Earlier this year Careercast.com measured factors such as income, stress level, physical demands, and hiring outlook to determine the best and worst careers. Top of the list was software engineer. Bottom of the list was lumberjack, presumably having something to do with the required shirt….ha!

Clergy was 92 on the list.

That really doesn’t bother me. In fact, it works to the church’s advantage that the pastorate isn’t a cushy job, or we’d have too many doing it for the wrong reasons.

Of course, sometimes it appears that some churches go out of their way to ensure this job isn’t easy. (“You keep him humble, Lord, and we’ll keep him poor. And if he should ever try to take a day off, we’ll send someone after him.”)

The ministry isn’t an easy job, but it’s the best job in the world. That’s because everyday you have the chance to change history in advance. Every time you share Jesus, or pray with someone who is hurting, or work on a sermon, or plan a retreat, or counsel a couple, or even clean the church, you’re taking steps that can potentially make lives better forever.

I could have pursued other options that would have required less and given more in return. I sometimes think about it, but not often. There are too many victories behind me to speculate on what might have been — glorious victories that overshadow those few defeats.

And there are so many victories yet to come. I could never consider changing directions now!

The tragedy in Boston is still hard to comprehend.  However, making the rounds on Facebook and Twitter is a quote from Mr. Rogers you may have already seen:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

Countless stories have already come out about heroes on the scene. One such hero has been identified as Carlos Arrendondo. This 52 year old Costa Rican immigrant was standing near the finish line when the bombs exploded. He was waiting to greet a runner who had competed in honor of Carlos’ son, Alexander, who died in Iraq.

In a series of photos and videos taken immediately after the attack, Carlos is seen sprinting across the street to tear away fencing and scaffolding to get to victims. He used his own clothes and towels to try to staunch bleeding.

A particularly graphic photograph shows him pinching shut an artery on the partially severed leg of a man in a wheelchair.

Like everyone else, I’m angry that this happened. I’m hoping for swift and heavy justice. I’m also proud at the courage and compassion demonstrated by so many, like this man Carlos. What an example for the world to see.

Always look for the helpers and be one when you can!

Last week was the 9 year anniversary for Facebook. It launched on February 4, 2004, the original URL being thefacebook.com.

At first it was available only to Harvard students. Soon, other Ivy League students were invited to join. Then all university students. Then high school students. Then businesses. Then, in 2006, you and me.

Today Facebook has one billion users. More than half the people in the US and one-third of the people in Brasil use Facebook.

So, Facebook is huge. What’s my point?

Nine years. That’s my point. Look at what a little less than a decade can bring.

Ten years ago, founder Mark Zuckerberg was a college sophomore facing disciplinary charges for hacking into the Harvard student database. Today, he’s one of the world’s most wealthy and influential men.

Back then, Facebook was barely more than an idea, just an ambitious little website that he launched from his college dorm. Today it’s a global force; one out of six people in the world have a Facebook profile.

Of course, some say that Zuckerberg got lucky, that he was in the right place at the right time. Maybe so.

Still, it begs the question: In which way might today be your lucky day? For what great work is today the right time for you? For what great work is your current situation the right place?

Do you dare look ahead 10 years and allow yourself to imagine what God can accomplish through you? Do you dare apply yourself to this task every day between now and then?

2023 is already on its way. Imagine what a decade can bring. Imagine what you can accomplish between now and then. How many books you could write. How many languages you could learn. How many people you could tell about Jesus. How much Scripture you could memorize. How many things about your world that you could make better. In the next 10 years, what could you do? Build a medical clinic? Fund a school? Start a new church?

Maybe you’re tempted to think that your best opportunities are behind you. Or that your time hasn’t yet come. Maybe you’re tempted to think that you can get serious about the future at a later date, some time in the future.

Or maybe you remember what Jesus said…

“Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest.” (John 4:35)

It’s not too late and it’s not too soon. Today is the right time and this is the right place for God to do a great work through you.

Chapter 11 is a temporary financial reorganization that keeps a company’s creditors at bay until it can get back on its feet financially.

Chapter 7 is a total and complete erasure of all debts, with no further requirement to repay, nearly always leading to the dissolution of the company.

What’s the comparison to the Christian life? Grace is a Chapter 7 experience, but many believers treat it like Chapter 11.

We sometimes make the mistake of thinking that the forgiveness received at salvation is a temporary reorganization of the mess we have made with our lives, providing enough relief to last until we’re able to live in the strength of our own goodness.

That’s not the way it works. We’re saved by grace and we live by grace. The same grace. It comes through faith, and this not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. We live the Christian life the same way we begin it: by grace.

For this reason, rather than promising again and again to do that which we are incapable of doing, it’s better to start the morning with a simple prayer, requesting that the same grace that saved us will sustain us throughout the day, that by that we grace we may grow closer to Jesus in all we do.

This past Sunday when I spoke about the dream and vision I have for CLC I referenced a half of notes that paints the picture of the Spirit-empowered church I see.  This is my prayer! A church 10,000 strong…

…filled with passionate followers of Jesus whose hearts are on fire with love for God, love for one another, and love for a needy world.

…a church where the Great Commission is first priority. People share their faith, the gospel is preached, churches are planted, and nations are impacted.

…a church of great compassion where the needy and hurting are drawn to find hope and answers to their problems. People are healed, set free and made whole.

…a church of friendly, loving people, who see that each person feels accepted, valued and has a sense of belonging.

…a church where the very atmosphere is charged with powerful prayer, praise, intimate worship, and a spirit of faith and expectancy.

…a church filled with the Holy Spirit, demonstrating His fruit, moving in His gifts, and flowing in His power.

…a church where God’s Word is taught in such a way that people align their values, attitudes, and lifestyle to God’s kingdom.

…a church with such passionate devotion, radical conviction, and total commitment to the cause of Jesus the very gates of hell can’t stop it!

… a church where people discover God and experience His power in life-changing ways through contemporary and creative worship environments.

That’s the dream of the church I believe God wants to raise up in Bensalem and this northeast region!

If you were in service this past Sunday you heard me share these.  These are powerful examples of what God is doing through the ministry of CLC! These came in response to our service on Jan. 13th.

Not even sure how to describe today’s service at CLC other than to say it was as if the entire service was designed for me – from every song that was sung to the message that was preached to the time at the altar. I guess it’s true what they say…God loves a broken heart and he turns it into a new start.

Here’s another one from Tuesday…

I haven’t felt so moved by the Spirit of God as I did Sunday. I started coming out to CLC in August 2012 and immediately felt something different about how things were done there. And with the very first service I was able to cry again after being dead for about 10 years before that.  I went up for prayer on Sunday and was able to cry a whole lot more. I was very moved.

Without sounding hokey, I felt love and genuineness I had NEVER felt in my years going to Church the first time I stepped into CLC. I don’t say that to put CLC on a pedestal or anything, but God is certainly working in strong and powerfully mighty ways there. I am so thankful to Him for leading me there. In retrospect, I wish I didn’t spend the first 7 years of my life in PA driving past the building day after day.

This is my personal favorite:

Yesterday, my son-in-law to be brought his younger brother to church. Since January 1st, this kid has been in jail, tried to commit suicide 2 or 3 times as well as a host of other problems too long to list. He sat in awe. He had a tear in his eye at the end of service and said that he would “come back again, probably next week…maybe.”

He said that he didn’t know church could be like that. He never sang, he just tapped his foot and clapped his hand on his leg. During the sermon, he “wondered how the preacher knew so much about him.”

While he never went forward, he is thinking about everything that he experienced yesterday.  

That is why we do what we do!  The “experts” are saying that the church in America is dying…but if you’ve been to CLC recently you know it just ain’t so! PTL

As we begin 2013 my prayer is for a living encounter with God that will bring about change in me, my family, my   community and our church! To that end I want to encourage you to join with me in Christian Life Center’s 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting from January 6-27.

Fasting is the most powerful spiritual discipline of all the Christian disciplines. Through fasting coupled with prayer, the Holy Spirit can transform your life. Fasting and prayer can also work on a much grander scale. I am convinced that when God’s people fast with a proper Biblical motive — seeking God’s face not His hand — with a broken, repentant, and contrite heart, God will hear from heaven and heal our lives, our churches, our communities, our nation and world. Fasting and prayer can bring about revival — a change in the direction of our nation, the nations of earth and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

Fasting is one of the most neglected spiritual admonitions. In fact, it has been ignored for so long that it is difficult to find information on the “how-to’s” of this life-changing experience. When I first undertook an extended fast, I had difficulty finding information on the nature of a Biblical fast, how to start, what to expect physically and spiritually, and how to terminate a fast.

The information below is designed to answer your practical questions about fasting and give you some basic steps to help you successfully fast and pray. Whether you do a partial fast or an absolute fast, I pray that God’s wonderful love and blessings will be poured out on you as you take this exciting step of faith in 2013!

KINDS OF FASTING: 

Normal fasting is going without food for a definite period of time. Duration can be 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 3 weeks or even 40 days.

Absolute fast allows no food or water at all. This should be short and you should only participate in this fast if led specifically by the Lord.

Partial fast omits certain foods or is on a schedule that includes limited eating.

A rotational fast consists of eating or omitting certain families of food for designated periods of time. Like grains may be eaten only every 4th day etc. You may even participate in various types of fasts during the time of fasting and prayer, such as going without food for 1 day per week and then a partial fast for the  other days, etc. There can be any kind of mix of fasting. The secret is to do a fast that works with your schedule so that when you fast you can also pray. Also do a fast which you will keep. But whatever type of fast God speaks to you about I encourage all of you to join all of us for this 21 day period of time from in January 6-27 for the spiritual destiny of yourselves, your families, our church, our community and our nation.

A word of caution: Be sure that whatever fast you chose it does not create a physical problem for you because you are hyperglycemic or diabetic or have to take medicines with food or have some other physical reason that you cannot abstain from regular eating. A fast is never to prove anything but rather to bring your self into submission to God.

Whatever you do during a fast make sure that you drink plenty of water.

Read your Bible

Take your Bible and select a certain portion of Scripture to read. For example read through the Psalms and ask God to direct you to things that He wants to speak to you about. Then underline those sections.

Pray regularly when you fast!

Use the time that you would be eating to be praying and reading God’s Word.

Church consultant, Dick Hardy recently shared an article by Jodi Detrick and Peter Degon on six ways to make sure your church doesn’t grow.  I just had to share it.  The message is loud and clear!

Sometimes we wonder why our culture generally tends to ignore the established church. There are probably lots of reasons. Most likely, that’s not the intention of a local church (to be ignored). But just in case it is, here is a tongue in cheek look at . . .

1.Make sure people know you’re better than them.

a.Stare at guests during the offering to see if they give.

b.Ask them if they brought their KJV Bible today.

c.Grimace when you smell cigarette smoke on someone and offer them a breath mint.

d.When you see an unexpected person walk through the door, pretend to have a heart attack.

e.Tell people, “I used to dress like that before I was a Christian, too!”

2.The 1950s through the 1970s was a great era . . . stay there!

a.There’s just no other way to kick off a Sunday morning than Opening Exercises!

b.Man looks on the outward appearance, but God wants you to always wear suits and ties.

c.I don’t know about you, but when the figure of Saul fell off his flannelgraph donkey, my life changed!

3.Act one way at church and another way at the grocery store.

a.Yell at your kids all the way to your house of worship, but put on your “church voice” and smile nonstop when you walk through the doors.

b.Preach on generosity but stiff the waitress at lunch after church.

c.Sure, God is love, but those neighbors are really creepy!

d.Memorize Scripture; it comes in handy when you’re screaming at those liberals.

4.When people do visit, make sure they don’t have a clue what you’re doing or talking about.

a.Have greeters tell your guests, “If you get saved, filled with the Spirit, or washed in the blood of the Lamb today, meet our discipleship director in the narthex to discuss the ramifications of your sanctification.”

b.When people ask what the crackers and juice were about, tell them to meet the discipleship director in the narthex to discuss the ramifications of their sanctification.

c.Don’t bother to tell people why we raise our hands in worship or pray out loud. They’ll either figure it out or go away.

d.When you notice an “I’m lost” expression on your new neighbor’s face while the pastor is preaching, lean over and whisper, “He’s in Deuteronomy, chapter 4 . . . just look it up!” That’ll be sure to rev up their desire to read the Bible.

5.Expect people to take on our values as soon as they walk through the door.

a.Snatch that hat off that disrespectful teenager’s head during service—even first-timers should know better than that!

b.Don’t be afraid to ask that young man why he’s got his arm around that young lady when he’s not wearing a wedding ring.

c.If unwholesome language is used and the Holy Spirit’s not doing His job of convicting people quickly enough, you step right in and do it for Him.

d.During election season, put flyers with who to vote for on all the cars in the parking lot whether people request it or not.

6.Keep God in the church where He belongs.

a.Isn’t it great the way all your non-Christian friends have dropped off since you’ve been coming to our church?! Pretty soon you won’t really know any unbelievers at all and won’t that be dandy!

b.Faith is a private matter, so don’t talk about it outside the church walls—you don’t want people to think you’re a Moonie, do you?

c.Sure, your unsaved neighbors keep asking you over for BBQ, but hey, you really should be spending all your time doing church things, so don’t cave.

It’s hard to believe but it’s here: Christmas at CLC!

Our Family Christmas Eve service will be 5-6PM tonight.  Childcare for ages 2 and under only.

It’s our prayer this year’s holiday celebrations at Christian Life Center will help you experience more deeply the Christmas story and the Christmas season. It is our prayer that in the midst of the celebration, you can truly encounter the one whom we celebrate!