Remember all those protests against Chick-fil-A? Remember how they called the management a bunch of haters, etc.? You know how all those same critics scream through clinched teeth, “Why don’t you Christians quit judging people and feed the hungry, or something…you know, like your Jesus would do?”
Observe….
Filed under Uncategorized
Yesterday, I published a post suggesting “6 Ways to Encourage Your Pastor When He’s Preaching.” The very first way, as I humorously suggested, was to give the pastor some “feedback.”
Feedback. Don’t just sit there like a knot on a log when your pastor is preaching; give him some feedback! Say, “Amen!” Wave your hand. Throw a hymnal at the pulpit. DO SOMETHING! How is he supposed to know he’s getting through to you if you just sit there silently with a blank look on your face? At least nod your head in agreement once in a while.
Believe it or not, all I could think about the rest of the day, and this morning, was that word: feedback. It really bothered me, so I couldn’t help but do a little research.
Since this was a safe enough subject (not theology), I went to Wikipedia and, to my amazement, discovered that the word “feedback” has far more to do with economics and electronics than positive or negative reinforcement.
Feedback was not even the original spelling of the word. According to the brains at Wikipedia:
The verb phrase “to feed back”, in the sense of returning to an earlier position in a mechanical process, was in use in the US by the 1860s, and in 1909, Nobel laureate Karl Ferdinand Braun used the term “feed-back” as a noun to refer to (undesired) coupling between components of an electronic circuit.
It was not until much later did the terms positive or negative feedback enter into the context of social sciences.
But as I pondered the word feedback, especially in the context of ministry, the ideas of “circularity of action,” “looping,” and “the output of one affecting the input of another” took on a whole new meaning.
Ministry is never supposed to be a one-way street of communication and teaching. Those who teach and preach must, at some level, at some time, receive something back, whether positive or negative, in order to justify what they do. For example, what good is it to say a teacher is a good teacher, even called by God, if never once a student or disciple shows evidence of being taught? Positive feedback could be something like good grades, a successful career, or even a budding new teacher or preacher ready to reach the next generation.
To put it another way, those of us in ministry “feed” the sheep; “circularity of action” is when the sheep feed the shepherd. In other words, feedback is the congregation taking what has been poured into them and returning it, in some form or another, to the pastor, encouraging him, confirming his calling, thereby sustaining the loop.
In the big picture of things, our ultimate source of encouragement and strength, the power behind our spiritual output, is the Holy Spirit. He is our Comforter, our Counselor, and our Friend. When we do what we’re called to do, when we obey Christ, the Spirit of God will confirm our work in some way.
But in the context of people – and that’s all preachers and pastors and ministers of all kinds are, just people – we are ALL sheep in His flock. Feeding back is nothing more than us sharing with each other some of the blessings and benefits of the green pasture where the Great Shepherd has led us.
![Ezekiel 3415 [widescreen]](https://therecoveringlegalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ezekiel-3415-widescreen.png?w=500&h=281)
What are your thoughts? How can feedback affect the minister, both positively and negatively?
I know I’m not the only blogger in the world. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of great blogs out there, some of which I read on a regular basis – and others I avoid.
Two very popular blogs in Christian circles are those of Thom S. Rainer and Chuck Lawless. Both are famous for lists like “Eight Characteristics of the New Bivocational Pastor” and “Things I’ve Learned about Corporate Worship.”
Well, I’m not the “other guys.” My blog is not as professional; I’m not a seminary professor or a contributor to denominational publications; and I don’t do enough research to come up with new lists every day.
However, this guy is in “list” mode, today! Fresh from a weekend of preaching, this pastor/preacher/blogger is going to hit you with a list from which ALL of us can benefit. Are you ready?
6 Ways You Can Encourage Your Pastor When He’s Preaching
OH! Do you know what would REALLY be encouraging? Leave a comment below! What would you add to this list?
Think of the following quote as you prepare for Sunday – if you prepare for Sunday…
“Worship on Sunday that does not lead to worship on Monday is not real worship; it’s religious activity.” – Chuck Lawless
Please, oh please, make it a point to attend corporate worship with other believers this Sunday! And when you do, determine not to be distracted by people, things, or anything else – worship God, not man. Don’t make going to church an “activity” you do, make it a relationship you renew.
Remember, it’s not about you; it’s about HIM.
Filed under Christian Unity, Faith, God, worship
I am not supposed to be using a cell phone on a school bus. However, what you see in the picture below is the result of using my cell phone…on the school bus. But note, the brakes were on.
Yes, I used my old iPhone 4S to capture (there’s no click) an image of the instrument panel on my bus. Actually, I took a picture of only one part of my instrument panel: the part that showed my “service brake” was engaged.
As I was waiting for my bus to warm up, I sat there looking at the gauges, making sure everything was in working order. That’s when something crossed my mind that had never occurred to me before – the brake is actually performing a “service.”
There is no “P” for “Park” anywhere on a school bus. In order to put a bus in “park” one need only engage the service brake (by pulling out a knob) and put the transmission in neutral. When the air brake is “set,” the bus isn’t going anywhere…it’s parked. The air in the system actually keeps the brakes disengaged; releasing air pressure causes the brakes to set.
Now, again, what got me to thinking is the word “service.” Sure, there’s a technical meaning to the word, but what I pondered was the service part of “service,” like “how can I be of service to you, Madam?” How could bringing something to a compete halt count as a “service?”
Well, sometimes putting the brakes on something can help people more than they realize.
There are multiple stories in the Bible where people were stopped in their tracks or kept from doing something. Here are just a few.
How many times have you found yourself traveling down the road toward your dreams when all of a sudden the tires screeched as the brakes locked up solid? How did you react? Were you thankful? Angry? What if God was just trying to keep you from unseen harm? What if God was just wanting to redirect you toward greater things?
The next time God engages the brakes, keep in mind there may be a “service” He’s trying to perform for your good!
Filed under Christian Living, Faith, God, Life Lessons, wisdom
Because of the recent bad weather (or whatever it’s supposed to be), a field trip I was scheduled to run was cancelled. With that in mind, I thought you might enjoy a selection from my little book Life Lessons from the School Bus. The following is “Stop #15.” And, yes, I did all the illustrating 🙂
One day I transported 80 kindergartners on a field trip to a mountain forest. Do you have any idea how loud 80 excited 5 year-olds can get when confined in a 40ft.-long steel box on wheels?
I couldn’t help overhear the advice school teachers were giving to the little crumb crunchers on the bus, then later after they unloaded. One warned, “Don’t pick anything up from the ground; you won’t be able to keep it, anyway.” Another said, “Don’t bounce on the swinging bridge; just look over the side.” Seriously? How can you tell a 5 year-old not to jump on a swinging bridge and then expect him not to jump on the swinging bridge?
SIDE NOTE: I remember when our oldest daughter, Alicia, who was around 12 or 13 at the time, went with me to visit the old capital building in Frankfort, Kentucky. In that old landmark is a genuine floating staircase on which Alicia decided to jump up and down. I asked, “What are you doing?” She calmly replied, “Trying to see if it will fall.” I said, “Two things…First, it’s been here since 1827 and hasn’t fallen, yet you think your scrawny self is going to break it? Second, why would you want to be on it if you could make it fall?”
Anyway… the best piece of advice from the teachers was clear enough: “Do NOT get off the trail!” But again, honestly, how many kids actually listen to instructions that make sense? I mean, you take a child that’s never been out of the suburbs to a forest with plants taller than their apartment buildings and you expect them not to run amuck? Therefore, I decided to speak up and add some clarification to the teachers’ warning. I said, “Because if you get off the trail, we might have to send the DOGS after you.”
Who knew one little girl was afraid of dogs? I didn’t! …Cry baby.
So, that got me to thinking: what would be the worst advice to give 80 children before a trip into the woods?
Don’t worry about your lunch box; the forest is full of pretty berries.Thankfully, when it comes to the wilderness of life, there is One who always gives good advice.
In his famous Psalm 23, David wrote, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” God urges us to stay on the path that He has already walked, which is why Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me.”
He knows the difference between good fruit and the forbidden kind.
Route Suggestions
Filed under Food, Humor, Life Lessons
Do you put your trust in the stock market or what you’ve got stashed in the bank? Well, just remember, if your only security comes from money, all you have is a “Flimsy Green Wall” protecting you.
Check out today’s post from my other blog, Proverbial Thought.
“The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.”
“The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety” (NLT).
Money
Money is a strange thing. One day it can be worth a lot of, well, money. Then, at the turn of clock, it can become worthless. So many have seen fortunes disappear at the sound of a closing bell.
6 Confederate States of America currency notes three $10 notes 3 $20 notes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Others have seen their wealth deteriorate along with a decline in political stability. Many years ago the southern states (The Confederacy) that broke away from the Union made their own money. After 1865 it all became worthless. There used to be a saying, “Save your Confederate money, boys! The South will rise…
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One never knows what tomorrow may hold, so I am going to post twice in one day! This time around it’s about going to church.
Dr. D. Martin Lloyd-Jones once said: “The preacher after all is not speaking for himself, he is speaking for the Church, he is explaining what the Church is and what these people are, and why they are what they are.” In addition to that, it is through, in, and by the gathering together of God’s people in one place to worship that He does some great things unable to be duplicated over the internet, through reading, or TV and radio. Going to church on a regular basis is being replaced with a lot of things, but nothing compares.
The views in the following post by Josh Lowrance mirror mine. We should not forsake – or substitute with something else – the assembling of ourselves together. Go to church! Jesus told us to, and we need it!
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I know this is dangerous, but I just want to ask the question that so many others are asking:
Why?
Last Friday more Christians were killed by Muslims (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb {AQIM}), this time in Burkina Faso. The following was given as the reason:
“In a new message from the heroic champions of Islam, with their blood and their bodies, to the slaves of the cross, the occupiers of our homes, the looters of our wealth, and who would undermine our security, launched a group of knights, Al Murabitoon, on a commando raid in Hotel Splendid…. [This is] a reminder to the worshipers of the cross of their crimes against our people in Central Africa and Mali and other Muslim countries and revenge for our Prophet.”
Seriously?
Missionaries Amy and Michael Rittering
American missionary, 45-year-old Michael Riddering, ran an orphanage, helped women in crisis, and even helped dig graves during the Ebola crisis! What did he loot? What did he occupy? How did he undermine your security? How many of your children did he kill?
Canadians Yves Carrier, Gladys Chamberland, and their two children, Charles-Élie, 19, and Maude, 37, along with two of their friends, Suzanne Bernier and Louis Chabot, were volunteering as short-term missionaries…helping the poor and the orphans! What wealth did they loot? What did they occupy? How did they undermine your security? How many of your children did they kill?
Slaves of the cross? At least you go that part correct. But do you know why? Because of love! The cross of Christ compelled them to LOVE!
You terrorists think nothing of taking innocent life. In your twisted thinking you justify killing helpless women and children as you dare call yourselves “knights”? What kind of cowardly soldier of the crescent are you? You think it’s brave to shoot a crying child with an AK-47? The brave ones are the ones who go unarmed into your countries, risking their lives, all to help alleviate the suffering your oppressive and sadistic beliefs bring about.
Dear Muslim, why can’t you see that this path of bloodshed, of beheadings, of stabbings, of raping in the streets, of sex slavery, of beatings, of destroying ancient artifacts, of killing those who only want to bring peace is the WRONG path?
Why?
The greatest Christians are those who willingly lay down their lives so that others might be saved; the greatest Muslims (from what we see) are those who willingly lay down their lives so that others may die. Can you see the stark difference?
You follow Islam and the Prophet with such legalistic fervor. You keep all the laws with such religiosity, yet never truly know if you are accepted by Allah. You do all these things in order to earn his praise and the respect of others. But what is it really getting you? Love? Grace? Forgiveness for your sins? Peace? No, only bloodshed.
We follow Jesus Christ because it was He who laid down HIS life – not to take the lives of others, but to set them free from the law of sin and death! He died on the cross, in our place, in order to satisfy the righteous judgment of God! When we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! All we have to do is accept the Gift of God’s mercy and be forgiven! We voluntarily submit our lives to the One who gave His so that we might live forever!! And we don’t have to blow ourselves to pieces, either!
Hebrews 12:2 – “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Galatians 3:13 – “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree:”
Titus 2:14 – “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
1 Peter 2:24 – “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
There is a better way, dear Muslim! Why can’t you see it? Or, rather, why can’t you see Him? Why?
Filed under Countries, current events, Faith, Life/Death, ministry, Struggles and Trials
It’s cold in Chattanooga. How cold is it? I put ice cubes down my shirt just to warm up.
Seriously, this morning schools are delayed two hours because it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just stupid cold for this part of the country.
My daddy used to say, “It’s as cold as a witch’s upper torso.” If you can figure out what that means, more power to ya’.
The funny thing is that no matter what the temperature, whether cold or hot, people are always going to wish it was the opposite. When it’s hot outside people complain. When it’s cold outside people complain. The only people I never hear complain are the ones who have the same climate year round, like the North Pole or Hawaii.
So, as you down here in the South complain about how cold it is, just remember the heat wave of 2012. That was when we would have welcomed a cold snap. I mean, 107 degrees and humid is hot no matter where you live!
“I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content — whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:11-13 HCSB
Maybe we should just take a cue from the Apostle Paul and learn to be content – no matter what temperature life may bring.
Filed under Christian Maturity, current events
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