The Mill- Sifting Through the Stuff of Life.

I recently read a quote by Albert Schweitzer “The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives”  I wonder from time to time what could be accomplished if we decided to do what God had put inside of us, rather than make excuses of why we shouldn’t attempt the desires placed in our hearts.  I’m sure the world would be different. I believe a person begins to die when the stories of the past overshadow the hopes and dreams of the future.  I don’t want to quit on the desires God has put in my heart.  I encourage you not to quit on the ones He has put in yours.

We all want to be known for something and as life has it no doubt most of us will be. Maybe a good mom, businessman, risk taker, investor. Maybe we’ll just be known as the guy who doesn’t want to be known for anything, but one way or another we all want to be known for something. The problem is when our image management skills begin to fail and there is a gap between what we project and who we really are. What do we do with this gap? Most of the time we hide, cover up and keep secrets. Everyone knows what we want to be known for, but the question we should ask is who really knows us? Maybe your afraid because if someone knew you they wouldn’t  like you. Truth is they don’t like the reall you anyway, they don’t know you, they know the image you project. What we all need is a small group of people that we are willing to allow to fully know us and help us carry the burdens found in the gap between who we want to be and who we really are. It’s hard to admit, but anyone who is married knows they’ve had arguments and walked into their friends house and church and pretended to be the happy couple. It may sound like I’m talking about you. How would I know… take a wild guess. It’s happen to me plenty of times. So get with a group of people who are committed to helping you grow and your committed to helping them grow. Share your life with someone. Proverbs paraphrased He who hangs out with the wise grows wiser still but pity the companion of fools.. Become fully known.

Who really knows you? We all are image managers to some degree. There are areas that I struggle and I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to know, because, well maybe if they found out they wouldn’t like me or respect me. I think most people can relate. Here’s a newsflash for all of us; they don’t like you anyway. They like the image that you project, but they don’t really know you. So what are those little things that nag at you and keeping you guessing about your standing with God and others. Find a group of people that you can open up too and be fully known and close the gap between what people think you are and who you really are. There is no better way to live.

Just the other day I read a note from someone who said they wanted to be more generous by giving to the church, but they just didn’t like how they saw the money spent. I thought this was interesting and not really a bad question. I mean, after all we do want people to be good stewards. I know our books at Bay Shore are open we have nothing to hide. As a staff pastor I don’t know who gives and who doesn’t or how much. I don’t want to know. We have a financial board that keeps us on the right track. I’m not an accountant or banker, so I stay away from it. For me it works, because I can never be personally attacked for misusing funds since I don’t have anything to do with them. I also, will never be tempted to allow how much someone gives to sway the direction and vision of the church. On a different note there are so many incredible things being done, that do not need to be broadcast. On the one hand, it would be nice for people to know how much benevolence is being given, but then again our giving of tithes and offerings shouldn’t be based on what is being done with the money and receiving our stamp of approval. It should be based on our relationship with Christ and the trust that we have in Him. When you let go of your money and place it in God’s hands it’s not up to you anymore. You are not responsible if the entrusted steward misuses the money. We support candidates for public office, research organizations, and foundations because they do what we like, so we in turn are supportive. We tithe to the Lord on our own behalf not the recepient.
We store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. It’s connected to our eternity.

Yeah it’s been a while. I took a blog nap for 3 1/2 months. It took me 10 minutes to remember my password and now its fnHyEd6ayZe you get the idea. So anyway, 3 weeks ago we started this series on Joy and it has a 70’s theme. I promise I never thought I would see 20 lava lamps on stage at church or a disco ball and walk in to the BeeGees blaring, but it’s happening. Two weeks ago we had over five hundred people dancing and next week we have people on roller skates handing out ice cream bars. I was once told that my wife Cindy and I were on a mission to make church fun. I didn’t really get it, but I think I’m beginning to get it. The team at Bay Shore is committed to seeing people come to Christ so we really try to remove obstacles that would obstruct such a relationship. We believe fun removes obstacles and opens up hearts to receive the greatest message of all and the only source of JOY.