Expecting Something…

One thing you quickly learn living in Kansas is that the weather is unpredictable and can change at any given moment. I say that to say, in the ministry I am a part of (Assemblies of God Kansas) we just cancelled an event because we are expected to get 5 to 8 inches of snow over the next couple of days. Will it happen? Who knows, but we are living with the expectancy that it will.

This decision made me think, “What if we as Christians lived with an expectancy that Christ already forecasted, that he is coming again.”   Would it cause us to change our plans or the way we think, live, or act? Would we think of others and do whatever it took to share this message with them?

One of the reasons we cancelled this event was because of our concern for the safety of others. Would they make it here or be able to make it home? Have we had the concern lately whether or not our family, friends, coworkers, the general public will make it home when Christ comes?

For the majority of my life I have been taught that Jesus is coming.  I have not always lived like I believed it, but down inside I knew it was true. Will the storm come this weekend? Well, that is yet to be seen, but better safe than sorry.

Maybe we should adopt the same principle for the forecast of Jesus; better safe than sorry. Maybe there are things we should change in our lives. Maybe there are people we know who need to hear of this coming King.

I encourage you: be safe not sorry.  Share the forecast of Christ’s return and maybe you’ll lead someone to safety. Might also help you live expecting something.

Peace!

Relevant, what does that mean?

Relevant (rěl’ə-vənt)

 

The term Relevant has become a catch-word over the past several years. We hear how people, music, clothes, and even preachers (ministries) are relevant, but what does that mean? 

 

People often think they are relevant and they are not; at best they are just trendy.  Just because you have trendy clothes, listen to trendy music and have a vocabulary full of trendy words that does not make you relevant.  Trendiness can impact your image, but alone it is powerless to impact your community.  Being relevant has the possibility to change not only your image, but your community as well.

 

Dictionary.com defines Relevant as:

1.   Having a bearing on or connection with the matter at hand.

2.   Pertinent to the matter at hand

 

Maybe being relevant is not as much about who you are as it is what you are; “Having a bearing on or connection with the matter at hand.”  What was relevant to us when we pastored in the inner city of Kansas City will not be relevant to someone pastoring in Western Kansas or Northern California.  Not because what we did was better than what they are doing, but because we had a bearing on what our community needed, and their communities may not need what ours did.

 

Relevant means that you are in touch with what is going on around you and you know what to do about it.  I made a comment on my Facebook page about a friend of mine being the most relevant cat I know and another friend ask me what I meant by that.  To me, my friend who is relevant has a great bearing on or connection with the matter at hand, whatever that matter may be.  He just gets it when it comes to being connected to his local and global surroundings.  He is trendy, but more importantly, he is relevant.

 

Awareness is one of the core values of the Comprehensive Outreach Ministry I direct.  To me awareness needs to be more about us (as Christians) being aware of what is going on around us than it is the unchurched being aware of us.  We spend so much time trying to get everyone to see what we are doing, but we spend little time to see what is the ”matter at hand.”

 

What if we as ministers and/or Christians strived to have a bearing or connection?  Would we have a better, or more relevant, understanding of what needs there are in our church as well as our communities?  Maybe so!

 

I encourage you to take some time and see what relevant means in your journey of life.  Try to develop an awareness of what is going on outside of yourself and see if that helps you be relevant.

 

Peace!

A Look…

To be honest I have never thought of myself as a blogger.  Don’t get me wrong I always have plenty of thoughts and always plenty to say, just never thought anyone would want to listen.  A friend of mine is a great blogger and I really get inspiration from reading his blogs.  So I thought maybe I could inspire someone. 

For 10 years I had the privilege to pastor an urban church in Kansas City, KS (where I was raised).  Over those 10 years I learned a lot and hopefully taught (or inspired some).  I am no longer a pastor of a local congregation, but I am still a minister.  I now work in the district office for the Assemblies of God Kansas (AGK).  I work alongside our District Superintendent as his Executive Assistant.  I am also the District Outreach Director.  I am anticipating that this is where most of my Post 10 blogging will come from.

One of the things God helped us to do in our Kansas City church was reach our community.  I truly believe we were a community church.  We did everything we could to help meet the needs of our community (physically, emotionally, and even financially at times).  We actually started in Jerusalem, before we went to Judea and Samaria.  Don’t get me wrong we gave, supported and went on mission trips, but our purpose from God was to reach out to our multi-cultural community, and that we did.   A lot of what we did was benevolence type outreach: We were in an urban area and there were always plenty of people needing benevolence. 

Ministering in the area I was raised in was a big plus for me and our church.  I understood the people, because I was one of them.  Now, I don’t live in an urban area, but I find myself still drawn to the needs of others.  With the economy today there are people hurting in all walks of life.  They may not need a free meal or free school supplies for their kids, but they do need something; they need someone to listen and understand their hurt. The pains of life are not restrained by social or economical status.  The attacks may be different, but the pain is real.

Look around and see where you can be involved in your community and begin meeting the needs of others as you look to meet your own needs.  Sometimes all it takes is a look.