Facing five global giants

Posted by & filed under Religion, Weblogs.

Rick Gary “God said, It’s not a big enough job for my servant just to recover the tribes of Jacob, I’m setting you up as a light for the nations so that my salvation becomes global!”  (Isaiah 49:6 Mes)

I’ve just finished a great week with one of my mentors, Rick Warren. He invited pastors from all over the world to come to California and discuss how we might network together to conquer what he calls the “Five Global Giants” that the world faces.

Rick says that as he prayed about the “Goliath” problems facing the world today, he felt that the five greatest ones were as follows:

  1. Spiritual emptiness
  2. Self-serving leaders
  3. Extreme poverty
  4. Pandemic diseases
  5. Rampant illiteracy

This week Rick challenged pastors to lead their churches to be the body of Christ and take on these giants in the world. Rick calls it the “PEACE Plan.”

  • P – Promote reconciliation
  • E – Equip Leaders
  • A – Assist the poor
  • C – Care for the sick
  • E – Educate the next generation

At WCC, we have always felt called to be the body of Christ to our community and to the world. But sometimes it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the size of the “giants.” How can we impact the world when we’re having trouble with these same giants in Wilson? But this week I’m reminded that the body of Christ is bigger than WCC (OK, I knew that, but now I see a way that we can network together).

I’ve identified our church and myself as being available to help reach the Middle East. We already have several of our people there and it only makes sense to laser in on what God is already doing through our church. I’ve told Rick that we’re available to send people to help face these global giants.

Saddleback buds As I return I’m reminded how good it is to have friends. I’ve been here this week with several dear friends of mine from North Carolina. Pastor Bob Felts from Burlington, Pastor Tom Bartlett from Wilkesboro, and Pastor Bud Wrenn from Burlington along with myself have all committed to lead our churches to work together in facing down these giants.

When God gave this “global” vision to Isaiah, the old prophet was discouraged and feeling as if his life’s work had been in vain. Rather than telling Isaiah to take a break or just saying be encouraged, God said, “Isaiah, you need a bigger vision! I’m taking my message of salvation global and you’re my man!”

This week I’ve been reminded that WCC is more than just a small church in Eastern NC. We are part of God’s global vision. His church is the sling in his hand for bringing down these global Goliaths.

Will you join me in believing and obeying God’s call?

Putting a face on prayer for Myanmar

Posted by & filed under Current Affairs, Religion, Weblogs.

Burma460x276 “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you.” 2 Thessalonians 3:1 (KJV)

According to conservative estimates, over 78,000 people have died in Myanmar (Burma) as a result of last week’s cyclone. I began praying for Myanmar the minute I heard about the cyclone. Not because I’m some kind of holy prayer warrior. The simple truth is I have a friend there. It’s amazing how motivated you are to pray when someone’s face comes to your mind.

I met my friend (I’ll leave him unnamed for security reasons) from Myanmar at a pastor’s conference in Hawaii last year. He is a pastor. He leads a church in a country where it is very difficult to be a Christian, especially a pastor.

I started praying for my friend upon hearing of the cyclone. But I wondered how I might discover his status. Yesterday morning, during my time of devotion, I asked God to help. When I turned on my laptop to check email. Guess who my first email was from? Praise the Lord! It was from my friend. Here is the email he sent me:

Dear Pastor Gary,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ from Myanmar!
I hope you and your family are doing well . By the grace of God we are very well too.
Narkit cyclone destroyed many cities, villages and people in Myanmar.
My house, School building and some church members houses were destroyed too.
No electricity, no water, no phone and no email at my place this time.
Most of people are difficult situation life in Myanmar now.
Hope to pray for Myanmar.

In His grace,

What a joyful servant the Lord has in Myanmar! No house, no school, no water, no phone, but “we are very well.” He had to walk into the city to send this email to me.

Because I have been at a conference at Saddleback Church in California this week, I was able to share this email with several pastors. Before the morning was over we had networked with Saddleback, Samaritan’s Purse, and New Hope Church in Hawaii to check on my friend and discover how to help.

I’m glad the Lord brought my friend’s face to mind. I am praying for him, his church, and the people of Myanmar. I am also praying that God will use my friend to bring glory to Him and reach many for Him because of this disaster.

I pray for the face I know and for the many I have never seen.

Boasting about my man scar

Posted by & filed under Religion, Weblogs.

Arm “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)

“It’s a good thing you’re not a girl.” My wife recently declared after seeing the post op scar on my left arm.

“Yes, I agree… for a lot of reasons. But you have to admit. It’s a great “man scar!” I exclaimed while lifting up my arm and pointing at the 8 inch jagged scar.

I recently had surgery on my arm to remove a growth on my wrist. Praise the Lord that it was benign. Now, I just have four more weeks in a brace and a lot of therapy and hard work to rebuild it. It’s slow going, but I hope to be able to play the guitar again. I hope to be a two-handed preacher again too (I don’t feel like I’m preaching as good one-handed).

Having this surgery and being unable to work for most of two weeks has been a revelation. I’ve learned that I don’t like being weak. I mean, I really don’t like it. I don’t like having to depend on others. I don’t like having to wear a plastic bag over my arm in the shower. I don’t like not being able to think clearly because of pain pills. I don’t like being grumpy (which makes me more grumpy). I don’t like being unable to do what needs being done.

I have been addicted to my ability to perform, to be strong. to be a “can do” kind of man. And when I can’t… I don’t like it.

The apostle Paul was a driven man too. If anyone was strong and determined it was him. But along the way he learned that it was better to be weak and let the power of Christ “rest on” him. I think Paul must have learned to accept God’s grace for him without a sense of having to perform to earn it. I think Paul learned to “boast” about his weaknesses and scars because through them the power of Christ was revealed.

As we’ve been studying the Ten Commandments together during these past weeks, I’m reminded that God gave them to us not because he wanted us to be strong enough to keep them through our own self effort. No, He gave them to us as a mirror that revealed in us our inability, our weakness to keep them without Him. We don’t need more human strength, we need the power of Christ.

And we need His grace too. I’m glad that the more I depend on HIm and admit my own weakness, the more He can do through me.

So, I’m boasting in my new “man scar.” I’ll show it to you the next time we meet. I think you’ll agree, it’s a good one.

Thankful for partnership

Posted by & filed under Religion, Weblogs.

Band_2 “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:3-6 NIV)

This past Wednesday night was great! Robin and I attended the True Love Waits Event, sponsored by WAYNET (Wilson Area Youth Network), at Fike High School. Our own Auston Jones, senior at Fike, was instrumental in leading WAYNET to sponsor this event and led this event as his senior project.

WAYNET was started a little over ten years ago by the youth pastors of Wilson County to work together on community events. They work together on the annual “See You At the Pole” event in September that challenges believing students to pray together around their school’s flag pole. They also put together two annual countywide evangelistic events to reach our students. I had the privilege of being one of the pastors who brought the first countywide event together that inspired the formation of WAYNET. Myself (I led the WCC youth in those days) and David Barnes (another former local youth pastor) put together a week long series of meetings at local churches that culminated in an event at the Wilson Recreation Center featuring Christian Illusionist, Andre Kole. The youth pastors were so excited about the joy of partnering together that they later formed WAYNET.

So, although I’m no longer working directly with the youth, I’m still very proud of WAYNET and I still love seeing what our students can do when they get inspired. When God gets hold of young people, they always blow away our expectations.

This event certainly blew away my expectations! According to Jeff Smith, WAYNET coordinator, there were about 350 people present in the Fike auditorium. Of those, 258 comment cards were turned in at the end of the event. Students from Wilson as well as Nash, Edgecombe, Pitt, Greene, Wayne, and Johnston counties were in attendance. One of our partner churches, Discovery Church in Greenville, brought 26 to the event. The cards indicated that there were 41 students who made decisions to accept Christ, 2 students who expressed a desire to rededicate their commitment, 103 students indicated their commitment to remain abstinent until marriage, and 66 students who renewed their commitment to wait until marriage.

Auston1_1 Auston Jones did a fine job leading and acting as the emcee for this event. Stephen Combs and the WCC Youth Band (Chandler Bryant, Michael Strange, Michael Williams, Abbott Mitchell, and Jonathan Combs) led the worship, which was phenomenal. I wish you could have seen Mikey dancing while playing the bass. Many of our own members worked behind the scenes on media, sound, and other support roles (George Bryant, Eddie Gonzales, Dustin Wheeler, Jeff & Becky Jones, Undine Lamm, Kathi Bryant, and Jimmy & Christy Gurgone). Of course, I wouldn’t want to leave Cody Jones out. He played an excellent groom in the skit (I hope the tomato juice came out). And finally, it was great to have Chris Shelton back in town as the main speaker for this event. Wedding_3

I love to see how our church and how our youth are willing to work together in partnership to extend the gospel in our city. I’m truly thankful to God for the partnership He has given us.

Exposing the slavery of false science

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

Expelled250x250_3“And now, what is this?” asks the Lord. “Why are my people enslaved again? Those who rule them shout in exultation. My name is being blasphemed all day long. But I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognize that it is I who speaks to them.” (Isaiah 52:5-6 NLT)

My sons and I went to see Ben Stein’s documentary, Expelled, at the movie theatre this past week. We loved it! It was compelling and clear (for a complicated subject).

The movie does a good job of setting forth the premise that the affirmation of the theory of evolution has become a kind of litmus test for acceptance in the modern scientific community. In other words, if a scientist wants to receive tenure at a university, to receive a Ph.D. for his studies, or to be eligible for a grant, then he better not question evolution. Question anything, but don’t question evolution because that will get you “expelled.”

Stein, who is Jewish, has not made a Christian movie. This is not an evangelistic piece. But it is a very challenging look at the way science in the Western world has become more philosophy than science. It not only challenges science to question its presuppositions, it also challenges scientists to question the potential outcomes of their views.

Stein uses images of the Berlin wall as a metaphor for how modern science has built a fence around any explanation for origins other than evolution. The idea of intelligent design as an explanation for the origin of life is “fenced out” by this modern view of science. Any explanation that might point outside our closed natural system cannot be allowed because it is unscientific (based on their presuppositions).

Although, surprisingly, this closed system view didn’t extend to aliens from outer space. Several of the Darwinists that Stein interviewed denied the possibility of God, but entertained the possibility that intersteller aliens may have “seeded” earth with the DNA of life millenia ago. Their “science” seemed more like “science fiction.”

It was amazing to see how foolish some of these so called experts appeared when questioned. They gave evidence to the Scripture which says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1 KJV).

I wonder how long the Name of God will be blasphemed? How long will His role as Creator be denied? How long will His people be enslaved by this false science that denies His person and power?

Go see the movie and tell me what you think.

Exposing the slavery of false science

Posted by & filed under Movie review, Religion, Weblogs.

Expelled250x250_3“And now, what is this?” asks the Lord. “Why are my people enslaved again? Those who rule them shout in exultation. My name is being blasphemed all day long. But I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognize that it is I who speaks to them.” (Isaiah 52:5-6 NLT)

My sons and I went to see Ben Stein’s documentary, Expelled, at the movie theatre this past week. We loved it! It was compelling and clear (for a complicated subject).

The movie does a good job of setting forth the premise that the affirmation of the theory of evolution has become a kind of litmus test for acceptance in the modern scientific community. In other words, if a scientist wants to receive tenure at a university, to receive a Ph.D. for his studies, or to be eligible for a grant, then he better not question evolution. Question anything, but don’t question evolution because that will get you “expelled.”

Stein, who is Jewish, has not made a Christian movie. This is not an evangelistic piece. But it is a very challenging look at the way science in the Western world has become more philosophy than science. It not only challenges science to question its presuppositions, it also challenges scientists to question the potential outcomes of their views.

Stein uses images of the Berlin wall as a metaphor for how modern science has built a fence around any explanation for origins other than evolution. The idea of intelligent design as an explanation for the origin of life is “fenced out” by this modern view of science. Any explanation that might point outside our closed natural system cannot be allowed because it is unscientific (based on their presuppositions).

Although, surprisingly, this closed system view didn’t extend to aliens from outer space. Several of the Darwinists that Stein interviewed denied the possibility of God, but entertained the possibility that intersteller aliens may have “seeded” earth with the DNA of life millenia ago. Their “science” seemed more like “science fiction.”

It was amazing to see how foolish some of these so called experts appeared when questioned. They gave evidence to the Scripture which says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1 KJV).

I wonder how long the Name of God will be blasphemed? How long will His role as Creator be denied? How long will His people be enslaved by this false science that denies His person and power?

Go see the movie and tell me what you think.

The generational effect of keeping the 2nd commandment

Posted by & filed under Religion, Weblogs.

My3men“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:4-6 NIV)

While I was on my vacation break to Virginia last week I visited one of my cousins. She and I share a passion for studying our family tree. We had a wonderful time of catching up and showing one another the latest finds from our research.

As she was showing me photo after photo of the generations she had discovered, she handed me an envelope of old negatives, saying,”I found these in an old trunk in Granny’s house, but I haven’t been able to find anyone that can print them.”

“Let me try.” I offered. I had just purchased a photo scanner that can scan negatives. I was salivating at the possibility of discovering an old photo that would reveal some image we’d never seen.

I wasn’t disappointed. Late one night as I was scanning the old negatives, the picture above emerged on my computer screen. I was transfixed. These three men were without doubt the most influential in my life. From left to right they are my mother’s father (Papaw), my mother’s brother (Uncle Basil), and my Dad.

Looking at the photo, I thought of how I had idolized these three men since I was a boy. The first because he was my father and because I lost him to cancer when I was only eight and he only 39 (It’s easy to idolize when all you have is a childhood memory). I idolized the other two men because they both became surrogate fathers to me.

While all three of these men have since passed away, I believe that their faith in Jesus has secured for them a place in heaven. They are gone, yet they still live.

And so does their legacy. I cannot let this photo or their memory become an idol, a graven image for me, because they left me something better. They left me their faith in Christ.

While with my cousin we discussed the blessing of having a family that passed on such a spiritual legacy. I’m convinced that God HImself promises this legacy to those who love Him with priority.

It’s good to love family, but the best way to bless the generations is to be careful to put the love of God first. When we worship God without lowering our eyes to man made substitutes, He promises to “show his love to a thousand generations.”

I pray that I leave the same legacy to my children.

Visiting one of our partners

Posted by & filed under Religion, Weblogs.

Garymike“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:3-6 NIV).

Robin and I visited the Bridge Community Church on Sunday. We were headed to the mountains of Virginia to spend some time with family. I thought since I already had the pulpit covered at WCC (Good job Jonathan!) and since it was kind of on the way (Morrisville), we should stop and surprise Pastor Mike Windley and his team at the Bridge.

When we arrived at the daycare center where they meet (they’re portable too), their parking/greeter team met us as we got out of our car with smiles and handshakes. As we came in the door they invited us to wear name tags and another greeter took us on a tour of the facility and offered us a donut and coffee. To say the least, we were impressed. They really made us feel welcome.100_1136

The worship was powerful and inspiring. The message was relevant and authentic. Pastor Mike is going through a series called “Doors.” His message on Sunday was “Getting a handle on the door of temptation.” He had a great intro video of him leaving his house and going through doors to get to church (his house, his car, the building, etc.). They had a real door built on stage to further set the theme. I thought it was good use of creativity to capture attention. The attenders at the Bridge have a great church!

I’m glad they are partners with us. They are one of the churches that partnered with us to buy the portable baptistry. Mike is one of the pastors that I work with through the Innovative Church Community. His church plant is in its second year.

I’m thankful that we are in partnership with other churches for the sake of the gospel.

Heading to the mountains

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

Gmountains"After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray." (Mark 6:46 NIV)

There’s something about climbing up into the mountains that brings a smile to my face. I don’t know if it’s because I grew up in the hills of Southwest Virginia and the mountains remind me of home. Or if it’s because the mountains point me towards another home… a home not made with human hands… a home in heaven with our Lord.

Whatever the reason, I’m heading to the mountains for a couple of days. I am learning that living too long in the flatlands can really drain my soul. I have to pull away to reflect, recharge, and recommit. When I spend too long working (I can be a real workaholic) the joy starts to seep away and I start to feel as if everything is up to me.

When I go to the mountains I’m reminded that it’s not up to me even a little bit. It’s up to God. I can’t do anything without Him. Every dream that He has given me can only be accomplished by HIm. He is the Dreamer and the One who enables the dream to come to pass.

I climb up into his mountains and enjoy their grand scenic vistas. I gain perspective and vision. But He made those mountains. He painted that sky. He is the One whom I worship there.

Jesus loved the mountains too. Whenever ministry got too busy and the crowds pressed in with their needs. Jesus often withdrew into the mountains alone to pray. He knew when to work and when to rest. He practiced a rhythm of living that we can learn from.

So, I’m heading to the mountains. But I’ll be back.

Kurzweil’s singularity and life beyond death

Posted by & filed under Religion, Science, Weblogs.

Ray_kurzweil_2What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24 NIV)

Ray Kurzweil intends to live forever. He is attempting to travel across a boundary in time that he calls the “singularity.”

By anyone’s definition, Ray Kurzweil is a genius. At the age of 13 he turned some old telephone relays into a device that could calculate square roots. At 14, he sold software to IBM that was distributed as standard equipment. He is known as the inventor of the Kurzweil Reading Machine. Stevie Wonder was his first customer.

But these days Kurzweil the inventor has become Kurzweil the futurist. His notion of the singularity is taken from the field of cosmology that describes a border in space and time beyond which the normal measurements of time do not apply (Black holes, for instance). Sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but Kurzweil is not dissuaded. He points to the rapid growth in human knowledge and the exponential increase in computing power over the past years and predicts a moment within 30 years when “superhuman intelligence” will be created.

Kurzweil’s view leans heavily on Moore’s law (Intel cofounder, Gordon Moore observed that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles every 18 months) to justify this exponential increase in developing supercomputers that ultimately attain consciousness. He believes that when computers gain artificial intelligence they will have the capacity to improve themselves. This will create even greater leaps in computing improvement.

While some have predicted that this age of artificial intelligence will render biological humans obsolete (Remember the Terminator movies?), Kurzweil believes that AI’s (Artificial Intelligences) will be used to extend and improve our human brains. The singularity won’t destroy us, Kurzweil says. Instead, it will immoralize us. We will deposit our consciousness into this machine AI and theoretically live forever (I think I saw an Original Series Star Trek on this. Spock had to use his Vulcan melding powers to get them back into their large colorful balls).

Kurzweil is 60 years old and he is working with a medical doctor to extend his life so that he doesn’t miss the day of the singularity. He really believes that death can be conquered by smart machines.

Neuron Many computer scientists take it on faith that one day machines will become conscious, but the latest research into the human brain and what constitutes human consciousness makes this seem more and more unlikely. It is starting to appear that the human brain is much faster than first observed. It was once thought that the neuron was analgous to a single computer bit. But it turns out that each neuron is more like a supercomputer in and of itself. And the human brain has over 100 billion neurons. In addition, consciousness was once thought to be the result of the evolution of intelligence, the simple mathmatics of having enough neurons. But now scientists point to a kind of quantum physics that seems to place human consciousness as existing somehow above and beyond the simple sum of neurons.

Machines may become increasingly better at mathmatical computations, but it appears humanity will continue to be the only ones conscious of it.

I love science. I love stretching my intellect and dreaming of answers to questions about our existence and the universe. But I am satsified that my faith in Christ has already answered the question about life after death. I don’t have to place my faith in improved machines. I don’t have to work to delay the decomposition of my body. I plan to get a new one just like the Resurrected Christ’s.

I admire Kurzweil’s passion and commitment. Yet, I pity him. I pray that he would place his faith into the One greater than that which we would make with our own hands. Eternity is beyond our reach.

But Christ has offered it to us freely.