Scripture

You know that those foreigners who call themselves kings like to order their people around. And their great leaders have full power over the people they rule. But don’t act like them. If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others.

~Mark 10:42-43

Quote

Authority is like soap and money, the more you use, the less you have.

~William F. Souther

I have always been a worker, but I didn’t understand the joy of being a servant until late in life. I wish I had learned earlier. I think it would have made things easier on me and on those who had to work with me. In my early years I was so task oriented that I pushed myself and others to achieve my goals. Now that I am too old to push and press, I find more joy in my work than ever. Unfortunately some never learn this lesson. The disciples were young and ambitious. In all probability, Peter was the only one over the age of 20. They all believed Jesus would be a king in the same sense as David. James and John even asks for exalted positions in the coming kingdom. Of course, they did not understand the nature of the kingdom that Jesus came to establish. It is a kingdom of Priest; a kingdom who servants. Jesus knew what was in their heart: they wanted to rule others and this was not what Jesus had in mind.

Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” If Jesus has ALL authority, how much do we have? I used to talk about pastoral authority consisting to two things: God call and the church’s call, but I stopped saying things like that years ago. When a leader has to remind you that he is the leader, something is wrong. I finally leared to lead by learning to follow. My responsibility is to follow Jesus. If I follow Him, the sheep will follow me. Not shepherd can lead goats, but if we are not careful, we will scatter the sheep by railing at the goats. Goats are self-willed and cannot be directed.

I will not ask or challenge any member of the congregation to do something I am not willing to do myself. If I expect them to give and to serve; then I have to set the example. Here is the strange thing: once I made the change in my ministry approach, I discovered a joy had not know before. I can tell you honestly, I love serving others and I have lost my desire to rule.

Extra

It was cool on my way to the office this morning. Beggars can’t be choosers so I will take it, but I would sure like some rain to go with it. June and I watched a movie about the great flood of 1927 last night. He effected about 7-8 States including Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. I don’t want a big flood like that but I would take a tiny one.

I hope you have a good day and thanks for reading the blog.

Extra/Extra

I learned along time ago that you have to be careful about endorsing a politican: they have a tendency to let you down. People accuse Trump of be narcissistic and I think they are right, but he is more of a businessman than a politician. He never took a salary the four years he served and you know as well as I do that he served us. He did what was in the best interest of middle class tax burdened Americans. Most politicians are seeking power in order to deepen their own pockets. They don’t give a flip about use. The marxist that have gained control of the Democratic Party are intent on ruling us {the deplorable class, angry white males}. In their minds we are peasants who do not know what is best for us and so we need these Harvard grads to tell us what to do. I am telling you folks, they have a hidden agenda and it is to rule by the use of force. That is why they have worked so hard to take over the government. At some point, they are going to use force. We need to pray and pray hard between now and the election. I use to tell folks; “If the Decatur Daily is for it, we need to be against it.” The fact that the media works night and day to discredit Trump and to demonize him should tell you something.  Their philosophy is that if you throw enough mud against the wall some of it will stick and unfortunately, they are right. We have so many weak minded people in this country that it is frightening. One more fraudulent election and I am afraid our goose is cooked. It has to be by the grace of God that we have survived the last four years. June told me last night that Kennedy is going to work with Trump. He would have hurt us as an independent. I think him joining forces is a good thing. Now we need FOX to flip the switch and get back on the conservative side.