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Home » Writer's Blogs » David-Sillaman David-Sillaman blog David Sillaman (24) Growth = A Much Needed Wrestling Match With God Posted Friday, March 13, 2009 (255 days 5 hours ago.) Viewed 16 times. I recently returned from a pastor's conference in Anderson, South Carolina that challenged my perspective of pastoral leadership. During a sermon about change and challenge Perry Noble, pastor of NewSpring Church, a mega church with more than 15,000 members and three church locations posed four questions to a group of 3,000 pastors and leaders that rocked the traditional mindset of pastoral leadership. Basing his sermon on Exodus 33, Moses and the Glory of the LORD, Pastor Noble challenged the pastors in attendance to wrestle with God to determine who is really with them in their walk as a leader. Pastor Noble cited "the steady decrease in believers of Christ is a direct result of a lack of commitment on behalf of the pastor." In a no-holds-bar style speech, He said, "the average pastor typically stays at a church for only twenty two months." He challenged the pastors in attendance with a gut check to determine if their church really knows the pastor is really there for the long haul. Pastor Noble cited, it not enough that God has placed a calling on your heart to lead those to Jesus Christ, but that you should question God like Moses did in Exodus 33 when he ask God, "You have been telling me, lead these people, but you have not let me know whom you will send with me." How can you lead a church to reach those far from God when the church doesn't know who the leader is? "Do you understand that leadership and ministry is to be received by the church, not achieved by the church," Pastor Noble said. The second question for the pastors and leaders to wrestle with God was if they were really pleasing him, meaning that we should be like Moses in Exodus 33 having to question God to determine if he still found favor with him. Knowing God and pleasing God are two different things. Pastor Noble asked the very simple but profoundly complex question of, "are we as pastors and leaders placing limits on ourselves that God hasn't placed on us." As a church have we stopped reaching those far from God, because of self imposed limits that are not pleasing to God? As senior pastors and leaders are we placing these self imposed limits because of a fear of loosing our paycheck? Lifting up the skirt of church to check for dirty underwear, Pastor Noble pressed the concept of prostitution by pastoral fear of money. Are we pleasing God, and placing handcuffs on who we reach out to because we are afraid of loosing our congregation? In a hilarious yet gripping story about a homosexual hitting on him in the bathroom, Pastor Noble pushed the boundaries of traditional thoughts and fears about who we are commissioned to reach. Citing, that in an effort to abide by "the man code" and not make contact with this homosexual in the bathroom, God spoke to him about the very reason his church exists. Pressing the issue of the "great commission", we are to be courageous and reach out to these people who without knowing Jesus, will most certainly go to hell. As pastors and leaders are we categorizing who we reach out to? The third question Pastor Noble asked was "will we see you?" As pastors and leaders has our focus shifted from seeking repentance to attendance? Are we using the church and passion God has given to us for the sake of filling up a building with people? Moses in Exodus 33 asked God that if his presence was not with him, then he didn't want to lead the people. Witnessing to attendance without a complete focus on repentance is the same as having the sheep lead the Sheppard. Our call as pastors and leaders is to focus on being the Sheppard to the people by asking for God's presence in repentance. It is not about how many seats you fill up, but rather how many lives's you change. Pastor Perry cited his church's rapid growth to "a shifting of focus away from traditional church thinking and seeking to a repositioned focus on repentance." The last question Pastor Noble, asked us was "if we are asking God for what was next?" "God sized changes are messy," he said. Church in America has stopped growing because of compliancy. We have gotten to comfortable for change. Each period of growth Newspring Church experienced was results of a constant seek to change and experience what God had/has in store for them next. You will never get to where God wants you to be, without first changing where you are. The Unleash 2009 pastors and leaders conference was amazing. I recommend it all pastors and leaders as a must attend for 2010. Collectively as a church we can reverse the downward trend in church belief. All it takes is a much needed wrestling match with God. Permalink         Comments (1) Recession Proof Your Faith Posted Friday, March 13, 2009 (255 days 5 hours ago.) Viewed 74 times. "Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years." (2 Kings 8:1) The idea of having to recession proof your faith seems rather foolish, almost anti-faithful in nature. However, in an economic freefall as we are experiencing globally, it is important to not let your faith in God fall with unemployment and the dollar. More and more people are loosing faith because of fear. We are experiencing an economic famine like that of the famine that besieged Samaria. (2 Kings 6:24) Each day new pressures build on top of faith, making it easier to turn away from God for help. Fear and a lack of God responding to our needs on our time line easily prompts doubt in God, this is why learning to recession proof your faith is so important. I recently read about The Shunammite woman and how Elisha protected her. She was diligent in her faith to Him. During a period of suffering the Shunammite woman took comfort in Him verses dismissing Him. The more I dwelled on this particular passage I came to realize that my faith would be attacked more now because of the economy and the media bias towards focusing on the negativity of the situation at hand. I also realized that my faith needed to be recession proofed. Now I am not saying that I have a weak faith in the God, but rather I wanted to wear a second set of Gods armor. I, like most of you need this second set of God's armor not only for my personal protection but also for my families. Elisha knew this to be true as well for the Shunammite woman and her family. She was going to a little extra something to keep her going. I can't help but wonder if God is simply waiting on us to recognize this revelation. We are quick to thank God and recognize God when times are good for us. We are even quicker to dismiss God when times are bad, and lets face ittimes are bad right now. I heard a report just today talking about how the believe in God has dropped over the last decade. I also read about an investigative report on Bloomberg making light of an email that talked about Proverbs 13:11 and how important it was for the employees of this particular investment company to work harder at cheating its customers. This is a sign of the times we are living in. Even God's words are being twisted and distorted for the purpose of gaining riches and cheating people. As a result we are now in a recession. I find it of absolute importance to ask God for a second set of his armor to wear. Think of it like double locking your safe. So how exactly do you recession proof your faith? I have found several techniques and steps you can take to help in recession proofing your faith. Here are three steps you can take to strengthen your relationship with God, put on a second layer of his armor, and recession proof your faith in the process. Step one, spend more family time together. This first step is almost a given considering spending is way down across the country. However, it's not so much "just" spending time together but rather "how" you spend your time together. Spending time watching doom and gloom on the television just spreads doom and gloom on your couch. I want to encourage you to spend your family time together reading the bible and discussing his word. Encourage one another in practicing of prayer. Teach your family and grow with your family spiritually. Elisha didn't just tell the Shunammite woman to go away, but he told her to go away with her family. Take refuge in knowing God wants to protect your entire family. The second step is to start a daily blessings notebook. Recognizing God's blessings on a daily basis will help during those times when it seems like he has abandoned you. Elisha told the Shunammite woman exactly how long God had decreed a famine in the landseven years. Why do you think Elisha told the woman and her family this? Because he knew, how discouraging it can be when you can't see God in largeness for an extended period of time. There is no sign of our recession letting up. If anything, all signs point to the recession getting worse. Keeping a daily journal will help you recognize the small blessings God gives to you on a daily basis. Being thankful to God, for small blessings like food, water, shelter, and family strengthens the foundation of your relationship with God by changing your perspective of God. How you perceive something determines how you receive that something. By learning to be thankful on a daily basis you will be better prepared to see the attacks on your faith during these tough times. The third and final step involves respect and honor. The Shunammite woman respected the word of God thru Elisha. She honored Him by obeying what the man of God Elisha said. Don't think for one minute this honoring of God wasn't difficult for the Shunammite woman and her family, because they gave up everything they knew and everything they had in respect. So this step is naturally going to be the toughest step you can take in recession proofing your relationship with God. Keeping in mind that God doesn't require us to understand why things are the way they are. Giving honor and respect to God is incredibly difficult, and God knows it. He asks us for it unconditionally, but he knows how difficult these times are for you personally, for your family and how difficult it will be for your faith in him. Can I tell you that when the time comes God will restore you! God not only restored the Shunammite's land but also lost wages for the seven period that she and her family honored Him. God will give everything back to you. Unemployment is the highest it has been in decades. Everyday you are challenged with more bad news regarding our economy. You have to give up more of the things and lifestyle you have grown accustomed to, just to make it. I want to encourage you when you are making a list of what to give up and what to keep, I pray that faith in a loving and just God is on the list of things to keep. God is not punishing you, but rather protecting you. All you have to do is keep the faith strong! David Sillaman Permalink         Comments (3)

Archives: November 2009 M T W T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30           « Oct     Previous Posts: Growth = A Much Needed Wrestling Match With God Recession Proof Your Faith All Posts by David Sillaman Related Posts: The Reality of Their Works. Setting Priorities in the Spirit: Values Clarification Evidence of God Walking in the Spirit A God-Given Voice Would You Like to STOP Hiding From Us Now? Celebrating Yourself and Loving It The New Spirituality For The Age

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