Change
10/1/2005 8:00:23 AM
Finally, the North wind blows! You can't underestimate how much can change with the changing of the seasons. Summer's mindless heat is swallowed up in autumn's thoughtful breeze. Suddenly, there is a hop in my step. A curl at the end of my lips that can almost be described as a smile. Just in time, I feel renewed; I feel hopeful; I feel alive again. How can a simple change in the weather cause such a change deep inside of me. My trick football knee certainly can gauge a weather change. Perhaps my soul can as well. This is the time of year when the three remaining feast days from Leviticus come around. Jesus fulfilled the four earlier feasts by historically becoming the object of each feast. I believe He will do the same with the remaining three. Somehow, this time of year always makes my soul cry even more: “Come Lord Jesus.” I always strike the balance, knowing that God is merciful and wants none to perish. He is patient. But still, one day, He is going to make good on His promise and fulfill those remaining feasts of Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. Talk about change then! Even so Lord, come!

Brother Deek
10/3/2005 8:10:32 AM
I'm going to miss Brother Deek. He's a wheel-chair bound man who is anything but bound in his spirit. Every morning, Brother Deek, an elderly gentleman with a degenerative skeletal disease, wakes up and spends about two hours trying to clean himself and dress himself. On Sundays, he has to get up earlier to take a bath and drag himself out of that tub and dress for church. It is a monumental struggle to get ready for when I drop by his house, an hour or more before church, to pick him up for services. He refuses to use his wheel-chair to go to service. Perhaps he’s making a statement of faith or something; I’m not sure. But he uses a walker to slowly make his way to the front of our church and sit up close where he’ll be able to hear what’s going on. As often as not, he will fall a couple of times along the way. All of our members pitch in to steady him or pick him up if he falls. No matter how many times he falls, he refuses any suggestion that he use his wheel-chair. When we drop him off after church, he gets back into his wheelchair and wheels himself back into his house where he lives alone. Everything Brother Deek does is a struggle. He shakes violently due to his illness. Opening a jar, cleaning a dish, microwaving a meal, and every other daily requirement is a new battle for him. Yet, he has lived alone and done for himself all this time. That’s changing. His daughters showed up yesterday. They are taking him to Oklahoma to stay with them. He doesn’t want to go. He loves his church and church family. The simple truth is that Brother Deek is getting worse and needs his children to help him now. I am going to miss him. I can’t tell you how often I’ve pointed out to the slackers and the tardy how dedication to something can make a difference. How those of us who have our health and can swoop in and out of service at a moments notice take for granted what God has given us. I stopped listening to the excuses of those who miss church for the various physical discomforts that come up. If you want to be there, you will be there. Brother Deek taught me that lesson. I have learned so much from him. About dedication, about contentment, about character. I am going to miss him.

Off The Bench
10/4/2005 9:36:33 AM
Growing up, I was always very successful in sports. I settled on football as my primary sport because my size lent to much success on the gridiron. I always felt like I was better than anyone else on the field...that nobody could beat me. I felt big, strong and vital, an important member of my team. I got so overweight as an adult that I slowly became a prisoner of my own body. So heavy that I couldn't walk much further than a hundred yards without having to stop, frantically trying to catch my breath. I've lived that way for years now. I have struggled to make my hospital visits, to shop at the grocery store, to do yard work. I was one step away from being literally bed-ridden, unable to do much but shuffle around the house. Two months ago I started working out again and losing weight. It's going great. Daniel Cole, a very close friend, is working as my personal trainer. While swimming the other day he said something that has stuck with me: "It's time to get back in the game, Thompson. It's time to be the best player on the field again." In such a short time, I have already seen a world of difference in my stamina, my strength, and my dedication. My old competitive nature is kicking in. My strong physical and mental frame-work is still there, and God is using it to hurry the process along. Watch out, world! Number 70 is coming off the bench and getting back in the game!

My Body Guards
10/6/2005 12:24:07 PM
The Jena juvenile prison is in the news again. It seems the prisoners from the Katrina area who were sent up here to our facility are complaining about the treatment they are getting from the guards. I have no idea how factual the accusations are, but I can tell you this: I met a crew from New York who are filling in as guards, and they were intimidating. They were all so tall. I am an above average tall man. Way above average weight. These guys made me look small. One was about seven feet tall and at least four hundred pounds. He was huge. All of them were very tall. 6'9", 6'5", 6'5", 6'2". The last one was the shortest one. They looked like a professional basketball team instead of a group of prison guards. I certainly wouldn't want to be on their bad side. I'm glad they are on our side: that's for sure. I would feel one hundred percent protected if they were my body guards. You know what? God has released angels, who the Bible says are ministering spirits sent to the heirs of salvation, to watch out for me. I have me a crew of body/spirit/soul guards who are even bigger than this crew from New York. I suddenly feel very safe.

No Room At The Inn
10/7/2005 8:17:03 AM
It's less than two hours before my scheduled departure for much needed vacation time alone with my wife. As of this moment, we have no hotel accomodations. It's incredible. There are no rooms in the entire state. We've called every major city. In fact, the only room we've found available at all is in our own city. That would just be too odd, though. I could imagine my congregants passing by thinking, "I wonder what Brother Thompson's truck is doing parked at that hotel in town...Hmmmmm." So, it looks like Laura and I will either have to postpone our vacation or actually visit family down South again. Sigh. I love my family, but I love spending time alone with my wife even more. It gives us a chance to fall back in love every time we get in my truck together to make that trek to our own special hotel room all to ourselves...no visitors, no phones, no work. I guess I could always park my truck at the house and we could walk to the hotel in town. Nah! That would be foolish. Wouldn't it?

No More Gimmicks
10/10/2005 6:22:17 AM
I preached at another church on Sunday morning. Every congregation is different, yet I was more impressed by the similarities between the various groups than the differences. It seems that everyone is searching for something that's ever elusive. Our hopes and dreams always seem to be just beyond our reach. Something is wrong with that picture. I can't accept that it is God's plan for us to always be lacking wholeness or missing the mark. Nobody is perfect, but there should be more people who are moving towards the perfection [maturity] that comes in Christ. Something's missing out there. Too many are discontented with "Christianity." I am usually dissappointed at what passes for "Christianity" myself. As a people, we need to find our way through the religious maze out there that is draining people of their faith and trust in God. No more gimmicks. No more shortcuts to glory. We need some honest-to-goodness "loving our brother," "forgiving those who trespass aginst us," and "doing unto others." We need discipline in this walk of obedience He's called us to make.

Groaning!
10/12/2005 7:18:21 AM
The world appears to be unraveling. Floods, fires, earthquakes, famine, and pestilence: waves are roaring and hearts are failing! What is going on here? The Bible tells us that the creation itself groans in expectation of the revealing of the sons of God. My spirit groans as well this day. I am looking up, awaiting my redemption…awaiting the One who promised to come back for us. Soon, those of us who have hidden His Word in our hearts will shine light lights in the firmament. Our star will arise and shine and this feeling of not belonging, this feeling of discomfort at the path this has taken; all of it will be dissolved in one moment of justification and recognition. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Hunting Season
10/13/2005 7:41:43 AM
Where have all the squirrels gone? My mom lives just a few houses down. Our neighborhood is always awash in the little critters. In fact, I have an ongoing war with a gang of squirrels who refuse to leave my bird feeders alone. They are vicious, too. They chew the perches right off the feeders. Anyway, I haven't been seeing many of them lately. Yesterday, mom commented that she hasn't seen the squirrels. Usually, she has six or more in her big yard, playing in her hardwoods and pines. We've counted twelve in her yard before. I've seen six or seven at the most in my own yard, scurrying along the fenses, hanging from my bird feeders. *sigh* Where have they gone? Certainly they have no way of knowing that it's squirrel season in Louisiana. Do they? I live in the city limits so hunting is forbidden. If these squirrels are smart enough to determine that it's hunting season how come they aren't smart enough to know that? I've been trying to shush them away for months, and now that they are gone, I am missing them. Do not look for deeper meaning or a life lesson here. I'm just aggravated at these little beasts. When I don't want them they refuse to leave. When I want them around they slink into the dark woods somewhere. *sigh*

Babel Again
10/14/2005 7:43:48 AM
Tony Miller, a brilliant young friend of mine who was a prodigy in my youth group years ago, sent me an email discussing the use of the cell phone as it relates to endtimes. His email was outstanding. I wanted to put an excerpt from it here for you to read:

"I had an interesting thought this morning..... just as I finished reading an article about the Japanese governments plan to use a Voice Over Internet Protocol (V.O.I.P.) to provide telephone services to cell phone users.

Apparently, there's a race to develop this technology first... as if the world is not already sufficiently connected. What struck me as being more significant was that the focus of this monumental effort for connectivity is being placed on the "consumers" demand for more affordable cell phone services - for more reliable and awe-inspiring features such as; low-delay/high quality video streaming and G.P.S location / identification tools. Soon every cell phone will be a supercomputing device doubles as a live video camera and GPS locater.

I have to admit the idea is very appealing. Until that is, I consider the fact that man's one true previous attempt toward globalization was soundly rejected by God (see Tower Of Babel) and have it on good authority that the next one will be too.

As I ponder the simple cell phone I can't help but wonder about the collective role that all these communication technologies will have in fulfilling end-time prophecy. Not to exploit a play on words but within the coarse a few short years the landscape of the entire civilized world has become dotted with cell-phone towers - each one (quite literally) a Tower of "BABEL" in it's own right.

It seems to me entirely plausible that if ever again men are required to fall down and worship a golden image, the music notifying them to do so may just as easily be a distictive ring-tone than anything else."

My Soul Is Vexed
10/18/2005 6:45:02 AM
My soul is vexed. I keep hearing things that test my faith in the so-called "Christian" community. Money has become the focus of many. Rarely do I see people seeking first the Kingdom of God. We do for money things we would never think to do for the Kingdom. We sacrifice for a paycheck what we wouldn't consider going through for the Kingdom. If we serve either God or mammon, how can so many keep seeking both without feeling the wrath of the other? The result is a reprobate church world. The word "reprobate" means "without judgement." Churchianity is breeding a generation of converts who have no judgement. Who not only do not know right from wrong but who could care less if they are wrong as long convenience is served. The justifications for sin being spouted by some is disheartening because I know that there are so many weak, young Christians who will love the enticing reasoning that allows them to continue abiding in the flesh. I feel like Lot in the days leading up to Sodom's fall. I feel like Noah in the moment when the first drops of rain began to spill from the sky. My soul is vexed.

Fifteen Years Of Marriage
10/20/2005 7:53:51 AM
Today is my fifteenth wedding anniversary. I am so thankful to God for bringing Laura into my life. She is so perfect for me. I remember when everyone told me on the eve of my marriage that if we could just get through that first year we would be alright. Everybody has problems, I was told. Laura and I didn't have a cross word for the first five years of our marriage. Of course, we've had our share of donnybrooks since! Actually, I can count on my fingers the number of times she's dissappointed me. I only wish she could say the same about me. I love my wife. And I thank God for fifteen beautiful years.

Feeling Squirrelly
10/24/2005 12:22:23 PM
I woke up this morning to the whipping winds of the North. Finally, this feels like autumn. We have had a couple of hours of seventy degree weather, but this is the first day we've greeted the dawning sun with temps in the fifties. After my workout, I went home and my nephew was out in the yard, gathering sticks from beneath our hickory trees. It seems that everyone in the neighborhood is outside in their yards like the deer which move about and the squirrels which hop around on cold days like this. Those fuzzy-tailed menaces are scurrying around all over the city, dreaming of what it must be like way out in the slues and bayous beyond the forest’s edge. We built a fire upon which Clint cooked himself a sizzling rib-eye steak. I craved one of my own, but stuck to my guns. There is no way I'm going to waste a workout like the one I had this morning--not even to celebrate fifty degrees weather and hickory smoke. Clint grinned like a child on Christmas day as he worked that fire to the exact heat to maximize the flavor of his rib-eye. We laughed and gossiped about football until the moment of truth when he doused Leah and Perrin's on his carefully cooked feast. What a wonderful day! Today, it would have been good to be a squirrel.

Relevance
10/27/2005 7:09:13 AM
One of the most difficult truths about ministry that a pastor will ever learn is the importance of relevance. I have seen some extremely talented men and women struggle with results because they failed to understand the need for relevance in their community. The primary culprit is the ever popular “How To Make A Big Old Church Like Mine” seminars that pastors flock to in an effort to discover the secret to ministry. They rush back to their churches and try to implement what worked so well for others. The problem with that approach is basic: What worked for one pastor in his specific circumstance may or may not work for you. In fact, it is highly unlikely you will have an exact circumstance from which can emerge duplicate success. You are different than him. Your city is different than his. Your congregation is different than theirs. The variables make all the difference. That pastor succeeded because he delivered what was needed in the right place at the right time with the right anointing. His secret to ministry was discovering what works for him, his city, and his congregation.

I counsel frustrated ministers who just can’t understand why they aren’t being successful. They are working as hard as they can. They are practicing music for hours. They are developing their talents and learning their craft. Why aren’t the results better? The first place I examine is relevance. What difference does it make if your praise band is playing the most kicking contemporary music out there if your congregation is moved by traditional worship music? I was once told by a pastor that his congregation needed to stretch. They were too rigid. They were too stubborn to experience the new music that was sweeping the landscape. He decided to lead them to a “new level of praise.” So his praise band rocked the house every Sunday until there was very little audience left in the house to hear them rock. Who was being rigid? Who was being stubborn? He failed to account for his demographics. If indeed his praise band is as talented as appears, just think of how effective they could be playing the best traditional praise and worship in the city! The common response is: “That’s just not my style.” Well, that is the same response the community is having to that pastor. Something has to give. Someone needs a lesson in relevance or a ticket to a place or culture better suited for his “style.”

The real secret to ministry is to be relevant in people’s lives. If you minister to their needs, they will come. If you are reaching out to them instead of expecting them to reach out to you, if you are going to them instead of waiting for them to come, if you build a safe place for them instead of a safe place for you, your church will grow because its function in the Body of Christ is active. You block the flow of the Spirit to your church when it becomes a place where only people like you can feel welcomed. There is a reason tiny villages don’t have mega-supermarkets: They don’t need one. The little country store on the corner is all they need. The supermarket may be run by the top manager in the entire franchise, but it will never do as well as the supermarkets located in major cities. AARP doesn’t advertise during Saturday morning cartoons. They don’t sell feminine products on ESPN. A local church must discover its purpose by being relevant to its community.

When Guffawing Turns To Worship
10/31/2005 1:00:45 PM
At the end of last night's service we held communion or The Lord's Supper, as some call it. These moments are generally touching and moving, at the least. Something very special happened last night that made this communion even more special. As some of the congregants were giving thanks for what God has done in their lives, I encouraged all of the rest to count their blessings and give God praise for His goodness. It's not that they didn't. It's just that it wasn't done with the passion that perhaps God deserved in that moment. There was this little child--she couldn't be more than a couple months old, just old enough to sit up some, crawl a bit, and look around--who smiled brightly and lifted her hands above her head as though to worship God. Others noticed it too. There was much guffawing and sighing among the people. It was a beautiful sight. It inspired me to say, "Ahhh, and the Bible says that a little child shall lead them. Oh that the rest of us would lift our hands in worship as this little child. Even a baby can tell when it's in the presence of the Lord." On cue, as though she was listening to every word I said, that little cherub lifted her hands again and raised her head, gazing into the matchless eyes of her Heavenly Father. The congregation erupted in praise. A very special moment indeed.