Author: Brian

Follower of Jesus, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Pastor

Missions Quote

On By BrianIn Missions Quotes

LettheNationsBeGladMissions is not the ultimate goal of the church.  Worship is.  Missions exists because worship doesn’t.  Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.  When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more.  It is a temporary necessity.  But worship abides forever.  Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions.  It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory….  But worship is also the fuel of missions.  Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching.  You can’t commend what you don’t cherish….  Where passion for God is weak, zeal for missions will be weak….

– John Piper in Let the Nations Be Glad

Family Focus

On By BrianIn Family Collection

Here are some good posts on marriage:

Affair Proof and Divorce Proof Your Marriage in 2 Hours a Week – Gary Thomas
After years of reading, writing, speaking, traveling, and pastoral counseling, I’ve identified two things that, when they are in place, can almost guarantee you that your spouse won’t have an affair and that you won’t get a divorce. But you need to do both. I didn’t come up with these; I’m just recognizing them. You’ve heard of both of them, there’s nothing new here, but consider these two elements as the “canary in the mine.” If your marriage has both elements, the “air” in your mine is fresh and healthy and your marriage is probably fairly stable. If one or both of them die, the air is getting poisoned, and you need to take caution. Your marriage is now much more vulnerable to disintegration….

18 Things I Will Not Regret Doing With My Wife – Tim Challies
Here are 18 things I know I will never regret doing with my wife.
1. Praying with her. It took too long for the two of us to begin to really pray together; even now, we have a long way to go. But we have learned the importance of praying together and never regret the times we spend together before the Lord….

18 Things I Will Not Regret Doing With My Husband – Aileen Challies
So here are 18 things I will not regret doing with my husband.
1. Dating him. Because Tim is a pastor, Monday is usually his day off.  But like most days off, our Mondays are usually filled with chores (and in his case, writing). But one thing we always try to do is to get away from the house and go out for some time and some lunch. I will never regret setting aside that time to be together….

Ministry Monday

On By BrianIn Ministry Moments

Here are some good posts for pastors:

New Pastor Advice – Jason Helopoulos
He packs up the U-haul with all his family’s belonging, his books are sealed in boxes, he heads across the country, arrives in the field, and he is ready to begin pastoring. Where to start? What to do?

The Punches I Never Saw Coming – Christopher Hemmerich (GC)
Maybe I was naive. I fully expected difficulty in pastoral ministry. But I expected the attacks to come from somewhere “out there” rather than somewhere “in here.” I had no category for sheep who bite…  

Carson’s Lessons from the Good Times and Bad – John Starke (GC)
Carson…offers lessons we can learn from the both the “lean years” and also the “high growth years.” For pastors and ministers longing for gospel renewal in their churches and cities, and for those experiencing revival right now, these are encouraging and helpful lessons.

Declaring the Glory

On By BrianIn Declaring the Glory

Fam2013 221Sturgeon River in Baraga County in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
– Psalm 19:1

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,
in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
– Romans 1:20

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

O Jesus, King Most Wonderful – Bernard of Clairvaux (via Trevin Wax)
O Jesus, King most wonderful,
Thou Conqueror renowned,
Thou Sweetness most ineffable,
In Whom all joys are found….

10 Love Challenges – David Murray
Yesterday I gave my congregation 10 Love Challenges that  translate the sometimes nebulous idea of love into very practical, do-able actions….

Why Satan Might Not Be Tempting Us – Gary Thomas
Sometimes, I’m reading one of the Christian classics and I find myself saying, even out loud, “Ouch.” That happened to me once when I was spending time with John Wesley. His insight was so heavy and so unique, it just about knocked me out of my chair….

You Do Not Labor in Vain – Dan Doriani (GC)
Jesus will bless the faithful: “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. . . . I was sick and you looked after me.” We will say, “When?” Probably at work. At work we have the greatest skill, training, time, and resources. If, by faith, we strive to love God and neighbors at work, then we serve him. And he will remember it forever.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day loving God and your brothers and sisters in Christ!

 

Missions Focus: PIEI

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

PIEIToday I want to draw your attention to Partners in Evangelism International (PIEI). This missions group focuses on partnering national pastor/missionaries from other countries with American churches. Each country ministry has its own steering committee of nationals and Americans with its own distinctions. While I can’t speak for most of the ministries, I can heartily recommend the Romanian and Ukrainian ministries. Our church started partnering with a national pastor/missionary family in the Ukraine a couple of years ago, and it has been a wonderful partnership. Some things we really appreciate:

• We get a monthly report that gives us an update on their ministry and ways we can pray for them. It is really exciting to regularly hear what God is doing in the Ukraine, and to be able to partner with them in prayer.

• Nationals often need significantly less support than Americans. That doesn’t mean Americans don’t need to be missionaries – they do. But training and supporting nationals to do the ministry should be part of our overall Great Commission strategy. And as a small church with a small missions budget, our small gift goes a long way.

• PIEI doesn’t have a paid home office. Everyone is a volunteer. This approach is not for every agency, and it does create its own issues, but our church appreciates that all the money we give goes overseas.

• We are also encouraged to go overseas to minister with the nationals. Our church hasn’t made use of this opportunity yet, but I look forward to taking a group sometime in the future.

Cornel Stef, who leads the Romanian/Ukrainian ministry on the American side, has come to our church twice to share about the ministry. He and his wife even hosted my family for lunch when we were down in Chicago just over a year ago. In his last visit this Fall, he mentioned the need for new American churches to support nationals in the Ukraine. Some nationals currently in ministry are not at full support, and others have been trained for ministry but are unable to serve without support. If your church is looking to expand its missions program and enter into an exciting partnership overseas, I encourage you to contact Cornel – cstef@piei.org.

What We Were Made For

On By BrianIn Identity, PASSION Quotes

ForeverWe were not created for our own liberty, happiness, or fulfillment.  We were not created to find our own way and to discover our own joy.  We were not designed to define what our needs are and to give our lives to meet them.  We were not made to treat the world like an endless buffet of delights for our consumption.  We were made for God, made to live for his glory, and made to find the fullest expression of our humanity in loving, worshipful community with him….  Every day billions of us get up and ignore the love relationship with God for which we were created.  Because we do not love him as we should, we do not have the motivation to please him.  Because we are not motivated to please him, we find it easy, in small moments and big, to replace him with something else.  We replace love of God with a life-dominating love of self.  We replace concern for the glory of God with self-glory….  Inserting ourselves in the center of our world is the ultimate delusion.  Sin not only denies the structure of the world as God made it, but it also denies our very identity as human beings.  We are God’s image bearers.  We were made for him.
– Paul David Tripp in Forever

Passion Ethics

On By BrianIn Current Collection

Here are some updates on some important current religious freedom issues:

Saeed Abedini, American pastor jailed in Iran, denied medication, family says – Fox News Iranian jailers have denied crucial medication to Pastor Saeed Abedini, the American citizen imprisoned there for his faith, according to the Idaho resident’s family and legal team.
Here are some ways you can help.

Home School Legal Defense Association Files Romeike v. Holder with U.S. Supreme Court – CrossMap
HSLDA Chairman and principal author of the petition, Michael Farris, said that the Court should intervene for the sake of justice.  “The United States should be a place of asylum for those who are persecuted because of their decision to follow their core religious beliefs,” he said.  “Parents, not the government, decide first how children are educated. Germany’s notorious persecution of families who homeschool violates their own obligations to uphold human rights standards and must end.”
Farris has called for a day of prayer on November 17 in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s November 26 decision on whether to hear this case as well as Hobby Lobby’s case.

Hobby Lobby asks US Supreme Court to take up case over federal birth-control coverage mandate – Fox News
Lawyers for the Oklahoma City-based craft store chain and its sister company, Mardel Christian bookstore, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case because of what they say are conflicting decisions by other courts regarding religious freedom.
And in related cases, Freshway Foods wins its initial lawsuit, and Cornerstone University – one of the schools I attended – adds its own lawsuit.

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013, Cornerstone University joins Dordt College in filing a federal lawsuit against the Obama administration unconstitutional mandate that employers – including religious ones – provide insurance coverage that facilitates access to drugs that can induce abortions. – See more at: http://www.cornerstone.edu/details.aspx?p=19E2931D85131112&ppid=56597&naid=EBD15E2C1F34E07C#sthash.h04UvDbg.dpuf