Bathrooms and Guitars: The Freedom to be Relevant!

The Free Church of Scotland voted this week (narrowly) to allow music in their services for the first time in 160 years! This was actually a huge controversy. Many within the the church actually believe that its sinful to use musical instruments in church services.

You know if I were the devil that's exactly what I would want Christians to believe! I'd want to convince them that using musical instruments was evil so I could assure that their services would never attract anyone to Christ! Meanwhile, I'd get to use music to influence people the way I wanted to influence them. While I was at it I'd try and convince them that the more dressed up they are the holier they are. Put everyone in suits and ties so they're really uncomfortable and too busy comparing themselves with what everyone else is wearing to really focus on Christ. I'd make sure sermons were long and boring too and never dealt with anything relevant in people's day-to-day lives.

Years ago, not long after I became a Christian, I began to use my musical talents in church. I was so excited I would go to work and talk about it with my friends. One 'religious' guy over heard me one day and pulled me aside and presumed to 'straighten me out.' He told me we shouldn't be using guitars and drums in church because they didn't use those instruments in the early church and he wanted his church to be like the church in the book of Acts! I was a very young Christian and didn't have a lot of tact, so I asked him "Do you have bathrooms in your church?" He assured me they did and I told him he better pull those toilets out and go pee behind a tree because they didn't have indoor plumbing in the book of Acts! He never tried to straighten me out again.

I hope the Free Church of Scotland (and all Christian churches) will truly be free, once and for all, from all the ridiculous religious ideas Satan uses to try and keep us from being effective in our mission to reach the lost and the unchurched!

Hotlanta

This week I traveled back to our former home, Atlanta, Georgia. I went there to pick up a replacement vehicle for Robin. Most of you know she totaled her 2005 Ford Escape a few weeks ago when a lady pulled out in front of her. (You can read about the original vehicle I purchased for her here or about the accident she was in here.)

A lot of you have been asking me why I would travel all the way to Atlanta to buy a used car. My logic is this - I shop for used cars online, willing to travel to another city to purchase them because I can get what I want instead of settling for what I can find locally.

We found the vehicle Robin wanted with all the options she wanted on it with low milage at the right price! ($3,000.00 less than the Blue Book value - Thank you Jesus!) It's a very clean little 2005 Mercury Mariner (which is really a Ford Escape with a little more stylish exterior). Robin was determined to get another vehicle like the one she had. She originally chose it because she felt safe in it and after the accident she felt so even more! Driving home from Atlanta gave me a chance to really test drive it and it seems to be a solid vehicle that should last Robin a good while. It's loaded - complete with a moonroof and CD changer and it even has four-wheel drive! (No mud-digging Robin!)

Purchasing the vehicle in Atlanta also gave me the chance to visit with some of my favorite people in the world! On Friday night I had dinner with the Rhoades family: (Bill & Helen, Jason & Amanda and their girls, Rhonda & Reece Carter and their boys and Carrie & Zach Brinegar and their little boy). Erin and Derrick Dunagan and Kristin and Keith Tressel also met with us. What wonderful friends! It was so good to see everyone and check out the cutest kid contest!

On Saturday morning I traveled down to Macon to visit with my dear friend Roger Brumbalow, whom I served at The Assembly of God Tabernacle in Decatur back in the late nineties. On the way down I stopped at the south perimeter and had coffee with Adam and Jamie Farley and their three adorable children! (That's right more fare for the cutest kid contest!) Pastor Brumbalow lives with his daughter Claire and her husband Clint and their two children. They have a beautiful home and Pastor has a very elegant suite with a nice back porch for sipping coffee. Pastor had a stroke a few years ago that left him paralyzed on his right side and took away most of his ability to speak. Despite those challenges he gets around extremely well, communicates effectively with limited words and hand gestures, still has his strong sense of humor and remains the remarkable man of character and integrity that he's always been. It's obvious he misses Becky - his best friend and partner in life and ministry - very much. (Read about this incredible woman here.) We had such a wonderful visit and then met up with Pastor's son, Keith and his family for lunch. (Alas - more cute kids!) I am so thankful that God put Roger Brumbalow in my life so many years ago. I owe so much to him!

I stayed over Saturday night so I could attend Northpoint Community Church in Alpheretta, GA. Andy Stanley's church is not only one of the largest in the nation, it is one we aspire to emulate here at Crossroads. I first heard Andy speak at Ed Young's C3 conference back in 2004 and it really changed my life and ministry forever. The service was awesome there at Northpoint and I even got to meet Andy before service!

I know all this sounds like a marvelous time in Hotlanta but here's what was really cool - I even had time to stop and enjoy a strawberry milkshake from Steak and Shake while I was there! (Why can't we have Steak and Shakes here in Louisiana?)

From the Cradle to the Grave

Today I officiated a wedding and a funeral, conducted a baby dedication and spoke at our Saturday night service where four people gave their hearts to Jesus Christ. 

I know it sounds like just another day at the office for a pastor, but I've never had all those things happen in one day's schedule before. It reminded me that ministry really places me in some of the most important moments of a person's life. What's so cool about that is - as a minister - I'm really there to represent Christ. God is the one who really matters in those important moments, and here's the great thing - He's always there isn't He? 

Whether it's parents dedicating their baby, a couple being joined in Holy Matrimony, a family celebrating the home-going of a loved one or someone committing their life to Christ, God is there making it all possible, and I get to have some small role in it. I'm so thankful that I do and I sure hope I represent Christ well. 

I have to say, it's an honor and a blessing to be there for people in those important moments of their lives - from the cradle to the grave. 

No more Nancy!

So Nancy is no longer the Speaker of the House. Good riddance! Can't say I'm going to miss Ms. Pelosi! But will the big sweep in the House of Representatives by Republicans really make a difference? Not unless their conservatism is fueled by strong moral conviction. If all their speeches were simple rhetoric, they will soon be caught up in the machine that is American politics. The only hope we have for seeing things turned around in this country is a true move of God.

I know people say religion and politics shouldn't mix, but I beg to differ! The only way a democracy like ours can survive is the influence of morals based on God's Holy Word. Our founding fathers knew this - lets hope the people we've just elected will figure it out!

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible." (George Washington)