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Food for Your Soul on this Sunday

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couragequotes

I read something a few weeks ago that caught my attention. The title of the article was “Pastor, Are You Too Transparent?” I clicked on it and read the article. The gist of the author’s writing seemed a bit jaded, but it was presented well.

The punchline of the article is what left me perplexed. I’m paraphrasing, but it read much like this; “Pastor, you cannot stay so vulnerable. You cannot remain so transparent. If you do, you will open yourself up to all manner of criticism and create division in the church.”

When I read that one statement, I closed the tab on my browser and thought I might offer a few thoughts. All of these thoughts are best captured in FIVE WORDS – What a bunch of poop!

I know firsthand that this world couldn’t care less about our education, ability to read Greek, look great in skinny jeans (I just crossed a line there) or have an intellect that would marvel Einstein.

I know that when you expose a weakness, folks usually already know it’s there. When you open the windows and doors to your heart, folks can relate to you and your own challenges. I know that to share your hurts and worts, folks can engage you at a level far deeper than what you are wearing.

That’s not just true for pastors. That kind of vulnerability allows folks to actually know you and BELIEVE YOU in every facet of your life! I want to believe the best in people. Their ability to be personal, present and vulnerable allows that to happen naturally.

If you are leading a church, business, small group, family or any organization, the single greatest leadership truth you offer is found in this equation: Add an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE to a SERVANT LEADER, toss in a bit of HUMILITY, sprinkle a heavy dose of VULNERABILITY. Then, finish it off with GETTING BACK UP after FAILING, and I’ll show you a leader

You know, not everything on the internet is true, right?

Go ahead, get naked with your emotions and take your lumps. It’s worth it. You might even find your greatest fan or friend in the process.

–AChuck

 

The Kind of Church the Pastor Wants to Attend

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I’ve been in ministry for 30 years. I’ve served some great people and some great churches. I was asked a few weeks ago, “what kind of church would you like to attend?” I thought about my answer and gave more thought to it , over the course of a few weeks. It might seem simple, but here is what I came up with:

  1. Welcomed. Every person on the planet wants to be welcomed. It doesn’t really take a lot of effort to be nice. I mean, just be nice and I’m already happy that I came to church. I’ve noticed that churches aren’t always filled with the nicest folks.
  2. Accepted. I’m pretty odd. I don’t fit in every circle, but I love it when I feel like I do. I genuinely hate bigotry and racism. I would love to worship where poor folks and wealthy folks are accepted. I’d love to worship where any ethnicity and any of life’s hang-ups get parked at the door, knowing that the Divine will settle all of that out once we truly worship.
  3. Challenged. I don’t need a week-kneed, gutless, make me feel good about me talk. I want to know that when I’ve left that church, I am better for having been there. I want to be encouraged and pushed a bit. That’s true for every aspect of that church. Push me to grow, to serve, to make a difference!
  4. God-Focused. I can watch a Ted Talk if I need to know about Global Warming. I come to worship to get my heart set on the things that matter to the Divine, don’t you? I’ve noticed that when we focus on what the Divine says is important,  we are drawn into His plans to redeem mankind. Did I mention that I want to make a difference?
  5. Prayerful. The weakest part of my walk with God has always been my prayer life. That is, until I was challenged and equipped to know how to pray. I want to worship at a church that listened to Jesus when He described His church as a “House of Prayer.”
  6. Fun. I know that there is a significant part of faith that requires reverence. But reverence doesn’t mean dead, dull, or boring. I think Jesus laughed a lot when Peter reached in the fish’s mouth to find a coin that would pat his taxes. Jesus and the guys had to have laughed after taking the little boy’s lunch that Jesus fed 5,000 folks with. They had to have been laughing at having all that food left over!
  7. Safe. This takes on two separate meanings. 1) Yes, I mean that my family, especially my kids and grandkids are literally safe. And 2) that I am safe to think, to laugh, to cry, to worship loudly or pray softly. Hands in the air, or tucked in my pocket. I want to be free to expect the supernatural and when the supernatural happens, don’t try to explain it or understand it. Just worship!

The list could go on and on, but that’s a good start. I don’t know of a church that meets these criteria every single week, but I want to be welcomed, accepted, challenged, God-focused, prayerful and safe the vast majority of the Sundays that I am there.

I also would like to think that I have prepared my heart for worship. I should hope that I would think more about my engagement with God more than denominational dogma, building more buildings or whether the music was my cup of tea.

But wait! Is this about me or about the church? The answer is YES!

72215509-DA85-4169-921C-3E2B513A4D8D [Read more…] about The Kind of Church the Pastor Wants to Attend

Sunday Vibes

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Sunday Vibes with ACHUCKALLEN 

There are a couple of things in my house that I want to control. In all truth, I do not think that I am in control of either of them, but I’m feeling super positive today. 

I’d like to think I can control the remote to the television and the thermostat. That’s it! 

As a pastor, I’d like to do the same at our church. If church had a remote, I’d like to help set the pace of what is said, seen and sung. And the church most definitely has a thermostat. I know that because half of you freeze while half of you are burning up. 

The thing about a thermostat is that it is supposed to control the temperature of the room. The remote determines what you see, sing and say. 

Here’s the cool part! You are the remote! You can choose to sing and worship this morning. You can also complain about the fact that it was too loud or not your preferred genre of Jesus music. But you! Yes, you! You are the one with the remote in your hand. You choose to praise, worship and listen for the Divine to speak peace into your life! Get it? You are the remote!

You can also choose to be either a thermometer, or a thermostat. There is a HUGE difference in these two items. A thermometer can tell you if the room is too chilly, too hot or too much whatever. A thermostat, on the other hand, can change the temperature of the room. It can set you, your family and your church on a trajectory of joy-filled worship, praise and prayer. If you turn that same thermostat the other way, you can set your heart on a course headed to whinerville, with no desire to praise or hear from God Almighty. Again – YOU GET TO CHOOSE!

I trust you will choose to let your remote and your thermostat be in tune with your Creator and Savior this morning. 

If you are in our little part of the world, I’d love to meet you at Sugar Hill Church at 9:30 or 11:00 this morning. We always stream our services live on our Facebook page and on the Sugar Hill Church APP. You can also watch online at Live.SugarHill.Church

Peace, AChuck

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