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

What Christians Should Know About Halloween

Halloween has always been a touchy subject for Christians. I myself have struggled to come to a reasonable position on this holiday.

For the record, my family does participate in Halloween…to a point. We do costumes, trick-or-treating, and pumpkin carving. But we do not participate in the darker side of Halloween…celebration of death and all that. This year, our boys' costumes are Santa Claus and Donkey Kong. As the boys grow, their costumes will change. But they will never go dressed as a mass murderer or as something from beyond the grave. That's where we land on the issue.

Justin Holcomb wrote a post that is both historically sound and based on Scripture. It's a little long, but if you're trying to navigate this issue, it's a must read.

What Christians Should Know About Halloween – Justin Holcomb

Ultimately, this is not an area where we can give carte blanche permission or condemnation. It's more gray than it is black-and-white.

This Sunday will be HUGE!

"There he goes again on another 'you can't miss this Sunday' rant!"

Yep. And just like every other time, I absolutely mean it. But this time, I MEAN IT! (Note the emphatic capitalization to prove my point.)

We're going to wrap up our Lost & Found series this Sunday. We'll also be casting some huge vision for the future of ACC. You simply cannot miss it!

I've never been more excited about our church than I am right now. I might explode before Sunday even gets here!

Drive, walk, ride a horse, hop a train, hitchhike…do whatever you've got to do to be at ACC this Sunday!

Top Ten Ways to Make a Bad Decision

Okay, maybe these aren't actually the "top ten," but these are still ten sure-fire ways to make a bad decision in your life. If you have a decision in front of you and you want to screw it up, do the following…

10. Be afraid of failure. If something is not a 100% guaranteed success, don't even try. Let the fear of failure hang like a cloud over you.

9. Allow the failures of your past to become your pattern. Never learn, grow, or move on. Just wash, rinse, repeat. Allow your past to become your present and your future.

8. Always choose the easy way. If something is difficult…if it will cost you something…if it will require faith…don't do it. Always choose the safe, easy route.

7. Elevate the momentary high/thrill over the long term impact. Never stop to consider the implications in the future. Think about the right now.

6. Don't pray about it. Don't seek God's guidance and direction. Don't pray for clarity and wisdom. If you want to make a bad decision, prayer is a definite no-no.

5. Don't seek counsel from others. Wise people who love God and love you might give you some really sound advice. And if you want to make a bad decision, you just can't have that.

4. Believe that your preconceived idea is the only one that is right. And then make sure to surround yourself with people who always agree with you. Don't ever listen to anyone who suggests that you might be wrong. You, wrong? Impossible!

3. Ignore clear Biblical teaching. If the Bible speaks clearly and directly to your situation (and it does), then just ignore those passages. Explain them away. Convince yourself that the Bible doesn't really mean what it says. And then search Google long enough until you find some wingnut Bible "teacher" who agrees with you.

2. Be selfish/self-centered in your goal. Make sure that your decision helps you…and only you.

1. Make sure your will is more important than God's will. That whole "Thy will be done" thing is so 2,000 years ago. Pursue your will. Build your kingdom. Do what you want to do. Look out for #1.

Sunrise Will Come

But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. (Malachi 4:2a)

God is our healer.

"If that's true, then why is this person that I love still sick?"

"If that's true, then why is my marriage falling apart?"

"If that's true, then why am I feeling so helpless and hopeless?"

The short answer is I don't know. I readily admit that I don't understand all of God's methods. Nor do I always approve of them.

But the longer answer is that God IS our healer. This verse promises that, if we continue to honor God and revere His name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.

I don't know how long your night will be. I don't know how long it will be until sunrise. It may not even rise on this side of eternity.

But sunrise will come.

It Happened Again

This time it happened when we had a pizza delivered.

We rarely use delivery since it's more expensive, but I was alone with our two boys and I felt the Holy Spirit tell me that it was the right thing to do. Anyway…

The delivery car pulls into our driveway, I open up the door, and the man smiles broadly and says, "Hey Mike!"

"Umm…hey man!"

"You don't remember me, do you?"

"Sorry, man. You'll have to help me out here."

"I've been coming to church!"

I immediately apologized. But this is happening to me more and more. Our church is growing so rapidly that I just can't keep up. I'm really trying, but the growth is just outrunning my memory.

This is one of the perils of a growing church. Thankfully, my new friend was very understanding. Most people are. But it's still difficult and awkward when this happens.

But I'm also willing to deal with these difficult and awkward situations because it means our church is on the move. I don't want to know everyone in our church. If I did, that would mean that we aren't growing. We aren't reaching lost people for Jesus. We aren't making a difference for God's Kingdom.

But the fact is, we are. We are growing. We are reaching lost people. We are making a huge impact in the Kingdom.

If that means some awkward moments along the way, bring it on.

And I promise I'll do my best to remember your name.

Worship Anyway

"They took an oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side." (2 Chronicles 15:14-15)

The people of Judah had plenty of reasons to worry. This was an incredibly unsettled time in Israel's history. Threats from hostile nations were everywhere. The people had every reason to worry.

But instead of worrying, they started worshiping. They recommitted themselves to God. And a rocking worship service, complete with shouting and trumpets and horns, broke out.

And then the Bible says, "They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them."

If they had focused on their worry, they would never have found God. But when they turned their focus to worship, God showed up. And not only did He show up, but He gave them peace.

You have no shortage of reasons to worry in your life. If you listed all the things you could worry about, the list would be never-ending. But there is one thing that you would miss. You would miss God. If your focus is on your worry, you'll never find Him.

But if you turn your worry into worship, He will show up. If you seek Him eagerly, you will find Him. That's why the best thing you can do when you're worried is worship.

"But I don't FEEL like worshiping. I FEEL like worrying."

Don't trust your feelings. Don't follow your feelings. When you don't feel like worshiping, worship anyway. Make your worship a decision of the will. Worship with your head until you can worship with your heart.

Your feelings will eventually catch up. When God shows up and puts all your worries into perspective, you will feel like worshiping Him.

Until then, worship anyway.

Lost & Found

We're kicking off a new series this weekend at ACC…and I am PUMPED!

"Yeah, yeah. You say that about every series."

So…you want me to preach a series that I'm NOT excited about?!?!

This new series is called Lost & Found, and I really believe it will be one of the most exciting and hopeful series EVER at ACC!

Jesus came with a very simple mission. Turn lost people into found people. Over the next three weeks, we're going to look at three different encounters between Jesus and people who were lost. They were lost in different ways. Each of them had lost their way, but that played out in different ways in their lives. However, even though their problems were different, the solution was always the same. The solution was Jesus.

The equation for turning a lost person into a found person is very simple.

Jesus + Nothing.

It's amazing, though, how many Christians try to make it more complicated. In this series, we're going back to the beauty and simplicity of the gospel.

Jesus + Something Else = Religion

Jesus + Nothing = The Gospel

Religion creates slaves. The gospel turns lost people into found people. And the gospel is what will be preached in this series.

Appreciating Pastors

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. I just received a very encouraging email from some friends in our church, reminding me that yesterday was officially Pastor Appreciation Day.

All of this made me stop and reflect on the pastors who have poured into my life. From my youngest days, I remember pastors who invested in me.

My earliest memory of a pastor is a guy named Terry. A friendly, loving guy who also doubled as my bus driver because the church couldn't pay him enough to make ends meet.

I remember Scott, my youth minister. He saw more in me than I ever saw in myself. I owe him more than I could ever repay.

I remember Tom, the first pastor I worked with vocationally. That guy deserves a medal for putting up with me and my youthful arrogance and ignorance.

I remember another pastor I was on staff with named Steve. Steve was the real deal. Gracious. Compassionate. He ministered to me…a fellow staff member…during some particularly rough days.

I think about all the pastors that I share a kinship with today. Beau. Jason. Denny. Joel. Edgar. Scott. Janeil. Larry. Kevin. David. Wade. Brian. Adam. Shawn. Jim. Randy. John. Mike. Phil. Travis. These guys…and many more…are changing the world. And I mean that literally. Heaven is going to be more crowded because of these men of God. And I feel humbled to have a small part in that fraternity.

I also think about the pastors that ACC is so blessed to have on staff. Brian. Marie. Josh. Our church could not possibly ask for a better team. I've been part of a lot of different churches of a lot of different sizes. I can tell you unequivocally that this team is the best I've ever seen.

I have been privileged to know a ton of pastors in my life. They have invested in me, challenged me, and changed me. And I'm eternally grateful.

The Power of Simplicity

"That's been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains." – Steve Jobs

The remembrances of Steve Jobs are that of a visionary. An artist. A pioneer.

But when I see his body of work, the quote above sums up my sentiments. Steve was a genius because he understood the power of simplicity.

Before Steve Jobs, electronic devices were complicated. Tons of buttons. User manuals as thick as dictionaries.

After Steve Jobs, you see two-year-olds (who can't even read yet!) that can navigate an iPad. Because it's so simple.

I remember when I got my first iPod. It was as small as a pack of gum, and it had one big button on the front. Simple.

Steve Jobs understood something that every leader needs to own…the power of simplicity.

It's reflective of the journey we're on at ACC. Over the past few years, we have purposefully and intentionally simplified our ministry. We boiled everything we do and everything we are down into just three words: Connecting. Growing. Serving.

That's our vision.

Surely it can't be THAT simple???

Yes it can. And just like Steve Jobs said, you wouldn't believe how much work went into those three words. It's amazing how difficult it has been to simplify. And it is equally difficult to keep things simple and not gravitate back toward something more complex.

But we are seeing the power of simplicity on full display at ACC. Our vision is centered around the gospel. We want to connect people to God through a saving relationship with Jesus. We want them to grow in their walk with Christ through our small groups. And we want them to serve God by serving others, with the intention of bringing even more people to Christ.

That's our vision because that's the gospel. And it's amazingly simple.

Restoration Christian Church

I want to ask all my blog friends to pray for the launch of a brand new church this weekend. Restoration Christian Church will launch this Sunday, October 9, in French Lick, Indiana. This church plant is led by my buddy, Wade Allen. (ACCers, Wade spoke at our church last year. Check out his message here.)

Here's what Wade said about the launch of this church.

Would you please make our launch service a matter of prayer?
I'm praying that God would be honored through what takes place Sunday.
I'm praying that Sunday will be a huge momentum builder for our church.
I'm praying that Sunday will be the start of a spiritual restoration in the French Lick community.

You may have never been to French Lick. You may never walk through the doors of Restoration Christian Church. But this church is going to make heaven more crowded, and that should excite us out of our minds!