Missed Opportunities?

Since I’ve blogged a bit recently about my frustrations, here’s another one.

We just had a special "Deeper Life" weekend at our corps. We plan these for our corps (I like to hold 2 a year, but our schedule can’t always accommodate) so we can deepen our spiritual lives without having to travel or pay conference fees. Many large churches hold these types of events- why can’t we smaller ones get the same benefit?

We brought in some friends (Ian and Elaine Gillingham) from London, Ontario Canada who had been to our corps before, made a great impression on us and blessed us tremendously. The subject this time was Mercy and Social Justice and I don’t know many other people who could teach with their wisdom, knowledge and experience.

God has been challenging us recently to expand our outreach. We have a soup kitchen that serves 100+ people a day, but it is staffed mostly by volunteers from our community. Only a few of us Army Soldiers have any involvement with the people and the huge opportunity it represents. I’m afraid we’ve also hired a professional Social Worker to do our "dirty work." I’ve said it before: just because "The Army" is serving and helping people, doesn’t mean we are doing it. I don’t think Jesus gives us individuals any credit at all for our Army’s good work if we aren’t doing it ourselves.

So here’s this incredible opportunity to spend a few hours on a Saturday learning and serving; being challenged to get involved; fellowshipping- but only a handful showed up. As I sat there blessed by the ones who did show up (having been "in on" their spiritual growth over the last 5 years), I also mourned for those who haven’t "gotten" it yet. They were not only "not there," they have missed the point of being soldiers in this great Army- we’re out to win the world (that’s people, by the way)! There were so many who could have used that time for their spiritual benefit!

{frustrated sigh}

Well those of us who did show up were blessed. We learned a lot and received some welcome impartation from some of my favorite people (who are welcome in Bangor any time)!

Are there any opportunities you’ve missed lately?

Can You Read This?

I thought this was interesting. Can you read this?

Olny srmat poelpe can.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Come on, Travis!

We've been trying to convince Travis to stand kettles some while he's in Maine. He thinks he's done that before, but until you've stood kettles in Maine, you don't really know what standing kettles is all about!

I mean, really! Who wouldn't want to stand kettles wearing short-sleeves in Florida? What kind of a challenge is that?

Check out his blog (Made for War)- I think we've got him scared silly of the "stupid cold" we have in Maine. He's already collecting blankets, but were going to have to get him some snow shoes before he gets burried in his house one morning.

Bwa ha ha ha!

Crazy Schedule!

My schedule goes crazy for the next couple of weeks!

Friday afternoon, our special guests for our Deeper Life Weekend, Ian & Elaine Gillingham arrive with Aurora and Jenn in tow (Jenn's just coming for the weekend, but Aurora's staying to start MMCCXX cell group ministry). The Gills are going to lead our evening cell group that night.

Saturday, we have a day of learning about Mercy and Social Justice (9:30 - 2:30). But not just learning, we'll actually be practicing it when we prepare and serve our Saturday Soup Kitchen meal. SonDay the Gills will continue challenging us as we serve Soup Kitchen breakfast, worship together and hang with the Bangor Teen Group.

Then as the Gills head back home to London, Ontario (long trip via car!), I head out to Atlanta, Georgia to teach a few days at Southern Territory's FireCrest and College for Officer Training. I'll be teaching about Listening to God and Spiritual Warfare, not to mention spending time in Prayer Ministry with students. This is a huge opportunity and I trust God has some equally huge things in store for that week!

When I get back home, I head out the next day for our Divisional Officer's Family Christmas Party (for those of you who don't know about the Army officer's Christmas Season schedule, suffice it to say we don't have time to do this event any closer to Christmas!).

The next day, we get a single day of vacation- probably our last for the year. We usually spend the night in a hotel somewhere in Maine, Vermont or New Hampshire and visit another corps on SonDay.

Then it's back to the office for a couple of days. On the very next Thursday, our kettle season starts, but I am headed off to New Jersey (for three days including travel) to participate in a good friend's wedding (Warren Smith, Jr). I'll be the best man (don't tell my brother, he always thinks he's the best man). When I get back, I'll just jump right into the Christmas schedule at our corps.

I'd like to request your prayer support for these days. If you're willing, drop me a line or post a comment. Check back here to see the results.

Can we Really be Christian if we Don't Help the Poor?

We were blessed when God showed up in our SonDay AM service again today! Our topic was caring for the poor and without any undue planning of different sections, everything from songs to comments fit together like a well orchestrated symphony- God was leading things.

During our worship, Holy Spirit began to move and as we went into prayer, many of us were already moving with him. After singing about asking God to convict us, Debbie stood and spoke with anointing about our need to be convicted for our lack of sincerity in our faith. Tears flowed freely as the altars were lined.

When people began moving back to their seats, we moved on and leaned about the kind of Christianity God expects of his children- to help the poor. The question that was left on our hearts was: "Can we really be Christian if we don't help the poor?"

It's a good question that deserves a lot of thought. What do you think?

The Creepiness of Sin

Wow! Gas prices are way down today! I just heard we're looking at $2.34 a gallon today. Isn't that great how cheap gas is now? Whew, what a relief!

What?! Are you crazy? Before all this mess started, we were paying somewhere around $1.45. Gas is roughly $1.00 higher than it was a year ago and we're praising the oil industry because of the wonderfully low prices?

You know how this happens? First, gas prices spike so high (more than double, well over $3.50 and rumor has it it's going even higher) that people actually consider other means of transportation. They whine and complain until the prices begin to drop a little. We are so pleased with the small dip, we forget what prices were in the first place.

Hmm, sounds a lot like the "frog in the kettle" syndrome.

If you drop a frog in a kettle of boiling water, he'll jump out immediately. But if you put him in a kettle and slowly bring the temperature up to boiling, he'll stay there until he boils to death!

Sin is like that. If things change quickly, we complain and run from it. If things slowly creep up on us, we get used to the minute changes and before we know it, it overwhelms us and we never knew what hit us. Give Satan an inch, he'll take a mile!

Case in point- have you watched any TV recently? Stuff that is "normal" today would never have been allowed just 10 years ago!

That's why we need to be vigilant. We must know what sin is and watch for minute changes in our life around us. We must stop the creep before it starts if we expect to get the better of it.

How creepy is that?

One of my Greatest Frustrations, Part 2

Have you heard that the average US pastor prays something like 3 minutes a day? I know I've had days like that, but I can't imagine being a Christian without more than that. I mean you can't really BE a Christian without praying more than that can you (food for thought)?

The problem is that many Christians actually fall into that same category. They are prayerless and therefore powerless. After years of not expereincing any real power in their lives, they begin to believe that's all there is to Christianity; that we are to go through life with a Western worldview that precludes any spiritual power. I've seen lots of them! Too many. And they can only teach what they know.

Here's the rub: though they themselves have not experienced real power in their lives, they argue that anyone else who testifies of more is crazy or suspect. They throw around terms like "Pentecostal" or "charismatic" as if those are supposed to be insulting (by the way, I am not Pentecostal. That is a denominational reference and my denomination is The Salvation Army. I am, however, charismatic. That means you move in the charisma [greek] or gifts of the Spirit).

My frustration is that these people are causing more problems in the church than they are helping solve. And one day they are going to be extremely sad when Jesus points out to them that they were road blocks to his Spirit's desires in the world around them. Scripture calls this practice "quenching-" in other words, putting out the Spirit's fire. Woe unto quenchers!

So we move forward. Sometimes we move with difficulty because we have Christian brothers and sisters blocking our way and even fighting against us. It should not be so. But we move forward nonetheless. Sometimes these people even have authority over us. It is at these times we must move with caution because we should submit to our authorities as David did with Saul (even though Saul was totally off the wall, David listened to God and treated Saul with respect and dignity).

I pray for these people. Not that I don't have my own issues, but I hope I don't fight against what God is doing around me. In my eyes, to discover you were a roadblock while standing before Jesus on that day would be one of the most terrible things imaginable.

God help us.

One of my Greatest Frustrations, Part 1

One of my greatest frustrations is caused by knowing there are Christians who don't realize the fullness of their Christianity. Years ago I began wrestling with the powerless Christianity I saw all around me. Certainly not powerless to save people from their sins, but powerless in the sense of people experiencing the miraculous in their daily lives. Quite frankly, any Gospel that leaves out the kind of power evidenced routinely in the early church is nothing less than a panacea!

One day I came upon these words of Jesus:

The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. - John 14:12

As I looked around me, I had no experience with anything like this! Where in the church (of my experience) was this "greater works" stuff? Little did I know God was sending me on the wild ride called "paradigm shift" (paradigm: an example that serves as pattern or model). My model of what church and Christianity was, was about to be shaken (not stirred)!

The first thing God did was teach me how to pray. Now I'm not talking about those "cookie cutter" prayers that sound all churchy (with lots of big words and punctuated with plenty of Thees and Thous- I don't really speaketh King Jameth). I'm talking about prayer that empties all of you out and let's God fill you with what HE wants prayed. For years I literally spent hours in prayer every day while God refined my ear for his voice and taught me how to sit still in his presence and just listen. Or just worship. Or just melt before him with a yearning to express the ache that was deep within, yet with no outlet I was familiar with- except leaving that ache with him and trusting he could actually do something with it. To this day, I don't believe ANYone can move deeper into the power of God in their lives without first spending the time with God to let HIM teach them how to pray.

Then one day God actually told me to stop praying. Yeah, you heard me right! I couldn't believe it either! In fact, I didn't believe it. The next day I went into prayer and hit the proberbial "brass heavens." I heard nothing. The time was all but wasted. But I persevered because I thought that's what I was supposed to do. For days I hit the same ceiling and felt utterly stressed that God had "disappeared."

A couple of weeks later in conversation with a friend, she happened to mention that God had told her to stop praying and she didn't know what to do with that. I was floored! So we agreed to do what God had told us. Stop that daily prayer time (that had become legalistic). It was then that God began to teach me what Paul meant by "pray without ceasing." Instead of a set daily time of prayer that ended and I went on with my day, I got connected with God first thing in the morning and never "hung up the phone." It was awesome! I continue this practice to this day and I never feel like I have to "warm up" to get through to God.

Believe me my paradigms were shifting.

Frustration!

I'm the kind of person who, once he has started something, needs to complete it before he moves on. I don't handle too many things at the same time very well. Case in point: the blog I started a few days ago and got "blogged down" on. So every time I look at that draft and can't seem to finish it, I get frustrated and just move away from blogging completely. Then I end up stuck on a "one note sambo" and missing days of blogging. {sigh}

So I've got this major frustration that I've been trying to put into words for years, but haven't been succesful to my satisfaction. ONE of these days, I might actually be able to verbalize my thoughts, but until then, I guess I'll have to leave it in limbo for the time being. And until I can get going on it again, I'll try to get some other thoughts up here for those of you who have been nudging me to get back to work!

I've actually been in deep thought and concern over this issue.

Really.

Lois Walker Promoted to Glory!

Hallelujah! I just got word that a friend of mine, Lois Walker, was promoted to Glory at 3:30 AM last night!

After that exciting Salvationist's proclamation, I must admit, I am torn between my feelings of excitement for Lois and sorrow for myself and her other friends. We will miss her.

I met Lois a couple of years ago when I taught at The War College in Vancouver. She was a student who was not a Salvationist, yet heard and heeded God's call to completely redirect her life and move to Vancouver for "a year." I say "a year," because she ended up living and ministering there ever since!

I will remember her calm voice and kind heart. I will remember her cradling a friend who fell asleep from exhaustion after we prayed with her though a particularly difficult inner-healing session. I will remember many things about Lois. She fought the good fight and has finally received the "well done, good and faithful servant!" from her Lord.

I won't see her again this January, but one day (and this is why I am so excited)- one day I will see her again because she has gone on ahead to meet personally and hang out with Jesus. How cool is that?

I'm Working on it . . .

Just so all of you know, I'm wrestling with a blog and not winning! I had it almost completed and was very satisfied with the way it was coming together, but then my browser crashed and I lost it all. I know, I know- it's happened to all of us bloggers at one time or another. Don't you just hate it when that happens!?

I keep telling myself that I should write in my word processor, then cut and paste, but even as I write that, I'm typing in blogger! Go figure.

So here's to getting that blog done and getting that stuff that's inside me out on this page for you to read.

Test for Dementia

Below are four 4 questions and a bonus question. You have to answer them instantly. You can't take your time, answer all of them immediately.

(scroll down for the answers)

First Question:
You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?










Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second!


Second Question:
If you overtake the last person, then you are in what place?










Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?



Third Question:
This is very tricky arithmetic and must be done in your head only. Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.

Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30.
Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000
Now add 10. What is the total?










Did you get 5000? The correct answer is actually 4100. If you don't believe it, check it with a calculator! You were thinking in thousands, but adding extra tens.



Fourth Question:
Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?










Did you Answer Nunu? Sorry, her name is Mary. Read the question again!



Now for the Bonus Round:
A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing his teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is completed.

Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of sunglasses. How does HE indicate what he wants?










He just has to open his mouth and ask!

I Have Learned to Listen (Most of the Time!)

One thing God has tried to teach me throughout my marriage to Debbie, is to listen to her. Sounds almost silly, but I mean it. Here's why:

1) Debbie and I are joined as one in God's eyes. We should learn to act like it. I am not about the old way of thinking that says "the man is the head of the house" and uses that to make all the final decisions. God designed man and woman to be a team. When sin came into the picture, the whole "man is in charge thing" was her curse for their disobedience. When we get back to a right relationship with God, there should be no more evidence of a curse! Jesus came to break all that junk!

2) I don't know everything. Although I often think I have all the answers (a character flaw?), there's nothing much further from the truth. I need to get all the advise I can get before I come down on one side of a situation. It's good to have someone you can trust to help you made decisions. I have learned to trust Debbie.

3) Debbie has a gifting in Wisdom. How stupid would I be if I didn't listen to that?

Now that's not to say she's always right either. I said we work together. That's the way it should be. If it isn't like that in your relationship, then something's wrong.

The Enemy has a BIG Nose!

As mentioned yesterday, God showed up powerfully last SonDay in our service. He was awesome (as always), but I have learned to watch carefully for The Enemy at those times, because he usually tries to mess things up. We need to be vigilant if we are to keep him at bay. If at any time we start listening to Satan's suggestions instead of Holy Spirit's, we risk grieving God and losing his presence. I'd much rather offend Satan and make him leave!

So right in the middle of the experience I previously described, a certain woman (who is not a regular attender) started to pray and immediately I sensed she was "off base." Now there is a difference between just being unaware of what the Spirit is doing and really trying to get attention for yourself. There was no doubt about it- she was involved in the latter (after the meeting, others commented to me about it as well). It was as if Holy Spirit had disappeared while she was praying.

Now I was in the middle of God speaking to me personally, so I just prayed she would stop soon and we could get back on track. Normally, I would have done something to "shut her down," as they say; it is the leader's responsibility to deal with these things. But since God was speaking to others, I was pleased to see someone else step up to the proverbial plate and in a momentary pause from the woman's words, started praying herself. Again, we were back on track. Later, there was yet another time when that same woman tried to wrest control of our direction, but again, we were able to straighten things out rather quickly.

I guess I'm pointing out two things here: 1) When God shows up, you can be certain that Satan is not far behind. He will always do everything he can to derail you from doing what God wants. Watch for him. He's predictable. 2) We do have a responsibility to watch and pray carefully; and then to take intentional steps to stay with whatever Holy Spirit is doing. We do not want to lose whatever it is God has in store for us.

Awesome SonDay!

Wow! We had a powerful Sunday AM service! Here's how my week went leading up to then:

I started the week in fine spirits, but I had one of those "all of a sudden" moments when everything seemed to be crashing down around my ears! I worked hard to keep from letting The Enemy get me down, but I ended up being rather sullen the rest of the week.

Wednesday is my Sunday prep day, but try as hard as I might, God wouldn't give me anything to preach. Not even an idea or an outline. I wrestled with my thoughts and even pulled out some old sermons I haven't preached in Bangor yet, just to look them over. One looked good, but I just couldn't bring myself to finally settling on it. Through it all, I had a hunch that God had something special in mind.

I kept striving the rest of the week- right up through mid-Saturday! Then God "let" me use that old sermon and put together a program. But I had another hunch that I wasn't ever going to get to that sermon. And that's exactly what happened.

The meeting started out as usual, but after our worship time, we did some listening like the Quakers: whatever you feel God telling you to say or do- go ahead. I know some of you are getting nervous- I was too, but I just couldn't ignore God's prodding to go this direction.

Our time started off with Danny singing the new version of "I'm in His Hands." The Spirit showed up before he even got to the words. I was overcome by His presence and began to cry silently in my seat. God was speaking those very words to my spirit comforting me and I knew it. It was good!

Mary then read some scripture and gave a quick "message" about our need to get saved. I was still crying; God was still working on me. Then (I later learned) a new guy leaned back to Mary and said, "How do I get saved?" So Gene took him to the altar and he got saved!

Then Bobby gave a touching testimony about how he should have died with cancer, but God had other things in mind for him when the church prayed for him. That led to Barbara (tearily) saying she had a friend with her that had cancer and we needed to pray with him. We gathered around him, prayed and anointed him with (I believe) powerful results. I was good to see Mary using her gift of healing!

I must admit, it was way too long since we let God take over in our service like that. For me, my funk disappeared as I realized God had it all under control. I guess I should have trusted him to know what he was planning- even if he didn't tell me before hand!

They Never Gave Up

The following article was printed in TSA Canada's "Faith & Friends (Sept 05)." It's by Rob Dolby, one of my favorite people!

- - - - -

I know what desperation looks like. It's the twitches that start when you need another hit- but don't have any cash. Desperation is when you've burned so many bridges, hurt so many people and dropped so low that your only choice is to keep walking on a cold night or freeze to death. Desperation is that place of zero hope where you don't believe anything can get better. When you think your only choices are death, jail or an institution. Desperation steals your initiative, demolishes your sense of self-worth and pushes your face even deeper into the gutter.

I know what desperation looks like, because I was desperate for years. My heroin and alcohol addiction took too much of my life and made me homeless. I never panhandled, but I sold drugs, stole and robbed . . . I did whatever I needed to get cash.

I lived on the streets in Toronto and Vancouver and stayed at Sally Ann shelters. Eventually I went through Salvation Army treatment programs and got clean. When I came out of detox an Army family took me in. I lived in their home and they supported me in my sobriety.

Now I work for the Army. I lead all the street outreach for Corps 614, a Salvation Army church in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. We walk the neighborhood, helping in practical ways. We make friends with the friendless. We pray. We feed. We get shelter and take people to the hospital. We try to be family to those on the streets.

I know how important it is to be available. When I was living rough, The Salvation Army was the most visible agency helping everyone who was homeless. The Army is out there at street-level. They feed people with the canteen, meeting immediate needs, but with the long-term goal of helping them start over.

If they weren't doing it, I don't know who would. And I have yet to meet a Salvationist doing this kind of work for the money or for selfish gain. Offering hope in hopeless situations is a tough job.

When I started to clean up I knew that just as I had been helped, I had to help others. Now it's a privilege to serve. And what inspires me is that, in God's eyes, everyone matters. Even the addict, the guy who has tried to get clean many times but fails, or the homeless woman with her stuffed shopping cart muttering on the corner in all sorts of weather. They are important to God and because they matter to God, they matter to me. For years I was that addict and although many gave up on me, people at The Salvation Army didn't. They knew that sometimes hope isn't complicated- it can be as simple as a bad, something to eat or a smile.

And because they didn't give up I have a new life of purpose. I'm not desperate anymore, but I'm driven to reach as many homeless people as possible. I want them to know what I know now- that a better life is possible.

Our Business

Our new divisional leaders (Majors Dave & Naomi Kelly) have set a new theme before us: The Northern New England Division will be about the business of Soul-Saving, Soldier-Making and Community-Transforming.

Amen to that! I'm on board (and was- long before it was actually presented)!

However, this statement begs us look at its opposite. What we should not be about the business of doing:

1) Program-Making. I've been involved in programs all my life. I've discovered that programs don't get people saved. Relationships do.

2) Adherent-Making. Why The Salvation Army even has this form of membership is beyond me. We are an army. An army makes Soldiers. A Soldier is committed; they make sacrifices. An adherent kinda likes being associated with Soldiers and the whole military thing, but cannot (will not?) make the full commitment necessary to fight on the team. I understand the need to belong, so we should just make "Members-" as soon as possible. Then direct them to the full commitment of the Soldier. The position of adherent gives people a way to escape the fight and stay right there in that limbo.

3) Internal Focusing. The church is the only organization that exists for the purpose of its non-members. Yet in my experience, we usually focus on our own members (through our programs especially). Sounds more like a club than a church.

So lets get out there, find and Save Souls! Let's make them Soldiers, committed to the task of Saving more Souls (Saved to Save)! And while we're at it, let's transform our communities by introducing the life-changing message of The Gospel! Now we're talking.

What's a Salvation Meeting for?

In our territory there is a push to bring back the Salvation Meeting. It's even going so far as to require it happen on a Sunday. I'll get really nervous if it ever comes back to the requirement of a 7:00 PM starting time. This is nothing short of a legalistic attempt to make our Army "what it used to be." I have two problems with that:

1) If we want to make our Army "what it used to be," then we need to go back further in time to our beginnings when we were really growing and winning the world for Jesus. It's not good enough to go back 10-20 years, when if you look at the stats, we were losing ground. Dying a slow death isn't what our Army's about. Frankly, most soldier's memory of the "good ol' Army" isn't old enough!

2) A living organism is not supposed to stay the same. It should grow and change. I am certainly glad I have changed since birth! Change can be good as long as we continue to focus on our purpose- winning the world for Jesus. And finding new ways to reach those around us. The Booths were known for quickly trying new things and then dropping them as quickly if they didn't work to make new converts.

In medical terms, germs build up an immunity to certain medicines, so new ones need to be developed. We can't keep using old medicines if they are no longer working on the disease! So too, people have developed an immunity to many of the church's methods. If we expect to win people to our Savior in our day, we better get busy discovering new ways to do it.

When was the last time you remember someone actually getting saved at a salvation meeting? If you're about to tell me about the 1 person you know in your lifetime, then save your breath, because that's a poor record! We should be doing things that have a better success rate. So if our "old" 10-20 year old salvation meetings weren't getting people saved (as is seen by our lack of growth then), they should be dropped to make way for new things that will get people saved.

The real question should be, "What are we doing to get people saved today?" Are we getting people saved today? If not, then resurrecting an old meeting isn't going to make a bit of a difference. In fact, it might just do more damage, because we begin to think we're actually accomplishing something when we're not.

Don't click This!

Okay, anyone else out there tired of receiving emails trying to convince you to send it to 5 other people? Or that Bill Gates will send you $1.00 for every email you send? Or that some kid with cancer needs your post cards to get well? etc.

If you believe every email you receive, then don't click the link below.

http://www.softlab.ece.ntua.gr/~sivann/pub/swf/may02-smilepop-soapbox4.swf