Of course you have. We all have. Some of us have begged, implored, and pleaded with God to move in a particular manner and been left feeling like our prayers fell on deaf ears. In my experience, one of the primary reasons people struggle to believe in the goodness of God is unanswered prayer

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “The work of preaching is the highest and the greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called.” I’m so thankful to be a preacher. It’s my favorite part of being a pastor. While I love the act of preaching, I often find the art of prepping sermons tedious. I love to study and preach what the Lord gives me. It’s the blood, sweat, and tears in between that makes me long for the time when I was a vocational coffee maker.

We've all read them.

Some of us have even posted them - smug, condescending, even vile and angry blog comments. The comment section of a blog is often a cesspool of sinful speech.

And now begin the justifications.

"It's not sinful speech! They're wrong. Their doctrine wasn't just right. They don't think like I do. I don't like their opinion. I don't like their preaching, music, philosophy of ministry..."

I get it. 

We've all experienced one of those seasons we simply didn't believe we could endure. One of those seasons where life was hard and we were so tired we just weren't sure we could take any more. A sickness. A job loss. A divorce. A death. The seasons change, but the fatigue remains.

I don't know about you, but my prayers tend to be more fervent in these seasons. Typically, they sound like this: "Lord, please deliver me out of this season. I can't take any more. I just want this to end. Please make it stop!"

"Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary."

You've most likely heard some version of this quote, often attributed (incorrectly) to St. Francis of Assisi. The problem with this quote -- other than the fact that St. Francis never said it -- is that it forces an unnecessary, unhelpful, and unbiblical dichotomy between displaying the Gospel with one's life and declaring the Gospel with one's mouth.

While I wholeheartedly agree that Christians should live exemplary lives that display the work of the Gospel, the Bible doesn't hold this up as the definition of evangelism. Until you open your mouth and actually tell someone the good news about Jesus, you have not done the full work of Biblical evangelism.

The Bible has no shortage of amazing stories. Stories of God’s providence, provision, and protection of His people. Stories of God coming through for His people when all else had failed and circumstances appeared dire.

The story of Joseph is a prime example of this. I’ve been reading his story in Genesis 37-50 lately, and I continue to be amazed at this picture of God’s providence in Joseph’s life. I’ll summarize it for you, but you should really check it out yourself.

In early 2006, I was working as a Worship Pastor at a church about 40 minutes from where we planted Redemption.

One Tuesday night, as I sat in one of the many meetings that pastors attend each week, I heard God speak to me more clearly than ever before. Before you panic, I'm not someone who "hears God speak" every day. This was an experience I had never had before and one I haven't had since. God said three things:

It was Tuesday and, like any other Tuesday, I was sitting at my desk, Bible open, wrestling with the upcoming Sunday's sermon outline. In short, I was being a good pastor, doing the hard work of preparing to put another meal on the table for my church family. In the midst of my faithful stewardship of the pastoral responsibility God has given me (said in a pompous and sarcastic tone), I received the following text message from my wife:

I was so mad. I couldn’t believe they had the nerve to say that to me. Who did they think they were? What was most frustrating was that no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t shake the angst I felt after the conversation. I couldn't shake it because they were right. When I started to ask myself WHY I felt the way I did, I didn’t care for the answer WHY revealed.

We live in a culture largely void of honor. In short, honor is dead, both in our culture and in our churches.  We use our freedom of speech to dishonor public officials, people in positions of authority, and anyone else we choose without giving it a second thought.

While this should not surprise us culturally, the commonplace nature of dishonor amongst Christians is, frankly, shocking.

Psalm 71:8"My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day."

I read this the other day and immediately asked myself, "What's in my mouth throughout the day? Is my speech continually marked by a constant praise of who God is and what He's done for me?"

The obvious answer was of course, "No."

We started Redemption Bible Church believing that Biblical leadership would be crucial to planting and pastoring a healthy church. We believed both then and now that the health of our church would directly relate to the health of our elders. If you do not know, elders are the senior leaders of the church also called pastors, bishops, and overseers in the New Testament (Eph 4:11; 1 Pet 5:2; Acts 20:28). The elders are men chosen for their ministry according to the clear biblical qualifications of 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. In addition to these Biblical qualifications, there are three specific traits we look for in potential elders:

At Redemption we are meticulous about keeping track of our numbers. This is NOT because we find our identity in, nor measure our worth by the numbers, but because behind every number is a name.  Every number is a life that has been influenced and impacted by Jesus.

Last week we had a members meeting and Ashely Herr, one of our elders, put together a presentation that served as a celebration of God's grace in and through our church, as well as an incredible blessing to our church family.

Here are some of the things we celebrated in a few areas of focus at Redemption:

I was frustrated - which in and of itself is not an abnormal experience for me, unfortunately. I was in the midst of one of the few short walks I take each day, trudging around the neighborhood next to my office, wrestling through one of the many leadership issues every pastor faces on a regular basis. In this particular situation I had tried everything I could think of. I did not know what to do. I was tired of trying to figure it out.

Connection Essential #3 - A Mechanic

It does not matter how nice of a vehicle you drive, at some point it requires a mechanic to keep it running. The same is true of your connection vehicle. No matter how clear the next steps and how fine tuned the system, someone has to keep it running.

Connection Question | Who is going to keep the connection vehicle running?

Connection Essential #2 - A Vehicle

Once you have determined where you are trying to go, you are ready to design the vehicle by which you can help people get to this desired destination.

Connection Question | What are the necessary next steps?

Connection Essential #1 - A Destination

No one ever sets out on a journey without first determining their desired destination. Therefore, the planning of every trip starts with a basic question: “Where do we want to go?”  A similar question is necessary in the planning of an effective connection strategy for your church:

 Connection Question | What exactly does “connected” look like at my church?