Thanks Bill!

Tonight I went to the funeral of a man named Bill. I didn't know him well... in fact, I barely knew him at all... just a few meetings regarding some ministry possibilities... but there was something about this guy that really prompted me to want to pay my respects when I learned that he passed away last week.

I was reminded of a lot of different things tonight listening to story after story of the influence that Bill had on the lives of so many man.

First, God can use anyone for his glory! Bill wasn't perfect... but he had a huge love for his Savior and Lord. That love was his driving force for seeing as many men as possible coming to faith in Christ and grow in their relationship. He knew of his own need for forgiveness and shared that passionately with others around him. He didn't have a seminary degree, or ministry training or the latest technology or ministry know how... he just loved God so much... and God has been using that love for his glory and to impact hundreds of lives!

The second and most important is that churches should spend more and more time reaching out to guys like Bill! We just don't know who God is going to do great things threw! Everyone matters to God and everyone should matter to us! It's just too easy to get caught up in the day to day life of ministry and keeping everything status quo. It's very easy to just be focused on the people in our churches and forgetting that there are men and women out there like Bill... people that need Jesus and need the abundant life that he promises us! And when more and more people experience that truth the more vibrant and exciting our ministries become... not because of us but because of God's power and love!

So thanks Bill! Thanks for the life you lived and the passion you had to see men come to Jesus to experience that saving power that you experienced!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Practical Atheist

Image
Over the past few weeks our church has been doing a preaching series called Practical Atheist. This is based on the book The Christian Atheist by Pastor Craig Groeschel. I've been blown away by how God has worked in the hearts of so many people over the past few weeks. Mind you, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Pastor Craig's ministry has had such a huge influence on my personal walk with Jesus so just is just a continuation of that blessing. This week we're probably going to hit the hardest topic for me to preach on, I Believe in God but I Pursue Happiness at All Costs. I'm going to be using Jesus' parable of the sower and look at how our pursuit of happiness causes us to miss out on truly how God wants from our lives. This topic hits me right between the eyes as I'm being open and honest with God about what allow to be entertainment or how I go about trying to be happy. Do I allow myself to be entertained by sin? Do I pursue the world's view
Read more

Revitalized Pastors and Leaders

Image
On March 15, 2023, the Barna Research Group released the "The Resilient Pastor Initiative". Its goal was to explore and share the state of pastors in America in the post-COVID climate we find ourselves in. According to the data, the state of pastors may not be as good as it appears from behind the pulpit. From 2015 to 2022 Barna notes the following where pastors responded "Excellent" in a number of categories: Spiritual well-being dropped from 37% to 14% Physical well-being fell from 24% to 9% Mental and emotional health plummeted from 39% to 11% The overall quality of life dipped from 42% to 18% The level of respect they felt from the community tanked from 22% to 10% Level of ‘true friends’ dropped by 50% from 34% to 17% The data also showed that this drop in wellness was more prevalent in younger pastors! Older pastors are riding it out to retirement. Now, before anyone from my church begins to panic, I'm OK. As shared in a blog post from January 2023 entitled
Read more

Captain America Rocks!!

Image
I gotta admit... sometimes I'm pretty clueless as to what is going on around me. I never buy the newest technology, and I never catch the cool TV show as it premieres. Sometimes it takes a big news flash to open my eyes to some cool stuff right in front of me... and this is definitely the case with the Captain America comic series! It took killing Cap to get to pick up an issue. And boy am I ever glad I did! I've never read anything with Captain America before. It wasn't until reading Civil War that Cap even came on my radar. I guess it's just the Canadian in me that just assumed that the character wouldn't be relatable if I wasn't American, or if I wasn't a war story nut. Civil War changed my perspective of the character. Sure, he's all American. But he's all that is great about the US. His morals, his values, his respect for others. His love of liberty and equality for all. His role in Marvel's Civil War was great and really gave me an
Read more