The Pain of the Moment
Jul/090
No one in their right mind enjoys pain. But sometimes pain is an essential and irreplaceable part of our lives.
This past week, our son, Ryan, had his five year checkup at the doctor. Any parent knows that there are some painful shots that go along with this particular visit to the doctor. Ryan reacted…actually, he overreacted…with some typical five year old drama. Nevertheless, those shots hurt…for a moment. But these immunizations will save him untold pain later on when they protect him from a variety of diseases.
Sometimes we need to experience pain. Pain has the ability to immunize us.
If we experience pain after a sinful choice, we won't be inclined to make that choice again.
If we hurt because we made a foolish decision, we will act with more wisdom the next time around.
Now, I'm not suggesting that all pain fits into this category. Sometimes life hurts simply because we live in a very dark, very broken world.
But there are times when we need pain to immunize us against our sinful, foolish selves. In those cases, the pain of the moment will save much more intense, much more devastating pain later on.
Pachydermatous
Jul/090
Yeah, that's an actual word. It means "thick skinned."
Think of an elephant, rhinoceros, or a hippopotamus. All of these animals are considered pachyderms. They are hoofed animals with very thick skin. That's what makes them pachyderms.
I need to be more pachydermatous. My guess is that you probably do, too.
Oftentimes we make ourselves way too available to our critics. In our desperate desire to be liked, we give credence to everyone's opinion. One critical word can totally destroy our mood. It can ruin our day, our week, etc.
This is a sin.
The Bible clearly tells us, "Do not pay attention to every word people say…" (Ecclesiastes 7:21a, NIV)
A godly person isn't constantly taking opinion polls about how they're doing. They simply don't listen to every single word that people say. You don't have to make yourself available to someone who wants to do nothing but tear you down.
Now, that's not to say that you can stop criticism from coming. That's impossible. You can reduce your availability to your critics, but you can't stop them entirely.
That's when you need to be pachydermatous. You need to develop a good, godly, thick skin.
Listen to what David wrote in Psalm 56.
"Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack. My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride.
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" (Psalm 56:1-4, NIV)
A thick skin begins with a clear perspective.
God is with you. God will fight for you.
If that's true, then how much do your critics really matter? Seriously…if you actually believe that the eternal God is with you, then what can mortal man do to you?
And remember the wisdom of Proverbs 29:25. "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe." (NIV)
These truths should help us live with a clear perspective on who God is, who we are, and who our critics are.
A clear perspective leads to a thick skin.
Go and be a pachyderm today.
C&C Ministry Vision
Jul/092
Anybody remember C&C Music Factory (everybody dance now!)? ACC now has a C&C Ministry Factory. Josh Young is our new Creative & Communications Minister.
I heard that groan.
Moving on…
If you weren't at ACC on Sunday (or if you just want to hear it again), we have posted an audio snippet of Josh and me talking about the vision for this new ministry. Check it out.
Sunday Quotes
Jul/092
Here are a few quotes from ACC this past Sunday that are still ringing in my head.
"Money didn't die on the cross for you, so why would you serve it?" (Brian Morrissey quoting Lee McDerment)
"The church is the message." (Josh Young)
"If I can't forgive someone, then Jesus is not the centerpoint of my life." (I am allowed to quote myself, right?)
"Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God. He, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood." (from the hymn, Come Thou Fount)
"Jesus does not ignore anybody!" (shouted loudly from KidZone)
"This church is a huge blessing to us." (I heard variations of this quote from several people on Sunday. I actually lost count.)
What's the Vision for Your Life?
Jul/090
An unnamed African preacher knew what his life was all about. He wrote…
"I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power.
The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made.
I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure.
I'm done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I don't have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded.
I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by Holy Spirit power.
My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven.
My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my Guide is reliable and my mission is clear.
I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary.
I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus!
I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me.
And when He does come for His own, He'll have no problems recognizing me–my banner will be clear!"
Meet Our Staff – Josh Young
Jul/091
Spouse: Marie
Kids: None yet!
Hometown: Winchester, OH
Favorite book(s): The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and Confessions of a Pastor by Craig Groeschel
Favorite singer or band: Way too many to list here. I love to listen to just about anything – especially live. I collect concert/music DVDs, and I love to watch talented people blow me away, no matter what the genre. I'm a huge classic rock fan (Boston, Rush, Led Zeppelin, etc.), but I really love anything that moves me.
Favorite restaurant: Right now I'm doing P90X, so I try to stay away from restaurants, but I have a lot of favorites (part of my problem). My favorite restaurants are small local joints that you can't find anywhere else. There's nothing better than finding a place that you've never heard of and loving it. To give you an example, I LOVE Adriatico's pizza over by UC. There's one by UC and one by OSU, and it is unbelievable.
Favorite movie: I'm a big movie fan too, and I have some of the typical favorites: LOTR, Star Wars, Back to the Future (I have a thing for trilogies, what can I say). But one of my favorite movies of all time is Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie.
Must See TV: Huge fan of The Office. Also love (even reruns) King of Queens and Everybody Loves Raymond. I'm more of a comedy guy when I watch the tube. I used to be big into CSI (all of them), The Unit, and shows like that, but they made me too uptight to watch!
First concert you ever attended: Probably something local with our old buddies in Martyr when I was in the band Guardrail (there's a throwback for you, Mike!). First concert with national acts was probably the Alive Music Festival. Met Third Day, Audio Adrenaline, Jars of Clay, the Waiting, and several other bands while I was there.
Coke or Pepsi? Used to be Pepsi. It's been Coke for a while. Then it was Diet Coke. Then back to Coke. And now I try to stick with water.
The mountains or the beach? Yes, please. At this point, I would take either. I love the mountains, but Marie and I are planning to go to Cancun in January, and I cannot wait! We've never taken a big beach vacation.
Paper or Plastic? Neither. We have the Meijer reusable bags (best ones, in my opinion).
One thing that ACCers probably don't know about you: I toured with a band for 2 weeks in the Ukraine in 2003. I literally got to live like a rock star for 14 days. It was unbelievable.
Favorite Scripture: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
What is God teaching you right now: That my worship and relationship with Him doesn't just have to be confined to the typical picture of sitting down with the Word for 30 minutes of quiet time every day. It's different for every person. We exist to worship him all day every day, and when we start to understand that, it changes our whole life. Sometimes the best worship I can give God is to serve my wife like the example Christ gave us when He served the Church.
What excites you the most about ACC? That the leadership (and the whole church) is not afraid to do something differently just because "it's always been done that way." Everyone is more concerned with reaching people in the most effective way possible – even when that means putting a guy on staff who doesn't get his paycheck from ACC. Who cares how other churches our size are doing things? ACC operates like they believe God wants them to. And we're always thinking ahead – not being satisfied with where we are. We have 200? Let's operate like we're 500 strong. We have 500? Let's do things like we have 1,000. God has blessed us tremendously because of that. And it's only the beginning!
There is unity and harmony that I've never seen before at Amelia. It is so awesome to be in a place where opinions are valued, but the Word of God is supreme no matter what.
Stories
Jul/090
We're launching a super-sized summer series this Sunday. (Say that five times fast.)
The series is called Stories. For the remainder of the summer, we're going to listen to the stories that Jesus told during his life. These stories, often referred to as parables, illustrate life-changing truths in unforgettable ways.
Storytime starts this Sunday.
Creative & Communications Minister
Jul/090
We launched a very exciting announcement in our e-newsletter today. (If you don't currently receive our email newsletter, you can subscribe on our website. It's free.)
Josh Young has accepted the position of Creative & Communications Minister at ACC. You can read the news item about this staff addition on our website.
Creative & Communications Minister
Currently, this is an unpaid position. Josh will retain his current job at an engineering firm. But just because Josh won't receive a paycheck from our church does not mean that he is not on staff at our church. He is on staff just as much as I am on staff.
This is an unprecedented move by our church…and it's really exciting! Josh will share his vision for this new ministry position in both services this Sunday. You don't want to miss it!
Deaths That Don't Make the News
Jul/090
There have been a lot of high profile deaths in our country recently. The obvious headliner was the death of Michael Jackson, whose funeral is being called the biggest worldwide media event in history.
But in the last couple of months, we have also lost Dom DeLuise, Bea Arthur, David Carradine, Billy Mays, Karl Malden, Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett, and most recently, Steve McNair.
These deaths make the headlines. And I don't mean to minimize them at all. I know that their families are grieving, and rightfully so.
But with all these deaths that make the news, I thought I would take the opportunity to remind us all of the thousands of deaths that you will never see on the nightly news.
Everyday, people all over the world are killed for one simple reason…they are Christians.
And if they are not killed, they are arrested. Tortured. Their property is confiscated. Their children are taken from them.
All because they are a disciple of Jesus.
So while you ponder the deaths of the high profile few, don't forget to pray for the people who you will never hear about on this side of eternity.
You can always check out the Voice of the Martyrs website for up to the minute information regarding the persectuted church.
