Community Involvement

I am the Co-Chair of the Warden Community Coalition. We are funded by a grant that is given to communities that face a huge underage drinking problem. Our average of underage drinking is higher than the state average. We know that in order to reduce under age drinking we must surround ourselves with people in the community to address all areas of the problem. This is our third year and we are finally implementing some of the things that we have planned. Let me talk to you for a moment about why I am involved with this group.

1. I was asked: in a small community every person is considered a good neighbor who can help in the community.

2. I am passionate about preventing under age drinking. My Dad was an alcoholic and it started when he was young.

3. My children's future: I am paving a way for them to have a better environment to grow up in.

4. Finally, I have an opportunity to meet people that I would not otherwise. I have friends because of the Coalition that have trusted me , and maybe someday they will trust Christ with their life.

In a small town, they only way to make an impact is with contact. We are trying to make contact with others in our community. What are you doing in your neighborhood?

Writer's Blog (Block?)

I have not posted for a few days, but I am back from my hiatus. Please forgive me as I have been in so many meetings and conference calls that my head is swimming. This is the time of year that is busiest for me as I prepare for our Annual Meeting. So here is my post for the day.

The power of prayer has always amazed me. Take for instance I was speaking today to a missionary who is getting ready to go on the field. He and his family were in a church in the Spokane area and they had a lady tell them about the power of prayer. The lady mentioned that the Lord will give her the name and a location of a missionary somewhere in the world. This lady will pray and not even know this person.She said that the Lord had impressed upon her heart to pray for a man by the name of Jonathan, and that he was in India. When she related this to my missionary friend he said that he knew a man by that name and knew that he was in India. He also related that this missionary was in the same commissioning group as he and his family. It turns out that the lady was praying (and had been praying for 2 months) for a missionary who was right in the middle of all the violence that was taking place in North India.

There is someone right now who is praying for you. You may not know them, and they may not know you; but prayer is being offered up to Heaven for you right now. How awesome to think that God loves you so much that He knows your name, and He has shared your name with another person so that they might pray for you. This is why we consider prayer a powerful weapon. May God lead you in your prayers, because someone is depending on you.

Who Will Pray?

I have been listening to and watching prayers that have taken place during the Inaugural ceremonies, and I am amazed at what has been said. It seems to be the popular thing today is to refer to God's Word, or scripture as President Obama made mention of in his Inaugural speech. If we are praying to God with the audience listening what are we saying? Here are few quotes from some of the Inaugural prayers.

First was 87-year-old civil rights leader Rev. Joseph Lowery, who raised some eyebrows and brought smiles when he prayed, "Help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back; when brown can stick around; when yellow will be mellow; when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right." (The Pastor's Weekly Briefing 1-22-09)

Who was Mr. Lowery praying to? Or was praying to be heard of men? How about when Gene Robinson prayed to "the God of our understandings." Who was he praying to? Did whoever he was praying to hear his prayer? I am convinced that prayer has lost its true meaning, and when people pray in public they pray to impress people instead of imploring God's favor upon this earth.

What about Rick Warren, I watched his prayer and felt that he was under a lot of scrutiny to say the right thing. Now since I have not been asked to lead prayer in Washington,D.C. I will save my criticisms of what should have been said in that prayer. Let me say one thing and I will move on. I only wish that Rick Warren would have prayed like he was praying to God and not trying to be so inclusive of every religion. God is his judge, and I will reserve that for Him. We need more people who will discharge the privilege of prayer with such power that it will shake the house in which they stand. God, give us people who will not flinch in the face of opposition, and will do the right thing no matter what. I want to finish with an example of one Pastor who prayed as though God was listening. Here it is.

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

Heavenly Father,

We come before You today to ask Your Forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ''Woe to those who call evil good,'' but that's exactly what we have done. We have lost our Spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that; we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism; We have worshiped other gods and called it multiculturalism; We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle; We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery; We have neglected the needy and called it self preservation; We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare; We have killed our unborn and called it choice; We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable; We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem; We have abused power and called it political savvy; We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition; We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression; We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of this state and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state of Kansas. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your Will.

I ask in in the name of your Son, The Living Savior, Jesus Christ (www.truthorfiction.com)

May his tribe increase.

Sermon Outlines from 2008-2009

I have submitted sermon outlines from 2008-2009. If you are interested in viewing them here is the link: www.sermoncentral.com/contributorprofile.asp?contributorID=53619

A New Beginning

Today was the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama. In many ways it was a historic moment, as Barack Obama is the first African American President. I say congratulations to Mr. Obama for a job well done. But I have some reservations about President Obama, they are as follows:

First, Mr Obama has promised to enact the Freedom of Choice Act which will increase the number and scope of abortions in America. This legislation will undo all the good things that have been done in defending the unborn. I am pro-life and I am glad my mother was as well, and I have a hard time believing that President Obama wants to destroy human life. However; as our President stated many times that he believes this to be a woman's choice. Nevermind the fact that Planned Parenthood has exploited a woman's choice to line their pockets and destroy the destiny of countless millions of people. Abortion is hot topic, because it is wrong to kill the unborn for whatever reason that is given. With that said I believe that the flood gates could be open for an all out war on the unborn. I believe Mr. Obama should rethink his position.

Secondly, Mr. Obama has made many promises that I am not sure that he can keep. You know the old joke, "when is a politician lying? When his lips are moving." Mr. Obama has taken the position to try to please everyone and will find that in the end he will please no one. His position is reminiscient of Neville Chamberlain. Mr. Chamberlain was the Prime Minister of England during the rise of Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich. He tried to appease a tyrant, and all he did was expose England to the vicious attack of the Third Reich. He was quoted as saying "peace in our time." We all know that Hitler went on a rampage to conquer and destroy after signing the peace agreement with Mr. Chamberlain. It is kind of like that children's story, "if you give a mouse a cookie, then he will some want some milk." Mr. Obama can't afford to appease the dictators of the world and believe that they will be satisfied with concessions. This President will be tested by Iran, Pakistan, Hamas, and others how will he respond? Only time will tell.

This is truly a new beginning, it is time for Christians everywhere to pray for our President and our Vice President. This could be the beginning of a prayer movement that will affect the destiny of America for time to come. Congratulations Mr. Obama you are in our prayers.

The Church Needs Power From on High

For those of you who have read my previous posts, you will understand where I am going with this new post. For the rest of you, let me make it perfectly clear. We need the authentic Pentecostal experience in our churches. Let me give you two reasons.

First, we need to understand that Jesus told His disciples to wait for the Promise of the Father (Luke 24:49). They didn't know what this "power on high" would be like, but they wanted everything that Jesus had for them. Why would Jesus give His disciples anything that would be harmful for them (Luke 11:9-13)? We need the power from on high more than we have ever needed the Spirit of God in our land. I know that we differ on "manifestations", but could we not agree that the Spirit of God is the only one that can give us power to live in this godless society? We need the power of God to be His witnesses.

Secondly, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is barren because we have relegated the Spirit of God to a back room. I want my children to experience the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and more than that I want them to experience what it means to live a Spirit empowered life. If we don't preach, teach and live the daily visitation of the Holy Spirit then we should not surprised that we live defeated lives.

Let us regain authentic Pentecost before it is too late. If we are happy about the churches in America that are closing their doors, and the generally apathy that has plagued the body of Christ then we should do nothing. Our churches must become more than social clubs.

If You Want To See God Move

Last night concluded our meetings with David Woods. There were 73 people in attendance, and David prayed for every person that wanted to be prayed for, and David was the vessel of The Lord as God spoke through him. Many people were touched by the scriptures that were given to them as a confirmation of what God had already spoken to their heart. There was not a dry eye in the place as once again the Holy Spirit revealed to our speaker things (non-embarassing) about the people he was praying for. Our meeting finally concluded at about 10:00 or 10:30 p.m. I would like to say that I am glad we asked David Woods to come. Let me tell you why.

1. David Woods is a man of the Word and is not given to weird spiritual manifestations.
2. David Woods is not ashamed to be called Pentecostal. Something that we are lacking in our Assembly of God churches.
3. David Woods is not an evangelist that demands a certain amount to come and minister to your church. He operates by faith.

OK, I understand that God is responsible for what happened at our church, but David Woods was the vessel that God used. It has been my experience that as a Pastor there are a few evangelists who could be called Pentecostal. Most of our speakers today are not stressing the power of God through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Thank God for men like David Woods who still believe that we need to return to our Pentecostal roots. Our churches will not be effective in the Kingdom of God without the operation of the Holy Spirit in the congregations we serve.

If you want to see God move in your church then contact David Woods at www.wordfortheworld.org/.