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    People are so Weird


    2010 - 03.03

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    Posted in Real Thoughts | 3 Comments »

    I am sure you have noticed that this world is filled with weird people. They are everywhere. When I drive to work, I see them. When I go to restaurants, I see them. When I watch TV, they are there making the news. They all want to be my friend on Facebook and some of them are even related to me. Every time I think I have seen the weirdest person ever, there is always someone else to come along and blow the first person’s weirdness out of the water. The scary thing is, as I sit here in my green skinny jeans and ever changing hair style (currently a edgy mohawk), I see them in the mirror.

    I am weird! Those close to me know how weird I can be (No laughing, Robin R). I am so weird, instead of marrying a nice quiet woman that helps me be normal, I married a bold woman that encourages me to embrace my weirdness. The difference between me and most people is that I have accepted my weirdness and I strive to express the uniqueness of my weirdosity (made-up word meaning the physical state of weirdness). Most people can’t accept that they are weird and that denial leads to increased levels of weirdness. They think their behavior and lifestyle is normal, when in actuality it is quite weird. I have learned the more you accept you’re weird the more palatable you are to those around you.

    In my ConnectGroup for church we are currently watching The Truth Project video series by Focus on the Family, and last week’s lesson was on Sociology (the study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society). Sitting and watching how our amazing God has built into the creation of man a structure and framework of society, I was struck by a very weird thought; “With so many weird people in our lives, is there something that we can learn about the nature of God through our differences?”

    In an effort to understand this new thought on weirdness, I looked up “weird” in the dictionary. Here is what is said, “involving or suggesting something supernatural; unearthly or uncanny.” Oh Wow! You mean my weirdness is directly related to God? That only makes sense because God made us in His image. Now let me put this in here before I say any more; there are obviously two types of weird, Bizarre Weird (the weird that isolates you or others and makes the individual the object of the attention) and there is Awesome Weird (the weird that attracts many types of people and directs them to God). I desire to be the Awesome Weird not Bizarre Weird. By being Awesome Weird I may do bizarre things, but the underlying focus is on Jesus Christ.

    Without going into a deep theological conversation, Genesis 1:26-28 says,

    Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”… So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them…

    Amazing, God gave us our weirdness. All of us! After He created male and female He then told them what He made them to accomplish. This brings two thoughts to mind. First, we, in ourselves, do not contain all the parts of our supernatural God and therefore need to be with other people’s weirdness to understand more fully the character and nature of God. In another verse in Genesis it says, “it is not good for man to be alone.” For that reason God created a helper that was suitable for him. How awesome is that? God knew that we needed others and to further reveal His nature, He created other people for us to have relationships with. But, we get so caught up in how Bizarre Weird others are that we forget they are made by a creator that infused them with His image and character, also. Instead of fighting through the Bizarre so that we can look for the Awesomeness of God, we focus on their weirdness and stay guarded. Every person has a piece of God’s awesomeness in them and the closer you get to God the less Bizarre you appear and the more Awesome you become. It is our differences that collectively point to God.

    Secondly, we should be passionately Awesome Weird. Our mission, as Christians, is to go into all the world and make everyone Awesome. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which is Awesome. If we shrink back from our mission and fail to preach Christ and His Awesomeness, then others around us will be stuck in the Bizarre all the while Awesomeness awaits them. We can’t be bashful or awkward. That is Bizarre. Instead, when God brings family, friends and strangers across our path who are shackled by the Bizarre Weird let’s become bold, passionate and infused with Holy Spirit Awesomeness. Once emboldened and infused with the Holy Spirit Awesomeness, we can lovingly proclaim the Good News that they no longer need to be Bizarre, but instead can be free to be Awesome. It is only by His power that we and others turn from the Bizarre to the Awesome. He is Awesome, so we should strive to be Awesome, too!

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    A Post From My Pastor


    2010 - 02.17

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    Posted in Guest Authors | No Comments »

    From time to time, I will post blog entries from guest authors. They will range from inspirational to informative. But they will always be helpful and thought provoking. Here is the first of those guests. This is a post from my pastor, Pastor Dave Walker. He is the Lead Pastor at our church, Valley Christian Center…

    Last August, as I was preparing for 2010, God began to stir up in me a passion to see unbelievers place their trust in Christ.  God began to show me His heart for the people in the Las Vegas Valley–people who are driven by financial pressures, family problems, the stresses of every day life…and all that without the blessing and strength that comes from knowing Christ!

    As my heart was stirred with compassion for them, I began to think, “What if…” kinds of thoughts:

    • What if ALL of Valley Christian Center was stirred with Holy Spirit compassion for Las Vegas?
    • Since the task of reaching all of Las Vegas is so enormous, what if each of us just reached out to at least one person in 2010?
    • What if it became a habit? 50 the first year; 200 the next, 400 and so on?
    • What if we prayed, believed God, and invited people to come to church with us?

    Out of that was born “Each 1, Reach 1”: Our goal for 2010 is for everyone who calls Valley Christian Center their home church to lead one person to Christ before the end of the year.

    Here’s how we can turn “what if” questions into “We did it!” statements:

    • Ask God to give you real compassion for people:  not the kind that makes you shed a few tears, but the kind that makes you go out of your way to help someone.
    • Ask God to show you the one person in your world who is ready to jump at a chance to follow Christ.
    • Pray for that person every day; ask God to give you words and opportunity to speak to them.
    • Pray the discipling process all the way through:  accepting Christ, water baptized, attending church, Holy Spirit baptized, serving, and helping others

    Here’s what the Bible says:

    Salvation that comes from trusting in Christ–which is the message we preach–is already within easy reach. In fact, the Scripture says,

    “The message is close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.”

    “For ‘Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

    “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Romans 10:8, 13, 14 NLT)

    There is someone, in your world, who is right now on the verge of choosing to follow Christ!  You have been uniquely positioned, by God, to help them. Your part is “praying and saying”:  pray for them, and then tell them about Jesus.

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    Finding Friends Among the Lonely


    2010 - 01.29

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    Posted in Real Thoughts | 1 Comment »

    As a pastor I have the ultimate social buzz-kill profession. Don’t believe me? Well, what are the two things you should never talk about at a cocktail party? Politics and Religion. Contrary to this thought, though, is our new generation of “politics are cool”, politics often pop up in conversations. In fact, there are cocktail parties designed just for political discussion. God, however, is never the theme of cocktail parties and is the subject that people often shy away from and the conversation completely dies out. Inevitably this happens about the time that someone, unknowingly, asks a pastor what they do for a living. Everyone, in the conversation, immediately acts awkward and cleans up their speech, as if the pastor is wearing a “bug” for God. It tends to make those in this profession very lonely and isolated. This is something that I have known as a PK (Pastor’s Kid) and now as a pastor myself. Before being ordained as a pastor, I was a banker. It gave me an open door to speak to all kinds of people, about all kinds of topics in all kinds of settings. But as pastor, in those same environments, I am shut down. It is a very interesting dynamic.

    Last week, we, at Valley Christian Center, hosted the Ministers Fellowship International (MFI) Southwest Regional Conference. There we 20+ pastors and wives in Las Vegas, to build relationships and be ministered to themselves. These were amazing men and women. They ranged from pastors of start up churches to churches in existence for decades; from small in size and cash flow to large in both; from senior pastors to support pastors and everywhere in between. There was two unifying factors that brought us together: We all love Jesus and desire to surround ourselves with people who are passionate for Him.

    This was my first opportunity to experience a group of pastors that are willing to be honest and talk about things in a real way; their frustrations, their hurts and their expectations. (We pastors have a tendency to paint a picture of our life as always rosy so as to cover any shortcomings personally or in our church.) Each pastor desired to take their church, their people and MFI to the next level. It was amazing. One thing that struck me was the pressing need each pastor had to make and have friends that understood the unique pressures and life of a pastor. It gave me a new perspective of my own pastor and taught me a few things. First, I am reminded of what my mother taught me growing up. She would say, “John, do you want friends? Then start being friendly.” And then she would use the verse in Proverbs 18:24,

    “A man who has friends must himself be friendly…”

    I hated it, because she made it sound so easy, but she (and God) was right. We all have things that isolate ourselves from other people, but if we are ever going to have friends, we have to step outside ourselves and our situations and become friendly people. This means being friendly to more people then just our current friends. We must be friendly to all people no matter how weird and off-putting they are.

    The second thing I learned is I need to be quick to put into action what Paul wrote in Hebrews 13:7,

    “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (NIV)

    You see, how we respond to our leaders will either give them joy or give them more of a burden as they function. This verse implies that leaders are going to have to give an account to God for how they lead and, therefore, a good leader has your best interests in mind as they lead you. It may not always feel that way and my own pride keeps me from listening to them when they have wisdom from God. However, if I believe, as the Bible states, God has placed them in authority over the local church and God placed me in that church then the natural assumption is that you are in the place that Paul is speaking about… “Submit to their authority”… This is not a blind submission, but instead is a faithful submission. It is as if you are saying, “I trust you are following God and as you follow Him, I will follow you.” As a pastor, it is amazingly motivating to be in covenant relationships with people who want to follow Christ at all costs. And as a partitioner, it is amazingly freeing to follow a pastor that humbly wants the best for me. It allows everyone to function properly in the place they were created to function. It allows others to be added to the body and creates an environment that fosters healing for the broken and lonely.

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