Relationship Killers #3

This week at Freedom Valley, Relationship Killer #3, Be My Everything will be on the run.

It's nice to share life with somebody. But nobody can meet all of your needs. This week in Be My Everything, we explore why expecting somebody to meet all or too many of your needs, actually drives away and destroys the very relationship you crave to have.

The prophet Jeremiah noticed this and the Holy Spirit had him write down some powerful observations about what happens when I depend on someone to be my everything.

Jeremiah said over-dependency stunts my growth. I stop developing as a human being when I depend too much on someone else. It shuts down my ability to have faith, dries up my imagination, and makes life feel like a desert has grown up around me.

But when my roots go down deep into faith, it the environment around me, the economy, politics, and personal popularity don't matter as much because I am living in my Holy Spirit fired imaginations of the future. I spend more time imagining the future than obsessing about what is. Faith is too busy creating the future, to spend time obsessing about what it happening all around me right now. It borrows optimism from the future, while others are borrowing pessimism and grief.

Bottom line is; depending on other people for our needs, leaves us frustrated. God to God for what people cannot do.

exciting growth happening

It's so cool to watch what God is doing in the sites and church plants these days. Everybody's metrics are up in the best possible ways! It's nice to see so much forward momentum and so many lives being affected so well by the gospel. New buildings, new people, lots of salvations, water baptisms, and financial blessings from a very generous God.

Feeling very blessed today.

my bursting heart

For some reason, God in His graciousness has given us a whole new season of effectiveness lately.

Growth is in the air. Salvations, and all kinds of powerful movement toward God is happening. Tonight again, the altars were filled with people responded to the message about forsaking anger in their lives. This is HUGE, and will open the Heavens on us. I can feel it.

Tonight we introduced Chris Eliot, church planter to North Hanover. He is not really one of our church planters, per se but a partnership of Friendship Community church in Dover, and Hanover Church of God. We just got to introduce him in case some of our people felt called to go with him to help. I hope some do. I spoke to one that is very interested.

A few years ago, I was hoping we could stir up local churches to join us in planting new churches. I offered to help them plant a church, naively thinking it was their desire to do so. Nobody seemed very interested.

But now several are. I am so happy to be joined in the battle to prevail. Still there are ore than 80% of our county who do not attend church, and while we are prevailing (slightly) according to THEARDA.com, there are still just so many precious people to reach.

And God is answering a few of my other cherished prayers. Tonight, Sally Glover offered to help take our outreach ministries to a whole new level, helping us get God's message out to a broader audience. She is an answer to a long prayed prayer for help.

And I was wondering tonight; how hard could it be to call each of my people one by one and tell them what a privilege it is to be their Pastor? Not many people get to do a job they really love. I do, thanks to a really great, visionary, and aggressive faith-filled church that I get to serve. I just feel like taking 10 days and calling each and every one of them to thank them for letting me do this job. Perhaps I would be a nuisance to them, but it would feel good to thank them.

Something really, really good is happening. God help me not get in the way of it with my stupid pride, or poor listening skills, or selfish approaches to life.

And Then We Danced

I've read a lot of books lately. Too many to count and to catalog. For some reason, I often cannot remember the title, or the authors name, even when I liked the book.

But tonight I sat down to read a few chapters of And Then We Danced, by Mike & Fi Lusby, and Shawn Smucker (my co-author). I could not stop reading till I finished every single word. And I wished for more.

I don't think it will be hard to remember this book, it's title, and it's authors. I've known them all for a long, long time. Their disarming willingness to tell a lot of the pain in their lives and how it has impacted their marriage, will help a lot of us identify and get honest about our own pain and issues. I really appreciate that.

I have been pastoring since the early 80's, when Omar Beiler allowed me to start helping him as an apprentice, coaching and encouraging me forward. Since that time, it seems like I never get done learning that every life has a fascinating story, that when told, causes the hearer to understand and respect what that person went through to become what they are today. Mike's growing up in an alcoholic home, and Fi's sexual abuse, and painful loss of her niece, and subsequent abuse by a pastor, are such a case-in-point. I love them even more for sharing their painful story and it's dancing conclusion.

I cried a lot while I read their story tonight. But I especially cried when they danced at the end. Thanks Mike and Fi, for finding your way through and for writing a pathway for others to follow. I love you so much for all of that!