Brian Tome hits home hard in this bold, "no corners cut" book about freedom found in Christ. He challenges believers to grasp the full freedom that can be found in Christ and to let go of their inhibitions and preconceived ideas about their faith. He steps on toes, but does so out of a love and passion that Christ has put in his life. Addressing areas such as spiritual warfare, forgiveness, community and yes...even tattoos (very briefly)...he keeps it straight forward and light-hearted.
I received a complementary copy of this book by the publisher (Thomas Nelson) through BookSneeze. It kept my attention through every page and challenged me to embrace my freedom in Christ even more so than I already had. Brian inspired me to be more bold (out of love) and to quit worrying so much about "stepping on toes" or "offending" those that might not like what I have to say. I loved the way he was willing to talk about things in his life to make it more personal versus taking the "finger pointing" approach.
I hope more people read this book, take it to heart, and start to live more freely in Christ. I think this would be a phenomenal book for a lot of pastors to read and challenge their congregation with...or just utilize more in their own lives and preachings. Read Brian Tome's "Free Book*" and open your heart to what God has for you to hear in this man's daring text!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
disappointment - let me challenge you
Something that has been on my mind for a while and especially right now, I have to just say it. I am super disappointed in the church right now...mainly "leaders." The reason I put it in quotation marks is because I have experienced more people in the leader role, but were NOT leaders. They didn't want to deal with the problems in the church, they didn't want to mend, train and send those within their flock, and there was such lack of communication that most didn't know what was up or down in their organization. I know that a lot of the desire is to win more souls for Christ, but let me ask you this : if you are "winning" more souls for Christ, but losing them left and right within your church...are you really gaining anything?! Also, after those "won" souls join your church family, who is going to minister to them after the "newness" wears off? Who is going to be there for them when the bottom falls out of their lives? Once they've accepted Christ THEN the real work begins!
Satan attacks those that he sees as a danger. Life challenges come to those that are new to the faith AND those that have been living it for 20 plus years. If your sole purpose is to "recruit" and then you leave them to starve...your work is in vain. If you let the more mature Christians face trials on their own and give them no support, love, and "follow up" then they too will either starve or find a new place to graze.
YES...we SHOULD focus on reaching out to others. YES...we DO want to share the gospel with those that haven't heard it. But sometimes we have to do the "mundane" things as "maintaining" those already in the church family. Just like a car : you HAVE to change the oil, fill it up with gas, clean it occasionally and do the tune up to keep it in good shape. Sometimes the transmission may fail, the windshield may crack or the brakes go kaput. So...fix it. What happens if you just assume : "I've got a running car, it should know how to handle the road on it's own," and so you never do maintenance or don't fix the issues when they arise? Your car dies. Plain and simple. Sure...it's MUCH more fun to spend your money on a brand new car (hey...I TOTALLY understand!). But, after a while the newness WILL wear off and you're left with "just a car" and you have the choice to fix it...or let it die and get yet another car and repeat the cycle.
A close friend of ours and a WONDERFUL pastor (and his family that we love dearly) has this saying : LOVE, MEND, TRAIN, SEND. A lot of times we want to just love the people but then not help them in the mending process. We want to skip that and go straight to the "sending." Doesn't work well that way. Also, sometimes we have to go BACK to the loving and mending because...hey...crap happens.
Thankfully, I/we have had some pretty great examples in our lives of some great leaders so I know that EVERY church is NOT like that. I also know that just because there are some that act a certain way or treat people a certain way doesn't mean that is how EVERYONE in the church is. I just worry and hurt for those that are new to the faith and happen to get those "leaders" as examples in their new walk. What happens to them when the going gets tough? What happens when they are abandoned, forgotten or shoved to the side because their "newness" wore off? I hope and pray they can get some people in their lives that will truly love them, minister to them through the rough times and be there for them through thick and thin.
Let me challenge you. If you are a person in a leadership role : STEP UP! Be there not just for the new believers, but be there for the old ones as well. Do the "maintenance" required and know that this is all part and parcel of being in a church family. If you're not willing to do it, please step aside. Ministry isn't always pretty. It takes guts, a lot of heart, a lot of faith and a lot of time. If you're not willing to put in that kind of work (or if your family isn't willing : believe me, they will sacrifice just as much as the leader themselves...so they need to be "all for it" as well), then please step aside. It doesn't mean that you can't serve in some way or another. There are always areas that need help.
I say this for myself. I say this for those I know and love who have had experiences like us. I also say it for those out there who are currently in those situations.
Satan attacks those that he sees as a danger. Life challenges come to those that are new to the faith AND those that have been living it for 20 plus years. If your sole purpose is to "recruit" and then you leave them to starve...your work is in vain. If you let the more mature Christians face trials on their own and give them no support, love, and "follow up" then they too will either starve or find a new place to graze.
YES...we SHOULD focus on reaching out to others. YES...we DO want to share the gospel with those that haven't heard it. But sometimes we have to do the "mundane" things as "maintaining" those already in the church family. Just like a car : you HAVE to change the oil, fill it up with gas, clean it occasionally and do the tune up to keep it in good shape. Sometimes the transmission may fail, the windshield may crack or the brakes go kaput. So...fix it. What happens if you just assume : "I've got a running car, it should know how to handle the road on it's own," and so you never do maintenance or don't fix the issues when they arise? Your car dies. Plain and simple. Sure...it's MUCH more fun to spend your money on a brand new car (hey...I TOTALLY understand!). But, after a while the newness WILL wear off and you're left with "just a car" and you have the choice to fix it...or let it die and get yet another car and repeat the cycle.
A close friend of ours and a WONDERFUL pastor (and his family that we love dearly) has this saying : LOVE, MEND, TRAIN, SEND. A lot of times we want to just love the people but then not help them in the mending process. We want to skip that and go straight to the "sending." Doesn't work well that way. Also, sometimes we have to go BACK to the loving and mending because...hey...crap happens.
Thankfully, I/we have had some pretty great examples in our lives of some great leaders so I know that EVERY church is NOT like that. I also know that just because there are some that act a certain way or treat people a certain way doesn't mean that is how EVERYONE in the church is. I just worry and hurt for those that are new to the faith and happen to get those "leaders" as examples in their new walk. What happens to them when the going gets tough? What happens when they are abandoned, forgotten or shoved to the side because their "newness" wore off? I hope and pray they can get some people in their lives that will truly love them, minister to them through the rough times and be there for them through thick and thin.
Let me challenge you. If you are a person in a leadership role : STEP UP! Be there not just for the new believers, but be there for the old ones as well. Do the "maintenance" required and know that this is all part and parcel of being in a church family. If you're not willing to do it, please step aside. Ministry isn't always pretty. It takes guts, a lot of heart, a lot of faith and a lot of time. If you're not willing to put in that kind of work (or if your family isn't willing : believe me, they will sacrifice just as much as the leader themselves...so they need to be "all for it" as well), then please step aside. It doesn't mean that you can't serve in some way or another. There are always areas that need help.
I say this for myself. I say this for those I know and love who have had experiences like us. I also say it for those out there who are currently in those situations.
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