Pastor You Are Just A Bus Driver

Posted on December 9, 2014 by ccpastormike

Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3

One of the many challenges that church leaders face is the challenge to remember that our brothers and sisters in the faith belong to God. They are His people and as our focus passage states, “sheep of His pasture.”

This highlights some very important implications. For instance, men and women who make your church their spiritual home, do so as a result of their relationship with God. He has entrusted them to your care for a season. They need sound spiritual guidance from you.

Second, it is God who will sustain His people. How does God do that? God does that by feeding them in His pasture. That may be your church for a season but it can just as easily be another church in another season. But even while being a part of your church, God’s people should be partaking of solid spiritual food as a result of their personal communion with Him. Yours should not be the only voice they hear.

Why do I bring this up? For this simple truth – far too many church leaders today, behave as if God has assigned people to their churches for as long as they live. Now before you church leaders start getting yourself all worked up, hear me out. What I am suggesting to you is that you are merely a bus driver in the Kingdom of God and not a warden. In other words the church door swings both ways. And it is my belief we should encourage that.

People will get on and off the bus at every stop you make on this faith journey called life. We should not be surprised by this. The days of 3^rd and 4^th generation families calling the same church their home, are rare according to recent statistics.

Given that fact, shouldn’t church leaders be preparing people to be Kingdom builders in their own right? What would happen if more church leaders actually discipled God’s people under their care, to go out and start new churches? That would create a Gospel title wave that would sweep across our nation, something we desperately need in America today.

Church leaders – take seriously your role as a Kingdom bus driver and watch the amazing things that will happen as a result. That will be a transforming moment in your life.

Three Keys To Effective Prayer

Posted on December 6, 2014 by ccpastormike

I call upon you; answer me, O God. Turn your ear to me; hear my speech. Psalm 17:6

When was the last time you contemplated the importance of prayer? Almost everyone has an opinion on times, places, and frequency concerning personal prayer. But have you taken the time to understand just how important prayer is to your spiritual life?

Psalm 17 is a prayer of King David, written down for our benefit. His opening petition is instructive: “Hear, Lord, my plea for justice; pay heed to my cry.” I think we can all connect to this idea – that God will hear and answer our cries. We expect God to hear us and to answer us.

Since that is the case, what should our attitude concerning prayer be? I see at least three principles in this Psalm that if employed consistently will yield much fruit in our lives. I encourage you to study Psalm 17 on your own, to not only see these three principles but to see what else God might show you.

Here are the three principles: (1) Stay alert – don’t let your mind drift. How many of you will admit that you start off your prayer time with good intentions but before you know it you’re thinking about items on your “must do” list. David’s prayer is focused. Keep in mind the Apostle Paul’s admonition to the Colossian believers to “persevere in prayer, being watchful in it” (Col. 4:2).

(2) Be specific with your petitions. When you go to a restaurant you don’t ask the waiter to “bring me food.” You specially request what you would like – “sirloin steak, medium rare.” Prayers that are nothing more than generalizations or meaningless catch-phrases ask for nothing and will receive the same in return.

Finally, (3) Expect to receive. If you pray simply from habit expecting to receive nothing from God, then you are really wasting your time. James the brother of Jesus said that when we pray we should pray “in faith, not doubting.” The whole point of prayer is that we are making our petitions known to God who will answer us according to His goodness and kindness.

Friends, prayer can change our lives when we approach it with a right understanding of its place and power.

This is a transforming truth.

A Thanksgiving Reflection

Posted on November 27, 2014 by ccpastormike

Today is Thanksgiving Day in America. A day that is for the most part a celebration of our history as a nation, (although very dimly remembered) and all that is good and right about America. This is not to say that America is without blemish for we surely have fallen in many instances, and continue to fail to uphold the ideals which our forefathers envisioned. Nevertheless today is a day of giving thanks for the lives we have and the many attendant blessings, whether we use that particular word or not.

In the midst of this time of reflection I wonder though about the many Americans who increasingly disavow God. If current studies are accurate and the latest statistics can be believed, Americans are becoming more secular and less religious in significant numbers. This has a direct bearing on our ability to see life as precious and worthy of our best efforts.

Continue reading →

A Thanksgiving Prayer – Prayers of John Wesley

Posted on November 26, 2014 by ccpastormike

“Thanksgiving is inseparable from true prayer; it is almost essentially connected with it. One who always prays is ever giving praise, whether in ease or pain, both for prosperity and for the greatest adversity. He blesses God for all things, looks on them as coming from Him, and receives them for His sake- not choosing nor refusing, liking or disliking, anything, but only as it is agreeable or disagreeable to His perfect will.”

John Wesley, How To Pray: The Best of John Wesley on Prayer