Born in the mid 1950's, I'm one of those baby boomers. I am the husband of the love of my life, Robyn, and the father of five adult children. My family is God's blessing to me! I have had the privilege of being a Bible preacher since I was 13 years old, and a pastor for many years. It is a fire in my bones that I can't,(and don't want to), get away from!
I enjoy jogging. It is a great way to stay in shape and to relieve stress! I find that the time spent running is also time spent praying, processing, and planning. Recently I have entered some races and discovered that I love doing that!
My passion is to continue pastoring and to impact the lives of the next generation, including my children and grandchildren!
Although I am a serious middle-ager in real years, I am still young at heart and not afraid of change!
Welcome
Welcome to my site! I am the Senior Pastor of LifeBridgeChurch in the Middle River/White Marsh area of Baltimore County, Maryland. Contained in this blog are the thoughts, opinions, and ramblings of an imperfect man who wants to please his Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you are moved by them in some way... whether blessed, challenged to think or see something another way, or even ticked off! Whatever is said in this blog is my own and doesn't necessarily reflect the official position of LifeBridgeChurch.
I had a great experience today! For the first time since the team has been going there, I visited the Curtis Bay Feeding Ministry of LifeBridge Church.
It was a joy to watch our fellow LifeBridgers lovingly serve the under-resourced and homeless of Curtis Bay! They all worked together, running around like busy bees serving the queen bee.
They each had a task or tasks and went about them with diligence. Some served the food as the people came by in line. Others helped people carry food back to the tables when their hands were too full. Some served drinks and carried them to the tables.
Still others kept the tables full of deserts. Some walked around, interacting with those being fed.
When the time came to finish, leftovers and more were carried home by the crowd.
The words of Jesus kept going through my mind as I watched all the activity... "When you give a cold cup of water to one of these little ones, you give it to Me!"
Does anyone feel as blessed as I do to live in a place like the USA?!!! We have been spared the huge natural disasters like the two that have been in the news lately. The cyclone that hit Myanmar left major devastation and death. Estimates now range between 68, 000 to 127,000 dead. The earthquake in China has left at least 15,000 dead, with up to 25,000 buried under rubble. I cannot wrap my mind around numbers like that! I don't want the huge numbers to de-sensitize me to the reality of individual human suffering. I want to share in the emotional pain brought on by the plight of fellow human beings that God created. I am also very thankful for ministries that are already on the ground in China and trying to be in Myanmar to help relieve some suffering and to share the love of Christ.
I am very excited about a move afoot in our community to begin a ministry to the under-resourced and homeless! It will involve several area churches banding together in a cooperative effort to make it happen! LifeBridge Church will be one of them. We are still very much in the planning stage at this moment, but, by God's grace, it will be a reality in the next few months! Stay tuned for more details and pray for it!
My wife had flowers delivered to our house today from another man! You heard it right! It was actually from another pastor to boot! Can you believe that? What really happened was a very nice gesture... Robyn has been leading the childcare for the weekly Women In The Word at Grace Fellowship Church this year. She has also overseen childcare for another event there. The flowers came in the name of the Senior Pastor and another lady at the church. Although they paid her to do the job, they went over and beyond to say thanks with the flowers! Classy church!!!
The new sermon series that begins this Sunday has the potential to help lots of people. While working on it again today, I was very motivated to get it going! The title of the series... "Where's The Line?" Life is a collection of many decisions. Some of them are trivial, but most are not! How do we decide in the gray areas of life? Be there the next three Sundays to find out!
Had a great time with our grandson, Anthony, yesterday! He has to be one of the most handsome, intelligent, mannerly, nine year olds on this planet! That is an unbiased, objective observation!
Have I mentioned lately that I am blessed to serve with two of the best guys in the world?!!! Pastors Bobby and Jeff are true friends and men who have a real heart for LifeBridge Church! Express your encouragement and appreciation the next time you see them, please!
I have been thinking about the Summer of 2008 lately. Because I'm a pastor, I think in terms of the church. I love summertime, but as a pastor, I sometimes dread what can happen with church attendance during that time.
However, I am really looking forward to this summer! I can't wait for June! We are banding together with hundreds of churches worldwide to pray! One Prayer is a four week campaign during June. I am anticipating a renewal in our prayer lives as a result of what happens in that month! Anytime a church begins to pray consistently and passionately, good things happen! Lives are changed!!!
We are going from One Prayer in June to "One Life To Give" in July. That will be a four week series focusing on the central subject, the main topic, for all true Christ followers! What will I do with the One Life God has given me... the Life for which I will one day be accountable to Him???
June and July will be two of the most crucial and potentially powerful of our entire ministry history! I am excited about what God is going to do!
The first two weeks of August will bring a mini-series called "Eternity"... one week on Heaven, one week on Hell.
There's more but I will leave you wondering!
Are you ready to give your spiritual life a boost in the Summer of 2008?
I need that! My life is far from perfect. I am still very much in the process of growing, of being changed, and of serving!
Over 42 years ago I was brought into the forever family of God by His grace. Since then, I have lived, grown, and served by His grace!
I will need His grace for the rest of my life! So will you!
NOW... some grace that needs to be given in light of yesterday's sermon... (for info on yesterday's sermon, see yesterday's blog or log on to our church site and listen to the sermon!)
God's standard for moms... raise your own children in your own home, not passing it off to a daycare or others! Stay out of the workforce and in the home. Titus 2:3-5; I Timothy 5:14
HOWEVER... there are situations with extenuating circumstances! There are single moms who have no choice right now. There are couples who have obligated themselves up the river and have to pay their bills. In those cases, we need to extend grace and mercy! As I said, I need grace!
If you are a new couple or new parents, make the decision early on that, rather than trying to have it all right now, you are going to sacrifice in order to keep mom home with those young children!!! Make that decision before you are over obligated!
For single moms, I pray that God will place good people in your life to come along side of you and help! You need grace! We need to extend grace!
On this Mother's Day Sunday, some wrap up thoughts...
My alarm went off at 6:10 this morning so that I could be at the 7:00 AM weekly Pastors meeting. In addition to the three pastors, there were 4 other men meeting with us. (Two others were not able to attend today.) Every other Sunday, those 6 men join us. They are men who are being mentored for further leadership at LifeBridge. What a meeting this morning! We are getting ready for some exciting things this summer and beyond! Stay tuned...
More new people in service today... another banner attendance day... more new people telling me they are bringing new people! There is a buzz in the air... God is moving in lives!
Beyond the growing attendance, there really is life change happening! Only God...
My precious Mom was in attendance today. What a blessing! As a matter of fact, God is allowing us to reach and minister to the next generation in my family! Some nephews and nieces are beginning to attend and they are not transferring in from another church they have been attending! That fires me up!
My sermon today on "Godly Womanhood" could be controversial in today's culture! My heart's desire for today's message... to be Biblical, not bowing to current culture, and to raise the value of womanhood! Part of the problem in our society with the meltdown of the family and the crisis with our children, lies at the feet of parents who don't fill the roles that God intended and made very clear in Scripture.
Put simply... if you are a young couple with children or about to have children... find a way to keep mom at home with those children! Moms, don't let the world tell you that you are giving up anything when you do! You are not taking second best! Couples who choose to have children and to pursue having all the "stuff" at the expense of allowing daycares to raise those children, are settling for second best! ( I fully realize that there are cases where it seems to be unavoidable, such as with single parents.)
Bottom line... Let's find out what God's pattern is and begin moving in that direction rather than trying to explain away that pattern and justify our poor decisions!
Today is an over the top, banner day for Chris!!! Today is his graduation... not from any formal school, but from a one year rehab.
Chris is 34 years old. For a good portion of his adult life he has battled with drug abuse. Even though he had a "Christian" upbringing, he took a path that was not pleasing to God.
However, God, in His grace, has pursued him all his life. When he was in his teens he had the privilege of living in a very good Christian ministry for a period of time. During that time God poured into his life.
On this Mother's Day weekend, Chris would be the first to say that he had a faithful, godly Mom who taught and prayed for him.
Finally, God brought him to the Helping Up Mission in downtown Baltimore a little over a year ago. It is there that God "caught up" to him and worked miraculous changes in him! Now, after just celebrating one year clean for the first time in many years, he graduates from the program today!
Back in September 2007 I had the privilege of meeting Chris for the first time through some other friends in the program. Since then we have grown close as brothers in Christ. I am so proud of Chris and thankful for his friendship!
Most of all, along with Chris, I am thankful for the grace of God that lovingly pursues us!
I always knew that she was a strong and intelligent woman. I have had the chance to see just how strong recently.
My Mom was 17 years old when she married my Dad. She became a mother just 18 months later at the ripe old age of 18! She raised 4 children, myself and my three younger sisters. She has always been a homemaker. She never worked outside of the home and never had a driver's license.
Twenty years ago, my Dad retired from his job of 31 years at the Chrysler Corporation. So, for the last 20 years, my parents have been "joined at the hip".
When Dad went Home to Heaven last month, Mom lost a life partner and a best friend. It was a major loss for her. Yet through it all, I have seen her strength.
When Dad was dying in my arms, Mom was standing there praying out loud, thanking God for the years they had together and praising Him for His goodness! I cried and felt very blessed!
She stayed in the room when Dad was taken out to the funeral home. She assisted me with covering him and stood by as they closed his casket for the last time.
Since then, she has experienced some days of serious loneliness and grief. I have seen her silent suffering and heard the pain in her voice when I speak with her on the phone. I know that it will be that way for quite a while, and to some degree, for the rest of her life.
Yet, I see strength and hope in her! It is first and foremost because of her long time relationship with her Savior, Jesus Christ. She has not just talked it, she has walked it! When the crisis came, she was not caught off guard. She leaned on her current relationship with God.
My Mom is not perfect, of course. (Not far from it though!) She is a quiet, unassuming person, almost shy. She is a godly woman and loves her family. I'm thankful for her and want to make the most of the time we have left together on this planet!
Some of you have a Mom much like mine. Others of you hurt because you don't. For you, God places other godly women around you, whether you realize it or not. Just look for them and begin to build a relationship with them. You may be surprised... they may need you as well!
How about it, can you bless your Mom on this site this Mother's Day weekend?!!!
Tonight I announced to the church the details of a very special upcoming June... We are teaming up with over 600 other churches to pray!
"One Prayer" is the name of this event. The idea is to pray a prayer for the church at large and for our church in particular. What do we want to ask God for?
Here are some of the highlights of June at LifeBridge...
Prayer Rally Kick Off on the next First Wednesday, June 4... together with several churches and pastors in our area, at our facility.
24 hours of prayer at our church facility beginning Friday, June 13 at 6 PM. People will sign up for half hour increments to pray during that period.
I will preach a sermon on June 8 entitled, "Make Us Unique". That message will be taken from John 17 and will form the basis for our prayer requests for the month.
On Sunday, June 15, 22, & 29, we will have three national pastors preachvia video! Two of the sermons are entitled, "Make Us Dangerous" and "Make Us Creative". The third sermon is yet to be determined.
I am very excited about this unique month! I believe what I heard Dr. Jerry Falwell say many times... "Nothing of eternal importance ever happens apart from prayer!"
How's your prayer life? Could it use a kick start?
On Sunday I brought a message about friendship. I said it is the most valuable possession we have on this earth. (Of course that doesn't include our relationship with God!)
I also said that it is the only thing we can take with us to Heaven! If that is so and if friendships are so valuable, why don't we take the time to invest more in them?
Friendships occur on three possible levels...
Acquaintances- I know you.
Associates- I am allied with you in a mutual venture. (neighbors, co-workers, etc.)
Affectionate soulmates- I know you very well, trust you deeply, and love you!
Jesus had friends during His time on earth. A prime example is His friendship with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. John 11:11
Another example is His friendship with those far away from God. Luke 7:34
One of my long time friends, from way back in church youth group days, is pastoring Pathway Church in Alabama. Check out his website and link to his blog. Brian is a great family man and pastor.
Who are your friends and are you taking time for them?
No doubt about it, we are in a time of financial turmoil! Are we in or about to go into a recession? That one I'll have to leave up to the "experts" to figure out! However, you don't have to be an expert to know that we are in financially troubled times. (i.e. rising gas and food prices, foreclosed homes, etc.)
Where does that leave our churches? Should we panic and pull back? Is this going to be an obstacle to our mission?
I contend that this is one of the greatest opportunities to come our way since the terrible tragedy of 9/11! That was a time when people seemed to be more open to spiritual matters. Church attendance increased for awhile and people were reached for Christ.
People will need help! It can come in several ways...
The obvious... a food and clothing ministry for the under-resourced.
Financial counseling, classes, and mentoring from the church.
Preaching and teaching what the Bible says about finances. Jesus talked about finances more than about Heaven and Hell!
At LifeBridge, we are going to do a four week series in July on biblical stewardship. I will probably call it, "Only One Life To Give". We will share what the Bible says about all the "stuff" we've been given. We will offer financial advice and extra classes during that month. We will encourage our attenders to bring unchurched friends to come for the series.
In addition, I am working with other pastors in our area to bring together an area wide food and clothing ministry. Cooperation of that kind takes work and a willingness to put aside differences. (We all share the same view of salvation through Jesus Christ alone!)
I am open to other ideas!!! Bottom line though... this is an opportunity, not an obstacle!!!
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