Month: January 2017

Someone Has to Break the Cycle of Retaliation – Reflection on MLK Jr

Screen Shot 2017-01-13 at 2.42.50 PM.pngSomeone has to break the cycle of retaliation…

Let that sink in. Read it again.

Someone has to break the cycle of retaliation.

A week doesn’t go by without stories of hatred, bigotry, violence, rape, atrocities committed against humanity. Stories bombard us from abroad and from our own communities.

One way to respond is to build bigger and better walls. Let’s protect what we can. Better alarm systems. Better lighting. More surveillance. Bigger walls. More guns. Keep the evil out.

That’s one way to respond.

And violence and atrocities continue to march on. Nothing changes.

Someone has to break the cycle of retaliation.

The cross of Jesus Christ is the ultimate breaking of the cycle of vengeance and retaliation. The cross is God saying, “I’ll take it all. Bring it! Bring the hatred. Bring the violence. Bring the evil. Bring the violence. Bring the frustration. Bring the pain. Bring it! I’ll take it all!”

On Good Friday, Jesus bore the brunt of sin and evil. Jesus bore it all.

And by rising from the grave on resurrection Sunday, Jesus crushed hatred, violence, frustration, pain, and evil.

What our world needs is not better ways to keep people out and apart. What we need, and what our world needs is a people called and a people who will answer the call the break the cycle of evil and retaliation with the hope and love of God in Jesus Christ.

May we be such people. May this be the generation that turns the cycle of violence and retaliation.

Whatever You Do, Don’t Follow Your Heart

Screen Shot 2017-01-12 at 3.13.48 PM.png“What does your heart tell you?”

“Follow your heart.”

Sounds right. It makes for great movies and stories. The main character pursuing what they know to be right, but their heart being tugged in a different direction…and in the critical moment, they choose to follow after their heart…and everything ends up happy ever after.

Everything…happy…ever after.

Yeah. That happens in the movies. That rarely happens in real life.

The problem with the heart is that the heart is wrong more often than not. At one time the heart thought Lisa was the one…then it thought Jane was the one…then at another time, the heart was sure Jenny was the one…The heart lies. The heart has no clue.

The heart has no boundaries. The heart has no concern for morals. The heart doesn’t have any other loyalty other than getting its desires met NOW!

Thing is, people have followed after their hearts and left their spouse and children, leaving devastation in its wake. Why? Because it felt so right. I was just following my heart.

People have followed their hearts and ignored all the warning signs, all the statistics, all reason that clearly showed it couldn’t possibly work out and find themselves in impossible and violent relationships.

The heart can’t be trusted.

So what do you do?

Do what’s good and right.

Things are good and right because…they are.

So please…for your sake…whatever you do…do not follow your heart. Do what’s right and good.

God is Up To Something Great in 2017 at the Little Church on the Prairie and Lakewood Grace

Screen Shot 2017-01-11 at 4.13.47 PM.png

“Then Joshua said to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you’” (Joshua 3:5).

At the closing of my annual review with the personnel committee and the session, I shared, “I believe we are in a fantastic place to see God do amazing things in our future. I believe the future is bright for the Little Church on the Prairie. I believe that the best days for the Little Church are still ahead of us.”

It’s normal for leaders to say such things about the organizations they lead.

But I don’t think this is just leadership fluff. I’m not just saying these things because I think it sounds like what leaders ought to say. I say these things because I believe this is where God has positioned us.

I believe the Little Church on the Prairie is perfectly positioned to see God do amazing things in the future. I say that based on these four factors:

  1. We are healthy

    I work with congregations in the denomination by coaching their leadership. I have seen many churches and worked with my share. The Little Church on the Prairie is one of the healthiest congregations around. We are not perfect. No church is. But we are healthy. We are able to love one another through difficult times. We name and call relational “violations” when they occur. We find Godly ways to disagree and find a way forward. The Little Church is a healthy congregation.

  1. We know where we’re going

    We have a clear vision of who and what we’re trying to achieve. We have a goal by 2016 to be a congregation of 600 worshipers in 3 worship services. We will continue to strive to provide excellent ministries to the Baby Boomers and Builders here at the Little Church campus. And we have launched Lakewood Grace at Harrison Prep to reach the millennials and generation X. We will continue to do this through excellent worship, FOCUS Groups, outreach/mission, and family ministries.

  1. We have fantastic people

    Most leaders say that their organization has fantastic people, and when you see how they operate and treat one another, it’s clear that there is much dysfunction. That’s not the case at the Little Church. Again, we are not perfect. But we recognize that. We are a church and a staff who say, “We’re faced with some challenges. But we’re in this together! Let’s figure out how to serve God and God’s people together.” That’s what makes the Little Church people such fantastic people. We know we’re going to work it out. And we will work things out together. We don’t bolt and run when things get hard. When things get hard, Little Church people roll up their sleeves and get to work.

  1. We are debt free, and we have a strong financial base

    The Little Church is very fortunate to have a working facility that is completely debt free. The recent success with our capital campaign where you pledged over $800k in the next three years, and your continued strong support for the yearly budget positions the Little Church in a strong financial position.

All these factors place the Little Church in an ideal position to see God do amazing things in our near future. But most of all, the best days are still ahead of the Little Church on the Prairie and Lakewood Grace because God is at work here. God is up to something great at the Little Church and Lakewood Grace in 2017!

In Christ,

Pastor James <><