My childhood giant

My childhood giant

I remember as a young boy that I stood in wonder as I looked up to a man that seemed 7 foot tall. He worked hard with his hands and lived with the heart of a lion. His love for his family took him to two and sometimes three jobs to make sure food and fun was a regular part of their lives. He was in my eyes the strongest man in the world. There were no degrees on his wall and few people called him sir. His pay at times was small but his salary was the joy in knowing he was doing what he had to for his family.
Over the years I watched as this giant of a man was stricken down time and time again as his body failed him. His mind still filed with a dream of seeing his children at their best and led by the hope that he would see each of his children rise to their potential.
Over the years I have fought many battles and faced many struggles. My dreams at times felt like unreachable goals. My heart has been crushed by the wounds inflicted by those who could not see or hear it. When the struggles seems unbearable and doubt tempts me to see my weaknesses and not my strengths I remember that giant of a man with calloused hands that never stopped no matter the odds and I press on.
Some grow up on the right side of the tracts but we grew up on the wrong. Some had the resources to go where ever and when ever their resources could take them we had not much more than our dreams. Our conditions were difficult and many times it was way too hot in the summer and way too cold in the winter but our dreams kept us moving forward.
Today I still stand amazed at the struggles of little education and resources that my father was able to overcome. Did he give me an education? Did he give me resources? Did he place a silver spoon in my mouth? The truth is he gave me none of these things but what he gave me was so much more than any of that he gave the ability to persevere in tough times. Never in my childhood did I ride in a new car nor live in a new house but I grew up in a wonderful home. He kept it a secret, he never let us know how tough it was to provide for us, and he made it look so easy.
Way up in his seventies he is much slower now and he is weak and struggles to keep his balance. He sleeps more than ever and it is easy to see his struggles on his face.
As I sit here today thinking about my father I smile. I smile because I realize that he has given me more than money could ever buy. He gave me a drive to see my dream come to fruition. He gave me the hope that all things are possible. He gave me the perseverance to fight every battle till the end. With all this the greatest gift he gave me was a love for the hurting and a compassion for the less fortunate. I hurt when others hurt, I weep when others weep, I bend down to the broken, I bleed with the wounded and I pray for those that cannot or will not pray for themselves.
There has never been a moment in my life that I was not proud of my father. There was never one second that I didn’t appreciate the price he paid to provide for me the ability to be who I am. Once while I was presented a sermon to a small group of people I noticed him crying. Why was he crying? It was pride. Although he was proud of me it cannot compare to the pride that I have for him.
My greatest hope in life is that one day my son’s will see and know my heart. I pray that they will have a heart for the hurting and walk in a spirit of compassion. If they weep for those that are wounded and if they sacrifice for the needs of others then they have captured who and what I am.
The greatest shock in my youth was when I realized that my father was only 5’6 and had very small hands and feet. I wondered what happened to that giant I called dad. Today I realize he is still there because it wasn’t his height or his weight that made him a giant to me…. It was the size of his heart. Thanks Dad.
Rodney

The Birth of a new Church

Four years ago God laid it on my heart to give birth to an all African congregation in Columbus. This had never been done in our denomination in our State. The odds were against a young congregation surviving the birthing process let alone the growth of a full grown church. With that in mind God put me in contact with an African minister from Gahna Africa that lived here in our City. After some early meetings we joined hearts to plant a congregation.

It was not easy but we created a place for this young group of three in a small room in our building. We gave them a key some directions and a promise of strong support while they were in the womb. Over the next year three grew into fifteen and the fifteen turned in to twenty. Within three years this young congregation became 60 in regular attendance.

Our church mothered this congregation as we built a sanctuary for them in our fellowship hall. This space cost them nothing while they saved and learned the concepts of American finances. At the start of the fourth year we began asking them to pay reant on their part of the building. This was only to prepare them for the financial strain of their own building. We met often with the leaders and worked through any difficulties.

Here it was four years later and this young congregation has been organized as a Church of God congregation and paying their own way. Seeing that it was time for the eaglets to fly on their own I met with the pastor and said it is time for them to move out into their own facility.

On July 14th 2009 I met the pastor and several of his leaders at their new facility. It is a wonderful place that will serve them very well as their own church. They expressed strongly how they could not have done it if it were not for our strong support of their young congregation. They were setting up chairs and hanging drapes as the pastor proudly showed me around the building.

As I left the building my wife and I share with them our pride in what they have accomplished, we hugged their necks and pulled out of the drive way. Tears begin to fill my eyes as it felt as if a child just graduated high school heading out on his own. You will never know the pride I feel in knowing that we gave birth and mothering leadrship to a brand new congregation that has succeded to be on their own.

Sunday they will have their first service in their new location. Reflecting on the pastors words as he shared of two coming baby dedications and one wedding already on the schedule I remembered that first meeting we had. I committed to cover he and his work until they can stand on their own. Today they stand on their own, their own idenity, their own vision and their ownpurpose for serving in Columbus.

I beem with pride as the pastor said “You Bishop will be our very first guest speaker” – I am now the proud spiritual father of a vision that will reach Africans in Columbus Ohio. The best part is that we ask for no financial assistance from our denominational leaders and God is returning the seeds we planted to us 100 fold.

Tomorrow night we will be in attendance with a mission work in Westerville Ohio. A work that God is allowing us to mother while they too are in the womb. I know by faith in a few years we will be able to repeat this story of another baby moving out on it’s own.

Life

Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy but Christ comes to give us abundant life. It is all about the joy of life. So many hide away in a dark cave and wait for the rapture. I want to enjoy my life in Christ. Maybe this video of my precious grandson Micah will help.

more about “Facebook | Your Videos: Jul 7, 2009 1…“, posted with vodpod

 

 

A Fatherless Generation

A Fatherless Generation

One of the weaknesses I see in the emerging churches is that of Fatherlessness. It seems to me that there is a very real danger in churches that hold no one accountable. Lifestyles are rarely challenged and discipleship is not a priority. In my personal observations of this rapidly growing movement I find young adults that are angry at the established church and are flocking together to resist the teachings of the Fathers. There is an inherent danger in this overt disregard for the use of spiritual maturity and wisdom in the church.

Most homes in America are broken in one way or another. The worst case scenario is that of a home without the leadership of a good Father. Our Nation is reaping the seed of Fatherless homes. A total disregard of authority and accountability has become the rule. Our Nation has become very passive and we face injustice with a weak and feminine defense.

I am not ready to throw away the “Spiritual Fathers” of the church. Every church needs the authority and accountability a Father adds. Just as our Nation has become passive and feminine so has the church in America. People are looking for a church that will allow them to do whatever they want. Whenever accountability is placed on a life they whine and throw fits of rage. Churches have become a place where real men and real Fathers are looked at as legalist. I am concerned with churches that have an entire leadership team made up of young adults and where wisdom is seen as authoritive and legalistic. I am concerned when I see morals so lose that any code of morality is seen as outdated and out of touch.

We need a revival of spiritual Fathers. I am not talking about holding on to traditions of man or belittling a wonderful harvest of young adults. I am suggesting that every church needs spiritual Fathers to speak into the lives of the younger adults. They need spiritual Mothers that speak into the lives of young moms. I see a growing contempt of our spiritual heritage and total disregard for basic biblical truths to please a post modern demographic.  This in my opinion is very dangerous.

When friends with each other are more important than friends with God we are in trouble.  When young adults will sacrifice their own maturity in order to fit in with others we are in trouble.  When the wild heart of a young man is tamed by the untamed heart of a Fatherless church we are in trouble.

The answer is not to dismiss what God is doing in the post modern church but it is to facilitate this movement with the leadership and wisdom of spiritual Fathers.  I don’t agree with every way my 60 something District Overseer does things and I am not that hyped on the older music that he loves but I would fear a church without guys like this. He is more than a District Overseer he is a spiritual Father. He speaks with wisdom and character. He loves but holds accountable. He enjoys relationships and respect. He has become a spiritual Father to me. I could never lead my church the way he leads his; we are from a different era. I could however lead my life the way he does his.

We need to be able to use the wisdom of the age to grow churches that honor the past, respect the present and dream of the future. Every church needs church mothers and fathers that speak into its life.

Every child will go through a season where they think the parent knows nothing about life. They rebel against rules and boundaries of the parent. They attempt to stretch the lines and push the authority to its limits.  One day however they grow up and mature and realize mom and dad where not as much out of it as they thought. They realize that life is not as simple as they once thought. What happens? They grow up. I pray for the day that the post modern church will grow up. I look with hope for the time when the mature will be celebrated again. I long for the day when the wisdom of the aged will be honored and followed.  Just like the young man that thinks he knows it all one day realizes he know very little. I pray the emerging church will one day realize its need for a spiritual daddy.

To my two sons I may seem out of it and un-cool. My way of doing things may seem outdated and out of touch. My hair style may seem old fashion and my music may seem to have a oversimplified rythm. My words and preaching may seem to be non-relevant. But, I have one thing that I hold onto in my relationship with the two of them. That is, they will one day have their kids feel the same way about the way they do things and they will be told that they are old fashion.  The difference is that a church is not about style as much as it is about being biblical. The church is less about being relevant than it is about being Godly. The church is less about being man pleasers than it is about being God pleasers. We must be more about being Christ followers than trend followers. I just heard of a growing church where the pastor celebrated fathers day with  the ministry of his grandfather and his father along with himself all ministering on the same platform. I think he has the right idea of the importance of spiritual fathers.

Let the Fathers rise and lead this generation into the truth of God’s word. Let them rise and be the Fathers that we need.

Thinking outside the box ministry

Thinking outside the traditional box.

Ministry to the complexities of this post modern generation demands that we each re-think our approach. What really matters in the long and short of things is what reaches others with the message of Christ. We can stand firm in our support of sacred cows that are outdated and have lost their effectiveness and miss the greatest opportunity for harvest in our history.

A couple of thoughts on thinking outside the box have really thrust me into a new way of thinking about ministry. Here are a few…
1. Becoming Missional in our approach. This includes but not limited to researching your target areas and becoming missionaries to those cultures.
2. Team Ministry – Networking with others and combining resources to accomplish the greater mission.
3. Multi-purpose use of our facilities to gain as much use of them as possible.
4. Training our members to see the harvest as a mission field and the members as missionaries.
5. Multiple services to facilitate a missional approach to ministry such as….
Young adult services with modern music and teaching
Youth services with a planned purpose to reach the youth
Services that minister to those that love Pentecostal worship
Care groups for fellowship and equipping
Using Sunday mornings to celebrate the gathering of these various groups and styles
6. Opening our eyes and hearts to see the true harvest and target them with purpose.
7. We must learn to filter everything through the vision to reach the lost. If what we do does not reach or equip the reached then we must re-evaluate their necessity and continuation.
I am convinced that the greatest hope for this world is the local church and our ability to bring people to Christ. There is nothing in my opinion that has more value than the local church. We must create an environment that will draw and win the lost. Very simply put we must act like we are the hope of the world and not like we are a useless entity that is going out of business.

Become relevant and missional and God will anoint us to reach our harvest.

The best preaching is done in dying churches

A statment made by Conrad Lowe at a leadership training session. What do you think about it? If you think it is true then how is this possible?

2009 A year of Spiritual Destiny

Claim God’s favor upon your life and upon your family

 

Psalm 5:12 (New International Version)

 12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous;
       you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Claim God’s blessing and increase in your life

 

Psalm 115:13-14 (New International Version)

 13 he will bless those who fear the LORD—
       small and great alike.

 14 May the LORD make you increase,
       both you and your children.

Claim your total deliverance from the hands of the enemies

Deuteronomy 28:7 (New International Version)

 7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

Psalm 121:5-8 (New International Version)

 5 The LORD watches over you—
       the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

 6 the sun will not harm you by day,
       nor the moon by night.

 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
       he will watch over your life;

 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
       both now and forevermore

Claim God’s blessings of wealth and riches

Psalm 112:2-3 (New International Version)

 2 His children will be mighty in the land;
       the generation of the upright will be blessed.

 3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
       and his righteousness endures forever.

Claim God’s commanded blessings upon all that you do

Deuteronomy 28:8 (New International Version)

 8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

Claim God’s overflow and abundance

Luke 6:38 (New International Version)

38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Claim God’s promise for total restoration

Joel 2:25 (New International Version)

 25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
       the great locust and the young locust,
       the other locusts and the locust swarm 
       my great army that I sent among you.

Claim an open Heaven

Malachi 3:10 (New International Version)

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

Leading in difficult times

Leading in difficult times

 

 

 

It has been said that leadership is influence nothing more nothing less. It has also been said that he who leads and no one follows is just taking a walk. I have found that most people in leadership positions at one time or another underestimate their influence over others. This is especially true when it comes to pastors in America.

 

Influence is such a powerful tool during difficult times and if use the right way you can navigate others to victory if used the wrong way you can cause a shipwreck. People need leaders in difficult times to help them navigate the bumps in the road and the temptations to give up or take an easier road.

 

In order to be a good leader in difficult times you must in my opinion follow some basic principles.

 

1. You must have a clear vision. A clear vision of where you are at and where you are going. People won’t follow someone that changes their mind every week or everyday for that matter. They are looking for assurance that when get on board and sell out to the journey that the captain will know where he is going.
2. You must speak with authority. It is not always what we say but how we say that matters. If you speak from a spirit of fear or you seem overly concerned about the journey some will abandoned ship before you even get started.
3. Be clam.  You must never be driven by panic. Problems come and go but the journey cannot be controlled by those situations. You must exhibit a spirit of calmness and trust in the God that gave you the plan. When people doubt their leader they doubt the vision he cast.
4. Always speak with clarity.  People need to hear revelation and clarity when the leader speaks. A confusing message produces wondering hearts. Clarity brings calmness and direction.
5. Be honest.  The quickest way to loose credibility is to be dishonest. We live in a time of political and spiritual dishonesty. People may forgive you but they will never follow with the same peace of mind they once had.
6. Priorities.  Keep the main thing the main thing. Refuse to major in the minors.

 

During my 25 years of ministry I have found that people are looking for leaders. I have also discovered that there is a major difference in position and leadership. Just because one has a position it does not mean that they are a qualified leader.  I believe quality leadership for the most part is learned and acquired through training and mentorship.

 

Once a man said to me that, “he was tired of pastoring people that would not follow him”. When I asked him how long he had been at his church he said 15 years. I said “If they are not following you by now then it is not a follower problem.”  I never see him at training and mentoring sessions because they are not considered spiritual.  My friend is a leader but his influence has lead to mistrust and confusion the very things we don’t need in difficult times.

Our Christmas Gift

I will be leaving next week to spend Christmas with my twin sister. As most of you know she has been fighting the good fight against Multiple Myloma cancer for two years now. She is going in to have her third stem cell transplant on the 26th of Dec. This is a donor transplant and the most difficult process of her fight. Some people (about 30%) do not survive the transplant it’self.

My sister was asked by her daughter what she wanted for Christmas and she said lots of decorations and to see her family before going into the cancer center.

We have family going to Upstate NY from, Toledo, Columbus, Long Island N.Y and  TN.

This will be very special for us and it will be her gift from us. She is a very special girl of 47 years of age and has lot’s of living to do. The fight goes on and maybe this visit will bring the encouragement she needs to win the battle.

Me and my Sister

The Joys of Thanksgiving

I was watching as my wife and our Grandson Eli was enjoying the movie Home Alone. The laughter and smiles caused tears to flow from my eyes. Our life is full and complete with the edition of Eli’s little brother Micah.

We had such a greta time with Chris, Carrie, Brandon and the babies. The video below is just a brief moment of the joy we experienced on Thanksgiving day 2008.

Thank you Lord for your many blessings..