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Christian, Church, Ministry, Religion

Earthen Vessels: As Pastors, We Must Remember Who We Are, Even If The People Don’t Want To 

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There’s no doubt that every pastor wants to be respected, appreciated, and loved by those that they’re charged with leading. Those of us that labor for The Lord, pour out of ourselves on a daily basis, and those of us that give sacrificially in many unseen ways would like to hear from the people that they see us. We know that God sees it and will reward it, but it’s always nice when the people encourage and thank us as well. But what do we do when appreciation crosses the line into undeserved praise?

Unfortunately, it’s human nature for us to lift people up (sometimes only to tear them down when they inevitably fall short). This is why we have such a thing as celebrities in the first place. We sometimes struggle to appreciate gifts and talents without drifting into a form of worship. Fan clubs and followings are what we do. With the rise of social media over the last 15 years, this mindset has been exacerbated. These days, people don’t really even need gifts and talents to develop a following. This is just the way of the world. But when it comes to the church, this new landscape of worship is truly dangerous ground. 

These days, it seems as if the church is turning out more celebrities than we are disciples. It’s so out of hand that people don’t believe you have an anointing if you don’t have a following of some sort. This is true whether you are a preacher or a praise and worship leader. People are more likely to ask you how many followers you have on any particular platform before they ask you about your convictions concerning the faith. 

For this reason and for the sake of the future of the church, pastors can no longer pretend to be naive about the potential of being idolized by the people because we have far too many public examples of this happening. I’m a firm believer the those in ministry know when they’re being put on a pedestal and being praised in an unhealthy manner. And when that happens, it is upon us to stop it. 

It should be incumbent upon every pastor to make sure that we are being respected and supported, but never idolized. Jesus is the only One worthy of worship. If the people believe that we can do no wrong , it’s no longer a church. It’s a cult. We must remember that the treasure is in fact in an earthen vessel. We must remember the frailty of our own humanity.

I’m aware that this profession has gone from being viewed as a profession of service to something of a platform and a means of obtaining wealth and popularity. I’m also fully convinced that this was never God’s plan for His servants. It’s okay for us to be celebrated for our labor at times, but we can’t allow the celebrations to turn us into celebrities, and we can’t allow appreciation to turn into worship and idolatry.

Writing books, having a radio broadcast, doing a podcast, and sharing videos on social media has caused me to be seen by people all around the country. I’ve been in contact with people that I may never meet in person. Some of these people have shared with me how a sermon I preached, a post I made, a podcast I recorded, or a book I’ve written has helped them in their journey. My response is always the same: “To God be the glory!”

It is my belief that in our quest as pastors and preachers to be properly appreciated, some of us have allowed that appreciation to drift into undue praise. That statement may ruffle some feathers, but if you are a pastor reading this and it hasn’t happened to you, you’ve no doubt seen it before. 

I do my best to lean into Matthew 5:16 (NLT):

“In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

We are also challenged in 2 Corinthians 4:5-7 to always preach Jesus and not ourselves. We are called to remember that the power is of God, and not us. When we remember this, we not only keep ourselves in perspective, but we’re also able to recognize when the people are praising the wrong entity. And while it’s great to be honored, we must remember where the glory belongs. The moment the people lose sight of serving God above all else, we’re all in danger.

In my latest book Follow Me, I reiterated a point that I’ve shared with others along my own journey. When we were called to preach, pastor, and evangelize, we were not called into the appreciation business. The Gospel is centered around a crucified Savior. If the Head of the Church was hung on a cross, persecution is a hazard of this job. And while pastors should be appreciated for the sacrifices that they’ve made in their lives, I’m confident and comfortable is saying that none of us should be praised because none of us have died on the cross so that people might be saved.

We must remember what God says in Isaiah 42:8:

“I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.”

The people must remember this and be reminded of it when they forget. No doubt, they will know our frailties when we inevitably stumble along the way. It’s in those moments that we need grace, not justifications because of how the people have elevated us. We can no longer afford to be deified by those that we are called to draw to Christ. 

Let’s be honest, sometimes our egos get the best of us. We have a few viral moments, we’re platformed in some fashion, or the membership of our congregation gets a boost. The accolades and compliments start to flow and if we’re not careful, we start to believe that we really are the driving force behind this movement. This is where we have to catch ourselves because sometimes the people that are propping us up don’t have the capacity to stop themselves. 

The idea that we can praise men above praising God and still be healthy as a church is a fallacy. The people of the church won’t thrive as long as they have more reverence for who they’re serving under than they do for who they’re serving ultimately. God’s servants are just that. God’s servants. Earthen vessels. 

We can’t effectively make disciples if the people are only interested in following us. The church has one primary objective and function: Make disciples. If the people aren’t loyal to Christ above all else, we’re doing them a disservice. 

I believe in honoring pastors because I honor my pastor. I believe in appreciating pastors because I appreciate my pastor. However, what the church must run away from is our appetite for celebrity over celebrating people for their service. We must run away from worshipping the vessel instead of worshipping the Savior. We have to run away from our love of the charisma of men and go deeper into our love of Christ. Appreciate the vessel, but give God the glory.

Christian, Church, Ministry, Religion

Be Concerned, But Don’t Worry

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One of the greatest challenges of our faith is the balancing act between faith and fear. In the simplest sense, one is an act of our human nature, while the other is a spiritual response.

Sometimes we’ve been a little too assumptive in our assessments of those that claim Christianity. We’ve assumed that they really understand what it means to live a life of faith, so when trouble comes along, we tell them to call on something that they don’t understand.

With what we’re seeing from this current administration in the White House, the entirety of what they’re doing is based on fear. They want everyone running around with their hair on fire while they go about their true agenda. So, when the president and the media seem determined to stoke the fears of the people for their own purposes, how are people of faith going to respond? We know that our faith calls for us to trust God and not fear, but that’s a spiritual response. What do I do with that part of me that’s genuinely afraid?

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Recently on the prayer line at For The Kingdom Christian Church where I pastor, I brought Psalms 33 to the attention of our people. Not only did I want to reassure them considering what’s going on in the world and what’s no doubt being pushed through their phones and their televisions that was designed to make them worry, but I also wanted them to see what Scripture once again tells us about our God. I didn’t want to just tell them “don’t worry” because I didn’t want it to seem like another empty encouragement with no substantive reason why they shouldn’t worry. I wanted to challenge their faith by showing them what was written in the Bible that they say they hold dear.

Again, it’s human nature to be concerned, but it’s spiritual nature to not be worried. The only way that we can lean in to not being worried as Christians is to lean into our history with God, and lean on the Word of God. And if you look into your Bible, you will see both God’s history and His Word.

Psalms 33 opens with a call for us to praise the Lord, but pay attention to verses 4 and 5. In the NLT version of Scripture, it says:

“For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything He does. He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.”

These verses remind us that God can be trusted and His love is found in the earth, even if it isn’t found in the hearts of every man. It’s there and it’s available for those who seek to find it and for those that wish to express it. These verses also tell us that God loves what is just, which lets us know that He isn’t co-signing anything that isn’t. I don’t know about you, but I find it reassuring that God is still against evil. But Psalms 33 isn’t done yet. Here’s what it says in verses 6 through 9:

“The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of Him. For when He spoke, the world began! It appeared at His command.”

Scripture is reminding us that only one Being has ever simply spoke and the universe that He created had to obey. What God does doesn’t require an act of congress or a court order. He simply speaks and the world must obey. Even as the text speaks of fearing Him, it isn’t speaking in the natural. It’s speaking of a spiritual reverence for His awesome power.

As if what we’ve already seen isn’t enough to inspire confidence in God in the face of the evil that we see attacking this nation in the name of someone that wishes to be king, look at verses 10 and 11:

“The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes. But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; His intentions can never be shaken.”

God has a way of confusing the plans of the wicked. Nonbelievers may tell you that it’s foolish to believe in God, but history and His story tells us different. How many times have evil regimes risen, only to end up in ruins? How many times has it seemed as if evil has perfected its formula, only to be brought down in the end, and often from the inside?

This is not written to be dismissive of our human concerns. This is being written to encourage those in the faith to remember who our God is. Every time evil makes a move, God ultimately brings evil to a halt. I know it seems as if this new version of evil is better prepared than those before it, but I also know that man once believed that not even God could sink the Titanic. We’ve always had an inflated opinion of what our hands do and not enough reverence for what God’s hands have done over and over again.

Consider verses 16 and 17:

“The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory— for all its strength, it cannot save you.”

In the end, whether we’re facing evil in our government, our lives, or even in our churches, we in the faith must remember where we are to place our hope. The enemy always gets out of the gate fast, but we must remember that everyone that’s in front of us isn’t necessarily ahead of us. Things are being signed daily in our government and reported on just as often. If we insist on only believing what we see, then hopelessness makes sense. But people of faith aren’t called to just what our eyes see. This hope that we have was never physical. It was always spiritual.

I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea about Christianity, however. It is our responsibility to call out what’s wrong and fight against evil oppressors when they come. Being faithful doesn’t mean being idle or passive. Being faithful means being actively engaged in the fight against evil, but even as we fight, we trust God with the outcome.

Be concerned because God never told us to ignore the things of this physical life. He encouraged us not to worry about them (Matthew 6:27-34). The enemy ultimately wants your life, but for right now, he’ll settle for your attention on things that he ultimately has no power over. Be vigilant, but be encouraged. Consider how Psalms 33 closes in verses 18-22:

“But the Lord watches over those who fear Him, those who rely on His unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine. We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in You alone.”

The enemy is strategic, but he’s not invincible, and neither are his minions. Even when calamity is all around us, God has a way of protecting us. The text tells us that He is our hope and our shield. Even in this current season, with God’s covering, things might happen around us, but those things won’t happen to us. We must endure and we must persevere. Concern is human. Let’s lean into the spiritual.

To order Pastor Jackson’s latest work Follow Me: Bringing the Person and Teachings of Jesus Back to The Forefront of Christianity, visit www.krjpublishing.com/bookstore

Author, Christian, Church, Kelly R. Jackson Publishing, Ministry, Religion, Uncategorized

Read An Excerpt from “Follow Me: Bringing the Person and Teachings of Jesus Back to the Forefront of Christianity”

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Check out this excerpt from Pastor Kelly R. Jackson’s upcoming book. Official release date is Friday January 24, 2025. To preorder a copy, visit http://www.krjpublishing.com/follow

Keep Building On Christ

One of the things that I’ll often hear from the church is our lamenting about how strong the church used to be and how people aren’t as committed as they used to be anymore. However, when I hear people say those things, I always hear them talking about how we can move forward by making even more changes, but I rarely hear people talking about studying our past successes.

Something that I think that our young people struggle with most these days, especially in the Black community, is knowledge of history and historical figures. We’ve convinced them that nothing can be gained from the past because we now have all of these new tools and gadgets, and we have access to much more information than those before us.

We’ve failed to help them to understand that because they have these tools to access information, they can actually access more information about what happened before them and learn from the past. They can learn what worked and what didn’t work. But most importantly, they can learn to tweak as opposed to seeking to destroy everything that they deem outdated. Some things you need to make wholesale changes to, but some things just need an upgrade.

If we go back into the history of our churches and see them full, vibrant, and strong, why wouldn’t we study why that was? We’ve implemented so many new things, and yet, there still seems to be a great falling away, as the Bible said there would be. If we’re so much better than our predecessors, why were they so much more committed than we appear to be? If our ideas are so much better now, why are we struggling to stay connected to the truth of what Christ called for? If we’re so much more educated about Scripture now, why are we failing to stay connected to Scripture in our approaches in the church?

I’m just convinced that God didn’t make better ways for us to be educated in the church just so that we could flex our muscles every week by showing how smart we are. I’m of the belief that God gave us new avenues for learning of Him so that we can make the church stronger, not rip out its foundations. One of the struggles between Peter and Paul in Scripture was in their coming to the understanding that God was using both of them in different ways to speak to different groups of people, but all for one common purpose.

I feel as though at times, some have decided that all that we’ve introduce in the church that’s new in the ways of preaching and teaching must be used to eliminate what’s already there, but I don’t believe that’s what God intended. It’s my belief that God may have called for a new delivery, a new way of educating, a new way implementing, and even new voices, but I don’t believe He ever wanted us to abandon the basics. No matter how we may evolve or grow, there are some things that we can never go away from if we intend for our churches to stay strong.

Consider the narrative of Paul and Apollos. We see Apollos in Acts 18:24-28 and the Bible says that he was eloquent in his speaking, and he knew the Scriptures well. He preached with enthusiasm, spirit, and accuracy, but his accuracy was based only on what he knew to that point. He still didn’t have the full picture concerning Jesus. The Bible says he only knew of the “baptism of John” which spoke of the coming Messiah, and while Apollos believed that Jesus was the Messiah, his preaching hadn’t fully changed to reflect the fullness of what that meant until Paul’s co-laborers, Aquila and Priscilla, explained the way of God to him more accurately.

By the time we get to 1 Corinthians Chapters 3 and 4, Paul has to address Apollos’ rising popularity in the church because the people had begun to “choose” Apollos over Paul, or Paul over Apollos. Paul doesn’t have to address Apollos because this appears to be the nature of the people, not the nature of the preacher. According to Scripture, Apollos is just preaching the Gospel, but as it is in human nature, people have their preferences and will often choose presentation over principles.

In this discourse, Paul makes two points that should stay with the church until the Lord returns. The first being that the ONLY foundation that matters is Christ, and building on anything else won’t last. The second being that the builder doesn’t matter because ONLY God will give the increase. No matter what our hands do, no matter how eloquent of speech we are, and even if we are the “expert builder” that God allowed to participate in the laying of the foundation, our intellect is no match or substitute for God’s involvement.

The point that Paul, and thus, Scripture makes is that the foundation has been laid by God through Christ. We can’t lay another foundation over the one that is Jesus Christ. The builders will be judged by how they added to what was laid, not by what they built themselves. The builders will be judged by their work because they were never responsible for laying the foundation. God took care of that. As builders, we’re responsible for furthering the Gospel. We’re simply workers. I know we don’t like to hear this, especially as pastors and preachers, but we don’t matter nearly as much as we think we do. If the people grow, it will be because of what God does. It doesn’t matter who planted and it doesn’t matter who watered.

As we’ve grown and gained more knowledge, we have become too dependent on ourselves. We have great ideas, but those great ideas need more than just our intellect. We’re trying to major in the spectacular while minoring in the organic. Every strong relationship got that way over time and with natural growth. The spectacular bang has never been sustainable. True sustainable church growth and the true making of disciples takes time, and I fear that we’ve started to see our great ideas as shortcuts to growth. The spectacular may get them to the building, but will it get them discipled?

It seems that we’re in constant search of the membership explosion that we saw in Acts 2:41 where 3000 were baptized, and we have no desire for the type of one-on-one encounter that Phillip had with the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40 where the Gospel reached just one person in a moment in time, but he was saved and that encounter impacted a nation. It seems these days that we’d rather have a conference, convention, or workshop, as opposed to just having regular and consistent Bible class so that the people can grow organically.

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When It Comes To Dementia, We’re Often The Ones In An Alternate Reality

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People will often have opinions of us based on their understanding, and not necessarily their experiences with us. They watch from a distance and they see this action or that one and they assume that they can put the pieces together based on what they saw. Through our natural skepticism and our often high opinion of our own ability to always be right, we never even consider the idea that a little more investigation and a few more facts might paint the full picture and change our view.

We’re so convinced of our own intellect, that if we find something that contradicts us, we assume right away that the fix is in and a conspiracy is at hand. This is where we find ourselves in this nation today. Many of us offer commentary based on misinformation, the opinions of others, optics, or simply from a place of ignorance.

Over the last week or so, we’ve seen people make a lot of statements and assumptions about cognitive decline and dementia. What I’ve noticed is that many people literally have no idea what they’re talking about or even the difference between the two. While cognitive decline can be a sign of coming dementia, it doesn’t always mean that dementia is coming. Sometimes, people are just getting older.

If you’ve ever cared for someone one on one as I have that had dementia, you would be offended by people that referred to someone that wasn’t always as sharp as they once were as having dementia. And when I speak of caring for a dementia patient, I mean really caring for them. Not knowing their condition, and not knowing someone that you suspect is suffering from such an insufferable condition. I mean really cared for them, 24/7. If you’ve been on the front line, you know what dementia really looks like.

The ignorance going forward these days is staggering and unfortunate. Based on the opinions out there, I’m not surprised that we put (throw) family members away at the first inkling of decline. Many don’t have patience for the elderly. All of this uninformed commentary is shameful in this country, but not surprising. It’s where the former administration dragged us to, and we’re now wallowing in misinformation and insults.

The reality is if you’re of a certain age, you are already experiencing some sort of cognitive decline. If the Lord lets me live, I’ll be proudly 55 years old at the end of this month. My mind is sharp, but I’d be lying if I said I never lose my train of thought at times. I’d be lying if I said I never forget things and don’t need to keep notes to remind me. I’d be lying if I said that on occasion, I run into people and remember the face, but not the name. Does that mean that I will suffer one day from dementia? No. That means I’m getting older.

At the same time, given some time, my train of thought comes back. If someone reminds me of the name associated with the face, I remember immediately. Given a moment, things clear up. While I may not be as sharp as I once was, I’m still very much here.

Conversely, those with dementia are in an alternate reality. Try as you might, you can’t just drop a name or a fact on them and they automatically reset. Sometimes, it takes hours. Sometimes it takes days. Sometimes they turn a corner, never to return to our reality. They just settle into their own world and we are the ones that have to adjust. And we don’t even have time to get into “sundowning”.

Sometimes they forget your name and give you a new one altogether. One that suits their reality, not yours. One that makes them comfortable, no matter how uncomfortable it makes you. For this reason, we should be careful of how we use cognitive decline and dementia as though they are interchangeable or the same thing. It’s irresponsible and disrespectful to those we’re speaking of, and to those that may hear our often ill informed opinions.

In John 7:24 (NLT), Jesus warns us: “Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly”. What Jesus is stressing here is fact gathering. He’s stressing investigation. He stressing that we don’t lean to our understanding without understanding what we’re judging. He’s stressing that we don’t draw conclusions based on what we saw, as opposed to what we’ve learned through experience or investigation.

My first hand, front line experience with dementia has forever shaped how I view elder care. Even though I had witnessed it up close before with my grandmother and my aunt and the care my mother gave them, it was an entirely different experience having to be my mother’s primary caregiver when it attacked her. I knew a lot from watching my mom be a caregiver, but what I gained through experience was much greater than what I thought I knew. I wish all my mother had was cognitive decline and bouts of forgetfulness.

While we have a high opinion of our opinions, we need to remember that they are in fact opinions and not facts. How we feel can govern our individual selves, but society as a whole should function on facts.

I would also caution us on how we devalue people that aren’t as sharp as they once were, as though they have nothing else to offer. We must remember that past their prime doesn’t mean past their usefulness. We can’t be so quick to abandon those with history and wisdom.

I know many a seasoned preacher, many of whom speak slower than they used to and take longer to form their thoughts, but they’re still a well of knowledge. Many churches are struggling because some younger preachers and pastors haven’t drawn from those wells. Even in the midst of dementia, my mother would still speak words of wisdom. I know because I didn’t abandon her when she wasn’t what she once was. I was sitting right next to her.

Author, Christian, Church, Kelly R. Jackson Publishing, Ministry, Religion

Dealing With “Spiritual Anxiety”

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In my 2017 book “Overcoming Your Pharaoh”, I dealt with something that I called spiritual anxiety, which is essentially worry. In the times that we’re living in with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, many are struggling with worrying and faith. I’ve decided to share a section of this last chapter of the book to encourage God’s people. I pray that you are blessed by it.

How far has worrying gotten you?


In Matthew 6:27 (NLT), Jesus asks us a pertinent question: “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” This has been a critical teaching point for me, not just when I’m teaching others, but for my own edification as well. When I sit back and think about it, worrying has never solved a problem, has never made a situation better, has never put money in my bank account, and has never improved a relationship in my life.

Literally, worrying has never done anything for me, but it has taken my peace away. Even for those that have worried and stressed over things to the point of actually getting up and doing something, you must understand that your action brought you something that worrying never did. And if God didn’t move in your actions, your problem would remain. But worry has never done anything for us.

The stress that it adds to every situation is a distraction, a hindrance, and is bad for both our physical and our mental health. I understand thinking on some things, but there is a difference between thinking on some things and worrying about things. You’re not getting bad news and not thinking about it. An overdue bill when you don’t know where the money will come from, finding out that you or a relative is not in the best of health, learning that your kids have some issues that are out of your depth, or maybe finding out that your marriage is in trouble. You’re not getting any of this news, or news like it, without giving it some thought.

You’re fine just thinking. You’re human just thinking. However, it’s the dwelling on these things that will cause you to lose faith. It’s the pondering instead of praying that will cause you to lose hope. It’s trying to control some things that you couldn’t even prevent from happening in the first place that will threaten your sanity. It’s staying up all night when you claim to have faith in a God that never sleeps nor slumbers that’s troublesome.

The answer to the question we asked at the beginning of this section is a simple one. How far has worrying gotten you? Not far at all. In fact, you’ve gotten nowhere. It may not have caused you to sink deeper into your problems and your issues, but it certainly made you feel as if you had. It takes an inconvenience and makes it feel like an impossibility. It turns a dilemma into desperation. As Jesus said, it doesn’t add anything to your life. It comes just as another bill that’s due, and you pay with your peace of mind.

I speak to you as someone that has some experience in worry. I’ve had those times where I didn’t know which way was up. I had to learn that worry was never in any equation that led to a solution. I had to come to a place where I realized that worry will paralyze you. Worry will confuse you. It will cause you to stand still when action is required. It will cause you to act unnecessarily and irrationally, when all you had to do was stand still because your deliverance was on the way.

It’s still true that God won’t solve a problem that we haven’t fully released to Him. This is the trick the enemy plays on us. He keeps us worrying because worry will cause us to pray without really believing that God will hear and answer. Worry won’t do anything for us, but God can and will. When we succumb to our problems, we lose sight of the problem solving nature of God. Worry will throw you into a sea of “what if it doesn’t work out” before you ever even realize that you were always standing on the shores of “God says it’s gonna work out”.

To purchase a copy of “Overcoming Your Pharaoh: Battling our issues, our instances, and our insecurities”, visit www.krjpublishing.com

Christian, Church, Ministry, Religion

In Times Like These, We Need A Word!

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Last night, I was reading the intro to my book “Are We Still Making Disciples”. The opening line of the book is: “We’re at a critical time in the church today”. It was true when I wrote it and it’s even more true today. We’re in the midst of a global pandemic and when such moments come about, the church is brought to forefront for various reasons.

Being faith-based, it would make sense that people would look to the church in uncertain times. We’re looked to in order to provide comfort and encouragement during a difficult time, and in many ways, we’ve answered the call. However, we’re also looked at during this time because some of the people that have been attending our services regularly seem to be unsure. And while at some moments we “questioned” their faith, one could argue that they have about as much faith as they’ve been encouraged to have.

What I mean is in some cases, the object of their faith is what we’ve been pushing. In some cases, we haven’t pointed them to God as often as we should have, and now, in the midst of extreme uncertainty, they don’t know where to turn. So then, the question becomes, what have we really been telling our people?

We’ve spent the better part of the last 25 to 30 years telling people about God’s stimulus plan and how we’re all gonna be worldly rich, often ignoring the fact that not only is what we have here on earth of no consequence when we die, but none of it will be of any benefit when we’re face to face with God. In a moment when the government is issuing out money to it’s citizens in the name of survival, its all being given to people that should be staying inside for their own safety.

It’s in situations like this when cliches and catchphrases fade away and people begin to wonder if God is listening to their prayers because people are still dying in the face of this disease. The person that’s praying that God replaces their next breath isn’t concerned about material things, 401k’s, their cars, their “breakthrough”, or even how God is gonna make their haters their motivators. They’re concerned with their lives. They’re concerned with their souls.

They need to be able to draw on a reassuring word and not one based solely on what happens on this side of their current Jordan river situation. It’s during these times when people don’t need a superficial and fluffed up word. They need a true and sustaining word. During these moments, people need to know about a saving Savior.

One of the great challenges to the church during this time is to examine what our message has been to our people. Some of us in the preaching ministry have spent so many years trying to move people emotionally that we’ve failed to move them spiritually. There are people that have listened to us that are so disillusioned and uniformed about God that they don’t even believe that a plague would come by His hands and not necessarily the devil’s. This is one of the pitfalls of us serving itching ears as opposed to addressing lives that have yet to be transformed according to Romans 12:1-2.

A “prosperity” word is hardly the life preserver our people need when both rich and poor can be killed by the same virus. A “God’s gonna make you rich” word isn’t what people need when we don’t have enough ventilators to go around in order to help people breathe. In this moment, people don’t need to be reminded about how they’ll overcome the hater next door, they need to know that God will deliver them from the illness outside their door. In this moment, people need to know that God is still in charge, even though people are dying.

While we share Scriptures of doom and gloom and an angry God, we must also share the hope of Jesus Christ. People need to know that God is still a healer, even though people are still at risk and getting sick. They need to know that even if God doesn’t answer their prayers in the fashion that they prayed it, He still able!

Some time ago, I did a series on my radio broadcast called “A Church In Love WIth Itself”. The purpose of that series, just as it was with “Are We Still Making Disciples”, was to refocus the church on what we’re supposed to be about and who we’re supposed to be. I’m just convinced that there are times when God will either cause something to happen or allow something to happen that should refocus us.

As it pertains to the church, I believe that this season is a season in which the truth of God’s Word needs to go forth. We’re in a season where God has leveled the playing field and the haves and the have nots are in the same boat, facing the same danger, faced with same mortality. Because, quite honestly, that’s where we’ve always been. For this reason, in this season, and for this cause, we need a word. And this time, the church must deliver.

Christian, Ministry

In the midst of a challenge, “faith shaming” has become a thing

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As we’re dealing with the challenge of this Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it seems as if the faith community has begun to challenge one another’s level of faith. Christians that have shown concern have had their trust in God questioned, at times in a hostile manner, with a Scripture provided to seemingly soften the blow (i.e. “God said it, I didn’t”).

Christians that have decided to keep their distance (staying in doors, missing church) have been accused of falling to the wiles of the devil and possessing a spirit of fear, and not that of a sound mind. Christians that have chosen to be cautious have been accused of turning their backs on the same God that has kept them. They’ve been accused by people that act as if they’ve never doubted God a day in their lives. Yes, we have entered into an area of “faith shaming” where we propose to know what’s in one another’s heart, and we’ll even throw discernment around for good measure just in case people wanna question how we’ve come the conclusions that we’ve come to.

Many of us have even thrown around our conspiracy theories for good measure, shaking our holy heads at those who aren’t up on our various theories, failing to realize that by pushing such things, we actually create another form of hysteria and create a culture of people that will be paranoid about EVERYTHING, never believing that God is in EVERYTHING, even those things that He simply allows. We’re missing the fact that if we push man’s theories more than we push our theology, that God is STILL able, we’re not helping the church, we’re harming it.

It’s true that faith must be exercised during this most challenging time, but I’m concerned when we as the church will try and drag people to a level of faith as opposed to compelling them, not just with words and The Word, but more importantly, with actions and how we exercise our own faith. We must be careful not to convey an attitude that suggests that because we have faith, we’re taking all of this lightly, and if that’s the case, we need to rethink our position.

Faith doesn’t mean there’s an absence of danger, it simply means that we trust God in the midst of danger. There was danger in Daniel’s lion’s den situation, but God kept him. There was danger in the fiery furnace of the 3 Hebrew boys situation, but God kept them. I would submit to you that if there’s no danger, one doesn’t need as much faith. While we’re walking in our faith, we shouldn’t seek to minimize what we’re actually walking in just to make the trepidation of our brothers and sisters seem less valid. Even if you have the strongest of faith, just know that you weren’t born that way. And even now, you still have moments of weakness. Only a robot can say otherwise.

It was Abram (who would eventually become Abraham), the father of faith, that was told in Genesis 12:1-4 to leave his country and kinfolk and move as God commanded because God was gonna make him a great nation. By Verse 10 of that same Chapter, he was in Egypt because of a famine, encouraging his wife to lie so that they could get what they needed. If you know the story, you know how disastrous this could’ve been for all involved. Instead of showing great faith, Abram showed weak faith. And yet, God still kept them from harm and they left the Pharaoh’s house unscathed.

It was this same Abram in Genesis 16 (after a one on one conversation with God in Chapter 15), along with his wife, that chose to impregnate Hagar because he couldn’t quite see how Sarai (Sarah) was going to have a baby in her old age. In his quest to “help” God, he showed a lack of faith and tried to do it his way. And yet, once again, God kept him.

In the midst of these circumstances, Abram was growing in his faith. The lesson for us is that faithful individuals are not born, they’re grown. For us to condemn people that haven’t grown as we have will actually stunt their growth and cause them to retreat when we do return to some sense of normalcy.

Those episodes that Abram faced tells me that in one moment, even the chosen of God can move in faith, and in another moment, they could be doing things against God in what they believe is an effort to help God. But if we are God’s people, even in moments of weak faith, God will still keep us. And while we may be seeing people displaying weak faith during this time, they need to know that God won’t abandon them because of it. They need to know that God will be patient as they grow, even if we act as if we won’t be.

As we go forward questioning the faith of our fellow Christians, we must remember that we weren’t always as strong as we are now. But we must also remember that God didn’t keep us just so that we can shame people that aren’t on our faith level. He kept us so that we could encourage them. Know that there is a difference between encouragement and criticism. Encouragement lifts you from where you are and criticism condemns you for being there in the first place.

If there’s anything that I want the church to get from all of this is that we’re all growing in faith at our own pace. Some may not be as strong as we are. Many that claim faith haven’t really had their faith tested in this way before. And while we should be bold in proclaiming our “unwavering” faith, we should be sensitive to those that have yet to reach that level.

The best thing that we can be in times like these is an example. While some will respond well to us being instructional about our faith, many more will respond to us being exemplary. If we show what we want them to see, they’ll have more than words to aspire to. Don’t use the Bible to beat them into submission, use it to show them why you have submitted. Not only do some need to grow in their faith, but we also need to grow in our compassion towards those that are yet on their way.

Author, Christian, Church, Ministry, Religion

A Word of Caution: The Charges Were Never Dropped Against Us

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If you know me or you’ve followed this blog, you know how I am about catchphrases in church. I do my best to combat them. I know that people wanna be clever and say cute things or things that will get them likes and shares on social media, but I always remind people that when it comes to the Word of God, clever, but out of context is still wrong. God’s Word deserve more respect than that. It should never be watered down or manipulated until it’s on par with a catchphrase.

One of the catchphrases getting traction these days in Christian circles is the statement “Jesus dropped the charges”. The first time I heard the phrase, it was in a viral video where a woman was giving her testimony. In short, she said she went to court one day, believing she had a warrant, but to her surprise, the warrant was nowhere to be found. From there, she exclaimed “Jesus dropped the charges!”, and the church went up.

I found it hilarious. I probably even shared it on my Facebook page, because contrary to what people may think when I tear down a Christian catchphrase, I love a good laugh. However, it’s all fun and games until people start taking that joke as Bible.

And here is my issue with things like “When praises go up, blessings come down”, or “Too blessed to be stressed”, things that aren’t supported by Scripture. People begin quoting them so often that they become the fabric of our churches. Combine that with people that won’t come to Bible class to see that some of these things aren’t anywhere to be found in the Bible, and you have people that will quote catchphrases as if they actually are Bible Verses. This seems like a small thing, but it can be quite problematic to the faith.

When we start leaning on things like “Jesus dropped the charges”, we fail to examine what that statement is saying. Again, don’t get me wrong. I love a good joke. As long as it stays that way when it comes to what we believe in our Christian faith. When we examine that statement of charges dropped, we must realize what that means. When charges are dropped, people go free and nobody pays a penalty. Nobody, that is, but the victim of the crime.

When charges are dropped, it’s sometimes due to a lack of evidence, and other times, people being falsely accused. In the case of the young woman in the viral video, she could’ve fallen into either of these categories and thus, the charges were dropped. However, in the case of sin, even though grace and mercy was given to us, there is no lack of evidence and we are by no means innocent or falsely accused.

A quick trip to the book of Romans helps us to understand all of this. In Romans 3:23 we find that we all have sinned and fallen short of His glory (charges filed). In Romans 6:23 we find that the wages of sin is death (punishment established). However, in Romans 5:8-11 we find that while we were sinners (guilty) Christ died for us, and through His blood, we escaped condemnation (freed, but not innocent). Yes, we got off, but not because God backed off. We got off because Jesus stepped up.

The crime of sin that you and I commit on a regular basis is a crime against God, and therefore, God is the first victim of our crimes. David says to God famously in Psalms 51:4 (NLT):

“Against You, and You alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgement against me is just.”

David understands his guilt and he understands who he’s harmed. He also understands that whatever punishment he receives is just. And if you know the story of David and Bathsheba, you know that even though God didn’t take his life, there was still a price to pay (2 Samuel 12:13-24). When you and I sin, we can throw ourselves on the mercy of God’s court and sometimes we won’t pay as harshly as we should for what we’ve done, but that will never, ever be because God dropped any charges against us.

As David said, the evidence is against us. We have fallen short of His glory, just as the Bible says we will (Romans 3:23). Hebrews 9:22 (NLT) tells us that “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness”. This means that charges are never dropped as it relates to our wrongdoing. Somebody had to pay.

When we reduce grace, mercy, redemption, and forgiveness to mere catchphrases, we minimize the work of the cross. We minimize the sacrifice that Jesus made for us by taking our place on the cross. He who knew no sin became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) can be translated, He who did nothing wrong paid for the wrong that was done. No, Jesus didn’t drop the charges, Jesus took the charges.

Again, I’m not trying to ruin anybody’s fun, but the church must always remember what’s true. Isaiah 53:5-6 (NLT) says:

“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.”

We must remember that if everybody gets away with it, then grace is rendered unnecessary. The moment that we forget the fact that someone else paid for what we did, that’s the moment we begin to live recklessly, and that’s the moment that we become ungrateful. I hate to be a wet blanket, but in the midst of our having fun, let us never forget what was done for us on Calvary just to get a few likes, laughs, shares, and amens. Be creative, but be sound. Have a laugh, but have respect for the truth of The Word.

Hebrews 12:2 reminds us that He “endured the cross, disregarding its shame”. My brothers and sisters, there are no dropped charges for the Christian. If I can borrow another catchphrase, “Jesus paid it all”. That one fits because He really and truly did pay for our sins. The nail prints in His hands and feet tells us that someone faced punishment for what we did. Embrace your freedom and celebrate your escape. But in the midst of your celebration, never forget how you got free in the first place.

Author, Christian, Church, Ministry, Religion

Yes, Jesus loves me. It really is that simple!

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Every now and then, we misapply the phrase “It don’t take all of that”. Many times, we’ll say it without understanding what it really does take. For example, my praise may seem a bit much to a person that has no idea what I’ve been through. However, there are times when the statement is apt. There are times when we make something complicated, when a straightforward explanation is all that’s needed.

When I was young, a staple song at Vacation Bible School every summer and even in Sunday School was “Yes, Jesus Loves Me”. This simple song was reassurance to young Christians, as well as old, that Jesus loved them. As we got to the end of the chorus, we sang “for the Bible tells me so”. In the most simple and direct terms, we saw that God’s love was evident through His Son, and the verification of that fact is found in His Word.

If God’s love can be outlined in such a simplistic way, why have we begun to make the work of evangelism and disciple making so complicated? I don’t know about you, but I’m still blown away when I read two particular passages in the Bible: John 3:16-17 and Romans 5:6-8. It’s in John 3:16-17 that I see just how much God loves me. So much so, that He gave His Son to save my soul, rather than sending His Son to condemn me.

However, it’s in Romans 5:6-8 that I see just what type of person God is in love with. It’s in those verses that I see that He loved me while I was rejecting Him. It’s in those verses in Romans 5:6-8 that I see that God doesn’t love me because of me, He loves me in spite of me. It’s a love that’s difficult to comprehend, but somehow, simple to explain.

As the church looks to carry out the Great Commission, we must be careful not to complicate why people need to come to Jesus and what it means to be saved. We must be mindful not to over market and over strategize what God has made simple in His Word. I know we desire to remain relevant in an ever changing world, but we must do so without sending out the wrong message.

We can’t cloud God’s love with a whole lot of minutia. After all, whatever we have to say about the Word of God is small time if Jesus never comes into the picture. As we often say in Baptist circles, if you haven’t mentioned the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, no matter what you have said, you haven’t preached the Gospel.

The message of salvation is centered around the fact that yes, Jesus loves us. Our Bible tells us just how He demonstrated that love. However, we have perverted the Gospel with prosperity preaching and our own theological aspirations. In an effort to show people how financial benevolent our God is or in our quest to get an education just so that we can appear to be the smartest and most spiritual people in the room, we walked away from the simplicity of the Gospel. We’ve taken an incredibly complicated love story, one that was made simple with just a few Bible verses, and made it hard to access for some people.

We have become as Pharisees, who harped on the law so much that the coming Messiah was no longer in their view. To those that were seeking salvation, it no doubt seemed impossible to be saved, because disobeying the law came with a curse. The Pharisees had the challenge of being face to face with Jesus, and therefore, they needed to be convinced of who He was. We, however, have the whole story. We know the outcome.

In our quest to be clever, we’ve complicated Christ. In our reach to be relevant, we’ve reduced being redeemed. If we’re not careful, we’ll weigh people down with rules, regulations, and religious activities, while causing them to miss the simple fact that we are saved by grace, and that grace comes from the fact that yes, Jesus does love us. If we’re not careful, we’ll attempt to exclude people from the Kingdom because they don’t dress like we do, worship like we do, sing like we do, minister like we do, or serve like we do. If we’re not careful, we’ll do our best to cause people to try and get saved according to our mandates, and not by simply believing that Jesus saves.

Again, in its simplest terms, God loved us so much that He sacrificed His Son. His Son then died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, rose on the third day, ascended to The Father, and He’s coming back again. He’s not coming back just for the rich. He’s not coming back just for those that have been to seminary. He’s not coming back just for pastors with large churches or ministries, authors with radio broadcasts, or even those that are uniquely anointed to do Kingdom work. He’s coming back for a church of believers. He’s coming back to get a people that He loves and that love Him in return. How do I know? Because the Bible tells me so. It really is just that simple.

Christian, Church, Ministry, Religion

There’s Still Power In Grassroots Ministry

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Grassroots or small ministry has become a dirty word amongst the people. These days, everybody wants to start at the top. Even those that are on the bottom have aspirations that are beyond their meager beginnings. It seems as if they haven’t even asked God if they’re where they’re supposed to be before telling God where they want to go. Nobody wants to plant anymore. We all want to go straight to harvest season.

Nobody wants to be that “little church on the corner” anymore, but little church principles are sorely needed these days. We need to reconnect with that sense of community that we once had as the church. It’s not that everybody knew your business, but there were some people that were concerned about your business, meaning that they cared about what you were going through.

These days, we seem to be isolated both inside and outside of the church. People want to be elevated these days, not so that they can be of greater service to the body, but so that they can be isolated from the body. Believe it or not, the higher you go within the body, the more you should be seen by the body, and not just on the screen, but on the scene. Jesus did His ministry amongst the people, not apart from them.

At the end of 2018, God arrested my attention once again concerning my little corner of the ministry world. I was wrapping up my 12th book and things were going well in my radio ministry. God told me to stay focused. It’s not that I wasn’t or that I was looking to go somewhere that He hadn’t ordered, but it seems as if God was making a preemptive strike on my conscience. He reminded me that He had me exactly where He wanted me in this little corner of the world. Keep writing. Keep delivering The Word across the airwaves. Keep preaching when called upon. Keep teaching when called upon. He reminded me that this is what’s need. A grassroots approach. Don’t turn to the left or right, and by all means, don’t look to see what others are doing. Do what you’ve been called to do.

I’ve taught in places where there were close to 100 people. I’ve preached before 300 people as well. I know, that may not seem like much to some, but I’m not here to exaggerate numbers. I’m on the radio each week in 6 states, potentially speaking to over 1 million people. I even have a podcast. However, some of my best days as a preacher/teacher have come in rooms where there were less than 10 people. There’s something about seeing the impact of the Word of God on people’s faces up close and personal that brings joy to my soul.

Many have perverted their God-given gifts because they’d rather be on a flyer than in the will of God. We can’t allow our ambitions to get in the way of His mission! Our call is to be more attracted to The Light than we are to the spotlight. Even if you’re on the flyer, why are you on the flyer? What are you bringing? We should never look to be the main attraction on God’s program. It should be our desire to be intentional servants.

The church has become more theatrical than therapeutic. It is the job of an entertainer to find out what people want and like and bring it to the stage, screen, or studio. It is the job of the church to identify what the people need and bring it to their attention, whether they like it or not. The fact is, pleasing in His sight isn’t always pleasing to our ears, but we must surrender anyway.

One of the things I find puzzling in ministry is that many of us know what’s not right, and yet, we continue to do it and encourage it. Even in our large spaces, we see the deficiencies in our people, and we continue to make them weaker. A challenging word isn’t just a word that challenges the faith of the believer as they pray for material increase. A challenging word is a word that echoes 1 Peter 1:16 which tells us to be holy because the God we serve is holy.

In my 2016 book “Are We Still Making Disciples”, I no doubt ruffled some feathers when I suggested that we care more about promoting our events and even ourselves than we do about making disciples, which is the primary function of the church. I made it clear then, and I’ll repeat myself here, I have nothing against promoting the church and having a marketing plan. However, I do have something against promoting us above the church.

Whether it be preacher, evangelist, praise team, singing group, or whatever, nothing should take precedence over Jesus. I stated that anything that happened in the church should be looking to do 3 things: Glorify God, get someone saved, and keep someone connected to God. The question was asked, if people leave your event, will they witness about Jesus or the event itself?

It was John The Baptist who said in the Gospel of John 3:30 that Christ must increase, but he himself must decrease. He wasn’t saying that so that he could end his ministry. He was saying that so that the focus of his ministry could have its proper preeminence. “Church” is still popularity driven, but evangelism is still very much a grassroots effort and souls will always be converted one by one, even if a group of people all get baptized on the same day. Even as 3000 were saved in Acts 2:41, we can’t lose sight of the fact that 3000 individual choices were made, and those 3000 were all there as a result of some grassroots efforts on the part of the Disciples.

The challenge for the church is that we recognize when we have become more popular than Christ and shift the focus. The moment they’re drawn by our name instead of the name of Jesus, we must shift the focus. Come off the flyer if you must or do away with it all together, but make sure that Jesus has preeminence. This may shrink the crowds, and dare I say, force us to be more grassroots in our approach to be sure that we’re drawing the right crowds for the right cause, but being set apart and peculiar doesn’t often lend itself to large crowds anyway.

It was the late singer John Lennon who famously said in 1966 that his band The Beatles were “bigger than Jesus”. People were outraged at such a statement and begin to ban The Beatles music in various places. However, the point Lennon was making went over their heads. He wasn’t suggesting that it was the goal of the band to be bigger than Jesus. He was pointing out the absurdity that they were probably more important to some Christians than their Savior.

The church is still facing this crisis because we’ve made some of the things that we do in our churches “bigger than Jesus”. Many won’t even attend a church function if it doesn’t seem like there’s a possibility that it will be standing room only. Worse yet, some ministry leaders won’t put on an event unless they believe they can draw a certain number of people or get certain people on program. I submit to you that if we sometimes do it small, we’ll find out who’s really coming for the right reason. You’ll find out who’ll come out for an event versus who’ll come out for an encounter!

We’ve rebelled against being small, but effective. In an effort to be seen by man, we’re missing the people that we’ve been commissioned to serve. Grassroots isn’t a dirty word. Small group Bible study isn’t an exercise in futility. We must always remember the basics. Believe it or not, God still has a heart for the remnant. He has yet to despise small beginnings. If you start small, but you start in His name, He’ll still do great things within your ministry. That little church on the corner still has power and she should never abandon her call.