Clearing the Cobwebs!

Whew! There are cobwebs everywhere on my blog! HA! I decided it was time I updated with something that is on my heart. Not everything in life works out like we planned because no matter how careful we are to plan…the unexpected always happens! What do you do in those unexpected moments? I believe when we encounter things outside of our control that it exposes who we really are and what is REALLY on the inside of us. We are all control freaks. We love to try and predict who is going to win the Superbowl (Packers right?) and we try to predict who the next president will be (Lord help us!). We gather as much information as we can and then when we still long for control…ah-hem…I said when we still long for control….AH-HEM!!! I SAID when we still long for control we do the MOST dangerous thing that ANYONE can do…we venture into the land of…”assumption”. Oh when things move beyond our realm of control we try to maintain a sense of control by assuming and predicting what will happen next. Oh the big problem with that is we convince ourselves of an outcome and that often determines our attitude towards whatever it is we are facing. Oh I am preachin better than yall are amen’in out there in blog-land!

Your attitude is key with whatever you are facing in life right now! I am not saying that you have to be super optimistic and be looking for double-rainbows and run barefoot through the grassy fields BUT your attitude is key. Your attitude towards your circumstance often reveals who you are really trusting. We try to pull out our crystal ball and predict what is going to happen based on our assumptions and the facts that we see around us. Let me give you two little nuggets of advice here: 1. YOU CANNOT CONTROL PEOPLE! People are crazy! Sometimes they defy logic and all sound reason and that is ok because if you are reading this that means you are “people” too! We are all wildcards and bring out the most erratic, unpredictable things from time to time that will throw off even the most well-planned and well thought out person. 2. YOU CANNOT CONTROL GOD! Ohhhhhh…hello!?!?! We want God and people to both do what we want when we want and how we want…with a cherry on top. And let me tell you something chief…it doesnt always work out that way…what are you going to do then? Give up? Get mad? Feel sorry for yourself? Play the victim? What is in you the most is going to come out at that moment. Jesus said that, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” I basically take that to mean…whatever is in you the most…will eventually come out!

What SHOULD our attitude be whenever things get out of our control? Our attitude must be shaped by the Word of God. That means whenever somebody hurts or offends you, you have to respond with the Word. Naturally we want to slap em on the head and spread lies about them and hurt them too. The Word of God says to turn the other cheek. Doesnt seem fair does it? You see, when you walk Kingdom minded, you understand that you are a representative of Jesus here in the earth. You understand that it is more important for them to see Christ in you than for you to feel better for a second because you retaliated. It changes your attitude! You see, it doesnt mean I am weak but it means…I let God fight my battles when I respond with the Word. When you refuse to speak gossip, when you refuse to let unforgiveness rule your life, when you choose to walk in the Word of Life…everything changes. You see, we dont just become hopeless people who look through rose-colored glasses but we become men and women of faith that see the other side of the mountain and trust that God is faithful.

Folks, if I can deposit anything in you through this blog today, its that God is faithful and worthy of our trust. So clear out the cobwebs, brush of the dust and get into His Word today…I promise you when the pressure is on…if you have been filling your heart with His Word…faith, truth and love will come out!

You can make it through whatever you are facing right now. Not because you are so great but because the one that is in you is. He is on your side today and He is your ever present help in any trouble. The security that trusting in God brings, is better than any form of control or manipulation that I try to use on others or situations.

Release control today! Take your hands off of it and get your hands on His Word! There you will find freedom, wisdom, direction and peace.

Walk in victory!
-PD

Next Level Leadership

WOW! All I can say is WOW! Is there something in you that longs to do something great? When you see other people doing awesome things, does it get you all jazzed up and you begin to dream of how you could do something like that as well? I do. When I see other churches and ministries taking things to the next level I begin to dream. I read Dino Rizzo’s book “Servolution” and it radically changed the way I thought and it moved me to take action. Since reading that book, I have had some unconventional ideas that we have tried at our church that defy comfort. We are doing things that really do not make sense to someone who didn’t understand. We have been doing alot of outreaches…without…yes…without even putting our church’s name on a flyer or even mentioning our church! We have been serving other churches in our town without expecting anything in return! The things God is calling us to do are things that bring glory to Him! I am learning some things about humility.

Do you remember when Jesus washed the disciples feet? That story has me all messed up right now because when Jesus took that role of the servant He told His disciples that a servant is not above his Master. He said, “You call me Master, and you are right, I am and a servant is not above his Master.” He also told them that what He was doing to them they wouldn’t understand at the time but later they would get it…later being after He was crucified. He was telling the disciples that my service to you is dying for you, taking a position by choice to completely give of myself for someone else…for you! You see…that is what the foot washing was all about! AND THEN Jesus said you need to do this to one another! Do what? Wash feet? NO! You need to choose to completely give of yourself for someone else by taking the position of the humblest servant, Jesus. You see, when we humble ourselves it is us placing ourselves in a position for God to deal with our hearts.

Jesus was demonstrating next level leadership when He chose, as their Master, to humble Himself. Peter said that Jesus couldn’t wash His feet and Jesus replied, “If I can’t wash your feet then you have no part of Me!” WOW! Next level leadership is when we take the position of a servant and display for others the love of God by our actions. So many leaders are professional lecturers who talk about what we should be doing but see little to no results from their rants. You want to see results pastor? Wrap a towel around your waist and begin to die to yourself for others…even if you don’t get recognition, rewards or a pat on the back. The two questions I believe we always need to ask ourselves are; 1. WHY am I doing this? and 2. WHO am I doing this for? These two questions will expose the true motive of our heart and we need to be prepared to face ourselves if the answer isn’t pretty. We need to deal with the ugly side of ourselves by admitting that our motives are wrong when they truly are! Don’t deceive yourself into thinking that you are above being selfish or wrongful in your attitudes or motives.

I started this post with an exclamation of “WOW!” and the reason I did was because I had been reading about how other churches were doing great things for God and it inspired me to dream again. The next level is where we learn it isn’t about our Kingdom BUT THE KINGDOM of GOD! It is His Kingdom that we need to be focused on building and that requires learning from others. We need one another to stay sharp and learn. Some people are afraid of outside influence and that is totally wrong and selfish to think you have all of the answers yourself! So many church stay ineffective because they refuse to allow outside influence in from other successful ministries. If somebody is doing something that is causing a win for the Body of Christ, I want to know what they are doing and how they are doing it! What if a football team never learned new plays or ever sought our information about what other teams were doing to condition their players? They may have won in the past but if they don’t look at what is going on and step up their game, they will cease to be effective. Next level leaders understand that to be effective, we must remain fluid in our learning and in our methodology. You never compromise the core principles but you do adapt to what is going on to remain effective…you have to or your cease to remain relevant. Don’t believe me??? How many of you are reading this via dial up modem from your Comadore 64? Odds are is that you are looking at this on your iPhone, iPad, laptop or desktop PC. We understand that the need for change is evident in every area of our lives and that includes church leadership.

Lastly, next level leadership understands that being real…I mean genuine, honest, transparent is a huge key to reaching this generation. If you want to reach the religious, act religious and they will come in by the droves. If you play to religious people’s whims and wants, they will love you and celebrate what you do for them…if you want to reach sinners that need Jesus…GET REAL! It would be easy to grow a church by playing into what everyone wanted BUT am I interested in growing A church or THE CHURCH? The world is looking for genuine people who will get dirty, down on their hands and knees and give their lives for them by washing their feet.

Be a next level leader. It is not the easy way, it is not the popular way but if you really want to make a difference you are going to have to suck it up and get over yourself! If you really want to be like Jesus and want to see lives changed you need to ask yourself, “Why am I doing this and WHO am I doing it for?”

-Keep it real,

-Derik

Declaration to Frenchport Church 5-22-11

I shared the following with our church at the conclusion of our annual business meeting. If you attend FCC or not, this is for you wherever you serve in ministry;

We have to rally behind the vision. We have to commit to it and give ourselves to it if we are ever to see it come to pass. God has given Frenchport Church a vision to impact generations for a lifetime. God has birthed in my heart as the pastor a vision to reach the people of our area. The Word of God must be taught and modeled in such a way that people can understand, apply and share it. That is the only way generations will be impacted, is through the Word. God is calling us to love the unlovable and reach out to the lonely, lost and hurting. God wants us as a church to take the position of the lowest servant just as Jesus did by washing His disciple’s feet. Jesus said that a servant is not above his Master…Jesus is our Master and our Lord and how can we sit idly by and not serve with passion and urgency as Jesus did? We serve God best by serving others if we are to make an impact. That is part of showing our faith in God by our works. People have a dead faith because it is lacking works and if we are to ever do anything more than play church we have to DO what we have been talking about!

I am calling on the people of Frenchport Church to arise out of your slumber and apathy and follow me as I follow Christ! This vision is too big for me to accomplish alone but it must be accomplished….NO….it WILL be accomplished! We cannot sit and wait for something to happen; we must go and make something happen!  I need more than your vocal support in this hour, I need more than your words of affirmation and encouragement…I need your hands and feet! I need your sweat and your tears! I need your loyalty and dedication to what God has called us as a church to do!

I am calling forth creativity and ideas to begin to spring up in our church along with the passion and determination to see those things through. We don’t have time for excuses…and it is not time to pull back or take a breather! It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, how long you have been saved, the question of the hour is, “What are you waiting for?”

I am calling on our church to rise up as a collective body with a purpose. Where we move together with such a purpose we aren’t concerned with what things don’t fit our liking but how can we serve the Lord through serving others? I am talking about a servant’s heart that sees a need in the local body and fills the need without being asked. I am calling on you to quit looking at what you have done and start asking yourself, “What can I do now? Where am I needed now?” and rise to the occasion without need for excuse or justification of why you shouldn’t serve. We need to quit looking at all of the reasons why we cannot do something and “suck-it-up”, and pull together to see our church pull through the hard times that would try to knock us down and out. That may mean that you may not feel particularly “called” to a certain area but you serve anyways because your heart is for the Lord and His Church and His people, and you recognize, a vessel doesn’t get to choose how it is used, it “gets” to be used of God. Jesus wasn’t called to wash feet but He did it because there was a need, and He was a servant and we are not above our Master.

We have to rally behind the vision and the leadership that God has put in place if we are going to see change. Change is not solely placed upon the shoulders of the leadership but is something that ALL of us hold the keys to unlocking. This simply means that if you have been supportive, you “amp-it-up” and take it to the next level. If you have been “ho-hum” in your dedication to the vision and purpose, you need to make up your mind. If you haven’t been giving, step up and give! If you haven’t been serving, step up and serve! If you have been a casual attendee or casually involved…step it up and let’s see God take our acts of faith and do what He wills through our dedication! Use the tools that we have given you! Begin to pass out those invite cards and tell people about the great things God is doing at our church and start to invite people who may not know God or who have been away from Him!

We will not be the church God has called us to be if we don’t step up and do the things He is calling us to do…and do them together, with passion…BUT the vision must go on. If we don’t decide to step up, the vision is burning too hot to be stopped, it will burn on. I refuse to let the fire burn out! God’s Will must be accomplished…you and I have to make the choice, “Are we going to do what it takes to see it through?” I pray you answered “YES” and that it is more than words.

We are going to have to go to the next level in our prayers, our fasting, our worship, our hunger for the Word, our faithfulness in our giving financially and of ourselves, our faithfulness to God and our faithfulness to our church. We have to be pro-active in our faith and not wait for something to happen and be re-active. We need to step it up in faith…right now!

If we just want to sit by and wait for something to happen while we play church, we are wasting our time and we will slowly crumble into yesterday. Impacting every generation for a lifetime is more than a slogan on a sign or business card…it is who we are as a body. It is what we are all about, and we are committed to that purpose, no matter what the cost. I want to see us genuinely loving people no matter what their soci-economic status, their race or even how they may appear. If we are going to make an impact we have to look past people’s faults and how they are “not like us” and love them and go beyond what is comfortable to show them we care. That is what Jesus did…He went beyond what was comfortable by washing feet, being spat upon and dying on a cross….for me. For you. For the people of Smackover, Camden and the surrounding areas. Someone needs to love the meth-addict, the drunk, the one in jail, the poor, the abandoned, the abused, the one who is bitter and angry, the misused, the hopeless, the fearful, the widows, the single parents, the addicted, the rejected….they are in our city, in our towns and neighborhoods and they need the love and truth of Jesus Christ.

This is so much bigger than Derik Armstrong. This is so much bigger than anything we could do on our own…this is our mandate for such a time as this! Jesus’ return is approaching faster and faster…there is no time for us to play games. It is time for us as a local body to get serious and committed to the vision God has for our church now more than ever before!

Declaring such bold statements may offend some and motivate others BUT it is what MUST happen if we are ever going to be the church God has called us to be. There is no other way, it no one else’s responsibility. I am calling on you to rally behind the vision, rally behind me as your pastor and commit to serving God, this local body and people like never before.

-Pastor Derik Armstrong

What Does It Really Look Like to Follow Jesus?

Most of us take the things we have been told or the environments we have been raised in as truth. The hard part about that is that we never seek truth for ourselves until we are older and everyone has had to un-learn things at some point in their lives. The longer we have thought something, the harder it is to let go, even if someone shows you undeniable evidence that you have been thinking or believing incorrectly. Part of being unable to accept truth is a hardened heart. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day had hard hearts to the truth. He told them as plainly and bluntly as one could and they still did not hear Him. That same spirit of those religious leaders is still in the Church today.

My wife and I went on a date last night where we watched the movie “Thor”. I am an old comic book nerd so I was thrilled to get to watch it. There was a scene that struck up probably one of the best conversations my wife and I have ever had about God and His Church. In the scene, King Odin was standing before all of Asgard. He stood up before the somewhat joyous crowd and slammed his staff on the ground and it made a huge “BOOM” and there was complete silence so he could speak. That scene began to make me think about the presence of God. Oftentimes we think we have been in the presence of God, when in reality, if we were actually in His presence, wouldn’t you think there would be that awe and fear like that scene in Thor? We would count it an honor to be in the presence of a great athlete or political figure but we water down being in God’s presence as “a good time in the Spirit” or ” goose bumps”? Give me a break! We would make bigger preparations for the mayor of our town of 13,000 people than the King of All Glory. It is because of our lack of awe that I think we truly have not been in His presence. We see all throughout Scripture that people fall to the ground in fear when even an angel shows up on the scene to deliver a message on God’s behalf. I think that for the majority, our stirred emotions are mistaken for the presence of God all too often.

Have you ever been in the presence of a hero of yours? I got to spend the day with my hero, Willie George, the pastor of Church On The Move in Tulsa, OK. It was amazing to get to be in his presence because I have looked up to this man and admired him ever since I was a child. Sometimes as we were sitting 5 feet from him as he was teaching, I would get caught up thinking, “Wow, this is awesome! That is Willie George! That is Gospel Bill, the guy who started Oneighty, the guy who I watch weekly online and have been learning from for years! I am in the same room with him and he wants to know about MY church?” It was an amazing experience to be in his presence and honestly, it changed my life because of what was taught and how real everyone was. I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about my experience and what I learned! I still listen to the MP3′s of that day on my phone when I workout at least once per week! Now, as great as that was and as special as Willie George and his ministry is to me and my church, it doesn’t even hold a candle to the presence of God.

Being in the presence of God should change us, should inspire us, should leave us in awe and wonder. Sadly, as soon as a church service is over, we think about what we are going to go eat. When I left Willie George, I wasn’t thinking about what I was going to eat…I was thinking about my experience and everything that was said during that time together. You cannot tell me that you have been in the presence of the “Creator of All Things” and walk away thinking about eating fish and chicken! When Moses caught a glimpse of the back of God it messed him up! People couldn’t look at his face. When God’s Glory fell upon Solomon’s Temple when it was dedicated to the Lord, the priests could not minister, some had to leave! Time after time when the Angel of the Lord showed up people fell prostrate and probably hoped they weren’t going to die…they didn’t start acting like charasmatic, emotionalists. You may think that that is just Old Testament BUT look at Revelation were John, the disciple Jesus loved, was visited by Jesus on the isle of Patmos, he fell like a dead man and was afraid. Paul was blinded by his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus…these people didn’t start acting foolish, jerking around, running around the church or anything like what people classify as, “God’s Presence”.

I was raised in a charismatic church and have seen, experienced and even done some wild things. The more I get into the Word of God, I realize my error in those areas. Good people….I mean VERY good people are walking ignorant of the truth because they do not read the Word for themselves and everything they have accepted as truth is either based on experience or what someone else they respect has taught them. I believe that the Word of God is the ultimate truth and is my foundation for everything in life. That means everything gets judged by the light of the Word…not my experiences or even how I feel about something. There is power in obedience to the Word of God. Man, if we could just get that simple truth!!!!

What would it look like if we followed Jesus according to the Bible? I mean, if we really took our Christianity seriously and followed Him like He said to? Forget letting your experiences define what it means to follow Jesus, forget allowing even what you have been told and simply let the Word of God define what it means to follow Jesus…how differently would we do things? If we were really in awe of God, if we were really serious about what Jesus said in Mark 16 it would change the world.

The more I realize what it means to follow Jesus, the less concerned about things I used to think were so important in the church I become. Sometimes those things are so insignificant. Do we really think God wants us to get wrapped up in the color of the carpet, the government of the local church, the style of the music? Wow, we get so wrapped up in ourselves and we live good moral lives but we do very little to nothing for the Kingdom of God. It seems that we become more interested in our kingdom than the Kingdom of God.

When we are in awe of His presence, and who He is, it will change us. The change comes in how seriously we take what He says. How can we so easily disregard His Word and do what we want? Jesus said to, “count the cost” when it comes to following Him because there is a cost, there is no in between. Are we willing to sell-out to what He said in His Word? Are we really ready to sell-out to the mission of winning souls and making disciples? Are we willing to commit our lives to serve others? To operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit to DO the work of the ministry? I believe that if we really follow Jesus, we will make an impact for the Kingdom of God. It is a choice that you and I have been given. Are we going to live the rest of our lives for meaningless things and pursuits of personal happiness? OR are we going to choose to do the Will of our Father?

To follow Jesus…really follow Jesus…would be easily identifiable because it would look like the life He lived before us.

Mark 16:15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. ²⁰ Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Can’t Sleep

So here I am at 3 in the morning with so much buzzing through my brain and heart that i needed an outlet for it all. Hopefully by the time I finish, I can go to bed.

To all of my pastor friends and those in leadership in ministry,

It is more important to have people be “with” you than people be “for” you. Pastor Willie George told us that at a conference I attended a few months back. It rings through my ears at the oddest moments. You can have alot of cheerleaders and people who support you but it is far greater to have people link arms with you and share your heart. In my wife and I’s ministry we have seen people who were “with” and “for” us as leaders and we are still connected to the people who caught the vision and became participators rather than speculators. It really begins with trust. You have to trust the people who are leading you. You cannot jump on board with someone who you do not trust because trust requires a release of control on your part. People like to feel in control and like they can manipulate and maneuver things in their favor. When you trust someone, you give that control up to a certain degree. Trust takes time and is earned. Trust is earned through battles and victories, battles and victories and the consistency of your character and integrity.

You have to realize that when you make decisions that you will be criticized. There will be times when you feel all alone and those are some very tough times to get through. The thing you need to begin to do is to let those who have ears to hear…hear. You cant change people. There will be things people may never understand or come to like but you have to believe that what is best for the whole is best for the individual. You have to be convinced that what you are doing is right and is what God wants. You cant be circumstantial and change to try to please everyone because that is NEVER going to happen. You have to keep moving forward as a leader.

You have to make the decision of why you are where you are. Are you there to make people happy or to help them grow in the truth? You can love people without bending to their every whim and discomfort. The more victories you have, the more they will trust you. Some people will take longer to win trust than others but when you win that trust…people begin to link arms and hearts with you in a way that it is no longer “your” vision as the pastor or leader but it is “our” vision and your ministry truly becomes a united team that has taken ownership of what God has birthed in your heart as a leader.

You have to always stay humble and never above suggestion or correction because a haughty message or heart will come out in everything you do and it will turn people away. You arent always right and you dont always have the best solution or idea. You need to remain humble and teachable as you realize you are growing also. Stay encouraged by staying in the Word and find someone who ministers to you and impacts you. You need to be feeding yourself from personal study and other teachers/leaders. You cant always give and give and give…you will burn out unless you replenish and refresh.

Always love the people above everything else. That doesnt mean that they run over you or that you are a pushover, it simply means that you dont become agenda driven. You keep the love of God in your heart and have patience with others as they grow.

Just some thoughts. Now I think I am ready for bed. I love you all and believe God has great things for your ministries!

Growing Up and Out

I know that by reading this title you may not want to venture much further! It is not what you think so just keep reading. I will leave everyone’s waistline and recent non-fitting apparel alone! The principle of growing up about should ring true for every believer. As we grow in our walk with Jesus, we grow out of foolishness and other things that hinder our lives. If we aren’t growing out…it means we haven’t grown up! If we still deal with the same issues we have been facing for the past 20 years
…we need to grow up in our understanding and applying the Word of God. It’s actually a simple process that requires a consistent evolving and changing of our hearts to align with His Will. Oftentimes people believe Christian tenure earns them maturity and that is simply not true. Maturity is only gained by correctly applying the truth of God’s Word in your life. That is when knowledge escalades to wisdom, or the correct application of knowledge. It is sad to say that one of the main reasons we are not seeing the power of God in our lives and churches is simply because we aren’t growing in our walk with God! We become ever hearing but never understanding and we decieve ourselves into thinking that our works and church attendance justify our lack of growing and maturing spiritually. I am not simply talking about growing in knowledge and understanding but in th application of that understanding!

The song that comes to mind is” My Jesus” by Todd Agnew. The lyrics capture the veiw of the proud and religious in contrast to how Jesus lived. We are truly living in the days of tthe Pharasees and Saducees. Here are the lyrics to this powerful song ; Which Jesus do you follow? Which Jesus do you serve? If Ephesians says to imitate Christ, Then why do you look so much like the world? Cause my Jesus bled and died. He spent His time with thieves and liars. He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant. So which one do you want to be? Blessed are the poor in spirit. Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land? Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness. Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand? Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins. He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars. He loved the poor and accosted the rich. So which one do you want to be? Who is this that you follow? This picture of the American dream. If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side, or fall down and worship at His holy feet?

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion, is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins. But the Word says He was battered and scarred Or did you miss that part? Sometimes I doubt we’d recognize Him. Cause my Jesus bled and died. He spent His time with thieves and the least of these. He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable. So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church. The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet. But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud, I think He’d prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd. And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud….I want to be like my Jesus!

This song truly captures the need for us to grow up and out. We need to grow out of personal preference, grow out of religion, grow out of judgement and into love. I don’t want to be the priest or the Levite that passed the hurting and beaten down. Growing up causes us to grow out of our sin and addictions and bad habits! Growing up and growing out othe world and into more of a reflection of Jesus in me! The hope of glory!

Emotionalism

I have grown up in Charismatic/Pentecostal churches all of my life. It is all I have ever known. I have visited Baptist churches and have many pastor friends that are not Charismatic. I do not reject the teachings of the Bible when it comes to being filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues and I am not against the “moving of the Spirit” in a worship service. However, the older I get and the more Word I instill in my life, the more i realize that Charismatic/Pentecostal people have substituted experiences and emotion for the Word of God. People like me that have grown up in churches where the goal is to not have the sermon preached and everyone shout and fall out under the power or have extended times of worship are lacking an understanding of the Word. We are even lacking in a hunger for God’s Word.

We really need to get back to establishing a solid foundation built on His Word and continue to equipped for the work of the ministry. Why have Charismatic circles limited the power of God to operating only in church services? Very few of Jesus’ miracles or signs and wonders of the apostles happened in a church setting. Where did we make a wrong turn in our thinking? The Pentecostal church of today believes that it is one of the free-est groups in the world but yet we probably contain God to our church services more than any other belief. Now Paul did talk about tongues in church in 1 Cor. 14. He said that we need to have an interpreter present to benefit the whole assembly otherwise, they need to pray to themselves because it is for self-edification. The Bible clearly says that two or at the most three should give out a tongue and if there is no interpreter, they should keep silent. Paul also said that all of you can prophesy! That term there means to speak words of edification and I believe we need to see more of that happening in the church today.

When we don’t read and understand God’s Word, we tend to make up our own rules and those rules are based off of my experiences, what makes sense to me and what feels good. We try to then rationalize God and find a scripture to validate our experience. Now that is backwards from what the Bible teaches. EVERYTHING that you experience and encounter should come as a result of the Word. Period. Jesus even said in Mark 16:15 to go and preach the Word, and then…the signs will follow them that believe. We like the signs first and then try to get the Word on it and it is backwards. Even Peter when he declared the prophesy of Joel being fulfilled by the tongues coming upon them, on the day of Pentecost was quoting that this is the Word that we have heard coming to pass! We tend to want to feel and then validate our feeling or emotion but God wants to give us His Word first. He gives us His Word first because Rom.10:17 says that that is where faith comes from and how can I believe God for anything unless I have faith, how can I have faith if I dont have the Word? The Bible also tells us that we need to judge everything by the light of the Word of God. Frankly, a lot of Charismatic traditions and experiences are not in the Word and we need to be able to rightly divide and discern what is from God and what is not.

We must always be willing to give up what we believe for the truth. Emotions and experiences are good and God gave them to us but He never meant for them to be a substitute for His Word. He honors His Word above His name and the Bible talks about How great His name is! His Word is extremely important and we cannot live from experience to experience and hope God changes us and makes us into who He wants us to be..no…it is His Word that shapes us and molds us and makes us into who He wants us to be. In 2 Timothy Paul says that this Word is profitable for correction and reproof and doctrine…This is it!

I believe that God wants to move among His people in great ways in and out of church services when the music is just right and the emotions are high. I believe that God wants us to take the things He has promised us into all of the world and not just our church services. I want the signs to be following me because I believe on His Word. Hebrews 5:14 talks about us being able to discern what is from God and what is not. It says “by reason of use” have exercised to be able to discern both good and evil. He is talking about Spiritually mature people here…We need to be able to discern what is of God and what is of the flesh.

God desires to move among His people but He desires for us to grow into spiritual maturity and get the Word inside of us. How loud someone prays and vibrant someone worships does not determine their spiritual maturity. Hey, even how long they have been saved or how many times they have read the Bible does not determine their spiritual maturity. So what does? How much does a person seek to understand, apply and share the Word of God…the fruit speaks for itself.

God is Faithful

Well it’s finally time for everyone to go to bed, including me but I feel the urge to go ahead and spend a few minutes writing this blog entry. It has been a while since I posted anything and I believe it is time to revive my blogging!

So much has happened since October 4^th, 2009 and my world has changed so drastically that I am still trying to catch up. My wife and I were elected pastors of Frenchport Church in Camden, AR on that date and it has been a great experience. We didn’t come into this church under the best of circumstances. We knew to some degree what we were getting into when we accepted this position but until you walk in it you never realize fully what you have gotten into. There have been a few challenging instances so far but nothing major. I know there will be many more ahead with more difficult decisions and people to deal with but God is faithful.

When you understand the faithfulness of God, you walk in revelation that it is not about you. If God ordains and orchestrates, He plans and prepares the way. We don’t always understand the underlining details and the why and how but we can trust that He has our best interest in mind. You have to walk in confidence that you are in God’s Will. When you are in God’s Will, you have to make a decision to agree with God wherever you find yourself on this roadmap of life. Sometimes we are sailing along in God’s Will and experiencing great seasons of blessing and peace…but what about the other seasons? Surely God’s Will doesn’t include difficulty right? God doesn’t want me to endure anything difficult right?

Wrong. God will send you through the fire because He knows that you have something in you that will help you get through. If God knew the fire would destroy you, He would have never sent you through it. Being a pastor of a church I am elated to be able to minister in this capacity and God has been moving and doing such amazing things in our church I could just go on and on about what great things are happening. I couldn’t say that 3 years ago. I couldn’t say that 4 months ago. Right before God opened the door for us to come to Frenchport Church, I had been going through one of the most difficult seasons of life I have ever been through personally. My business was not doing well, our ministry prospects of 3 years had dried up in Texarkana, I couldn’t find any open churches that we felt led too, money was running out (and in some cases had already run out) and the list of problems was growing larger.

There have been many instances in our lives that we have had to make the decision that we were going to trust God. I know that doesn’t sound deep or super spiritual but I am telling you, we had to make the tough call of, throw in the towel or trust God. We decided time and time again that we are going to trust God regardless of the circumstances. I cannot control other people and make them act the way I want them too. I can’t force situations for my benefit all of the time. I cannot manipulate situations and always pull rabbits out of my hat to fix every circumstance…..but I can decide to trust God. The power of agreement is underestimated in the Body of Christ these days. Where two or more are gathered together in My name……We had 2! We would agree that we trusted God and that we were where we needed to be for the time until He opened the door. Back in August God told me, “Do not change anything until October.” He didn’t tell me what would happen in October but He said, “Don’t move, don’t change jobs, don’t do anything different until then.” Now I don’t want to go through all of the details of the application process with Frenchport Church so here is the short version.

Back in May of 2009, my wife and I felt that God was calling us to be pastors of Frenchport Church. We decided to submit our resume to the committee. There were a few other names in the running and by July, the pastoral search committee decided to go with someone other than us.

We were discouraged, frustrated, and wondering if God had overlooked us. Maybe there was unrepented sin somewhere in our lives, did we miss God, not hear right or was there something that was disqualifying us for service? Was it too many bad decisions that led us to be without a church, without a good source of income, and all of the stress we could handle? Were we really called to ministry? Maybe we missed an open door somewhere else? Perhaps God was punishing us? Now, I know that all of the answers to those questions were a resounding “NO!” but when you are at a low place in life, you ask yourself these things.

Am I not praying enough? Fasting enough? Reading my Bible enough?

You have to understand that none of this is by works alone. You can’t earn or deserve this. God has a plan in mind and even when you veer off of the path or make poor choices, He is powerful and mighty enough to realign you with your destiny. Now there were things we could have and should have done better that could have helped us during the 3 years we were in Texarkana but even through our frailty, God was still faithful.

God is faithful. He is faithful to the unfaithful child. We goof up and miss it but He is that Father that is looking for a son or daughter to return to Him and trust fully.

When God said to hold on until October, my wife and I agreed that it was from God and we didn’t know that would mean that Frenchport Church would want to put us to a vote after we had already been told no by the committee 3 months earlier. We didn’t know that October would be the month where we would be connected with our destiny and on the road to doing what God had called us too! We thought that was over! We were looking elsewhere for churches that needed pastors but God has a way of doing things that will make your head spin if you try to figure it out! All He asked me to do was trust in what He had told me.

When you get a hold to the Word, when you let the truth of God sink in your heart and become not just what you know but who you are, God can work with your faith. You can’t earn or deserve God’s faithfulness. He gives it freely because He knows there is something on the inside of you that refuses to quit no matter how hard it becomes. Something in you that has the potential to walk in God’s perfect will for your life. He knows what is in you because it is Christ in you, the hope of glory! It is Jesus living on the inside of you! Now God is just trying to get you to trust in what He put in you when you got saved! It is already in you! The answer, the peace, the victory, the healing, the restoration, it is already on the inside of you if Jesus makes your heart His home.

I have got to learn to trust and understand that God is faithful.

I know a lot of things I shared today were very personal and I don’t mean offense to anyone past or present from Frenchport Church by telling the stories that I did. I know we are where God has called us to be and He is smiling on what we are doing at Frenchport Church. We are seeing new life, fresh revelation through the Word and a reawakening giant of passion, prayer and praise. It is so good to be where we are in life right now and we hope we will be at Frenchport for the rest of our lives but regardless of where God leads us, we have to trust that He is faithful and He has our best interests in mind.

It is great and easy to trust Him when everything is going great but what about when all you have to hang onto is, “Don’t change until October”? You need to get your Word from God and you need to hang on to it like a bulldog. Hold on and trust in God and His Word. I don’t care if it is October 31^st at 11:59 pm you better be holding on and expecting God to do what He said He would do. We can’t control the when or the how but we can trust. Trust and speak your faith to the mountain, speak your trust in God and declare and decree over your impossible or discouraging situation what He has told you and what He has promised you!

Release the Word! Release the truth of God in your heart and let it flood your mind, will and emotions! Let God’s truth saturate you and bring you peace today and you sit in the comfort of knowing He is faithful. He will never give up on you because He is faithful. Trust Him today. Let go of your solutions and quick fixes and talk to God and spend some time listening to Him today. Get the Word on your situation and get you some peace. Fight for your peace because it is in you. You have what it takes to make it through whatever you are going through right now in life! Let go…..release control and wait on the Lord.

He is faithful, He won’t let you down.

Love,

Pastor Derik

Shaping History

What are we doing that is affecting eternity? Can we just take a minute out of our busy schedule to make sure our heart’s are in the right place? How many more sermons will it take? How many more altar services? How many more teachings and illustrations will have to be used before we take ownership of the Great Comission? I think if we step back and take an honest assessment of where we are, well, we are probably focused on us more than we are others. Sometimes we get so focused on ourselves that we miss the hurting and the lost that are all around us.

Just today I learned of a family just right down the street from where I live that are strugging. A single mom with 3 kids who just survived a tornado that tore half of her house. God, help us not to miss whenever right before our eyes, right down our streets, there are people who need to experience Your love through us. We have got to wake up out of our selfishness and inward concern and we have to start looking outside our doors and windows for the mommies that are at home desolate, no hope, no one to reach out too and we have to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world! The dad’s who are overwhelmed by the stress of no job or providing for their families during financial hard times. Where is the church on Jesus Christ that is reaching a world that is supposed to be able to identify us by our love?

We have got to get out of the mirror working on our imperfections and start showing the world we care and we are concerned. You may hear a great sermon and experience a wonderful worship service this next Sunday but somewhere, there is a family that is struggling just to pay the rent and their kids dont understand why their lights are off again and why they can’t take a hot bath! Somewhere, a dad is contemplating leaving his family for the secretary who gives him attention and laughs at all of his jokes and makes him feel appreciated and special. Somewhere today, and probably not too far from here, someone is trying to escape worries by doing crystal meth or drinking themselves stupid. Someone just buried their parents or their child, someone is on the brink of losing everything……church, we have got to wake up out of our slumber and start Sharing the Love like never before. We have to take our wak with God seriously and to the next level.

The next level, hmmm…..what does that mean to you? Does that mean more spiritual services and exciting services or does it mean reaching more people where they are. Think about how much time Jesus spent in the temple. He did spend some time in the temple teaching and preaching but he did the majority of His teaching, preaching and miracles out among the people. Jesus went to where they were and didnt wait for them to some to Him. Church, it is time for us to go where they are! Let’s meet the world and bring the gospel to them through our love, through our faith, through our unity! Let’s show them Jesus and stop talking about Him. They want to see and feel that Jesus is real and only you and I who ahve been called, “Ambassadors” can bring the Jesus in us to a world that is searching.

That is the kind of stuff that is going to redefine church for people. That is the kind of stuff that is going to redefine what the world sees or thinks when they hear about “Christians” or “Church”. Church is not somewhere I go, it is who I am.

Let’s be busy doing His Kingdom work of winning souls and making disciples, showing the love and truth of Jesus.

Impacting every generation for a lifetime!

-Pastor Derik

Does Anyone Really Care for the Lost Anymore?

I was talking to God a minute ago and posed this question to Him. God, does anyone really care for the lost anymore? I remember back to my youth pastor, Randy Goudeau, saying something that has stuck with me my entire ministry. He said that someone confronted him and told him that he didn’t really believe what he says he believed. Pastor Randy was shocked and if you know him, he would be the poster boy for excitement and fire for God but his faith was challenged. The guy went on to say that if you really believe what you say you believe, you wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing that there are millions of people going to hell. Sometimes we get so inward focused that we lose our heart for other people. We can even get outreaches focused on us and how it made us feel. I remember taking a youth group to Mexico and when we got back everyone who went got a chance to share with the church. Person after person talked about how poor the Mexican children were and how we had it so good and didn’t even realize it. I think we are losing focus and missing the point.

Churches try to water down the truth so people will feel comfortable with their sin and maybe eventually will come around. We try to appeal to people’s flesh and make them like us and think we are cool. If we get real honest, even some of us good church folks act and talk different when we are around unsaved people so we will be accepted and welcomed. What are we doing?

I haven’t had alot of sleepless nights thinking of all of the people who will spend eternity in hell if I don’t tell them. Most nights that I have trouble sleeping are due to money issues, a spat with the wife, hurt feelings or pain in my body….not because people might go to hell. What does that say about me? Am I so concerned with my comfort and my issues that I neglect the world? Have I got so busy just trying to survive everyday living that I forget about the world? I don’t mean to sound like such a downer but when are we going to take an honest look in the mirror and seriously re-evaluate our priorities? Do we really believe what we say we believe? Last night I preached a sermon that was kind of on this subject and I said that charismatic Christian folks wait to be zapped with a passion for the lost! It is true that we want everything microwaved and everything according at my personal convenience. Jesus inconvenienced the rich young ruler when He said to sell all he had and give it to the poor and then follow Jesus. The Bible says that young man went away sad.

Here is my heart for us as Christians concerning this…

You can do it because it is in you. If Christ in on the inside of you, He has imprinted His DNA into your makeup. If you are a NEW creation in Christ and old things have passed away and all things have become new and He is living on the inside of you….that means the potential, the heartbeat of Jesus is on the inside of you! We have to step out in faith believing that Jesus on the inside of us cares about those who don’t know Him to the point that He was willing to die for them. We have to ge the focus off of us and onto Jesus. We have to understand that He is the author and finisher of our faith, the one who wrote the way this thing should go! Passion to serve God, compassion for the lost, the burden for souls, it is all on the inside of you right now. You may say that you don’t “feel” a passion for God or you don’t “feel” a compassion for souls but I know it is on the inside of you if Jesus lives there. Jesus in you trumps your feelings. ooooooooo…that sounds like a good sermon! Jesus in you trumps your feelings!!!!The way you feel is irrelevant if you choose to trust Jesus in you! You see folks, in Jesus, we are made complete and whole.

You want your passionate worship to return? You can wait on the feelings and the mood, or you can step out in faith trusting that Jesus in You wants to worship with passion. You want a burden for souls? You can wait on the feelings to come OR you can step out IN FAITH when the feelings aren’t there and get your hands dirty loving on people and speaking the truth about Christ to them.

The feelings always….ALWAYS follow. We aren’t led by feelings, so if we wait on feelings, we will never be led. (Another Sermon!)

If you wait until you are in the mood to witness, you never will. If you wait on the mood to pray or worship, you never will! Step out in faith when the feelings aren’t there and the feelings will follow! Faith First, The Feelings!

The woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus and stepped out in faith and THEN she felt. She was made whole after her move of faith. Church it is time for us to stop making excuses while the lost are slipping into a God-less eternity because we are waiting on a feeling! It is in you! Jesus is in you! You have what it takes! Do you hear me? I said, you have what it takes to win souls, make disciples, see fire and passion return to the Church, to worship in freedom, to be unashamed! YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!

Step out in faith and be free. The Kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Step up and walk in faith as the man or woman of God that you dream of being. We are not moved by feelings or circumstances because those things are like shifting sands that move with every new wave of the tide. We are moved by the truth of the Word of God! Be moved by the truth today and step out in faith to do something for God!

Watch out satan….God’s people are being reminded of who they are.

I love you all!

-Pastor Derik