We need to answer the question “Who am I?”. Am I real or fake? Many today are wearing costumes all year round pretending to be something they are not, living in a delusional world. When we do this we lose the ability to relate to others honestly and openly.
The result loneliness and isolation.
The Question raises more questions:
Are you real?
Are you phony?
Are you genuine?
Are you are fraud?
Are you who you say you are?
Are you as you present yourself?
Are you one thing in public and another thing in private?
Are you wearing a costume?
Are you wearing masks of deception?
Are you open and honest?
Are you closed and deceptive?
Text: Proverbs 14:8 “The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.”
Swindoll states:
There is just one major difficulty in this mask-wearing game- it isn’t real. It therefore forces us to skate rather then relate. It promotes phony-baloney, make-a-good-impression attitude instead of an honest realism that relieves and frees. What’s worse, as we hide the truth behind a veneer polished to a high gloss, we become lonely instead of understood and loved for who we are. And the most tragic part of all is that the longer we do it, the better we get at it … and the more alone we remain in our hidden world of fear, pain, anger, insecurity, and grief–al those normal and natural emotions we hesitate to admit but that prove we are only human.
The result? Distance. Distance that makes you out of focus with me–removed from me by closed-off compartments that stay locked, keeping us from being able to know each other and, when and where necessary, to help each other (Dropping your Guard, page 10).
The process of being you:
1. Learn to recognize your masks
2. Remove the masks by becoming real and authentic.
3. Progresses to the point of loving, forgiving and accepting of others without a hitch.
Many of us mistakenly believe God does not want us to be Genuine or honest about our life. We somehow feel that if we become honest and open others and God may reject us. But the Word of God tells us that God does not want us to be superficial or something we are not, in our relationships with Him, with others, and with ourselves. David wrote, “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the innermost place (Ps. 51:6)
The Lord desires truth and openness at all levels of our life, and he desires us to experience His love, his authenticity, and it comes through His church as an example to the world.
So just be genuine and authentic! Be you – remember God made you!

Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived; Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all the others……, including Love. One day it was announced to all of the feelings that the island was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean. So all the feelings prepared their boats to leave. Love was the only one that stayed. She wanted to preserve the island until the last possible moment. When the island was almost totally under, Love decided it was time to leave. She began looking for someone to ask for help. Just then Richness was passing by in a grand boat. Love asked, “Richness, Can I come with you on your boat?” Richness answered, “I’m sorry, but there is a lot of silver and gold on my boat and there would be no room for you.” Then Love decided to ask Vanity for help who was passing in a beautiful vessel. Love cried out, “Vanity, help me please.” I can’t help you”, Vanity said, “You are all wet and will damage my beautiful boat.” Next, Love saw Sadness passing by. Love said, “Sadness, please let me go with you.” Sadness answered, “Love, I’m sorry, but, I just need to be alone now.” Then, Love saw Happiness. Love cried out, “Happiness, please take me with you.” But Happiness was so overjoyed that he didn’t hear Love calling to him. Love began to cry. Then, she heard a voice say, “Come Love, I will take you with me.” It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that she forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived on land the elder went on his way. Love realized how much she owed the elder. Love then found Knowledge and asked, “Who was it that helped me?” “It was Time”, Knowledge answered. “But why did Time help me when no one else would?”, Love asked. Knowledge smiled and with deep wisdom and sincerity, answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is.”

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Stressed?

Dr. Colbert states in Stress Less, “In my opinion, stress is the pressures of life and how one perceives, believes, reacts, and copes with these pressures” (7). He gives us all some sound advice in managing the stress in our lives so that it does not drown us and put us over the edge: He first tells us that we have to get control of our thoughts if we ever want any hope in managing stress! He notes that we can transform our thoughts and our thinking patterns. He tells us that we can alter our perceptions of life and its stressors. He tells us we can quit fighting against the stressors and learn to be able to ride them like a surfer rides the waves of the ocean.

The Bible tells us that getting control of our thought patterns is possible. Listen to what it says in Philippians 4:4-9: 4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Notice what it says in verses 4-7! Rejoice- choose to rejoice and not be stressed and then depressed! This is the first step to changing our perceptions about life. Do not be anxious- In other words trust God to work out everything in your life and learn to relax in the faithfulness of the Lord. Let go of the anxiety of stress. Let go of its continuous drip into your mind and heart.
Pray – when you are anxious in life learn to ask for the Lord’s help so that you can calm down.
Pray and ask the Lord to change your thinking and your perceptions about this life. Be thankful – in other words learn to appreciate the good things in your life. Learn to remember the blessings that the Lord has given you! Learn to say, “Thank You to the Lord!” This act of praise will change your perceptions! If you do these little things everyday then you will have peace the Word tells us. Maxwell stated, “What you do today determines what you will be tomorrow!”
If we learn the importance of doing these little things daily then it says God’s peace will guard our hearts and our minds. In other words this is great advice in preventing a heart attack in your life!

Dr. Colbert states, “According to the Mayo Clinic study of people with heart disease, psychological stress was the strongest predictor of future cardiac events” (13). He also noted, “In one ten-year study, people who were not able to manage their stress effectively had a 40% higher death rate than those who were ‘unstressed’” (13).

Also notice what Doctor Paul says in verses 5-9: Paul the Doctor of your well being says, “Do you want peace of mind and do you want to prevent a heart attack? Then think about the good things in life! Think on things that praiseworthy and excellent! Look at the positive side of life instead of always focusing on the negative side of life! It will prevent you from having a heart attack and from you losing your mind!” He agrees with Dr. Colbert – change you thinking and how you perceive those stressful events in life. The truth is we do have the power and the help from God to change the way we perceive our life and this world’s stressors.

Dr. Colbert quotes Deut. 30:19, 20a: “19This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life…” He states this about this text: “Choosing life means to choose God’s way over our way; it means to choose a relationship with Him and obedience to Him over our own self-centered desires. Most factors to stress are subject to your choice” (17).
The truth is what you perceive is really your reality! It’s all in how you decide to look at it!
The way we perceive stressful events impacts our bodies reaction to stress and our emotional state. Remember this – Stress is found in everyone’s life but the ones who manage it well go on and live long lives filled with contentment and peace. Remember this – Our perception of an event will make it either positive or negative. It is really up to us to decide which will gain control of our minds and hearts.

Dr. Colbert states, “Your perceptions determine how you see the world. The mind is similar to a computer –the brain is the hard drive, and the perceptions are the ‘software.’ It is the perception of people, demands, issues, and circumstances-not the actual people, demands, issues, or circumstances in and of themselves-that dictate how a person will react” (33). He notes several distorted thought patterns that people adopt in life.
I. All-or-nothing thinking – For this kind of person, there are no gray areas. Anything less than his standard of ‘perfect’ is worthless (38).
II. Overgeneralizations – A person who overgeneralizes thinks that if one thing goes wrong, nothing will ever go right for him ever (39).
III. A negative mental filter – This kind of distortional thinking causes a person to hear a half hour of praise after a job evaluation but leave the meeting depressed because of one area ‘needing improvement’ (39).
IV. Disqualifying the positive – Even more distortional is when a person takes a positive experience and turns it into a negative one. These kind of thinkers feel they are not worthy of any praise under any circumstances (40).
V. Jumping to conclusions – People who jump to conclusions predict the worst possible outcome or circumstance without having any, or all, the facts to support their conclusions (41).
a. Mind reading- you arbitrarily conclude that someone is reacting negatively to you, and you don’t bother to check this out (40).
b. The fortune teller error – you anticipate that things will turn out badly, and you feel convinced that your prediction is an already –established fact.
VI. Magnification (catastrophizing) or minimization – You exaggerate the importance of things (such as your goof up or someone else’s achievement), or you inappropriately shrink things until they appear tiny (your own desirable qualities or the other fellow’s imperfections).
VII. Emotional reasoning – You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are: “I feel it, therefore it must be true.” (41).
VIII. Fixed rule thinking- This person is a ‘should,’ ‘must,’ or ‘ought to’ person. He confines people and events to his rules and fails to realize the fact that he can’t force anyone to adhere to them. The more rigid the rules, the greater the person’s disappointment. That disappointment usually plays out as worry, depression. Frustration, irritation, or guilt (43).
IX. Labeling and mislabeling – A person who attaches a negative label to himself or someone else tends to do so because of his own low self-esteem (43).
X. Personalization – This kind of thinking shifts the blame of an outcome on self. Unfortunately in our society, many children who come from dysfunctional homes become trapped in this kind of thinking: “Daddy left mommy because I was bad” (44).
XI. Life is fair, and everybody is entitled to a good life – The truth is life is not fair. (45).
XII. I need to be liked and accepted by everyone- Truth is not everybody will like you (45).
XIII. People should behave properly – If you expect other people to always behave toward you in the way you consider ‘proper’ you will live in a state of frustration, anger and stress (45).
XIV. The worst outcome will probably occur – The worst outcome is rarely what comes to pass. Worrying about things beyond your control leads to excessive stress (45).
XV. I am unable to change the way I am – This belief is guaranteed to lead to stress (46).

Dr. Colbert notes that these distortional thoughts and beliefs are rooted in the thought that life owes us something. But he states, “There is nothing written in the cosmos of the Word of God that declares this to be true. Life owes you nothing; you owe life something” (47)! The truth is a lot of our stress comes from us allowing the faulty thinking to take root in our minds and in our hearts. Proverbs 23:7a NKJV states, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…”

We think we know where God lives.
We think we know what He likes, and are sure we know what He dislikes.

We have studied God’s Word and His old love letters to the churches so much that some of us claim to know all about God. But now people like you and me around the world are beginning to hear a voice to them with persistent but piercing repetition in the stillness of the night:

“I’m not asking you how much you know about me.
I want to ask you, ‘Do you really know me?
Do you really want Me?”

Tenney, God Chasers – chapter 1

The book has many other great insight and I encourage you to read it!

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Cor. 3:17 NIV

MOTTO OF MINISTRY:
TOGETHER REACHING HIGHER

THE CHURCH I SEE:
I SEE A CHURCH THAT IS A HOUSE OF PRAYER
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT SPENDS HOURS EACH DAY ON ITS KNEE’S IN PRAYER.
• I SEE A CHURCH FILLED AT ALTAR CALLS WITH SAINTS PRAYING AND SINNERS REPENTING TO GOD.
• I SEE A CHURCH IN PRAYER AND PRAISE SERVICES MOVING BY THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT PRAYER’S FOR ONE ANOTHER.
• I SEE A CHURCH WHICH FLOWS IN THE PROPHETIC
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT PRAYS FOR THEIR COMMUNITY.
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT MOVES MOUNTAINS WITH PRAYER.
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT PRAYS HUMBLY BEFORE THE LORD.
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT INTERCEDES FOR PEOPLE TO BE TRANSFORMED BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD.
I SEE A CHURCH THAT IS HEALTHY
• I SEE A CHURCH UNITED IN VISION AND PURPOSE INSTEAD OF A CHURCH WHERE EVERYONE DOES WHAT THEY FEEL IS RIGHT.
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT ENCOURAGES EACH OTHER RATHER THAN TEAR EACH OTHER DOWN.
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT FORGIVES EACH OTHER RATHER THAN CARRIES A SPIRIT OF OFFENSE FOR EACH OTHER.
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT LOVES TO HANG OUT WITH EACH OTHER INSTEAD OF AVOID EACH OTHER.
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT HELPS ONE ANOTHER RATHER THAN IGNORES EACH OTHER.
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT PRACTICES THE MATTHEW 18 PRINCIPLE.
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT IS FILLED WITH PEOPLE PRAISING EACH OTHER RATHER THAN GOSSIPING ABOUT THEM BEHIND THEIR BACKS.
• I SEE A CHURCH REACHING ITS COMMUNITY WITH COMPASSION AND SERVANTHOOD.
• I SEE A CHURCH FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE JOYFUL TO THE LORD.
• I SEE A CHURCH THAT FLOWS IN THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
I SEE A CHURCH THAT IS HOUSE OF HEALING
• I SEE A CHURCH FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HEALED OF PHYSICAL ILLNESSES.
• I SEE A CHURCH FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HEALED OF MENTAL ANGUISH.
• I SEE A CHURCH FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HEALED SPIRITUALLY.
• I SEE A CHURCH FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DELIVERED FROM ADDICTIONS.
• I SEE A CHURCH FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DELIVERED FROM SINS REPERCUSSIONS.
• I SEE A CHURCH FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHOSE FAMILIES HAVE BEEN HEALED.
• I SEE A CHURCH INVOLVED IN ITS COMMUNITY BRINGING HEALING TO THE HURTING.
• I SEE A CHURCH REACHING OVERSEAS AND ABROAD TO BRING HEALING TO OTHER CULTURES AND PEOPLE GROUPS.
• I SEE A CHURCH WORKING WITHIN ITS NATION TO BRING ABOUT A HEALING TO THE NATION.

I SEE THE CHURCH AS A PLACE MOVING THROUGH THE CYCLICAL PROCESS BELOW:
Christian Hills 7 core values:

1. EVANGELIZE. Christian Hills belief is that lost people matter to God; and, therefore, the church needs to focus on reaching them with the gospel. This will be accomplished by three means:
a. By relational evangelism, which is a process that takes time. This does not happen by just one time sharing the gospel with someone but by establishing a relationship with the lost individual. We will train our people in this type of evangelism with the program “Contagious Christian”. See Luke 5:30-32, Luke 15, and Matt. 18:14.
b. By anointed preaching and teaching which will change lives. This form of communication is God’s plan for explaining the who, what, when, where, and why of Christianity. See Romans 12:7, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, and James 1:23-25.
c. By being culturally relevant to the lost community yet remaining biblical in our approach. There will be no compromise of the gospel in any way. See 1 Cor. 9:19-23.

2. REALIZE. When the gospel is evangelized by the above process, lost individuals come to a realization that they need to become born again. This decision occurs by the following means:
a. Life change happens through the above process.
b. Christian Hills believes that life change is a result of the Holy Spirit working in individuals and the Holy Spirit using Christians.
c. Repentance occurs
d. Once a decision is made, discipleship enters the picture. This happens best in small groups and one-on-one relationships. We will offer classes to new believers to teach them the basics of Christianity. See Luke 6:12-13 and Acts 2:44-47.
e. We will stress mentoring of new believers.

3. BAPTIZE. Once the believer understands the meaning of their new birth, they will be encouraged to be water baptized and baptized in the Holy Spirit.
The two baptisms:
-Water Baptism (Romans 6)
-The Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2, Acts 19:1-22, 1 Cor. 12, 13, 14)

4. REVITALIZE. This has to do with the renewing of the mind. This is accomplished by four means:
a. By stressing that Christ’s followers are to strive toward continuous growth. See 2 Tim. 2:15, 3:14-16.
b. Christian Hills believes that the pursuit of full devotion to Christ and His great commission is normal for every believer. This includes teaching by the leadership on the concepts of stewardship, servant-hood, no pride, pursuit of God and finishing strong. See 1 Kings 11:4, Phil. 2:1-11, 2 Cor. 8:7.
c. Christian Hills will emphasize that excellence honors God and inspires people. This includes the concepts of evaluation, critical review with love, intensity in the cause of Christ, and excellence in serving the Lord. See Col. 3:17, Mal. 1:6-14 and Pr. 27:17.
d. Christian Hills will teach to all that the church is to be led by men and women with leadership gifts. This includes teachings on empowerment, servant leadership, delegation, strategic focus, and being intentional in our vision. See Neh. 1-2, Rom. 12:8 and Acts 6:2-5.

5. SPIRITUALIZE. Christian Hills believes that Christians are to demonstrate love, authenticity, and genuineness at all times. This will be achieved by four means:
a. The Matthew 18 principle will be enforced, and gossip will not be tolerated.
b. Character will be modeled and stressed by the leadership and required to be upheld by the church.
c. 1 Cor. 13 will be modeled by the leadership. See also Neh. 3, Luke 10:1 and John 13:34-35.
d. Hypocrisy will not be tolerated and will be pointed out and dealt with as Jesus Christ dealt with it in Matt. 23. See also Eph. 4:25-26, 32; Heb. 12:1; and Phil. 1:6.

6. MATERIALIZE. Christian Hills believes that a Christian church is made up of servants, men and women serving each other with their gifts. This will be stressed through four means:
a. We will all seek to choose to lose to God and our own selfish desires. See John 13.
b. This will be accomplished by unity being emphasized and modeled. Note: sometimes we may disagree on subjects, but we can still disagree and be united as one. See 1 Cor. 1.
c. Spiritual gifts will be taught, demonstrated, and monitored by leadership. See 1 Cor. 12, 14; Rom. 12; Eph. 4; Ps. 133:1. We will use Wagner’s “Spiritual Gifts tests” to help people discover and use their gifts.

7. EVANGELIZE. The individual who has been evangelized and discipled now reproduces themselves by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

When the church is accomplishing the above, we will continue to repeat this seven-step cycle over and over in individuals’ lives, in the church, and community.

“Vision without action does nothing.

Action without vision accomplishes nothing.

Vision with action can change our community, county, state, country, and world!”

MISSION STATEMENT:
Our goal is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in all dimensions of our lives and ministry. We will contend to liberate the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We will intentionally seek to assist people in the healing of their spirit’s, their hearts, and their lives. We will wholeheartedly strive to enable as many people as possible to experience, know, love, and serve God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.

VISION STATEMENT:
WE WILL SEEK TO LIBERATE THE LOST THROUGH LIFESTYLE EVANGELISM. WE WILL NOT ONLY PREACH THE WORD BUT LIVE IT THROUGH OUR DAILY LIVES AND ACTIONS. WE WILL SEEK TO BE AVID STUDENTS OF THE WORD OF GOD THROUGH DAILY STUDY AND DAILY PRAYER. WE WILL REACH INTO OUR COMMUNITY, SHARING THAT THERE IS HOPE BEYOND LIFE’S CIRCUMSTANCES. WE WILL BE SENSITIVE TO THE LOST BUT WE WILL ALSO COMMIT TO BEING BIBLICAL IN OUR APPROACH TO LIFE AND MINISTRY. WE WILL DO THIS BY CARING FOR PEOPLE GOD’S WAY. WE WILL USE CREATIVE MEANS IN THE PRESENTATION OF THE GOSPEL THAT WILL APPEAL TO THE HEART, MIND, AND SOUL OF ALL THOSE WHO ARE SEEKING TRUTH.
WE WILL STRIVE TO LIBERATE ALL PEOPLE BY STANDING AGAINST ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION. WE WILL STRIVE TO DEVELOP A CHURCH THAT IS CROSS-CULTURAL, RACIALLY MIXED, AND FINANCIALLY DIVERSE. ALL THESE DIFFERENCES WILL BE THE STRENGTH OF THE CHURCH AND REFLECT THE GLORY OF GOD.
WE WILL ALWAYS SEEK TO SERVE GOD, OTHERS, AND THE COMMUNITY UNCONDITIONALLY (1 PETER 4:7-11). MY RESOLVE AS SENIOR PASTOR FOR THIS VISION IS REFLECTED IN THE PRAYER BELOW:
MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN HEAVEN OR ON EARTH,
I PRAY FOR THE POWER TO LOVE MY FELLOW PERSON,
TO BREAK THROUGH THE CONDEMNING BIGOTRY,
THE CRIPPLING PREJUDICE,
THE STIFLING SELF-CENTEREDNESS
THAT SMOTHERS GOD’S SPIRIT WITHIN ME,
AND TO CHANNEL AND COMMUNICATE DIVINE LOVE
TO LONELY, LOVELESS PEOPLE ABOUT ME.
AND I PRAY AS WELL FOR THE ABILITY TO TRANSLATE
THE MESSAGE OF GOD’S ETERNAL LOVE INTO WORDS AND ACTION
THAT WILL PIERCE THE HEARTS OF BUSY MEN AND WOMEN
AND MOVE THEIR HEARTS TO FAITH AND OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST.
ADAPTED FROM “RESOLVE”
BY LESLIE BRANDT

WE WILL ALSO LIBERATE HURTING CHRISTIAN’S FROM THE BONDAGE OF RELIGIOUS LEGALISM AND LEGALISTIC TRADITIONAL RITUAL. WE WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS BY NOT ALLOWING MANMADE RULES TO BE A PART OF OUR DOCTRINE AND PRACTICES (MATT. 23). WE WILL FOCUS ON THE BIBLE AS OUR RULE AND GUIDE FOR LIFE AND FOR MINISTRY.
WE WILL STRIVE TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT FOSTERS TOTAL HEALING FOR THOSE WOUNDED THROUGH LIFE. WE WILL STRIVE TO BE AN EMERGENCY HOSPITAL FOR THE HURT AND WOUNDED OF THIS WORLD BOTH SPIRITUALLY AND EMOTIONALLY.
WE WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO MAKE DISCIPLES. WE WILL PROVIDE BIBLICAL INSTRUCTION TO HELP ALL NEW CONVERTS GROW AND MATURE IN CHRIST. WE WILL DEVELOP HEALING GROUPS TO ASSIST IN THE HEALING PROCESS FOR PEOPLE’S LIVES. WE WILL SEEK TO IMPLANT INTO OLDER CHRISTIAN’S THE MANDATE TO “SHOW THYSELF APPROVED” THROUGH STUDY OF GOD’S WORD AND THAT WE ARE TO CONTINUE TO GROW SPIRITUALLY THROUGHOUT OUR WHOLE LIVES. WE KNOW THAT SMALL GROUPS AND CLASSES MUST BE INSTITUTED INTO OUR LIFE SO AS TO HELP US WITH THE RENEWING OF MY MIND. WE WILL SEEK TO LEAD THE WAY IN DISCIPLESHIP IN OUR HOMES, OUR CHURCH AND OUR COMMUNITY (MATT. 28:16-20).

OUR LEADERSHIP WILL MODEL SERVANT LEADERSHIP AS DEMONSTRATED BY OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IN (JOHN 13). OUR LEADERSHIP AND LIFESTYLE WILL PROMOTE AND LIVE THE THREE MOTTOS:
“I CHOOSE TO LOSE TO GOD!”
“I WILL HAVE NO PRIDE!”
“I WILL NOT QUIT SERVING THE LORD!”
OUR LEADERSHIP WILL CONTEND AT ALL TIMES TO BE OPEN, HONEST, GENUINE AND AUTHENTIC. WE WILL STAND AGAINST THE “PECKING ORDER” WHICH SEEKS TO EMPHASIZE AUTHORITARIAN DICTATORSHIP AND A CLASS SYSTEM. INSTEAD WE WILL SEEK NOT TO APPEAR PERFECT OR FLAWLESS BUT BE ONES WHO MODEL HUMILITY AND EVEN WILLING TO ADMIT MISTAKES (LUKE 9:46-50).
WE WILL SEEK TO COMMUNICATE AND ADVOCATE THAT GOD USES IMPERFECT PEOPLE TO DO HIS PERFECT WILL.
WE WILL ENCOURAGE AND EMPOWER MATURE CHRISTIANS TO STEP OUT IN FAITH AND TAKE FAITH RISKS FOR GOD. WHEN WE LOOK BACK AT HISTORY WE DISCOVER THAT CHRISTIANS WHO WERE LED BY GOD AND TOOK FAITH FILLED RISKS FOR HIM MADE AN ETERNAL IMPACT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD. RISK TAKING FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL BE A HALLMARK TO SHOW THAT GOD IS WITH US AND THAT WE CAN TRUST HIM:
TO LAUGH IS TO RISK APPEARING THE FOOL
TO WEEP IS TO RISK APPEARING SENTIMENTAL
TO REACH OUT FOR ANOTHER IS TO RISK INVOLVEMENT
TO EXPOSE FEELINGS IS TO RISK EXPOSING, YOUR TRUE SELF
TO PLACE YOUR IDEAS, YOUR DREAMS BEFORE A CROWD IS TO RISK THEIR LOSS
TO LOVE IS TO RISK NOT BEING LOVED IN RETURN
TO LIVE IS TO RISK DYING
TO HOPE IS TO RISK DESPAIR
TO TRY IS TO RISK FAILURE
BUT RISKS MUST BE TAKEN, BECAUSE THE GREATEST HAZARD IN LIFE IS TO RISK NOTHING
THE PERSON WHO RISKS NOTHING, DOES NOTHING, HAS NOTHING AND IS NOTHING
THEY MAY AVOID SUFFERING AND SORROW BUT THEY CANNOT LEARN, FEEL, CHANGE, GROW, LOVE OR LIVE
CHARMED BY THEIR ATTITUDES THEY ARE A SLAVE, THEY HAVE FORFEITED THEIR FREEDOM
ONLY A PERSON WHO RISKS IS FREE
WHEN WE TAKE RISKS FOR GOD WE DO SO IN OBEDIENCE TO HIS LEADING. WE WILL WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT AND SEEK TO FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF THE GREAT HEROES OF THE FAITH (HEBREWS 11).
VALUES

We will demonstrate and role model a life of integrity. We will not promote greed in any form or fashion. We will trust the Lord to meet our financial needs. We will tithe to the Lord and search for opportunities to give offerings to His work as well. We will seek to communicate the necessity of giving tithes and offerings to the work of Lord but not try to manipulate people to give by guilt or condemnation. We will always provide open financial records and minutes to our congregation, and open communication to our congregation on the subject of finances. The key here is integrity in all scenarios of life especially in finances (1 Tim. 3:1-9).
We will strive to serve God daily on a personal basis which will incorporate personal prayer time, and personal bible study. We will not forsake the assembly of the body of Christ for other worldly enticements but in turn we will seek to encourage others to not forsake the assembly of the saints as well.

Hebrews 10:25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see The Day approaching.”

We will value the Bible as 100% the Word of God. We will adhere to the fact that the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is to be used to lead and guide our daily lives. The Holy Spirit will be our guide in the way we live life. We will seek the insight and listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as we desire to have a biblical world view.

By Michael McCartney
The book Firestorm has a theme which focuses on how to deal with conflict in a biblical manner. The writer seeks to give the reader a practical approach to managing and putting out the firestorms that will arise and rip through a church. In my ministry I have had to deal with these destructive and burdensome firestorms of conflict. I agree with Dr. Roy Roberts quote in the book, “No church is more than twenty-four hours away from a major conflict breaking out.” I brought this thought up at a ministerial association a few years ago after reading it and they all agreed except one. He did not believe the statement was true and stressed how he thought the quote was misleading. It created a firestorm in our meeting!

I have been in the ministry for about 27 years and I agree with Dr. Roberts statement. They can ignite over night by one small insignificant word or situation. I have had to put out so many fires in the ministry that I have lost count of how many it’s really been. I honestly feel I have had to do more firefighting in the last 2-4 years of ministry than ever before. I find more irrelevant issues surfacing which seem to set people off. I have had to deal with more Christians who like to light matches and toss them into a crowd that is filled with flammable material. Some have been my own church people, staff and even church leaders.

It’s still surprising to me, to see how people lose sight that God’s heart is about people. We are called to minister to people who are imperfect and to people who will make mistakes and do things wrong. I have
had to more than once emphasize that God uses imperfect people to do His perfect will. I have also preached and taught that God wants us to develop our relationships, first with Him then with some of those irritating other people.

Relationships are difficult and we need to be able to overlook others offensive ways. We are told by Jesus Himself to make sure that we forgive so that we ourselves may be forgiven. But the sparks ignite and the fire rises up fueled with combustible material and the next thing you know the fire is blazing hot and moving fast through the church and even into the community. Forgiveness is that last thing on the mind of the firestorm participants.

The book challenged me about the importance of fire prevention in the church. I was reminded that I must be willing to respond immediately with Jesus’ fire fighting techniques and procedures. One of the areas I learned through Susek and through my own staff management experience is that staff must stay united.

The greatest times of harvest I have seen in the ministry came with untited staff and leadership. I also must understand that some staff and leaders have hidden agendas. I few years back at another church, I had to let a staff person go because of his unwillingness to work within our culture. He was also unwilling to yield to the philosophy of ministry in this church. When I hired him he said all the right things said he supported the vision and the direction of the church. His words and actions did not align with mine and I saw him doing a lot of behind the scenes manipulation of people. He always blamed others and refused to take responsibility for what I saw and knew he did. I would address him and he would lie to me about his intent and his actions. It was obvious that he had hidden agendas. We managed this scenario well as elders and as a church. My relationship with the leadership and the church people helped me in dealing with this firestorm.

The book reminds us that the church is all about relationships and I have learned years ago that everyone matters to God. I learned a lot about the phases of the firestorm from the book and found myself assessing how well I did through each phase. He spoke of the divided staff, the gossip from the wordy ones, the no boundaries leaders who are very popular and divisive.

I even recalled while reading an incident with an elder in one of my places of ministry who wanted to make people answer a question as to whether they were sexually abused or not on a volunteer application to do church minstry. He tried telling my leaders that 70% of those who answered this question with a “Yes”, “Where you sexually abused as a minor?’ would abuse kids. He even wanted to have these victims appear before a committee that he would lead to answer questions about their abuse. We all disagreed with him so he left threatening to appear against me in a court of law when a child was abused in this ministry. He even promised to make me pay for my disagreeing with his sound reason Of course he left the church and then went one on one to others in the church saying that he left the church because I was an autocrat and refused to listen to others wise suggestions. But it was my relationship with the people that helped to minimize the damage.

I have learned to stress the Matthew 18 Principle on how to resolve conflict. I have tried not to overreact to situations and I have sought to make sure that we deal with them patiently and lovingly even when the other person is irrational.

I have never addressed a conflict from the pulpit and I believe it has helped us to put the fires out sooner. I have in one way or another tried to follow what Ron Susek calls the four pillars of strength. I have sought to present the people with the truth. I have also stressed the importance of knowing the Bible and following its patterns for living a holy life. I also incorporated prayer into every service, every bible study and every small group. We pray every Sunday for people and have many testimonies from the people on how God touched them.

I also agreed with him that one of a Pastor’s pillars of strength comes from first His relationship with the Lord Jesus and then with the people he pastor’s. Last year we intentionally set out to build stronger relationships in our church. I know that his third pillar is a key in any ministry. We must develop, maintain and demonstrate the importance of Biblical communit.

Another area he spoke about was character and integrity, another pillar for effective conflict managment. This speaks more than my words or my position. I must maintain my integrity in private as much as in public. My wife helps me in this especially if I stretch a story. I have given her permission to correct me and make it right. I have learned to admit to others and the elders when I am wrong or have made a poor decision. I have learned that integrity comes by guarding my heart and being honest about my self and my actions. I have had to learn to make sure that I don’t live in a delusional world of pride and an unrealistic church world. It’s all about the condition of my heart and my head.

Casting a mission statement is another pillar and I have tried doing this by presenting a clear philosophy of ministry. I will often update my mission staement to see how we are progressing in the vision. I seek to be honest with myself about the ministry, the areas were we hit the mark and the areas were we fall short.

I enjoyed Susek’s section on why people do resent pastors, and church leaders. I have often discussed with other leaders how our culture has learned to resist authority. Today many distrust auhtority and challenge it at every corner. They despise it and feel that they should be able to do what ever they want when ever they want and God has to be okay with it.

I agree with Susek that the spirit of the age is “individualism,” I often here the words – me-mine-I but I seldom here the words we-our-us.

I agree with his perspective that the greatest threat to church is human nature and it’s bent toward evil schemes. I honestly believe that the greatest threat to Christendom is self-centered Christianity and it destructive promotion that it’s all about “me!” My Bible tells me that it is all about “Him!” not “me.” But I hear so many people in the church fanning there flames of self-centeredness.

I have often said that yes we wrestle against spiritual forces in high places who just find a self-centered individual and then tells them they are hearing from God and releases them into the church to burn the thing down. Satan knows how to deceive and many fall prey to his whispering in their ears. I have had people use the name of the Lord in vain so much and so frequently that it’s disheartening. They say things like “God told me it’s okay to live with her!” and “God told me to spread the word about this person’s sin to the media!” “God told me it was okay to do drugs!” “God told me that you do not hear from Him – I do!”

Yes, Satan loves to add fuel to small firestorms so they turn into burning inferno’s. It is important for all us in our life to make sure we are in sync with the Lord so we want put them out quickly. We need to learn to manage conflict in a God honoring way. We also need to get rid of our quick fix mindsets and learn to patiently endure and work through conflict. Why? Because our reward is in Heaven if we do it right. We have to remember that in the end it will all be worth all the fire fighting we did in our lives for the Kingdom of God.

Dear Friends, I could not sleep this evening. I had just watched an hour long program on Fox News, it was a summary of the passed week of the the terrible tragedy that has happened in Japan, all from cities and places I know so well.

As usual this passed week if I could not sleep, I’d get up and check my E-mail, and find the mails coming in from Norway and Japan.

I got an E-mail Friday night, night to Saturday, with a tremendous praise report, that all of our beleivers and pastors of our ten churches in Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefictures were safe, not one had perished in the floods of the great waters. I think one Church building has been destroyed, but the people are all safe. Some of them have lost loved ones, so pray for the comfort of the Holy Spirit in their hearts.
Our missionaries Anniken and Akira Mori, have their hands and days and nights full, as their church is a place of refuge for those who have lost their homes, either because of the Tsunami or because they have had to flee because of the nuclear explotions. They have hleped evacuate people. They have 12 drivers delivering food and supplies to the needy. Truckloads of supplies are arriving to them from Nagoya and other cities They have 15 people living in their church, A Corean lady stays there and does all the cooking for them. They have an outreach of 140 000 needy people, so they are reaching as far as humanly possible, So pray for much strength for them , as the cry for help comes in day and night.
As you know I have been much burdened for my city of Miyako in northeren Japan, where we lived for 9 years and helped plant a CHURCH. No word had come out of that town from our believers or pastor family there. BUT TO NIGHT I GOT THE WORD. EVERYONE IS FINE, THE TIDAL WAVE HAD STOPPED 200 METERS SHORT OF THE CHURCH. That day as aftershock of earth quakes hit the city, the pastor and his wife had fled to to hills several times, each time the church stood firm. Now the great school in fornt of the church sadly has become a morg. Pastor Iwatsuka is over there just listening to the peoples’ broken heart, and comforting them. A chiropractor from the church is there too heping the survivors as well. Tonight I have been weeping for joy again, over the Lord’s mercy and protection of His people, though the earth be removed and cast into the sea, the Lord is our refuge. The Lord bless you all as we continue to pray for one another and for Japan. The Lord Lord liveth, blessed be His Name, love and prayers, Reidun.

2nd email:
Dear friends, again further confirmation tonight from Anniken in Japan, that all our believers and pastors are safe.
I just want to share a personal testemony regarding prayer for Japan, specifically for Fukushima.
During the winter and Spring of 2009, as I was praying much together with my friend , Alice Leksen Franzen, in Bellingham, and we prayed much in our heavenly prayer languages together, she started praying for Fukushima. She had no idea what that meant or what she was praying for, but ofcourse I recognized right away what Fukushima meant. I was puzzeled , yet humbled that the Lord was specifically singeling out Fukushima of all the places in Japan, so we kept praying for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Fukushima, and for a mighty revival over Japan. As often as we met since then, even when we met last week one day for prayer, she again was praying for Fukushima. Now we realize why we were reminded by the Holy Spirit to especialy interceede for Fukushima, as we have seen the devestating news unfold on TV. I know it is because of all the prayer through the years by believers from all over the world, that so many of God;s people were spared through these floods of great waters. It is an amazing miracle, it is almost like when the Isralites passed safely through the Red sea . THe Lord has spared the pastors and believers so that they can go on giving their testemony for Jesus and to continue to win souls for Christ. So many times when we are interceeding in the Holy Spirit in our given heavenly languages, we do not always know who and what the Holy Spirit is praying for, but I have learned to just trust Him, knowing He is interceeding according to the will of the Father in us and through us.Sometimes we are given a clear understanding right away or partial understanding, like we knew we were praying for Fukushima. Sometimes it is fullfilled shortly, other times it takes months or years, but the Holy Spirit has already gone before and prepared the way through prayer.
I never forget when the terrible masacre happened in Rewanda, Africa, The Holy Spirit gave me an African language to pray in, and I saw the long lines of fleeing refugees in Africa. Only weeks later did I to may amazement see the same pictures on TV as I already had seen in the Spirit while praying. So many times similar things has happened. There were times when I interceeded for tribes in China, then I would later see these people on TV.All this just to encourage us all to keep on praying much in the Holy Spirit’s gifts and prayer languages in our prayer closets, We can reach the World, the Lord knows who we are praying for. One day in heaven someone will come up and say: thank you for praying for me, thank you for coming when we have ministerd to someone or somewhere.
In the early 1990 I travailed much in very heavy, sometimes awful battels in prayer. I was given partial understanding , of intence spiritual warfare. We went back to Japan, I anticipated it there, but it did not come. Not until 10 years later when we pastored LHF in Bellingham, did we experience what I 10 years before had travailed in prayer about.As hard as it was, and as horrible as it was to at the end even loose my dear husband, I have wept much in amazement and gratitude, because the Holy Spirit had gone before us and prepared the way through prayer. The time in Bellignham was spiritually just as tough as the lonely hard years in the spiritual darkness we experiences up in Northeren Japan. It was as if the Lord had used Northeren Japan to prepare us for the work in Whatcom county.
Miyako city in northern Japan is a city the same size as Bellingham, with similar topogrephy and nature. There were no evangelical churches there, no missionaries there. We were sent there to start a church, not knowing a soul,
we had learned some proper Japanese language, but up there they spoke a dilect that did not sound much like the language we had learned. Kris was 5 years old, Ken was 3, Karin was 2 months old, it was a cold December 1977, we felt so all alone and helpless. It was a 9 hour drive down to our other Norwegian missionaries. it took me a week of sweat and tears to preapre my Sunday school lesson in Japanese, The children filled our tiney living room. Most peopel had not even seen real alive foreigners before. People started coming for English and baking classes and Bible studies. Kjell also slaved through sweat and hard work trying to come up with even a 10 minute long sermon in Japaes for Sundays . Ther were noone around to ask for help. Fianlly two Cartholic sisters came to our aid, as they started coming to our house every Tuesdsay evening for Biblestudy and worship. One nun and one trained Catecista, as she was trained to give communion to the sick and dying.They proudly told us of how they had tought their Swiss Priest to speak Japanese, how fluent he had become, so they set to work on us, by and by we also became good friends with that priest. I tell you when you live in a country in total spiritual darkness, it is such a joy to find another believer who loves Jesus. We will be forever grateful to our two dear sisters. By and By we got our first church members. Other missionaries filled in for us while we were on furlough every 3 years. Between all of us we had canvassed the whole city with Every home Crusade tracks. Out of all these thousands of tracks, one young highschool girl went through the Bible study that they could send in for. Some years later she came to the church and asked to be baptized, She became the pastor’s wife of our church in Miyako, and she is still the pastor;s wife there to this day. Mean while I had also become very good friends with a lady , Ryoko. She could speak English very well, so she helped me prepare my messages for the ladies Biblestudies, she became a dear friend, In fact her whole family took us in as friends, we also had children the same age, We prayed for them. 16 years later she gave her heart to he Lord on a visit we did back up to the church there, I tell you , I wept and cried for joy. Sadly she died of cancer in June 1999 I believe it was, she is home in heaven now rejoicing together with my husband.
I am so thankful to be alive, for a while after my husband passed away, I woukld just sit here in my Lynnwood living room and look up to heaven through the sky light window whising I was there together with Kjell. Now however I am so glad the Lord has given me a second chance on life. There is still so much to be done in the kingdom of God, but mostly I am still here to pray for my children and my grandchildren and for whom ever else the Lord sendes my way.
The Lord bless you richly in His service, as we continue to remeber each other before the Throne of grace in prayer, love and prayers, Reidun

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Please read the letter and start praying for these churches, for the pastors and for the people represented in this letter. We hope in the very near future to be able to help assist these brothers and sisiters in Christ. But for now the best thing we can do is pray – really interecede for them!

Earthquake/Tsunami Update

Dear friends,
Thank you so much for your fervent prayers for Japan and for the victims. We have greatly been encouraged.
This is the seventh day since the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami hit the vast area of east Japan on March 11. The scale of affects and the damages are far beyond we could imagine. Our technology and all the preparations for earthquakes and tsunamis were not effective at all against the recent gigantic earthquake and tsunami. As you’ve observed on TV or internet news, about 5,000 people have been found dead, and about 26,000 people have been rescued, but still more than 8,000 people are missing. Some people might still be alive at or under broken homes, waiting for a rescue. It got severely cold and started snowing yesterday in the north east Japan. Many of them are in a freezing cold weather. Quite a few people have lost their homes, cars, and their possessions, and about 200,000 people have evacuated from the dangerous nuclear power plant area in Fukushima province. About 430,000 people are now living at refugee facilities such as public school gyms, community centers, churches, Buddhism temples and so on. They are in need of food, water, gasoline, kerosene, milk, blankets and other basic required supplies.
Now it is still at the stage where only the professionals are allowed to work to find and rescue the missing people and to support the refugees with the foods and various things. We cannot make calls to the people in Tohoku and Kanto people yet. The roads are restricted only to the authorized vehicles.
Evidently, many churches in the devastated cities and towns were totally damaged, half damaged, or a little damaged. We haven’t been informed well enough, yet. Pastor Sato, a friend of mine, who pastors Fukushima First Baptist Church, happened to be in Tokyo attending their college’s commencement service on May 11. Most of his church members lost their homes. Some might have been taken away by the tsunami. About sixty members are now at Pastor Sato’s friend’s church in another city. Some members are scattered here and there at various refugee facilities. They cannot locate some of the members yet. Before they try to find the missing, they had to evacuate from their area because of the threat caused by the damaged nuclear power plant.
Whenever I get some more news regarding the churches in the devastated area, I’ll inform you of it.
Please pray for those who are at the refugee facilities. They are in various needs not only for their bodies but also for their souls as many of them have lost their loved ones and their homes.
Please pray with us for the quick solution of the nuclear power units. Four reactors are considered to be at stake at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants. The experts are afraid of the nuclear reactors melting down. It has been a critical situation.
Please also pray for our prime minister, other leaders, and rescue teams handling the various difficult situations.
There are also still incessant aftershocks and the threats of new tsunamis coming.
Please pray with us. The people of all Japan are quite shaken, and we would like to see people come to know Jesus as their Savior at this time of nationwide crisis.
We would much appreciate your prayers for Japan and for the people who have been thrown into darkness, fear, hunger, and various trials.
In Christ,
March 17, 11:00, 2011
Daiso Koyama, Pastor of Gifu Full Gospel Church