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Monday Morning (afternoon) Musings …

Yesterday was a very difficult day and now we are “enjoying” some winter with a few inches of snow. I guess this snow is to make up for the small amount we received this winter. As for my musings …

-We lost another dear saint yesterday. She was a jewel. She was just 3 months shy of her 92nd birthday. She had one of the greatest smiles I have ever seen and the twinkle in her eyes when she smiled or laughed was extraordinary. She was getting ready to come to church, stumbled and fell. She hit her head on something and it caused a brain bleed. When my wife and I visited her right after church she was talking, smiling, joking and the twinkle was still there. Just over an hour after we left her, she had another bleed and did not recover. I am confident of her relationship with Christ, but she is really going to be missed.

-Time change Sunday, especially the “spring forward” Sunday, is always a tough day. The attendance at my churches was not good and the atmosphere as the services began was flat. It improved as the services continued, at least until my part.

-My preaching was bad yesterday. I struggled all week with the sermon. Changing my original sermon mid-week as God nudged me in a different direction. Then I never got a good grip on the message. As I reflect now I realize I tried to cram too much into the message. I was bad when I practiced the message and I didn’t get much better as I preached at either church.

-After doing 5 funerals in my first 3 years here, the funeral on Friday will be the 3rd in the past 6 weeks. I would like to go back to the previous schedule please.

-I love spending time with my wife. Given the busyness of our schedules the past few weeks it has been difficult to get the time. So, I am really looking forward to getting away for a couple of days next week with my wife.

-I loved my conversation with a fellow pastor this morning. He is excited about some new people attending and plans that are being made for new ways to impact the community in which he serves. I love hearing of churches, and pastors, making a difference.

-I am more burdened for Easter this year than I have been in a long time. Spending a lot of extra time praying about Easter and the preparation for Easter. I am always excited for Easter, but this year I feel a real sense of urgency and burden for it.

-We had a new family visit my 10:30 church yesterday. It was good to hear some of their story while visiting after worship.

-My mind is not desiring to focus well today. Since I have a church board meeting to finish preparing for, I better end these musings.

Here’s hoping that you find someone to encourage today. When you find them, take the time to encourage them. It will improve the day for both of you.

 

Dennis

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Monday Morning Musings …

Yesterday was a day for vision. The message was about looking forward and where God is leading us. It was also a day to examine where we are at this moment. It was also a day to grieve with a family who has lost a very special lady. As for my musings …

-This afternoon we will have a service to celebrate the life of one of the most servant-minded ladies I have ever known. It is technically a funeral service and there is a definite feeling of loss. However, we know that she is now pain free and beginning to enjoy the rewards of a life lived for her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I ache for her husband. They had been married over 66 years. They were the picture of a husband and wife, “the two shall become one”. They have quietly influenced and impacted hundreds throughout the years. This service is an honor to lead. It will be a joy because of the certainty of her testimony. It will be difficult because I will be looking at her husband and noticing and hurting for the fact that he has lost the love of his life.

-Yesterday I preached about where we go from here. This was the first Sunday of a new church year for us.

-At one of my churches we looked a little more generally about the future, laying the foundation for what we need to do next.

-At one of my churches we looked specifically at some plans for this next year. My Assistant Pastor remarked after the service that when he read the sermon notes to enter them into the computer for the service, that he thought the statements were good. However, when he heard me say them out loud in front of everyone it hit him how impactful they were going to be.

-Yesterday afternoon was the visitation for the family of the lady I mentioned in my first musing. It was very enlightening to observe the interactions for a couple of hours. I saw and heard the impact this humble lady had on so many people of all ages. I always learn a lot observing at a visitation.

-I also had a church board meeting as soon as I left the visitation. It made for a day of great contrasts, with worship services at 2 churches, a funeral visitation, a church board meeting and then some time attempting to unpack everything that took place as I reflected on the day.

-On Wednesday one of my grandkids has a milestone birthday. He turns 10. Hitting double digits is a big deal. I love his creativity, his sensitivity, his love for Jesus, his smile and his laugh, especially when he laughs at his own jokes.

-My grandson’s birthday also marks the 10th anniversary of the loss of one of my uncles. He would have loved my grandson. My uncle laughed at his own jokes as well. He also loved Jesus and his family well. He was the uncle who told embarrassing stories about you to any girl you brought to a family gathering. I miss him.

-I am already excited for this next Sunday’s message.

-I need to get going and finish getting everything ready for the funeral.

Here’s hoping you find a reason to smile today and that you pass that smile on to someone else.

 

Dennis

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Monday Morning Musings …

Yesterday was a day with a wonderful spirit and some traveling involved. I was gone Monday through Thursday last week helping my Dad with a move. Therefore, I was cramming a lot into Friday, Saturday and even Sunday. As for my musings …

-I did not get called into the hospital for a chaplain emergency last night. That happened the past 2 Sunday evenings, so it was notable that it didn’t happen yesterday. I did however travel an hour and ten minutes to visit a person from my church who has had a very rough week. Then I visited another person from church at our local hospital.

-God really moved in on me during worship yesterday. I needed that encouragement.

-Illness once again kept many people away at both churches yesterday. This has been a very difficult winter with a lot of illnesses. I am looking forward to spring, I always look forward to spring but this time I am hopeful that spring will bring an end to all this illness.

-I was very encouraged by some conversations with people after worship in both churches.

-This morning we had 6 at our early morning (5:30 to 6:30) prayer time. That encouraged me.

-Last week was a very emotional week as I helped move my Dad to an assisted living facility. It is a wonderful place, but having to make a move like this is not what any of us wanted. However, it is the right move at this time. I am grateful that I was able to be there for that transition. As I held his hand and prayed over him before I made the trip home, I was taken back to the many times that I know he was praying over me. I am thankful for my heritage.

 

-This is the week for getting all the churches annual reports done. Our church year runs from March through February. I am trying to smile.

-My son and family made it back to their missionary assignment on Saturday. That had to evacuate in January for safety reasons. Not sure how long they will be able to stay this time. I am praying fervently for their ministry as well as their safety.

-I loved the response of my grandson who is a freshman in college to my wife asking him if he needed anything. He said, “Grandma I am fine, but I am a college student so if you want to send something I will be happy.” Guess what? She sent something.

-I missed my Discipleship group while I was out of state last week. I am really looking forward to leading them this week.

-March Madness is just around the corner. Looking forward to watching some games and beating my family in our annual contest in picking the winners.

-Working on a message about the vision for my churches. I love preaching about vision and I am carrying a heavy burden for communicating that vision this year.

Here’s hoping that you catch God’s vision for you and that you reach out to someone this week in response to that vision.

 

Dennis

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Monday Morning Musings …

Yesterday was a wonderful and difficult day and today appears to have the potential to be the same kind of day. I am driving to that other state once again to spend some time with my Dad. As for my musings …

 

-My 10:30 church had a full band again yesterday. This time we added another instrument and though our original drummer was unavailable we found out that we had another drummer in our congregation. It went very well.

-A first grader joined our worship team on one song and led us in worship. It was awesome. Not only did she do very well but the congregation responded in a wonderful way. I love seeing kids worship and get excited to participate in worship. Hopefully many adults will be inspired to do the same.

-We also celebrated generous giving at both churches. My 9:00 church was celebrating giving about 50% of our normal offering to help build buildings and purchase property for churches who could not otherwise make these purchases. My 10:30 church gave 50% more than our normal offering to our “Give It All Away” offering! We are giving half of it to some local ministries outside of our church and the other half will be going to 2 international ministries. These were great moments to celebrate the generosity of the churches.

-In the afternoon, I met with another church’s health team. I will be coaching them through a process of evaluation and improvement of some church health characteristics. This was the first time to meet with them. I love helping any church become healthier.

-Last night I was once again called into the hospital by the staff to meet with a family. Last week it was to talk and pray with a family who was watching a loved one in their final hours. Last night I was called in to talk and pray with a family who unexpectedly lost a loved one. I felt so bad for the family and for the hospital staff. I wish there was more that I could do for them. I am continuing to pray for both families. I am glad that I was available to serve these families.

-On Valentine’s Day, my wife and I got to spend the whole day together. We didn’t do any special thing, but what made the day special was being with her. It had been too long since we had an entire day like that to be together with no agenda and nothing scheduled.

– My wife and I experienced some wonderful expressions of support and generosity in past few days. I am very grateful and humbled by this experience.

-I am loving the unusually warm and mild weather we have been experiencing. My fear is that there may be another winter blast coming in March or even April. But for now, I will enjoy this weather.

-I am struggling to settle on my Easter series and Easter is less than 2 months away.

Here’s hoping you recognize Christ’s love this week and that you seek to share it with others.

 

Dennis

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Monday Morning Musings …

I am loving seeing sunshine and I believe it is helping give me some energy this morning. As for my musings …

-Early Sunday morning, as in 12:30 am, I woke up with some thoughts on the sermon. Having learned the hard way that if I went back to sleep I likely would not remember those thoughts when I awoke, I got up and went to my computer. I typed and thought and prayed until about 1:45 am. Then I laid down for a couple of hours of fitful sleep before getting up at 4:30 am.

-The sermon yesterday was on The Power of the Cross in our series “Powered By God”. I needed some reminders in this area. Judging by the engagement of the congregations and reactions of people, they were in need of those reminders as well.

-I had a board meeting yesterday afternoon at my 9:00 church (I have one tonight at my 10:30 church). Then half an hour after I got home from that board meeting I got a call from our local hospital asking me to come in for a family in need of a Chaplain.

-Spending time talking and praying with a family who is watching a loved one struggle in their final hours helps you to put things in perspective. I am thankful for the opportunity to minister to this family.

-When I laid down to sleep last night I believe I was asleep before I could even sigh.

-After seeing the results of the latest Hoosiers basketball loss, I believe it was a good thing that I was too busy to watch the game yesterday.

-In case you were wondering, no I did not watch the Grammys last evening.

-I have been praying a lot for a pastor friend whose wife’s funeral was yesterday afternoon. He is a couple of years younger than me and at one time we served very near each other. I ache for him, his children and grandchildren and the church.

-This morning my thoughts have also been filled with awe as I reflect on the God’s amazing grace. I pray that I never lose the wonder and awe of grace.

-We have 20 people who are currently involved with Discipleship training in my 10:30 church!

-My wife and I have a vacation scheduled and reserved on a beach in northern Florida! Unfortunately, it is not for another 3 months.

-Daylight Savings Time change, the spring forward one, is a month away. Insert a groan here.

-In my setting the church statistical year ends in 2 weeks. That means annual reports. For me that means annual reports for 3 churches. The two that I am pastoring and the one that I am overseeing. Lucky me!

-For some reason, I suddenly feel fatigued.

-If all goes as planned, tomorrow I get to spend the whole day with my wife. It has been too long since we were able to spend a Tuesday together (it is my scheduled day off).

-This coming Sunday’s message is on “The Power of Love” as we move toward the end of the series “Powered By God”.

-Yesterday we had special offerings at both of my churches. My 9:00 church received an offering to help fund building projects and purchase land for places that could never do that on their own. My 10:30 church gave an ultimate love offering that we called “Give It All Away”. Every penny that was received will be given to other ministries outside of our building. Half of it is going to 3 local ministries and the other half will go to 2 international ministries. I am excited to hear the figures from those offerings and to let those ministries know what is coming.

Here’s hoping you see, and share, God’s love in many ways this week.

 

Dennis

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Monday Morning Musings …

Yesterday was a good day and we had a wonderful first as well. As for my musings …

-At my 10:30 church we had live instrumentals for all our music. That was a first in my 3 years here. We have had to rely on tracs almost exclusively with an occasional song with someone playing an instrument.  We had the piano, a bass, a guitar and drums for all the music. It was great. All the people who were playing the instruments have begun attending within the past year and a half.

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-In January sickness crushed our attendance at both churches. Today we bounced back a little in our attendance. We saw some people who haven’t been able to attend for a few weeks. I think seeing those people back encouraged everyone.

-On Saturday I did the funeral service for a man in my 10:30 church. He was such a great guy who loved people and didn’t just have personality, he was a personality. He is going to be missed by many people. The visitation on Friday evening had hundreds come through to pay respect and encourage the family. Our church really stepped up to support the family and provided food for, and served over 100 people for a funeral dinner. With many of the extended family bringing food I think we could have fed 200.

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-It humbling and encouraging to see several people from the church work in set up, serving the food, and clean up afterward. Some of them were there for 6 hours. What a joy to see people exercising hearts of a servant.

-Last week we had 20 people show up for discipleship training!

-What an exciting game for the Super Bowl.

-I am once again sitting in another state as I type my musings. I am here to visit with my Dad, stepmom and hopefully see a few other family members. This will be a very quick trip. Your continued prayers for him are appreciated.

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-I was fired up to preach the message yesterday. It was part of the series “Powered By God”. Learning about God’s power and how we can live in this power daily. Yesterday was about prayer. About connecting to God’s power through prayer. We looked at Ephesians 3:14-21 and how it shows us the direction, posture, purpose and power of prayer. People seemed engaged at both churches. I am encouraged that there has been a growing number of people who are getting serious about praying. We have 2 new prayer times that were started and are being led by laypeople.

Here’s hoping that you will spend some time in prayer and sense God’s presence and love.

 

Dennis

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Some Favorite Quotes …

Here are some quotes that stood out to me in my reading recently.

-“God cancels our debt, writes us into His will, and calls it even!” (Mark Batterson in Draw the Circle)

-“…unless you speak the language of your intended audience, you won’t be heard by the people you want to reach.” (Dr. Frank Luntz in Words That Work)

-“The difficulty down the years, as a rule, was not that men taught wrong doctrine, but that they did not live up to the doctrine they taught.” (A. W. Tozer in The Crucified Life)

-“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14 from The Bible)

-“We are holy up to the measure in which we are God-possessed.” (F.B. Meyer in The Best of F.B. Meyer)

-“It cannot come out of you if it is not in you; and it cannot be in you unless God the Holy Ghost places it there.” (Charles H. Spurgeon in 12 Sermons on the Holy Spirit)

-“There is not a broken life anywhere which God would not bless with his Spirit if a person will only come to the place of total surrender to him.” (Arlo F. Newell in Receive the Holy Spirit)

-“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” (Ephesians 3:16 from The Bible)

-“It’s not enough to be correct or reasonable or even brilliant. The key to successful communication is to take the imaginative leap of stuffing yourself right into your listener’s shoes to know what they are thinking and feeling in the deepest recesses of their mind and heart. How that person perceives what you say is even more real, at least in a practical sense, than how you perceive yourself.” (Dr. Frank Luntz in Words That Work)

-“What if we converted every problem, every opportunity, into a prayer?” (Mark Batterson in The Circle Maker)

-“Let God be as original with other people as He is with you.” (Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest)

-“There are two ways of exerting one’s strength; one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.” (Booker T. Washington)

-“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” (Mother Teresa)

-“…if you do not believe something to the extent that you appropriate it to your life, do you really believe it?” (A. W. Tozer in The Crucified Life)

 

Dennis

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Monday Morning Musings …

Yesterday was a lot like the rest of last week. It had some powerful and encouraging moments and it had some difficult and even devastating moments. As for my musings …

-Once again God moved among us in both churches and people responded. The response was not to anything warm and fuzzy, the response was to a call for total surrender to God and being filled by His Holy Spirit.

-In my 10:30 church some of our children helped lead us in worship on one song and we received a special offering to help churches around the world with repairing and building facilities to further their ministries.

-We mourned the loss of a very special man who was a regular part of my 10:30 church. He was a favorite person to many in the community. He will be greatly missed and I ache for the loss his family is feeling. We all agree that we are glad that he is not suffering anymore and we know he is rejoicing over hearing “Well done” from the Lord. His funeral, later this week, will be a time of celebration and sharing of stories. He has given has a lot of material to share. It will be a real honor to lead his funeral service.

-It seemed that everything was conspiring against me being prepared to preach yesterday’s message. Thursday, Friday and Saturday all had things that popped up and severely crowded into my planned times of study and prep. Then on Sunday morning itself that trend continued right up until the worship service began at my 9:00 church. Good news, God still came through and people responded at both churches.

-Attendance was very low at both churches. January has been a difficult month for attendance. There have been many people absent every Sunday in January due to illness. I am hoping that turning a page on the calendar brings some better health.

-I was able to spend some time with my Dad, Stepmom, brother and step-sister for a couple of days early last week. My Dad is having some serious health issues. His constant theme through his 44 years of pastoral ministry was “God is still God”. He is still living that theme. It is difficult to see and hear of his struggles. My Dad has been my greatest spiritual example my entire life. I will be making another trip to see him very soon.

-My brother and I had not been together for quite a while. We talk on the phone and comment on each other’s Facebook activities. We just haven’t been able to be in the same spot recently. It was great to spend some time with him.

-This past week marked my 3rd anniversary as pastor of my 10:30 church. God has been good and the church has grown significantly. Most important is the spiritual growth. Seeing people come to faith in Christ and seeing many grow in their faith and service with Christ. To expand our impact in our community and our reach internationally has been exciting. It has been a positive 3 years. Looking forward to the next 3 years and beyond.

-We are beginning a new round of Discipleship training this week. I love seeing people dig in and grow in their personal walk with Christ.

-I am very thankful for special times of prayer. I have been desperately standing in the need of prayer often in recent days. I have also felt the burden of many pastor friends who are going through some difficult times. I am standing on the promises and God’s promises always come through.

-This morning in my time of prayer I was directed to Joshua 3:5, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

Here’s hoping you are preparing yourself to see, and experience, God do amazing things in your life.

 

Dennis

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What are you expecting?

(This post was first run 2 and a half years ago. I edited it slightly and added a few thoughts. I thought it was appropriate for this time.)

Expectations are wonderful and dangerous things. They are wonderful because they point us in a certain direction and can give us sharp focus. If you are not expecting anything you are likely going to be unenthusiastic about whatever you are doing. Without expectations, others don’t know where you are going and will not follow. Without expectations, it is hard to know if you accomplished your goal, after all isn’t a goal something you are expecting?

So, what are you expecting? What are you expecting from this day?

The dangerous part of expectations is they set you up for disappointment. Disappointment, by definition, at least my definition, is failed expectations. So, if what I am expecting does not happen then I will be disappointed. Understanding the connection between expectations and disappointment is critical for establishing productive expectations. Knowing that a failed expectation leads to disappointment can lead some to the conclusion that they should not set any expectations. Their logic is that if they don’t set any expectations then they won’t fall short on any expectations and therefore they won’t have any disappointments. There are major problems with that logic. First, without expectations you will just wander with no clear goal or motivation. Second, you may end up following the wrong plan as you get swept along by someone else’s expectations. Third, you will miss the joy of seeing fulfilled expectations.

         

Don’t avoid expectations, instead set expectations that will motivate you without being too unrealistic. Be willing to adjust expectations without compromising your vision or goals. Don’t get so caught up in “realistic” expectations that you leave no room for the power of the Holy Spirit and the moves of God.

What are you expecting from this day? What are you expecting from the next time of worship at your church? What are you expecting from this next week, month or year?

Let’s expect great things. Let’s expect God to do amazing things. Let’s encourage each other in our expectations.

Dennis

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Monday Morning Musings …

As I sit here in a Starbucks, a couple of states away from home, I am moved as I recall the sights and sounds of our worship yesterday. As for my musings …

-There were 30 people who stood or stepped forward to confess and repent of whatever has been blocking God’s power in their life. That was a powerful scene and an even more powerful foreshadowing of what is to come. God is on the move in our churches and I am very excited for the future.

-Once again there was a great spirit in our time of singing and a great sense of unity in our prayer times.

-It is not just a slogan anymore, God is up to something special in our community.

-On Saturday evening my wife and I hosted the church board members and spouses of the 3 churches I am responsible for. (I directly pastor 2 churches and I am the lead/supervising pastor of a 3rd church. That church has a campus pastor.) It was just our way of honoring them and thanking them for their ministry. We ate well and laughed a lot.

 

-I am loving hearing reports from many people who have made a renewed commitment to be in the Word this year. The most exciting part is seeing them look to apply what they are learning from God’s Word.

-I had some significant prayers answered on behalf of my missionary kids this week.

-We have had a lot of people with major physical issues in the past month.

-This past week I had the privilege and responsibility to be a part of a team that interviewed pastors who were seeking their first ministry license, renewing their license or seeking ordination from our district and denomination. It is humbling and exciting. I am more convinced than ever that the future of pastoral ministry is in good hands after spending time with this group.

-I got to visit with my Dad in person last night for a few minutes. Looking forward to spending some time with him, my stepmom and a few other relatives for the next couple of days. I am about to head to the airport and pick up my brother. It has been too long since we were in the same location. This should be fun.

-After preaching, and ministering, at 2 of my churches yesterday morning I then got in the car and drove about 6 hours. Once I feel asleep last night I am not sure that I moved until my alarm went off this morning.

-I missed being with those in our early morning prayer time back home this morning.

-We are about to begin another round of discipleship training and some who have gone through 2 of the steps are looking to apply it with some new people. This is what we have been moving toward.

-Today is my youngest granddaughter’s 1st birthday celebration. Wish I could be there, but I can see her whole face consuming grin in my mind and in the pictures her mom will post. I am blessed.

-At my 10:30 church we are doing our 2nd Annual Give It All Away love offering in 3 weeks. Every dollar that comes in on that day will be given away to other ministries. Half of it to local ministries and half to international ministries. I love serving with people who believe we are here to be a conduit of serving and giving rather than a storage facility.

I need to head to the airport. Have a blessed week and enjoy the truth that you are loved.

 

Dennis

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