SEARCH RESULTS

Imagine you've got a box of Legos dumped out on the living room floor. Your grandson is sitting cross-legged next to you, looking up with those big eyes, and he says, "Build something cool." So you start snapping pieces together. A wing here. A tower there. Before long you've got some kind of spaceship, or a castle, or who-knows-what, but the kid loves it. You love it. And why wouldn't you? You built it yourself, from your own head, with your own hands. But then you notice something sticking out from under the couch cushion. The instruction sheet. Turns out this wasn't a random pile of bricks. It was a kit, designed by someone who had a very specific finished product in mind. And the picture on that sheet? It looks nothing like your little spaceship. Nobody's going to arrest you for building off-script. Your grandson doesn't care. But here's the thing. You missed what the designer intended. You had every piece you needed to build exactly what he envisioned, and you never bothered to read the instructions. That's the church right now. Not with Legos, but with something that matters a whole lot more. We've been given the pieces. The Spirit is at work. Jesus has saved us. We've got a community of Christ-followers around us. But without a deep, personal knowledge of the Scriptures, without the instruction sheet, we end up building according to our own preferences. Our own ideas. Our own version of what the Christian life should be. And what we build might appear good to us. It might even appear spiritual. But it might have zero resemblance to what God had in mind. That's the part that keeps pastors like me awake at night. Trusting a Book We Haven't Read There's a question I wrestle with every time I sit down to prepare a sermon. How much can I assume my people actually understand? Can I reference David and Goliath without retelling the whole story? Can I bring up the Prodigal Son and not give background? Can I quote Romans and expect anyone in the room to have read it? The answer, more and more, is no. Biblical illiteracy is everywhere. And I don't mean among people who've never been to church. I mean among people who've been sitting in pews for decades. Lifelong churchgoers who can't name the four Gospels. People who mix up Old Testament prophets with New Testament apostles. They haven't touched Acts. They've never opened Leviticus. They've memorized a handful of popular verses, usually stripped from their original context, and they assume that's enough. It's not an access problem. Most of these people own more than one Bible. We've got apps, study guides, commentaries, and podcasts overflowing with biblical content. No generation in history has had more resources at their fingertips. And still, the Bible itself sits unread. Honored? Sure. Studied? Barely. The fallout from this is real. People make bad decisions because they've never read what God actually said about how to live. They swallow false teaching because they can't tell truth from error. They stumble through hard seasons without the comfort Scripture offers because they don't have a clue where to find it. Jesus put it plainly: "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (John 8:32). Flip that around. What happens when we don't? We stay stuck. Trapped by lies. Swept along by cultural pressure. Misled by voices that sound right but aren't. I've watched people in my own congregation embrace bad theology that five minutes in the text would've corrected. I've sat across the table from couples whose marriages were falling apart, and the wisdom they needed was sitting in a Bible they hadn't opened in months. I've counseled parents, business owners, and young adults through crises that could have been avoided or at least softened by the application of biblical principles they simply weren't familiar with. And I'll be the first to admit: leaders like me carry some of the blame. We dumbed things down. We made the gospel more palatable and less demanding. We lowered the bar in the name of being welcoming. That's on us. And it needs to change. The gospel has to be preached in its fullness. Crosses have to be carried, not worn as jewelry. The Bible is not a self-help book collecting dust on a shelf. It is the primary instrument God uses to shape us. When we ignore it, we don't lose information. We lose formation. We stay the same. You can build whatever you want without the instructions. Nobody will stop you. But the designer had a specific picture in mind. Every piece in that spiritual lego box was meant to fit into something beautiful and intentional. Skip the instructions, and you'll build something that comes from you. Follow them, and you'll build something that comes from him. When the Appetite Is Gone I'll say this carefully because I'm not pointing fingers as if I have all my ducks in a row. I'm stretched thin too. I understand what it's like to come home exhausted and reach for the remote instead of the Scriptures. The pull is real. But the pattern across the church is hard to ignore. Bible studies half-empty. Midweek services drawing a fraction of Sunday's crowd. Sermon series on tougher books of the Bible followed by requests for something "lighter." Small groups stay small while recreational leagues fill up in a day. Jeremiah wrote, "When Your words came, I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart" (Jeremiah 15:16). That's not a guy white-knuckling his way through a reading plan. That's a man who was hungry. Who tasted something and wanted more. When that hunger disappears, something else is usually going on beneath the surface. Sometimes it's immaturity, like a kid who wants candy instead of real food. The taste for what actually nourishes hasn't developed yet. Sometimes guilt is the culprit. Unconfessed sin has a way of making us avoid the mirror. And sometimes, most of the time if I'm being honest, it's the sheer noise of life. Schedules packed so tight there's no room left for the one thing that could change a life. Sadly, the same people who can't seem to find thirty minutes for Scripture will spend hours studying their fantasy football roster. They'll binge a docuseries on Netflix. They'll deep-dive into a new hobby or research the best vacation deals with stunning dedication. The appetite for learning is alive and well. It's pointed at everything except the one book with the power to reshape a life from the inside out. I, way too often, fall into this trap as well. If I could ask for one thing, one single outcome from years of preaching, teaching, and late-night conversations, it would be this: I want to work myself out of a job. I want to develop people who are so rooted in the Scriptures that they can feed themselves. And then feed others. What I do on Sundays was never meant to replace your own time in the text. Watching a cooking show is enjoyable. But it won't keep you alive. At some point you've got to make dinner yourself. Don't treat the Bible like the ark from Indiana Jones, an artifact you respect from a distance. Pick it up. Open it. Read it, not because someone guilted you into it, but because the God who designed your life wrote the instructions. And what He had in mind for you is better and bigger and more purposeful than anything you or I could come up with on our own. You can build your life any way you want. Nobody's stopping you. But tucked inside the pages you haven't cracked open yet, there's a picture of the finished product. It was drawn by the One who made you. "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food." (Hebrews 5:12) The instructions are right there, maybe tucked in a dirty couch somewhere. Pull them out. The Designer is waiting for you to build something glorious. (This blog reflects some of the content in my upcoming book "What Your Pastor Wish You Knew.")

On a recent hiking expedition with my son in West Virginia, we came across something unexpected on the trail to Seneca Rocks. The trail to Seneca Rocks is an ascent of about 1,000 feet to a jagged ridge overlooking valleys on both sides. It's a beautiful trail filled with wildlife. On our trip, we encountered a doe and her two fawns eating along the trail. They were obviously accustomed to humans because we were able to walk very close to them without disturbing them. About halfway up, we came across something we often see along the side of roads but very rarely on a trail. It was a white cross, memorializing the death of a young man. There wasn't much information about him except for the date he died or even if he died on the trail itself, but it did make us stop and wonder. These sorts of encounters make people think about a number of things, I suppose, but for me, because of my sab batical mindset, I began to think about what legacy I would leave if someone came across my cross someplace on a lonely mountain? When I speak of legacy in the Christian sense, I'm not talking about anything necessarily physical that remains to remind people how wonderful and kind I was or wasn't. What I am talking about is the type of legacy that Jesus alluded to in Matthew 6. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.   For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 Of course, I believe every Christian should strive to leave a godly legacy behind them. This would include being a good example in your community and living a life of faith so that your children and grandchildren can see Jesus in you. It would include using your spiritual gifts to their maximum capacity to glorify God in addition to finding a place to do ministry in every, and I mean every season of life. It would include working hard with your hands as the Bible instructs us because everything we do we do unto the Lord. It would include showing real, unashamed, Holy Spirit empowered love to everyone we meet. It would include these things and more. You probably have your list and if you don't, why not? Are we not supposed to live with purpose? For me, because my calling is in pastoral ministry, I have to think about another legacy that I leave. Paul instructs Timothy to do something unique as a pastor. And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:2 Pastors today, wear so many hats. We are expected to be experts in the Scriptures, effective public speakers, extraordinary administrators, wise counselors, computer and internet wizards. We have to be perfect husbands and have trained our children to be completely obedient in every situation. Most pastors have some musical talents, even if it just means leading the hymns from behind the pulpit on any given Sunday. Yet, Paul's instructions here have little to do with those qualifications. Paul's instruction is simply pass on what you know (whether you are an expert or not) to the next generation. Make sure that they are faithful with the Word so they can pass it on next generation. As I contemplate jumping back into full-time ministry in the next few weeks, one thing that lays heavy on my mind is my time management. In my twilight years of ministry, I want to focus leaving a legacy like the one that Paul instructed Timothy to leave. I don't want to be known as the busy Pastor. I don't wanna leave a legacy (though it sounds good) of being a pastor that met People's needs. The legacy that I need to focus on, more so now than ever, is the legacy of the Word of God. I want to spend my time entrusting what God has given me to others who will pick up the ball and do the same. So if you are part of my congregation, will you help me? No Pastor is good enough, smart enough or blessed enough to leave this sort of legacy without a faithful church family. I guess the ultimate goal is to leave a legacy together – to add our names to the long list in Hebrews 11. There is no greater gift that we have been given than God's Word. There is no greater gift that we have been entrusted with to pass on to the next generation so they can see the glorious Works of our God and King . So I make this covenant with you. I will dabble in some administration and counseling. I will get my toes wet with polishing up my preaching in producing some cool graphics for the sermon series. But one thing I will not compromise on is passing God's Word to the next generation. I'm not looking for anything physical: a name on a building, piles of money in the bank, even a cross on a mountain side. I'm looking for God to grant me faithfulness so that my life not only impacts this generation but the next and the next and the... We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power and the wonders he has done." Psalm 78:4

One of the questions my congregation asked me before I left on sabbatical was, in essence, "What are you most looking forward to?" My answer was worship. As I explained to my congregation, it's difficult for a pastor to experience worship outside of his job. Of course, we are able to worship on Sundays, but we also have other responsibilities on our minds, like preparation and actually leading the service. So, we can worship, but it's different. Even when we go away for a vacation, it's difficult to get out of pastoral mode. As we sit in another congregation unnoticed, questions will go through our minds: "I would've preached that differently," "We should try that worship song in our services," or "I like this order of service better than our order of service." I was really looking forward to worshiping in church for an extended period of time as just a regular guy and not a pastor. It did take a number of weeks to fully get out of "pastoral mode," but what I experienced was no less than amazing. What I experienced was freedom from that which often held me back from truly expressing worship to God. All the questions that my mind goes through regarding preparation became secondary and then eventually went away. This worship that I experienced wasn't just enjoying the singing and a well-crafted sermon. It was something deeper. It was a connection to God where it was just me experiencing Him as Phil, not as Pastor Phil. This is not to say that this experience of worship was better than when I worship with my own congregation, but it was different. I only have four more weeks left until I return to my congregation, and I am a bit torn. In some ways, I cannot wait to get back to my people to worship with them again, but in other ways, I cherish these last four weeks of worship as just Phil. Let me drop back into pastoral mode for a moment and ask a question because, given my recent experience, I am perplexed. Here's the question, and forgive me if it sounds harsh, but it is something I cannot understand or reconcile in my mind: If you claim to be a follower of Jesus, why do you choose not to come to worship on a regular basis? Or to put it another way: What things distract or take priority over worshiping with God's people? It's a valid question because I've seen it over 45 years of ministry where people who love the Lord don't seem to prioritize worship on a regular basis. To be honest, I see the toll on their lives and families when a regular discipline of worship is ignored. So what exactly is it? I don't profess to be the most faithful Christian that ever lived, but I cannot imagine myself not making every effort to worship the one who died for me. Given my recent experience of worship, I believe that all the more. And given the state of the church in America, I believe this is one of the greatest problems that we face because God created us to worship. So if we are not worshiping Him with God's people on a regular basis, I can almost guarantee that we are spending that time worshiping something else. Jesus put it this way: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21) Where is your heart? What is more important than worship? Do you long to worship Him? If not, we need to check our relationship with Him. We need to examine if we are idolaters, giving our hearts over to something else. David said in Psalm 63 that his soul thirsts for God, but what I see too often is a soul that accommodates God—we just fit Him in after the "other stuff" is taken care of. Is the following your experience? O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live;in your name I will lift up my hands. (Psalm 63:1-4) We live in a dry and weary land where there is no water. We struggle as our flesh faints, telling us we should draw near to God, but rather than looking to His sanctuary for what we need, we look to things that bring no satisfaction and then turn around and blame God. On any given Sunday, many Christians will wake up and bow to the god of "I just needed to sleep in," the god of "I stayed up too late last night," the god of "Let's go out to breakfast or the golf course," and a myriad of others. We then wonder why no one sees Jesus consistently in our lives when the answer is simple. We don't thirst for Him because of these other strange gods we worship. Let me give you a list of suggestions that I plan on implementing in my life as well because there is a danger that I have a god on Sunday that I worship rather than the true God. I've alluded to it. It is the god of professionalism, also known as the god of control everything. The danger for me is to focus so much on my pastoral mode that I miss the opportunity to connect with God as Phil. Of course, I need to perform in the calling that God has given me, but one need not exclude the other. STEP ONE:  Stop making excuses. When you choose to (and it is a choice) worship another god on Sunday, then call it what it is: idolatry. Experience the forgiveness of Jesus, and move on to choose obedience. STEP TWO:  Take the Scriptures at face value. Stop believing the lie that it is an option to go to worship and be part of the body of Christ. As I have said many times before, the Bible is not a book of suggestions. God commands us to do certain things most often because those things are good for us to aid in our growth. When we choose disobedience, we should not be surprised when things don't go well for us. When we feel that the Lord is not near to us, when we feel our faith falter, when we have no desire to read the Scriptures, when we see our wives, husbands, or children slip away from Jesus—these things are connected. If you don't believe me, here is the command to obey: Do not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25) STEP THREE:  Discern the reason why you don't attend regularly or why you can't focus while you are at worship. Are you going to bed too late? Is your life so busy and complicated that you cannot control your thought life? Just go through all the reasons why you don't and ask why you do. STEP FOUR:  Get up and go. If you can't accomplish that on your own, find a brother or sister who can hold you accountable and call you every Sunday to wake you up and get you off your tush. The final question to ask if you can't do that is this: Do I really love Jesus, or is there another? Jesus clearly said that if we love Him, we will do what He commands (John 14:15). You can't love both Jesus and those other Sunday gods, and neither can I (Matthew 6:24). STEP FIVE:  Encourage others to worship with you. Maybe even commit Psalm 95 to memory. It is an awesome song calling worshipers to gather together to glorify God. Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. My brothers and sisters, children of the risen King, let's not make the mistake of missing the main purpose of why we exist: to worship. I cannot wait till this Sunday. I cannot wait to worship with my congregation again. I pray that you too will thirst for Him.