Inside the Church

What goes on inside the church can sometimes shock and surprise a new believer. They come into the church looking for a solution only to find pollution. How can this be stopped? How are we supposed to act inside the church towards our fellow brothers and sisters. This is a question that might sound crazy but I am convinced that it is a question that needs to be answered. So for that I looked at the healthiest church we have in the New Testament, the church of the Thessalonians. In his letter to this church Paul, is very encouraged to hear that the church is doing all that it should be, and in chapter 5:11-22 we see how the church is acting towards one another. Here is a quick run down of what you can do inside the church based on this passage.

"11Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
12We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,[a] encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20Do not despise prophecies, 21but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil."

1. Encourage one another.

2. Build up one another

3. Respect your pastor.

4. Be at peace with one another.

5. Warn those that are negative.

6. Comfort the lonley.

7. Lift up the weak.

8. Rejoice always.

9. Stay in prayer.

10.Search for the good things, not the bad.

These 10 things will change the way your church feels and grows. Paul mentions in verse 14 to "be patient with all" these ten things will test you. It is always easy to do the wrong thing, to have the wrong attitude and just assume the worst. I am amazed at the way we sometimes approach church, as if it's all about us and our needs instead of the needs around us. Jesus sums it up by saying "if you want to be first you have to be last." Put others first, stop complaining about everything and come into the church to build the Kingdom and serve the King. It starts with you and it starts now.

The Church

This Sunday night we started a new study on the church at BBC. During this study it is my goal to help us at BBC rethink what "church" is. Not that things are wrong in our understanding now but I believe it is imperative that the local churches restate and study what it is they are doing. During the summer we will look at what the church is and what the church does. After studying Acts 2 I came up with what I think is a great definition of what the church is.

The Church- A devoted body of believers that gather together in unity to grow in biblical knowledge, encouraging one another, while worshiping the risen Christ under the guidance of appointed leaders.

Lots of things can be stated about the local church, but I think this sums up what the church is.

I want to look at this word devoted. This is where lots of churches struggle, in being devoted to their local church. We know what the word devoted means and we even know how to be devoted to something, ie. facebook, TV, sports, you get the picture. But are we devoted to our local church. In other words are we in love with the church and the church people?

It is a great mystery to me that people can join into the local church and be set on fire with serving the church only to disappear after 6 months of service. Maybe as I grow as a pastor I will learn the answer to this great mystery. I am under the conviction that when you understand the gospel and what Christ has done for you that you will do nothing else but worship. Worship in the form of giving, singing, studying and of course serving. But we toss this Christian term out "burn out" which really means I've lost sight of the gospel and people are not praising my work anymore so I am gonna back out for sometime and I may or may not return. I am forever grateful for those Sunday School teachers and pastors that never "burned out" and continue to serve to this day.

To wrap this post up...a local church based on the New Testament model is a DEVOTED body of believers.....and don't forget because they were devoted "the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:47

Little Jimmy

Bill returns home from Wednesday night church service, goes inside and gets his 6yr old pomeranian Dasiy. They stroll down the block taking in the smell of fresh cut grass and roses blooming in Mrs. Roger's flower garden. The neighborhood is quiet, living room windows are filled with families winding down for the evening. Moms and Dads are busy changing kids into pajamas and helping them brush their teeth. Soon the kids will be asleep and mom and dad will enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee while they watch the latest TV program. Bill returns home, gives Dasiy her chew toy and flops down on the couch. Across town 7 yr old Jimmy is being dropped off by the church van from the same church Bill had just left. But Jimmy is not walking into a neighborhood where the smell is of fresh cut grass, in fact in this neighborhood there is no grass only dirt yards and instead of roses, beer bottles and cigerates fill the flower boxes. The quiet night is broken by cursing and foul language, little Jimmy is made fun of by his two older brothers as he carries his drawing inside the mill house he calls home. Instead of a warm supper and a bath he meets a drunken father who barks out the order for Jimmy to clean the kitchen and go to bed. There is no one to help brush his teeth, no one to say goodnight and instead of pajamas little Jimmy will sleep in the same clothes he wore to school. But Jimmy has a smile in his little heart because just once a week for 1 1/2 hours Jimmy is at church where he is treated like a 7yr old boy, he is loved on, cared for and taught about the God that loves him. Jimmy is not the best child in church and he is loud and disruptive on the church van, but he is loved on anyway. When the other kids lay down in a quiet warm bed the thought of church is far from their minds, but when Jimmy lays down on a matress in the floor above the noise ringing through the house he smiles in his heart thinking back on church this Wednesday night.


It is clear that Christ loves and commands us to love children. This is easy to say but not always easy to do. As I drove the church van tonight and droped off 23 little Jimmys, the thought came into my mind. "We can show them the love of Christ now or wait till they are behind bars and show them then." The church van ministry is one of the most important ministries in the church, to take this ministry lightly is to take the command of Jesus lightly. "Let the little children come to me."

"Moving on Up"

I approach every Monday the same way, to have a better week than the one before! I often even sit down on Sunday night and think about the things I want to make better in my life, like spend more time with my kids, be a better husband to my wife, exercise more, study harder, and on and on. This past Sunday night as my wife and I were making a "healthy" supper menu for the week and encouraging each other to push hard, I thought to myself "I hope this week is great." Monday morning rolls around and I am hit with past sin in my life, not only me but others around me as well. It was as if Satan had dug in the trash cans of our life and brought back those smelly past mistakes that had been made. I was crippled, hurt and depressed as I fumbled around for the next two days, hiding out in my office I remembered the words of Paul.


"Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."


Paul knew about past all too well, and reminded me that sometimes the best shepherds are ex-wolves.

Poison Envy

The wickedness of envy hides itself in so many forms, just like the poison ivy leaf it blends in to its surrounding waiting for you to come into contact with it. Often times when you do come in contact with the poison ivy leaf it causes discomfort and spreads to other parts of your body until treated. What a picture of envy! Envy most of the time disguises itself so that you don't even see it until discomfort comes into your life. So what is envy?

Dictionary.com defines envy as "a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regards to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc."

I have seen envy rip apart marriages, relationship and families. It is important that you guard yourselves against this poison before it spreads to the rest of your life. Once envy creeps into your life it spreads like cancer, the effects are just as deadly spiritually. The reaction you have with envy is often slander and gossip towards those you are envious about. You seek to see them fail anyway you can so that you can get joy over watching them suffer. But this is not how it starts, it always starts by looking at someone else and then looking at yourself. Comparing your life with someones else, your kids to someone else, your spouse to someone else and then wondering why they have it so good and you have it so bad.

So whats the cure? We have to be satisfied where we are with what we have. Make the best of the things God has blessed you with. Be a blessing to someone instead of a curse, deal with those things that cause you to be envious and pray for those who are being spiritually consumed by envy and don't even see it.


Your envy is clear to those around you just like the kid at school painted pink with "calamine lotion" be warned, envy kills!