What Flavor is the Kool-Aid versus The Water of Life

     I remember years ago, late seventies I believe; a cult leader buy the name of Jim Jones. Some of you  remember this person and know the story of "drinking the Kool Aid".

    That is what I want to address today! That is why I titled this "What Flavor is the Kool-Aid versus The Water of Life.

    Paul addresses this situation in 1 Cor. 1:10-13 when he challenges the Corinthian church.

    We used to have a saying when I was active duty; "The more things change the more they stay the same."  Solomon tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. So we find ourselves dealing with the same issues as the church at Corinth.

    We all have our favorite preacher / theologian that for us speaks into our souls and makes everthing just right. 

    Paul addresses this well and tries to explain to the church in Corinth that each one has a different calling or mission if you will.

    When we give credence to man's opinion - philosophy - interpretation we defeat the purpose of God's Word. We are actually reverting back to the dark ages where the so called theologians and leaders would interpret and tell us what the Bible says with their particular slant etc.

    Instead, we should challenge ourselves to be like the Bereans in Acts searching diligently  everyday to see if these so called theologians - pastors - teachers are indeed teaching - interpreting - preaching God's Word and "Not another Gospel".

    One more point ... another saying comes to mind  "You brought this upon yourself!"

    Is it any wonder that our churches are in turmoil?

    WE NEED TO GET BACK IN THE BOOK !

    Blessings

    Pastor Dan

 We are encouraged to be in God's Word everyday; absolutely true. But have you ever wondered if there is such a thing as TOO MUCH?

Now that I have your attention...

In our finite mind we tend to think that more is better.  More money ( who wouldn't want more ) ... more security ... more free time ... and on and on.  So what if I told you that sometimes we tend to over indulge in the good things.  Yes I am referring to our thirst for more knowledge of God's Word.

NOW WAIT JUST A MINUTE you might say.

Let me define and explain what I am referring to...  

We often take time out of our busy day for the reading and meditation of God's Word. Absolutely essential for a intimate personal relationship with an Almighty God through Jesus Christ. But the question jumps off the page; How much is too much?

From my years of walking with Jesus (47) I have found that quality trumps quantity every time!

In my rush to know more I sometimes have left some golden nuggets in the passage. I simply was in a rush to meet a deadline or in my skewed thinking to know more and more, I simply skipped over the deeper meaning and application. 

So how should we approach this problem?

This has worked for me; maybe it will work for you. 

1. Be methodical ... not mechanical      

2. Read God's Word for you not someone else 

3. Limit ( yes limit ) your reading to one to three sources... anymore then that you will miss those nuggets

4. Remember, quality first... quantity will take care of itself

Hope this helps.

A humble servant just like you!

Pastor Dan Andrus

Back At Ya

Hey Folks;

After a couple of years away from the blog; I decided I should fire up the account once again.

So much has transpired since my last entry .... don't know where to begin.  Maybe the best place is to deal with what is on my heart at the moment.

My heart aches !!!   It aches because of my wandering from my Lord.  It aches because of the world around me and the choices that affect each of us.  My heart is unsettled because I have let the minor replace the major in my life.

So how does one go about getting back to where my heart rejoices and is content ?  Like the story found in Luke 15... all it takes is to turn around and start back home.  Laying down the corn husks of a self righteous prideful man.

Like the younger son; I have taken the benefits and blessings of my Father and squandered them on riotous living.  No... not drunkenness... or debauchery... or even the wild lifestyles of the day....

No... BUT I have taken those blessed things and subjected them to my prideful will and failed to placed them under His guiding loving hands.  To even think that I could and at times did do things "my" way and expect God to bless is just insanity !

The heart aches because of my behaviors and no one else's.... my choices and not anyone else.
As Don Francisco said in one of his songs " It's you're own fault, you went ahead and did it. You can't blame anyone else but yourself!" I am guilty as charged.

The great blessing from all of this is this...

God in His compassion and love for me ( and you too ) has forgiven me. He has drawn me back into the fold and has killed the fatted calf.  A son has wandered but has returned. 

Thank you Jesus for your love ...  forgiveness ... and for the way you deal with me.

Thought you should know...

A humbled servant

Pastor Dan

Change is an everyday occurance !

In case you haven't noticed it; change is happening more rapidly than we first imagined!  It doesn't take much observation to noticed that everything around us is changing... most for the good but some for the bad.  From the shopping mall/s to the local mom and pop stores... change is the word of the day.  The ever changing labeling, placement, and pricing that takes place everyday in any given retailer is just overwhelming.  Add to that the changes that are taking place in our society and way of life.  It gets worse as I get older... yes I said that word.. OLDER!   I remember when... comes out of my mouth more than I care to admit. 

So what has this got to with anything?  Well absolutely nothing and then again... everything!

We live in an ever changing world with ever changing methods, thinking, and even our morals seem to be changing.  There is severe pushback in areas of our lives that naturally takes place.  For instance... I am not 18  nor even 35, not even 45 any longer.  Tell my brain that !  I am still that young strong good looking... well maybe not....man who has the strength to do what he wants when he wants.  But the truth of the matter is that if I act like that.. and I do at times... I pay a tremendous price both physically and emotionally.  Sore muscles, aching joints I can handle most of the time.  Its the emotional black and blue marks that ding my pride and bruise my ego that are hard to deal with.

So what is it I'm trying to say...

We are living in times that change so fast we as mere humans can not grasp nor comprehend.  But to stand still and settle for yesterdays methods or technologies is not the answer.  So lets take a look at how Jesus handled things when it came to change...

Jesus was a change agent... He brought change everywhere He went and in anyone He met.  Lives were changed from the outside and hearts were changed from the inside!  He cautioned us to not to try to put the new wine into old skins because the skins would break under the expanding gases and we would loose everything!  The lesson we need to learn is that we too must change and must develop new and different ways to present the same UNCHANGABLE Gospel!

We at North Hill Baptist Church are entering into a "Revitalization" program that will challenge us, get after us, encourage us, and yes even change us!  Why would we do that?  Because we realize that we are not reaching the community around us... we desire that eveyone at least hear the Gospel message at least once in their lives.  WE want to minister and become a viable part of our community once again. We want to impact the city and county for God's Kingdom.

Join us if you dare !  I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU TO TRY!

Blessings

Pastor Dan

Changing the Flow of Old Thinking

    It is the way of life for most of us;  we are challenged to accept and actually perform differently then we were yesterday.  We go to work to find policies changed or modified, for better or for worse that's the way it is.... don't ask! 

It becomes suddenly different when it is something we cherish or want to hang onto isn't it?  Now it is imperative to make those changes, to update, to get the latest and greatest techniques, procedures, skills and on and on. These affect our presentation/s and our way of communicating with our chosen audience whether they be captive or not.  Nothing seems to stop us from acquiring the necessary information and material/s.

So why is it?  What is the difference?  How does it make things change?  And a hundred other questions come to mind. 

What am I talking about?  I think you know by now; at least if you have been paying attention.  I am talking about our (yours and mine) approach in presenting the Gospel to the world around us!  Why is it we continue to use the same old tired methods that didn't work then and don't now. Why do we dig our heels in and not allow the Gospel to be presented in ways that will connect with a lost and dying world?  From our written by-laws, policies, constitutions, SOPs and even our job descriptions we utilize that which we know best ....OLD tattered thought processes and flow. 

You are saying that it is tried and true and needs no tweaking, updating, or changing in any way.  If you're talking about the Gospel message...YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!  However; if you are talking about the methods, schools of thought, and the general way we do things... I contend that you are wrong and in danger of driving people away with the "old traditional" and antiquated way of doing business.

Why do we have a constitution for a people of 350 when we average 30 in our churches.... because we've always done it that way... and we wonder why we can't get people to help.   They are already wearing 6 different hats...  So what would I suggest... I would suggest a TEAM approach vice the current way of doing things.  Develop a TEAM which actually takes the place of the old church council and elect members to it. They are in charge of the particular ministries... people are free to join when ever and where ever to serve out of their giftedness and not necessity....

When we begin to realize that we as a society no longer think on a linear plane... and we actually think and operate on a spiral... it makes all the difference in our approaches to what we do and how we do it.  There are great examples of this "spiral" thinking... "Friends" and "Sienfeld" television programs are great examples.  The conversations seem all over the place but come together to accomplish that one task or goal.  Yes, there are some of you that will scream that we don't get our doctrine and teaching from tv shows... CORRECT AGAIN!  But we need to take a lesson from the methodology because that is the world in which we find ourselves.  So how am I suppose to reach these folks if I can't even carry on a conversation with them?

The message you and I have to tell the world is way to precious to hide behind old thinking and older methods!  I can't speak for you; but I am continuing to learn new ways, methods, language, and even adopt to the culture to present the "Gospel" of the ages!

"EMBRACE THE CHANGE.........ENGAGE THE CULTURE !"

Didn't Jesus change your life?

Well Whata Ya Know !

Several months ago I posted on this blog some excerpts from a book entitled "Transformational Churches" by Thomas Rainer.  Well to say the least they were not well received and even got me accused of being someting that I am not... emergent.  The person/s who were making those accusations didn't do their homework and it caused a rif in the body of Christ. Now its been several months ago and to be honest; I don't actually concern myself with that. The point I'm trying to make is this....  The very resource that was maligned and touted as "emergent" is actually the basis of four (4) Sunday School lessons this coming quarter.  It's not that I'm gloating... to do that would only prove that I'm not over it.  The point or lesson to be learned here is to check your facts and actually read or study the material first before we go accusing one another of this or that.

As I write this blog; I'm encouraging the folks at our church to "ReDream the Dream". This is an emphasis to determine the why of our existence and the what, how, and where of our vision and goals.  This particular book gives some great examples and encouragement of what is needed to transform into the church that Jesus wants us to be.  I realize that a book is just a book.  There are millions of books; you are correct. And you would say adamantly that there ois only one book that we need to follow "The Bible" and you would be correct again. So what's the deal with these books ?  These books ARE NOT scripture nor do I nor should anyone else hold them along side or above God's Word.  However; these are tools to make the job easier, to provide some guidance on the "how to" of ministry. These books are written from experience/s of the authors and provide some very good ideas and priciples to consider.

Now before I get assasinated again.... God's Word has and will always have the final say so... the ultimate authority!  When these other books are read; I do challenge the thoughts and principles using God's Word. I will always give way to God's Word over anything a man has written.  That being said; I will also say that I will not stop trying to learn from others experiences and mistakes. Many of these authors have been and are great men of God. Truth be known I have personally met and sat through a seminar taught by Thomas Rainer. You will not find a better man of God period.

My rant is over.  I want all who read this blog to expand their kknowledge base and get out of their rut.  Read articles, blogs, books to broaden our mind and certainly our hearts. But most of all read God's Word and ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand the deep things not just the feel good stuff.

Blessings

Pastor Dan

Using What's Available Part 2

Interestingly enough; this technology thingy is really amazing. While some can make their computers and phones dance; I can hardly get mine to forward emails. However; that is not stopping me from trying to do something in the up coming Experiencing God Bible study.

A friend of mine from Seattle, WA has asked if she could join the group and do Exp. God from a satellite location in Seattle.  Of course I said yes; thinking I was going to give her updates via Facebook or email after the class.  Imagine my surprise when my brain screamed out ( I bet yours does too); "Hey Dan? and I answered aloud no less.... What?"  Why don't you utilize Skype; just like they do for conferences etc...  Well brain of mine... that is a wonderful idea!

So in a couple of weeks; and if the WiFi cooperates; we will have her in our class via Skype.  Pretty neat huh?  I know for you techies out there this is so "old school" but at least I 'm in the 21st century and not trying to teach with 2 dimensional "flat Stanley" flannel graph. 

I will let you know how it progresses.  Hey, we might even hook up the camera....OOOOOOHHHHHH!!!  Yeah I know.

What are your thoughts on this?  Love to hear from ya.

Pastor Dan