RReach

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a lunch with 26 pastors from around the world who are in Dallas for three weeks of intensive training.  These 26 pastors are relatively young (at least compared to me!) and are in Dallas for a conference sponsored by an organization called RReach.  Among other things, RReach is committed to expanding the Church worldwide by equipping and connecting young pastoral leaders.

During the lunch, I had the chance to visit with several of these pastors, and two of the pastors took a few minutes to describe their churches and their ministries to the lunch crowd.  It was awesome to hear what God is doing around the world.  But, it was also a stark reminder of how light our burden in here is the States.

One of the pastors who spoke at lunch was from Kenya.  He was thrilled to tell us that a couple of years ago his congregation completed construction of a new church building that holds about 850 people.  This caught my interest, in part because the Heartland sanctuary has about that same capacity.  It also sounded like his Sunday attendance numbers are about the same as HC.


But there are significant differences between his church in Kenya and ours in Carrollton.  We have theater-type seating and a state-of-the-art sound system in our sanctuary.  We also have a separate wing for our children and student ministries, as well as a separate wing for our administrative offices.  From what I could tell from the pictures, the church in Kenya was basically one big room with no air conditioning.


The median income in Carrollton, Texas is around $65,000 a year.  According to this Kenyan pastor, most people in his congregation make around $1.00 a day.  He said it took ten years to complete construction of this church, and it obviously must happened as a result of great sacrifice by his congregation.


Of course, this is only scratching the surface of the challenges that many of the pastors at the conference are facing.  Some of them face persecution.  Some worse.  I wonder how many of our American pastors would choose to pastor in those same conditions?


According to the people at RReach, over 80% of pastors world wide have no formal training. The vision that God has given to RReach is to do something about that.

I invite you to check out their web site.  And, please keep RReach and the pastors they are serving in your prayers.

http://www.rreach.org/

Blessings.

Static

The other day as I was pulling out of the driveway I turned the radio on.  I don't normally listen to music in the morning, but this particular morning a song was playing that I really like.  So, I figured I would go ahead and listen and then turn to my normal morning programming when it was over.


I listen to the station that the radio was dialed to with some frequency (no pun intended), and don't remember ever having any reception problems.  So, I was a little irritated when the music turned to static and then a second later I found myself listening to some Jazz station.  (Not that I have anything against Jazz).


As I continued to drive, the song I had intended to listen to would come back on, followed by more static, then back to the Jazz station, and then the cycle would repeat itself.  This happened over and over again.  Normally I would have given up and moved on.  But, I really wanted to hear this song!


Its funny sometimes how and when God chooses to speak to us -- and this was one of those times.  In the midst of my frustration, it dawned on me that our faith and our walk is far too often a lot like that radio station.


One minute we find ourselves in the beauty of God's presence.  God is the focus of our lives, our faith is strong and we find ourselves in submission -- we have the feeling that He truly is everything we need.


But the next minute the static comes.  It may be the worries of life.  It may be some kind of  failure or setback.  It may be the stress of a job, family or finances.  Or even worse, it may be some kind of victory or accomplishment in our life -- one of those moments when we think maybe we can do this without Him! 


And, before we know it we really aren't focused much on God anymore.  Other things seem more pressing, more interesting or more compelling.


We all have these moments.  They are part of our spiritual growth.


But, we can obviously get to a place of spiritual "maturity" (I don't really like that word.  But, hey, its biblical).  We can get to a place where we are no longer tossed back and forth or blown here or there.  Instead, we can all come to a place where Jesus truly is our rock and our fortress.  We can all be confident in our faith and in the knowledge that He truly is everything we need.


To get there, though, requires discipline.  It requires being serious about the basic spiritual disciplines -- reading the Bible, prayer, fasting, attending church, serving, giving and so forth.  Oh yeah, and it requires the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.


Spiritual discipline is not just about checking things off the list or going through the motions.  Its a heart thing.  Its doing these things out of  a genuine longing to know God better and to be more like Him in character.


Father, help me get the static out of my life.  Help me to stay focused on you and your ways, and not on the worries, successes and failures in this world.  Help me to know you better, and convict me through your Word and through your Spirit.  Help me to be humble and grateful for your mercy.  In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.


By the way, below is a link to the song I was trying to hear.  I hope you enjoy it.


Blessings!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKrVDSY7ick

⁷ But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸ This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,
    he led captives in his train
    and gave gifts to men.”

⁹ (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? ¹⁰ He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ¹¹ It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹² to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Ephesians 4:7-16