Lake Geneva, Wisconson

If you ever go to Lake Geneva, like Pastor Joy and I did recently, definitely eat at Popeye's (shown in the back). It is GREAT and we had a great time while we were there too!

People Pleasing Can Kill You

In Acts 12, King Herod puts James, the brother of John to death. Because this pleased many of the people (the anti-Christian Jews), Herod proceeded to arrest Peter and held him in order to bring him to a public trial after the impending Passover.

It is clear that because of the praying Church, Peter was supernaturally released (an escape) through the work of a God appointed angel. It’s an awesome miracle and a “must read.”

After his escape, Peter became a wanted man and went into hiding, even leaving a message for James the ½ brother of Jesus (and author of the book of James) about what happened.

But God had another plan. He did not want Peter to be a man in hiding but wanted him to be a preacher of the gospel and a public figure. And so God worked His plan to remove Herod which would allow Peter to freely move about once again. Let’s pick it up at Acts 12:19b.

Acts 12:19b-25 (NIV)

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. ²⁰He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food supply.

²¹On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. ²²They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." ²³Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴But the word of God continued to increase and spread.

²⁵When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.

Fascinating!!! Nowhere do we read that Herod was struck down for coming against Peter. And in the final portion of the scripture, it is stated that the Word of God continued to increase and spread in general, though we know that this included the ministry of Peter. Instead, it was Herod’s weakness for people pleasing that brought him down. Just as he had arrested Peter in an effort to gain more popularity, it was his receiving of praise and glory from people and not acknowledging God which killed him.

You see, Herod was the King of God’s chosen people and in this position, he was God’s anointed vessel. In this case as in many cases even today, God’s way of dealing with someone who stands in the way of His Kingdom is to give them enough rope to hang themselves. It was through an unrelated situation but with the same heart issue in play which became Herod’s demise.

Herod would have known through his training in Hebrew scriptures that his gifts and talents and placement in life were all God given. Nobody has talent unless the Lord gives them the talent and nobody rises unless the Lord raises them up. But our God is a jealous God and we must give Him all of the credit and acknowledgement literally for everything and every step along the way.

In Herod’s case this was amplified, even accelerated by the fact that God intended to remove him because of his actions against the Church.

This is a reminder to all, whether a follower of Christ or not, whether a friend of the gospel or a foe (there is no such thing as neutral), that it will always be in our best interest never to receive the praises of man, but instead to quickly, carefully and enthusiastically deflect all of these to our maker. And furthermore, let us all be careful not to become enemies of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no greater target on earth then the man who stands in the way of the ever increasing Kingdom of God! Especially a man or woman who is intent on receiving the praises and the accolades of men which are by design, reserved only for God.

Praises from man are one of the most basic tests that many of us are given on a regular basis. Especially those in the public eye of ministry. Humility is not only a key to achieving increase in God’s Kingdom, but it is necessary for our survival not only here on earth, but eternally.

Charles Nieman doesn't "throw gays out" of his Church

I was watching TBN the other day, which I rarely do. Gary Oliver was hosting and he brought on Charles Nieman. I have always liked Gary Olivers worship and enjoyed his preaching for a series he did a few years back at the School of the Acts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Charles Nieman has also always been a Pastor who I have gleaned from on the rare occasions I have come across his media materials. He founded a great Church in El Paso Texas. I think Gary Olivers Church is in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area.

Pastor Nieman made a comment during the course of the broadcast saying that many people criticize him because he doesn't "throw gays out" of his Church. Gary Oliver got a look on his face like he couldn't believe Charles said that on TV but that he was in agreement. Interesting.

We have been dealing with the issue of folks struggling with homosexuality in our Church and there are many who do. For those of you familiar with the Philippines, you know that this is one of the biggest issues here. Our struggles have ranged from leaders not doing anything to our leaders being condemning.

One of my core beliefs of how to build a Church today is that people need to be able to "belong before they believe." I believe this to the point that I am even an advocate of allowing even pre-believers to serve in a limited capacity in the Church. Of course this has to be done with extreme care.

At the end of the day, or should I say at the beginning of the day, I want sinners including homosexuals to be welcome in our Church. Truly welcome. But more then I want that, I want safety for all of our attendees as well.

I made an announcement at the end of service last Sunday. I declared that everyone, all sinners are welcome in our Church. I explained a big "however" though. If anyone is seducing or encouraging others to engage in sin, that will be considered a hostile move that we will definitely respond to in a clear, quick and decisive manner. In other words, we don't throw gays or sinners out of our Church, but we will certainly remove those who seduce others. We will guard against the wolves in sheep clothing or otherwise. I'm sure that Pastor Nieman would agree that we must protect the flock and I believe that he most certainly does so. And I agree that we don't throw anyone out just because they are personally caught in sin and are not as far along in their journey as the rest of us would like.

That middle road is hard to find and even harder to walk. It is a road that requires incredible diligence in prayer and in watching. But 24/7 watching is what is required of shepherds. I believe as much or more now than ever before.

Lord, give us the grace to understand how to welcome the world into the Church, giving them a place to find you while at the same time maintaining a safe environment for those who already know you. Amen

Elim Christian Church & Express Covenant Coach

Joy and I have been with Elim Christian Church in Chicago the last two Sundays and one Wednesday. We will be with them again tonight and then one more Sunday. Eight services in all (5 messages since there is an 8am and an 11am Sunday service).

The services have been powerful! The Word has been sharp and the moving of the Spirit has been strong!

The Church was founded and is led by Pastors Eric and Caren Susberry. For those familiar with Chicago, they were raised up at Faith Tabernacle on the North-Side and are in fellowship with well known Pastors such as Bill Winston, Carlton Arthurs, Ray Llarena and many other amazing men and women of God.

It is a good sized Church with several hundred faithful attendees and a strong core group of "praying & serving saints." In addition to the wonderful lead Pastors, they also have amazing worship and a youth group that is truly on fire! God has blessed them in many ways including having a very nice facility. But the blessing that is most fascinating to me (because it is unique) is that God has prompted them into starting and operating a charter bus company called Express Covenant Coach. Check them out on the web at http://www.eccbus.com/ .

It all started when the Lord kept telling Pastor Eric to "take over Greyhound." Now that does not necessarily mean that ECC is going to literally take over the largest bus company in America but it is likely a figure of speech. God speaks to each of us in a way that we understand. But wouldn't that be cool if it turns out to be literal? But even accomplishing 10% or 5% or even 1% of what such a massive company does in volume would yield great benefit for God's Kingdom.

Of course it took many months and even years for the vision to come to pass and there were many hurdles. I can't imagine that most Pastors in America would even be comfortable approaching their leadership with such an idea, but Pastor Eric is not a normal Pastor. He has strategically and carefully cultivated an atmosphere of faith in which the people expect that God will give vision to a Pastor and that the congregation will not only respect that but will work to make that vision a reality. Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

Whenever I see one of their buses, my spirit leaps within me! It wasn't just a good idea but a God Idea! Of course the enemy is angry and continues to try and stop them. But he cannot stop a praying people who are following directions, in-step with the Holy Spirit of God!

Pray for Elim Christian Church, their leaders and for their bus company. If you are in the Mid-West and you need a coach charter, go to their web site and support this God ordained business. The result of Kingdom Business is Kingdom Harvest. Amen!

golf with MONKEYS

I'm at a Caribou Coffee shop near Oak Brook, Illinois preparing for services this coming Sunday at Elim Christian Church... I'm reflecting on the goodness of the Lord pertaining to ministry and I was remembering the game of golf a couple of the guys from Eternal Life Assembly took me for in Malaysia a recently.

We had been given sandwiches as a part of the green fees and due to time, we elected to bring them on the carts rather than eating them in the clubhouse. At one hole near some dense woods, about a dozen monkeys chased our carts. It was obvious they knew there were sandwiches on board. When we stopped near the green (we had all placed some good shots), two of us grabbed a golf club in each hand and held the bandits off while the other made his shot. But there were too many and we did not want monkey bites. Some of them were as big as toddlers and they were aggressive... even growling while baring fanged teeth.

They got the bags of sandwiches and fought amongst themselves for the spoils. It was a great moment! It was yet another lesson that we must strategically pick our battles in life and battling with monkeys is definitely not worth it... at least not for sandwiches...