About every six months or so, I go in to a time of deep prayer and ask God once again for an affirmation of what He's called me to do....

It often seems to happen when I'm going through a time of frustration or plain old weariness. Sometimes it happens when I've gotten hurt by others. I know when my attitude isn't right and I know I must go deep with God to surrender it and make sure I'm doing what He's asked me to do and not gotten off course.

Early last Spring was such a time for me.  I went to what has become my special God place at Mendon Ponds Park.  I read my Bible.  I worshipped.  I prayed.  I walked.  I talked.  I listened and once again, God spoke.

I was lifting my hands up to heaven and crying out loud to God: "Lord, what do you want  me to do?" 

I heard Him say, "LOOK!" I opened my eyes and right in front of me was a huge branch sticking straight up out of the snow.  I immediately reached out and grabbed the four foot branch.  As I stood looking at it, wondering what it meant, I saw my shadow on the parking lot in front of me.  The stick had a big curve on the end and my shadow looked like a shepherd holding a shepherd's staff. Wow!

I immediately got the message.  The same words I had been hearing from the Lord for years. "Feed My Lambs. Tend my Sheep (John 21:16). Shepherd My flock."

It seemed like time stopped as I stood there, staring at my shadow and feeling the power and presence of the LORD flow through me like waves of a strong electric current. It felt like God was recharging my weary soul somehow and that is exactly how I've felt ever since.

The Shepherd's staff now sits in the corner of my office as a reminder to me.  The enemy continually wants us to make it all about us and it's not about us, it's all about following Christ and doing what He's called each of us to do.

I believe everyone has a unique and specific calling on their life from God.  Too many pastors try to apply formulas to their lives or try too hard to be someone they're not.  God has repeatedly told me through the years to simply be who I am, who He has made me.  He tells me He made me the way I am on purpose for His purpose. 

Of course, we are all to continue to grow and mature in the Spirit. But God has created us all different and incredibly unique. 

It's taken me a long time to come to terms with some things.  So many voices out there tell us we should be this way or be that way.  Voices that say if you're not doing things a certain way, or seeing specific kind of results, then you've failed and you should give up or do something else .  One well-known author and pastor once told me that I should quit ministry all together. God have mercy on him because that's not what God told me! God said, persevere! Keep going! Love one person at a time! If you love me, tend my lambs and let me take care of the rest.

These days, I look out at our congegration and I praise the God who was, and is, and will always be the God of incredible miracles.  I can't believe how much our church has grown recently. I see so much growth in many individuals as well. People that have had victory over addictions.  People that have found faith in Christ for the first time.  People who have learned to forgive.  People who have been healed from so much heartache. Miracle after miracle!  It's absolutely amazing!

We feel like a wonderful, loving family of God and that is exactly what we have become, thanks be to God! He continues to breathe new life in our church every week.  I feel so sorry for people who don't have a church and are missing out on the most wonderful, incredible experience they could imagine.

Stay on the course friend.  Persevere through all the hard and difficult moments in ministry and life.  Don't give up!  Don't listen to the other voices in the world.  Listen only to what God's voice is telling YOU to do and just do it!  Be yourself.  Give yourself GRACE! And don't forget to ENJOY the journey because it is definitely a journey. God will be with you every step of the way and with His help, you'll be AMAZED at what He's building through your hands and heart!

Merry Christmas!

Please leave me a note on this blog if you were blessed by this!

 

 

This video is taken with my new camera.  A little shaky as I'm not the best videographer but still, think our worship team is very amazing!

 

Pastors must go beyond simple platitudes when ministering in wake of a suicide



By Rheta Murry

It certainly was a difficult funeral service, but also an amazing opportunity to share the Gospel with people who were far from God andbring hope at that time.  Lin Wurzbacher, senior pastor ofBlessed Hope Community Churchin Webster, N.Y.

WEBSTER, N.Y....

I often think of the calling and gifting of being a leader in God's church as a double-edge sword.  As leaders, we are incredibly passionate and driven to see the people of God (and the church as a whole) growing in spiritual maturity and producing more spiritual fruit. That calling and passion keeps us awake at night and keeps us on our knees seeking God's constant guidance and blessing.

It is that passion and drive that comes from God that gives us energy and strength to keeps us continually seeking to move God's people in a forward direction.  But it feels like a double-edged sword at times.  On one side, we see the vision of how much better people's lives could be.  We see the potential for good and for abundant fruit for the Kingdom that seems so close to one's grasp.  But on the other side, we also see the selfishness and the stubbornness that keeps people from moving forward in their journey of faith and that can feel so frustrating at times.

And it's not about judging other people for where...

 

Dear God,

Thank you so much that you have again reminded me that what I do is what I was born to do!

Yes, just at this moment I'm realizing that You have again answered my prayer. Last week I was feeling down and discouraged.  I was once again questioning my calling as I so often have through the years.  Lord, please forgive me for that! Forgive me that after all this time you still have to say to me, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”(Matt. 8:26).

Last week, I knew my attitude had somehow gone wrong.  I was feeling weary of doing good.  I hadn't been spending enough time with you in quiet prayer and I wasn't getting my daily bread in the right amount and the result was that I felt tired and frustrated and so not filled with grace.

How hard is it to be a church planting pastor / senior pastor?

It's the absolute hardest thing I've ever done in my life! There is no doubt in my mind that I could not, would not do this in my own strength. 

One of the things that makes it so very hard for me personally is the fact that my natural personality bent is to be a people pleaser.  Someone once said the surest way to fail is to try to please everyone. I love people with all my heart.  I have a huge mercy gift.  I want to comfort, please, make happy, make everyone feel better!  But it's not possible. And God calls me to be a "God-pleaser" first.

I heard a story awhile back:

Erwin McManus relayed the story of his young son who called him into his room at night because he was afraid. He asked his daddy, Erwin, to pray for protection and that God would make him safe.

Erwin said to his son, "No, I won't pray that. I'm going to pray instead that God would make you dangerous. That you would be so dangerous that demons would be afraid of you."

The son replied, "Then pray that I would be very dangerous Daddy."

The point is that believers should be so close to God and so armed with His weapons that they would be able to stand against the world and the evil one and to be bold like Jesus.

Since I heard that, that has become my prayer for my own son, for myself and for all of our church.

It may seem like strange advice but one of the best pieces of advice that I would give any church leader is simply: "remember, everything ebbs and flows."

What does that mean?

It's like waves in the ocean ebb (recede) and then flow (come towards the shore). It's that back and forth movement. It's the rhythum of life and it's the rhythum in ministry and churches..  It's the rhythum of everyone's life and it's something you can't control.

 

Reality check: Being a female, non-denominational, senior pastor can feel kind of lonely at times.  For one thing, there is very, very few of us.

I have spent a lot of time through the years searching for others like me and have found so very few.

I have found quite a few husband and wife team church planters but very few solo (Non-denom.) women church planters.  There is a big difference. Though my husband is 100% supportive of me and the church, he is not, does not have the calling of a pastor.

This is truly pioneering work and very few people know nor understand that aspect of it.

I certainly don't say this because I want sympathy of any kind.  But I do want other women who are considering planting a church to be aware and be prepared that this road can be a lonely one at times. 

I prayed long and hard about whether God was calling me and our church to be part of a denomination. It would have been nice to feel and have the support of a bigger organization. But God made it clear to me that was not His plan for me and for BHCC. I don't know all the whys of His plan, I just know that it is His will.

It grieves me how so many male pastors have acted towards me through the years. I can understand that they may have different beliefs than do I when it comes to women in ministry.  I can accept that, but what I can't accept is for a pastor of Christ to use their beliefs as a reason to be rude to another human being.  It contradicts the Gospel message as far as I'm concerned.

One time I attended a pastor's luncheon and was sat at a table with 6 male pastors.  None of them would talk to me.  The speaker was Dr. David Jeremiah and the man who was leading the worship portion kept saying things like, 'men, stand up, men, sit down." The women were not addressed at all and there were quite a few in the room!