“Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.” E.M. Bounds.

I heard this in church last week, and it has echoed in my head ever since. It’s been eating on me, and I can’t seem to get past it. It is actually easy to read it and blow it off. Of course God wants better men, and hopefully the church is looking for better methods. But, when you combine these sentences, something else happens.

I read the first sentence and had to think on that one for a while. “Men are God’s method.” Okay, so people are what God uses, right? No. That’s not what it says. Look closer.

“MEN.” Not people; MEN. We are God’s method. God specifically uses MEN to accomplish His purpose. God, throughout history, has looked to His men to accomplish what He wanted accomplished. When we hear that, we instantly think of the great movements and achievements throughout the course of time. But, what I read is more specific. I get to that point by reading the next sentence.

“The church is looking for better methods;” The church has been facing a problem in the last 10 to 20 years. It has become increasingly feminine. Why? Because that’s who was actually going to church. Men fell behind. They were working, hunting, playing, sleeping, and whatever else they could find to do other than be there. Moms were the ones taking the family to church. Moms were the ones making the decisions. That wasn’t the way it was designed, but it was a matter of survival. Over the course of the last couple of years, that tide has started to change. Men are stepping up, slowly, but stepping up. The problem is that they are stepping up and coming into the church that is, in many cases, still feminine.

Now we face the challenge of not only getting men reengaged, but fighting uphill to change the culture of the church. It will happen, and it is happening. The church is finding better methods, but now enough. There is something else that is needed.

“God is looking for better men.” There are men out there who are wasting away without a place to belong. They are frustrated with the church because they can’t figure out where they fit in the model. These are good men. They want to be better men. In that frustration, they look elsewhere to fit in; work, softball, guy’s night, etc. What a waste. The church is looking for the new methods and yet, the ones who can help them get there are not being asked to help.

We need to change that. We have to reach out, today. There’s only so much that a man is willing to do when he’s out of his element. The church must reach out to them, draw them in, and show them that there are places for them. Each man has a strength and calling, and those should all be available for service in the church. If you’re in that frustrated boat, reach out today. Ask a local pastor what they’re doing, what’s available, and where you could fit in today. If you’re a leader in the church who hasn’t started this today, reach out to your men. Grab several of them and find out what’s on their heart. What do they need?

God is looking for better men. Are you looking to be one? Take initiative today. Your journey can begin today. Step up and be counted.

Category: Calling, Failure, Friends, Legacy
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There are things I have been blessed with in my life that I tend to hang on to a little too tightly. You would think that hanging on to them is what I am supposed to do. If it’s a blessing, then it’s mine, right? Well, not exactly. It is mine to use to bless others.

Jesus gave that example in Luke 16:9. His explanation for the things we are given is simple. “Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends.” He’s not saying to look for people who only want to be friends with you because of your money. He’s not even saying that it is all about money here. He uses the word “resources.” I have a lot of resources. I have my gifts, my talents, my time, my money, my friends, my contacts, and much more. I have both tangible and intangible resources that I can use to benefit others. If Jesus has called me to do that, then it is my responsibility to do so.

Okay, so Jesus does get personal after that. He does go into the subject of money. He needed to do that. This morning, He was talking to me. See, I know about growing my responsibilities. I know what it’s like to move up the ladder. So, when I read verse 10, at first, it made basic sense. “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” I started small in my career and moved up to bigger areas with greater responsibilities. That doesn’t mean that I was faithful in the little things. I wasn’t giving God any time other than Sunday mornings. I wasn’t giving God any tithe, and barely any of my talent. But, I was faithful to go to work, put in some serious time and effort there, and usually had it on my mind when I came home as well. Then, when I thought I was on the serious track to take the “next step”, everything stalled. That’s because I didn’t know the next principle.

Luke 16: 11-12 is where Jesus kind of put it in front of my face. As I look back now, I can see what happened. Hindsight truly is 20-20. Jesus said,

“And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? ¹² And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?”

I was at a point where I was making the most money I had ever made. And you know what I did with it? Nothing. I was terrible at paying bills. I just kept it. I definitely didn’t steward it. I gave to the church occasionally; never sacrificially. Why did my career stall? Because I stalled. I balked at giving out of faith. I didn’t do what I was supposed to do, and God changed my circumstances. It got my attention.

See, I, like many other people, put my trust in my money rather than my God. I had a lesson to learn. Trust in money is the opposite of faith. Faith is knowing that God provides. He is Jehovah Jireh—my Provider. He owns all and gives all. So the blessing I had been given were His, and He expected me to steward them. I did not. I was more about the money than the blessing. Jesus spoke to this as well.

In Luke 16:13, Jesus said,

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Where are you today? Is your trust in the Provider, or is your trust in the money that bares His name? Where is the trust? Where is the faith? We cannot put our faith in money. If we have learned anything over the last couple of years, it is that money is fleeting. It is instable. It is unloving. Our God is just the opposite. He is forever constant. He is love. We can’t love money and love Him. We can only love Him and accept the blessing He gives, and then steward it wisely.

You may have to take a hard look today. You may have to ask some tough questions. If you are honest, you may be surprised by what you figure out. Have you been faithful in what God has given you? If you could only see the amazing things God has for you! He wants to bless us. He wants to give to us. But, we have to first be faithful in the little things.

Category: Stand Up
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There’s one thing that I have figured out, and I didn’t figure it out by myself. The lesson is this: We weren’t meant to be by ourselves. We are meant to live life together, as a group, as a community, as family. Family is beyond our immediate. It’s those closest to us that we choose to let into our circle. We let the into our world, and it is by invitation only.

Life is too involved to try to do it on our own. Only Frank Sinatra can sing about doing “My Way.” We are not programmed that way. Life is lived as a carpool. It’s sharing and multiplying our blessings. It’s dividing and sharing our hurts.  It’s taking the hurt from those around us and lifting them up. It has been said that many hands make for light work. The same can be said for those with whom we live life.

I was asked this weekend about the whole “church thing.” This person asked if we are really supposed to go to church, or if we could just do life without it. I remember hearing that same question before, but it was in a statement. I’ve been told that “they” could worship God in the deer blind, on the lake, at the mall, and many, many other places. Can you find God in those places? Sure. It’s all His creation. Is He your focus when you’re there? No. See, I don’t go to the football game to spend time with my wife. I don’t take my kids to my basketball game to spend time with them. I don’t go to the gym to grow closer to my friends and find out how I can pray for them.

I go to church because 1) God is there. It’s His house. He has invited me, and it would be wrong of me to turn down the invitation. 2) He’s there. My focus is on Him. I praise Him, find out more about Him, and I focus on the relationship. I can’t have a relationship with anyone if I refuse to spend quality time with them. 3) It’s in the Bible. Some people fight this one. They get into the semantics and try to wiggle out of this one. But here’s what it says in Hebrews 10:25, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” The argument is that the word church is not in there. It just says “meeting together” as if anywhere is fine. Well, there is one other place that I would encourage you to check.

A Home Group. Some churches call them different names; Life Group, Home Group, Community Groups…they are all basically the same thing. It’s the model of the original church. That’s how it grew. People came together, ate, spent time with each other, learned what the other people were about, what they needed, and they worked to meet those needs. It was the purpose of the church; to do life together. It’s not just about Sunday meeting any more than a Christian life is just about going to church once a week to get a Jesus-fix. It’s a start though.  Going gets you in the building to hear the message that God may use to change your eternity. But, going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than sitting in a barn makes you cow, or sitting in a garage makes you car.

If you haven’t found a home group, do it today. We are not supposed to be alone. That’s not how God designed it. He doesn’t want us flying solo, He wants us to be groups in the community that are little churches, meeting the needs of those around them. He wants us to do life together.

Category: Stand Up
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Have you ever been at that crossroad of a decision that you knew could affect someone in a powerful way? Or maybe, you knew instantly that you should do something. I have. I knew that someone needed something, and I had to react. I knew that my decision would have an impact on that person, either in a good way, or a bad one. But, I knew I was supposed to do something.

The key word there was supposed to do something. The implication is that there are times when I’ve done nothing. I have not responded to the need. I have seen it, knew what was needed, and in my moment of indecision, I let the opportunity slip away. It was a moment that I will never get  back. Time is unforgiving. Its judgement is immediate, and it looks only at the moment in which it happens.

As I read John 19 this morning, I looked at Pilate in that way. Jesus stood before Him, and Pilate seemed to not want anything to do with Him. He did not find any guilt in Jesus (because there was none to find). Pilate, multiple times, tried to set Jesus free. He told the crowd in verse 6, “I find him not guilty.” When the crowds shouted that Jesus said He was the Son of God, Pilate flinched. This brief moment is recorded in 8-10.

“When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. ⁹ He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. ¹⁰ “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?”

I know, in my mind, I can see the fear in his eyes. I believe at this moment he was at that crucial decision. I believe he realized exactly what was going on, and that he was being asked to handle something that was way beyond him. Pilate was at the crucial point. He had to react, and react in the right way. Time was about to judge him, as was God.

In the end, Pilate turned Jesus over to be crucified. When it came time to react, to make that decision, he flinched again. To quote the ancient soldier in Indiana Jones (who was guarding the Holy Grail), “You have chosen…poorly.” (I use that phrase a lot by the way, even to myself!)

Pilate knew what the right answer was, he knew what he should do, and that is why he struggled with it. It was that moment in which he had to do something. His answer was to do nothing.

James summarizes these types of actions. In James 4:17, he says, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (NLT).

So, is Pilate the only focus here? Of course not. I think we have those moments all the time. There is one that sticks out in my mind from just a couple of weeks ago. We were on our way to Luby’s. There was a lady standing on the corner of the street, holding a sign, that said her husband had died, and that she had lost everything. She just needed help. She needed love. She needed the kind of love Jesus talks about. So, as we sat at that light, in the span of red to green, I flinched. We went to Luby’s without her. We went without giving her anything. I made an indecision. It still haunts me (obviously). I had a chance to make a difference, and I knew what I needed to do, and yet, I did nothing. I flinched.

What are you struggling with today? What moment is it you wish you could have back? That moment of indecision makes a difference. Here’s the catch; there will be another chance. Make up for it. Learn from that moment. Make that next moment the moment you take control and do the right thing. When you get the chance, make a decision.

Indecision is not an option.

Category: Stand Up
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With the duality of the news we hear today, it is amazing if anyone can tell what the truth is. We find ourselves picking sides. You listen to liberal news, conservative news, or turn on the cartoons. You believe what caused this problem is from one side, and what cause this other problem is from the other side. It is left to you and me to decided.

The Bible, however, is just THE TRUTH. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that “All scripture is God breathed…” or that is, inspired by God. God chose to speak through these men to tell us about who He is. It tells us how we are supposed to live. It’s not a collection of stories or anecdotes, it’s a biography and road map all in one. It’s who God is, and how we can get to Him. It’s about the life of Jesus, and how we can become more like Him.

It amazes me that the news can have so many different takes on the same news story. There’s a different view on pretty much every major issue. The Bible doesn’t do that. It tells us about how God sees us, how He wants us to live, and it is all streamlined through one Book.

Our pastor (Steven Yoes) brought up a great point yesterday. He spoke of serving, but began by teaching about actually following Jesus. I’m not talking about just knowing who Jesus is, I’m talking about actually believing, trusting, knowing, loving, and following Jesus. Here’s the laser-focused point.  How can we say we are following Christ if we don’t serve?  Christ was THE servant leader. He speaks repeatedly of serving others throughout the Bible. How then can we just be a consumer of the church and not serve it?

There are so many areas of service available. Your church could point you in the right direction. Greeters, set ups, tear downs, parking lot, tech, children, youth, young adults, marrieds, food pantry, office help, and the list goes on. Here’s the catch. It’s usually a sacrifice. That’s the point! Too busy? Then you’re too busy! Something needs to change. (Thanks Steven for that word!)

So, back to the Word, the Bible. How are we to use it? What is it good for? Continue reading the previous verse. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

It sounds to me like the Word is good for, well, everything! Teaching, rebuking, correcting, training! Don’t miss that last verse! So that the “man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” That’s not my words, that’s God’s!

1 Peter 4:10 says, “¹⁰Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

If you’ve read my blog before, you know I like to reference The Message translation from time to time, just to get modern verbage. “Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it.”

What is it you can do? Where can you serve? What is it that God has given you that would allow you to serve? He has called us to do it.

That’s the truth. The whole truth.

Category: Stand Up, Uncategorized
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