Pastor Tim's Corner

Northern California Christian Leader's Summit: Where are the Children?

2011-05-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

Where are the Children?

Henry Ward Beecher, Pastor and social activist
"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven"
English proverb
"The soul is healed by being with children."
John W. Whitehead, Founder, Rutherford Institute
"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see."
Wess Stafford, President, Compassion International
"Every child you encounter is a divine appointment."

As was said many times on Saturday, children are our future and that Jesus said that their faith is the faith we should seek. Yet as passionate as we are about our own flesh and blood, is the general church population as concerned about another's child as they should be in light of God's love for them and the truths we know? Can we trust Him by faith and by deeds that He will aid us with a fresh and Spirit empowered start?

What message do we as Christian leaders need to communicate to our congregations in order to begin a change process that will take a child from pre-birth all the way to their destinies as Christian Leaders who will continue to seek the Kingdom?
Can we re-institute that change process in the lives of our children that prior generations were so generous in giving to us?
Can we be genuine in asking God for both His forgiveness and cry out to him in personal and corporate repentance for not maintaining and re-imagining that process?

Please answer or expand on these questions in your comments and especially the following questions that we were determined to, but did not have a chance to pose during the summit:

Compassion International showed us a "Pre-birth to Christian Leaders" model of discipleship and care for children that they have created. What might such a model look like in our community and in our churches?
How do I achieve comfort as a pastor or Christian leader with Counselors that I am referring young people to in view of the common worldly viewpoints of even "Christian" psychologists?
How do pastors deal with the foster care system and protect children and families in the process?
What resources are available to pastors and church leaders for counseling youth and children in the Bay Area and Northern California?

Thank you in advance for God's work in you that will express itself as the Light of the World in children's lives (Matthew 5:16).

Pendulum or Plumb Bob?

2010-03-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine from college expressed frustration recently about controversy in the church carried too far. The subject was the inerrancy of the Bible. There was a great deal of this back in the 1980's, but for most Christians it has passed. It now divides what we call moderate and conservative Christians. I believe that it has pulled the teeth from the preaching of the moderates because they cannot speak with the authority that Jesus and the church have been renowned for generations for. Yet it has also been expanded in a way that it was never meant to be. This is the frustration that my friend wrote about. My response is the balance that I have sought over the years.

Sometimes I think that we need to ignore the controversy and just be givers of radical grace, that is controversy enough for me. The pendulum always swings and man will always write the latest type and version of the Talmud, adding to God's Word, as if God is not able to speak for Himself. I prefer the plumb-bob to the pendulum and I try to keep it centered over the heart of Christ and His redemption- the essence of the gospel.

Perhaps we should simply seek "plumb-bob faith."

The Rug Pulled Out

2010-03-10T11:59:00.001-08:00

It has happened to all of us. We are happily going about our life's business, all of our plans going smoothly, and then with a sound like an earthquake, the rug gets pulled right out from under us. Now when this happens in life we think of things like divorce, the realization that a child is not who we thought he/she was and is involved in a terrible relationship or drugs. It is affairs, alcoholism, and all kinds of life’s mayhem coming from quarters that are simply not expected. We always see this as a negative thing, but it is not always negative.

You see sometimes it is truth that pulls the rug out from under our perceptions. Jesus was the Master of many things, but his communicating of "rug pulling" truth may have been His greatest skill.
Matthew 5:43-48 (HCSB)
43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Love must be radical and far outside our comfort. Just as then, today men work constantly to make the words "Love your Neighbor" more comfortable while Jesus works to pull the rug out from under us.

Walking By Faith

2009-11-23T09:08:00.001-08:00

August 2009

I was today reminded today by Pastor Tullian Tchividjian of a dialogue between John Chrysostom and the empress Eudoxia when Chrysostom was brought before her and put on trial.

“You cannot banish me, for this world is my Father’s house.”

“But I will kill you,” said the empress.

“No, you cannot, for my life is hid with Christ in God,” said John.

“I will take away your treasures.”

“No, you cannot, for my treasure is in heaven and my heart is there.”

“But I will drive you away from your friends and you will have no one left.”

“No, you cannot, for I have a Friend in heaven from whom you cannot separate me. I defy you, for there is nothing you can do to harm me.”

Chrysostom knew the utter freedom of faith in the One True God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Walk by faith my friends.

Living In Spiritual Power

2009-08-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

July 2009

The Greek word baptismo is one with an interesting history. It was already in use in another form by the Jews, but came to its Christian form with John the Baptist. He uniquely baptized even those born into Judaism for repentance and to identify them as believers in God who would act in accordance with their beliefs.

The word by its very definition implies immersion… not pouring or sprinkling. We also see that the symbolism of the act of baptism and its long standing meaning of identification and even of destruction. This meaning of destruction that comes from the root word gives the word a very close kinship to the English word to drown. Listen to these words in that context and it will give new depth of understanding.

Romans 6:4 (HCSB)
4 Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life.

A desire from a time shortly after Augustine to see babies protected combined with the desire of the state to keep track of people helped to cost baptism some of its meaning. Most do not realize that for millennia the church kept records of infant baptism and that was how the state (which supported the church) tracked births. Since early Baptists in America fought against any state entanglements and asked for a separation between church and state, we do not naturally understand how politics could affect God’s church.

Yet we have come back to the way things were done in the early church and baptism of adults and the return of identification and the idea of the destruction of sin in our lives has returned to the meaning of baptism for those who truly desire to walk with Christ.

Recognizing Unity

Being baptized identifies you as a follower of Christ. This is why it is only practiced in the context of the church.

1 Corinthians 12:13 (HCSB)
13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Baptism makes us all equal. We are destroyed and the labels we placed upon ourselves become irrelevant in the context of the church.

Ephesians 4:4-6 (HCSB)
4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling—
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

We are one with those around us in this Body. Think about that the next time you begin to feel smug or self righteous. When we start looking down on the behavior of others we see an immediate problem in the church today. It is one of the great problems that I see in our own church and it is the fact that we do not even try to disciple new believers. I am talking about one-on-one TIME spent sharing the way we live and the truths of the faith.

Living According to Our Baptism

1. The Spirit of God has made us ONE.

The whole idea of identification is incredibly deep. We do not identify ourselves by petty things like a sexual deviancy or some bizarre behavior. We do not even identify ourselves by race primarily, though the historical reasons for doing so are anything but petty as they were for the Jews of Jesus’ time and today. No, the identification is clear;

1 Corinthians 12:13 (HCSB)
13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

2. The Spirit of God has Made Us Dead to Sin

We are to die to self and so, to sin. Paul asks how we can live this way any longer? Should we not grow weary of identifying our entire worldview through lenses of triviality?
Romans 6:3-6 (HCSB)
3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life. 5 For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,

Becoming the Church

To be the Church of Jesus Christ means that we are living in God's power, not ours. It means that all differences between us as people become pale compared to the cross of Jesus Christ and the fact of our being buried with Him in His death. We are a different and powerful people and we will be known by the love that defines us and by the example of Jesus that definned that love for all time and proved its worth through His resurrection.

The Ordering Principle

2009-07-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

The deepest and most interesting passage in all of the New Testament may be the opening verses of first chapter of the gospel of John. It conveys both the individuality and unity of God the Father and the Divinity, Unity and individuality of Jesus Christ, God the Son. It also uses a unique word often found in Greek philosophy to describe Jesus. That word, Logos, means the both word (as it is translated in English) and the ordering principle of the Universe. When translated "word" it implies a message rather than a single word, though the message may be contained in a single word. It is a word rich in meaning that is frequently used to convey the Word of God, both spoken and written in the Old Testament LXX.

In John, Jesus is portrayed as the meaning, as a living embodiment of all that it and as the Creator of all that is. The Logos in all that the word implies. "What does all of this have to do with me?" You may well ask. It has a great deal to do with all of us. If, as evidence suggests, Jesus is alive, the Way that He asks us to live life becomes the ordering principle of our Universe. This makes the words of Jesus below deeply profound:

John 14:6 (HCSB)
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

What will we do with Jesus? The proofs of the resurrection make this question acute. The fact that He rose in part to prove His other words true make it critical. The fact that He claimed that He will return make it an essential question for your life.

A Note to Self

2009-03-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

When I wrote this in July 2008 I was definitely writing it as a "note to self" as I really like that good intellectual argument.

Today I celebrate the birthday of a young woman who is my employee and pray for peace and for the family of another woman who has learned that she has 4-8 weeks of life remaining. Praise God that both know Christ.

In both cases I have had driven home to me the power of God in human lives. Both are people who have no earthly power, but whose strength and dignity come from God. I am reminded yet again of the passages and message we have been studying on Sunday mornings whose core meaning is found in (NIV):
1Cr 2:1

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
1Cr 2:2

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1Cr 2:3

I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
1Cr 2:4

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,
1Cr 2:5

so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

When seeking to share Christ what is it we worry about? Are we concerned that God is not able to defend Himself or that we will not be eloquent enough? Paul makes it very clear what he thinks of human eloquence.

Recently, a speaker at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary shared his experiences serving as a missionary in a primarily Buddhist country. He shared his realization that many of his neighbors were more "spiritual" than he. The great realization that hit him and changed his life and his ministry was the realization that he had tremendous "intellectual" training in the grand tradition of the West, but that he had little experience of God's power. He was brought to his knees by the passage I just shared. That is exactly what God was waiting for. From that position God led him to a Church Planting Movement among over 50 villages that came to Christ over a short and explosive period.

Do we have the humility to stop looking for the eloquence we think we need to change the world and to begin to humble ourselves and rely on God for the power that it will actually take to win our friends and neighbors and to change this world forever?

Pastor's Corner 9-07 to Easter 2008

2008-07-17T09:37:00.001-07:00

Easter 2008

C.S. Lewis made the blatant statement that Christianity is a resurrection faith. It is the keystone of the arch that is all that we are as believers in Jesus Christ.

Many have made this about salvation from hell and the final resurrection and this is certainly legitimate, but by itself it loses some of its glitter. The real issue on this earth is relevance. What relevance does the Resurrection of Jesus Christ have for me today? If we do not know the answer to that question then the "good news" does not result in changed lives, but rather in "fire insurance." Pastor John MacArthur loves to call this "easy believism." The world looks at this kind of Christianity and calls it repulsive, so do I.

The Bible speaks of life and death from a spiritual dimension. Sin or man's evil deeds lead to death while Christ's righteousness leads to life. Life comes from Him. That means life in the now as well as in the life to come. This leads to the opposite of "easy believism." For those walking in the Spirit life is very difficult, not easy. Yet it is also very rewarding as the resurrection power of Jesus reflects in our lives as we unveil His Presence in us. Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 3:18 in both a powerful and a mystical way.
CSB 2 Corinthians 3:18 "We all, with unveiled faces, are reflecting the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit."
Thus the resurrection becomes real now as we leave spiritual death behind and display life as an unveiled image of the resurrected Christ.

December 2007

As we look toward the coming of 2008 and back on the joys of Advent and Christmas let us remember that Jesus spoke always of the Kingdom of God. Many times we see that God holds back the Kingdom's outbreak until His people pray. We must understand that sometimes it takes time for the King to be accepted.

On December 6, 1865, just months after the Civil War ended, the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery was ratified and became of the law of the land. But that didn't mean every state approved the ratification of the amendment. Mississippi's state legislature, for example, was dominated by whites bitter over the defeat of the Confederacy, and they rejected the measure. 130 years passed before Mississippi took action. By 1995 Mississippi was the only state in the Union that had not approved the ratification of the 13th amendment.

Finally, on Thursday, February 16, 1995, the Mississippi Senate voted unanimously to outlaw slavery by approving the ratification of the 13th amendment to the Constitution.
Senator Hillman Frazier, a member of the Mississippi's Legislature's Black Caucus, said, "I think it's very important for us to show the world that we have finally put the past behind us."

Just as there was a delay in some states ratifying an end to slavery in the United States, so there is often a delay accepting the presence God's kingdom coming ever new here and now. Advent is a reminder we must never stop trying, never stop hoping, never stop preparing for the in-breaking of God's kingdom either into our own hearts or in our community.

God's kingdom will one day hold sway over the entire world. When that day comes, my prayer is we will be prepared for its glory.

Are you praying for the in-break of His Kingdom in your heart and in our community today??

November 2007

My Halcyon Family--

As we approach the holiday season, I am once again reminded of the incredible blessings which the Lord chose to and continues to choose to send our way. Throughout the hecticness of our days, especially with the added activities of the holiday season, we need to be even more intentional about keeping our focus on the greatness and goodness of our Lord. At Thanksgiving we will have a service of praise so we as a church family can come before the Lord to express our thankfulness for all His blessings! And as we approach Christmas, we will celebrate the four Sundays of Advent leading up to Christmas to remind us of our greatest blessing of all—the advent of Jesus Christ, God with us. Born under the shadow of a cross.

Great truths most of us have heard before, yet the power and relevance of God’s blessing in our lives through the gift of His Son NEVER lessens in meaning and significance. Let’s approach this holiday season with hearts open to His love, Presence and purpose in each of our lives!

September 2007

During one of the darkest hours of our nation just six years ago people desperately needed hope. In the process of removing debris from a fallen crosswalk that connected the North Tower to Building Three two days after the disaster, recovery worker Frank Silecchia found two steel beams in the perfect shape of a cross.

The beams, at least six feet high and four feet wide, were naturally bolted together as part of the total structure. When the other beams were ripped away, they were all that remained. The edges of the beams bear no markings of being cut or welded to make the shape. In fact, some of the bolts that once attached the edges to other beams are still intact.

The most heartwrenching discovery was that a silver object melted onto the cross's left side was the remains of a firefighter's jacket who died in the blast. Firefighters say the fire-resistant jacket turned silver and took on the look and consistency of metal when it encountered extreme heat and fire. Now, it is wrapped around the left arm of the cross.

CSB Ephesians 1:9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure...

God often does the strange and wonderful things that we only dream of. His will is often mysterious and the greatest mystery of all is God entering into the darkest hour of history, when man crucified His Son and bringing great light from it. God actually takes pleasure in giving us hope.

As we look back at 9/11/2001 with sadness and the realization that our world is changed in ways that we did not even begin to imagine on that day, let us remember the grace of God and the fact that as His children He delights in giving us hope.

Pastor's Corner... Halcyon Baptist 6/07-8/07

2007-09-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

August 2007

Before & After

God has given us a great gift in the facilities that our church owns. It is such a pleasure to look on them as a thing of beauty and to see them give such glory to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have declared that this is a new time for Halcyon Baptist Church and so it is! We look forward to the future with great anticipation as our church becomes the church that is for our neighbors and friends. HBC is indeed a church for people like them. A church "For People Like You."

May God direct us into becoming a true community of faith where each person is a great treasure. We have seen many become devoted followers of Jesus Christ through salvation and baptism in the past year and we look forward to many more as we spread the Good News. Please join us as we pray for our church and its outreach every Wednesday at 6:30-6:55 PM.

CSB Acts 4:31 When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God's message with boldness. 32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them. 34 For there was not a needy person among them, because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles' feet. This was then distributed to each person as anyone had a need.

It is amazing what God has done & will do in response to our prayers.

July 2007

It all began with the restoration of God's house!

CSB 2 Kings 22:3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent the court secretary Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the LORD's temple, saying,

4 "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest so that he may total up the money brought into the LORD's temple-- the money the doorkeepers have collected from the people.

5 It is to be put into the hands of those doing the work-- those who oversee the LORD's temple. They in turn are to give it to the workmen in the LORD's temple to repair the damage.

With these words begins the saga of a King who would not bend in following God with all of his heart. Many have said that David or Solomon is the greatest King of Israel, but God has a different view as we see in these words about the reign of Josiah:

CSB 2 Kings 23:25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the LORD with all his mind and with all his heart and with all his strength according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him.

It all began with the restoration of God's house! As we look at the history of Josiah's life and the beautiful epitaph that he was given we understand that there were several reasons that God honored him, but the first and foremost is that he honored God.

As we restore God's house may God refresh our spirits so that we continually honor Him with all that we have and all that we are.

June 2007

I am behind the camera in the pictures that I have included with this post. They are from one of the most impacting times of my life. Janet Lee, Josh and Sarah are shown playing on Kovalum beach in South India on the Arabian Sea and in a Nair village home.

What I learned during those two weeks will impact me for life. God taught me that there is only one church of Jesus Christ and only one Kingdom of God. I sat in a small house church the evening after this photo was taken and shared food and fellowship, while those around me spoke Malayalam, I sensed no lack because I did not understand the words. Each also came from various Christian traditions; Anglican, Jacobite, Coptic, Catholic and Assembly of God, yet the Spirit of God's mighty and empowering presence was tangible for each of us. How we loved one another! I heard the testimonies translated into English and realized that Christianity was as simple as living and breathing for each of them. They loved others simply because God loved them and they Him.

It is my prayer for those who visit this website and the members of our church that you find that kind of Community where you can love and be loved in return. Remember what one pastor said some years ago:

"“The disciple of Jesus doesn’t ‘go’ to church. He never ‘leaves’ church. He is never ‘late’ for church. He cannot ‘skip’ church or forget church. He is the church!” Joe Boyd- Pastor of Apex- Las Vegas

As Rick Warren says so succinctly, "It's not about you." When we find Community and give to it rather than taking from it we will forever be blessed and find fulfillment in life. Discipleship is a learning process, but what we need to learn is really quite simple and profoundly hard:

Love God

Love One Another

Love All People

May Our Lord Jesus Christ bless you on your journey to Him.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Tim