One Prayer Impact
Just thought I would share a story about the impact of One Prayer that came from our trekden.com site. It is always great to here how God is working in the lives of people.
Hi Pastor Tim,
Just wanted to let you know i am really enjoying this ONE Prayer series…not that i haven’t loved every series! It is challenging me in so many ways, and the new people that have come to church with me are loving it as well…and not all of them are Christians! Also want to say thanks for not being afraid to explore new ways of reaching our community by doing something different! It is such a blessing to have a church where everyone feels welcome and where there are so many people that are not afraid to freely and wholeheartedly worship the Lord. I know you hear a lot of the negatives, so i thought i’d let you know that i see God working and using our church in SO many ways, and it has changed a lot of lives already. So whatever the Lord is telling you to do, just keep on doing it…and know that all of you involved in running our church have so many people supporting you in person (although it might not always seem like it) and prayer! So thanks again for being obedient to God’s will for our church…i know he has so much more planned for all of us! Have a great week! May God continue to bless you and His church!
In His Love,
Leah Taran
Baptisms Never Get Old
This past Sunday at our annual Church picnic we had the privilege to share life change with 22 people as they made their faith public. We always let them share a brief testimony and that is always powerful. This on particular girl just blew me away and I just wanted to share it with you. When we have the full video done I will post it also. Enjoy!
Daddy Day Thoughts
For me it will be another Dad’s day away from my father. One of the casualties of ministry (if you call it that) is being away from family. I have now lived more years of my life without my family around than with them close by. It would be so cool to be around my Dad on a regular basis. If you have that privilege don’t take it for granted. It is a sacrifice I have made to do what God has called me to do. I somehow believe God will let us catch up in eternity. He is 81 now and not in the best of health, but He knows the Lord and he should get a lot of credit for raising me to love and serve the Lord. I’m sure there were days when he wondered would his son ever do anything substantial. Well Dad, only through the grace of God has that happened. Just know Dad, that what you thought me has helped influence not only me but those God has put in my care. Here are some ways you have influenced me.
- It was the way you came to Christ. You totally left your sin behind.
- It was how you never felt called to Pastor, but you always stepped in and sacrificed for the church. You taught me to care about missionaries. I knew we left a church because they took missions money and used it for something else.
- It was your character to stand up for what was right. So glad too, because the church we went to changed my life.
- It was knowing that you worked your butt off all week, but you always made God and church a priority.
- It was the Tigers games yo took me to that caused me to fall in love with baseball. That is what taught me to compete in life.
- It is watching you from a far handle losing to one you spent your whole life with.
- It is how you allowed me as a little kid to help you help churches. I think that is where I fell in love with the church and it’s mission, to bring people into the kingdom.
- It was making sure I could go to college to study for the ministry. I know now what that took.
- It was treating my wife like she was your own daughter.
- It was showing up at my baseball game after 15 hours of work.
- It was simply being Dad.
Thanks dad. You truly have shaped and molded me into the man I am today. On a side note, pray for my wife’s dad. He is in the hospital with a hole in his aorta. She is there right now. Have a great Father’s Day weekend.
Sunday Night Smackdown – 6/8/08
* Ed Young was dead on with his One Prayer message.
* I wish the soccer moms and dads were there to hear it.
* Thinking about sending all the parents a free copy of the message.
* Went to a graduation party of one of my sons friends. He spoke to everyone about his parents. It was pretty cool.
* Had a lady come to me and my wife today and apologize for leaving the church a year ago. I was so encouraged because for the first time someone told me it was their fault. That took a lot of courage and character. It was a highlight of my day.
* My mind was racing today with thoughts for my message next week, Make Us Relentless.
* Went to three services today. I went pretty well and I was encouraged by the attendance in the 11:30 service. I say that because we live by the beach.
* Had some good fellowship on our Mens Retreat this week. I also got an Eagle on a par 5.
* Day 8 of my Salary Fast. I figured I would type this in green since I’m seeing less of it these days. God is incredible though as we watch Him meet our needs. During my fast in June I am praying that God will bless business men and woman in our church so they can be a conduit of God’s blessing.
Salary Fast – Day 7
As many of you know I made a commitment to give my weekly salary back to the church during the month of June. I was challenged By Eph. 5:25 where we are told that Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. I decided as the leader I would get my feet wet first by making that commitment.
Since then our family has seen the provision of God in a huge way. I am sitting here tonight excited to give not just my tithe in the morning, but my entire check. I feel like Jonathan when he went after the Philistines with one sword and said perhaps the Lord will be with us to his armor bearer. You will never know that provision of God until you exercise some faith. Maybe later I will share some of the things God has done. It is pretty cool.
So here is my challenge to you. Go out on a limb and sacrifice something for God. Do something so big that when God shows up you can’t take credit for it. And in the mean time pray for our family as we trust God in a big way in the month of June.
The Church Hop
So you think you can dance. There is one dance that needs to be removed from th dance floor and it is called the “Church Hop”. This is not a Hip Hop it’s what you call a Jump Ship Hop. So often as Christians we blame the church for what is really wrong with us. I read this today on Tim Stevens blog. Check it out, it is an open letter to those who insist on keeping the Church Hop as one of their dance moves.
Dearest Career Church Hopper:
I met you again on Wednesday, the same person smiling at me through a different face, telling me that you’ve been shopping for churches for months now, and that darn it, you “just can’t find one (you) like.” The music’s too rocky at this one, you said; the preacher too funny at that one. The latest one might make the cut, though: you’d had the pastor and his wife over the previous evening for a little “dinner audition” — your words, not mine — and he said things that made you feel good and comfortable, things that you already agree with, so you’re thinking about sticking around. At the very least, you could get your teaching from this church and your worship from that one.
I’m sure we’ll run into each other again, but before we do, I’d like to suggest some things you could perhaps think about before you move on to the next church, as I’m sure you will, whether this weekend or next year:
- Christ didn’t bleed for the Church so you could treat your search for one like an episode of Survivor, deciding who to vote off the island this week.
- The Church was not commissioned by Christ to meet your needs. You ARE the Church, and you’ve been commissioned to meet the needs of the world.
- Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her (Eph 5:25). Quit treating his bride like a Jesus buffet where you can pick and choose what you like, hedging your bets against the pain and sacrifice of making a commitment.
- Per scripture’s instructions to use your gifts in service to the Body of Christ — and its lack of instruction to search for a church that scratches you where you itch — you might want to consider what the Church you’re visiting needs from you, rather than the other way around.
- If you only want to hear things you already know and agree with, save your Sundays and talk to yourself in the bathroom mirror.
Sincerely,
The Preacher’s Wife
Think about it, David danced unto the Lord he didn’t STOMP on his church.
Pace Yourself
If you watch a Nascar race then you know they have a pace car. It helps set the pace or the race. The bible often refers to this life as a race and to win the race you have to keep looking forward. Not to the right and not to the left and especially not behind you. It’s when we get our eyes off Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, that we begin to lose our pace. Have you ever lost your pace? Life gets to fast and to furious and we start paying to much attention to those in the race and ourselves and not the one we are racing for. I know that happens to me and I can always sense it. So how do we pace ourselves?
Go First
One of the keys to leadership is Setting The Pace. Someone has said, “The speed of the leader is the speed of the team”. All throughout the bible you see those in leadership commanded to be the example. From the Priests in Joshua stepping into the water to Peter in the gospels riding the waves, leaders go first.
2 weeks ago on a Saturday night I couldn’t sleep. Not only that, but I couldn’t get Ephesians 5:25 out of my head.
“Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”.
Jesus gave up His life for the church. WOW!!! It was right then that God challenged me to sacrifice for His church. So that night I decided to give my weekly salary for the month of June back to the church. As I enter the month of June, I am so pumped up to see what God will do in my life and in the life of the church.
Question for you. In what aspect of your life is God asking, no pleading with you to GO FIRST? How will you take a step of faith?
Will you join me this month and make a commitment to sacrifice something for God’s church. If you do leave a comment and let me know how things are going. As for me, it’s just 2 days and God has already shown me that He will supply my needs.
