Preaching to Myself

I've been working on perfecting a certain discipline in my life lately. I've been preaching to myself. Yes, you read that right! We live in a nation chock-full of spiritual resources. We have books on every subject imaginable (now digitized for your Kindall), all kinds of Bibles, webcasts, podcasts, webinars, iTunes...you get the idea. We have access to more material now than ever before! Even so, it's important that we preach to ourselves.

Now before you start getting your Sunday clothes on and practicing your introduction, let me explain what I mean. The good news is that this type of preaching doesn't require any classes in hermeneutics or homiletics! I am simply talking about reminding ourselves of who God is and what His promises are for us. In many cases, preaching to ourselves may include some of the resources listed above. What makes it unique, however, is that it flows out of our own personal experience.

The psalmist did this in Psalm 42:5. He cried out, "Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God—soon I'll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He's my God (Msg)." Another great example of this principle is found in 1 Sam. 30:6 where the scriptures state that David "encouraged himself in the Lord his God." Study the context of these scriptures and you will find that both declarations came in great times of struggle.

It's good to draw on the strength of others. God meant it to be this way. But He also knew that there would be times in our lives when we would be alone and in need of Him--thus, the importance of the discipline of preaching to yourself.

How's your soul doing today? Need some encouragement? Start speaking to your soul! Remind yourself of all that God has done in your life and start singing a song about God's amazing grace. Here's a great song I've been singing to my soul! Enjoy!

Looking For A Church

I live in Charlotte, NC, home to over 700 churches. We have churches of all sizes and forms. In fact, if you do the math you'll find that a person could shop for churches for 13 1/2 years without ever visiting the same church twice! Wow!

So how is a person who is looking for a church to find one? Unfortunately, there is no verse of scripture with instructions...or is there? Well, not exactly! But scripture does describe the birth of the Church in the book of Acts with much detail. I believe that Acts is a great starting point.

It would be good for anyone who is looking for a church home to reread the book of Acts before they continue their search. Keep in mind that no church is going to look exactly like the early Church in form (i.e. government, style, culture, etc.). What's most important is that a church's values and practices align with scripture. It seems as if I could write a book on this subject. For the sake of space, here are some of the key ingredients of the early church:

1. They were outwardly focused and sought to transform their world. 
2. They were empowered by the Holy Spirit.
3. They devoted themselves to scripture.
4. They devoted themselves to prayer and worship.
5. They spent time with each other and practiced true Christian love.
6. They were culturally relevant.
7. They were generous givers. 

Remember, what's important is that a church is currently practicing these things. It's not enough for these things to be written on a church's website or statement of beliefs. With these 7 foundational principles as the backdrop, here are some additional qualities (this is in no way exhaustive) that are essential to the health of a church and are worth looking for:

-A clear, consistent and godly vision. 
-Strong, trustworthy, unified and humble leadership.
-An emphasis on grace. Legalism is a killer of spiritual life!
-A Kingdom mindset (i.e. not an island unto itself!).
-Opportunities to serve. 
-Accountability: financially and otherwise.
-People take priority over programs. 
-Transformation is more important than tradition.
-Multicultural.
-Forward-looking.
-Able to minister well to all generations.


Now, before you give up on your current church or on finding a new one, remember that no church is perfect. It's vitally important that all of us walk in love and forgiveness! Oh, and one more important word of advice: When looking for a church, make it a serious matter of prayer. Obviously, there's no way a person could completely know everything about a church; however, the Holy Spirit has a way of helping us sense things that are beyond our reach. When it's all said and done, it's also good to know that God has called you to your new place of worship.

My prayer is that those of you who are searching for a new church home will find a place where you and your family can grow in the Lord and you can accomplish His will alongside the Body of Christ.

The Big Red Tractor

The Big Red Tractor from Jacob Lewis on Vimeo.

Believe in Me

Cheryl and I recently watched a movie that made a pretty big impression on me. It's called Front of the Class. The movie tells the story of a man named Brad Cohen who pursues his dream to become a teacher despite his battle with Tourette's Syndrome. While it was inspiring to hear the story of a man who overcame such amazing obstacles in his life, I was especially impacted by the people who never gave up on him.

Brad's biggest supporter was his mom. Even when ignorant people thought he was acting out, she believed him when he told her he could not help it. She fought hard and eventually found a doctor who diagnosed him. There were others along the way who supported him as well, particularly his brother and a college girlfriend who would later turn out to be his wife.

As you can imagine, Brad had people who rejected him along the way. In fact, there were many who thought he would never succeed. But Brad's drive to win remained strong because he refused to listen to the naysayers. Instead, he was fueled by the encouragement of a few.

Brad's story really got me thinking about my own life. I certainly don't have a handicap like he has, but I see some other parallels. As I think back, there have been a number of people who did not care if I succeeded or not. Some even openly expressed their lack of faith in me. But like Brad, I have had a handful of people in my life who have believed in me. On many occasions, they have brought encouragement into my life at just the right time and their confidence in me has made all the difference.

Who are you listening to as you seek to fulfill God's fullest potential for your life? Are you getting bogged down by the pessimists and those who are waiting for you to fail? Find someone who believes in you and let their faith empower you to keep moving forward. Oh, and one more thing! Pass on what you've been given. There is a "Brad" out there who needs you to believe in him as well.

Remember, just one voice of encouragement can drown out a multitude of doubters!

A Heart Like Play-Doh!

My kids and I love to play with play-doh! We have all kinds of little machines that make the play-doh into different shapes and sizes. We usually make a huge mess and, even after we clean-up, we often find little pieces of play-doh for days. Suffice it to say, it's a whole lot of fun!

The last time we played together, we ran across some play-doh that had grown hard. We couldn't even get it out of the container. There was some, however, that was salvageable. I softened it up by rubbing it for a while in my hands. Soon enough, it became pliable again and ready to be shaped. Back to the little machines!

There's a verse in the Bible that talks about play-doh...well, sort of!  It says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart (Ps. 37:4 NIV). Many times, the second half of this verse is emphasized when it is quoted. We all want God to give us the desires of our heart. But in order to understand the true meaning of this verse, a close look at the first part is essential.

The word "delight" is the Hebrew word "anag' which means to become soft, delicate and dainty. It paints the picture of a potter working with a piece of clay. Like the clay, God has a way of shaping us as we surrender to Him. The more time we allow for this, the more our hearts become one with His. Soon, His desires become our desires and he fulfills His will for our lives. While this can be scary at times, we can rest in the fact that God has our very best in mind. It's up to us to trust Him.

So, the next time you run across some play-doh, think about what it means to delight yourself in the Lord. Ask God to make you like the soft stuff and be sure that he will not throw you in one of those little machines. God's hands are big enough to do the shaping all by themselves.

Leadership Lessons from Brett Favre

I'm not much of a sports fan, but I do love watching some of the greatest athletes. Back when we lived in Chicago, before we had kids, Cheryl and I would sit at night and watch the Chicago Bulls. Why? We really didn't like basketball, but we loved watching Micheal Jordan! That guy was almost superhuman!

Now that we have 3 kids, we don't have as much time to watch the "greats" anymore. Nevertheless, the boys and I carved out some time the other day to sit and watch Brett Favre work his magic. Wow! He may be older, but he still has the stuff! That man can throw a football!

Recently, Mark Batterson blogged about seven great leadership lessons taken from observing Favre. I hope you benefit from these as much as I did.

1) Slap your teammates on the butt.

No one does it better than Favre. Great leaders are great encouragers! They go around slapping people on the butt, figuratively speaking of course! Love the way he head butts his lineman too. Again, I would practice this one figuratively!

2) Call an audible.

On this one I'd say that the only quarterback who is better at it than Favre is Peyton Manning. Great leaders recognize when there are eight men in the box and they need to audible to a quick slant or screen pass. Leadership is not static. It takes all factors into consideration. It is the ability to process a ton of information in a short amount of time and make a good quick decision!

3) Throw a block downfield.

One of the things I love about Favre is that he's not afraid to throw a block for his teammates. Quarterbacks don't do that. Favre does. Great leaders are great servants. They set the example they want others to follow.

4) Laugh in the locker room.

No one has more fun than Favre. Plays the game like a kid. Anybody see his rendition of Pants on the Ground after the game? Gotta love it. I think laughter is so critical to leadership longevity, especially in ministry! There's lots of crying so you need to counterbalance it with lots of laughing!

5) Huddle Up.

Favre exudes confidence when he's in the game. You're never out of it with the old gunslinger in your huddle. I think great leaders build the confidence of those around them. Love the way Drew Brees does this in New Orleans too! Amazing pre-game chants!

6) Keep Watching Game Film

Favre has played the game for eighteen seasons, but he puts in the time watching game films. After every series you can see him coaching his young receivers and looking at pictures from the coaches booth. Leaders keep learning and keep teaching!

7) Don't be afraid of throwing interceptions.

Favre had his career-best when it came to interceptions this season, but he holds the all-time interception record. Lesson? If you want to hold the record for most touchdown passes you're probably going to throw some interceptions along the way! Great leaders aren't afraid of making mistakes. They're afraid of missing opportunities! Win or lose, they leave it all on the field.

Seven Hebrew Words For Praise - Part 2