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

Knowledge Does NOT Equal Faith

My friend, Adam Jones, lit it up with this post. Here's a portion of the awesomeness.

Knowing Jesus did miraculous things is great, but it isn’t faith.

Knowing God has done unbelievable things is awesome, but it isn’t faith.

Knowing the Holy Spirit moved throughout history is reassuring, but it isn’t faith.

Knowledge is necessary, but knowledge alone is not faith.

Faith is believing that what happened once a long time ago will happen again. Faith is trusting that the miracles of the Bible will directly translate into the miracles of your life. Faith is taking action that requires history to repeat itself.

Knowing will only get you so far.  Knowing will leave you hanging when the results aren’t immediately evident. Knowing will let you quit just when the game’s about to get good.

Faith will push you through the wall of doubt and worry and fear. Faith will carry you through the fire of pain and loss and heartbreak. Faith will lead you through the fog of confusion and loneliness and emotion.

I would add only this. The last thing a lot of Christians need is another Bible study. Most are educated far beyond their level of obedience.

We've got the knowledge. But if it never translates into faith, then we've simply educated ourselves into spiritual tragedy.

Does Your Marriage Need Help?

Then do something about it.

This post from Sarah Markley says it all. You need to read the entire post, but I did want to highlight this portion of it. When Sarah and her husband went back to their marriage counselor for the first time in over six years, she said…

"I thought:

I shouldn’t be here. We shouldn’t be here.

We should have it together by now. We should have moved beyond needing outside help, right? Aren’t we supposed to be healed?

What am I going to tell the people I try to help in their own marriages? That I’m back in therapy again?

What on earth am I doing here?

It’s humbling. It’s sigh-worthy. And it’s actually a bit embarrassing.

I know what the new questions will be: Did she cheat again? Is he addicted to porn? What horrible thing happened?

The answers to all of those questions are No, No and nothing.

We just need help right now.

And I’m not going to be embarrassed to admit it even if we have to sit on that therapist’s couch every week until we wear a hole into the seat cushions."

Let me return to the title question of this post. Does your marriage need help? Then get it. Do something. Get proactive. Seek the help you need.

Oh, you're a pastor? You can't seek help because you're supposed to have it all together?

You're a leader in your church? You're not allowed to have these kinds of issues?

You're a lifelong Christian? People expect more from you than this?

That is pride talking. Stupid, selfish, sinful pride. How about you stop caring so much about what other people think and start focusing on what your spouse thinks? Does he/she think your marriage needs help?

Your marriage is worth fighting for. If you need some help, get it. Talk with me confidentially. I can set you up with a counselor. But whatever you do, don't let pride stop you from seeking help.

Your marriage deserves better than that.

Jonah

We're kicking off a brand new series this weekend at ACC. And here's a novel idea…I'll be the one preaching. It's been a month since I've preached and I'M READY!

This new three-week series will take us through the book of Jonah, one of the most fascinating books in the entire Old Testament. And one of the most famous. It's likely that you're familiar with the story. But in this series, we're going to look at this familiar story with fresh eyes. It's an amazing, redemptive, and pathetic story…all rolled into one.

I can't wait for Sunday! Get yourself geared up for a powerhouse new series.

The Fastest Way to Unimpress Me

I learned early on that a lot of people want to impress their pastor. Speaking for pastors everywhere, I think it's time to give you this cold, hard fact…

We're not impressed.

I can't tell you how many people try to impress me. When I'm around, they completely change the way they talk. They work all kinds of religious sounding verbiage into our conversation. They want to turn every interaction with me into a grand theological conversation. They make sure to show me  how much Bible they know. It is nearly impossible to have a normal conversation with them. And it's all done for one purpose…to impress me.

The irony is that this is the fastest way to unimpress me.

For one thing, I don't talk like that. When I talk, I don't sound like I'm reading from a King James Bible. Except for a few Pharisaical years when I was younger, I have never felt like I have to use religious catch words in conversations. Thankfully God saved me from my legalism.

A second, and much more important, reason that this doesn't impress me is that it's usually all talk. I've learned that the more a person has to talk a good game, the less game they've actually got. In other words, if a person has to go over the top to impress me in a conversation, it's most likely an attempt to throw me off the trail of who they really are. And it's usually a pathetically easy smokescreen to see through. The Bible says it so simply: "Fools multiply words." (Ecclesiastes 10:14)

As I said earlier, we pastors are unimpressed.

But that's not to say that we are impossible to impress. I'm impressed by people every single day. But it's not the religious-talking suck up that impresses me. I'm impressed by people that demonstrate who they are by their actions instead of their words.

These are people that I can actually have a real conversation with. People who, instead of trying to impress me, are very real about their brokenness and sin. When I ask them a question, I get a real answer…not a church answer. Trust me…there's a big difference.

These people don't use a lot of religious words. They might even use an occasional "bad" word. But it's all part of a package of real spiritual authenticity. These are people who are completely committed to becoming more like Jesus, but they also realize that they aren't there yet. And they are too busy taking care of business on the field to worry about talking a big game.

To put it simply, the person who impresses me the most is the person who isn't trying to impress me at all.

One Thing that God Can't Do

Lie.

According to the Bible, that is something that God simply cannot do.

"…it is impossible for God to lie…" (Hebrews 6:18b)

There is a legend about George Washington where, after chopping down a cherry tree, he said, "I cannot tell a lie." The difference here is that this is no legend. This isn't a myth or an old wives' tale. This is truth. God cannot lie. It is an impossibility for Him.

The implications of this truth for us are enormous. If God can't lie, then…

• He really does love you.
• He really does forgive you.
• He really does give second chances.

If it is impossible for God to lie, then...

• He can heal your marriage.
• His financial principles can be trusted.
• He hears, and responds to,  your prayers.
• He feels your pain.
• He disciplines you because He loves you.
• He hasn't forgotten you.

If God can only speak the truth, then

• He is not scared by your sin or surprised by your failures.
• He accepts you in your brokenness.
• He is doing a work in your life that, if you give Him time, will blow your mind.

These are all things that God has promised in His Word. And if it is impossible for God to lie, then every one of these things are true. They are true for me. They are true for you.

Own these principles. Live them out today. Decide to see them as reality, not fantasy. Your God, who cannot lie, has made these promises to you.

My Greatest Fear

The fear of being disqualified.

Every pastor and church leader lives with it. To be honest, this is something that scares me to death. It scares me because I know what I'm capable of. I know that I am a messed up, broken, wicked sinner. And I know how this competes with my calling as a pastor, husband, father, and man of God. Hence, the fear that is a constant for me.

Clayton King described it better than I could in this post. Here it is in its entirety.

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I am afraid of 3 very silly things that are completely illogical. Math, spiders, and clowns. Math is confusing, spiders are killers, and clowns eat children. These are scientific facts.

But beyond the laughable fears that each of us have should be a very real and horrifying fear every pastor, youth minister, missionary, campus pastor, worship leader, wife and husband and parent, should always be mindful and fearful of.

It's the fear of being disqualified.

If you are not daily aware of this deadly threat, then according to the book of Proverbs, you are a fool. If you don't prepare and plan and plot the path you will walk to avoid being disqualified, then you will eventually do something that will indeed make you unfit for the work of ministry. If this sounds harsh, then I have communicated well my intention.

Consider this short passage from Paul the Apostle and hear the urgency in these words.

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly ; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27

Paul's fear was that because of a lack of focus and self discipline, he might fall into sin that would make him unfit for ministry. He lived daily with the reality that he could do certain things that would disqualify him from preaching the gospel, things that would cause those he preached to to doubt him, distrust him, or scorn him. He had labored for many years to gain a reputation and testimony as an ambassador of Jesus Christ and he lived with the constant understanding that he could literally throw all of that away in a split second of sin or stupidity.

So can you and so can I.

It takes a moment of unbridled passion to destroy a marriage. It takes 5 minutes online to begin an addiction that will crush your congregation when it comes out (and it will come out). Just a few words spoken in anger or rage and your entire life's work in ministry is undone. And the reality I live with is that after 24 years in ministry and on the stage, I could just as easily disqualify myself by burning myself out, ruining my health, or having a stress induced heart attack before I even hit my most effective and fruitful years for the gospel. If I am dead at 45 then I am no good to anyone on earth. And if you have an affair at 60, no one will remember the great church you built. Your legacy will simply be that you blew it. You failed. Many great leaders end up nothing more than footnotes in conversations years after they stepped out of bounds and were disqualified.

Of course the grace of God covers a multitude of sins. But there is no guarantee from the New Testament that once a minister is disqualified that they can automatically be restored to serve in the same capacity. The best idea is to stay in bounds. Here, briefly, is how we avoid being disqualified.

1. Do not let anything come between you and your daily time with Jesus Christ
2. Maintain a vibrant life of private worship, prayer and meditation on His word
3. Have real accountability with people who are not impressed with you, not just "yes" men
4. Spend unhurried, uncluttered time with your wife and your children
5. Slow down, say no, and create margin in your life for rest, reflection, and fun

If being disqualified is not your greatest fear, then I urge you to re-think what you are most afraid of. By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, may you and I walk in humility, dependence, accountability, and self-discipline so that we may no be disqualified from our calling.

What are you afraid of?  What steps have you taken to protect yourself from being disqualified?

Non Finito

I've had this post from Scott Hodge saved for months. I even "borrowed" it in a message last year. Scott is a master at weaving artistry and ministry together, as evidenced by this post.

He is also a friend and mentor. I was part of his first-ever coaching community last year and it ranks as one of the best things I've ever done in ministry. Ever.

Can't wait for Scott to speak in our One Prayer series. Until then, check out this post. Beautiful stuff.

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Non Finito.

It’s a sculpting technique that literally means Unfinished.  The technique was pioneered by the early Italian Renaissance artist, Donatello. It was later used by many other artists, including Michelangelo, who used it to create this beautiful piece sculpture, known as The Pietà.

The technique is one where the sculpted piece appears almost unfinished because the artist only uses part of the block, which leaves the sculpture looking almost stuck or part of the stone or block of material itself.

Non finito!

This is us, isn’t it? Unfinished. Incomplete. Or as one t-shirt my mom made me wear as a kid said: “Still Under Construction!”

We are not who we were created to be. But thankfully…we one day will be.

Thank God for these hopeful reminders.  Reminders that speak hope into the “Non finito” reality of our lives.  After all, that is the tension we feel, isn’t it?  The tension of the “now, and not yet“.  Which then…actually  makes it a hopeful tension! One that reminds us that no matter how good, how painful, how broken, how scarred, how failed our lives may be…..our stories are not over.  They are….TO BE CONTINUED.

May the hope of Christ’s return and the promise of final completion and restoration ofall things….fill our hearts with that shout of cosmic hope:“Come, Lord Jesus“.

(Photo credit)