Blessed Second Anniversary!
Dear Unified … family,
Today’s reading: Proverbs 17, Psalm 17.
Today is January 17, 2012. Happy Anniversary Unified … ! Today marks the second anniversary of our church and the beginning of my third year as senior pastor. So many changes have occurred in such a very short time.
I realize that my leadership in the last season was mainly to set a new course and lay the foundation on which our church culture is now being built. When I look back, I am grateful to the Lord for the grace he gave me to navigate the challenges of that season. Since being installed as the senior pastor of the church on Sunday January 10, 2010, my mandate from the Lord came with the awareness that my final accountability was to God. Since then I have done my best to discern and obey His voice, whatever the cost.
Like any construction project, there are times when we need the input of consultants depending on the needs of the project. I have been amazed at how the Lord has been directing key people to help us, and I sense we are in another of those seasons.
Prov. 24.3-4
A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense.
Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.
I’ve recently asked myself, do I want to be known as a good leader, or do I want to be known as a leader who developed great teams? I function by a golden rule, that I can only impart what I first possess. I believe people will always follow a good leader. Like anyone else a leader will have his own strengths and weaknesses. As a result the kind of team a leader builds can also be prone to the same strengths and weaknesses of that leader.
My goal is not to be known only as a good leader, but to be remembered as someone who developed great teams. I believe an important key that distinguishes a great leader from good leaders is in the way he learns to manage his strengths and his weaknesses. Not that he has to be the best at everything, but he needs to know his limits and how to overcome his weaknesses through the strength of others. To do this a leader must be open to recruit people on his team who may be more qualified than himself and not feel threatened to do this. That is one way a leader can avoid becoming the lid of limitation which stunts the growth of those he leads.
In this new season, we will face many new challenges. I am grateful to the Lord for sending us Danny Silk. In a nut shell, Danny is more than qualified to help us with what Unified… needs at this moment in time. I admire Danny’s gifting in developing pastors and training leaders, so I have asked him if he would act as a coach and consultant to Kerry and I. We developed a wonderful trusting relationship with Danny over the years. Danny also has a special fondness in his heart for our Unified … ohana, so he agreed to help us develop in our leadership and as a pastoral team so we can better serve all of you.
The timing of this occurring is vintage God. Kerry and I were also invited by Pastor Bill Johnson to attend a week long Apostolic training school in Bethel. It was a personal invitation to 20 couples from around the world and a chance to be mentored by Pastor Bill himself while connecting with other world leaders. It is an honor to be invited to sit under Bill’s wisdom and teaching. Kerry and I would appreciate your prayers that we would receive all that the Lord has to pour out on us while we are there.
God is up to something bigger than any one of us! It will involve all of us working as a Unified … family and a Unified … team to complete it! I do anticipate more changes to come as we further position ourselves to align with God’s plans. Are you ready?
I also realized just a few days ago, that when the Lord set the date to kick off the new church, it was on the same day 117 years ago when the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown on January 17, 1893. Coincidence or what? It seems we are destined for a head on collision down the road with Heaven, and I don’t want any of you to be left behind.
What an exciting year we are facing before us! Yes, Jesus is building His church!
Our love,
Pastors Dean and Kerry
A Great Word on the WORD
Dear Unified … family,
I trust you are being blessed in your daily reading of the Word of God. You should be reading Proverbs 12, Psalm 12. If you are already behind on your reading, start afresh today!
There are new mercies every morning!
This is an appropriate word by Pastor John.
Blessings,
Pastor Dean
…
The Seed that Cuts
When we look at the parable of the seed and the sower (Luke 8:10-15, Matthew 13:18-23, Mark 4:13-20), we naturally look at the external pressures or the soil that causes the seed not to sprout and grow. This is only right because the soil or the heart of man must hear the Word with an honest and good heart in order for it to bear fruit. If the heart is not right, the enemy, temptation, and the cares of this life will abort the growth of the seed. They will prevent it from growing into full maturation.
As I pondered this passage, I realized the other reason why people do not move into fruitfulness: they can’t handle the seed. The seed represents the word (Lk 8:11). Jeremiah 23:29 states, “Is not My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?” Fires and hammers cause pain. It is also like a double-edged sword that pierces the heart (Heb 4:12). “Ouch!”
Jesus preached challenging words to people and many left (Jn 6:60, 66). He told them to eat his flesh and drink his blood. They couldn’t handle the seed coming from his mouth. It was like a hammer. The fair weather followers left and packed up their bags to listen to someone else who would pamper their bruised hearts and sensitive sentimentalities. They even said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”
I always used to wonder why 2 Timothy 3:16 emphasized the muscle side of the word of God; things like teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. Why didn’t Paul through the Holy Spirit write this verse this way? All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for encouraging, edifying, ministering, and comforting those in need. I have the sneaky suspicion that the word of God Paul was referring to was a lot more spiritually volatile than the bland, tepid, lukewarm stuff being preached from the consumer conscious pulpits of today.
The seed goes forth and has effect. Isaiah 55:10-11 states, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from my mouth. It will not return to me empty without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” Another version states that it does not come back void. It always has effect.
I would like to make bold and assert that the seed cuts. John 15:2 states “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it that it may bear more fruit.” The seed, like a sword (Heb 4:12) in the hand of the vinedresser, cuts into our spiritually diseased hearts and transforms us into the image of Christ; that is, if we let it do its good work over time. It takes perseverance and a good and honest heart to hold onto the seed until fruition.
Temptation, trial, and the Devil try to tell us the seed is too heavy, toilsome, offensive, and difficult to bear. Have you ever been offended by the Word of God spoken by a man or woman of God? Could it just be the incendiary quality of the Word? Could it be that one is offended needlessly? It is a fire. It is a hammer.
The soil or heart that can receive the pure seed of God without any sugar-coated additives will eventually produce fruit. Too many fall away because of offense. Too many teachers or preachers scatter poor grade seed and wonder why their parishioners are not growing.
I guess its time to receive and give out good seed. It’s time for our hearts to burn because we heard the Words of Christ (Luke 24:32). His challenging word will cause growth.
The seed cuts. It will eventually grow into a fruitful head of grain if we hold onto it, if we accept it, if we allow it time to do its good work.
Pastor John
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