BLeach

In Memory of Paul Hamlin

Today we celebrated the life of Paul Hamlin. His Alzheimer's has been steadily progressing until he passed away Saturday evening.

I've known Paul for half of my life since I was in school with his youngest daughter Christy. And he served on our launch team when we started Church of the King more than seven years ago. I was honored to be a part of his memorial service this morning.

Paul gave me what may be the most valuable gift a young man can receive from an older man. He believed in me.

He was the quintessential encourager. If you had never met me, seen me swing a golf club, heard me preach a sermon, or watched me shoot a basketball; and simply had was a conversation with Paul about me, he would have tried to convince you that I was Tiger Woods on the golf course, Andy Stanley in the pulpit, and Lebron James on the basketball court. He saw the best in people. And he lifted me many times.

One thing I'll always remember about Paul was his strong arms. I used to grab them everytime I saw him. The guy had some guns! So today at the funeral I referenced his bulging biceps and reminded his family and friends that God also has strong arms. And I would have loved to have been there Saturday evening when Paul finally stood face to face with someone who had bigger arms than him!

I'm going to miss you Paul. Thanks for the legacy of a life well lived.

Listening

This morning I'll be driving north to spend a few days in the woods.  My goal is to get away from the noise, meditate, and listen to Jesus. 

As a leader in my family, I need to be more careful to listen.

As a leader in our church, I need to be more careful to listen.

I know God is a communicator.  I need to be a more intentional listener.

For what it's worth, I'm hoping for revelation, guidance, and restoration.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

I'll probably be offline for the next few days.  So instead of logging on to read what I've got to say, why don't you spend a few hours listening to what God has to say.

Listening...

Missing the End of Your Sermon Is Not the End of the World

On Sunday we had to evacuate the auditorium mid-message.  I was approaching the end of my sermon and moving in for the kill when the custodians at the school accidentally triggered the fire alarm.  I realized it was probably a false alarm, but what are you going to do?  So I had everyone evacuate.

It only took a few minutes to receive confirmation that there was no fire, so we were able to cram most people into Common Grounds.  And that's where we ended up celebrating communion...family style!  It really ended up being a lot of fun.  And after drinking the cup we moved straight to coffee:)

When the alarm first sounded I was frustrated because I was so excited about bringing the message into a response.  Then I heard God speak to me through the blaring siren.  And his words put a smile on my face.

Don't take yourself so seriously.

There's probably a better chance that people will remember the message now anyway!

Check out the podcast if you'd like to hear a message with an abrupt ending!

Chris Nailed His Short Sermon At Fine Arts Today!

Blended Churches

I recently did a podcast interview with Dick Hardy of The Hardy Group about building blended churches.  This is something I'm passionate about and something we really want to continue to pursue here in Metro Detroit.

If you're interested, check it out here at the Everything but Preaching podcast!

Insecure Pastors::4

Thought I'd make the last post on this topic short and sweet.

Don't be this guy:)

Insecure Pastors::3

Last week I wrote about a subject that affects many of us in ministry.  Insecurity.  You can check out the first two posts here and here.

Since Monday can involve some reflection and emotion for pastors, I thought I'd encourage you to join me in an extremely promising pursuit.

Security in Christ.

Insecurity is a problem because we think we need to prove our worth.  When we look for confidence through the approval of people, there will always be some instability in our souls.  And it seems to me that the reason we put effort into impressing people is that we don't feel very good about ourselves.

Instead of continuing to prove our worth to people, we need to know what we're worth to Christ.  This often requires a total paradigm shift in the way we see ourselves.  Here are a few tips I've found to help with the process.

• Take time everyday to listen to the voice of Jesus.  Here what He is saying to you about yourself.
• Make a list of twenty Scriptures that speak of the value God places on people like you.
• Worship until the greatness of God's love has captured your heart again.
• Embrace failure as an opportunity to reflect on the unwavering acceptance of Jesus.
• Be real.  The reason we put our best foot forward is because we doubt that people will accept us for who we really are.  Give God total access to your heart.
• Meditate on the call of God.
• Focus on fruitfulness over performance.  Keep growing in love, joy and peace.

How have you been able to overcome the identity crisis and grow in your security in Christ?

Doing Church Together

 

Yesterday we joined forces with Solid Rock for a joint worship service.  Norflette has become such a good friend, and it was great to worship together with their church.

Norflette and I shared the message.  Our title: Friendship is black and white.  We used my love for the Pistons and his love for the Lakers as an illustration of the importance of building friendships with people who are different than you.  The key is that we both hate the Celtics!

I was reminded of one thing though.  If you're tag-teaming with another pastor in your city, make sure you take the first half of the message.  Otherwise you won't have any time left by the time he's done!

This is a tough time for our city.  There's too much at stake right now for churches to compete with each other.  One of my great joys is building relationships with like minded pastors and churches here in Metro Detroit!

Insecure Pastors::2

This week I'm thinking out loud about a subject that affects many of us in ministry.  Insecurity.  You can check out the first post here.

God got my attention through a counseling experience I once had.  A woman in our church asked to meet with me during a difficult season in which I had been receiving some criticism.  During the time leading up to our meeting I had managed to convince myself that she wanted to talk with me because she was unhappy with my leadership.  I spent a full day anxious about the appointment.  Finally, when we met, I realized that she desperately needed perspective on a crisis in her family.  Her burdens had nothing to do with me.

Insecurity can greatly hinder our ability to shepherd people.  Here are a few of the problems I think insecurity can cause: 

• Paranoia: Like my example above, we become anxious about theories that aren't even true.
• Selfishness: Insecurity places self at the center of the universe.  We think everyone's eyes are on us, and forget that we're not that important.
• Defensiveness: We become unable to grow through healthy criticism. 
• Fear: Insecurity can strip our confidence and hinder our ability to lead.  
• Isolation: Insecurity may cause us to withdraw from relationships and live lonely lives. 
• Abuse: If insecurity grows, we may even begin to mistreat people we care about. 

Fortunately, healing is available when we invite Jesus into the brokenness of our hearts.  Next up: A different take on eternal security.

What problems do you see that insecurity can cause? 

Insecure Pastors::1

This weekend I performed a wedding for a couple who first found our church during the Cruisefest Outreach! Josh Blackson, the bride's brother-in-law, recently accepted a position as Operations Director for Elevation Church in Charlotte.  Great to connect with him at the rehearsal dinner and reception.  I've been following Elevation's inspirational story the past few years and enjoyed talking with someone in the middle of it.

Before joining the staff at Elevation, Josh was a part of a few successful start-ups in the business sector.  During the reception he was talking about some of the differences between attending business conferences and ministry conferences.  So I asked him if in his conversations he encountered more insecurity in pastors or business leaders.  Can't say I was surprised by his response.

Pastors.

I've been thinking a lot about that conversation.  Here are a few reasons I think insecurity is a struggle for pastors.

• Our job requires supernatural assistance, and is full of responsibilities we can't carry out on our own.  That can lead to feelings of inadequacy.
• There is a fine line between the burden to see lives transformed and the desire to lead a large ministry.  The first motivation is holy and produces humble urgency.  The other is ugly and produces insecurity.
• We compare ourselves with other ministers rather than embrace God's unique call on our own lives.
• We might place too much weight on outside voices like colleagues, mentors, critics, and friends and not enough weight on the voice of Jesus and the inner presence of the Holy Spirit.
• We might fail to mature emotionally because we don't develop any close friendships with people that we can trust with the brokenness of our hearts.

Confronting my own insecurity has been an ongoing part of my church planting journey.  And every time I think I've got it beat something happens to surface it all over again.  I can't say that I'm over it.  But I am much more aware of it.

This week I'm going to use my blog to process some of my thoughts on the subject.  Would love to have you in the conversation.

Why do you think insecurity is such a battleground for pastors?