God is calling me to. What I struggled with was the idea of asking people to fund my dream or to contribute on a monthly basis to that dream or calling. For the longest time I struggled with this funding concept but on the trip that Kat and I took this month to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary I came to grips with the struggle.

I thought the struggle had to do with pride or having to depend upon someone else but on the trip it came to me that it really had to do with expecting other people to fund my dream instead of me earning what it would take to make it come true.

When I was growing up my dad provided me the example by working hard for what he had and spending only what he could afford. He was not a flashy man and he did not need to be the one everyone looked at as an expert.

While traveling to a small farm outside Tulsa, OK I began to realize no one but me can fund my dream. You see my dream is to live on a small farm with Kat and to do what God has made us for. We were made to serve others and the Restoration Farm will provide us with the opportunity to do exactly that. Most of all I came to realize that if someone else was funding my dream I would also be tied to what they wanted for my dream and I would not be free to pursue it from the heart.

I invite you to come read about the Restoration Farm and if you do I hope God will reveal the dream He has for your life.

25th Anniversary

2011-09-28T15:53:00.004-05:00

On October 14th my wife, Kat, and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. It is truly an achievement for us for the following reasons:

1. We are both products of multiple marriages that failed.
2. We both battled emotional difficulties resulting from events we experienced during our childhood.
3. Because of the above two things the expectation was that our marriage would fail.

During the past 25 years we have experienced many road blocks and difficulties that could have destroyed our marriage. These experiences would have destroyed most marriages but because of the following we survived:

1. We are committed to each other.
2. We rely on the Holy Spirit to provide the strength we need.
3. We refused to give up on each other.

Here is why I am writing this post:

1. There are people who are struggling with the affects of having experienced a divorce and are in need of encouragement.
2. People need to know that there is hope after divorce.
3. I am proud of what God has done in our lives and want to share it with others.

I could write a lot more and go deeper but you can read my past posts and get information on my life.

I want to encourage you not to give up and have hope that God can provide a mate for you. Be willing to commit to the other person and to allow God to guide your marriage. Always remember that even though you do those two things you will still face difficulties because you are in relationship with another human being who is subject to the influences of this world.

Why Organized Religion?

2011-08-28T17:54:00.004-05:00

Not too long ago I read an article about how God did not intend for us to have churches bigger than a house church and or leading pastors. The writer made some good points about the draw backs of big churches and lead pastors. What I want to do with this post is state why we need churches that are larger than house churches as well as having house churches.

As far as lead pastors are concerned I want to share only one scripture to show that we need them and agree that the same goals can be met in a house church but it still requires a lead person.

1 Corinthians 12:^27-31 You are Christ's body—that's who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body": apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, helpers, organizers, those who pray in tongues.

But it's obvious by now, isn't it, that Christ's church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It's not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called "important" parts.

But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.

Lead pastors are just one small part of the church and they are needed just as the rest of the church is needed in order to do the work God has called the body to do. Their role is to train the church for service and give direction for the church.

To explain why we need to be a part of a church either as a house church or a bigger organization I will share what I witnessed the other night at a memorial for a young child who had died.

Because of the relationships, which is the key to both a house church and a bigger church, that the father and mother had with other people there was an out-pouring of love and compassion to the parents. True this can and does happen in house churches but usually on a much smaller scale.

God set for us an example through Israel and the Temple of what good leadership is. The human leadership was flawed but what came from the Mercy Seat located in the Holy of Holies was perfect. Today with the help of the Holy Spirit we can have human leaders who are guided by Him and not their own strength.

I do not believe that God is disappointed that we have mega churches or that a house church may have only five or six members. What disappoints him is the attitude we have toward one or the other. God created humans to need leaders and He shows us through the Bible what a godly leader looks like.

The young couple could have faced losing their baby son alone and because they have God's Holy Spirit would have found healing but because of the relationships they had with others in the body the healing is on a faster track. Because of these relationships they were also able to be a witness to the body and others in how they handled the tragic events.

Finally, Although we can be Christians completely secluded from others God does not intend for us to be lone ranger Followers of Christ. Part of our human nature is that we are drawn to leaders and groups. House churches and larger churches allow us the relationships we need to grow. Neither is better or worse than the other and God accepts them both as tools in sharing the gospel.

Guides not Security Guards

2011-08-07T13:12:00.004-05:00

1 Corinthians 4

^1-4 Don't imagine us leaders to be something we aren't. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God's most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Master makes that judgment.

What is God telling us through this writing of Paul's?

First, of all church leaders are not more than what you are. They have faults and even sins just like you. They can make mistakes and mess up people's lives. Not one bit different than the average Joe.

Second, church leaders are servants of Jesus and if they present anything different than Jesus being the leader of the church they are wrong.

Third, church leaders have the responsibility to share the Gospel with others and to share reliable and accurate knowledge with us. They are not our security guards.

Fourth, church leaders should not be overly concerned about what people think about them. They need to be more concerned about what God thinks, no maybe better yet what God knows about them.

Fifth, After all it really doesn't matter how you or I judge them but it does matter how God judges them.

The Temple Today

2011-07-03T20:09:00.004-05:00

Where is the temple today? Does it need to be rebuilt before Jesus can return?

Let's look at some history about the temple first. Jerusalem has seen two temples built on the Temple Mount. The first was built by King Solomon close to 3,000 years ago. It was destroyed by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. The second temple was built under Zerubbabel during the years 520-516 B.C. This was destroyed in 70 A.D. by rogue elements within the legions of the Roman General Titus during the sacking of Jerusalem.

I believe the first question we need to answer is the second one above. Is it necessary to rebuild the temple in order for Jesus to return as King of kings? Our answer can be found in Revelation 19: 6-10 Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of a mighty cataract, the sound of strong thunder:

Hallelujah! The Master reigns, our God, the Sovereign-Strong! Let us celebrate, let us rejoice, let us give him the glory! The Marriage of the Lamb has come; his Wife has made herself ready.
She was given a bridal gown of bright and shining linen. The linen is the righteousness of the saints.

The Angel said to me, "Write this: 'Blessed are those invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.'" He added, "These are the true words of God!"

I fell at his feet to worship him, but he wouldn't let me. "Don't do that," he said. "I'm a servant just like you, and like your brothers and sisters who hold to the witness of Jesus. The witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

Notice that no where in this scripture is the rebuilding of the temple mentioned. What it does mention is that the bride has made herself ready. In 2 Corinthians 11: 2 we find that the bride of Christ will be the church.

The second question concerns the temple. If rebuilding the physical temple is not required in order for Christ to return then what import is the temple? Let's look at 1 Corinthians 3: 9-17 Or, to put it another way, you are God's house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you'll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won't get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn't, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won't be torn out; you'll survive—but just barely.

You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.

So from these scriptures we see there is no need for a physical temple in order for Christ to return and that the bride of Christ will be the church. Christ is now dwelling through the Holy Spirit in the temple which is the church. In order for Christ to return it is the church that has to be made ready not some physical building.

Since the temple is you then you are what is sacred not some piece of ground or some city or some country. Listen again to what Paul tells us: You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.

If you are a follower of Jesus You are the Temple that needs to be ready for His return. If you are a follower of Jesus You are His bride and you must prepare yourself for the wedding.

I'm not sure about you but I doubt I can make myself Holy and without blemish. The good news is the Holy Spirit can do what you and I cannot do.

Jesus Christ is not only returning as King of kings and Lord of lords but will marry the portion of his creation, which is called the church, that accepts Him as King and Lord.

This post was inspired by a sermon given by Mark Warner, Lead Pastor, Vineyard Church in Overland Park, KS.

It's An Attitude

2011-06-17T10:15:00.001-05:00

No matter what you do for a living this little video applies.

Have a terrific day.

Possibly Some Good May Result

2011-06-17T08:27:00.004-05:00

In an earlier post of mine I described a book that I wanted to write about my great, great grandfather, Seth Gold Clark. In this post I want to share with you the beginnings of that book to get your reaction.

Preface By Larry Clark

An Ordinary Day

September 3, 2010 began just like any other day. I got up at the same time. Got dressed and ready for the day, as usual. Brewed my coffee strong like I like it and poured it into the same cup I always use – the one I bought for my dad while I was in Vietnam serving in the Navy. As I was into my second cup, it dawned on me that this was the same date and about the same time that I received a devastating phone call 38 years earlier.

I remember it as clearly as if it was yesterday.

An uncle called. He said my dad was in serious condition, they were rushing him to the hospital and that I should make plans to come home. Tears streamed down my face as I stumbled into my bedroom where my wife, Kat, and young son, (WHO?), were talking in bed. I explained what the call was about. Just as I finished, the phone rang, again. My uncle informed me that my dad was dead. I sat stunned. Now, I knew that I had to make the long drive home and face the fact that my life-long hero was gone.

Overwhelmed with grief, I was unable to stop the flow of tears. As I cried for the loss of my dad, the pain from a disaster I experienced the previous year also flooded my soul. Grief and shame weighed down on me – grief over the loss of a friend and shame because I felt responsible for it. You see, I failed to give grace to a pastor and good friend during a heated disagreement. It literally destroyed our relationship.

I was sure God called me to be a pastor. After the disagreement, however, I questioned whether I really heard from God and doubted that the passions in my heart were from the Lord. Heartbroken from the weight of it all, depression settled in on me. The brief yearning to flee to those things I previously used to medicate my pain called from a distant place from years gone by.

Finishing my coffee, the depression lifted when as thoughts diverted to a random idea regarding my family history. I put my cup down, opened one of the drawers of my desk and pulled out a stack of papers a cousin sent me several years earlier. One document that detailed my family tree caught my attention. I followed back through the Clark family and saw that it originated with my great, great-grandfather, Seth Gold Clark.

My interest piqued. Since it was six hours before I had to be at work, I decided to do some research and see what I could find out about this man. I turned to my computer and did an Internet search on his name. After perusing many of the sites that came up in the results, I clicked on one that referred to a book called, “The Church at home and abroad, Volume 24 By Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.” What I discovered would change everything.

Have you ever had one of those moments that you knew beyond a shadow-of-a-doubt that God divinely directed you to do something? That’s what this was for me. I had been asking God for a divine appointment with someone who would impact my life in a positive way and that it would glorify Him. For me, this was one of those moments and the appointment I’d been asking for. I knew God wanted me to read what was written in that Presbyterian book about the Reverend Seth Gold Clark. The words would renew the dream God placed in my heart and give me hope that all of my experiences in life to that point happened to prepare me “for such a time as this” at this very moment in my life.

The Legacy, the Man

Until I read the passage about my great, great-grandfather, I had no idea of the legacy handed down to me through the generations. Seth Clark's tenacity and ingenuity in ministry and his passion to grow the church and further God's kingdom inspired me. It made me realize that my passion to pastor, though thwarted for the most part by life's circumstances, was from God, handed down to me through generations by the unsung hero, Seth Clark. My role may not be as a pastor to a physical church, but possibly a pastor of sorts through telling Seth Clark's story and sharing how it relates to each of us as members of the Body of Christ. Whether we realize it, as Christians, we are participants and role-models in living out what has been coined as "the greatest story ever told"-- the life of Jesus Christ.

What follows here is it about the life of my great, great-grandfather and the seeds of greatness he planted. This story is one that God revealed at this moment in time to lift you, the reader, up and to move you forward to accomplish your God-given goals and dreams. This story is about a legacy left by a man who, according to his own words, “lived a very busy, checkered life; possibly some good may result.” One hundred and twelve years later that “good” could be the fulfillment of hundreds or even thousands of dreams, which would not have been achieved without God revealing this story to all of us dreamers.

You Are a Leader

Merriam-Webster offers two main definitions for pastor. The one I believe that relates to most of us is as follows:

* a spiritual overseer; a layperson having spiritual charge over a person or group

You may not pastor a church, lead a home group or hold a tangible leadership role in the church or in secular society. You do, however, provide a living testimony of the Kingdom of God. As Christians, we are God's testimony of Jesus Christ and His Saving Grace. How is this "testimony" revealed in and through us? One of our mandates and goals as Christians is to "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15).

We are to "lead" people to Christ through our words and through example. You are a leader. You became one when you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior. So how do YOU lead people to Christ, you may ask? Seth Clark did it through example in living out his everyday life and through his ministry by furthering the Kingdom through church plants -- many that continue to flourish today.

Your Legacy

You, too, can leave a legacy. If you have not done so already, give your life to Jesus. Commit time to pray, attend and get involved in a local church, and read your Bible to enable you to assimilate the Word of God into your life. Your behavior will change over time, and people will stand up and take notice. If you are not comfortable in sharing the Gospel with others, start with preaching to your dog or cat. Confidence is something that comes with experience. As you share the Gospel, even if it's only to the neighborhood squirrels and birds, you will gain confidence that will eventually translate into sharing the Good News with people.

One way I was able to gain confidence in sharing the Gospel was to explain how I used to be, how I am now and what I believe God wants me to be. I ask questions to get people to open up about their lives. Most often it is not a pretty picture, but I always encourage them that I believe God is more concerned in shaping our future, rather than having us relive our past. I tell them that He does not like sin but that He knows His creation does not change instantly. I share with them that He will provide people in our lives to walk with us and help us on our journey of faith.

Go Into All the World …

I believe Seth Clark was that type of man. He went into "all the world" in which God directed him to go. His world encompassed the boundaries of Western Missouri, from Holden in the north to Lamar in the south. Later, his mission was Eastern Kansas ranging from Highland in the north to Baxter Springs in the south and as far west as Liberal. He was restricted by time and geography due to his limited mode of transportation – at first a good strong horse and then a team of horses pulling a wagon. Today, our boundaries are limitless due to the advent of technology and the Internet.

You could be the next Seth Clark of your household, neighborhood or nation, or even the world. Will you accept the challenge to allow God to use you as a living testimony of God's goodness and grace?

If so, read on …

What I want to do with this book and with this post is to get people who read it to think about what God might be up to in their life and the lives of those around them. I believe that God has called people who are followers of Jesus out of the world for a specific mission. This mission could be to change the course of one's family history or it could be to fulfill a calling. No matter what mission you have it all fits into what is called the "Body of Christ." Let's look at what Paul says about this in Romans 12.

Romans 12:3-8:

I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.

If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

I believe whatever our mission is involves the gift or gifts the Holy Spirit us when He took up residence in us.

1 Corinthians 12: 1-11

Spiritual Gifts

What I want to talk about now is the various ways God's Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often mis-understood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable. Remember how you were when you didn't know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It's different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can. For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say "Jesus be damned!" Nor would anyone be inclined to say "Jesus is Master!" without the insight of the Holy Spirit.

God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:

wise counsel

clear understanding

simple trust

healing the sick

miraculous acts

proclamation

distinguishing between spirits

tongues

interpretation of tongues.

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.

How does this part of the book speak to you? Think about it. What gift has the Holy Spirit given you and what mission does that involve. You might not be being called to be a "Billy Graham", a missionary to some foreign land, a street preacher, or a great Sunday school teacher but God is calling you to be the very best YOU that you can be. That involves using the gift in the way that best stretches your comfort zone.

I invite your comments and please keep in mind what you share could be what makes this post meaningful to others who read it.

Two Letters to Two Fathers

2011-05-30T09:25:00.003-05:00

This morning as I was cleaning my papa cave I found two letters that were written by sons to their father. One written in 1969 and the other in 1986. One was a letter of praise and the other one of condemnation. The difference between the letters was dramatic in wording and purpose. One was to a father who deserved being honored and the other was to a father who had failed to love at all cost.

Both letters brought tears to my eyes.

Let me ask you a question what type of father did you have? What type of father are you?

If you had a rotten father like the one the son had who wrote the letter condemning his father I understand your pain. I encourage you to go before God and ask Him to give you the ability to forgive your father and to restore your relationship with him.

If you had the father like the one who the son who wrote the letter honoring his father I understand your joy. I encourage you to go before God and ask Him to bless your father and to continue to strengthen your relationship with him.

May God bless you no matter which father you have or had.

The Restoration Farm

2011-05-29T15:39:00.001-05:00

This was posted at The Restoration Farm on May 29, 2011

My wife, Kat, and I went to look at an 8 acre piece of property today and I forgot to take my camera but I did take one photo with my phone.

The photo to the left is taken looking back to the entrance.

The photo below is of the property.

The next photo is how we think the property layout looks like.

This piece of property is about the right size for what we want to do and it is within the right mileage from Kansas City.

As we build our farm and the center we will encounter disappointments and even set-backs but if we keep our faith that God gave us the dream and that He is behind us we will in the end accomplish it with His help.

We believe that above all else what we do must bring glory to our God and our Savior Jesus. If what we do does not bring glory to God no matter what is accomplished it will be worthless.

I encourage you to purchase the book "The Dream Giver" written by Bruce Wilkinson. In this book Bruce describes people and giants that will enter into your life as you move forward to achieve your God given dream. He also points out how some people will try to rob you of your dream and that takes many forms. He points out that you must move forward towards your dream and not wait for it to happen. He points out the giants of no money and discouraging people who will try to hold you back. He shows you how to keep moving forward in faith and how to work out those situations.

Sometimes part of your dream has to be change so that you can achieve your dream.

I believe the winning formula for success is: God gives the dream + we believe and move forward to accomplish it + we surrender the dream back to God = God bringing the dream into reality. God gave me the dream but in the end it is really the dream that He wants to accomplish through me. My job is to keep moving forward in the accomplishment of the dream.

You might be asking what exactly is a dream? It is different for each individual. One thing for sure is it burns in your heart when you either think of it. For one being the best mom is the dream and for another being the best dad is it. For one having a small bakery is the dream and for another it is running a major corporation. For another it is feeding the homeless and for another is being a pastor of a church. No matter what your dream is if it is God given, you dedicate your time and effort to achieving the dream, which He gave you and if you give it back to Him then it will bring Him glory as long as you remember who the dream is actually for in the first place. In my best English, "It ain't for you", "It's not about you", "It's all about bringing glory to our God, our King, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our dream has gone from being a 20 acres sight down to possibly 8 acres but it is still a BIG dream because it is still God's dream for us. I encourage you to follow what God has placed in your heart and don't let people or giants or stand in your way. It is up to you not someone else to do what God has placed in your heart. Your dream was designed for only one person, YOU. Unless you do it, it won't get done.

I believe you can do it. More importantly God believes you can do it or else He would not have given you the dream in the first place.

Judgment Day

2011-05-21T09:55:00.003-05:00

Well today is May 21st, 2011 and a church has predicted that today is Judgment Day. I had a guy at work yesterday come up to me and as he shook my hand he told me that it was good knowing me. I was stunned because I did not have a clue he was leaving our company so I asked him where he was going. He replied well since Saturday is the Rapture I know I won't see you again.

We then had a discussion about the difference between having faith that Jesus is the savior and the King and having faith that some event will save us. I shared with him that my faith is in Jesus and if there is a rapture I am covered and if there isn't a rapture I am covered.

In the end he told me that although he is not a believer his understanding is salvation comes only through Jesus. As I turned to walk away I told him he has a correct understanding of salvation.

If salvation depends upon us doing or believing certain events will happen then Jesus is not the only way to be saved. It would be Jesus and the correct formula of actions and believing in Him.

The Bible says enter by the narrow gate. Believing that Jesus plus other actions save us is a wide gate but believing that our salvation is found only in Christ is a very narrow gate.

Matthew 7: 13-14 (the Message) "Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention."

Concerning the Rapture and end times I believe God will cause events to occur as He wants and that it is ok to debate these things. In the end God only knows when the end times will occur. My job is to do His will up to that time.

The guy at work is actually closer to being a true follower of Jesus than he thinks he is. The question for me is what am I going to do with this conversation come next Monday morning?

Working on the Dream

2011-05-18T21:49:00.004-05:00

Not too long ago my wife, Kat, and I began to work on a dream that we and another couple have. You can read about the dream at The Restoration Farm blog. Kat and I have decided to take part of our retirement and sell our house and invest in this dream.

Lately I have been struggling with part of making the dream work. Old insecurities are surfacing that bother me. I am trying to discover the root of what I am feeling and so far I am not sure why I am struggling. Let me just state that these insecurities involve finances.

The last couple of weeks Kat and I have looked at several pieces of property that looked good to us but we did not get that feeling of this is it!

We have faith that God is going to lead us to the right property but we must put our faith into action by going out to look. I heard once from a friend that Faith was best spelled RISK. I have added to that by stating that Risk is best spelled WORK. I believe I reveal my Faith by the Risk I take in performing Work. My works do not save me but instead they flow out of me because I am saved.

I have heard people say that they have faith that God will deliver them but their actions did not necessarily show it. It is very true that we are saved by grace and as a result of our faith in Jesus Christ. It is also true that our faith is revealed in our works or good deeds. So faith without action is a useless faith.

James 2: 14-17 Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

I believe that the idea behind The Restoration Farm is something God has stirred in us. I have faith that He will guide us through the process. He will IF and there is always an IF. He will if we will use the resources that He has given us to make it happen.

The Restoration Farm is both a money making and non-profit adventure. We will grow crops organically and in hoop houses and make a profit. We will also fund what I call The Restoration Center, which is a couple of small cottages and a center for Christian servants who need to be restored can come to free of charge. These servants could be pastors, missionaries, lay leaders. They could be hurt or have fallen in service. It will be a place where can spend some time recovering and begin the process of restoration, which God loves to do.

If you have a dream that God has placed in your heart take a moment and visit and then have faith by risking to work it out. Faith is not found in playing it safe by not taking action.

Please visit The Restoration Farm and follow our journey. Hopefully each week I will have something new to share.

From Meaningless to Greatness

2011-05-04T08:54:00.005-05:00

He woke as he does every morning with his cat meowing for food. He slowly slipped out of bed and slipped on his house shoes and walked to the kitchen. Just another day that would end without meaning. Have you ever awaken with those thoughts? Have you looked back at the end of the day and thought what purpose was there in what you did that day?

I found the following story in the workbook, "One 2 Won" by Joe White and I hope it will help you see that even a day without meaning can be the stepping stone to a great achievement.

The winter of 1498 was memorable for its bitter cold. The city of Florence, Italy, was blanketed in snow, and Michelangelo Buonarroti's heart was as heavy as the gray clouds that dipped low and blocked out the sun.

The Grand Duke of Florence, Lorenzo de' Medici, had been the young artist's benefactor. It was this great supporter of the arts who had given Michelangelo the numerous slabs of marble he needed to refine his incredible talents. But before Michelangelo was able to create his masterpieces, the old duke died, and his son, Piero, had no use for a sculptor on the payroll. So the great artist's talents were put on the shelf, and Michelangelo sat and waited. That is, until a few days before a great party at the new duke's palace.

In what looked like an incredible answer to his prayers, Michelangelo was summoned before Piero. He'd never been to the palace, even when the grand duke had been alive, and he hurried down the streets, past the guards, and in to see Duke Piero.

While he was afraid to believe it, the rumor circulated by the servant who came to fetch Michelangelo was that he was being commissioned to carve a great statue! At last!

When Michelangelo arrived at the palace, he was ushered into a large room where not only Duke Piero de' Medici but also a crowd of the duke's friends awaited his arrival. He was indeed told that his services as a sculptor were needed by his new patron. All he had to do was to go down to the garden, and he'd find all the white marble he needed to make a masterpiece for the duke's party.

Can you guess by now what the duke was actually asking Michelangelo to do? All the white marble in the garden was... snow. Perhaps the greatest sculptor of all time had been brought tot he palace to create a snow sculpture for a royal dinner party!

Just imagine for a moment what was going through Michelangelo's mind as he walked from the room and down to the garden. If it had been me, I'd have been furious. What an embarrassment! What a colossal waste of time - to put all that effort into something that would melt as soon as the sun broke through the clouds!

Michelangelo could have stormed out or at least left the duke's presence with an angry, unwilling heart. Instead, he simply went to work. Hour after hour he gathered snow and packed it tightly into a great mound. Then, at last, he began to carve.

Working from top down a head appeared, and then the shoulders, limbs, torso, and legs. A figure was emerging from the white snow that would be viewed as a joke by the Duke Piero and his guests, and then melt away in no time.

Yet still, Michelangelo worked. That's because he had decided in his heart that even if all he could do was make Florence a more beautiful place for a few hours - he would put all his heart into carving that block of snow. And then it came time for Piero's party.

The guests arrived. The snow carving finally was unveiled... and instead of laughter came breathless silence. The duke and his guests were staring in awe and amazement at the figure in the snow that seemed able to breathe and walk and even sling a rock at a giant.

The Duke was silenced by the tireless efforts of the young artist who had created a masterpiece of the Biblical David made of snow.

Then, amazingly, that statue turned into marble. Not that hour, of course, for it wasn't magic. But in the days that followed, Michelangelo's David was replicated in marble - given to him by none other than Duke Piero himself. This priceless work has drawn millions of people to Florence since it was unveiled - all because Michelangelo was willing to carve something of beauty out of snow...

It is true you and I might be a great artist or we will never stand in front of a duke to be commissioned to do a great work of art. It is true that our work, our ministry might not appear to be accomplishing anything. This story about how Michelangelo took a similar situation and turned it into something that would last beyond his life can illustrate how what you and I are doing can be something that will last beyond our life time.

If you are a follower of Jesus you have been given a commission to share what He has done in your life. You never know what will happen as you sit with someone and share with them your faith in Christ. That person could be moved by the Holy Spirit to respond and then later become someone like Billy Graham and be used by God to reach millions.

One day, like the statue Michelangelo made of snow, our work will melt away and what is revealed will depend upon what we did with what God gave us when we received the Holy Spirit as we accepted Jesus as our savior. If we put our whole heart into using the gifts and talents that God has given us in serving Him then what seems to be unimportant and meaningless now will turn into a great work of art in His hands.

So what are you going to do with the snow God has placed in your life?

Looking Out the Window

2011-04-23T09:18:00.003-05:00

Kick, our cat, is an in door cat and he got out the other day and spent three days in unfamiliar surroundings. He was in all practical purposes lost. Alone and scared to the point of not responding to his master's call.

On the third day I found him hiding in our neighbor's shed. Still too scared to even respond to my out stretched hand but then my fingers touched his head. Instantly his body relaxed and I heard him purrr. Slowly I coxed him out into the open so that I could take him up in my arms. Holding him tight I moved to the house. Now he is safe inside.

This morning as I was having my coffee I noticed Kick was looking out the window that looks at the neighbors shed. It seemed he was longing to be back outside and experiencing the adventure again. I began to think about the times God's Holy Spirit has rescued me from my failings and sin and how I sometimes sit looking at the past remembering the excitement sin brings. I am in constant need of the comforter's arms around my life protecting me from what I am weak to.

God answered my prayers about our cat Kick and if He will answer such a ridiculously little prayer like that imagine what He will do when we pray for the big things in life. Big things like getting to work and home safely, protection for our children, blessings in our labor, healing of broken hearts and bodies and the deliverance and forgiveness of sins.

God will not force Himself on you but when you ask Him to get involved He will rush to action. Be aware though that often how He acts is not what we expect but it is what we need. It is hard sometimes but we still need to believe that He is faithful even when His actions do not add up to what we think we need.

Go ahead and ask Him for something BIG or something SMALL. Wait and see what He does.

Scared and Alone No More

2011-04-21T21:51:00.002-05:00

Today as I walked around my place of employment I got the assurance that my cat, Kick, was okay and then as I drove home I got the sense that I would rescue him this evening. Both proved out to be true.

I and my grandkids have been praying the last couple of days about this little cat. Praying for God to protect him and to deliver him from being lost.

What really struck me today is this question: "Do I spend as much energy and time praying for people who are hurting or who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior?"

I have to admit I am guilty of being more concerned over my cat than I have been for others.

Not only did the Holy Spirit give me comfort and encouragement but He convicted me of my failure to be concerned about others.

Scared and Alone

2011-04-20T10:04:00.005-05:00

Have you ever felt scared and alone? Have you ever been so scared that you ran from the very one who could save you?

Yesterday our house cat, Kickin, got out of the house. He was out all day without us knowing about it. When we got home we began to look for him outside. We found him under the neighbors porch but he was too scared to come out. When he did come out it was because the neighbor came home and stepped on the porch and off he went. We still have not found him.

All night I keep thinking how alone Kickin must feel and how each noise adds to his feelings of begin afraid.

I have to admit there have been times because of my sins I have been afraid of the one who can save me. My fear like Kickin's is unfounded fear.

I have no doubts that God experiences many of the same feelings I am right now. I am concerned about Kickin's safety, about his feeling afraid and his feeling of being alone. As I sit here writing this I am grieving just as God must do over my little fury friend. The really good thing is God can provide through the Holy Spirit the comfort and safety that I cannot provide for Kickin. Like Kickin is right now I am totally helpless to solve his feelings or even my own. The good news for me is unlike Kickin who has a limited master I am loved by the one who holds everything together.

Although Kickin is just an animal I know that God cares about him and that gives me comfort.

Are you feeling afraid because of the sins in your life? You might have had an abortion, stolen from someone, or even killed someone. Your fears are valid but our Creator desires that you call upon Him for His justice found His Mercy and Grace. Of course His forgiveness does not release us from the consequences of our actions but it does relieve us of the debt we owe to Him for our sin.

If you are someone fearing God's judgment on your sins stop right now and ask Him for His forgiveness and discover the peace that will come when He spreads His arms around you relieving your fears.

Simple Actions Do Make A Difference

2011-04-13T14:12:00.002-05:00

I have a rule I try to go by when either meeting with women other than my wife. I try to include another male, leave my office door open and in the case of having to drive some place I either drive separately or make sure we have another man present with us.

I do this not because my wife doesn't trust me or because I have temptations but I do it because it avoids a possible situation where temptation does occur and then my wife will have reason to not trust me.

Today I went to look at some real estate and our agent is an attractive female. I met her at the real estate office and since the property we were going to look at was about 30 miles away she asked if I would like to ride with her. I politely declined and let her know that I have a rule that I do not ride alone with any female other than my wife.

Once we reached our destination she made the comment how much she appreciated what I said when she asked if I wanted to ride with her.

Just a simple action made a big impression. By the way she has read REAL Men RoCK and I could have very easily have made a bad impression because I did not live up to what I talk about here.

Now of course I am not perfect and I often fail at even the smallest things I write about here but this time I passed the test.

Simple Actions Do Make A Difference.

Maybe Land for the Dream

2011-04-12T20:09:00.003-05:00

The other day my wife, Kat, and I looked at 27 acres that we hope to turn into a farm. It would be a farm with Hoop houses, goats, chickens, ducks and guineas. Here is a slide show of the property. I hope you enjoy it.

27 Acres

Has Your Check to God Bounced?

2011-04-12T06:57:00.003-05:00

Have you ever written a check thinking that you had the funds in the bank to cover it only to find out a few days later that it bounced?

I have some bad news for you: "Every day you write one to God only to have it bouncing on you." Wait you might be saying I have never had a check bounce that I write to the church or I have not failed on my obligations to the church because I do all of these good deeds or even as some think "I keep the Sabbath, the Holy Days and observe all of the rules, or I go to church every Sunday and pay my tithes, etc.".

Let me explain what I am talking about. We often have the idea that the checks we write to the church or the good deeds we perform make us right with God. That is a wrong way of thinking because it is a gospel of Jesus plus. It is also wrong because no matter how hard we try we will always end up sinning. Oh we might not commit murder, rob a bank, have an affair but almost every day we are going to get angry with someone, lie, think more highly of ourselves than others, or not grant grace or mercy to others. At that point our check bounces and we again owe God.

Paul tells us in Romans 3: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

and he tells us in Romans 4: 4 when we try to work for our salvation we miss the mark

Romans 4: 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.

Now you might be thinking so what is the good news in all of this. What can I do to be made right in God's eyes?

Paul answers that in Romans 3: 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

and in Romans 5: 9-11 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!

The Good News about your bounced check is the Banker has set up an over draft system that covers you. God knew you and I could not possibly go through a day, a week, a month, a year or a life without sinning and there by bouncing our check to Him and falling back into debt. To cover our failing to have sufficient fund deposited in His bank He provided a way to have our bounced check covered through the sacrifice of His son.

The bad news you will never be perfect in this life and the Good News is God knows that and made a way to shield you from your sin. All you have to do is recognize He is God, His son Jesus died for you and rely on His Holy Spirit to help you in your daily walk.

Sounds simple doesn't it? The answer is Yes and No.

This post resulted from a sermon heard at Vineyard Church in Overland Park, KS.

The American Dream Stolen

2011-04-03T10:50:00.003-05:00

It is true! The American Dream has been stolen and replaced by one of success, fortune and fame. It is not only true about the American society as a whole but it is also true in the Church.

It seems everyone is dreaming of a bigger home, a faster car, more powerful ipod, iphone, or laptop. It seems that success is measured by the clothes one wears, the car one drives or the home or area one lives in.

Let's look at what the founding fathers of the United States saw as measurements of success.

From the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The United States Constitution was written to protect the people from their government taking away those rights.

The American Dream is really about being free and having the security that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness protected.

The American Dream is not found in a bigger home, a faster car or even wealth. Our founding father's knew that a home can burn to the ground, wealth can disappear over night and those can be replaced but freedom true freedom is much more valuable than any material thing.

Today we find mega-churches and other church organizations preaching a wealth and health message instead about the freedom found in Jesus Christ. I believe God is not against good health or even wealth but He detests a life that is focused and measured in those.

I am reading a book by David Platt that encourages us to "Take back your faith from the American Dream". The book is called, "Radical" and is all about Jesus teaching about what it means to follow Him. I encourage you to get this book and read it with an open mind. Let God show you where in your own life you have abandoned Jesus idea of what being His follower is all about. Then if you are Radical enough make the changes to become His disciple.

WARNING!!!! To be a follower of Jesus will mean buying completely into His teachings and selling out to His way of life.

David Platt is the pastor of The Church at Brook Hills, which is a 4,000 member congregation so I think he knows what it means to get caught up in the thrill of seeing numbers as success.

3 No Nos in America

2011-03-20T20:00:00.003-05:00

I am writing this post in response to something I heard in a sermon.

If you live in America today and consider yourself a Christian there are many things that people who are not Christian think you should not get involved in. Some believe that Christians are intolerant and self-righteous when they take a stand on things. They say Christians are hypocrites when they sin and in many cases they are. I believe these things are come from a misunderstanding of what a Christian is. In the next paragraph is my definition of a Christian or at least how I understand my relationship to God.

A Christian is a follower of the one who is known in history as Jesus of Nazareth and the one they believe is the Christ the savior of the world. They believe He was the son of God and that through His death they are forgiven and through His resurrection they have hope of being raised from the dead some time in the future.

The story of Jesus is not a new one because there have been many such stories about life, death and resurrection but none of the other stories involve the Creator coming to stand in man's place for the sins they have committed. There is no God like that in all of the other stories.

A follower of Jesus is one who knows they are not perfect and that they will still commit sin in some way even after accepting Jesus as their savior. They see the sins of others through that lens and so a true follower of Jesus does not make judgment of others even though they may voice opposition to their sin. A true Follower of Jesus is tolerant of other people even though they may not be tolerant of their behavior. They know that they are not that much different than them. A true follower of Jesus knows that they stand equally before the Creator God and Judge of the world but that because they have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus when it comes to sentencing He shows to the Judge His wounds to show that the debt has been paid in full. A true follower of Jesus knows that they are no more righteous than anyone else and they know that any righteousness granted to them is given by the Creator.

What are the Three No Nos in America? They are three areas of life that other people say Christians have no right to voice an opinion on. The three areas are:

1) Criticism of the religion of Evolution. Make no mistake about it Evolution is a religion. It is the belief that man is subject to no one and that nature is the God of the universe. If one who believes they are really educated who just apply the ability to think freely that God gave them they would have to admit it takes more faith to believe life just spontaneously came into being. I believe that anyone who believes in Evolution is being purposely ignorant of nature because they do not want to acknowledge the possibility of a Creator because they would have to then submit to that God.

2) Criticism of the Homosexual life style and the belief that people involved in those life styles were not born that way and can choose to change.

3) Criticism of Abortion. Believing that abortion is the taking of a human life is offensive to some because they assume that it is a condemnation of the person who has had an abortion. It never ceases to amaze me that the very people who are against the death penalty in America are the biggest supporters of abortion. Check out the abortion facts and Rick's Pro-Life Blog.

I am going to state my beliefs about the 3 No Nos.

1) Evolution has been shoved down the throats of young school children as fact. It is a LIE!

2) The Homosexual life style is wrong and people involved in it are living a LIE!

3) Getting an Abortion is the ending a human life and it is all based on a LIE!

Those who really know me would probably say that I am pretty tolerant of others and accepting of them. Even though I believe the world has been lied to about the 3 No Nos I believe that God desires to heal the wounds caused by the belief in them. I am in no way better than people who believe evolution is fact, that homosexual life styles are natural and that having an abortion is nothing more than removing tissue matter from a woman's body. The only thing I have going for me that they currently do not and that is Jesus will step between me and the Judge when my judgment day comes.

Usually I encourage people to leave a comment about how they were encouraged by a post but this time I invite any criticism one might have concerning this post. Just be aware that as a follower of Jesus I am set in my ways because you see God asks us to conform His standards not the worlds. Giving in to the 3 No Nos is the world's standard and I will not conform to it.

Putting Faith Into Action

2011-03-10T21:31:00.003-06:00

Last night I had the opportunity to watch two people put their faith into action.

I was with my daughter as a man worked on the brakes on her car. When he had finished putting the new brakes on she asked him how much she owed him. She had been told that the labor for putting on new brakes was about $100 or maybe a little more. She stood there shocked when he told her $40.

She handed him more than he asked and we left.

Now you might be asking what does this have to do with putting ones faith in action and that is a good question.

Here is my take on what happened.

The guy works as a mechanic in a dealership and gets paid for each car he works on. He has a family and one of his children is a special needs child. The day he worked on my daughter's car was a slow day and he spent all day at the dealership and did not work on any cars so he received no pay for that day. Getting $100 for the brake job would have gone a good way toward replacing the income he did not receive that day.

The church this man attends teaches that we are to help the widows, single moms and orphans. He was putting into practice what he was being taught. The roots of his actions are found in James 1: 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

My daughter is a single mom who is working and going to school. Every dollar is needed as she takes care of four children with little other financial assistance. When she heard him say what he was charging she could have given him exactly what he asked for but instead she gave him more although not as much as she thought she would have to pay. She was practicing what the church she attends in paying a man a fair wage for the services he performed. Her actions are based in Proverbs 3:27-28 (The Message) 27-29 Never walk away from someone who deserves help;
your hand is God's hand for that person. Don't tell your neighbor "Maybe some other time" or "Try me tomorrow" when the money's right there in your pocket. Don't figure ways of taking advantage of your neighbor when he's sitting there trusting and unsuspecting.

Both the man who worked on my daughter's car and my daughter put their faith into action. Their actions were not acts to be saved but acts resulting from their salvation.

As I walked to my car the Holy Spirit moved me to tears because I was able to watch two followers of Jesus acting in such a way that made the Father smile.

Blessings Instead of Cursing

2011-03-06T14:42:00.003-06:00

Wow, heard a great sermon today by Ed McGlasson about the Father's blessing.

One of the things he brought up was how many churches, like the Vineyard, have focused on breaking the curses of fathers which are rooted in what we find in Exodus 20: 4-6 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

What we sometimes do when quoting scripture is to stop before we share the entire scripture. For example in the above verses God says He will curse those who make for themselves idols but we fail to read down to verse 6 where He says He will love for a thousand generation those who love Him and keep His commands.

I am sure someone reading this will say but wait I am not guilty of having idols or making an image I bow down to but see if any of these fit:

Do you put more energy into any of these than you do knowing God? Pornography, greed, money, jealousy, material possessions, love of self over others, drinking, drugs, smoking, gambling, and the list goes on and on. These can be all idols that you have placed before God and result in cursing instead of blessing.

The hope we have is that when we accept Jesus God will exchange the cursing He has placed on us for having those idols in our lives and replace it with blessings found in Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (New American Standard Bible) 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Today's sermon was about the receiving and granting the Father's blessing and this was just a small part of the sermon. Over the next few days I will try to share other points Ed made. I hope that if any of you experienced having a lousy father that you will come back to read the other posts.

I believe God wants to give you a blessing that you can pass on to your children, to others and even to your father if he is still living. He wants you to have this blessing because you are a new creation in Christ and you are one of His adopted children.

He wants only the best for His children.

Planting Seeds and Unscrambling Eggs

2011-02-23T18:31:00.003-06:00

I want to share a friend's Blog and Book with you. This guy has a neat story to tell that many of you will identify with and I hope that it brings you hope and encouragement.

His Blog is called, "Planting Seeds"

His Book is called, "Unscrambling Eggs: My Journey With God"

Rick and I have been friends for about 7 years. We worked together to form a men's ministry at the Vineyard Church that we attended. We went through Vineyard Leadership Institute together.

We both know that God has called us to do a work that involves sharing our life story with people and hopefully by doing so sharing what God has done in our lives.

Please pay Rick's Blog a visit and then consider purchasing one of his books. I believe for 10 USD you can't go wrong. Who knows God just might unleash in you the gift you have been hiding or have stuffed away due to life circumstances. Now is the time to become alive and do what you were made to do.

Which Chair Do You In?

2011-02-09T17:47:00.006-06:00

I want to begin by recommending a book for you to read, "30 Days to Experiencing Spiritual Breakthroughs" by Bruce Wilkinson.

In this book he brings up in the book three types of chairs to describe our relationship with God.

The First Chair stands for Commitment. The person sitting in this chair has chosen to wholly love and serve God.

The Second Chair stands for Compromise. The person sitting in this chair has chosen to try to get for themselves the best that both God and the world have to offer.

The Third Chair stands for Conflict. The person sitting in this chair has chosen not to respond to God in any meaningful way, remaining at odds with eternal spiritual realities.

Let's look at the Third Chair first. God is trying to get our attention each and every minute of the day. I believe He uses the shows we watch, the music we listen to and the people we hang with to talk to us. Of course the number one way He talks to us is through the pages of the Bible. Having said that if a person is not reading the Bible then God has to use other methods to get their attention.

The person sitting in the Third Chair might seem to be doing okay but they are constantly facing conflict. God is trying to get their attention through the movies they watch, the music they listen to and the people they hang with. Usually the movies are not edifying or encouraging, the music they listen to are usually not a positive message and the people they hang with often are heavy drinkers, drug addicts or involved in illegal activities. As a result their life is full of conflict.

Now the person in the Second Chair attends Church now and then come Monday they fall back into their old ways. They look good one day and then the rest of the week they have to try to cover up how often they have their hand in the world's cookie jar. I call this person a CINO, Christian In Name Only.

I am going to focus the rest of this post on the person sitting in the First Chair which actually is made up of three different types of chairs.

There is the Easy Chair, the Straight Back Chair and the Stool.

The Easy Chair: The person sitting in this chair is a Christian but they are comfortable where they are. They do not see any reason to continue to grow and they believe they have overcome the world.

The Straight Back Chair: The person sitting in this chair is moving from being a Christian to becoming a Follower of Jesus. They often see that they need to make some changes and seek help in changing the things they struggle with.

The Stool: The person sitting on this chair has decided to commit their entire life to living a godly life. They are not always perfect but they every now and then they achieve perfection as described by Jesus in Sermon on the Mound found in Matthew. The Stool actually can be one of three different types.

The first stool represents the majority of Followers of Jesus. They are committed to Him and sit in an uncomfortable chair and are constantly examining their lives and making changes to overcome.

The Follower of Jesus that sits on this stool is similar to the one that sits on the first stool but this Follower is busy helping others.

The Follower of Jesus that sits on this chair is like the first two Followers but this person is ready to spring off of the stool at a moments notice to do the calling of Jesus. They completely trust in the Lord and do not rely on any other support except for God.

This post applies to every person who reads it. They are either non-responsive to God, responsive to God but straddling the fence, or they are committed to God and respond to each and every message from Him.

The question for us is "Which Chair do we sit in most often?" If we are honest we have to admit our goal is to sit on the one legged stool but more often than not we are sitting in one of the other chairs. The good news is God will patiently work with you to help you sit in a chair that is more committed to Him.

A Dream Moving to Reality

2011-02-02T08:00:00.008-06:00

My wife, Kat, and I are working with another couple in the pursuit of a dream. That dream is a mini-farm with hoop houses, small greenhouses, for year-round organic gardening.

I am reading a book I "Mini-Farming Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre" by Brett L. Markham.

It describes Intensive Agricultural Techniques. This techniques uses raised beds and grow vegetables more closely together than traditional row methods. It is said that this technique requires less land--thus requiring less water and labor while reducing the need for weeding. Intensive gardening produce the same amount of food in 20% of the space or even less that that, leading to greatly reduced costs.

The advantage of using a hoop house or a greenhouse is that it will allow for year-round gardening. Even when it is freezing outside the temperatures in a greenhouse can reach 70-80 degrees. Of course not all vegetables can be grown in winter and I will later be posting more information on which can and cannot be grown. For now this post is about the dream.

What is behind this dream?

Kat and I are in our early sixties and we have decided to take what little we have in the stock market and invest in a small farm of 15-25 acres. We believe that investing in this farm will be a better use and bring us a better return on our money. The main reason we are doing it is to become self-sufficient through having the resources for growing our own food. We have purposely chosen a small farm because it is something older people can manage.

On this farm we will build three different sized greenhouses to be used for different purposes. We will build a small barn to be used for farm animals and for a learning center for teaching other people interested in either greenhouse or hoop house gardening.

Mini-Greenhouse Farming also requires less expensive tools and can almost be done using the tools pictured in the photo to the left.

I will post photos as we move forward in pursuing this dream. The first photo will be of the land we purchase. The photos following that will be of the greenhouses, the cabins and the barn that we build.

One of the most important reasons we are pursuing this dream is because we feel it can be a ministry where we can use the gifts and talents God has given us to help others.

I hope this post will stir in you a desire to pursue your own dream.

Poor Thoughts

2011-01-21T08:31:00.006-06:00

I want to share an letter that was sent to the Kansas City Star Newspaper and hopefully you will share with me what it stirs in you. As you read it consider what thoughts you have when you encounter the homeless or poor. At the end of this post I will share my thoughts.

What's next for the poor

Mr. Mike Hendricks
Kansas City Star Newspaper

I read your report on the raided homeless encampment with great interest.

My name Richard G. Tripp, and I'm the director of an organization here in Kansas City Missouri, Care Of Poor People, alias{ COPP INC}.

I personally have visited that homeless encampment and met with its residents on several occasions over the past couple years. And yes we have supplied materials to help them survive, and would do it again, I myself years ago lived in a camp on Cliff drive years ago.

I am appalled that the Kansas City Police Department would take the time to harass and destroy an encampment were no proof of illegal activity is apparent. And why technically they were on city property, I personally do not believe that it warranted the actions that was taken, I might add it is questionable whether or not in this case the police acted lawfully.

Fresno, California had to pay out a $2.35 million judgment for destroying the property of homeless people in a similar raid on an encampment. I do not know if this issue has been adjudicated yet in the courts in Kansas City. But the simple fact are I do not believe it's time for our city fathers to have an open season on homeless people. Even the illegal campers have rights, and there is no indication that the rights of the campers were respected by the police.

Unsheltered homeless people have a shockingly high mortality rate. Bulldozing an encampment in the middle of winter is a form of life-threatening assault that should be prosecuted not condoned. Speculation about whether these homeless people would've been better off at city Union mission or any other shelter is simply speculation, you have to walk a mile in their shoes to understand why they would rather stay in a camp or go to the shelter. In the Kansas City metro area we have approximately 15,000 homeless brothers and sisters in that same metro area we have approximately 3,040 beds, Mr. Hendricks would you please do the math.

The question of whether or not a Meth Lab was found at another homeless encampment is needlessly inflammatory. I can absolutely guarantee you that meth labs are not common among the homeless, and no one tares down private homes willy-nilly just because that's were meth Labs are frequently found.

There is a broader moral question here. Our Declaration of Independence speaks of the unalienable right to life. This is something that most American soldiers have died for and countless others have worked and organized and fought for. Should the Kansas city Police Department be empowered to callously deprive people of the very right that is at the core of our nation's founding, and for no better reason than that maybe somebody complained.

On the Times when I visited this homeless encampment I was impressed by the mutually supportive spirit of the people who live there. No evidence has been brought forward that they were harming anyone. I am alternately applauded at the police action and I feel that, at the very least the KC police chief should be questioned as to why he allows his officers to terrorize vulnerable and defenseless homeless people. Of course, that won't happen, but unless some other facts come to light-- and I will keep an open mind, I believe this action at the homeless encampment by the Kansas City Police Department was morally repugnant police misconduct that should not be tolerated in the city that boasts one of America's most livable cities.

Richard G Tripp
Director COPP INC

The homeless stir different thoughts in different people. My thoughts turn to considering how Jesus would react to encountering a homeless person. Would He focus on their need or their sin? Let's look at a couple of examples from the Bible and we will get an idea of what He would want us to do as well.

Matthew 23-25 From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God's kingdom was his theme—that beginning right now they were under God's government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives. Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all. More and more people came, the momentum gathering. Besides those from Galilee, crowds came from the "Ten Towns" across the lake, others up from Jerusalem and Judea, still others from across the Jordan.

John 5: 1-6 Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem.

Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, "Do you want to get well?"

7 The sick man said, "Sir, when the water is stirred, I don't have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in."

8-9 Jesus said, "Get up, take your bedroll, start walking." The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off.

9-10 That day happened to be the Sabbath. The Jews stopped the healed man and said, "It's the Sabbath. You can't carry your bedroll around. It's against the rules."

11 But he told them, "The man who made me well told me to. He said, 'Take your bedroll and start walking.'"

12-13 They asked, "Who gave you the order to take it up and start walking?" But the healed man didn't know, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd.

14 A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, "You look wonderful! You're well! Don't return to a sinning life or something worse might happen."

15-16 The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus—because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath.

So what should our response be? I will leave you with the following words of Jesus and you decide.

Matthew 25: 34-36 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

37-40 "Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

To be honest there have been times I was fearful or disgusted when encountering the homeless but then I considered the above scriptures and was convicted that I was fearing out of a lack of understanding and I was disgusted because I lack compassion.

The Traveler's Gift

2011-01-07T09:06:00.004-06:00

2010 was a very difficult year for me. It began with me realizing I was in the wrong place for the wrong reasons.

Nine months earlier I had agreed to join a church and to be part of a team for all of the wrong reasons. I let myself be talked into joining the church because I allowed the desire to be in full-time ministry overcome my lack of feeling of being called to become involved. I made the move to make something happen that was not in God's timing.

Over the course of those nine months I became more and more disappointed by my feelings of having been mislead by the pastor I was working under and I began to question his honesty and an apparent lack of transparency. These feeling grew out of what appeared to be the same actions I had experienced from other leaders. Notice I said, "appeared to be."

One day I openly addressed my feelings with him and his response was not one of understanding. I felt instead of listening to me he had turned everything around and told me I was the one with the problem. I then reacted out of the wounds I had received from other church leaders and I did not grant him grace. I did what I had done in the past and ran from the situation. Notice that I said, "I felt".

On this very blog I wrote some strong words about the situation. Although I did not mention any names it was evident if you knew of the situation who I was talking about. I failed to live up to being who I claimed to be, "a Follower of Jesus" and instead allowed old wounds to control me.

Now you might be asking "What does this have to do with the book"? A good question.

I became stuck in a pit last year because of the events that happened to me and the actions I took. It resulted me in being in a pit that I dug for myself. I believe God led my wife to purchase this book for me to free me and lift me out of the pit I was in. This Blog post is for those who are stuck in a pit and feel there is no way out.

In this book by Andy Andrews are seven keys to us getting out of the pit, the rut, the situations we find ourselves in. But it means that you must take the seven keys and actually put them into practice. Andy uses encounters with famous people of the past to make these seven keys. What I will do is list the keys and you must go out and read the entire book to get the full benefit. You can purchase it at your local book store or at Amazon.

Here are the key points of the book that we need to exercise on a daily basis:

1. The buck stops here.

You and I are response for our lives and we should quit blaming others for our failures. I have heard people even pastors blame others for their failures. If we want to get out of the pit we must stop blaming others for us having fallen into it.

2. I will seek wisdom.

You and I need to seek wisdom founded in truth. One definition in Webster's dictionary is: the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships. One of the greatest reasons we fall into pits is because we did not discern the qualities of the people we developed relationships with.

3. I am a person of action.

You and I need to become people of action. So often all we do is talk about our dreams and visions but we never move forward to accomplish them. It might be out of fear or out of what we believe are realities. What we need to do is have the faith to act. We will never get out of the pit by feeling sorry for ourselves. We will only get out if we take action.

4. I have a decided heart.

You and I need to have a heart that is focused on the dreams and visions that God has given us. We must make the decision to move forward and not stay safely in the pit. An undecided heart will keep us in the pit but a decided heart will move us to begin the climb out.

5. Today I will choose to be happy.

You and I need to make the choice each morning that no matter what comes our way we will remain joyful because of the blessing that we already have. I do not care what situation you find yourself in there is someone else who has it worse. Choosing to be happy will help us to endure the pit as we move towards getting out of it.

6. I will greet this day with a forgiving heart.

You and I need to daily forgive someone of their actions. Often the person we need to forgive most is found in the mirror. If we cannot forgive others and ourselves then we will continually find ourselves struggling at the bottom of the pit.

7. I will persist without exception.

You and I need to persist to move forward in the pursue of the dreams and visions God has given us. Unless we do the things that God has planned for us and through us will never be accomplished. As we begin to make the effort to climb out of the pit we will face new obstacles but if we persist each of those will be stepping stones to reaching the top of the pit.

I believe that right now through this Blog post God is speaking to you. I do not have a clue what He might be saying to you but you do. I know the fears you might have, I know the feelings of doubt you might have and I know that the Creator God is SO much BIGGER than your fears and doubts. Let's begin today to truly trust Him and use the seven keys above to bring Him glory by moving forward to accomplishing the dreams and visions He has given us.

If we will do this I can promise you 2011 will be a much better year than 2010 was.

Clark Family Reunion

2011-01-01T23:48:00.006-06:00

Some photos from the Charles Clark, SR kids family reunion.

Charles, JR, Peg, Larry, Teresa and Jim

The whole crew except for Kia and Cierra Wilson.

We hope to make this the first of many more.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Welcome to 2011

2010-12-31T21:21:00.003-06:00

Many people make new year resolutions and almost all fail to even begin to achieve them. What happens is people get discouraged because their goal is SO LARGE.

I want to encourage you not to make some grand goal and then find yourself at the end of next week embarrassed that you even made it. I instead encourage you to make weekly goals that are achievable each week. Expand them each week building on the week before. By the end of 2011 I believe you will have achieved a lot more than you would have setting many goals at the beginning of the year.

My goal next week is to finish one chapter of the book I am writing. If I follow that plan I should have the book completed in twelve weeks and ready to hand to my editor. Then hopefully by March 2011 it will be ready to head for publication.

What is your goal next week?

Happy New Year

Glory In Highest Chris Tomlin Video Christmas Compilation

2010-12-25T16:52:00.000-06:00

2010 in Review

2010-12-22T08:59:00.004-06:00

2010 in Review

I want to encourage each of you to sit down and think about the last year. I have and it has been encouraging.

2010 began for me with disappointment and failure. I became disappointed with someone and then I failed to give grace when it was called for. Not only had I failed but I began to question whether God had actually called me to be where I was. I began to doubt that He wanted me to be a pastor and I was beginning to look at my dreams as being mine not having come from Him.

I spent six months not seeking or accepting any leadership roles waiting for God to show me what He wanted. After six months I got nothing.

Then on the seventh month, September 3, as I hit a low point God had me read about my great, great grandfather, the Rev. Seth Gold Clark. Not only did God revive my dreams but He showed me that even my failures can be used in making me a better follower of Jesus. He also showed me that he actually did call me to the place I had been, He showed me that although I was 50% of the problem I was learning what my part was and that I was willing to admit it.

So a year that began with disappointment and failure is now ending with victory and joy.

What about your year? You still have nine days to make corrections in the course this year has gone. You still have time to apologize, repent, forgive and reconcile. But it will mean that you must let your pride go.

Being a follower of Jesus requires that we lay our pride down before He can actively be involved in our lives.

May you find peace and joy at the end of 2010.

Are You Called to be a Missionary?

2010-12-16T09:13:00.006-06:00

What do you think of when you hear the word Missions?

For most of us it brings up visions of a person or group of people taking ten days off of work and heading to a region of the earth foreign to them. People from the United States heading to Africa or South America and lending a helping hand to a children's home or providing medical care that normally is not available.

But is that all there is to missions?

In Matthew 28 we get our commission to share the gospel.

16-17 Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.

18-20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

From this one verse I get that our mission is not only to those areas like Africa and South America but it could be as close as the person in the apartment or house next to you.

What I want to do with this post is to provide some ideas for where you could find people who are foreign to you and to the gospel of Jesus.

Here are a few places that you could find people who are in need of the gospel:

Nursing homes, bars, night clubs, children homes, jails, prisons, hospitals, shopping centers, your next door neighbor, coffee houses, the waitress at your favorite restaurant, your child's coach or teacher or the employee break room at work.

You see the mission field is not limited to some distant land it is as close as a few steps from where you are right now as you read this.

Right now you might be saying well I am not one of the ones called to share the gospel and it might be true that you are not called to travel into the inner city, under the bridges where the homeless live, or to some foreign land. But to really answer that question let's look at one more scripture.

I am not going to list the entire scripture here but I will focus on what I feel is the most important words. Matthew 25: 31-46

37-40"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

Friends our mission field is any place that people are hungry both physically and spiritually. It is where people are suffering, sick, in prison or in need. Your neighbor may be in need just as badly as the person in Africa. The co-worker who feel he or she needs to drink their blues away is as needy as the one in South America who is steeped in strange religious practices.

God may not have called you to be a missionary to some foreign country but He has called you to be a missionary to those foreign to Him.

Now how exactly does someone who is not trained to be a missionary be a missionary? Simple share your life with someone else. After all your life is something you know better than anyone else. As you get to know your neighbor share with them where you have been in your life and where you are now and where you believe God is taking you. Share with them the Good News that God has done in your life. Then give them hope that He wants to do the same in their life.

Finally, be patient as God works in their life. Although Salvation is granted instantly, life long habits are not always instantly changed. Most of the time God uses the process of developing a relationship with the person in the changing of life controlling habits.

I hope that by now you see that God has called you to missions. More likely it is to be a Home Missionary not a Foreign Missionary. In my view both are equally important to increasing the Kingdom of God.

God is calling all followers of Jesus to take the Gospel into ALL of the world.

Possibly Some Good Will Result

2010-12-14T20:47:00.009-06:00

Preface

September 3, 2010 began just like any other day. Little did I know the strange turn of events that would soon to unfold. I poured the strong brew into my favorite coffee cup, one that I purchased for my dad while I was serving in the Navy fighting the war in Vietnam. As I poured the second cup, it dawned on me that this was the same date and about the same time that I received a devastating phone call 38 years earlier from one of my uncles. I remember it as clearly as if it occurred yesterday. My uncle told me that my dad was in serious condition and they were rushing him to the hospital. He said I should make plans to come home. Tears began to stream down my face as I stumbled into the bedroom, where my wife, and son were laying in bed talking. I explained to her what the call was about. Just as I was finishing, the phone rang again. My uncle informed me that my dad had died. Now stunned I knew that I would have to make the long drive home and face the fact my hero had died.

Unable to stop the tears flowing from these memories, my thoughts turned to what a disaster the previous year had been. Now the tears of memories of that day were mixing with tears resulting from the shame I felt because I failed to give grace to a pastor and friend during a heated disagreement. It destroyed our relationship. The questions about whether God really intended for me to work as a pastor. The doubts that the passions I had were really from God. Heart broken and overwhelmed by it all, I could feel myself slip into the beginning stages of discouragement. I was feeling the old pulls of wanting to flee to those things that I have used to medicate my pain.

As I finished my coffee, a random thought regarding my family history moved through the nerve cells of my brain. I put my cup down, opened one of the drawers of my desk and pulled out a stack of papers a cousin sent me several years before. One document detailed my family tree. I followed back through the Clark family and saw that it originated with my great, great grandfather, Seth Gold Clark.

My interest perked and since I had six hours before I needed to be at work, I decided to do some research and see what I could find out about this man. I turned to my computer and did an Internet search on his name. After perusing many of the sites that came up in the results, I clicked on one that referred to a book called, “The Church at home and abroad, Volume 24 By Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.” What I discovered would change everything.

Have you ever had one of those moments that you knew without a shadow-of-a-doubt that God divinely directed you to do something? It is interesting that I would feel this because I had been asking for a divine appointment with someone who would impact my life in a positive way and for God’s glory. For me, this was one of those moments and the appointment I had asked for. I knew without a doubt God wanted me to read what was written in this book about the Reverend Seth Gold Clark. The words would renew the dream God placed in my heart and give me hope that all of my experiences in life so far happened to prepare me for (OR “for such a time as this”) this very moment in time.”

Until I read this passage about my great, great, grandfather, I had no idea of the legacy handed down to me through the generations. I was inspired by Seth Clark's tenacity and ingenuity in ministry and his passion to grow the church and further God's Kingdom. It made me realize that my passion to pastor, though thwarted for the most part by life's circumstances, was from God, handed down to me through generations by the unsung hero, Seth Clark. My role may not be as a pastor to a physical church, but possibly a pastor of sorts through telling Seth Clark's' story and sharing how it relates to each of us as members of the Body of Christ. Whether we realize it, as Christians, we are participants and role-models in living out what has been coined as "the greatest story ever told"-- the life of Jesus Christ.

What follows is about the life of my great, great grandfather and the seeds of greatness he planted. This is about what God revealed at this moment in time to lift each reader up and to move them forward toward accomplishing their God given dreams. This a book about a legacy that was left by a man who, according to his own words, “lived a very busy, checkered life; possibly some good may result.” One hundred and twelve years later that “good” could be the fulfillment of hundreds or even thousands of dreams, which would not have been achieved without God revealing this story to those dreamers.

Merriam-Webster offers two main definitions for pastor. The one that I perceive relates to most of us is as follows: * a spiritual overseer; a layperson having spiritual charge over a person or group

You may not pastor a church, lead a home group or hold a tangible leadership role in the church or in secular society. You are, however, a living testimony of the Kingdom of God. As Christians, we are God's testimony of Jesus Christ and His Saving Grace. How is this "testimony" revealed in and through us? One of our mandates and goals as Christians is to "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15).

We are to "lead" people to Christ through example and through our words. You are a leader. You became one when you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior. So how do YOU lead people to Christ, you may ask? Seth Clark did it through example in living out his everyday life and through his ministry by furthering the Kingdom through church plants -- many that continue to flourish today.

You, too, can leave a legacy. Commit time to pray, attend and get involved in a local church and read your Bible to enable you to assimilate the Word of God into your life. Your behavior will change over time and people will stand up and take notice. If you are not comfortable in sharing the Gospel with others verbally, start with preaching to your dog or cat. Confidence is something that comes with experience. As you share the Gospel, even if it's only to the neighborhood squirrels and birds, you will gain confidence that will eventually translate into sharing the Good News with people.

One way I was able to gain confidence in sharing the Gospel was to share how I use to be, how I am now and what I believe God wants me to be. In some way I try to get the other person to share about their life. Most often it is not a pretty picture but I always try to encourage them by sharing that I believe God is more interested in what we can be than what we have been or are now. I share that He does not like sin but that He knows His creation does not change instantly and that He will provide the people in our lives to walk with us.

I believe Seth Clark was that type of man and he went into "all the world" in which God directed him to go. His world encompassed the boundaries of Western Missouri from Holden in the north to Lamar in the south. Later his mission was Eastern Kansas ranging from Highland in the north to Baxter Springs in the south and as far west as Liberal. He was restricted by time and geography due to his limited mode of transportation – at first a good strong horse and then a team of horses pulling a wagon. Today, our boundaries are limitless due to the advent of technology.

You could be the next Seth Clark of your household, neighborhood, nation or the world. Will you accept the challenge to allow God to use you as a testimony of God's goodness and grace?

Chapter One

What Started It All
A Home-Mission Enthusiast
“The Church at home and abroad,
Volume 24 By Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.”

The Rev. Seth Gold Clark, who died at his home in Appleton City, Mo., on Friday, April 22, 1898, was one of the most enthusiastic and indefatigable home mission pioneers in the central West. For over fifty years incessantly active in the work he loved, he was one of the best examples of a missionary type now fast disappearing.

He was born in Delaware county, N. Y., August 13, 1817, and, after a boyhood spent on farms in New York and Ohio, graduated at Western Reserve College in 1843 and Western Reserve Seminary in 1846. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Cleveland, October 7, 1845, and began at once supplying three little mission churches in Ohio. From there he went to Bainbridge, O., where he was ordained in May, 1847, and remained two years. During his next pastorate, at Aurora, Ohio, his health failed. Then followed eleven years' service as district secretary of the A. B. C. F. M., and three as chaplain of the 10th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, from 1862 to 1865. Ten days before Atlanta was taken, he was captured and held at Andersonville Military Prison, but was soon released as a noncombatant. The twenty days' furlough he was then given to visit his family he " spent in helping reelect Lincoln." The mayor of Cleveland telegraphed the President to keep him in Ohio till after election, which he did. Unable on his return to the army to reach his regiment, then on its march to the sea, he was assigned by Gen. Thomas to the work of raising funds for the Sanitary Commission. In August, 1865, he became chaplain of the House of Correction in Detroit and of the Seamen's Friend Society. This he kept but a short time until, on January 2, 1866, he left his home to take up the work in which he was to become most successful, and for which he is best known.

At the close of the war, western Missouri, which had been repeatedly ravaged by both armies, retained but few of its former inhabitants and scarcely any churches. At the request of Dr. Henry Kendall, Mr. Clark came to Missouri to assist in reorganizing Presbyterian work. Of his beginnings here he once wrote: " The Board, by my request, made full provision for my salary the first year. I told them that if I went to such a burned-over country I did not want to intimate to any man, woman or child that a missionary needed anything to eat, drink or wear. I did not say money for a year, except when I paid my bills. The people were just as modest as I was—they never said money to me. I obtained a hardy mustang pony, and went in all directions, preaching the gospel wherever I found an opening." Does that seem a haphazard method, not to be reasonably expected to produce good results? In less than three years he organized churches at Holden in Johnson county: Greenwood in Jackson county; Harrisonville and Austin in Cass county; Butler, Lone Oak and Papinsville in Bates county; Hudson (now Appleton City) in 8t. Clair county, and Lamar in Barton county. Each of these churches he supplied until they were able to obtain regular services otherwise. Some years later two of these towns, unable to obtain expected railroads, died a natural death, as did their churches. Two other churches were outstripped by later organizations by other Presbyterian denominations. There remain today five good churches organized before 1870 by that one missionary " settled on horseback."

From 1871-76 Mr. Clark was financial agent for Highland University. The last two summers of that time were spent with a missionary tent outfit, furnished by Sunday schools in the East. He traveled through northern Kansas and southern Nebraska, preaching daily to congregations averaging 100 on weeknights and from 150 to 300 on Sundays. This was strictly pioneer work in regions beyond ministers and churches. He was everywhere gladly welcomed. This tent work he was accustomed to regard as the most successful work of his life. During 1877-78 he supplied the churches of Iola and Carlyle, Kans.; 1879-80, Baxter Springs, Galena and Empire, Kans.; 1881-5, Rich Hill, Rockville and Hume, Mo., all three of which he organized. He then spent ten years in southwestern Kansas, where he found nine counties adjoining, in neither of which was an organized church. During those years he organized eight churches, seven of which, in spite of drought and consequent depopulation of large districts, are still on our " Minutes." The year 1895 was spent with the Church of Raymore, Mo., which under his labors was much revived, and built a beautiful house of worship.

Mr. Clark was twice married; in 1866 to Miss Lucy Peck, who died in 1873, leaving five children; and, in 1875, to Miss Emma Perry, who survives him.

Other Notes:
To support what I found in the above book I found this in “The Ministerial directory: of the ministers in the Presbyterian Church in the United States” By Edgar Sutton Robinson

Seth G. Clark, born 1816 in Masonville, NY, B.A. 1843, M.A. 1846, Lic. 1845, Ord. 1847 by Presbyterian Church of Cleveland, Pastor Bainbridge, OH 1846-49, Pastor Aurora, IN 1849-50,
Vesper Presbyterian History Lincoln Center, KS

There is a tradition that Father Morrison, of Salina, preached the first Presbyterian sermon in our county. He was a good old man and usually took his text from some place in Revelation.

Next came Rev. Seth Clark, with Elder Taylor. They ran what the boys called a "Presbyterian circus." They used a very large tent for preaching services. Seth Clark was an eloquent preacher. Elder Taylor helped by selling and distributing tracts, books and Bibles. They thought the prospects for a Presbyterian church at Lincoln Center very poor. This was in July 1873.

http://www.ozarkscivilwar.org/archives/83
The average family relocating to the Ozarks of the 1840s and 1850s very well found adversity at every turn. Disease, social isolation, economic want, political divisiveness, familial dissent, weather, cultural challenges, homesickness and unfulfilled self-determination all conspired to break down the ties families and communities held. The emergence of urban centers in the decade before the Civil war created commerce, a spiritual community, and educational opportunities for the scattered families, and provided a natural draw for modern life, as it were, with a tangible possibility for the future Ozarks.

In the chapters that follow I will describe what I gleamed from this information and show you how to apply it to your life. I once heard Michael Savage; a conservative talk-show host says that people 100 or 1,000 years ago are no different than people today. We have the same human nature today that Adam and Eve had when they were driven from the Garden of Eden. The lessons we can learn from how Pastor Clark successfully planted churches in an era when many had been hurt by a bloody civil war. That is what this book is about and I hope it encourages you to discover the dream God has planted in your heart and then begin the process to move forward in accomplishing it.

So what is your story? What was your past? What is your life like now? What is it God wants you to become?

These are important questions and as I write this book they are questions I intend to answer for myself and I hope as you read the book you will answer them for yourself.

When the book is done and you have read the last page I hope that you will get the sense that God loves you as you are but He wants you to be so much more. God is willing to walk with you and move on your behalf as you open your life up to His involvement.

Most of all I want you to find hope and encouragement as you read the next chapters of this book.

Possibly Some Good Will Result.

Kansas City and Lawrence Area

2010-12-12T17:09:00.004-06:00

I am considering starting a new group or groups for men in 2011.

If there are any men in the Kansas City and Lawrence, Kansas area interested in meeting together as a group to discuss those things we men face that keep us from achieving the dreams and goals we set contact me via my email.

Although I am a Christian I will not push Jesus on you but I will share why I am a follower of His.

lnclark1950@gmail.com or hit the contact me button on the right side of the front page.

Read the post I did before this one for details about what I believe is necessary for a group to be successful.

Larry Clark

Why REAL Men RoCK

2010-12-12T09:38:00.004-06:00

REAL Men RoCK is a website that approaches the various life situations and habits that often men face. It covers these events with honesty but without being judgemental. I have faced these events myself and I know that approaching men who are struggling with life controlling habits or who have suffered some form of trauma do not need to be preached at.

What men need is for a man or men to rally around them and give them encouragement and support. They do not need it forced on them but to know that they have someone available when they are ready to talk.

REAL Men RoCK = R ighteous E ncouraging A ccountable L oving Men R ely on C hrist's

K indness

Here is what that means:
1. No one and I mean no one can be righteous on their own. If any person, including pastors, tell you they are righteous they are wrong! Righteousness comes from a friendship with God.
2. Men need other men who encourage them even when they mess up.
3. All men, even pastors, need to have someone who will hold them accountable. Accountable to their dreams, their goals, to battling their problems and even sins. That by the way is done through encouragement not condemnation.
4. Men need to know it is okay to be loving and to love other men.
5. Men need to be allowed to be men.
6. Men need to know they can rely on other men but most of all they need to know they can rely on Jesus who is the Christ.
7. Men need to know that it is not by their efforts that they achieve these things it is a direct result of the kindness of Jesus.

REAL Men RoCK is not only a Blog but a small group where men can be themselves but are Moving Forward to become the men God wants them to be. Some will move faster than others but all will move without being forced or condemned. For some RMR is a stepping stone to a group that holds a stronger view. For some men they need to move in steps.

God rarely does things instantly but usually works through that dreaded thing called relationships.

If you would like more information or need prayer check out the older articles I have written and leave an Anonymous post on the one that speaks to you.

Keep in mind I do not have all of the answers but I will take the time to find you an answer from research he does in the Bible or at other websites. I will be honest, frank but I will not through bull shit at you. One of the things I will not do is let you deny you have a problem. Some of the biggest deniers are called pastors. When they deny they have problems they are trying not to be brought off of the pedestal that we have placed them on.

I have been guility of using things such as pornography, pot to medicate my pain and I have battled depression along with discouragement. I have had feelings of unworthiness and fear. I still find myself battling these desires and feelings but they are struggles now instead of defeats. I am no different than you.

It is not easy to talk to someone you do not know and it is not easy to build new relationships. Trust is built not just given.

If you want to know more about Larry visit http://larry-n-clark.blogspot.com/

I hope that you will come back to RMR and read more articles and that Jesus will use one to speak to you. I do not track people who visit and never contact anyone unless they request me to.

Best regards

Larry Clark

For Christmas 2010 Do An Act of Kindness

2010-12-09T10:38:00.005-06:00

Last year the way we celebrated Christmas with our grandkids was to give each of them one gift. Then we took the money we would have spent on them and we purchased gifts for two young girls who would not have gotten much. The looks on our grandkids' faces and the girls who received the gifts were the best gifts we could have received.

What we are planning to do this year is make up 8 boxes filled with new gloves, socks, various personal supplies and food that we will give to the homeless in downtown Kansas City.

No one can prove that Jesus was born on December 25th but that does not mean we cannot prove He lived. The example of giving at this time of year was provided by the men who visited Jesus sometime after He was born see Matthew 2:1-12. Now granted they were bringing gifts to the King of kings but the example is we give to others out of honor of that King.

Pinning down exactly when Jesus was born is not as important as having the heart of the Magi and of the child who grew to be the Messiah. We celebrate His birth because without that having taken place His death on the cross would not have meant what it did.

In 15 days we will celebrate Christmas and we will gather with friends and family to exchange gifts. I want to encourage you to take the time to find just one person who you can give something to that they would not have had unless you had given it to them.

I can promise you two things will happen: 1. The person will be blessed and 2. You will be blessed by what you do. Every time I have helped with Angel Tree or have given to another person and most of the time I do so anonymously God has blessed me.

I would like to hear about the times you have blessed others or when others have blessed you. By doing so you will be acting in Jesus place in the life of another and it would not be wrong to share with them why you are doing what you are doing.

As 2010 Draws to a Close

2010-11-28T17:22:00.002-06:00

If you are like me you have been hurt by other people but like me you have to admit you are guilty of having hurt some as well. Both these things happened to me this year. The pain and the shame set me back. As we end this year I think it would be good for us to consider what God tells us through Jesus about how we must handle both situations.

In Matthew 23-24 Jesus tells us:
"This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.

Jesus is telling us that if we go before the Father and lay our petitions down before Him and do not consider those who have something against us then our prayers are not heard.

Then in Matthew 18: 15-17 Jesus tells us:
"If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend. If he won't listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won't listen, tell the church. If he won't listen to the church, you'll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God's forgiving love.

Here Jesus is telling us if a fellow believer of His hurts us we must go to them and share what we feel they have done.

In both of these situations Jesus is talking to believers about believers. But He also has something to say about what we should do when we are hurt no matter who has caused the situation. We find that in Matthew 14-15:
"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.

No matter who it is that has hurt us we must make the effort to forgive them. If we don’t our attitude and our actions will be controlled by what they have done to us. It will hinder our development of healthy relationships and keep us from receiving God’s forgiveness for what we have done.

So as this year ends take the time to consider who it is that has hurt you and forgive them. Consider whom it is you have hurt and go to them and seek their forgiveness. Either way release the hurt to God and allow Jesus to comfort the pain that was caused.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T08:42:00.003-06:00

Today in the Untied States we are celebrating our yearly holiday called, "Thanksgiving".

In 1621 the people who settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts as a community invited the local Indians to come and celebrate with them the good harvest they had. They thanked God for His blessings.

In 1789 George Washington acknowledge that it is God who bestows blessings on mankind.

In 1863 Abraham Lincoln suggested that the nation humbly acknowledge our disobedience and seek God's tender care for all who had suffered in the civil war.

In 1986 Ronald Regan encouraged the nation to give thanks to God with grateful hearts.

In 2003 George W. Bush reminded the nation of the freedoms we have and of their high cost.

A Thanksgiving Psalm

Psalm 100: 1-2 On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.

3 Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn't make him. We're his people, his well-tended sheep.

4 Enter with the password: "Thank you!" Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.

5 For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.

Romans 10: 11-13 Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help."

Whatever circumstance you find yourself I encourage you to take time today to offer thanks to God for what you do have. By focusing on the blessings you have the problems you are facing will seem less important.

Possibly Some Good Will Result

2010-11-16T20:15:00.005-06:00

I am in the process of writing a book about my Great, Great Grandfather, Rev. Seth Gold Clark.

In an earlier post I explained how I discovered the following information and I want to just briefly refresh your memory.

On the morning of September 3rd as I was having my morning coffee I realized the time was almost exactly the time 38 years earlier that I learned about my father's death. I broke down as I thought about that morning and the unhealed wound that resulted. As I sat there with tears streaming down my face I began to think of the failures I had experienced the past year. How I leaped at an opportunity that probably was not from God and how it resulted in me not granting grace to a pastor friend that God had brought into my life. As the tears of memories mixed with the tears of shame a random thought crossed my mind.

A few years ago one of my cousins had sent me some information on our family tree and the random thought I had was to dig it out of the drawer and look at it. I pulled the stack of papers out of the drawer and as I thumbed through them I noticed something odd. There was more information about my Grandmother's side of the family than my Grandfather's side. On his side the tree began with my Great, Great Grandfather who was born on August 13, 1817.

Since I had several hours before I had to go to work I decided to do some research online. What I eventually found would change everything. It would also be the foundation for a book and hopefully a movie about the life of the Rev. Seth Gold Clark. It would also be what God used to renew my dream and reassure me that He was working in my life.

A Home-Mission Enthusiast

“The Church at home and abroad, Volume 24 By Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.”

The Rev. Seth Gold Clark, who died at his home in Appleton City, Mo., on Friday, April 22, 1898, was one of the most enthusiastic and indefatigable home mission pioneers in the central West. For over fifty years incessantly active in the work he loved, he was one of the best examples of a missionary type now fast disappearing.

Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, from 1862 to 1865. Ten days before Atlanta was taken, he was captured and held at Andersonville Military Prison, but was soon released as a noncombatant. The twenty days' furlough he was then given to visit his family he " spent in helping reelect Lincoln." The mayor of Cleveland telegraphed the President to keep him in Ohio till after election, which he did. Unable on his return to the army to reach his regiment, then on its march to the sea, he was assigned by Gen. Thomas to the work of raising funds for the Sanitary Commission. In August, 1865, he became chaplain of the House of Correction in Detroit and of the Seamen's Friend Society. This he kept but a short time until, on January 2, 1866, he left his home to take up the work in which he was to become most successful, and for which he is best known.

At the close of the war, western Missouri, which had been repeatedly ravaged by both armies, retained but few of its former inhabitants and scarcely any churches. At the request of Dr. Henry Kendall, Mr. Clark came to Missouri to assist in reorganizing Presbyterian work. Of his beginnings here he once wrote: " The Board, by my request, made full provision for my salary the first year. I told them that if I went to such a burned-over country I did not want to intimate to any man, woman or child that a missionary needed anything to eat, drink or wear. I did not say money for a year, except when I paid my bills. The people were just as modest as I was—they never said money to me. I obtained a hardy mustang pony, and went in all directions, preaching the gospel wherever I found an opening." Does that seem a haphazard method, not to be reasonably expected to produce good results? In less than three years he organized churches at Holden in Johnson county: Greenwood in Jackson county; Harrisonville and Austin in Cass county; Butler, Lone Oak and Papinsville in Bates county; Hudson (now Appleton City) in 8t. Clair county, and Lamar in Barton county. Each of these churches he supplied until they were able to obtain regular services otherwise. Some years later two of these towns, unable to obtain expected railroads, died a natural death, as did their churches. Two other churches were outstripped by later organizations by other Presbyterian denominations. There remain today five good churches organized before 1870 by that one missionary " settled on horseback."

Mr. Clark was twice married; in 1866 to Miss Lucy Peck, who died in 1873, leaving five children; and, in 1875, to Miss Emma Perry, who survives him.
What a record! It will never be fully written on earth. His mission work in at least five states, the organization of 31 churches, most of which during the time of his ministry erected houses of worship, his army chaplaincy, his evangelistic work in prisons, battle fields, mining camps, frontier settlements, and in well-established communities east and west, his vigorous advocacy of education at home and abroad—these are a few reasons why he will be long held in grateful remembrance. A few months ago he modestly wrote of himself that his had been “a very busy, checkered life; possibly some good may result.”

Yes, my great, great grandfather had a very busy and checkered life. The possible good that may result will be a book and movie that inspires men and women to move beyond their chains of slavery to a do nothing life and become the people God wants them to be.

I hope this post has brought you encouragement and hope.

Do You Feel Parked & Forgotten?

2010-11-11T13:31:00.009-06:00

If some of your experiences in life are like mine there have been times when I have felt like the old truck pictured here. I am sixty years old and there are times I feel the world sees me as too old to continue to contribute to society. I feel as though people have forgotten the gifts and skills I have. As I do my dreams begin to rust.

Do you feel like your dreams have been delayed?

Try dusting off your dream and doing some work to make it come true.

Are you frustrated as you watch others seem to be blessed by God?

Try asking God to bless them even more.

Are you impatient with God's timetable?

Try laying your impatience before God and ask Him to give you more patience.

Are you dissatisfied with your circumstances?

Try not blaming others for where you are today and get busy changing your circumstances.

Do you want to break out of the prison that keeps you feeling abandoned, like you have been forgotten as your dreams rust?

Before I share with you some ideas on how to break free I want to share some thing very important for you to remember. Look at Romans 8: 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Anyone who wants to serve God cannot be held back from the mission He has for them!

You may be feeling abandoned, forgotten and rusting but if you will begin with remembering Romans 8: 31 God will restore you.

Here are my ideas on how to put this into practice.

1. Ask God to restore your dreams.

2. Once He has revealed your restored dreams be sure and dedicate them to Him and His control.

3. Do not delay taking action to move towards accomplishing your dreams.

4. Be willing to take detours as God guides you toward fulfilment of your dreams.

5. Educate yourself and get the training necessary to achieve your dreams.

6. Get around people who will encourage you.

7. Keep moving forward and do not allow negative people to pull you back into the junkyard with them.

You do not have to continue to feel abandoned and forgotten with your dreams rusting. God wants to delight in your accomplishments especially when they glorify Him. Always remember if your dream is from God, "Who can keep you from achieving it?"

This is another post resulting from the sermon "Life Interrupted" by Mark Warner, Lead Pastor of Vineyard Church in Overland Park, KS.

Dream! But Dream the Right Dream

2010-11-08T08:11:00.003-06:00

A sermon I heard at Vineyard Church in Overland Park, KS given by Lead Pastor, Mark Warner sparked this post.

I live in a nation of Dreamers. Some dream of own a home, others of running their own business and still others dream of becoming rich. Dreaming of own a home, running a business or becoming wealthy in themselves are not necessarily wrong dreams to have. They become misguided when they become the focus of one's life. When the person wanting to obtaining them will do anything, even use other people, to make them happen.

Before I say anything else I want to say I believe God is not against us having a home, us having a business or us becoming wealthy. What He is against and is not in alignment with what He wants in our life if we are pursuing those things without including Him in the mix.

By including God in the mix we allow Him to provide the opportunities for our achieving our dreams. We place our dreams under His control and when we have reached success of our dreams we have the opportunity to give Him the credit bringing glory to Him through our dream.

In the sermon Mark gave he gave the following five points, which came from the story in Genesis 39 about Joseph being in prison, about having your dream in it's proper place in your life.

1. God will be with you.

Genesis 39: 23 The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him, because God was with him; whatever he did God made sure it worked out for the best.

2. Do whatever God puts before you.

Genesis 39:20-23 When his master heard his wife's story, telling him, "These are the things your slave did to me," he was furious. Joseph's master took him and threw him into the jail where the king's prisoners were locked up. But there in jail God was still with Joseph: He reached out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer. The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners—he ended up managing the whole operation. The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him, because God was with him; whatever he did God made sure it worked out for the best.

3. Put the needs of others above your own.

Genesis 40: 4-7 After they had been in custody for a while, the king's cupbearer and baker, while being held in the jail, both had a dream on the same night, each dream having its own meaning. When Joseph arrived in the morning, he noticed that they were feeling low. So he asked them, the two officials of Pharaoh who had been thrown into jail with him, "What's wrong? Why the long faces?"

4. Press in and listen to God.

Genesis 40: 8 They said, "We dreamed dreams and there's no one to interpret them." Joseph said, "Don't interpretations come from God? Tell me the dreams."

5. Stop trying to play God.

Genesis 40: 12-15 Joseph said, "Here's the meaning. The three branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will get you out of here and put you back to your old work—you'll be giving Pharaoh his cup just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me when things are going well with you again—tell Pharaoh about me and get me out of this place. I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. And since I've been here, I've done nothing to deserve being put in this hole."

When these five things work together you will be freed up to focus on what God's call is in your life. I am telling you that your call is not a house, a business or being wealthy. Your call has to do with worshipping God through all of your life, your home, your work and your finances.

When you submit your dreams to God's hands you free up your life to receiving His blessings. My advice to you is to realize the five things above: Acknowledge that God is with you, then do your best at what He has placed before you by focusing on the needs of others which will require you to press in and listen to God and by doing so you will not play God by trying to make the dream that God gave you come true.

2010-10-30T12:13:00.005-05:00

Here is an exchange that I had with a fellow pastor about a church sign he posted on facebook.

Me: Unfortunately it seems over 50% of Americans think it does. Just drive around any town and see how many people are not attending church on Sunday morning.

Him: According to research done by The Barna Group it's over 80% in the Northeast.We can all speculate as to why that is but what we know for sure is that "it" needs to change...what is "it"? Perhaps it's our definition of what worship is!

Me: I believe if the church preaches and models Jesus people will be awakened. No need for gimmicks, just being real and loving people where they are and walk them as they are drawn to Jesus.

Him: "being real and loving people where they are and walk with them as they are drawn to Jesus."

Sounds simple Larry, perhaps that should be the new definition of worship. Who knows,by stepping out of our comfort zone WE may even have a personal encounter with Jesus ourselves! Matthew 25:40

Matthew 25:40 (The Message) 37-40"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

Me: When we do that we point people to Jesus instead of our idea of what being a Christian is. I am bound to fail but Jesus never will.

I believe we are two pastors who are more concerned about the hurts, wounds and brokenness of people than how big our churches are. I believe he would agree that gimmicks draw less people to Christ than sharing the model of Christ with people. Simply put, "Jesus always met people where they were not where He wanted them to be."

Him: "That's right, it's more about acts of the holy Spirit than it is mere words. When
we do that we bring Jesus to them!

Mark 13:21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is
there; believe him not:

Luke 17:21
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is
within you.

John 20:21
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so
send I you."

It is true Jesus wants us to flea from sin but He knows that first we must be alert to what sin is. It seems that many Christians and pastors want to hit a person with a two by four as they point out their sin. Most of the time Jesus used a two by four on the church leaders not the sinners. Maybe we should follow the same model. Heal their wounds and hurts then walk with them as they move toward Jesus and away from their sin. That might be harder to do than using the two by four but it will create disciples not just people who come to church for their hell insurance.

To become a follower of Jesus you do not have to conform to a list of standards set by man but you do have to be transformed into an image of Jesus. Too often people are told you must give up smoking, drinking, be this way or that before being accepted into the congregation. Yes, smoking is bad for you, getting drunk is wrong and there are standards to be met. BUT what did Jesus say one needed to do to be saved?

Salvation is simply a process of confessing and believing. A man must confess that Jesus is Lord, which signifies his realization that Christ must have full rule over his life with all of His righteous requirements. This confession of Christ as Lord also assumes that it is Christ who will work and fulfill His own righteousness within man.

Next, he must believe that God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead. This belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus carries with it the realization that the penalty has been paid for sin and power is provided for man to live a life free from sin. Thus man’s relationship to God is restored. “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Bible tells us, “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved” (Romans 10:9-11). Do you feel unworthy to “go to heaven”? Peace with God is within your reach.

Let us know your thoughts. I will share them with him.

What Many Men Are Looking For

2010-10-28T21:11:00.005-05:00

Tonight the group of men I have been meeting with for the past three years met at Foster's Grille located at 11831 Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park, KS. We ate some good food and had a cold beverage. We then talked about our lives, our hopes and our fears. Then we prayed for each other and as we left there where hand shakes and hugs.

It was interesting to watch the reaction of the some of the customers as they watched these strong men bow their heads and pray together. It was even more interesting to watch their reaction as we bid each other farewell.

As I sat there listening to the men share it occurred to me that there are hundreds of men who wish they had transparent and strong friendships with other men. Friendships not based on status, sex or power. It also struck me how these friendships we have are very similar to what Jesus and the disciples had.

If you are a man looking for friendships with other men without the hang-ups of today's society but do not know where to turn please consider leaving a comment. I will help you find a group of men that you can trust and build strong relationships with.

Trip to Arkansas

2010-10-21T09:44:00.009-05:00

Last week my wife, Kat, and I spent five days in the hills of Arkansas.

Our first couple of days we spent at the Petit Jean State Park, which was the first State Park in Arkansas. We spent our nights in a cabin with a fire place and it was very comfortable.

We spent our first day hiking two trails. Cedar Creek Falls Trail begins at the Mather Lodge and goes down to Cedar Falls. It winds down the hillside then through the woods to the creek and ends at Cedar Falls.

The other Cedar Creek Trail is a trail that flows through the woods and above the creek and makes a loop back to the parking lot.

We ended our day with a simple dinner at the Lodge and watched the sun set.

The next day we hiked the Seven Hollows Trail. This loop trail passes through a series of small canyons under the canopy of a dense hardwood forest.

We left Petit Jean and headed north to Buffalo National River and spent two nights in a rustic cabin with a fireplace. As we ate our first meal in the cabin we talked about how we could live in a small cabin like what we were in.

I think this photo sums up our trip and where our marriage stands after 24 years.

We had a wonderful time away from televisions, the news and the cares of life. I encourage all of you to take a vacation or holiday and just get away from all of the stress in your life.

I know for me I did not want to return to the daily grind but in order to do another trip like this one I have to.

Next year if God is willing we celebrate our 25th anniversary and we hope to either go to Grenada or hike the Grand Canyon.

24 Years and Looking Forward

2010-10-11T09:50:00.007-05:00

My wife, Kat, and I are heading off to Arkansas on vacation tomorrow. We are going to spend a couple of nights in a cabin at Petit Jean State Park

and a couple of nights in a cabin at the Buffalo National River

While in these areas we plan to hike and visit flea markets. On Thursday we will celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary.

Because we both have had multiple marriages many told us they were doubtful we could survive being married. Why have we been able to make it to 24 years without our marriage failing like the others? Good question and I have only two reasons to share with you.

1. From the day we got married until now we have been committed to staying together and working through all of the tough situations we would face.

2. From the day we got married we invited Jesus to be a part of our marriage and by doing so allowed the Holy Spirit to mold our marriage.

We have had tough times but we have always fought to stay together.

Here are a couple of scriptures for you to consider just as we have:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (The Message)

3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.

8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

Ephesians 5: 21 Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.

22-24 Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.

25-28 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor—since they're already "one" in marriage.

29-33 No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.

These two scriptures helped us make it to celebrating 24 years of marriage. Simply put we have chosen to love each other more than ourselves and we have submitted ourselves to Jesus and to each other.

As a pastor here is the sermon I give at each wedding I perform:

MARRIAGE
In Genesis 1: 26-28 God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill the Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

29-30 Then God said, "I've given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth And every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food. To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food." And there it was.

31 God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning— Day Six.
We find in Genesis 2: 21-22 GOD put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. GOD then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.
23-25 The Man said, "Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh!
Name her Woman for she was made from Man."
Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.

Woman was made from man’s rib and she is not to walk behind or in front but beside him. The institution of marriage was created and began by our Creator the Almighty God. In marriage _____and _____ you go from being two individuals with separate lives to being one unit with dreams together.

David A. Seamands said this about marriage: “Marriage is an adventure, not an achievement.”

LOVE
Paul describes love in 1 Corinthians 13: 3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. 8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

Love is not a feeling and people do not fall in love. Instead love is something we do and we grow in love. _____ and _____ you can show your love by living your life with the qualities mentioned above.
Here is something Martin Luther had to say about marriage: “_____ make _____ glad to come home and _____ make _____ sorry to see you leave.”

RESPOSIBILITIES
Ephesians 5: 33 No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband by respecting him.

1 Corinthians 7: 2-6 Certainly—but only within a certain context. It's good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband. Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder. The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality—the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband. Marriage is not a place to "stand up for your rights." Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out. Abstaining from sex is permissible for a period of time if you both agree to it, and if it's for the purposes of prayer and fasting—but only for such times. Then come back together again. Satan has an ingenious way of tempting us when we least expect it. I'm not, understand, commanding these periods of abstinence—only providing my best counsel if you should choose them.

Robert Browning tells us how to have a successful marriage: “Success in marriage is more than finding the right person, it is being the right person.” _____ and _____ you have the opportunity to daily be the right person.
_____ you are to love your wife and _____ you are to respect your husband. Neither of you have the right to withhold from the other sexual pleasure, love or respect.

Please face each other and hold hands. When you say the following vows you are pledging to each other your commitment, devotion, love and respect.

Repeat after me:
I, _____, take you _____, to be my wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness. With this ring I thee wed.

I, _____, take you _____, to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to honor and to love 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness. With this ring I thee wed.

I encourage you to invite one other person to be a part of your marriage and that is Jesus through the Holy Spirit. The bumps in the road will be smoother if you do.

Through the powers invested in me by the state and church I pronounce you husband and wife.

I hope you find this post as an encouragement and that those of you who have had failed marriages find hope in what you have read.

Kat and I are now looking past this year and to celebrating 25 years next year and then if possible 30, 40 and 50 years of marriage.

From Devastation to Hope

2010-09-21T21:56:00.004-05:00

Over the course of the next few weeks I hope to write some thoughts about the adventure I have been on since Friday, September 3, 2010. My hope is what I write will eventually become a book about my great, great grandfather and what his life can spark in the lives of others.

Installment 1

September 3, 2010 was going to be a Friday just like very other Friday until I realized one important factor. I poured coffee into my favorite coffee cup, one that I purchased for my dad while in Vietnam. As I drank my second cup of strongly brewed coffee, some thing I have done since joining the Navy, I realized I was drinking this cup at about the same time I received a phone call 38 years earlier. A phone call from one of my uncles and it devastated me; it is one that I can remember as if it occurred yesterday. The call was to let me know that my dad was being rushed to the hospital and I should make plans to come home. I stumbled into the bedroom, where my wife and son were laying talking, with tears streaming down my face I told her what the call was about. Then the phone rang again and my uncle let me know my dad had died.

With tears streaming down my face my thoughts turned to the disaster that the last year had been. The shame I felt because of my failure to give grace to another pastor in a heated disagreement and how it destroyed our relationship. The questions about whether God really intended for me to work as a pastor. Doubts that the passions I have really are of God. Heart broken I could feel myself slipping into the beginning stages of depression.

As I finished my coffee I experienced one of those times when an unrelated thought moved through the nerve cells of my brain. I put my coffee cup down and opened one of the drawers of my desk and pulled out a stack of papers a cousin had sent me several years ago. I turned to the Clark part of the family tree and something jumped out at me. The tree ended with my great, great grandfather, Seth Gold Clark.

Since I had six hours before I had to be at work I decided to do some research and see what I could find out about this man. I turned to my computer, brought up a genealogy search site and typed in his name, his birth and death dates. After clicking many of the sites that came up I clicked on one that referred to a book called, “The Church at home and abroad, Volume 24 By Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.” and the article was "A Home-Mission Enthusiast".

Have you ever had one of those times that you know without a doubt that God caused it to happen? This was one of those moments for me. I knew without a doubt God wanted me to read what was written in this book about the Reverend Seth Gold Clark. The words would renew the dream God placed in my heart and begin to give me hope that all of my experiences in life so far was to prepare my heart for this very moment in time.

The story that follows is about the life of my great, great grandfather and the seeds of greatness he planted. This story is one that God is having written at this moment in time to lift each reader up to move forward toward accomplishing their God given dreams. This story is a story about a legacy that was left by a man who according to his own words, “lived a very busy, checkered life; possibly some good may result.” One hundred and twelve years later that good could be the accomplishment of hundreds or even thousands of dreams, which would not have been achieved without God revealing this story to those dreamers.

Please come back in the next few weeks for more installments. If God speaks to you in any way please share it in the comment section.

The Secret

2010-09-15T09:11:00.004-05:00

A few years ago I received a copy of a book called, "The Secret" and I read it and as soon as I was done with it I dropped it into my trash can. Usually when I read a book and it does not appeal to me I put it in a garage sale or take it to the used book store but this one I placed it where it belongs.

You might be wondering why I am saying this and I hope to answer that for you in this post.

From the official website of The Secret:

One spring day towards the end of 2004, Rhonda Byrne discovered a secret - the secret laws and principles of the universe.

Almost immediately her life was transformed, as she began to put into practice what she had learned. And in that moment her greatest wish, and mission, was to share this knowledge with the world.

The secret describes the "Law of Attraction" and how you can harness the power of the universe to work for you so that you attract people into your life who will help you achieve your dreams and goals.

As I read the book I discovered there was one big piece missing in the writing, any reference to the creator "GOD" being involved in you having the "Law of Attraction". Many of the principles stated in the book are no doubt true and work but apart from them coming from our creator they are nothing more than the power given by the spiritual powers that battle against His involvement in our lives. That alone makes the trash can the appropriate place for this book.

There actually is a true but not secret law of attraction and the power behind it is none other than the creator of the universe which the book, "The Secret" does not recognize or credit for the power in the first place.

This book is none other than Satan's attitudes packaged in a "New Age" religious thought. It is not a book that glorifies our creator, gives credit to the Holy Spirit for any power that we have or acknowledges Jesus as the source for our connection to God. I have no doubt that real power results from practicing the teachings in this book. But where does this power come from? I am confident that it is not from the creator God.

If you want to receive the true gift of attraction take the time to study the topics of spirit and power within the pages of the Bible. You will find that God is willing to give you spiritual gifts and power that will bring Him glory. You can develop the fruits of the Spirit which will attract people to you. You will find that you can tap into the Holy Spirit who will cause divine appoints to occur with people He wants you to either touch or be touched by.

Here are the steps to receiving the true power of attraction:

1. Accept Jesus as your savior.

2. Surrender all to the ruleship of Jesus.

3. Discover the Spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit gives you.

4. Utilize those gifts in serve to others.

If we deeply examine our lives we are either living for the Kingdom of God or we are living for the kingdom of a fallen world which has Satan as it's leader.

I have purposely not listed any scriptures so that you do the study with an attitude subject to the power of the Holy Spirit and prove for yourself that God is not behind the book, "The Secret".

If you allow God to guide you, you will discover what I did: "The Secret" is none other than another attempt by Satan to mislead people and draw them to himself. If you open your Bible you will discover the lie that is packaged in this book and you will find the true source of the power of the universe.

Six Questions

2010-09-10T12:23:00.003-05:00

If you are a man I can almost bet that you are react to health problems instead of being proactive. You do not go to the doctor unless you are sick and rarely think of getting a physical. With this in mind about men and their physical health I would venture to say most people are the same about their spiritual life.

I have three questions that I want you to think about and leave me your answers. Consider these questions and base your answers on your spiritual beliefs and studies.

1. Why do we exist?

2. Who is in charge?

3. When are your best days?

4. Which way do you look? In or Out?

5. What warning signs do you look for?

6. How have you handled change in the past?

In my next post I will write my own responses based on what I believe and what I have studied.

Rev Seth Gold Clark

2010-09-05T19:59:00.011-05:00

Today my wife and I took a road trip. The reason for the trip was to check out part of the legacy of Seth Gold Clark.

We traveled the roads that my great, great grandfather, Seth Gold Clark, traveled when he visited the churches he was pastor of in Missouri. Our first stop was Hume, MO, then we traveled to Rockville, MO, then to Appleton City, MO which was his home town and we ended our trip at Butler, MO. Below are some photos I took today.

The Presbyterian Church in Appleton City, MO. Rev Clark founded this church and from here he went around the surrounding countryside planting churches and ministring to those in the smaller towns.

He died in Appleton City in 1898 and we went by the cemetery to see his grave site.

The Presbyterian Church in Butler, MO.

Note from Presbyterian History
There is a tradition that Father Morrison, of Salina, preached the first Presbyterian sermon in our county. He was a good old man and usually took his text from some place in Revelation.

Next came Rev. Seth Clark, with Elder Taylor. They ran what the boys called a "Presbyterian circus." They used a very large tent for preaching services. Seth Clark was an eloquent preacher. Elder Taylor helped by selling and distributing tracts, books and Bibles. They thought the prospects for a Presbyterian church at Lincoln Center very poor. This was in July 1873.

During 1877-78 he supplied the churches of Iola and Carlyle, Kans.; 1879-80, Baxter Springs, Galena and Empire, Kans.; 1881-5, Rich Hill, Rockville and Hume, Mo., all three of which he organized. He then spent ten years in southwestern Kansas, where he found nine counties adjoining, in neither of which was an organized church. During those years he organized eight churches, seven of which, in spite of drought and consequent depopulation of large districts, are still on our " Minutes." The year 1895 was spent with the Church of Raymore, Mo., which under his labors was much revived, and built a beautiful house of worship.

No service did he ever shirk as too hard, no field as too unattractive. Always and everywhere he loved to proclaim salvation to the uttermost through Jesus Christ. Like every other true missionary, he recognized no bounds of race or clime, but worked and prayed for the universal spread of the gospel. No wonder Miss Mary Clark, the daughter of such a home missionary, should be found to-day a foreign missionary in distant Persia.

The purpose of today's trip was to check out part of my great, great grandfather's legacy but also to fire up what God is doing through me with the gifts granted to me by the Holy Spirit. I feel that my legacy will be in some way connected to the legacy of Seth Gold Clark.

The purpose of this post was partly to share what I discovered and also to stir in you a desire to move forward on your dreams that will lay the ground work for your legacy. Research your family and I believe you will discover a gift like I did and it will come just at the right time.

A Passed Down Desire.

2010-09-04T12:17:00.003-05:00

I have been doing some research into my roots and I have found something that is interesting and might explain my interest and desire to be involved in ministry. If we look at the Old Testament we find that God used families based on their family skills to perform certain duties in regard to building the tabernacle. I believe in some ways abilities and desires are passed down through the ages. Here is an article about my Great-Great Grandfather that I believe helps to explain my desire to be involved in ministry.

A Home-Mission Enthusiast

The Rev. Seth Gold Clark, who died at his home in Appleton City, Mo., on Friday, April 22, 1898, was one of the most enthusiastic and indefatigable home mission pioneers in the central West. For over fifty years incessantly active in the work he loved, he was one of the best examples of a missionary type now fast disappearing.

He was born in Delaware county, N. Y., August 13, 1817, and, after a boyhood spent on farms in New York and Ohio, graduated at Western Reserve College in 1843 and Western Reserve Seminary in 1846. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Cleveland, October 7, 1845, and began at once supplying three little mission churches in Ohio. From there he went to Bainbridge, O., where he was ordained in May, 1847, and remained two years. During his next pastorate, at Aurora, O., his health failed. Then followed eleven years' service as district secretary of the A. B. C. F. M., and three as chaplain of the 10th

Ohio Vounteer Cavalry, from 1862 to 18G5. Ten days before Atlanta was taken, he was captured, but was soon released as a noncombatant. The twenty days' furlough he was then given to visit his family he " spent in helping reelect Lincoln." The mayor of Cleveland telegraphed the President to keep him in Ohio till after election, which he did. Unable on his return to the army to reach his regiment, then on its march to the sea, he was assigned by Gen. Thomas to the work of raising funds for the Sanitary Commission. In August, 1865, he became chaplain of the House of Correction in Detroit and of the Seamen's Friend Society. This he kept but a short time until, on January 2, 1866, he left his home to take up the work in which he was to become most successful, and for which he is best known.

At the close of the war, western Missouri, which had been repeatedly ravaged by both armies, retained but few of its former inhabitants and scarcely any churches. At the request of Dr. Henry Kendall, Mr. Clark came to Missouri to assist in reorganizing Presbyterian work. Of his beginnings here he once wrote: " The Board, by my request, made full provision for my salary the first year. I told them that if I went to such a burned-over country I did not want to intimate to any man, woman or child that a missionary needed anything to eat, drink or wear. I did not say money for a year, except when I paid my bills. The people were just as modest as I was—they never said money to me. I obtained a hardy mustang pony, and went in all directions, preaching the gospel wherever I found an opening." Does that seem a haphazard method, not to be reasonably expected to produce good results ? In less than three years he organized churches at Holden in Johnson county: Greenwood in Jackson county; Harrisonville and Austin in Cass county; Butler, Lone Oak and Papinsville in Bates county; Hudson (now Appleton City) in 8t. Clair county, and Lamar in Barton county. Each of these churches he supplied until they were able to obtain regular services otherwise. Some years later two of these towns, unable to obtain expected railroads, died a natural death, as did their churches. Two other churches were outstripped by later organizations by other Presbyterian denominations. There remain to-day five good churches organized before 1870 by that one missionary " settled on horseback."

From 1871-76 Mr. Clark was financial agent for Highland University. The last two summers of that time were spent with a missionary tent outfit, furnished by Sunday schools in the East. He traveled through northern Kansas and southern Nebraska, preaching daily to congregations averaging 100 on week nights and from 150 to 300 on Sundays. This was strictly pioneer work in regions beyond ministers and churches. He was everywhere gladly welcomed. This tent work he was accustomed to regard as the most successful work of his life.

Note from Presbyterian History
There is a tradition that Father Morrison, of Salina, preached the first Presbyterian sermon in our county. He was a good old man and usually took his text from some place in Revelation.

Next came Rev. Seth Clark, with Elder Taylor. They ran what the boys called a "Presbyterian circus." They used a very large tent for preaching services. Seth Clark was an eloquent preacher. Elder Taylor helped by selling and distributing tracts, books and Bibles. They thought the prospects for a Presbyterian church at Lincoln Center very poor. This was in July 1873.

During 1877-78 he supplied the churches of Iola and Carlyle, Kans.; 1879-80, Baxter Springs, Galena and Empire, Kans.; 1881-5, Rich Hill, Rockvilie and Hume, Mo., all three of which he organized. He then spent ten years in southwestern Kansas, where he found nine counties adjoining, in neither of which was an organized church. During those years he organized eight churches, seven of which, in spite of drought and consequent depopulation of large districts, are still on our " Minutes." The year 1895 was spent with the Church of Raymore, Mo., which under his labors was much revived, and built a beautiful house of worship.

At last, when nearly eighty, with mind and voice unimpaired, he was forced by physical infirmities to give up his active ministry. It was an affecting scene, when by vote of Presbytery he was " honorably retired," and recommended to the Board of Relief. All knew of his active life, and realized that it was not boastfulness which led him to rise and say that, able as he then supposed to preach better than ever before, he would gladly sacrifice his right arm rather than go onto the Board, if only he were physically able to continue in the ministry. No service did he ever shirk as too hard, no field as too unattractive. Always and everywhere he loved to proclaim salvation to the uttermost through Jesus Christ. Like every other true missionary, he recognized no bounds of race or clime, but worked and prayed for the universal spread of the gospel. No wonder Miss Mary Clark, the daughter of such a home missionary, should be found to-day a foreign missionary in distant Persia.

Mr. Clark was twice married; in 1866 to Miss Lucy Peck, who died in 1873, leaving five children; and, in 1875, to Miss Emma Perry, who survives him.

Don’t Settle for Less

2010-09-02T10:04:00.002-05:00

The man sat silently observing and listening to the other men. They were joking and laughing about things and responding to questions thrown out by the leader of the group. The discussion that evening had been on 1 John 1 and they had come to verses 8 and 9 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Towards the end of the meeting this man raised his hand and shared with the other men. He told them how he had watched and listened to them. How they seemed comfortable with each other and free to be themselves. He then told them how he did not have a desire to be where they were and that he would be satisfied just to get into heaven and sit in the back row.

He also shared he was somewhat hesitant in trying to develop the type of relationship that would be required to do verses 8 and 9 with another man.

In thinking about his response to what he saw and heard that evening I believe he has reached a point that many Christian men have. Many are settling for where they are now and satisfied with less than what Jesus promised in John 10: 10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

What keeps us men from developing close relationships with other men? The major reason is wounds from our past relationships. Let’s face it being a friend with another guy is messy. They let us down and they often operate out of their own wounds.

Why do we settle for where we are instead of pressing on to more life? The major reason we do this is because we have bought the lie that we are not worthy of fullness of life. Our culture is one of performance and the culture of Jesus is freedom. As men we have a hard time overcoming settling for just getting on the team.

I know where this man and some of you are coming from. I have been there. I still struggle with settling for isolation and a direct result is a life less complete. I encourage you to become a man wild at heart and break free from the isolation and incompleteness by risking becoming another man’s friend. It will be messy but in the end you will become a man who moves other men because you did not settle for less than fullness of life.

Are You Using the Bible as a Weapon?

2010-08-29T20:34:00.001-05:00

This post was inspired by a sermon by David Andersen who is one of the pastors at Vineyard Church in Overland Park, KS. I posted this first at A Community Chaplain.

I have sat through hundreds or maybe thousands of sermons and many were a call to war. We were exhorted to battle with the flesh, battle against the evil ruler of this world, and battle with those of the "world". I sometimes found that some sermons encouraged me to use the Bible as a weapon agains those who have sinned.

Make no mistake about it we as followers of Christ are called to war. We are called to battle our own sinful nature and the temptations this world brings our way.

BUT... How are we called to use the Bible in this war? Are we to use it in pointing out the sins of others? Are we to use it to beat each other over the head when we have a dispute? The answer to these questions are found, you guessed it, in the pages of the Bible.

How are we called to use the Bible in this war?

2 Timothy 3: 14-17 But don't let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother's milk! There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

Notice: These verses focus on using the word for showing US the truth, exposing OUR rebellion, correcting OUR mistakes, training US to live God's way.

Are we to use it in pointing out the sins of others? Over and over again we are told in the New Testament to encourage one another. If you look at the times God rebuked people for their sins they were followers of His. In most cases He used those people to show the ones who were not His followers how to live and how to take correction. He did not call us to go up to someone who was outside of our fellowship and point out their sin to them. Within the fellowship we do have a responsibility to do that but only after we have considered our own sins and weaknesses.

Matthew 7: 1-5 "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

6 "Don't be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don't reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you're only being cute and inviting sacrilege.

Are we to use it to beat each other over the head when we have a dispute?

Matthew 5: 23-24 "This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.

Matthew 18: 15-17 "If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend. If he won't listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won't listen, tell the church. If he won't listen to the church, you'll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God's forgiving love.

In Ephesians 6 it is clearly pointed out that we are in a war but it is not against flesh and blood.

Ephesians 6: 10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

Look people are going to be people and they will at some point do something to hurt you and break your trust. If you say you forgive them but use the Bible to beat them over the head even when they have come to their senses and apologized you condemn yourself by the very Word. It is especially important that we reconcile with those who have taken the steps to correct a wrong they have done. If we do not then it is like our prayers and our offerings are stuck on the offering waiting for us to make the move towards reconciliation.

Most often what keeps us from making that step is PRIDE. We would first have to admit we may have also contributed to the problem and second acknowledge we have sin in our life as well. Pride keeps us from doing both of those things.

In March of 2010 I hurt another person, their ministry and those who followed that person. I had to acknowledge what I did and I had to admit I have sin in my life. I then had to apologize and seek forgiveness. It was not an easy thing for me to do but I knew if I did not I would be like Israel and be sitting outside of the Holy of Holies and access to God's Mercy Seat.

Consider for a moment a person in your present or past that either has something against you or that you have used the Bible as a weapon to point out their sin. Let the Holy Spirit convict you of your part and then take the step to overcome your PRIDE and move toward reconciliation. Now as Dr. Laura would often say, "Go do the right thing".

I Am Who I Am

2010-08-27T11:22:00.003-05:00

This was originally posted at "A Community Chaplain"

I wrote this on my facebook page: I am who I am and God is willing to work with that. He does not expect me to be perfect but to seek His perfection. There is a big difference in the two. The first is not possible but the second is a continual process.

What keeps a lot of people from attending church is a preception that those already attending are sinless or nearly sinless. It is true we are to be pursuing a life without sin but the truth is we will never actually reach that destination in this life. My vision is of a church where people come as they are warts and wrinkles and all. I do not mean they come content with who they are but real about who they are and what baggage they carry.

Let me break down the above statement.

I am who I am. I am not sure what your age is but during the course of your life you have become a certain personality and you have certain wounds and yes sin in your life. You are who you are.

God is willing to work with that. Believe it or not God is pursuing you just as you are. He is not waiting for you to clean yourself up because if He did that it would never happen. Let's be honest with ourselves we are a mess and well we have things hiding in our closets we do not want anyone to know about. The true is God already knows and He still wants to have a relationship with YOU.

Romans 5: 6-8 (The Message) Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

He does not expect me to be perfect but to seek His perfection. A lot of energy could be put into what really counts if we could only accept what God knows about us and that is we can never be perfect. What God does expect us to do is to hunger for righteousness.

Matthew 5:6 (New International Version) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

The first is not possible but the second is a continual process.

I do not care who you are or how much Biblical knowledge you have you will never reach the goal of perfection as a human being apart from the full measure of God's Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 3: 18 Instead, continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah. Glory belongs to him both now and on that eternal day! Amen.

Growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus is a life long process and God is willing to work with who we are until the day He changes us completely.

Until then I will admit "I am who I am" and I am thankful that "God is willing to work with that".

Are You Managing or Killing It?

2010-08-25T09:01:00.004-05:00

Last night the leader of a men's group asked this question, "Are you managing your sin or are you killing it?"

Before we can answer that question we first have to define sin. In the world we live in today each of us might have a different definition of what sin is. For some of us it is the violation of the 10 Commandments and for others it is the violation of the church's teachings. What I hope to do by giving you a definition is to give you a clear one found in the Bible.

Sin: 1 John 5:17 (King James Version) 17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

Let's define Unrighteousness

1. not righteous; not upright or virtuous; wicked; sinful; evil: an unrighteous king.
2. not in accordance with right or justice; unfair or unjust: an unrighteous law.

Here is the BAD news / GOOD news: Romans 3:10 (The Message)

We're All in the Same Sinking Boat
9-20 So where does that put us? Do we Jews get a better break than the others? Not really. Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There's nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They've all taken the wrong turn; they've all wandered down blind alleys. No one's living right; I can't find a single one. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides. Every word they speak is tinged with poison. They open their mouths and pollute the air. They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with heartbreak and ruin, Don't know the first thing about living with others. They never give God the time of day. This makes it clear, doesn't it, that whatever is written in these Scriptures is not what God says about others but to us to whom these Scriptures were addressed in the first place! And it's clear enough, isn't it, that we're sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else? Our involvement with God's revelation doesn't put us right with God. What it does is force us to face our complicity in everyone else's sin.

The BAD News is: "It is clear that this thing about Righteousness is not a "We verses Them" thing. Where it is them or us we are all guilty of being unrighteous."

The GOOD News is: Romans 4:3 (The Message)

Trusting God
1-3 So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things? If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we're given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story. What we read in Scripture is, "Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own."

Abraham became Righteous not on his own merits but by trusting God. We cannot become righteous by managing our sin. We become righteous through trusting God to forgive us of our sins through accepting Jesus' sacrifice for us and then by trusting God to replace our sinful nature with His through the Holy Spirit living in us. Although we will never in this life reach perfection in righteousness we can kill the control sin has over us.

So again the question for each of us is: "Am I trying to manage my sin or am I killing it?" Another way of putting it would be: "Am I living through my own strength or am I living through Faith?"

The BAD News / GOOD News is: You managing your sin is Wrong (SIN) and You trusting in God to Kill your sin is Right (RIGHTEOUS).

My Other Blog - A Community Chaplain

2010-08-22T15:37:00.004-05:00

I have written a couple of posts at my other blog ( A Community Chaplain ) I would like for you to read:

A Vision for a New Church

http://acommunitychaplain.blogspot.com/2010/08/vision-for-new-church.html

Can You be a Christian and not Attend Church?

http://acommunitychaplain.blogspot.com/2010/08/can-you-be-christian-and-not-attend.html

Please come back and leave a comment if I stirred anything in you. Here are some comments I have received at BlogCatalog.com:

1. heartfelt and honest.

2. The layout is nice and simple. It is easy to read and i'm sure you will get alot of visitors and the visitors will be attracted to stay. Keep writing original and traffic will come original

3. I think it's good, whatever one believes or doesn't believe, to be around people who are warm and encouraging and full of a positive energy for life. If a church provides this kind of nourishing atmosphere, then it is certainly a worthwhile place to be.

4. Well-written and non-judgmental, which goes a LONG way in my mind. I personally believe 'church' is a meeting of any two or more people honestly examining their belief systems together. So church can be at a coffee house, over happy hour, while taking a walk, etc. Just my two cents.

5. I read your two most recent articles. IMO both were well written, honest and may inspire those who are now or who wish to become followers of Jesus to remain true to his teachings as recounted in the New Testament writings. You have quite rightly pointed out that "the church" is either an organization, or institution nor is it a building - the church constituted by the followers of Jesus. I think that's a very important clarification for both unbelievers and believers alike to recognize. MO this is also an important statement you made because it rings with the truth: "You can be a Christian and not attend church. " In fact many Christians I know do live in the bush and rarely get opportunities when the weather is good enough for them to travel to meet and worship together.

6. Your blog is a matter of opinion. Pure speculation, nothing more nothing less. Blogs like this sometimes give Christianity a bad rap, by being "too preachy," "over zealous," and even "one sided." If you really want to encourage people, show them how church is a positive influence. Show them through your words, and not through your "worthless" opinion. And opinions, are worthless......, we don't know you. So therefore- why do you expect us to take your word for something. Get my meaning?

I don't like to sugar coat things. I can see how sincere you are, and I'm sure you would really like to do God's work here. Am I right? So I ask you Kansas man, you want the truth, or just smoke blown up your arse?

I'm going with the truth.
Hope this helps you in your quest.

7. I read your post and it comes over as well-intentioned. I have also visited your other blog a number of times and left several comments and you come over as genuine and sincere.

I don't go to a Christian-based Church and don't consider myself any sort of a devout Christian. I was raised a Catholic and never experienced one iota of real love or acceptance in their fancy churches. All I found were abusive priests and hypocritical people who attended church a lot but only cared about themselves.

However, I do have God in my life and do my best to live with dignity and to help others.
I am a recovered alcoholic and do a significant amount of unpaid work with still suffering alcoholics, including prison visiting, a shift on a helpline and one-to-one work in a womens refuge. I can be called out ar 3am in the morning, and I go. This is love in action and surely what Jesus Christ preached?.

My husband works as a volunteer street pastor in a nearby town on a Saturday night - offering help to young people who are drunk and vulnerable.

He goes into category A prisons as a secular chaplain and listens without judgement to prisoners.

I found God when I found a 12 step programme, I meet with others and we make a committment to go to any lengths to help those who still suffer, we accept responsibility.

I never saw any of this sort of love in action in Church. People need a square meal and a bed for the night before they need a bible.

So Larry, I would be interested to read more about how you put your Christian faith into action in your communities, what you do to help the disenfranchised, the disillusioned and the lost.

Smiles and blessings

8. Larry: Please do, and I shall keep visiting 'Real Men Rock' even though I am a woman, at least today I am not one that is swaying

I applaud your sentiment - a church is about a gathering of people with a shared set of values getting into action to offer help and love to those who feel they are unlovable.

Smiles and blessings.

Thanks for any comments you might have.

Abandoned and Alone

2010-08-18T09:46:00.005-05:00

This post was inspired by a men's group I attended last night. We talked about Ruth 3 and as we talked I could identify some of what Ruth must have felt.

Have you ever felt completely alone or experienced the fear of being abandoned?

I have. I know the feelings associated with being afraid of being abandoned and I know how it feels to lay in bed at night or spending your waking hours feeling completely alone. Even when I became a Christian I had moments where I was fearful of being abandoned and a lone.

When I was two and a half my mom left me, my brother and sister and she left us alone. For years after she left I would experience the fear that my dad would leave and never return. When I experienced abandonment at age 24 and again at age 34 these feelings resurfaced. These three events in my life have caused deep wounds within me and with it a fear of being alone and abandoned.

A year or so ago a friend of mine was off and on in the hospital. Some of the reasons he was in the hospital were the results of his own actions and attitude. On one such visit he suddenly died. He died alone. That day all of the feelings I felt about being alone and abandoned came to the surface. I remember breaking down in tears but I also remember the Holy Spirit gently assuring me that my friend did not die totally alone. On the day my friend died I was healed of my fear of being alone and abandoned.

I am comforted that I do not have to fear being abandoned or alone every time I read Hebrews 13: 5-6 Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I'm fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me? (The Message)

The first song in my playlist "Stand by Me" reminds me that there are people who are still suffering from the fear of being alone and abandoned. They need someone to stand by them in their struggles. They fear being abandoned because they struggle with alcoholism, drug addiction, pornography and a host of other life controlling habits. The rest of the play list reminds me that God promised never to leave or forsake us.

I encourage you to stand by your friends just as God stands by us. You may just be the person who the Holy Spirit uses to release that person from the bondage of fear.

Are You Settling In Haran?

2010-08-16T09:35:00.004-05:00

Genesis 11: 31 "And Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together to go from Ur of the Caldees into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there".

From this passage I take it that the actually place Terah was to go was the land of Canaan but for some reason he stopped and settled in Haran.

He may have found the fertile area of Haran more desirable than continuing on to Canann. He may have encountered difficulties that seemed too great to continue the trip.

I believe often in our lives we too seem to do what Terah did and quit moving toward our goal. We instead "settle" for what we have instead of pursuing our dream.

I believe that God has placed in you a dream. This dream has it's foundation in the experiences you have had and talents that you have been given. Often this dream gets covered with the dust from negative experiences or failed expectations. It could be wounds that have come from actions of people in your life or it could be addictions you have developed to cover the wounds of life.

When I watch movies or real life stories that are about people touching the lives of those in need I often feel a stirring in my heart. I believe this stirring is God's Holy Spirit letting me know that I am made to pursue my dream of fulfilling the mission He has given to me. REAL Men RoCK is part of that calling. I write here about those things I have experienced and how God has provided for the wounds of my life. Another part of that dream He has given me is to follow Jesus in preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God, proclaim release to the captives, to set free the downtrodden and proclaim the "Favorable Year of the Lord" (Luke 4: 18-19).

Do you experience those stirrings? What is it that causes you to come alive? If you can identify those moments then I encourage you to write them down. Ask God to show you just what it means and for Him to reveal what it is He wants you to do with those stirrings.

I want to recommend two books that might help you as you discover your dream.

1. "The Dream Giver" by Bruce Wilkinson

2. "Never Give UP!" by Joyce Meyer

John Eldredge says this in his book, "Dare to Desire": "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

So what is it that "Makes you come alive?" You will know it because it stirs your heart. Don't settle for what you have but Come alive!

Speak Life

2010-08-12T22:26:00.002-05:00

I found the following story at Crystal Reflections but I have added a little to it.

Frog Story

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story teaches several lessons:

1. There is power of life and death in the tongue.

An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.

A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them. Be careful of what you say.

2. Speak life to those who cross your path.

The power of words....it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times.

3. You can choose to listen to those who speak death or to those who speak life.

4. You can choose to be the one who speaks death or the one who speaks life.

Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.

Be special to others.

I think there is one final lesson to this story: Act as if you are deaf to those who speak words of discouragement but come to life to those who speak words of encouragement.

1 Thessalonians 5: 11
So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.

A Moving Experience

2010-08-11T21:40:00.004-05:00

Several years ago I received a call from some one I attended church with. They asked me if our men's ministry helped people move. I answered no but let me see what I could do. I called around and got a few volunteers and we moved them. Now 30 some moves and six years later I want to share why some one who hates to move would help over 30 individuals move.

After that first move I remember the fun I had with the other guys as we loaded the truck. We talked as we did the task and shared simple life stories with each other. After the move was done I remember the person we helped tell us how much stress it took off of her to know she had men showing up to help her move. It seemed every time we helped some one something marvelous happened between the men who moved the stuff and in the person's life that we were moving.

Most of the people we helped were attended the church we went to but every now and then we would get a request from some one other than church members. Once I got a call from a church member to let me know they had read a post at CraigsList about a person needing moving help.

I checked into it and found the woman had had several men offer to help but that they would expect some special favors from her before they would help. When I contacted her she asked what I was going to expect from her and she was shocked when I informed her that all she had to do was sit back and watch. She shared with me how she and her parents were physically unable to load anything and how her parents had given up on finding any honest and decent men to help.

As we loaded the truck her two girls, ages 8 and 11, watched us. After a while they began to talk with us and shared with us how out of all of the people who had ever helped them they liked us most. The 11 year old shared how much fun we were having and that we seemed to actually care about them. It was at that moment I realized that what God had set up was one of those events where what was taking place here on earth was arranged by Him.

On another move the reason we were doing it became clear as one of the guys who helped with moving the party told me how important that day had been to him.

Let me be very clear I hate moving. My wife and I have been married for 24 years and up to six years ago we were moving every two years. But...I really enjoy these Moving Experiences. I enjoy rubbing shoulders with other men, talking with them, sharing our hopes and dream, sharing our disappointments and failures, and watching the stress drain from the faces of people dreading the move.

Why do I do these moves? The answer is found in 1 Thessalonians 5: 11 So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.

Bringing encouragement to another person does not require you to spend a morning or day moving them. It could be as simple as paying for their coffee, milk shake or changing their tire. I encourage you to take a moment and give some one encouragement even if it is only giving them a smile.

So You Have Been Hurt!

2010-08-08T20:21:00.003-05:00

So now what do you do with the pain?

Here are a few suggestions:
1. You could do as a recent country song sings about, pray for the person. Pray that they have a flat tire while on the way to an important meeting. Pray that their dreams become a reality for someone else. Pray that they get what they deserve. OR
2. You could say you forgive them but then refuse to meet with them because they haven't built trust with you again. OR
3. You could do what Jesus did as He hung on the cross. It is found in Luke 23 verse 34 Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them; they don't know what they're doing."
I was convicted today by the sermon given by David Andersen at Vineyard Church in Overland Park, KS. and it is what has inspired this post. Some of the material comes from, "Total Forgiveness" by R.T. Kendall
In today's sermon David spoke about our enemies in life. Those we chose to have and those who chose to have us as an enemy. In both cases we can choose to do what Jesus taught in Matthew 5: 43-48 "You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

48"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."
First, we have to establish some ground rules:

Forgiveness is not:

1. Approval of what they did.

2. Excusing what they did.

3. Justifying what they did.

4. Pardoning what they did.

5. Reconciliation. Although this is something that in most cases should take place.

6. Denying what they did.

7. Blindness to what they did.

8. Forgetting what they did.

9. Refusing to take what they did seriously.

10. Pretending that we are not hurt.

Nothing will be achieved by doing the above. The wounds of being hurt will still be there and each time you see, think about or hear about the person those wounds will reopen.

From "Total Forgiveness"

"Just as God forgives people without approving of their sin, we also must learn that forgiving people does not imply an endorsement of their evil deeds.

"Totally Forgiving someone is a choice. It is not a feeling--but is rather an act of the will."

"Relinquishing bitterness is an open invitation for the Holy Spirit to give you His peace, His joy and the knowledge of His will"

Total Forgiveness involves an element beyond just saying we forgive the other person: it involves praying for God's blessings to rain on the lives of your offender."

Finally RT Kendall says, "Totally forgiving another person is an achievable act. It can be done, and it is something you and I must keep doing."

So you have been hurt! Someone reading this has had people betray them, some have had people who misused or abused them, someone may have been raped, and I could go on and on.

The wounds you have and the pain you feel are very real. The actions taken against you were wrong.

So what do you do with the pain? How do you heal the wound? How do you trust again?

There is only one way to not be under the control of what someone else has done to you and that is lay it at the feet of Jesus and let Him handle any punishment that should be handed out. Then get up and ask the Holy Spirit to come and comfort you in the pain and to heal your wound. Once you do this you will no longer be controlled by the actions of someone else. Then do the radical thing and ask God to rain down His blessings on the person.

Earlier I mentioned that in most cases we should seek reconciliation. I do not recommend that in cases of rape, murder or any other violent actions against you or anyone close to you. But in cases that do not involve violence it may be very appropriate and pleasing to God for us to accept the other person's invitation to reconcile. That does not mean we will be best buddies with them but it does mean we will work side by side in the name of Jesus Christ in Kingdom work.

So you have been hurt! Now what are you going to do about it?

Here is the truth: "No matter what you decide God is going to love you and the other party."

Are You Frustrated and Ready to Give UP?

2010-08-06T09:15:00.004-05:00

There have been days when I am so frustrated with the events in my life I feel like just withdrawing from continuing the battles. I do not mean taking my life but just wanting to quit trying to move forward with my dreams and the desires of my heart.

Then I see videos such as this one.

God is always faithful and He promises to never leave or forsake you. Hebrews 13: 5-6 Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote, "God is there, ready to help; I'm fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?" (Message)

Hebrews 13: 5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," (New American Standard)

Earlier in Hebrews Paul tells us to run the race with endurance: Hebrews 12: 1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

Videos like the one above remind me that when the journey gets tough Jesus is right there ready to help me to the finish line. All I have to do is call upon the Holy Spirit and like the dad in the video He will help me as I move forward.

If you are struggling today with the fact that you are struggling then I encourage you to ask God to show you the truth about whose you are. Once you understand that you belong to Him and that He will not forsake or leave you then you will, with the Father's help do as the young man in this video did, finish the race.

I hope that you found the same encouragement in the above video as I did. I may not finish first but I will finish!

Here is one more video for you to listen to with your eyes closed and your mind open.

as Sung by: Michael W. Smith
Mentioned on the video - written by: Lana Holt

He accepts you at your worst,
when he is hoping for the best.

Jesus loves you.
Jesus loves you.

He will never ever leave
and he will never ever forsake.

Jesus loves you.
Jesus loves you.

He is proud of who you are
and he has faith in who you’ll become.

He’s not like us.
He loves you just because.

He’s not like us.
He loves you just because.

And brokenhearted,
do you want your healing?
Oh trust again there is love in his right hand.

And brokenhearted,
do you want your healing?
Oh trust again there is love in his right hand.

He believes that dreams are true
and what a plan he has for you.

And Jesus loves you.
And Jesus loves you.

When you want to walk away,
he is asking you to stay.

Jesus loves you.
Jesus loves you.

You will never be alone,
he’s made your heart his loving home.

He’s not like us.
He loves you just because.

He’s not like us.
He loves you just because.

And brokenhearted,
do you want your healing?
Oh trust again there is love in his right hand.

And brokenhearted,
do you want your healing?
Oh trust again there is love in his right hand.

Oh trust again there is love in his right hand.

Brokenhearted,
do you want your healing?
Oh trust again there is love in his right hand.

Brokenhearted,
do you want your healing?
Oh trust again there is love in his right hand.

Oh yeah, yeah, there is love in his right hand.

You Are the Way You Are for a Reason

2010-08-04T10:23:00.005-05:00

Are you struggling with some life controlling issue, failure, illness, disability, sin or a sin committed against you? Have you tried to overcome and seem to fall into the same rut? Have you had prayer for your situation and still do not see any improvement? Are you frustrated or even angry with God?

If you answered YES! to any of the above then I hope this post will give you encouragement and the Holy Spirit will comfort you as you read it. What I am going to share will at first seem so crazy that you will not want to accept it. All I ask is for you to consider what I share and let God speak to you about it.

We are told in the following two scriptures that God knew us before we were even born. From these scriptures I believe it would points out that God knew what we would face in our lives and He knew where we would be in our journey at this very moment. He even knew that you would read this post today.

Isaiah 44:2a I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.

Psalm 139: 16 but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do.

So if God knew you would be struggling with whatever issue you have He must have a purpose for allowing it to be in your life. I believe that the reason for where you are right now can be found in following poem by Russell Kelfer:

You are who you are for a reason. You're part of an intricate plan. You're a precious and perfect unique design, Called God's special woman or man.

You look like you look for a reason. Our God made no mistake. He knit you together within the womb, You're just what he wanted to make.

The parents you had were the ones he chose, And no matter how you may feel, They were custom-designed with God's plan in mind, And they bear the Master's seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy. And God wept that it hurt you so; But it was allowed to shape your heart So that into his likeness you'd grow.

You are who you are for a reason, You've been formed by the Master's rod. You are who you are, beloved, Because there is a God!

If you have been hurt by others then God has a reason for allowing it to happen. You understand more than one who has not been hurt by others how it makes you feel. It is you who can be the instrument of God's peace to another who has been hurt.

If you are struggling with lust or tend to view pornography God allowed it to happen. You understand more than one who has never had that struggle what it is like to deal with it daily. It is you who can be the instrument to a man or woman struggling with lust or porn.

You see God allows stuff to happen to us so that when we accept Him as our savior He can use us to touch the lives of other people who are struggling with the very thing we had to struggle with.

As crazy as it sounds we need to rejoice in the struggles we have had because they help us to be better able to bring glory to our Creator as we help those who are struggling around us.

James 1:2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

This post was inspired by Rick Warren's book, "Purpose Driven Life".

So what do you do now?

1. Admit your situation and share it with someone you trust.

2. Continue to pray and get prayer for it.

3. Use what you have learned to help others.

4. Make yourself available for service.

5. Rejoice and Do Not Give UP!

A Friend Loves at all Times

2010-08-03T19:26:00.003-05:00

A friend placed this on his FaceBook wall. I believe this demonstrates my idea of Accountability better than any words I can share.

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

A true accountability partner will help you back on your feet and follow you as you struggle in your battles.

Breaking the Chains

2010-08-01T14:29:00.009-05:00

First I want to share that I wrote a new post at A Community Chaplain about 180 days of waiting and I hope you will go and read my first post about that subject which was written February 3, 2010.

The following post was inspired by a sermon by Mark Warner, Lead Pastor at Vineyard Church in Overland Park, KS.

Do you feel like you are bound by chains? Chains of greed, being a workaholic, pornography, lust, anger, drugs, alcohol, or any other thing that keeps you locked up.

Are you managing your sin? If you are it will eventually come back and be even stronger.

I am going to show you through this post that you can break the chains that have you bound to some addiction.

The keys are not found in some self-help book although there are many good books that can help you manage your sin.

I believe one of the things God is calling me to do is found in Luke 4 which Jesus quoted about Himself but I believe it is also a calling for His followers.

Luke 4:18 (New Living Translation) 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free,

During the 180 days of not being involved in a leadership role I learned that my most important calling is to help men discover they can be free of those things that keep them bound.

I claim the following scripture in my life and I claim it for any man who desires to break the chains that have them bound.

Galatians 5:1 (The Message) The Life of Freedom
1 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

Here is my role in you being set free: I am here to encourage you and point you to the one who will set you free, Jesus.

John 8:36 (New American Standard Bible) 36"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

How refreshing it is to know that I am not the one who will lead you to freedom. The reason that is refreshing is I am just as likely as you are to fall into relapse but Jesus is our perfect example. It is He that will live in us through the Holy Spirit and help us gain freedom by breaking the chains that bind us.

If you want to hear more about breaking free I encourage you to listen to the sermon, "Hope for the Sexually Broken", by Mark Warner, Lead Pastor at Vineyard Church in Overland Park, KS.

I you are struggling with something that is keeping you in chains I believe God can and will break those chains. Here is what you must do:

1. Admit you are bound.

2. Lay it before God.

3. Get into His Word and pray.

4. Seek an accountability ( or what I call an Encouraging ) Partner.

5. Realize it will not be a quick fix but a process.

6. Thank God for breaking each link as you journey along the road.

7. Use what God does for you by serving another guy who is struggling with being chained.

Galatians 5:1 (The Message) The Life of Freedom
1 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

John 8:36 (New American Standard Bible) 36"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Begin to live the life of freedom found in Grace of Jesus Christ.

Amazing Grace from Northeast Christian Church on Vimeo.

A Fun Day with my Granddaughter

2010-07-30T23:10:00.016-05:00

The other day I spent the day with my granddaughter and we went out and took some photos. We then went home and did some editing using PhotoScape. Here are the original photos.

PhotoScape results

So what does any of this have to do with REAL Men RoCK? Glad you asked. REAL Men RoCK is all about men becoming Righteous, Encouraging, Accountable, Loving Men Relying on Christ's Kindness. Spending the day with my granddaughter showed her love because I spent time with her and taught her something new. The result is the last picture. She felt safe enough to have fun in the end with my photo which was taken on our Sand Dunes trip.

I could have spent my day doing something else or doing nothing at all. Even though we did not get to do all of the things we had planned it was a priceless day.

While you still have the opportunity make a child feel special this coming week by spending some of your time with them. I think you will be glad you did.

I did this one myself.

What is that One Thing?

2010-07-30T08:48:00.003-05:00

Several years ago I went to a men's conference and the speaker asked this question during one of his sermons: "What one thing keeps you from doing what God has made you for?" My good friend, Doug Walton, would often talk about "what is the one thing that holds us back from being all that God wants us to be?"

Some of you who read my blog are experiencing feeling defeated or overwhelmed by some weakness or sin that you have. I know the feelings you are having because I have been there and at times still experience temporary feelings like that.

I do not have great words of wisdom of my own for you but I do have some words that helped me. These scriptures helped me and I believe they will give you encouragement and help too. I don't promise that everything will be taken care of instantly but little by little things will get better if you trust in the One who Created us. May the Holy Spirit give you strength through these words.

1 John 4: 4 (New American Standard Bible) You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Romans 12: 21 (New American Standard Bible) Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Psalms 23: 4........I will fear no evil, for you are with me Lord, Your Word and Your Spirit comfort me.

Here is a promise from God: Hebrews 13: 5 (New International Version) Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

I hope you found encouragement in this post.

Reconciliation of Being Rubbed or Doing the Rubbing.

2010-07-29T07:43:00.007-05:00

This was first posted at A Community Chaplain

Our local small town news paper has an article each week called "From the Pulpit". This week's message written by Pastor Erik Kingsley of the New Life Family Church was a good one about how hard it is today to do some of the things Jesus told us to do.

He shared a story about a man who recently accepted Jesus as his savior. The man told those attending: "If you see me stumbling in my Christian walk, do me a favor...Instead of talking about me, come talk to me." Pastor Erik goes on to add, "It's good Biblical protocol. Unfortunately, it's getting more and more difficult to put into practice every single day."

He went on to talk about how blogs, email, Facebook, Twitter, text messaging, etc. has made it acceptable to talk about people in a fictional sense. Talking about them instead of talking to them.

I must admit that what I write about here are real experiences suffered at the hands of real people. I share those events that either I have done or that others have done to me or to others. I do not share names of people involved or the locations the events took place because that is not what is important. What is important is the event itself and the results of it on the lives of people involved. If by chance someone thinks they know who I am talking about then they themselves are guilty of placing the event with a person and it is either based on something they think they know or some actual knowledge.

In Pastor Erik's article he references Jesus words found in Matthew 18: 15 "And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. Verse 16 says this: "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed." Verse 17: "And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church: and if he refuses to listen to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax gather."

Unfortunately every now and then I have experienced going to someone and they did not listen but instead pointed the matter back at me. The times I have gone to a leader, especially a Christian leader, and shared with them something I felt they did and they did not listen to what I shared and instead told me how it must be my problem they dug the wound a little deeper.

The truth is not listening is a very human thing that we all do. We do not want to hear something about behavior or attitudes that we have that have wounded other people.

I will close this post talking about Reacting and Responding. When someone actually does what Matthew 18 says and shares with us something we have done we either react or respond to what is said. Reacting comes from not hearing the words but hearing the criticism. Responding comes from hearing the words and considering that they might be true or maybe partly true with a little of old wounds having been rubbed.

It might be good to let the person say what they wanted to share and instead of replying to it at the moment ask the person if you could meet with them again in a day or two. Then take the next few days to pray about what our part is in the situation and what wounds the other person might have that we have reopened. In Matthew 5: 23-24 Jesus said this: "If therefore, you are presenting your offering at the alter, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the alter, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering."

In both of these passages Jesus is pointing out that the most important thing is that an attempt is made to reconcile. What we often do is either not hear someone's complaint against us or we cover up what we have done.

Here at REAL Men RoCK I write about those experiences either I or someone else has had without sharing who caused them or in what city they took place. I do so because they happen in every city, small town, in every business, every church and every organization. Who and where is not important. What is important is sharing ideas for solving what took place.

If you are reading this and you are applying it to someone right now then you need to either practice Matthew 18: 15 or Matthew 5: 23-24. The sad thing is many Christians who know and quote these scriptures do not always practice them.

Imagine for a moment if we did. The results from practicing Matthew 5: 23-24 and Matthew 18: 15 would be many lost relationships would be regained because reconciliation would have been attempted. As Christians we have a responsiblity even if we have been hurt to attempt to reconcile with the other person and if we don't we share in the guilt of not seeking reconciliation.

The Church - Part II

2010-07-23T00:22:00.006-05:00

Sometimes what I write gets me in trouble with other pastors but oh, well here I go again.

Stats show that 52% of the people in our county do not identify with a church and that many of the other 48% do not attend church on a regular basis. My question is why?

I think there are some answers to that question which will tic off some pastors and Christians. Not long ago I heard in a meeting this phrase, "There is a glitch in the system and that glitch is you!" I think that can be applied to the state of the church today. The reason many do not identify or attend church is looks us in the mirror every morning.

As I was trying to go to sleep this thought hit me so I had to get up and write it. "Sunday morning is the most superficial day of the whole week. Many of the people who attend church each week are pretending to be something they are not." Harsh words? No, it is the truth. I know I have lived it and I watch it weekly.

In America today what do most men hear when they hear a pastor speak? "They hear us saying one thing but watch us living another." They hear, "Quit being greedy but then they see a pastor focus on money." They hear, "Quit being number one and then they watch as the pastor pulls into his or her own parking place close to the front door." They hear, "We want men involved but then they are expected to leave their manhood at the front door."

On Sunday mornings people walk into churches where very few people are being real and many are playing a Sunday morning role. When Sunday rolls around people put on their Sunday appearance and behavior. They suddenly become saints and unreal but once services are over they easily slip back into the old clothes of life. Many who know us Monday through Saturday would not recognize us Sunday morning.

I believe that many more would attend if they knew and felt that church was a place where the sinner could find healing for their brokenness. Where they found that Matthew 9: 12-13 and Mark 10: 41-45 were the foundation for all ministry.

Matthew 9: 12-13

(Message) Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: 'I'm after mercy, not religion.' I'm here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders."

(New American Standard) But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Mark 10: 41-45

41 Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 "But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

I believe everyone wants to belong to something real. Sinners will come to a church where they know that sin is addressed in an honest convicting way but without condemnation. They will come if they know that long time believers who have been changed by the Holy Spirit welcome them in their filthy rags and who will walk with them as they change.

I am going to post this now but will be updating it over the next few days as the Holy Spirit leads me.

Update 7/23/10: What I am saying about being artificial on Sunday mornings is we walk into church trying to hide our brokenness. When we do that we give the impression to those who are new one that they cannot relate to or hope to reach. If they were to secretly watch many of us during the other days they would see a much different person than they see Sunday mornings.

What they should be seeing is a person who the Holy Spirit working in and who admits they struggle with issues of life.

Update 7/25/10: I asked the question www.BlogCatalog.com "What is your response to the word church" and I have gotten almost 90 response from people and most have not been positive. I am saddened by some of the responses because the church has not always been what Jesus would want us to be.

The Struggle

2010-07-21T10:33:00.008-05:00

While on our vacation in Colorado my grandson decided to climb up this sand hill. As I watched him I got the idea for this blog. The first photo is of him moving up the hill shot from below. I moved around to get a different point of view which is where I got the idea for this blog.

From my first view point I was down below him and I was just watching his struggle. Have you ever found yourself watching someone else's struggle as if you were below or above them? Your vision of what was going on was from either being above or below what was happening. Because of that you approached their struggle from that prospective.

As I moved around to get a photo from a side view I had to struggle up the adjacent hill. Now the struggle my grandson was going through I was experiencing in my own life.

When we have friends who are struggling with an addiction or some other major problem in their lives we can better understand it if we get intimately involved. What I mean by that we better understand if we have struggled with a similar problem or if we take the risk and come along side of them as they struggle. Getting our hands dirty in their lives and giving them our time and attention.

As my grandson struggled up the hill we were on another hill yelling encouragement to him as he moved up the hill. The struggle got harder not easier as he reached the summit but because of the encouragement he did not give up and eventually reached the top.

Your friend that is struggling will receive new strength when they hear your words of encouragement from you.

As a Christian I believe our true strength comes from the involvement of the Holy Spirit in our lives but God almost always works through the lives of other believers.

My grandson reached a point higher than the rest of us and as he came down the hill it showed on his face and walk. The same will take place in your friend by hanging in there and by not giving up they will reach the summit. and then they will celebrate with you the victory.

I encourage you to not move away from a friend who is struggling. Move toward them and risk getting involved in the mess of their life. You could be just the person God wants to use in helping them gain victory over their problems.

If you do you just might share in their celebration of freedom.

The Church

2010-07-19T11:03:00.001-05:00

Just what does the word church mean? When most of us think about church we get an image of a building. Whether it be a big or small building does not matter but we often have an image of a building such as this small country church.

In Matthew 16: 18 Jesus says this about the church: "You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out."

Sometimes people take this scripture and say that Jesus was saying that the church would be built by Peter. But if we look closer by looking at the Amplified Bible version we will find that Jesus was actually saying that Peter was a piece of a rock but the church would be built on a large rock.

Matthew 16: 18 (Amplified Bible) 18 And I tell you, you are [a]Peter [Greek, Petros--a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra--a [b]huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the [c]infernal region) shall [d]not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].

From this scripture we see that the foundation for the church is Jesus and it is on His power that it is built and it survives. He is the head of the church as we find in Ephesians 5: 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is head of the church, He Himself being Savior of the body.

So the question again is what is this thing called the church and where should it meet?

In 1 Corinthians 12 we are told about Spiritual gifts being given to the body (verse 27-28). Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. These types of gifts are given to people so we have to conclude that the church is a body of people. This scripture also clearly shows that within that body there are gifts for adminsitration, teaching and so forth. What most people call the church, the organization, is really then the offices that are suppose to minister to the church body (the people). To make it clear the church is not the organization or the building but the people God has called to that organization housed in the building.

So where should a church meet? What does the temple look like? Before I continue go grab a hand mirror and take a long look at your face. You might have lines under your eyes or along your lips. You might have pimples and other blimishes of the skin. You are not a perfect example of mankind. But.... 2 Corinthians 6: 14-18 says: Don't become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way: "I'll live in them, move into them; I'll be their God and they'll be my people. So leave the corruption and compromise; leave it for good," says God. "Don't link up with those who will pollute you. I want you all for myself. I'll be a Father to you; you'll be sons and daughters to me." The Word of the Master, God." The person who you saw in the mirror is part of the body called the church.

You see we are the church and we are God's temple. The church then is wherever we are and wherever we are Christ is there also. Matthew 18: 20 "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

So the church can meet in many different locations. A building such as above, a large mega-church building or even in a building that is not often looked upon as a church. One of my favorite places to meet is called Homer's, a coffee house, located in Overland Park, KS.

Where one or two or more gather is not nearly as important as the act of getting together. Earlier we touched on that the body is given different gifts. If you look at Paul's description of these gifts he uses body parts to shows us the importance of these gifts.

It is in this scripture we also find why it is important for us to gather. You hav ebeen given a gift or gifts that I do not have. By us getting together whether over coffee or in corporate worship I can benefit from being around you and the gifts God's Holy Spirit has given to you and vise versa.

In the Kansas county of Miami there are about 30,000 people and according to stats about 14,245 people claim association with a church organization. That means approximately 15,755 do not claim association with any church body. Many of the 14,245 people who do claim an association with a church body do not attend church weekly.

I believe the church organization needs to make contact with the 53% of the people in the county who do not attend much less claim an association to the church. The church needs to find out why they do not attend and help them move towards God.

My image of a church is a place where messy lives come together to touch each other through using the gifts they have been given. Of course there is more than that to church. Pick up that mirror again. What I want you to realize is that the person in the miror with all his or her imprefections is the church called the body of Christ. You have a valuable part to contribute to the lives of the rest of the body. Coming to church is not to get your Hell insurance but for helping others as they journey towards the Kingdom. By the way they ain't perfect either.

I encourage you to check out the churches in our area and be encouraged when a new one pops up even if it is meeting in a coffee house or some other unusual place.

Are You Guilty of Adultery?

2010-07-18T21:18:00.003-05:00

I am sure that most of the guys who read this blog, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or whatever have never been involved in committing adultery. Or have you?

Let's look at the definition of adultery which is found at Dictionary.com: voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her lawful spouse.

Ok, so you and I may not have committed the physical act of adultery but are we still guilty of the thought process involved? Most religions would tell us that it is wrong to have sexual relations with someone who is not our wife and definitely not with the wife of another man. Christianity is no different but Jesus took it a step farther. We find His statement on adultery in Matthew 5.

Matthew 5: 27-28 "You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt."

If we look at the Old Testament figure of David who is described as a man after God's heart. we will find the steps involved in committing adultery. 2 Samuel 11: 2-4 One late afternoon, David got up from taking his nap and was strolling on the roof of the palace. From his vantage point on the roof he saw a woman bathing.

1st: David was being idle and not doing his job. He was King and he should have been off with his men defending the kingdom.

The woman was stunningly beautiful.

2nd: David looked upon her beauty. The indication here is he not only looked at her but did a double take.

David sent to ask about her, and was told, "Isn't this Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

3rd: David sent someone to gather some more information about her.

David sent his agents to get her.

4th: David sent one of his servants to bring her to the palace.

After she arrived, he went to bed with her.

5th: David allowed his admiration of her beauty to become sexual contact.

Guys lets be honest we notice a beautiful woman. That is not the problem here. The problem is the second and the third look. The problem is after the second or third look we begin to imagine what she looks like undressed which then leads us to imagining having sexual contact with her.

That is what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5. Once we reach that point we are as guilty as if we actually did have sex with her.

Jesus makes it clear that the sin does not begin as we undress a woman nor as we have sex with her. The sin begins within our hearts and minds.

I have to confess I have been guilty believing the lie that the sin is in the physical. Men sin begins way before anything physically is stirred in you. I do not care what religious or non-religious back ground you have you are still capable of falling into this trap. I encourage you to ask God to send another man into your life who can come along side of you and fight this battle with lust.

Note: This post was stirred in me by a sermon given at Vineyard Church by Lead Pastor Mark Warner.

Turn the stuff off and have fun

2010-07-17T22:02:00.006-05:00

This is a photo of me and my two of my grandkids, Daks and Spencer. We are resting from attempting to climb to one of the highest points of the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado.

Climbing the dunes is like facing the obstacles that life throws your way. You have to find the best route and stick with it even when it seems the going is too hard. Stick with it and make the most out of what you have but most of all enjoy life.

We did not make it to the top but we had fun trying and we certainly enjoyed the hike to where we are in this photo.

With this post I want to plant in your heart the desire to turn off the television, unplug the XBox and sit down and plan a trip together.

I am 60 years old and I have no idea how long God will allow me to live and so this trip to Colorado was important to me.

I also want to warn you not to do some of the things I did while on this trip. I got uptight a couple of times over things that really did not matter. My attitude briefly killed the enjoyment we were having. Chill out and enjoy the time you have with those you love.

Our last day in the area we went out to eat at Nino's Mexican Restaurant. We had hoped to go to Oscar's but it was closed so we went to Nino's. We ate on the outdoor patio area. Great food and atmosphere. We topped our meal with a large fried ice cream.

I think you can see we had a fun time at Nino's.

Go ahead take the risk and plan a trip with your family and discover what fun it can be without television, XBox or even Ipods. You just might find that you had more fun without those things than you do with them.

I hope my wife, my daughter and my G-Kids had a terrific time and are like me ready to go on another trip together.

It was tough but someone had to do it.

Are You a Minister of Reconciliation?

2010-07-16T23:17:00.004-05:00

In 2 Corinthians 5: 18 we are told this by Paul: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

Let's look deeper at this passage by looking at it in relationship to the verses before and after it and then apply it to our lives.

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. 12 We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

We are told that we are to be new creatures once we accept Jesus as our savior. That does not mean we instantly overcome all of our hurts, wounds and sins but it does mean we are actively working on them.

We are told that we become ministers of reconciliation. Which means we are to take the risk of reconciling with people who are honestly seeking our forgiveness and who are pursuing reconciliation with us. It is a risk because it means we open ourselves up to being hurt again by trusting someone who hurt us before.

If you have felt the sting of having another person break your trust you no doubt have a wound in your spirit from the experience. If that person comes to you and apologizes and wants to reconcile you have the obligation to take the risk to at least begin the process of reconciliation.

You have the right to evaluate the intentions of the other person and stop the process if they appear to not be honest in their intentions. You do not have the right to ignore them as they reach out to you.

If Jesus is your savior He has reconciled you to God and by doing so has made you a minister of reconciliation to others. Failure to respond to another person's cry for reconciliation becomes a roadblock to your blessings that result from reconciliation.

I encourage you to consider the request for reconciliation from a person who has hurt. Pray about it. Seek counseling about it. But do not ignore the person's cry. You harm not only the other person by yourself and the blessings God has in store for you when you reconcile.

If you are a pastor and you are not reaching out to someone who has hurt you and seeking reconciliation then you are missing an opportunity to show the church this passage in action. As leaders we are to model the Bible not just teach it.

I will be honest with you about what stirred this post. I broke the trust of another person. The Holy Spirit convicted me of my actions and I have apologized not only to the person but to others who might have been harmed. I have offered to meet and talk and rebuild our relationship. Notice I did not say rebuild trust because I know that is harder to do. I have received no response from this individual except for them to remind me of my sin.

In my blog I write about my experiences and the wounds I have. I have been wounded by leaders who fail to be leaders. I have been wounded by men who say one thing to the church but live a different way. Ignoring my cry for reconciliation by a man who is suppose to be a leader only reinforces the experiences I have had with leaders. Many years ago I told my brother I would never lead people in the way that those past leaders led me. This experience only reinforces that pledge.

I hope this touches both those who have been offended and those who have offended. Do not put off doing what the Holy Spirit through Paul instructed us to do. Be a minister of reconciliation.