Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Willison Letter

Just got a letter at church from Jim Willison. It's hanging up in our foyer. Check it out this weekend.

Also, if you missed the voicemail from Jim that we played in our services a few weeks ago, check it out here.

We love and miss ya, Jim!

Ministry Statistics

Just watched a portion of a talk by Mark Driscoll called Death by Ministry. Here are a few frightening statistics that he shared.

1. 1500 pastors leave the ministry every month.

I personally know lots of guys who started out in vocational ministry and are now doing other things. I don't fault them because, on more than one occasion, I've almost jumped ship. Ministry is hard.

2. 50% of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could.

A lot more guys in ministry would leave if they could. The problem is that they don't feel like they have a skill set that will land them a job that can feed their family. As Mark Driscoll said, "When you succeed in ministry, those skills tend not to translate well into the workforce." Ministry is hard, but a lot of guys feel trapped because they're not qualified to do anything else.

3. 80% of Bible College students will leave the ministry in 5 years.

Ministry gets difficult quickly.

4. 50% of pastors' marriages will end in divorce.

A couple of weeks ago in our Maze of Marriage series, I shared that Christian couples are divorcing at a statistically higher rate than non-Christian couples. Pastors are no different.

5. 40% of pastors polled admitted to an adulterous affair after entering the ministry.

Makes me wonder how many more didn't admit it. Sexual sin is a primary reason why ministers' families are falling apart and why pastors are leaving vocational ministry at an astonishing rate.

6. 84% of pastors' spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role.

Here's another reason why ministers jump ship. Their spouses are discouraged. Everyone has a different expectation of a pastor. Everyone also has a different expectation of a pastor's wife and kids. That's not fair, but it's true. Maybe that's why 80% of pastors' wives wish their husband would choose another profession. There are some guys who leave the ministry to save their family.

7. 70% of pastors constantly fight depression.

Again, to quote Driscoll, "The other 30% are lying." It's hard not to get depressed when dealing with people. People will ultimately disappoint you. People can be petty, immature, obstinate, manipulative, hurtful, etc. And that's on a good day.

Please understand this: I'm not sharing these statistics in order to receive your pity. I'm not feeling sorry for myself and I definitely don't want you to feel sorry for me. I am very blessed to serve at ACC. There are frustrating seasons, but the positives far outweigh the negatives in my ministry.

I'm simply sharing this stuff because it reveals what is going on in the church today. This should be a reality check for us as God's church. So please encourage the leaders in your church. Pastors, elders, deacons, etc. They all need an encouraging word from you. And that's actually not just a suggestion. It's a Biblical command.

God tells us in Hebrews, "Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit." (Hebrews 13:17, NLT, bold mine)

Happy Father's Day

Hope all our dads are enjoying their day today.

A little Father's Day trivia for you…

There are more collect calls made on Father's Day than any other day of the year. Don't believe me? Click here for confirmation.

Happy Father's Day!

Mirrors Part Two

Pretty psyched about the message tomorrow at church. We'll be wrapping up our Mirrors series. Part one was on Mother's Day as we talked about reflections of a godly woman. Since tomorrow is Father's Day, it's our turn guys. We'll be talking about what it means to live as a man of God.

One thing is for sure. Living as a godly man isn't for wimps.

Dead Man Wins Election

Yep, you read that title correctly. Bill Casto was overwhelmingly re-elected as city recorder in Ripley, West Virginia. The only catch is that Casto died the day before the election. And yet he still won by a landslide margin. 523-324 to be exact.

How would you like to be the loser in that election? Losing an election is bad enough. Losing to a dead man has got to really sting!

Staff Day at GABP

Good day today. Brian Morrissey and I spent the afternoon away from the office to take in the Reds/Angels game today at Great American Ballpark. Some thoughts from the day…

1. It was hot. We had great seats, but that meant that we were in full sun all day. And I mean full sun. There wasn't even a cloud to block the sun until the 7th inning. Hot, hot, hot.

2. I'm a Homer Bailey fan. He pitched great today.

3. I'm not a Gary Majewski fan. He pitched…like always. Can't figure out why the Reds are hanging onto him at this point.

4. Ken Griffey Jr. is back in form this year. He hit a homerun to dead center that was an absolute monster blast. 411 feet. We were very close to him when he was playing right field. Very cool to see how he interacts with the fans, especially the kids. He gave away several baseballs to young fans today. Classy.

5. I look good on the huge scoreboard screen. They were showing some kid in our row acting goofy and my face appeared on the screen for a few seconds. A few seconds was enough. Couldn't have all the women in the park swooning over my beautiful face on the big screen. I'm a married man, after all.

6. It was great to get away with Brian today. We didn't talk shop at all. We talked baseball. It was good to just be a couple of guys today. Not a couple of ministers. Not a couple of staff members from the same church. Just a couple of guys taking in a ballgame.

7. I don't like sunburns…and I got a good one today. Hello aloe.

8. Awesome to see the Army's Golden Knights. They're an elite parachuting team that literally dropped in before the game began.

9. Even more impressive was seeing a huge group of young people take the Army's Oath of Enlistment before the game. That will move you. Seeing these kids enlisting in the Army during wartime was awe inspiring.

10. The Reds lost today. Other than a couple of rare miscues by Josh Hamilton and an all-too-common bullpen meltdown, they played pretty well. Gives me hope that maybe the season isn't a complete loss yet, although they'd better get it turned around quickly.

11. Even with the Reds loss, it was a good day. But then again, everyday at GABP is a good day!

Pioneer 10

This is too cool. On this date in 1983, the spacecraft Pioneer 10 became the first man-made object to leave our solar system. The spacecraft kept sending signals to Earth until January 23, 2003 when the craft was 7.5 billion miles from our planet. To this day, it's still hurtling through space somewhere out there.

It's impossible to wrap my mind around a number like 7.5 billion. It's incomprehensible. And yet, it's no big deal for God. The vast expanse of space is a testimony of God's creativity and power. Scientists tell us that the universe is still expanding. Isn't that a cool thought? God's creative work in the universe might still be going on.

But of everything that God has created…of all the animals, plants, oceans, mountains, stars, moons, and planets…we are still the crown jewel in his creation. We are the only work of God that is created in the Imago Dei, or the image of God. We bear God's fingerprint in a way unlike anything else in creation.

And we are also loved more than anything else in God's creation. When God looked at everything he had created in Genesis, he said that it was "good." When he created human beings in his image, he said that it was "very good." There is a special connection and a special love that God has for people.

And that love for people cost God everything. It cost him his very Son. Jesus gave his life so that we could be bought back from sin's stranglehold on our lives. Jesus didn't die for anything else in all creation. He died for the human race alone.

You were created special. You were bought with the blood of God. People are searching high and low for significance, purpose, and meaning. It's only found in connecting with your Creator. You are his masterpiece, his crowning creative achievement.

And he gave up his life so you could live.

Google Tips

Ok, so this post is way out of the norm for me. This would fit a lot better on a geek blog like this one. I'm sure all the geeks among us already know all this stuff, but for the rest of us, this might be helpful.

I found a blog which offers 20 tips for more effective Google searches.

For example, I didn't know that you can use Google as a calculator. I know that's a simple thing, but I'm a simple guy that is amazed by simple things.

Anyway, might be worth checking out these tips before you go Googling again.

Healthy Coffee

Getting ready to head to Starbucks, so this is really good news. I just heard on the morning news that coffee has a newly discovered health benefit. It contains soluble fiber which may help lower blood sugar and cholesterol. Coffee has more soluble fiber than wine and even more than orange juice.

I always knew there was a reason why I prefer coffee instead of orange juice in the morning. Obviously it's because I'm a health conscious person.

Early Meetings

Had one of our early morning elders/staff meetings at Bob Evans at 6:30 am today. For most guys in ministry, that sounds like a double whammy.

An early morning + an elders meeting = a bad day.

I'm so thankful that this equation doesn't apply in my ministry! I don't love it when the alarm goes off early, but I do look forward to our elders/staff meetings. Probably because they don't feel a lot like meetings. They feel a lot more like a gathering of guys who passionately want to honor God and grow our church.

That's worth getting up early for.