Honored to Serve

Today I was elected to serve as the Presbyter for the Lafayette Section within the Louisiana District of the Assemblies of God. I am honored to be selected and I look forward to serving the churches of our area through this leadership role.

My dad was an Assemblies of God pastor, it is my heritage. My children both feel called to the ministry, so it is their future. I feel such a strong burden to be a good steward of what I've been given and help posture the movement for a positive tomorrow. This sense of responsibility was the motive in allowing my name to be considered for the Presbytery. I pray that God will help me and those I will work alongside to make the decisions and shape the policies that will lead to the greatest spiritual harvest we have ever known!

At the Edge of the Cliff

All this talk about fiscal cliffs is maddening! The grandstanding of politicians on both sides of the aisle is enough to make you want to start a new party and be done with all of them! The very idea that we've gone back and forth on what's required to prevent America's economy from plummeting over some imaginary cliff and in the meantime seen these guys accept a pay raise for themselves is revolting! Who are these people? How can we replace them?

The great news is that God specialized in saving us from the cliffs of life!  Psalm 18:32-33 says, It is God who arms me with strength. 33 He makes my feet like that of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights (cliffs). Whether it's a fiscal cliff or a moral cliff, an emotional cliff or a relational one - He rescues us! Thank God our security lies, not in the hands of politicians, but in the hands of the King of Kings and the Prince of Peace!

How well do the kids in your life know the story?

The Will of the People?

Romans 13:1 says, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." 

Many of us see this election as a reflection of the will of the people and we feel frustrated that Americans would desire a leader who stands for so many things we don't agree with. However, if we take God's Word seriously we recognize that Romans 13 states that the election actually reveals, not the will of the people, but the will of God Himself. Am I saying that God wanted Barak Obama to be President? It seems that way. "Why?" You might ask. We have no idea, but we have to trust that God has a plan.

As long as an opportunity exists to elect someone who represents those things the Bible upholds as godly virtues, we need to work toward seeing that candidate elected. However, once an election has taken place with a different outcome than what we wanted, we must accept the idea that for whatever reason, God has another plan.

So what is our assignment now? Simple. We must pray for our elected leaders. In 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Paul writes, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."

We are a divided nation with lots of challenges. We must pray like never before.