France pt. 1

We have been in France since early Thursday morning. Things have been somewhat of a whirlwind, but they have been very good none the less. On Friday night we ministered at a wonderful French speaking African church. I had the opportunity to preach for the first time through an interpreter. God is so good. After the preaching of the Word we prayed for and ministered to everyone in the church. At the end we gathered the entire church around and prayed for the pastor and his wife. The Holy Spirit really moved during that time and did some fabulous things in their lives. Personally, I am learning to trust God and His voice in new areas of ministry. I am learning a new level of tuning in to God's voice while I am here.

Choices

I'm standing in line at Taco Bell last night.

There is a man leaning against the wall waiting for his order to come up.

Two gentlemen walk in who have obviously just been on the golf course. Honestly, I took a second look because one of the guys bore an uncanny resemblance to Tiger.

It wasn't long before conversation starts between, man leaning against the wall and hungry golfers. What follows is the part of the conversation that I overhead.

Man leaning against the wall - "Well you never know the whole story."

Hungry golfers - head nodding.

Man leaning against the wall - "Maybe she was not taking care of things at home."

Hungry golfers - shrugs of the shoulders.

My reaction?
What is this guy talking about?
Somehow a man's infidelity is his wife's fault?

FAST FORWARD - Monday morning

Fox News Channel - conversation about Jim Carrey's recent tweet regarding Tiger.
The paraphrase of the tweet - you never know the whole story, maybe she was not taking care of things at home.

My reaction again?
What is this guy talking about?
Somehow a man's infidelity is his wife's fault?

Since when did our choices become someone else's responsibility?
Isn't a husband or wife responsible for their own marital fidelity?

Every morning in the Moraghan house we have a simple prayer; "Lord help us make good decisions today."

Thoughts on Easter

Maybe I haven't paid attention in the past.
Maybe something has really changed.

Whatever the case - I am noticing something about Easter this year.

It seems to me that 'the church' has really ramped up its efforts to draw the crowd this Easter. I have seen numerous ads and gimmicks that invite people to spend Easter at a particular church this Easter.

Easter bunny.
Easter egg hunts.
Pancake breakfast.
Newspaper ads.

It appears that we are sending a clear message - you are welcome in our building this Easter.

But the question arises for me - are 'they' - the non-followers of Christ and unchurched - welcome in our buildings the other 51 Sundays of the year?

Do we have a broken heart for those that don't know Jesus 365 days a year?

May the point of Easter - Christ died for us when we were the most undeserving - drive our efforts throughout the entire year.

May the point of Easter - Christ died for them just as much as He died for us - drive our efforts to make a felt impact in our communities.

Steering through Chaos review

If you or your church is experiencing the chaos of change or the chaos of change is on the horizon - you must read this. Scott speaks from a very personal place on how to handle the chaos of change. There are some people that know about a subject because they have studied it or researched it or had a conversation with someone about it. Scott doesn't know about this subject (chaos of change) - he gets it because he has been there. There are some very helpful insights that anyone can take away from this book. Get a copy, read it, mark it up and talk about it with your team. Building God's Kingdom is fun but it can get crazy!

One of the key points that I have taken away from this book is the necessity for us as church leaders to anticipate change. Don't wait for change to come to you - seek it out. Build on the momentum that you are currently experiencing and seek God to see what the next step may be.

It is easy to get into 'ruts' in building God's Kingdom. Don't - continue to seek God for a new fresh vision - the people in your community depend on it.

Buy Scott's book Here

Visit the Oak's Here

Unity

What would you do for unity in the Body of Christ?

- Would you help another ministry/church out with an event that you would not benefit from at all?

- Would you make a hospital call for another pastor?

- Would you help another pastor perform a funeral?

- Would you help clean another church?

- Would you help another pastor who has caused pain for you?

- Would you take an offering for another church? Would you give an entire Sunday morning offering to another church?

The list could go on. True unity comes not from attending a conference together. Not from talking about it together. True unity comes when we will help another pastor or ministry out on our time and our dime when we don't get credit for it.

Devotional Start

I have started a family friendly devotional for Renewal 2010 which begins on Feb. 23rd. It will be based out of the Sermon on the Mount. It will be in print at the church and also available here as well.

Safe but Dead

When the Holy Spirit is not involved in our lives, our churches, our work, our families, our . . . - it will be real safe. But it will be real dead.

I would rather live on the edge with the Holy Spirit working in my life than to live a safe sheltered life begging for more.

What about you?