Just Between You, Me, & God 9/4/2012

Well the political table has been set, the hors d’ oeuvres have been served, (the primaries), the first course is being served up, (the conventions), and before you can say I’m full of this, it will be time for the main course, the election. Before you throw your napkin down and storm away from the table let me tell you that I am not going to tell you who to vote for. That choice is yours, in fact, choice is one of those amazing gifts that God has given us and that we have not quite perfected yet. Adam and Eve had choices, the Jews under Moses had choices, Daniel had choices, the Disciples and Paul had choices, and yes we have choices. For all of us, some of our choices are good and some of them are not so good. I wish I had chosen to be a better student in school but I have been delighted with my choice for a wife for over 40 years now. There are consequences or rewards for our choices and they affect our lives and often times the lives of others. In order to make better decisions, whether voting or other issues in your life, it is important to get all the facts that you can. Important decisions require knowledge of the issues and truth about the outcome. God talks about the results of the lack of knowledge in Hosea 4:6, “…My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.” Our knowledge comes from the Word of God, the scripture of the Bible. If we are not listening, reading, studying, and following God’s Word then we have no right to complain about the outcome. The Church has decided to take a role of competing with, instead of standing apart from the rest of the world. We worry more about the bottom line than the line outside the door. We’ve become more about entertainment than enlightenment. Some churches look more like playgrounds, gymnasiums, or amusement parks than churches. We have turned the sharing of the Gospel into an exclusive club instead of benevolent movement giving the message of hope with not just a hand out, but also a help up. The government is not our Messiah, no matter who is in office, Jesus is our Savior and He is waiting for His Church to stand up and pick up where He left off, sharing the Gospel with love and authority. Before you open your ballot to vote this year, open your Bible and take a look at what we have given up to the government that we the Church should be doing. God selects our officials through the choice He has given us. Let’s get some Bible knowledge and make some informed choices and get the Church back on the right track of serving God by serving others instead of serving ourselves at whatever cost to the Gospel. Pastor Dean

Just Between You, Me, & God 4/28/2012

My older brother’s name is Danny, or that’s what I always called him. Others knew him as Dan or Major Hanssen. Danny served in the U S Army for 20 years before he retired. I remember when he went into the Army, it was during the Viet Nam war and we just knew that he would have to go there but he qualified for OCS (officer candidate school) in Virginia, became an officer and did most of his duty in Germany and in the States. When he started boot camp at Ft. Bliss I was so proud of him. He would send us the simplest little items like a note pad with military symbols on it and I would show it off to everyone at school and brag that my brother in the army sent it to me. I would even wear some of his military fatigues and boots because I wanted to be like him. When he graduated from OCS the whole family drove to Virginia for his graduation. I never did serve in the military myself but I greatly admire those who have served with honor and sacrifice for our nation. Danny passed away 16 years ago from a brain tumor and was buried with full military honors in a military cemetery in San Antonio. It takes a special person to accept the call to serve, to leave behind family and friends and do what others take for granted and sometimes don’t even respect. As Christians we are also called to serve. Listen to how Jesus puts this in Matthew 20:26-28, “…Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave---just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Just like the military, there are those in the Church who have become the Christian Soldiers of today, serving as missionaries around the world, as pastors and leaders in local churches, and volunteers doing all of the things that others take for granted. Jesus did not tell us to “go and sit in your churches, listen to a sermon, then go home and go about your business.” In Matthew 28:19 Jesus speaks to all believers when He commanded the troops, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” The torch doesn’t carry itself. My deepest appreciation goes to those who serve us by serving our nation and my deepest prayer is that all Christians would take honor in serving Christ our Lord by serving others. God bless you for all you do and have a blessed Memorial Day, Pastor Dean

Pastor Dean Hanssen is the Outreach & ministries Pastor for LHF, and it is not his fault that this was posted late…the techies were enjoying grilled burgers and forgot! :)

Live from Fuller Seminary with Brother Ben, Day 1 & 2

Note: Pastor Ben is currently studying online for a Master's Degree in Theological Studies at Fuller Seminary in California. Twice a year he travels to the seminary campus for an intensive seminar-based training as part of the coursework.

The journey to California was an all day affair, but I survived thanks to all your prayers and strength. I promised myself I would send updates everyday live from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA.

The weather is gorgeous and comfortable here. Flowers are still blooming and there is no sign of winter to be found.

Day 1 and Day 2 are combined because of a delay of our wireless access to the outside world.

The educational seminar dealing with Organizational Dynamics is phenomenal. The beginning day laid the groundwork for what we will accomplish during this course. I am in a Cohort with 14 others from around the globe. It is international at its best and a wide spectrum of ideas are generated from their existing experiences.

Today, Day 2 was begun with a devotion regarding Haggai 1:1-15. The devotional called each one of us to self-examination, a concern for vision, a present visual of the Biblical Era that Haggai engaged as he identified with the people. Read with me about the re-building of the Temple and the description that the people offered in its long awaited, anticipated process. Perhaps do you see that Haggai engaged with other consultants along the way to help interpret God's actions?

Later, we each individually dissected our own ministry context, which for me is Living Hope Fellowship. When asked to describe our organization I responded: "A service-driven Christian organization that hopes to disciple others to grow, connect and serve the Lord." (Sound familiar?) I reported that service was a key component of the essence of our community of faith. The third question was this: What aspects, if were lost, would cause your organization to not be what it is meant to be? My response: Love that is unconditional and grace that abounds.

Today has been a rewarding and spirit-fed day for me. My question to our church is: Is this the way you see it? I welcome your comments and dialog. The day closed with a concentration on mission and vision and their definitions in respect to faith assumptions or organizational dynamics. I'll simplify later when I return home. Can you name the vision of LHF? Let me know, I'm interested.

See you along the journey,
Ben

Rev. Ben Bright is the Logistics & Administration Pastor for LHF.