TRANSFORMATION FORUM

Recently, I witnessed a repugnant conversation where Christians cloaked their vitriolic conversation in “righteous indignation.” What was sadly comedic was all this was about Oprah’s brand of self-defined Christianity. First, let me say, Oprah is a media superstar and nothing more. She is not a pastor. When I seek Christian theology and spiritual counseling, I turn to experts, tried, tested persons whose personal lives reflect biblical spirituality and maturity. However, this does beg the question as to her appeal to so many people. So much of her programming is about people, their struggles, victories, ugly failures, reclaimed lives, and people in the throws of daily living! So many people follow her discussions because there is a connection between them and her. That connection is the sense that Oprah cares about them. Doctors Phil and Oz are just two examples of Oprah’s efforts to extend herself into the lives of her audience. Externally, she invests in communities from her own weal...

"PUBLIC EXPOSURE REQUIRES PERSONAL TRANSPRACY " As I consider the overall plight of our community, I am challenged by thoughts of how I can make a difference in the lives of people. I am realistic enough to know that I cannot personally touch thousands of people. However, the Holy Spirit challenges me to consider my personal circle of community. The first question is who is in my personal circle of community and second, how can I affect their individual lives. I am quick to respond with a list of people easy for me to love. As I reviewed the list of people I knew, I realized even as a pastor, there were people I did not want to love now or ever again. Actions, behaviors, betrayals, that have hurt those I love or me are the reasons I do not want to love certain people. This includes the physicians whose failings resulted in my granddaughter’s cerebral palsy. It is not just “ not loving ” someone, in some cases I have dismissed these people out of my life. This past Sunday...

In advocating for Community Transformation, the answer to this question is crucial. Community Transformation is not a massive sweep of the Holy Spirit across a community forcing change. Rather, transformation begins as people seriously reflect on answering this question. Take a moment and ask yourself the question, what do I really want? The second question is “your life choices and the production of your life, do they reflect the answer to the first question?” What does the Bible say about the “wants of my life?” Jesus establishes his understanding of our needs in the dialogue recorded for us in Matthew 6:31-33 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ” In these words, Jesus ackn...

I am truly blessed by my friendship with Weldon. Beyond his amazing gifts for leading saints in worship, he possesses a unique sensitive for building people. I typically ask him to review my most heartfelt writings to gain perspective. Weldon, after reviewing “Compassion Born of Contact”, recommended that I needed to stress the tremendous  and positive benefits of Isaiah 58. I have not asked Weldon what he saw in the total chapter, but his prompting created in me another reflective mood. I went back to see what I would discover after another reading and meditation on Isaiah 58. TRUE PROSPERITY BORN OF OBEDIENCE is the result of the return to Isaiah 58. Weldon, thank you for your continuing insight and friendship, this one is because of you, Blessings Brother. As an advocate for community transformation, I am challenged to work for a whole renewal that touches the totality of the community. Our spiritual, economic, and social conditions all need the influence of the Holy...

In my ever-increasing hunger for our community to experience the grace of Christ, I am drawn constantly to Isaiah 58. A few years back I preached a series of sermons from this chapter, spiritually sensing the need to sound an alarm regarding religiosity. I can assure you it was not received well by the church. These passages challenge our perception of church, true worship and our spirituality. The words speak to false religion.  Like Judah and Jerusalem, “religion” has infected the Church of Jesus Christ and the body of Christ. Religion breeds separation. This separation is greater than denominational divide; at the core, religion separates us from the lost in our community. For a moment, consider how we “do church.” When we “do church”, we are always at the church. On occasion we may venture into the community, beachfronts, parades, etc but for the most part we expect the lost to come and “do church” at the church. We even provide transportation to church. If we are honest with...

Our ability to forgive others is not an instantaneous ability given to Christians. Quite the contrary, our ability to forgive others grows in direct proportion to our understanding of God’s forgiveness for our failings. Forgiving others is one of the greatest challenges each Christian must learn, and we can only learn the peace of forgiveness through experience. First, and most important lesson, is to accept God’s forgiveness towards us, personally! God forgives us; however, we do not forgive ourselves. No matter our past failings, only God can weave a beautiful tapestry from the broken strands of thread and yarn of our lives. As God begins to weave the story of our lives as God has planned for each of us, it is not necessarily a clear vision. However, in time we are able to see with greater clarity the efforts of God’s labor in our lives. It is in those moments, our heart leaps forth in desire for others to experience the mercy of God. Our prayers of desperation for ourselves turn int...

There are times in our lives we are hemmed in spiritually and physically on all sides of life.  We feeling as if we are unable to escape! Trapped, hardness all around us, we are held captive and enslaved by the battering nature of sin! We pray, meditate, engage God deeply and desperately, still relief is absent from the present day. Habakkuk, the prophet, had this very experience when the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation, swept over Jerusalem, bringing captivity and enslavement. I confess to all as I view and work within our Jerusalem, I see the Chaldean spirit enslaving the beloved people of our community. People are frustrated, pained, and filled with bitterness born out of relentless afflictions. But wait, this is not the final perspective of our community, there is a vision of God for our community. In Habakkuk, the LORD calls us to write of the vision, to in script it plainly for all to read. The LORD tells Habakkuk, and us the vision is for an appointed time, the v...