“If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me” (John 12:26 Msg).

I would do anything to just be around the three men in this photo. From left to right they are my maternal grandfather, Walter Dillon; my uncle, Basil Dillon; and my father, Claude Combs. These three men were major influences on my life.

I learned early on though, that if I wanted to be with them, I had to follow them. You really couldn’t be with these kind of men without working shoulder to shoulder with them. They did stuff. They didn’t just sit around.

So, I followed them around asking questions…

“Daddy, can I drive the Buick?” I would ask at the age of eight.

“Sure, just climb into my lap… there you go. You’re driving.” My dad would respond.

“Hey Uncle Basil, how do you play that chord again?” I’d say, while stretching my fingers across the guitar’s fretboard.

“Put your index here and your ring finger here…” He’d say, while placing my fingers where they went.

“Hey Papaw, can I help?” I’d wonder, as I watched him drive his mule team through a field of brown dirt.

“Here you go, Son. Take the reins like this. There now, steady… that’s right. Just don’t tell your Granny I let you do this.” He’d respond, punctuating his answer with a spit of tobacco juice.

I had to follow these men to be with them. And they did things, so I had to do things too.

As a pastor, I often hear people say that they want to be with me. People want to hang out with me. Surely not because I’m so attractive, but more likely because I’m the guy up front on Sunday.

I try to explain to them that the best way to be my friend is to follow my Friend. You see, Jesus is at work and I am following Him. Jesus is at work and so am I. Jesus is on the move and I’m pursuing Him.

If we want to be where Jesus is, then we have to follow and serve Him.

The three men in the photo are with Him now. I’m still here, but I’m following.

“…Follow me,” Jesus said to him” (Luke 5:27 NIV).

We American Christians love that Christ calls us individually. What we don’t always appreciate is that following Jesus means hanging out with his other disciples. We prefer an individual religion. One that we can follow alone. One that caters to our individual needs.

I wonder if Simon Peter ever felt this way?

“Yes Jesus. I want to follow you. But do I have to hang out with Judas?” He may have asked.

The three years he spent following Jesus were also the three years he spent hanging out with the other eleven disciples. There were the “Sons of Thunder,” James and John, with their fiery tempers and pushy mother wanting junior thrones for them. There was the skeptical Thomas, always questioning everything. And Judas Iscariot pestering them to turn in their receipts with their monthly reports (definitely a “bean-counter”). Even Peter’s brother, Andrew, could get on one’s nerves with his naive faith (“Here’s a boy with a bag lunch, Lord!” … when there were thousands to feed.).

Following Jesus for Peter meant becoming one of the Twelve. It meant becoming one of Christ’s disciples. It meant becoming part of his body.

Following Jesus today still means the same thing. We must reject our rugged individualism. There is no place for it at the Lord’s table. We enter into his body individually, but having entered we become a member of his family.

We know that Peter learned from the Lord during those three years. I’m sure of that. But I suspect he also learned a lot from the other disciples too.

There are surveys, books, and websites these days discussing how people in this generation love Jesus but hate the church. I understand much of what they mean. There are things about the church that need correction.

But there is also much in this generation’s individualism that needs correction. We are a splintered society. Fatherless and divorced, we struggle forward alone without spiritual direction. We prefer a buffet religion with a plate of this and a side of that. While what we really need are spiritual fathers and mothers, spiritual brothers and sisters. What we really need is to be part of a family.

Even one with the occasional Judas.

“If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” (Matthew 5:41 NIV).

Recently I attended a conference where Dan Cathey, son of Chick-Fil-A founder, Truett Cathey, was a presenter. I was really impressed with his talk. One of the mantras of the Chick-Fil-A organization is that they want to create “raving fans.”

Cathey gave three steps on “how to create raving fans:”

1. Operational excellence

2. Second mile service

3. Emotional connections

He said that they take their “second mile service” from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. They want their employees to make “2M2N” (2nd Mile 2nd Nature) in their workplace.

Last Friday evening our local Chick-Fil-A had an “all-you-can-eat nuggets night.” I didn’t want to go, but my kids made me.

“Oh, come on Dad, it’ll be fun!” They said.

And it was. Not wanting to be left behind I matched my son Stephen’s 40-nugget limit. We stacked our dead soldiers (empty nugget boxes) on the table. The place was packed with local high school kids (some Fike football players were eating 100 nuggets each when we left) and one old guy (me).

The Chick-Fil-A staff was excellent. They brought trays loaded with boxes of nuggets to all of us wearing our “all you can eat” arm bands. Their response to every one of our “thank yous” was the same…

“My pleasure.”

I wonder what would happen at the church if we made “2M2N” our mantra. Would more people become “raving fans” of our Lord?

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: … You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first…” (Revelation 2:1, 4-5 NIV).

“… one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV).

“Put first things first.” (Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People).

Covey illustrates his “first things” habit with a story about rocks. In the illustration he describes what one of his associates had experienced at a seminar. In the middle of the lecture the seminar presenter pulled out a wide-mouth jar and placed it on a table next to some large rocks.

After filling the jar to the top with the rocks, he asked the students, “Is the jar full?”

Seeing it was obviously full, they replied, “Yes!”

“Not so fast,” he cautioned. He then got some gravel from under the table and added it to the jar, filling the spaces between the rocks. Again, he asked, “Now, Is the jar full?”

This time the students replied “Maybe…”

The presenter then pulled a bucket of sand from below the table and dumped it in the jar, filling the spaces between the rocks and the gravel. Once again he asked “Is it full now?”

“Yes! It’s definitely full now.” The students shouted.

As a final touch, he grabbed a pitcher of water and filled the jar completely. He asked, do you think I could have gotten everything in, if I had started with the water and the sand?

“No way!” They answered.

“You’re right,” he said. “If you want to get the big rocks in the jar, you have to put them in first.”

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to let “sand and water” fill your life? If you don’t choose to pursue what really matters, what’s really important, then the urgent will take over.

Jesus challenged the church at Ephesus to get back to the “first things,” to return to their “first love.” God really cares about what priority we place on our love and worship for Him. I suppose that’s why the first commandment says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” God wants first place.

The apostle Paul said that he had made pursuing Christ his “one thing.” In a sense Paul was putting one “big rock” in his life’s “jar” first. He made everything else in his life fit in around following Christ.

I’m learning that putting the big Rock in first brings order to everything else.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good…”  (Psalm 34:8 NIV).

Is seafood good to you? It is to me. I love seafood. I think it’s the best.

Some years ago while visiting Rick Warren’s church in California, we found this really good, authentic Italian restaurant at Capistrano Beach named Agostino’s Ristorante.  When we took Stephen and Caroline out to the Saddleback Worship Conference earlier this summer, of course I had to take them to Agostino’s. I was really looking forward to eating this certain seafood dish. I really talked it up.

But after all the anticipation, I ordered the wrong thing on the menu. I ordered the Liguine Al’ Agostino which had shrimp served over pasta, but I meant to order the Liguine Alla’ Pescatore which had pasta covered in a light tomato sauce and topped with shrimp, scallops, calamari and mussels.

The meal I ordered was good. But I was disappointed because I knew that the Liguine Alla’ Pescatore was better. Sure, they are both great seafood dishes and include jumbo shrimp, but in my opinion the one is way better than the other.

I insisted that Stephen order the same thing I ordered, so he did. He kept saying, “It’s OK Dad. I think it’s great.”

But I kept saying, “Yeah, but it’s not what I meant for you to taste. The Pescatore is sooo much better!”

Isn’t it funny how you can think a thing is good, until you discover something better?

I suppose we can be that way in our thinking about God. We think we know what is good and what is bad. We all have our own “tastes,” our own perspectives. We observe the injustice and suffering in the world and we wonder: “Is God really good?”

But how do we even know what is good? We only know what we’ve “tasted.” God is the Creator and we are merely creatures. How do we know what is good unless He tells us?

The origin for the English word “good” and the word “god” are the same. Apparently, the divine name and the divine goodness were synonymous in Old Anglo-Saxon minds.

The comparative and superlative forms of the adjective, good are “better” and “best” (not “gooder” and “goodest” as some would say).

So, is God really good?

Taste and see. God is not only good, He is better. God is best.

“‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place” (Mark 6:31-32 NIV).

According to a Greek legend, in ancient Athens a man noticed the great storyteller Aesop playing childish games with some little boys. He laughed and jeered at Aesop, asking him why he wasted his time in such frivolous activity.

Aesop responded by picking up a bow, loosening its string, and placing it on the ground. Then he said to the critical Athenian, “Now, answer the riddle, if you can. Tell us what the unstrung bows implies.”

The man looked at it for several moments but had no idea what point Aesop was trying to make. Aesop explained, “If you keep a bow always bent, it will break eventually; but if you let it go slack, it will be more fit for use when you want it.”

Do you have trouble “unstringing” the bow?

I do. I can get so tightly “strung” that even when I do take vacation, I can’t seem to let go and relax. It takes me a couple of days just to unwind. And in this “wired” age of cell phones, emails, and internet… even a couple of days may not do it. For me to “unstring” I have to unplug too. All it takes is one cell phone call or email to get me wound up tight and working again.

This past week Robin and I spent a few days at the beach. Our two sons and their wives (and our grandson) joined us for part of the time. We played frisbee, threw football, body-surfed, played bocce ball, ate seafood, got sunburned, walked on the beach, caught crabs, stayed up late, held our grandson, and talked.

Now I’m back home. My right shoulder hurts from throwing football and my skin is peeling from sunburn. But my mind and soul are refreshed from the change of pace. It’s good to just take some time to play and recharge (If only I could learn to do it without the injuries).

Even the Son of God took time to rest. When the needs of the crown began to overwhelm, He led His disciples to a “solitary place” to get some rest and to recharge. Jesus understood the need for a balance between work and rest.

Are you taking time to “unstring the bow” this summer?

“My harp is tuned …” (Job 30:31 NIV).

When we started our last day at the Saddleback Worship Conference I prayed that Stephen would receive extra encouragement. Sometimes, being at a conference like this actually overwhelms you. So, I wanted God to let Stephen know His affirmation.

The day began with a great talk from Paul Baloche. Paul started out by talking about getting your instrument in tune.

He asked, “Have you ever broken a string during worship?”

The whole crowd laughed, especially Stephen. Breaking strings is one of his great fears.

Paul really spoke to us about how leading worship is not a “concert,” but a “conversation with a community.”

“When you break a string…” he said. “Just say to the congregation (as you ask the piano to cover you): You know, just like an instrument needs tuning, our hearts need to be tuned to God in order to worship.”

So, we heard a great word from Paul in the morning. But God wasn’t finished. We spent time during the day with Meredith Andrews and her husband Jacob. As you know, Meredith is from Wilson too.

Meredith was very encouraging to meet and hear from. She talked about making sure your worship songs are true to Scripture and also written with guidance from your pastor. This is something that we already practice at WCC, so it was good to be affirmed in this.

At the last session of the day, they announced the winner of the Taylor electric guitar. Everyone applauded as the recipient went on stage to receive this sweet instrument. Sure, we really wanted Stephen (or yours truly) to win it, but the guy who won it seemed like a deserving soul.

That’s when God really went the extra mile to encourage us. As we were leaving the conference, Stephen’s wife, Caroline, saw the guy who won the Taylor.

She approached him and said, “Congratulations on winning the Taylor! My husband really wanted it too. I’m sure you’ll enjoy playing it!”

He answered by asking her if Stephen owned an electric of his own, to which she replied that he didn’t.

He said, “Listen, I already have an electric, so the minute I won this guitar I started asking the Holy Spirit to tell me who to give it to. Where is your husband? I want to give it to him.”

“No way!” She shouted.

God loves it when we ask Him to tune our hearts. In this case, He even gave us a new guitar to help keep them in tune.

“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God” (Psalm 40:3 NIV).

We’re having a great time this week at the Saddleback Worship Conference! I’m really proud of Stephen and our WCC worship band for having been selected to play this year at one of the venues. I wish we could have brought the whole band, but Stephen and Robin will do their best later today to represent.

It’s good to network with other worship leaders and learn from one another. Musicians are often notorious for their egos, but the worship leaders and artists that we’ve encountered here have been so authentic and humble. Yesterday, Stephen (along with several other song writers) submitted one of his songs from the “Lost” CD to a “Songwriters Critique Panel.” On the panel were Tony Guerrero, Meredith Andrews, Steve Fee, Brenton Brown, and a guy from Song Discovery.

Earlier that day when we heard about the panel, I asked Stephen if he wanted to submit a song.

“Sure.” He said. “But I didn’t know I’d need my CDs today and I left them at the hotel.”

“How long do we have before the panel?” I asked.

“A couple of hours.” He said.

“I’ll be back.” I shouted back over my shoulder as I headed to the rental car.

It was an hour round trip to the hotel, but we didn’t come to Saddleback to just hang out. We came here to learn and grow.

As it turned out, the panel didn’t get to Stephen’s song, but he was willing. The panel wasn’t easy-going either. They really gave a quality critique. And with Brenton Brown’s cockney accent, they even had a Simon on the panel.

Since they didn’t get to hear Stephen’s song, we passed out CDs to most of the panel and to representatives from Song Discovery, Worship Leader Magazine, and Integrity Music. We invited them to Stephen’s acoustic set on Thursday afternoon. Maybe some of them will come.

But what was really fun was just standing and talking with Steve Fee and Meredith Andrews (she’s from Wilson, you know). They were very encouraging to Stephen.

Well, I’d better sign off. I’m just the pastor/dad this week… here supporting my worship pastor/son.

We’re here together, learning some new songs.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-21 NIV).

We’re in our third week of the “One Prayer” series. I’m really enjoying this time to hear pastors from other churches and join with them in “sharing, serving, and giving” in Jesus’ name.

I was a little concerned about projecting video preaching on Sunday mornings, but the feedback has been outstanding. I’m so thankful to all of our tech people and our visual arts team for the hard work every Sunday that makes this series possible. I’m also thankful to Craig Groeschel for leading us to join together with what has grown to be over 2,000 churches worldwide!

May God answer His Son’s prayer in our generation… that we may be one, so that the world may believe.