Have you noticed that one of the most difficult tasks that one faces is that of balance? It is true for both the secular or religious person. It is a struggle for the common man but it seems an almost impossible task for a pastor!

There seems always something that is trying to push me into one extreme or the other. I am drawn to either fanaticism or complacency. In 1976, I was pastoring a small country church in Eupora, Mississippi. I was visiting in the little hospital (about 20 beds) and I noticed that an elder minister from my congregation was standing outside the door to one of the rooms. He was dressed in suit and tie so I assumed that he was visiting someone but  had to leave for a short time while the doctor or a nurse was in the room tending to the patient. I walked over and spoke to him and asked who he was visiting. He lifted his wrist and showed me the name-band and said that HE was the patient – dressed in suit, coat & tie!! It was his belief that he should be in the “uniform” of a minister – even when he was a patient in the hospital. To me, it was a LOT over the top! The last time I was a patient in the hospital, I wore pj’s and house shoes.

But, I have had my share of extreme moments also. I suspect that we all have. Dr. Kenny Flaming (http://www.kennyflaming.blogspot.com/) sent me the link to a YouTube video titled, “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow up to be Pastors.” Watch it here:

Personally, I can see ME in some of those little things. I see Viv (my wife) almost perfectly portrayed in the wife. It is humorous but it demonstrates the dilemma of needing balance.

Is it wrong to do any of those things? Probably not of themselves but the problem arises when those things take such a priority in our lives that nothing else seems important. Some Christians wear their fanaticism like a “badge” of “super-spirituality” and “self-sacrificing obedience” to God. I realize that we made vows to God but we also made vows to our spouse! Is it God’s desire that I discount my marital vows in order to fanatically observe my vows to Him? I think not.

BTW, the Florida Hospital Church (http://www.hospitalchurch.org/) that produced the video above, also produced several other videos. In my attempts to find balance & become more “human” and less of a mechanical “pastor robot,” I have often been guilty of some of the faults demonstrated in another of their videos titled, “Before He Speaks.” Watch it here:

I hope this article & these videos will help us understand the need for (some humor – and) balance. That we should not go too far in either extreme on anything. What do you think? Tell us in the comments below…

Any fishermen here?

Bryan Strickland on his blog, “Louisiana Bishop” offered the following guide for fishermen with excuses for not catching fish. (An analogy to “fishers of men.”) I can especially identify with the one about fishing “where God has placed you.” Or, as I have stated it, “grow where you are planted!”

• The fish weren’t biting! Study the fish’s habits. Know what to use for bait, when the best time of day is to catch it, and how to cast your line.
• The weather was wrong – it was too hot or too cold to catch anything! In the church, you create your own spiritual climate with those you touch, regardless of those around you.
• My hook was dull! The blunt hook of human wisdom will never convict like the sharp truth of the Word of God. You can win an argument and lose the soul!
• I was in the wrong spot! “The fish are really biting on the foreign field.” Fish where God has placed you.
• The water was too rough! Fishing can still be successful regardless of the rough waters you are in personally.
• I ran out of gas! If you are spiritually drained, just come back to Calvary and ask God to renew your passion.

Pretty good response. Thanks, Bryan! There is one more that I have heard…

• The “big one” got away! This may be true at times, but it most likely is just a “smoke screen” for one not actually catching anything. In the spiritual realm, such excuses may suggest that the “numbers” (attendance, conversions, etc) we report are not entirely true either.

Do you have any “fishermen’s excuses” that have spiritual applications? Leave a comment and let us in on it. Ray

Updated on Oct 25, 2008.

During my Bible Study time, I was reading in John chapter 3 when something “popped out” at me! In verse 23, the Scripture says, “Now Jesus was about thirty yeas old when he began his ministry.” Does that strike a note of interest in you? Or, maybe you have already examined this and recognized the enigma (something not easily explained or understood) that it poses?

Although I have read this many times before, the question that occurred to me – this time – was, “Why did Jesus WAIT?”

There are several similar situations that come to mind. One is the case of Lazarus who was dead and had already been in the tomb for four days (John 11:17)! Why didn’t Jesus do something a the first notice of Lazarus’ sickness? Or what about some of the healings? Like the case of the blind man in John chapter 9 where Jesus told the man to walk a half mile down a very steep slope to the Pool of Siloam in order to wash off the mud that Jesus put there. Robin Sampson in her excellent blog (Heart of Wisdom) asks the question, “why didn’t Jesus just heal him there?”
In John 2:46,47 (when Jesus was only 12 yrs old) Mary & Joseph found Jesus “in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.” (Emphasis mine) If Jesus was so smart at 12 that he “amazed” the Bible scholars of his day, why didn’t he go on the road as a child evangelist? Why did he wait another 18 years and then only have 3 or so years left for ministry?

One “answer” to Jesus’ 18 year delay in ministry is probably found in verse 52 – which I believe is one of the most profound verses in the entire Bible. The verse is its self an enigma, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” The only part of that that I can say I understand (at least partially) is that Jesus grew in stature. Although he could have been placed on this earth full-grown, he came as a little baby and underwent the struggles of physical growth – just like you and I must do.

BUT, beyond physical growth, the verse tells us that he also grew in wisdom. One reason that Jesus did not begin his ministry at the age of 12 is that he had to grow in wisdom. That is likely a problem that all of us face as well. In order to be successful, we must first acquire wisdom – and often, by the time we become “wise,” we are too old to do much about it! <grin>.

Later, Matthew recorded, (13:54) “Coming to his home town, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’” Apparently, Jesus satisfied the requirement that he grow in wisdom (and every other requirement of the Messiah). (Check out the next post for more about the acquisition of wisdom.)

As a pastor, how do you measure SUCCESS?

Of course there is a world of information about eternity that we will NEVER know – until we get there! But there are many other things that we DO know. And, there is still more that we SHOULD know but, because of some preconceived ideas, we may not realize or understand.

One of the concepts that developed from my study on this topic was that God may offer just four commands to those who enter eternity with Him:

1. GO! Where ever you want – you have a glorified body – use it!
2. SEE! Look at “all this” which you have inherited
3. DO! Do whatever you want! – You are the King’s Kid! & you are incapable of wrong-doing.
4. ENJOY! This is not a 10 sec ride at an amusement park. Take your time & enjoy everything!

Granted, there is not a lot of Biblical support to PROVE these things but just look at Matthew 25:21 (KVJ)…

Matthew 25:21 (KJV) His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Another controversial issue that occurred to me during this study was… will non-human animals be present in eternity? What do YOU think? Read the rest of this entry »

Life is so full of uncertainties. Wouldn’t it be great if there were at least a few things we could count on? Some constants to give us a reliable foundation for the beginning of each new day? Well, Jesus assures us there are. Unfortunately, not all of them are good:

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

Haven’t you found that to be true? In my sixty odd years of living, I’ve yet to come across a day that didn’t have MORE than enough trouble in it to keep me well occupied. Even on the best of days, little nagging things will go wrong.

And our response to those troubles is equally consistent. We worry. And we are so terribly good at it. I’m reminded of English class and how we used to conjugate all the various forms of a verb. Well worry is a verb and we’ve leaned to worry in a way that has all the verb forms covered: Past, present and future tenses; singular and plural; first, second and third person; we do them all. And no matter what form our worrying takes, it is so insidiously destructive. Literally billions of dollars are spent every year treating the physical and emotional damage we do to ourselves through our worrying. The list of ailments being attributed to worry, including some forms of cancer and heart disease, grows daily. Despite this growing evidence against worrying and the clear instructions of our Savior to avoid it, we continue to make it one of our constant companions of every day.

In His instructions against worry (Matthew 6:25-34), Jesus tells us to look at the evidence of the Father’s faithfulness in the world around us. Birds that don’t plant or harvest, but are fed. Grass that does not labor or spin but is clothed in splendid beauty. Then Jesus asks us this simple but awesome question, “Are you not much more valuable than they?” Read the rest of this entry »

It is a wonderful thing when our public officials are not ashamed to give their Christian Testimony! Bobby Jindal was elected Governor of the State of Louisiana a few months ago and has been such a success that he has attracted national attention – even being on the short-list of possible running mates with the Republican nominee for President, John McCain!

Governor Jindal gave his Christian testimony at the First Baptist Church in Lake Providence, LA. Here is a video of portions of that service: (Link has now been removed) – sorry.