FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

 

Memorial Day 2022

If any of you have ever been to a military funeral in which taps was played; this brings out a new meaning of it.

 

Here is something Every American should know.   

We in the United States have all heard the haunting song, 'Taps...' It's the song that gives us the lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes. 

 

But, do you know the story behind the song?  If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings.

 

Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Elli was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia . The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. 

 

During the night, Captain Elli heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a   Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment..  

 

When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.  

 

The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.  

 

The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted.

 

The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral.

 

The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate.  

 

But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician. 

 

The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform.  

 

This wish was granted.  

 

The haunting melody, we now know as 'Taps' used at military funerals was born.  

 

The words are: 

Day is done.

Gone the sun.

From the lakes 

From the hills.  

From the sky.

All is well.  

Safely rest.  

God is nigh. 

 

Fading light.

Dims the sight. 

And a star.

Gems the sky. 

Gleaming bright.  

From afar.  

Drawing nigh.  

Falls the night. 

 

Thanks and praise.  

For our days.  

Neath the sun  

Neath the stars.  

Neath the sky 

As we go.

This we know.  

God is nigh 

 

I too have felt the chills while listening to 'Taps' but I have never seen all the words to the song until now. I didn't even know there was more than one verse.  I also never knew the story behind the song and I didn't know if you had either so I thought I'd pass it along.

 

I now have an even deeper respect for the song than I did before.

 

Remember Those Lost and Harmed While Serving Their Country. 

 

Also Remember Those Who Have Served and Returned; and for those presently serving in the Armed Forces. 

Stones of Memorial: Joshua 4:1-4:9

 

Intro: The Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful and costly tombs ever built, but there is something fascinating about its beginnings.

In 1629, when the favorite wife of Indian ruler Shah Jahan died, he ordered that a magnificent tomb be built as a memorial to her. The shah placed his wife’s casket in the middle of a parcel of land, and construction of the temple literally began around it. But several years into the venture, the Shah’s grief for his wife gave way to a passion for the project. One day while he was surveying the sight, he reportedly stumbled over a wooden box, and he had some workers throw it out. It was months before he realized that his wife’s casket had been destroyed. The original purpose for the memorial became lost in the details of construction.

 

For many of us, we think of Memorial Day as a day we don’t have to work. We can go to the lake, have a cookout – enjoy the outdoors. Some think of it in terms of the beginning of the summer time. But when we do this, only, we are moving away from the original meaning and intent of the day.

 

You see, Memorial Day had it’s beginning in Waterloo, New York in 1866. The town wanted to pay tribute to those who had died in the Civil War. Fast-forward to today – we now celebrate the last Monday of May as Memorial Day. It now is a day of remembrance of all those who died in any war and many people use this day to also remember those family members and close friends that have died.

 

You see this Holiday isn’t about going to the lake or anything like that. It is about remembering. Now there is nothing wrong with going to the lake, having cookouts and such because as we remember we can celebrate life with those around us. But we cannot allow ourselves to forget the original purpose.
So as you go through the day, take time out to remember our heroes who have literally laid down their lives for our freedom in this country.

 

I want to continue the theme of Memorial’s. All of us have memories of people, places and experiences that bring all kinds of emotions to our heart. Some call these memories “mental markers”. They take us back to something that has meaning and significance. Many of these “markers” have physical reminders.

 

OBJECT LESSON:   Sometimes these markers are connected with something positive while others may not be so good times where there was struggle or disappointment. Both types can be used to strength us. They both can teach valuable lessons if we will simply allow ourselves to learn from them. Let me ask, how many of you have pictures of events, people, etc. that carry with it memories that make you smile when you see them? That is what I’m talking about.
In the Bible we find many examples of people putting up physical markers to remind them of spiritual truths and experiences. These spiritual markers are a kind of memorial that bring the experience and truth to our minds. Today I want to look at 3 of these markers. Each one of these involves a Stone or Rock. I have called this message: The Stones of Memorial.

 

 

My hope is that you will recognize some of these markers in your life. As you recognize them, celebrate them! Maybe you need to establish some of these in your life. Today would be a great time to do that.

 

Read Joshua 4:1-9

Joshua and the Children of Israel had been in the wilderness for 40 years. All the people who had doubted God’s word about their being able to enter the land of Canaan had died and now the time came for the rest of them to begin entering into the Promised Land.
God told Joshua to take 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan River. One for each tribe. It was to be used as a memorial to the whole nation. No tribe was left out. It is significant that the rocks were taken from where the Ark of the Covenant was being held. It signified several things about God that He wanted them to know and always remember. I believe He wants us to remember that He is the same now as He was then. He is the same yesterday, today and forever! The lessons learned by the Israelites about God are lessons we too can learn and live by. May we see these Stones of Memorial in our lives!

1. A Stone of Memorial to God’s Power and Deliverance – Josh 4 and Ex. 13

 

These stones taken from the Jordan River were to be a sign for all who would come later that God was powerful and that He had delivered His People out of bondage and into the Promised Land.
His power and deliverance was complete – he included all 12 tribes! He kept His promise to Abraham and reminded the Israelites of through Moses – I will give you a land flowing with milk and honey!

 

Let’s back up for a minute and check something else out that had happened prior to this event in Joshua. Remember over in Exodus we find God calling Moses and then taking the Egyptians through 9 incredible plagues and all the while covering the children of Israel so that they were not affected.

 

Then in Exodus 13 he sends the death angel. The only way of escape was through the Passover Lamb. The lamb had to be without spot or blemish. It had to be killed and it’s blood put on the doorposts of each house. As long as the blood was on the doorpost, the death angel would Passover! God told the Israelites that from that moment on they were to celebrate his deliverance from Egypt every year and call it Passover. Then any time a child would ask about why they do the Passover, the adults could teach them about God’s power and deliverance. You see God wanted them to know He always comes through!

 

But you know what? That little Passover lamb was only a shadow of someone much greater and permanent. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, part of the Holy Trinity, the Everlasting King and Prince of peace, came and became our Passover Lamb! He was and is the Lamb that was slain for the forgiveness of sins! Jesus is the stone of memorial for us! He is the ultimate reminder of God’s power and deliverance.

 

There is fulfillment now – Jesus has the power to set captives free! Hallelujah! Jesus the stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone upon which true life is built!

 

There is also fulfillment yet to come – Right now we are still in the flesh and because of it we are still physically trapped in a sinful world. Spiritually we are set free from the bondage of sin but we are still victims of sin all around us. But there is coming a day when we will hear the trumpet call of God and we will be given new bodies that no longer are subject to sin and death. We will be perfect, without sin and forever connected with God through His son Jesus! Jesus will have all authority over His and our enemies then we will experience the Final deliverance from Sin!

 

Every man and woman, boy and girl who has received Jesus as Lord has as a stone of memorial within -- the Spirit of God himself. Listen: 13 In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—in Him when you believed—were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 14 He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.   Eph 1:13-14 (HCSB)

 

God wanted them to see…

2. A Stone of Memorial to God’s Presence –

God had been with them the entire time. He was in the pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night that led them the whole way. Through the desert He was always there! He didn’t want them to forget his presence! He knew that once they got in the land and got settled down there was a tendency for them to forget about Him. He didn’t want that to happen!

 

Can I tell you, God hasn’t changed! He doesn’t want you to forget that he is there. He is always present. He wants us to be mindful of the fact that he is always there for us. No matter what is going on around us we need to have that Spiritual marker in place that reminds us He is always there!

 

In Genesis 28 we see Jacob setting up a stone of memorial to God’s presence. God had spoken to him and he didn’t want to forget. And he wanted everyone who would come by the place he called Bethel – the house of God – that God had spoken to him and He was there!

 

 

As you read through the Psalms you can see how David celebrated the presence of God and when things looked like God wasn’t around, David would cry out for God to be there. The word always came – I’m right here!

 

This is for you today! Jesus once again is for us the stone of memorial. Because of His life and death and resurrection we can experience His presence right now! He told his disciples and on down through history us I am with you always to the very end! Again remember the Eph. 1 verse – we are sealed with the Spirit of God. He is our assurance that God’s presence is always there.
The promise doesn’t stop there! There is a future fulfillment yet to come – we will live in presence of God physically forever! That’s why Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled.” You see God’s presence is a reality for those of us who have accepted Jesus. There is relationship with the Almighty God through the blood of Jesus. That relationship guarantees presence.

 

The 12 stones were also to be seen as

3. A Stone of Memorial to God’s Help –

God had shown His power by delivering the Israelites out of Egypt. He had given them His presence. But He was promising that He would provide the help needed to continue on the journey.
You see coming to Jesus as Lord and Savior is just the beginning. It is the beginning of a lifetime, a journey with God. That is why the psalmist could say with certainty in Ps. 46, 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (NIV)

 

He is our ever-present help in times of trouble! Some of you need to be reminded of that today. He has brought you out of the darkness and made you His child. He isn’t going to leave you now when the going gets tough! Just like a good father would never leave his child if they were in danger or need his help. As human fathers we would give our lives for our kids. I would die without hesitation for one of my boys. If I as a mere human father feel that way about my children don’t you think that God the heavenly Father will come through even more when we need his help? Of course He will.

 

In I Samuel 7:12 – we see Samuel setting up a stone he called “Ebenezer” the stone of help. He put it up because God had helped the children of Israel recover Ark of the Covenant and defeat the Philistines. He set it up so that those who came by it would be reminded that God is our help!

 

You need to be reminded today that the Holy Spirit is our comforter and helper. We can survive and even prosper through adversity because he is with us.

 

There is a fulfillment yet to come in this area too. There will come a day when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes and we will no longer have any trouble because we will live in His physical presence forever.

 

Conclusion: Jesus is called the Living Stone! (I Peter 2:4) He is a living Stone of Memorial! He is the one stone some have rejected but for those who have accepted Him, He has become the chief cornerstone -- the rock upon which all things are built.

He is the Rock of Salvation! Ps. 18:1-3; Ps. 62:2-7

He is the Rock Eternal – Is. 26:3-4

He is the Rock of Refuge – Ps. 31:2

He is the Rock that satisfies and quenches our thirst for life. Num. 20:11; John 7; I Cor. 10:4

He is the Rock upon which to build your life! Matt 7

 

 

What are you building your life / house on? Jesus is the cornerstone of the house that will stand for eternity. Have you found your foundation in Him? Everything else you try to build your life on will crumble. The Bible says he will either be the Rock you stand on or be crushed by. Today can be the day you put down your Ebenezer Stone. Today you can find your help and salvation from the Rock of Ages. If you have you never accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior why not do it today?

Rick's Recipes: Memorial Day Baked Beans

Memorial Day Baked Beans

A recipe that was used for our town's annual Memorial Day barbecue. My mom made it for years and passed it down to me. She quit using measurements so long ago that I was only given the ingredients. I've only ever made it by taste.

Cook: 45 mins

Total: 55 mins

Prep: 10 mins

Servings: 6

Yield: 6 servings

 

Ingredients

• 2 (16 ounce) cans baked beans with pork
• ½ pound bacon, chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 3 tablespoons barbeque sauce (such as Open Pit®)
• 3 tablespoons mustard
• 2 tablespoons molasses

 

Directions

• Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

• Step 2

Mix together baked beans with pork, bacon, onion, brown sugar, ketchup, barbeque sauce, mustard, and molasses in a Dutch oven.

• Step 3

Cover and bake in the preheated oven until thickened and bubbling, 45 to 60 minutes.

 

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:  313 calories; protein 13.3g; carbohydrates 50.7g; fat 7.7g; cholesterol 24mg; sodium 1075.2mg.

© Copyright 2022 Allrecipes. All rights reserved.

By duffsden

 

Friday Funnies: Victor Borge & Robert Merrill - Autumn Leaves

 

Do you need a path to follow?

 

The great missionary, David Livingstone; when he started modern mission movements in Africa, the mission society that sent him to Africa wrote him a letter.

They said, Dr. Livingstone, (he had been there for a couple of years) is there a path well paved to where you are? If there is, we have men that we want to send to help you.

 

 

Dr. Livingstone wrote back and he said that if you have men who will only come if a path has been paved, I don’t want them. I want men who will only come if there is no path at all.

 

I believe in the year that the church is living in, God wants to take us to places where paths have not yet been developed to where we need to go and we need to engage risk, we need to embrace risk.

 

We need to understand the book of James 4:13 says, “Life is but a vapor, here today, gone tomorrow”. Let’s stop trying to make everything comfortable, as if we are going to be here forever, because we are not.

A man fell into a pit and he couldn’t get himself out.

 

A man fell into a pit and he couldn’t get himself out.

A subjective person came along and said, “I feel for you down there in the pit.”

An objective person came along and said, “It is illogical that someone would fall down into that pit.”

A Christian scientist came along and said, “You only think you are in a pit.”

A Pharisee said, “Only bad people fall into the pit.”

A newspaper reporter wanted the exclusive story on the pit.

A fundamentalist said, “You deserve your pit.”

Confucius said, “If you had listened to me, you would not be in the pit.”

Buddha said, “A pit is only your state of mind.”

A realist said, “That is a pit!”

A scientist calculated the pressure necessary to get him out of the pit.

A geologist taught him to appreciate the rock strata in the pit.

A tax man asked him if he was paying taxes on the pit.

The council inspector asked him if he had a permit to dig a pit.

An invasive person came and avoided the person in the pit all together.

A self pitying person said, “You have not seen anything until you have seen my pit.”

A charismatic said, “Just confess, you are not in the pit.”

An optimist said, “Things could get worse.”

A pessimist said, “Things will get worse.”

Jesus, seeing the man, knelt down and lifted him out of the pit.

Andrae Crouch sings "Through It All" at a Billy Graham crusade in New Mexico in 1975

 

MONDAY QUOTES: TEN QUOTES FROM PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHES THAT MADE HISTORY

 

Sixty one years ago on May 25, President John F. Kennedy stood before a crowd in Houston, Texas, and declared to the world that the United States was going to put a man on the moon. This was 1962 and the Space Race between the U.S. and U.S.S.R was not going well for America. The Soviets had put the first satellite in orbit when they launched Sputnik in 1957, and then put the first human in space when Yuri Gagarin was sent up in 1961. There was a fear that the U.S. would forever be playing catchup in the race to the stars.

 

Yet in his celebrated speech, President Kennedy thrilled the nation with his determination to put an American on the moon. “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

 

It was a stirring call to action — one that would ultimately help expand humanity’s scientific knowledge and to pinpoint our place in the cosmos. Kennedy did not live to see Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the surface of the moon, but when they did the astronauts brought a message of peace with them: The crew of Apollo 11 carried two medals commemorating Soviet astronauts who had lost their lives on missions to show that this really was “one giant leap for mankind.”

 

To celebrate the anniversary of that stirring speech, here are 10 other presidential speeches that have changed the course of history.

 

The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant… I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.                                                                        — George Washington

 

George Washington’s “Farewell Address” of 1796 set the standard that U.S. presidents would serve only two terms in office. As the most popular figure of his day, and the first to hold this office,, Washington could have served as President for life. Instead, he chose to step down from his position of power, putting the good of the nation before his personal ambition. Washington had already displayed his selflessness when, in 1783, he gave up his military power to Congress. When King George III of England was told Washington meant to return to private life he declared, "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world."

 

‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.                                                       — Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic “House Divided” speech in 1858 when he was chosen as the Republican nominee for the presidency. The United States was already on the precipice of war over the matter of slavery, and Lincoln told voters that they would not be able to ignore the issue much longer. There would have to be a great reckoning, and it was not one that Lincoln intended to lose.

 

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.                                           — Abraham Lincoln

 

After Lincoln won the presidency in 1861, the United States endured a bloody civil war over the issue of slavery. In his second Inaugural Address in 1865, with the Union at the precipice of  victory and millions of enslaved people freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln set out his bold vision of reconstruction and reconciliation between the North and South.

 

It is that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world as against force and selfish aggression. All the peoples of the world are in effect partners in this interest, and for our own part we see very clearly that unless justice be done to others it will not be done to us.                                                                                                          
                                                                — Woodrow Wilson

 

Despite campaigning for President on a vow not to enter the First World War, Woodrow Wilson found himself leading the United States into the conflict. In 1918, looking toward the peace that would follow the war, Wilson gave a speech setting out 14 points necessary for a lasting settlement. His plan led to the creation of the League of Nations, which paved the way for the United Nations of today.

 

Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.                      — Franklin D. Roosevelt

 

In Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first Inaugural Address in 1933, he set out clearly the dire state of the nation amid the Great Depression. Yet he also sought to comfort Americans and promised change. Reflecting that fear itself was the only true obstacle, Roosevelt set out his project to rebuild the United States, the New Deal, telling his audience that “this nation asks for action, and action now.

 

The United States pledges before you — and therefore before the world, its determination to help solve the fearful atomic dilemma — to devote its entire heart and mind to find the way by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death, but consecrated to his life.
                                                              — Dwight Eisenhower

 

In 1953, the United States and the Soviet Union were facing each other in a Cold War that threatened at any moment to turn into a destructive conflict of atomic warfare. In his “Atoms for Peace” speech, Eisenhower opened up nuclear technology to the world, instead of guarding it secretly. Trading fear for knowledge, this helped demystify the new science, which paved the way for the development of nuclear energy around the globe.

 

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
                                                                — John F. Kennedy

 

John F. Kennedy laid down a challenge to Americans and to the world in his Inaugural Address of 1961. His speech set the tone for a government that would bring the nation together and foster a global community. Promoting service over selfishness, he promised the country that no challenge would be too great if people worked together.

 

We cannot, we must not, refuse to protect the right of every American to vote in every election that he may desire to participate in… It is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.                                          — Lyndon Johnson

 

The United States in 1965 (as it is now) was struggling with issues of racial injustice. After 600 civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, were brutally attacked by state troopers, the nation was shocked into action. President Johnson went to Congress and pressed for the passage of the Voting Rights Act. The new law would guarantee equal rights to vote to all U.S. citizens by abolishing discriminatory voting laws.

 

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!        — Ronald Reagan

 

The Cold War had dragged on for 40 years by the time President Reagan stood to speak beside the Brandenburg Gate in a divided Berlin in 1987. Outlining simple demands, he challenged the Soviet Union to speed up its promises of reform and freedom. It marked the closing chapter of an age of uncertainty, and promised better relations between the two global superpowers.

 

For when we have faced down impossible odds, when we've been told we're not ready or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can.                          — Barack Obama

 

In a campaign speech in New Hampshire in 2008, Barack Obama hit on a phrase that channeled the optimism of America. He would later repeat it in his acceptance speech delivered on November 4, 2008 in Chicago after his victory.. He reminded Americans, “A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination… America, we have come so far.”

 

SOURCE: 

About the Author

Ben Gazur

Ben Gazur is a freelance writer, historian, and folklorist.

How to Shrink Your Church

 

Pastors and churches spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year attending conferences, buying books, hiring consultants, advertisers and marketers, all to try and accomplish one thing: to increase attendance -- to be a bigger church.

 

I'm absolutely convinced this is the wrong tack.

Success is a slippery subject when it comes to the Church. That our ultimate picture of success is a crucified Messiah means any conversation about success will be incompatible with a "bigger is better" mentality. Yet, bigger and better is exactly what most churches seem to be pursuing these days: a pursuit which typically comes in the form of sentimentality and pragmatism.

 

 

 Sentimentality and pragmatism are the one-two punch which has the American Church on the ropes, while a generation of church leaders acquiesces to the demands of our consumer culture. The demands are simple: tell me something that will make me feel better (sentimentality for the churchgoer), and tell me something that will work (pragmatism for the church leader). Yet it is not clear how either one of those are part of what it means to be the church.

 

 

Sentimentality is mother's milk to the church which has ceased to believe our faith should really make a difference in the way we live our lives. Instead of proclaiming resurrection, the sentimental church will devote their entire Sunday worship service to Mother's/Father's Day -- or worse yet, Valentine's Day. Not that we don't appreciate our parents and sweethearts, but the yielding of precious worship time to the celebration of greeting card companies signals a much deeper problem: we have lost track of the story of God. Yet, for a church to grow bigger, losing track of the story is precisely what is required.

 

 

Instead of pursuing faithfulness the sentimental church must provide a place where people can come to hear a comforting message from an effusive pastor spouting fervent one-liners which are intended only to make us feel good about the decisions we've already made with our lives. If our beliefs aren't actually, really true then at least we can have a Hallmark moment, right? Above all the sentimental church must never teach us that in the kingdom of God, up is down, in is out, and nothing short of dying to ourselves and each other can help us truly live.

 

 

Perhaps more than sentimentality, pragmatism is ravaging the church. Pragmatism has led to a fairly new niche industry I call the Church Leadership Culture. Taking their cues from business, church leadership manuals are more than willing to instruct the interested pastor in how to gain market share. I once heard church consultant and leadership guru Don Cousins say that you can grow a church without God if you have good preaching, great music, killer children's ministry, and an engaging youth minister. Cousins should know. He helped build Willow Creek Community Church and the church leadership culture. In the pragmatic church, there is only one question that matters, "What will work to grow my church?"

 

 

The fundamental problem with the one-two punch of sentimentality and pragmatism is, of course, the church's job is not to affirm people's lives, but to allow the gospel to continually call our lives into question. The church's job is not to grow -- not even to survive. The church's job is to die -- continually -- on behalf of the world, believing that with every death there is a resurrection. God's part is to grow whatever God wishes to grow. Growing a church isn't hard ... being faithful as the church, that's a different story.

 

 

I'm the pastor of a church called Redemption Church in Olathe, KS. Our church was planted in 2003 and founded upon church leadership principles that worked like a charm. We grew from 2 families to around 200 families in the first three years. We planted another church in a nearby town and continued to grow. But, when we decided to reject sentimentality and pragmatism and chase faithfulness instead we really began to grow ... smaller that is. I don't know for sure because we no longer count, but my best guess is that we have decreased by more than half. If pressed about my church's growth strategy, I usually say it is to get smaller and die; to continually decrease the amount of time, resources and energy we spend trying to have the ultimate church experience, and to spend more time actually being faithful. Nowadays, faithfulness -- not success -- is our only metric. Success is about "doing." Faithfulness is about "being," and it's really hard to measure.

 

 

Convincing the church she does not exist for the benefit of her members, but for the life of the world is a bad church growth strategy. It's also exactly what the church must do. It's a tough sell because crucifixion seems like a losing strategy unless you believe in the resurrection. Faithfulness seems like a losing strategy unless you believe that the power of the gospel trumps our ability to come up with all the right answers to all the right questions.

 

 

So, God save us from the successful church. Give us churches who shun sentimentality and pragmatism and aren't afraid to face the inevitable shrinkage which comes as a result of following Jesus. God save us from church leadership strategies.

 

 

After all, it takes zero faith to follow a strategy, but incredible faith to pursue the kingdom of God and leave the rest in God's hands.

 

If I've learned anything as a pastor, it is this: faithfulness flies in the face of sentimentality and pragmatism, and if you pursue it you have to expect small numbers.

 

 

 

Source: Tim Suttle  Pastor, writer, musician

Original post HERE

Rick's Recipes: Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

 

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

Slow cooked, Texas-style pulled pork that is served on a buttered and toasted roll. My family's favorite.

Cook: 5 hrs

Total: 5 hrs 15 mins

Prep: 15 mins

Servings: 8

Yield: 8 sandwiches

 

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 (4 pound) pork shoulder roast
• 1 cup barbeque sauce
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 extra large onion, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
• 8 hamburger buns, split
• 2 tablespoons butter, or as needed

 

Directions

• Step 1

Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme. Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork, 5 to 6 hours.

• Step 2

Remove the roast from the slow cooker, and shred the meat using two forks. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.

• Step 3

Spread the inside of both halves of hamburger buns with butter. Toast the buns, butter side down, in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Spoon pork into the toasted buns.

Cook's Note

The pork can also be cooked on Low for 10 to 12 hours.

Tips

Discover the best slow cookers to buy for making our favorite slow cooker recipes.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:   528 calories; protein 31.9g; carbohydrates 45.5g; fat 23.2g; cholesterol 98.4mg; sodium 802.7mg.

 

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By cmccreight