Confirm your love to him sincerely and consistently.

To Timothy, my dearly beloved son… (2 Tim. 1:2a)

How many people in your life say the words, “I love you” to you on a consistent basis? Our family is one that communicates our love for each other often. Rarely a day passes that those three simple words are not spoken in our home. Undoubtedly, love covers a multitude of sins and serves as the very foundation for any perpetuating relationship.

Certainly Paul had communicated his love to Timothy on numbers of occasions. Previously he had affectionately referred to him as his “own son in the faith,” perhaps because Timothy had been saved under his preaching during the first missionary journey, or perhaps because Paul had mentored Timothy for so many years. Whatever the reason was, Paul expressed a deep familial love to this young man.

Much can be and will be accomplished in Christian ministry within the context of loving one another. Without it we are simply making noise (1 Cor. 13). Methodologies, lesson plans, activities, programs, camps, conferences, and any other strategy we can employ must assuredly fail absent the possession and expression of genuine love.

Do your teenagers know that you love them? “They know that I love them; I just don’t express it well,” you might reason within yourself. I would contend that many teenagers will not know until you tell them. Don’t get me wrong, your actions speak volumes about your love for your teens. I’m simply saying that your sincere and consistent communication of that love will make an incalculable difference in their lives. Read more…

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Never underestimate the power of the written word.

Let’s not overlook the medium by which Paul communicated with Timothy. He wrote him a letter. Now obviously the modern methods of communication were unavailable to the apostle, yet I find it important that Paul (humanly speaking) took the time to carefully choose his words of instruction when he wrote to Timothy.

In this age of a dominant visual and verbal communication, the written word has taken a back seat. In fact, the art of letter writing has become passé to many. Think though for a moment about how encouraging it is to receive personal mail. I’m not speaking now of email or text messages, although they can certainly be encouraging in their place. I’m speaking about the unique feeling one has when he finds that hand written letter or card interspersed among the daily fare of bills, junk mail, and business-related correspondence.

Something about a handwritten note conveys the warmth and personality of its writer. In the handwriting itself there seems to be the imbedding of the writer’s feelings. Have you ever saved a note or a card? Sure you have. In fact, that very thought evokes bad memories in my marriage!

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We are on the cusp of occupying our new facility. Like a dream come true, we have praised God for the way that the building has become a reality. But new buildings do not necessarily indicate spiritual growth, nor do they assure it. In fact, sometimes a new building can have the opposite effect on an unwary church. It can distract from the grand purpose of every local church—that of glorifying God by obeying His commission to make disciples. Here at Harvest we have reminded our people often that new buildings serve the purpose of a tool to reach others for Christ and to more effectively service our own flock.

In John chapter two, Jesus entered the newly refurbished Herodian Temple. He had been there many times before (at least 3 times a year), but never in the authoritative role of His public ministry as the Messiah. What would be His attitude toward the pseudo worship of the Jews of His day? Never since the day of the great Solomonic Temple had the building looked so good, but buildings are not ends in and of themselves. Let’s consider how Jesus clarified the purpose for buildings intended to serve as houses of God:

What are new buildings for?

John 2:13-24

Consider that when Jesus entered the Temple for the first time in His public ministry, He…

1. Demonstrated a Priority

Even a casual study of the life of Jesus Christ will reveal His faithfulness to houses of worship—whether it was the mighty Temple or a village synagogue. One might say that faithfulness to the house of God was the custom of the Lord. Yes, there were hypocrites in those places, and, yes, He didn’t always agree with how they were running the show; but He demonstrated faithfulness to the house of God nonetheless.

The local church serves as the hub of the believer’s activity. It is his place of refreshment, education, and accountability. In short, faithfulness to the house of God should be the conduct of our lives. The writer of Hebrews reminded us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Without a faithful commitment to the house of God, believers expose themselves to the dangers of isolation and detachment. The evil one has effectively sifted this non-attender from the group only to destroy him. Read more…

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I’m on an airplane right now looking out the window at the Rocky Mountains. Moments ago we passed over the awesome Grand Canyon. In just a couple of hours the plane will arrive in Charlotte, NC, where I’ll find my connection to return home to Pittsburgh. Although I’ve flown more times than I can count, I’m still struck by the wonder of relaxing in a comfortable seat (yippee for free upgrades) while reading, sleeping, or making blog entries.

I guess the vividness of such travel ease has been brought home to my thinking in a fresh way over these past couple of days. You see, the trip out West wasn’t quite as easy and simple as the one I’m enjoying now! My son Nathaniel is beginning his sophomore year of school at West Coast Baptist College (www.wcbc.edu) and decided that he would like to have his car on campus this year. The only problem with that reasonable desire is the fact that 2,600 miles separate our home from the college!

Undaunted by such measly details, Nathaniel and I loaded his 2000 Honda Civic and left for the West Coast at 1:00 pm Sunday afternoon just after I finished preaching the second morning service at Harvest Baptist Church. Nathaniel drove the first leg of the trip as I slept! I was still jet-lagged from my whirlwind trip to Indianapolis to preach a daylong youth event. The trip turned into a 22-hour day because of a massive flight delay in Philadelphia on my connecting flight home. But that’s another story… Remind me to tell you about the guy that was screaming at the pregnant lady in the middle!

Nathaniel and I stopped for the evening service at the Bethel Baptist Church in Greenfield, IN. A missionary spoke that evening about the need to reach Russian Jews in Israel. His main thought from his text in Isaiah 6 was that modern Christians have become lethargic due largely to their shrinking view of God. Nathaniel and I slipped in the back of the auditorium a little late and sat next to the pastor’s wife. She was very kind, as were the ushers. We didn’t meet anybody else because we blasted out of the service at the closing prayer. No time for fellowship with 2,000 miles of road yet in front of us! Read more…

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Last post we talked about the importance of a youth leader recognizing his own unique call of God. If we youth leaders do not know where we are going, we can entertain no hope for leading the next generation down the path of God’s will. Paul knew who he was and knew where he was going. In such a context he could boldly encourage others to follow him as he followed Christ.

To Timothy, [my] dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, [and] peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

We are all humanly limited in our ability to impact others. We simply cannot be all things to all men, nor can we be at all places at all times. With the Lord’s help, we must strategically determine whom we will influence given our limited reach.

Certain mentor relationships are non-negotiable; for instance, parents must mentor children. Other relationships must be entered into with much prayer and great consideration. It has been my contention that many a youth ministry tends to be a mile wide and an inch deep. Activities and programs–however well-planned and organized–simply cannot replace a bona fide mentorship relationship.

When Jesus engaged His three-year public ministry, He spent the lion’s share of His time developing twelve men. Ironically the crowds in the ministry of Jesus Christ did more to distract Him from His mission than they did to promote it. Perhaps the most striking phrase to me about Jesus’ calling His disciples is the little phrase “with him.” Mark told us in his gospel that the Lord chose twelve to be “with him” (Mark 3:13). Read more…

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