Go with What is Working!

I do not get the opportunity to fish much but when I do I have no problem chasing after what works.
Mike Roux and I had the rare opportunity to get out to a local farm lake on the first weekend of June.
He was in town to guide for a veteran's fishing weekend. His favorite fishing buddies (his grandchildren) were not able to fish so he went with plan D - Bob. I am grateful that I was plan D because it turned out to be the largest catch in number and size of my career.

We arrived at the lake around 5:30 on a beautiful Saturday evening, with the plans to fish til dark. It was the first time we had fished this lake in about two years. It had produced some monster bass in the past but some of the characteristics of the lake had changed over time. We were excited to see how the evening was going to turn out.

Mike began by using a staple for us the Strike King  Shim-e-stick. The color the bass prefer is Sweet Tater Pie. He immediately began to catch two and three pound bass with his prefered lure. I started out with a deep running white shad crankbait. I began catching fish but not bass. I was catching Blue Gill and Crappie.

He consistently caught fish for the first forty five minutes with his Sweet Tater Pie. Mike had caught eighteen bass while I had only caught eight. As we moved into a shaded cove to the southside of the pond, I decided to join Mike with what was working. I left the crank bait and put on my Sweet Tater Pie. The first case proved to be effective as I caught a nice two pound bass.

Over the next hour we caught twenty five nice bass. It was a ton of fun. We set a goal of catching fifty fish total. The picture below is number fifty. We were blessed to have great success and a great time. I have learned that if what I am doing is not working the best, change it up and go with what is working for someone else. This can be applied to so many areas of our lives. Changing up what you know to the unknown can be healthy, productive and effective. Who knows... you may be only one cast away from a big five pounder!!!

Six Lies We Tell Ourselves About Our Church

I recently preached a sermon entitled "Truth Be Told" at Columbus Road Church. I unpacked six lies that people tell themselves about their church. This message addressed common falsehoods that are exposed through behaviors and attitudes. No matter what style, philosophy or tradition you might come from, manufacturing distorted view of church is common. Our hearts are excuse centers that keep us from the truth by manufacturing lies.

Lie # 1 - Church is filled with people who have their lives together

Truth be told, church is a hospital. We are all sick and crazy. Sick in that we try so hard to get it right but fail because it is in our nature to sin. Crazy in that we go to great lengths to mask and cover up our sickness so that others will think we are healthy. The scriptures speak to this topic in great detail. The apostle Paul talks about his own "sick and crazy" in Romans 7:15, 22-23.  James 3:2 and I John 1:8 helps us all see that we are all sin sick. We should stop pretending that we have our lives together and confess our faults one to another.

Lie # 2 Church is a place where I should get my needs met.

Truth be told, church is a place where I meet the needs of others. When we read the description of the first church in Jesusalem in Acts 2:41-47, it is littered with togetherness, selflessness and service. Living in a culture where we are inundated with consumerism, it is almost impossible for that dynamic to not take over the direction of churches. Traditonal, contemporary, missional, or seeker; personal preference has no boundaries. "I want my church to look and do things that I am most comfortable with," says most church attenders. Passages like Galatians 6:1-4 teach us that we are to bear one anothers burdens. Romans 12 tells us to give preference to others and to serve the body.

Lie # 3 Student ministry will raise my child into a Godly adult, all I have to do is drop them off.

Truth be told, church supports intentional and involved parents. Dropping your child or teen off at church and driving home to get a break from it all is a very bad idea. It sends all the wrong messages to your children as well as placing responsibility on those who are not responsible to raise your children. Ephesians 6:1-4 places the responsibility on the father. They are to bring up their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Churches can be a great encouragement and support to families who are creating environments for growth in the Lord.

Lie # 4 Church is an item on a list of things to do and places to go.

Truth be told, church is a vital part of a believer's existence while on the planet. The average church attender in the United States attends church 25 times a year. When you figure the hours committed to church per year, it would equal 50 hours per year, which is a liberal estimate of two hours per visit. Scripture teaches us to be hospitable to one another in I Peter 4:9 and in I Corinthians 16:1-2 a weekly collection is received. Romans 12:10 speaks of devotion and commitment to the local assembly. God intended for the church to be the "third place" in the believers life (first place-family,  second place-work). We (church goers) have replaced church for sports, family time, work, hobbies, and travel, just to name a few "third places".

Lie # 5 I do not need to attend church to be a growing christian.

Truth be told, you cannot obediently follow Jesus without committed relationships with other brothers and sisters. Hebrews 10:23-25 clearly states that we are to encourage each other by committed, regular interaction with one another. Missing church for a vacation or family outing occasionally is appropriate. Habitually, forsaking church is a critical error with many consequences.

Lie # 6 The measure of a good church service is based on how much I enjoyed it.

Truth be told, the measure if a good church service is based on how God is glorified. Philippians 2:3 tells us that we are not to seek the glory but rather to humble ourselves before the Lord and others. Ephesians 5:19-20 places the focus on God in our worship, where He is to receive thanks and that our singing is directed toward Him. We tend to get caught up in the style, genre, and era the song was written and forget who the song is about.

It is important to speak the truth, think the truth and live the truth. We all must be careful not to tell ourselves lies about our own church and sabotage the plan and purpose God has in His church.