My in-laws came to visit Fusion today and stayed the rest of the afternoon.   It was really good to see them but that means that I didn’t really have a chance to write a Sunday Stuff.  Now, I’m wiped out and I don’t really feel like writing anything at all so I thought I’d ask all you guys to write a Sunday Stuff for me.  Please take a minute or two and tell me what you thought about the services today at Fusion.  What did you like?  What did you LOVE?  What stood out to you?  Also, tell me how your Sunday afternoon went.  I really want to know.  (If you don’t go to Fusion, tell me about your church service today.)

BTW, if you read this and don’t write anything then I’ll know for certain that this is a cruel and lonely world and I’ll probably live the rest of my life bitter and angry.  Or, I might just forget all about it.  You never really know.  ;)

Seriously, please write something below and let me know what you think.  Thanks.

I’ve really been going through something lately and I feel like I need to document it a bit here for others pastors and perhaps just for myself. So, here goes…

Yesterday I tweeted that I was wondering if it would be crazy for me to follow a dream that I have.  I immediately got hit with some questions about whether I was leaving this or that.  To be clear, I’m not giving up on any of my old dreams. I’m just thinking about some new ones.

I believe that most people have more than one great dream tucked away inside of them.  Unfortunately, many never pursue any dream and fewer still pursue more than one.  The reality is that God has created all of us like diamonds and we all have many facets.  We should pursue every one of them.

You should never feel guilty for wanting to explore other things God has put in your heart.  Your heart, your life and your calling are all big enough to handle more than one great dream.

So, dream on.  Dream on with all your dreamS.

In this Sunday Stuff I talk about a mission trip to London, the name Edwina, the Justice League, and a VIP visitor at Fusion. Plus, I decided to toss in some prayer requests free of charge! (You’re welcome.) Check it out.

One sure fire way to become and stay bored in your times of prayer is to only pray about yourself.  Although we are certainly called to pray for our needs and we should not be shy in doing so, a purely self-centered prayer life is ultimately a dry, dead and boring one.  Scripture directs us to pray for one another, our pastors, other church leaders, and those in authority in government.  We are commanded to pray for these things not because it’s nice or the right thing to do.  I’m convinced we are told to do this because it is one of the great keys to having a dynamic, thriving prayer life.

The challenge is to not attempt to pray for others as if we were just reading some todo list.  Instead, we must pray for others as if we were praying for ourselves.  We must pray as passionately about our neighbor’s cancer as we would if we had received the dianosis.  We must pray deeply and sincerely for the needs of others.

My experience has been that as I do that, as I commit the time, energy and focus necessary, something marvelous happens. Why?  Well, I think that we are never more like Christ than we are serving others and this is sharing in His divine service of interceding for others.  (Romans 8:34) It honors God.  It grows us up.  It’s just Godly and God responds to it in special ways.

The bottom line is that, as interesting as you are, you’re going to eventually get bored just praying about your own stuff.  Add sincerely praying for others to the mix and see what happens.  Try it.  You’ll like it.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago at Fusion, I don’t think there are many pains in this life quite like the pain of being rejected.  It’s such a powerfully painful thing that we’ll do just about anything to avoid it.  Unfortunately, no matter what you do you’re probably going to experience it at some point.  So, what do you do when you’ve been rejected?

1.  Look Out: The enemy wants to turn this into bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness.  He wants to make it a deadly poison that gets into your system and never gets out.  You must resist this temptation as well as the enemy himself.  You must also resist the temptation to vilify the other people involved.  Stop trying to fix the blame on someone.  Stop trying to get even.  Stop trying to figure it all out.  Accept it for what it is and determine in your heart to move on.

2.  Look Up: Seek God.  Seek Him hard.  Find your love and worth and acceptance in Him.  Honestly, that’s where 95% of that stuff is always supposed to come from any way.  We often try to find our worth in what others think of us and that is always a prescription for disaster.  In fact, God doesn’t want you on that roller coaster because He knows that people can be fickle.  Remember the same folks that were shouting “Hosanna” when Jesus entered Jerusalem were also shouting “Crucify Him!” less than a week later and that was for JESUS CHRIST!  Certainly, God wants us to get encouragement from others and a certain amount of our self esteem will obviously come from those we care about but the lion’s share should come from God.

3.  Look Ahead: At some point, you’re just going to have to look ahead and stop dwelling on it.  Truthfully, the sooner you can do that the better.  The reality is that God has put some wonderful gifts and talents in you and if others can’t recognize that or if they’re not interested in it then it’s there problem not yours.  It should be said that rejection by others does not diminish God’s call or plan on your life.  Some of the greatest leaders in the Bible were rejected by others.  It may hurt but it ultimately doesn’t mean much.  God never need the approval of “them” to do His will in your life and doesn’t need it now.  Focus on the future.  Focus on what God’s doing next in your life.

Remember, God loves you.  He decided you were worth the greatest sacrifice that was ever made.  He has a plan for your life and it can’t be thwarted by others.  Seek Him and His next step for your life.

Do you like blog posts that are written by brain-dead pastors on Sunday afternoons? If so, you’re in luck! The patented Sunday Stuff™ is just for you!

This past Wednesday the doctors informed my dad that he has cancer.  To be specific, he has follicular lymphoma.  The doctor said that if you had to have cancer this would be the one to chose.  It’s cancer of the lymph nodes and it’s very slow growing.  In fact, many times they don’t treat it at all.  They just watch it.  The only time that they treat it is if the patient is experiencing a lot of symptoms.  Unfortunately, my dad is indeed experiencing a lot of symptoms.

Currently, he has no energy.  A small walk to the mailbox will wipe him out of the rest of the day.  He has no appetite.  He only eats about half a sandwich if he eats anything at all.  He is swollen and carrying 20-25 pounds of water weight.  So, the doctors have decided to treat him with chemotherapy and they’re going to start the treatments next Tuesday.

I’d really appreciate it if you guys would be keeping my dad in your prayers.  Pray that the cancer is removed and that the side effects of the chemo are minimal.  Ultimately, please just pray for a complete healing.

Thanks!

Is a blog an appropriate place for a man to declare his great love for his wife on her birthday? I think so. If you disagree, you might want to skip this post.

Now it’s time for your favorite brain dead blog post of the week…the Sunday Stuff™!