Out of My Mind

I was riding home from Target the other day. By the way, has anyone tried a burger from Five Guys (It’s over by Target). Wow. Those things are good. Definitely a must try before you die. Of course, you eat too many of those and you may die a little quicker. As I was on the spur headed back to St. Simons, I saw a little white Honda in front of me with a little black bumper sticker with white lettering.

I noticed the first line said, “Please Jesus…” so I kept on reading. I was wondering what little prayer I would find on the back of this car. Would it be a request, a praise, a jingle? Well this is what it said, “Please Jesus protect me from your followers.”

Read it again. It took me a second to really understand what this sticker was saying. This person was asking Jesus to keep his people away from him/her. I believe it was a her. First, I couldn’t believe this person would put such a bumper sticker on their car. You talk about intolerance. A Christian would be crucified for putting something like, “Please Jesus protect from gay people.” I wouldn’t ever advocate such a bumper sticker by the way. I just was struck by how bold this person was in there open resistance to Christians.

I didn’t get mad though. I actually felt a lot of compassion for this person. I began to wonder how she might have been burned by some Christians. Where had she seen us come up short? How had we blown our witness to this person? Perhaps some segment of our great big dysfunctional Christian family had come off harsh and legalistic. Perhaps she had run into some hypocrites who didn’t really live out what they professed. Perhaps she met some Christians who are all about the rules, but never really reflect the relationship aspect of truly knowing God.

I wondered if I had ever done things in the eyes of the world that would cause them to purchase a bumper sticker like this and place it on their car? Ouch…

What was it? If she had turned into a gas station, I was really at a place where I would have stopped and just asked. I wanted to look her in the eye and say, “Hey. I noticed your bumper sticker and was just curious as to what you felt Christians were about? What makes you feel this way?” No such chance though. So I just followed and prayed. I prayed that Jesus would really show himself to her. I prayed that God would change her heart and she would fall in love with Jesus. I found myself praying that I would really live out my faith in a way that truly honors and reflects Christ. My heart was moved for this person. I truly hope one day she will have an encounter with Christians that really changes her mind about Christ.

What do you think about this bumper sticker? Does it strike you funny as well? Does it bother? How do you respond to it?

(I had to come back and edit this one after some insight from Charity.  Thanks Charity!)

Hi, I am David, and I am a recovering people pleaser. Much of my life I have sought for the “praise of men.” I wanted to succeed because it felt good to have others praise me and complement me. It gave me an identity.

I live in the same small community I grew up in where I have pastored a church (www.sscommunitychurch.com)for the last 8 years. I know a lot of people in this area. God has blessed our ministry here and the church has grown. You can only imagine how that has fed the “people pleaser” in me. It has felt good to see this church grow - sometimes it has felt way too good. This is an area that God has been dealing with in a pretty big way over the last few years. I am seeking to care way more about what God thinks, and less about what others think.

God has his ways of making us deal with these issues, and boy he made me deal with it the other night. I heard a quote that said, “To inoculate me to the praise of man, God baptized me in the criticism of man so as to deliver me from the fear of man.” While it has been a joy seeing God at work at St. Simons Community Church over the last few years, my world has certainly shrunk. You can get to a place in a small town where everyone knows your business, or at least has an opinion of your business. As a pastor of a growing church, sometimes it feels like you have nowhere to run and hide. The more we have grown as a church, the harder it is to always please everyone. God has used this to strike at my people pleasing tendencies.

Then the other night, God used a circumstance in one of my children’s lives to make me and my wife deal further with our own junk. One of my children got a little aggressive in their athletic contest. I didn’t think it was over the line, but it was certainly pretty aggressive. Well the parents on the other team thought it was across the line and started calling out my child’s number telling him to reign it in. I could tell it hurt him. After the game, a mom from the other team came up to me and Amber. She goes to church with us and said she was defending our child. She said to the parents on her team, “That is my pastor’s child.” Well, they all wanted to know who her pastor was, and just what in the world kind of church was he running? (It wasn’t said quite like that, but you get the drift.)

How small do you think this little community felt all of a sudden? We weren’t just a nameless face seeking to make a difference for God. I am a pastor who is known by more people than I would care to be know by at times.   My call or mission from the Lord is no more important than every Christian out there who is seeking to serve the Lord.  As a pastor though sometimes, you feel like you are in the direct spotlight.  It is hard to feel like you can make a mistake or have a bad day without your spiritual commitment being called into question.  You can imagine the devil had a hey day with our emotions on the way home. We really felt our child had not acted maliciously. We talked with him about it, and he was frustrated that other parents felt he was playing unfair. He was upset they were calling his number out, and yelling at him. It was a tough night for all of us.

Amber and I talked about it though, and realized that our reputations are in the hands of God. We know we are not perfect parents, but we are very proactive. We teach, talk, encourage and discipline constantly. We do not dismiss wrong behavior, but our children are not perfect. They have struggles too.

The next morning, Amber and I decided not to listen to Satan’s taunts. Instead, we decided to turn it around and find the victory of God in that moment. We turned on a worship CD and praised God in the valley. We praised him for His work in our lives, and the lives of our children. We praised and worshiped Him, knowing that He is in control. It became a holy moment of sweet surrender and trust to our Lord Jesus. We praised Him from the valley and Jesus actually turned it into a mountain - a place of grace and joy. What started to feel like a defeat became a victory - a little more freedom from people pleasing. And that felt good! It still does!

Do you praise Him in the valley? Have you ever had a moment when God turned your valley into a mountain top? Be blessed,

DY

Each week has both Highs and lows. So here are my highs and lows over the last week:

The Georgia - Florida Game. As a Dawg fan, it was pretty awesome being in the stadium with my two sons and my dad. The fans for both sides were fired up, and the game was intense. It was an electric atmoshphere. I have never enjoyed a game so much in all of my life. Go DAWGS! This was a HIGH!!!

My dog Shep ate my IPod! Yeah, you read it right. Some dogs eat homework, and others eat IPods. In my opinion, the IPod is perhaps the greatest invention in all of history so I was pretty bummed. I was hoping I could at least yank on Shep’s tale and hear a Third Day song, or have him recite a podcast or something. No such luck. He didn’t actually swallow it, but he demolished it. If it were not for the kids, that dog would be history. This was definitely a LOW!!!

My Fantasy Football Team won - finally. After winning my first two games, I was thinking I could run the table only to lose 5 straight games. That was almost as bad as having the dog eat my IPod. But I finally got back on the winning track. I had forgotten what the sweet taste of victory was like. This was a HIGH!

My son Jonathan had an awesome 35 yard touchdown run in his Little League football game the other night. It was a sweep to the right - he broke a tackle, juked out a man, and then cut it back to the left all the way across the field and beat a man to the corner of the end zone. It was sweeeeeet!!! That’s my boy. Well, what would you think - a high or a low. HIGH Baby!!!

I prayed with a guy to receive Christ at the end of our 8 oclock service. We had a video testimony from one of our members, Kevin (see the link to the video at end of post) . At the end of the service, I just mentioned that I felt like there was someone here that may need to come and know Christ. Well Kevin ended up front with his friend Brian. And Brian who has been struggling with recovery issues was ready to trust Christ. Major High. Ministry is about changed lives!!!

I keep trying to think of more lows, but it has been a great week. I have met with God, spent time with my family, seen God at work in the people around me. I give Him thanks. And even though the dog ate my IPod, I give Him thanks. It doesn’t hurt that I ordered another one off the internet, and it already arrived (HIGH!!!).

Life is full of emotional highs and lows. I know that next week, I may have more lows than highs, but I plan to praise and give Him thanks any way. Next time, I want to share with you a time where my wife and I sought to turn a valley into a mountain with God’s help.

Will we praise Him in the valley like we will when we are on the mountain? I would love to read some of your highs and lows this week. How was it for you? Where do you see God at work this week? What did you enjoy this week? What bothered you this week? Hope to hear from you.

DY

http://www.sscommunitychurch.com/kevin-adkinson-changed-lives/