Dear Pastor,

What do you do when your friends, parishioners you love and respect, people who support you in every other way, don’t show up to Bible studies, worship services and ministry events that you have planned? I’m not talking about people who are on the fence, running from God or openly antagonistic towards you, God or His church. I am talking about those who serve on the board, go to lunch with you, love your family, pray for you, help in every way possible, but then make it clear by their actions that they don’t have time or interest in the Bible study you prepared?

I want to give you a few things to think about and take action on which can help you when you inevitably face this circumstance…

• First of all, it is very easy to slip into thinking that people’s behavior regarding church is about you as the pastor. It makes sense, much of the life and ministry of the church in some way, shape or form is connected to the pastor. BUT, please recognize that not every decision people make about church is about you. It might be but it is also very possible that they have so many other factors they are considering. Don’t immediately assume that it is about you. Be humble enough to consider that as the pastor they need your prayers, the messages God gives you and the love of God flowing through you, not your insecurity. (Ouch, preaching to myself here!)

• Second, making assumptions about people’s motives or intended outcomes is a very dangerous thing to do. Assuming things, guessing, second-guessing, stewing, etc won’t help you to build a stronger relationship with them, prepare you to minister to them or help them to overcome whatever it is they are working through. Instead of making guesses, make it your commitment to give it to the Lord and then reach out to your friends and with gentleness and courage, expressing your genuine concern for them and how you’ve missed them, ask them why.

• Third, even in the absence of some people aspire to learn the significance of ministering to those who are present with the same amount of passion as if it was a full house. Certainly be prayerful and introspective about what you are preparing and teaching; make sure it is what God has revealed to you and that you are prepared and operating by the unction/anointing of His Holy Spirit. Be excited and be prepared. Make sure that your lack of preparation or poor presentation (don’t be boring!) is not contributing to people’s absence. Be certain you are teaching what God has given you in the way He wants you to, without allowing outside factors to discourage you or change your message or the manner in which you present it.

I am so sorry that you have had to face the pain of people not showing up to the Bible studies, messages and ministries you have diligently prepared. It hurts and can feel like personal rejection. Sadly sometimes it is meant to sting and people are trying to spurn you. Much more often however people are so consumed with so many other things that they just overlook and miss out on what God has prepared for them (forgetting too that it might impact other people, even their own pastor).

Please keep inviting people, keep loving people, keep being as passionate and excited about God’s word when preaching to 5 people as if you were preaching to 500 or more. Make sure to reach out to people and let them know you genuinely miss them and that the entire church fellowship is different without their presence. But above all, remember to do all that you do for the glory of God and not the approval of humanity. God can use you as you are fully surrendered and obedient, just don’t get stuck because your people are.

Christ is with us, Christ is in us!

Mike J

Dear Pastor,

Here is the difficult news: you will always have someone who thinks you should be doing something different than you are. 

Don’t worry about that. You don’t live or minister to make them happy. You aren’t seeking their approval. You won’t stand before them on judgment day.

There is something that is common to all of us, and that is that we do not like letting people down, we don’t like conflict and we don’t like disapproval from people we respect. We also don’t like persecution, belittling or bullying. And although you may have heard people say that Christians in America don’t know what persecution is, the reality is that when we are simply seeking to love people to Jesus, preach His Word and invite people to receive His promises and then other people go out of their way to gossip about us, impune our character, defy our leadership or directly confront or attack us with their words, it really hurts and we can clearly say we know what it is to suffer for Christ. 

Here is the good news: when we participate in the suffering of Christ we will also participate in the glory of Christ. (see 1 Peter 4:13) We also know that we are blessed when people “insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of (Christ)” – Matthew 5:11. 

So please, when you are judged, rejected, maligned or otherwise count is all joy (James 1:2) and remember that you can “rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:12)

Trust me, I know how much it hurts, how easy it is to second guess yourself and even the PTS (post-traumatic stress) that occurs each and every time someone else comes up to you with “constructive criticism” or a “little advice” but please know that God is with you and for you, and even when it stings or even cuts like a knife God is able to work deeply in and through you for healing, and for the sharing His grace, truth and love, regardless of how the people around you react.

I will be praying that you will indeed have the enveloping and comforting love of Jesus to help you through your own personal pain and also the confidence and boldness of God to help you love those who hurt you and minister to those that God brings before you.

Christ is with us, Christ is in us!

Mike J

Dear pastor,

• What do you do when you are discouraged? Aimless? Lifeless?
• What do you do when you are tired? Stressed? Feeling like you just don’t have any strength left?
• What do you do when you just don’t know what to do?

My guess is that you have asked these questions a few times in your life. You might even be wondering what the answer is right now.

If I may humbly offer to you a few thoughts in answer to the myriad of questions we ministers have, I think you and I might leave this conversation a little richer, a little fuller and with a little more faith.

First of all, recognize that these questions have been asked by countless Christians and pastors over thousands of years. Just becoming a Christ-follower or accepting the call to ministry certainly does not insulate us from the woes of life. Now, hold on a minute, this is actually good news and I say this to actually encourage you. I want you to know that I (and many, many others as well) understand the pain and weightiness of living life, doing ministry and seeking to be content no matter the circumstances. You are not alone.  That doesn’t mean that you and I should just sit down in defeat and wallow in our misery but instead I think that as we each admit that we each have way more questions than answers, and that we can face these struggles together, and together go to the Lord and His word trusting Him to see us through.

Secondly, I think that we should reach out more often to each other. I think we should admit to some trusted and godly friends that we are tired, confused and desperately seeking a way through. By sharing together I believe we will get fresh perspective (we are not alone, others face these things too) but we will also glean fresh strength by disclosing our struggles. The devil loves to isolate, alienate, divide and conquer, but the devil also loves to convince us that keeping to ourselves, suffering in silence and hiding our weakness is the way to go. This is simply not true! The Lord operates in disclosure and illumination; it is only darkness and evil that operates in hiddenness and shadows. Let’s remember what we face is common to humanity, but let us also team up with fellow Christians/pastors who can be our cheerleading prayer partners.

I have suggested to a couple of pastors that they actually schedule a reminder in their phone to reach out to other pastors regularly so that whether the journey gets difficult or not, Christian support and human arms of love and mercy are already there to lean on.

Lastly (and truly this last thing should be first!), make sure to dedicate much time to the means of grace (also sometimes known as spiritual disciplines) that God has afforded us. When we actively, intentionally and regularly practice solitude, silence, praying, fasting, studying and meditating on the Word, worship, serving others, etc, we will personally find ourselves in the fountain of God’s grace that supplies the strength, joy, peace and answers that we need! Go to your prayer closet or the sanctuary and just enjoy listening to some praise and worship music and let your heart soar in adoration and thanksgiving to the One who died to save you! Open your Bible and a journal and just read (and record) all the many things God offers to those who will believe and receive. Pick up the phone or jump in the car and connect with someone for the sole purpose of putting a smile on their face, praying with them or sharing the gospel.

I promise you that when you and I get under the waterfall of God’s grace by participating in spiritual disciplines, we will not only get wet, but we will find a refreshing, renewing, invigorating touch from God, which is just what we need.

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It’s entirely possible I didn’t answer the questions listed above in a way you were hoping for. You may have as many questions now as before, and you might even think I have glossed over the reality, difficulty and grittiness of life and ministry. However, I assure you that if you remember you are not alone, gather together with other Christians/Pastors, and dive into the depths of God’s grace by participation in His disciplines, you will find your questions answered or you might even find that the questions don’t much matter quite so much  anymore, because in His presence you realize God is enough for you!

Christ is with us, Christ is in us!

Mike J

If there was only one message that I could give to people, it would be this. 

There is a misnomer that God only comes to bless your life and give you gifts, abundance and fulfillment. In one sense people far and wide have come to adopt a “health, wealth and prosperity” gospel without realizing it. 

There is so little understanding of the cost of discipleship, the role of human responsibility in faith and salvation, and the absolute necessity of pursuing holiness. 

There is an idea of “cheap grace” and an unbiblical definition of God’s salvation which somehow excludes human agreement, participation, surrender, penitence, confession, repentance, faith or obedience. 

Sadly the wool has been pulled over our eyes to such an extent that we believe that our salvation relies solely on God and we have no responsibility aside from saying: “Thanks for heaven and all the other gifts”. We have stripped the gospel of its end goal as well as its power because we neglect any personal obligation to admit our sins, make restitution, love our neighbor, serve in Jesus’ name, sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom, deny self, and/or receive the Lord’s discipline. 

I am in no way advocating that salvation is by some other means than grace, but if we dare believe that God offers a salvation wherein people’s thoughts, attitudes, words and behaviors do not change, we are believing a false gospel. The full and complete salvation that God offers to people is a delivering from sin and unto righteousness. 

Christ died that we might be forgiven of sin and cleansed of unrighteousness and that we might be empowered to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance”. If we only have a gospel of forgiveness but no expectation to avoid sin, we are cheapening grace, trampling the blood of Jesus underfoot and believing/teaching a false gospel which really is no gospel at all! 

I thank God that the gift He has given me is by His grace, for I could never atone for my sins, undo the damage done by my actions nor somehow overcome sin and death by my own vain efforts. However I am also thankful that God does not strip me of my free will or my own full participation in His salvation. He invites (and enables me) to agree and believe in faith, confess by faith, walk by faith and pursue holiness by faith. 

Please, please, please, if you dare to call yourself a Christ-follower, don’t try and beg off God the gift of heaven whilst ignoring His holiness. 

Don’t excuse your sin, rest on your laurels and assume all is well because God is a God of love. God also is a consuming fire! God also is a God of justice. God didn’t die just so we could stay exactly the same but just with a pretty ticket to heaven in our hands. God died and rose again so that we could actually be transformed into loving people who pursue peace with all men and who pursue God’s sanctification and holiness in heart, mind, body and soul. 

May it be that you and I diligently, dare I say, importunately pursue God’s holiness, so that we may honor the Lord, see the Lord and one day be fully glorified in our eternal union and eternal life with Him.

So many of us simply want love, acceptance and approval from the people around us. The problem is that people may not offer acceptance without certain conditions and their approval of our choices and beliefs may not actually help us to become better versions of ourselves. 

In this article I want to talk about how we can overcome the generalities, the judgments, and the unhealthy and/or unrealistic expectations that seem to be ever-present in this world. 

There are myriad reasons why people box others in, define them according to some unfair or uninformed assumption, or why they withhold praise, affirmation, affection and acceptance. 

One thing we know however is that God accepts us as we are, where we are. He accepts us when we are broken, foolish, prideful, and hurt sinners. He welcomes us into His family and embraces us with His love. He accepts us when we are tired, weary and lukewarm. He accepts us when nothing seems to be going right.

Sadly people are most often not like that.

Another thing we know is that for some reason we often associate our own personal value or worth with the approval of others, and yet God is the one who determines our value and worth and it ought to be his approval alone that we seek. When humans approve or disapprove of others’ behaviors, choices and beliefs they are basing their approval on a limited perspective and with limited understanding. However, when God offers His approval, it is because He has perfect vision, perfect wisdom and perfect understanding. 

Sadly people will approve or disapprove based upon their agenda, preference, opinion, likes, dislikes and even based upon their particular attitude or emotional state on any given day. We shouldn’t yearn for approval from such a fickle and shortsighted bunch (and therefore since we are part of said group, we ought to be very careful about offering our approval or disapproval).

Finally, the culture of this world has somehow evolved (devolved?) into an atmosphere of judging others that are different. The current climate is one of pre-judging, alienating, ostracizing, belittling, shaming and otherwise attacking people who are different. 

To overcome in this toxic culture, we must accept others as Christ accepted us, we must make judgments ONLY according to what God reveals to us in His holy Word and by His Spirit, we must seek ONLY the approval of God and we must consistently live with an openness to other people regardless of how different they are.

Let us seek to draw near to God so that He can shape and form us in His perfect image of holy love and then let us live His holy love out in this crazy mixed-up world. We won’t be able to change the world, but perhaps we can lead one person at a time to the acceptance of God, that they would seek His approval and that they would then live out His holy love in their own lives. If this happens over and over and over again in various individual lives, then perhaps like a wave that is building and growing, a revival of God’s salvation, of people seeking God’s ways, and of people living out God’s holy love will wash over the world!

If you need some acceptance today, turn to God, pray to Him, He will absolutely accept you right where you are, into His family. He only asks that you believe that He exists and that He saves those who call on His name in repentance and follow Him.

If you need approval today, look to God, ask Him to evaluate your recent beliefs and choices. If He tells you that He doesn’t approve, don’t throw a fit, instead, ask Him to change you and then you will bask in the glory of knowing God approves and that His approval means you are on the right path, doing the right things for the right reason.

If you are overwhelmed and at the end of yourself because of people judging or rejecting or disapproving of you (and others), turn to God and ask Him to remind you yet again that He is your refuge and strength and He is your defender. Let the Lord sort out all that is wrong in this world, and instead rest in His unconditional love and His everlasting kindness.

I want to be like certain people I have met or watched over the years.

I want to be like Fred Rogers. I want to be like the fictional character Father Brown. I want to be like my Uncle Warren.

What each of these men have in common is a gentleness and compassion and what appears to be a “centeredness” of peace and calm in Christ in the middle of whatever is going on.

• I don’t want to fret and worry about every little thing. 
• I don’t want to spend all my time analyzing things, second-guessing myself or living in doubt.
• I don’t want to be upended, shaken or distraught over every passing storm or every disapproving glance from others.
• I don’t want to be constantly wondering if I am wasting my time or whether I am actually accomplishing anything at all.

And yet, much of the time,  it seems this is exactly where I live.

• I want to be a pastor that has a calm assurance that God is working, and that He is working in me and through me.
• I want to be a pastor that looks at people with eyes of compassion and a heart full of love
• I want to be a pastor that is not hurried or harried but instead walks in the peace-filled confidence that God is leading me

I hope your prayer is the same as mine: 

Pastor, remember Christ is with us and Christ is in us. 

You are loved!

Still on this earth…

So, you are still here too, huh?

I guess we could sit around and discuss why we are still here. As a matter of fact that probably would be a very good use of our time (so long as we come to some truthful conclusions and then do something with that information). So, let’s get to it!….

1. Why are we here?
2. Why are we still here?
3. What are we doing with our life here on earth?
4. Are we ready for what will come after this life is over?

First of all, why are we here? In a nutshell, 

We are here, because God created us so we could experience His love, enjoy His gifts and participate in an eternal existence of joy, peace and inter-relating with Him and others. 

If you don’t believe this, you are missing out on the most beautiful and profound aspects of being alive. Also if you don’t believe this you may not like the rest of this article. But I hope and pray that as you read this article you will be ever more convinced of the love of God and the availability of His free gift of salvation to all who will believe and call upon Him!

Second, why are we still here on earth? The answer to this question is pretty straightforward as well. 

Either God has left us here on earth because we have not yet accepted His free gift of salvation that secures for us a new life in Christ and eternal life hereafter, or God has left us here on earth because He has a plan for us to help share His love and gospel with others who need it and/or don’t yet have a personal relationship with Him.

Since you are reading this, that means you are still on earth, and if we are still here, God has a plan for us to fulfill here. We either need to stop playing games with earthly, temporary and trivial things and get our heart and life right with God or we need to make sure that again we are not wasting time on unimportant things that will be destroyed one day when this life comes to an end and we need to get busy helping and loving people and sharing the eternal gospel of Jesus Christ so their own desperate needs will be met in Him.

Third, what are we doing with our life on earth? The answer likely varies for each of us, but

It ought to be that we are stewarding everything we have been given to bring glory to God and to help our fellow humans to know, receive and walk in all of God’s gracious provision. 

I have spent unimaginable amounts of energy, time and money on things that don’t matter and sadly I will never get back again the wasted time, energy and money. I pray that you and I will invest everything we have so that as many people as possible will accept Jesus as Savior and Lord and will be ushered into God’s eternal kingdom and glory where they will be made holy and happy forevermore!

Fourth and finally, are you and I ready for when this life is over? This is a question we should ask ourselves every single day. 

What if today is my last day on earth? Will I be ready to meet God face-to-face? Have I accepted His free and gracious gift of salvation so that when I stand before Him, the blood of Jesus will have secured for me a new life and entrance into His heavenly kingdom? 

When I leave this earth, will I have so communicated God’s gospel message that all I leave behind will know what they must do to be ready to meet God? 

So in conclusion, you and I are still on earth (for now): Because God loves us; Because he wants to save us and use us; Because there are billions of others who need to know of His great love; Because billions are lost and not ready for judgment day. 

Please join me in pleading prayer, compassionate living and zealous testimony so that no one you and I know will be headed for a devil’s hell but instead will be gloriously transformed and exuberantly welcomed into God’s kingdom. 

Oh, that none would perish, but that all would come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ!

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PS If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord it’s as simple as 1. Believing that Jesus, the Son of God, came and died for your sins and was resurrected so that He could grant you salvation and eternal life. 2. Confessing your sins to God and asking God to help you to turn from evil/selfishness and do good and 3. Asking Jesus to take charge of your life and committing to follow and serve Him all the days of your life.

Dear Jesus, Thank you for creating me, dying for me and rising again so that I might have forgiveness and eternal life. Please forgive me, save me and take charge of my life. I commit to following and serving you now and forevermore. In Jesus name I pray, AMEN

Dear Pastor, 

I imagine that if there were a book of all the greatest prophets, pastors and missionaries since time began, it would be far lengthier than any of us could imagine and I believe there is a great likelihood that your name would be recorded therein.

In fact, there is likely only one way that your name would not be in the annals of God’s best shepherds and that is if you aren’t actually listening to His voice, responding to His call and serving according to His Word/Spirit. 

God Himself has called you, He has saved you, He has placed His Spirit in you, and He is using your efforts to bring people to Himself and to advance His kingdom.

There will indeed be countless people in heaven because of you. 

Hundreds and dare I say thousands or more will be in heaven because of you, even though you most probably will not even know all of them. 

• Your faithful declaration of the gospel of God, has resulted and will continue to result in people far and wide coming to faith in Christ.

• Your fervent, imperfect and unseen prayers with only a mustard seed of faith, have brought about and will continue to bring about God’s perfect answers, dispatched to address your cries!

• Your persistent, sometimes staggering, sometimes painful, long-suffering and perseverance has led others and will continue to lead others to Jesus as their Savior and Lord. 

Pastor, God is the one doing the empowering, equipping, declaring and sourcing of any real ministry that takes place. If anything eternal, true or real happens in your ministry it is because of God and it will therefore (obviously!) be effective in truly saving people and changing lives. And if you are connected to Him and ministering because of faith and love, you are certainly to be counted among the Lord’s “valiant army” of prophets and priests.

So please keep declaring the gospel, keep praying with faith, keep persevering to the end. 

God is faithful, He will use you and He will advance His kingdom: you and I just have to get on board and buckle up for the ride!

Christ is with us, Christ is in us!

Mike J

Dear Pastor,

Do you ever find yourself wondering if you are doing everything wrong? You know, do you take a step back and look at all of your activity for the Lord and His church and ponder if you are doing the right things or if what you are doing is actually working? 

I know I do. 

Sometimes I think that traditions, routines, and various other stumbling blocks keep me from seeing and pursuing what would be the best practices for truly leading people to faith in Jesus and helping people to become like Jesus. 

At times it seems far too easy for me to do ministry in the ways I have seen or read about with little consideration (or prayer?!) about whether or not I should be doing ministry that way. 

• Have I waited on the Lord for His instruction? 
• Have I sought the Lord for His wisdom?
• Am I learning from other people?
• Am I seeking God and His kingdom first or something else?
• Do I keep the main thing, the main thing?
• Or do I get distracted by urgent and yet finally unimportant things?

Maybe we have been somehow conditioned to do ministry a certain way and we need some fresh perspective to realize that we are missing the point of all we are doing.

So what is the point of all we are doing? 

Simply this:

• Honor God
• Help people accept Jesus as Savior
• Help people become/live like Jesus

So let’s ask a few questions:

• Is your preaching ministry honoring and glorifying God? 
• Is your preaching ministry helping people to accept Jesus as Savior?
• Is your Sunday school ministry helping people to accept Jesus as Savior?
• Is your teen ministry helping teens to become/live like Jesus?

You may be saying to yourself: “but not all ministries need to accomplish all three of those things”. 

I hear you, but disagree. Whether it is playing basketball with teenagers or leading a ladies Bible study or preaching on Sunday mornings, we need to be actively working at all three things of bringing glory to God, helping people to know Jesus and helping people to become like Jesus. If we aren’t attempting this we have missed the point, and if we aren’t accomplishing this we need to find out why not.

So let’s dig a little into your and my ministry practices and routine behaviors to discover what we are doing wrong:

1. Do I care more about how many people are present at an activity than I do that the specific people present hear the voice of God and are changed?
2. Do I care more about how people perceive me and think of me than what they think about God?
3. Have I cut to the quick and engaged people in conversation about spiritual matters or have I beat around the bush hoping to make a connection or slowly build a bridge to bring up Jesus later?
4. Do we spend more time with a computer than with people? (Or more time in the office than in the community?)
5. Do I neglect prayer and the Word in my own life, assuming that I can “figure it out” along the way?
6. Do I actually know because I have point blank asked people if they are born-again Christians?
7. Am I actually exhorting, rebuking and confronting people so that they become more like Jesus because they have been asked the tough questions and have been boldly taught the Word of God?

Don’t be afraid to ask the deep questions of yourself and the ministries you are part of.

Don’t be afraid to ask the deep and important questions of the people you are trying to lead. 

How will you ever know if you don’t ask? How will you ever grow if you don’t ask? 

How will our ministry ever succeed at bringing God glory and making Christlike disciples if you and I don’t make sure we are doing the right and necessary things instead of just doing the same things we have always done?

It is far too easy to let ourselves off the hook because we look around and realize we are doing the same things that churches and pastors around the world are doing. 

It is far too easy to let ourselves off the hook because we know our motive is good. 

And yet if we look carefully at those who have led revivals, awakenings and other tremendously impactful ministries they weren’t content to only do what had always been done. They dug deeper, they creatively tried new things, they boldly and un-apologetically said what no one was saying. Furthermore people who helped bring about major change in the church were misunderstood, maligned and persecuted. But above all they knew they had to be faithful to the One who called them and simply could not stop until they succeeded in helping lost people find Jesus, and helping saved people live like Jesus.

Let’s keep working, but let’s make sure we are working in ways that cut to the quick and make sure to diligently pursue honoring God and making disciples instead of merely maintaining the status quo. Jesus is coming back and we don’t want to miss our chance. Let’s rediscover urgency even as we also seek a fresh perspective on ministry. 

Keep praying, God is surely able to provide for you and lead you in all the ways He wants you to go!

Christ is with us and Christ is in us

Mike J

Dear Pastor,

I want you to think of yourself as a conduit, a carrier of the Lord to people.

Think about an aqueduct or viaduct…it’s sole purpose is to get the water to people. Yes the Romans created some impressive and beautiful aqueducts that 1000s of years later still draw attention to their genius and the commitment to craftsmanship, but one thing that the Roman aqueducts no longer do is carry water to the people. 

• Pastors and Christians are carriers of the water of life to parched and thirsty people.

• Pastors and Christians are carriers of the the resurrecting  power of God into lifeless people

• Pastors and Christians are carriers of the life of the Spirit to people who are empty

It doesn’t matter how pretty we are. It doesn’t matter how flashy we are. It doesn’t matter how well “put together” we appear. It doesn’t matter whether God created us to carry Him to 10 people or 10,000 people.

The point is that we faithfully, consistently, religiously, importunately deliver gifts, messages, love, fruit, power and gospel from the throneroom of God to people.

The reality is that individually we are incomplete as conduits of the Lord. It is only together with each other and as we are held together by the Spirit, that we can carry the glory of the Lord to people.

Lastly, consider that if we are carrying nothing from God but only things from other people, the people will still die of thirst and starvation.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for carrying the presence, glory, and gospel of Jesus to people.

Let us together commit to making sure we are tapping into the eternal source of all that is good and holy so that what we deliver to people is what they truly and eternally need: God Himself!

May God richly bless and flourish us as we stay connected to Him and pour forth what He pours into us.

Christ is with us and Christ is in us!

Mike J