by Pastor James Bell

Sometimes we refer to it as baggage, but it’s probably more accurate to call it trash. It’s the stuff you don’t want to think about or talk about. It’s that bad, yucky, embarrassing stuff that you carry with you on your journey through life.

One of the bizarre similarities between Gehenna, a smoky, smelly place which became a symbol of hell, and Golgotha, the hill upon which Jesus was crucified, was that they both became trash dumps. Gehenna was often referred to as the place where “the fire is not quenched”. It was filled with burning, rotting, useless debris. It came to represent the darkness and repulsion of sins not dealt with.

The cross provides a distinctly different kind of trash heap. Unlike Gehenna, Golgotha is where life experiences are dumped. This is where we cast all our care upon the Lord. We leave our burdens, our baggage, our trash at the foot of the cross. The biggest difference in Golgotha’s trash is that it gets recycled. After we lay it down and walk away free, God actually uses this trash for His higher purposes.

The very thought of this is at first reprehensible. Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil, not re-use it. But when you consider just what you left at the cross, you become cognizant of a higher purpose that God has in mind. The trash consists of our hurts, our wounds, even our trauma about the effects of sin (ours and the sins of others against us) upon our hearts and minds. The redemptive grace of God allows us to leave it all there and walk away free.

But then Jesus starts sifting through the trash. What was unredeemed gets redeemed. Jesus takes the hurt, the bitterness, the disappointment, even the fear that we laid at his feet and redeems it by his blood. He doesn’t redeem the sin, but it’s effect upon you. He redeems the process that led to the death of self and the birth of the new you. You are suddenly empowered with new strength as the word of your testimony causes you to overcome in every area of your life, as well as providing power for your outreach into others lives.

A type of this is found in the Old Testament when the recipe was given for the incense used on the golden altar inside the Holy Place. The fragrant offering of this incense enabled the priest to enter the Holy of Holies with the approval of the Most High. One of the ingredients was taken directly from the brazen altar where sacrifices for sin were made. God took some of the remains of the sacrificial sin offering and used them as a part of the transforming incense that proceeded ultimate intimacy between man and God.

Is that Jesus sifting through the trash of past crises in your life? I hope so! Will he use the redeemed “trash” from your past to launch new ministry into your current lifestyle? Yes! Then you will begin to understand something amazing: God doesn’t waste anything. He redeems everything. If you feel that you’ve wasted some of your life, make sure you leave it in the trash pile at the foot of the cross.

It might become the core of a brand new ministry God will birth in you!

by Pastor James Bell

Proverbs says they are faithful (the wounds, not necessarily the friends). That means there is a caring purpose in the wounds of a friend. Friends don’t hide truth, they share it. Their friendship grows as truth shapes and develops them.

If you are like most of us, you have both assumed friends and trusted friends. The difference in assumption and trust defines, sometimes sadly, the quality of a friendship. For example, there are friends about whom we assume good things. We feel a certain level of confidence in these friends. We assume they like us and have our backs. We assume whatever we hope for but don’t have reason to actually know. The somewhat crude dissection of that word, assume, is to some people enlightening. It doesn’t,  however, prevent us from the sadness of the realization that we assumed incorrectly that someone was more of a friend than they actually were. But the bitter taste of false assumption does help us to grow a little bit emotionally and spiritually. We might end up blindsided and disappointed, but we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and move on down the road. Lesson learned.

But when a friendship is based on trust, things happen differently. There is the unique and enjoyable privilege of being oneself, faults and all, without fear of being judged or misunderstood. Acceptance is based on our mutual knowledge of our core values and our struggle to let God mold us into something better as we grow. A trusted friend appreciates your struggle as much as the benchmarks that indicate the progress you have made. Freedom of expression in an atmosphere of acceptance is the hallmark of friendships based on trust instead of assumption. Through the years, I have learned to greatly value those friendships.

Unfortunately, when we love and trust, we risk the loss of the very relationship we value. A broken trust is much more devastating than a false assumption. You don’t kick yourself for assuming; you focus on trying to survive the tidal wave of hurt. Initial disbelief is followed by a sucker punch of lethal, joy-killing truth about what happened or what was said. For the first few minutes you feel like you want to die, but instead you just throw up. Your trust is screaming in your mind that this cannot be true. Days pass with a kind of emotional numbness. After a time, the open wound becomes a tender sore spot, then it becomes a scar. It doesn’t hurt like it did, but the memory of what happened stays with you. Sentences and phrases keep repeating in your thoughts, neatly categorized and tucked away in the complicated filing system of the mind.

To feel the stabbing pain in the small of your back, and then pull out a knife with the fingerprints of a trusted friend is not the same as the wounds Proverbs describes. These wounds are not for growth, insight, and course correction. They can destroy your capacity to love and trust others. They cause fear of intimacy and cynicism about all things relational. They stifle the child in your spirit. They steal your joy. You have to make yourself go on.

If you are reading this and you can relate to some or all of the feelings on this page, I want you to know something. I have been there, my friend. Unexpectedly, I have often met Jesus in these dark places and have experienced his love in a deeper way than at any other time in my life. In these deep valleys of hurt he rushes to us, with a hard embrace and a strong word of encouragement. And he leads us out again, into the light.

Yesterday I lost a trusted friend. Today I will allow Jesus to treat these wounds. Tomorrow I will love people, even trust people, knowing that there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. I also realize, through tears of understanding, that he will stick close, just as close, to the friend I lost.

Your wounded heart will heal. In fact, grace heals us and heals through us. Often at the same time.

Pastor James

by Pastor James Bell

It was 5:30, way too early in the morning for me to come strolling into our living room. Suz, an early riser, asked me what I was doing up at this time, and the dogs on her lap twisted their heads as they seemed to question why I had invaded their daily quiet time.

I told my wife and dogs that I was up because I was mad. Mad at the devil. I had encountered his schemes all week long, losing sleep and being distracted from things that were more important than his nonsense. I wondered out loud why we pastors never mention some things that most of us know all too well. We think it’s not becoming for someone in our position to speak up about it. We think it’s not spiritual to mention it. But it eats on us, tearing us apart from the inside out.

I decided to tell you about it. It’s all about the strategies of the spiritual enemy we face, and how often we are set up for embarrassment, criticism and even failure. It is about the feeling that we are dealing with a no-win situation, and therefore we must internalize things that should be on the prayerful lips of our intercessors. Most of all, it is about a basic situation that will happen over and over in vibrant, growing congregations and in the hearts of well-intentioned, hard-working pastors until the wheels start coming off of everything and nobody really knows why. I am going to tell you why.

Three entities, when they are in sync, can destroy even the strongest church unless they are identified and stopped. Those three entities consist of two flawed personality types and one devil. Now, this destructive combination is not Satan’s only weapon against the church, but I am convinced it is by far the most often used in his arsenal.

First, it is the devil, the father of lies. Then it is a flawed personality trait in people I have dubbed “bomb-throwers”. Thirdly, it is milder, even pseudo-spiritual, version of the same flaw in folks we’ll call “poop-stirrers”. The devil plants the idea, the bomb-thrower chooses to almost innocently drop a false statement or half truth about a sensitive subject, and the poop-stirrers keep the comment alive by passing it along, often with some disclaimer about not being sure that it’s right and certainly not to, shall we say, keep the poop stirred. But by passing it along, they do precisely that very thing.

Satan chooses an event. It can be almost any event involving change. He then plants seeds of untruth or half-truths in the hearts of potential bomb-throwers who might be concerned, disappointed or fearful of the changes. All they have to do is find the right opportunity to speak those twisted comments. Note that the motivation is (1) selfish pride in one’s opinion and (2) a desire to thwart the change that is happening.

Example Scenario – Singles out for a meal after church. One of the guys wants to impress some of the ladies at the table. He says that he recently hung out with someone who had left with his family to attend another church. The guy told him the real reason he left. Didn’t like some changes the pastor was making (interestingly enough, the very changes this guy, or someone close to him, doesn’t like).

Okay, time out for facts. The alleged conversation with the person who left never happened. The guys did hang out, but didn’t discuss anything about the changes. In fact, the person leaving didn’t know about the changes and had left the right way, with the pastor’s understanding and support. The bomb-thrower “created” this comment to be interesting and appear knowledgeable to his peers. After that meal, he thought, nothing more would happen. But now the poop-stirrers see an opportunity to enliven next week’s conversations with their friends.

Other scenarios follow. A situation happened in a small group (that didn’t actually happen that way at all), the pastor preached a sermon aimed at one person in the congregation he disagreed with (not effective, I know better than to try that), the pastor’s wife (or his friend, or an elder) has a hidden agenda, and on and on we go. Bombers bomb with suspicions and twisted statements. Poop-stirrers keep the stuff moving. Pastors hear about it with disbelief and shock, thinking these were their friends and the ones they have given their lives for. Satan lifts a toast. People say to rise above it. I don’t sleep.

It’s almost impossible to restore truth when church members are, often unknowingly, spreading lies. See, even now that word seems a little strong to you when talking about Christians. But the number one sin among Christians, far more common (and damnable) than other sins, is lying. If a pastor confronts this activity, he will be accused of being judgmental, defensive or argumentative. Even poop-stirrers will step back in horror that their pastor would not just rise above the fray and stay positive.

The battle, over something which (and this is so important for you to realize) never, ever, actually happened in the first place, now spreads to a conflict between the defensive pastor and the frantically backpedaling bomb-thrower. The poop-stirrers deny any involvement and begin to act like victims, even at times leaving the church.Visitors and new members think the whole thing is childish and immature, and begin to question the pastor’s leadership and maturity. Meanwhile, demons dance in the darkness and Satan gloats over his victory against that local church, chipping away at the higher purposes of the kingdom of God.

The bottom line unless we act is this:

• A pastor will feel that confronting the wrong will cause the conflict to spread.
• Bomb-throwers will toss more bombs to cover their, often unintentional, damaging remarks.
• Poop-stirrers will stir, self-righteously stating that these are not necessarily their opinions.
• Congregants will be confused by the division among believers.
• Satan, bomb-throwers and poop-stirrers never even make it into the conversation, as the Evil One scans the church’s agenda for the next opportunity to attack.

How do we stop this cycle? Here are some suggestions:

• Bomb-throwers, quit tossing those bombs. We need you.  Talk to us, work with us.
• Poop-stirrers, just quit stirring. Help us communicate the good news!
• Pastor, pastor people better than they’ve ever been pastored!
• Leaders, lead on!

Then, let all of us humbly serve the interests of others, as Jesus teaches us to do. Dialogue, listen, get involved. When we walk in unity, following Jesus, all hell trembles. This is not my church or your church, or even our church. It’s His.

This is going to be a year of breakthroughs and victories on several levels. God is whispering to us of exciting things He has in store. Even if you have been affected by these situations, don’t ever feel like you have to walk away. Every pastor knows these experiences well. They happen everywhere unless confronted. Resolve these things right here and our bonds of love will grow even stronger.

Pastor James

by Pastor James Bell

A little girl said it well. Riding home from the crowded mall, sharing the backseat with her revved up siblings, she pressed her nose against the cold, foggy window. She saw the brightly lit plywood manger scene in someone’s front yard. Over the noisy voices of her excited brothers and her frantic, tired mom, she blurted out, “Merry Christmas, Jesus!”

Did Jesus have a Merry Christmas? His best friend John said it simply, “He came to his own and his own people didn’t receive him.” That rejection ultimately led to the cross, but it started in Bethlehem. Those people didn’t even know he was born, let alone who he was. Jesus’ birthday was the stuff of shepherd’s chatter and angelic myths. In fact, it wasn’t until the Magi showed up almost two years later that people started getting a clue.

By the time Jesus was thirty-three, it was pretty obvious that he was not going to have a mega-church in Jerusalem. He did draw some big crowds, and he could have pulled it off by cutting some corners here and there and not always being so bluntly truthful. But on the other hand, after being God and creating the world, the promise of a really large congregation was not enough to cause him to swerve from his prophetic destiny.

Here’s the tough part: He expected no less of his disciples. Jesus valued truth as essential for spiritual freedom. He saw success in terms that were more qualitative than quantitative. Would some of today’s leaders accuse him of negativism if he said to their constituents, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” Larry King and Piers Morgan would question his exclusivity. Diane Sawyer might try to coax him into a more acceptable position on social issues. Millions would just switch back to ESPN or Dancing With The Stars. Funny that most people on Earth have never really cared about the things that are so riveting to the inhabitants of both heaven and hell. Not yet.

But this truth remains through the years: Jesus’ birth is made sacred by the life it produced. Every time you remember the manger, whenever you follow your faith to the cross,  and as often as you truly worship the Son of God, something happens that will someday shake the world!

These days, along with many other pastors I’m sure, I receive as many heartbreaking stories as Christmas cards. I see, up close and personal, crumbling values, deteriorating relationships and broken hearts. Then I hear the voices of many high-profile Christian leaders giving slick, motivational messages rooted more in pop psychology than the Bible. I feel backed against the wall, seeing Satan’s perverted grin as he communicates in myriad ways a message that says, “If you don’t play along with us, we will paint you as an insensitive, judgmental, grace-bashing, relic of the religious past.”

But spiritual leaders who are spiritual leaders hold to biblical values, presenting love, grace, surrender, service and fulfillment as the Christian way.  Smiling imposters offer grace, grace, grace and more grace as an alternative and tell people to choose their own way. Tragically, it seems to be working pretty well for them, at least on this side of eternity. But anyone with even a little bit of spiritual sensitivity has to ask, “What is the birth of Christ without the cross? What is the message of hope without the empty tomb? What is Christmas without a Savior?”

So I find myself joining that little girl, with my face pressed against the window. In the mix of devotion and dysfunction, friendly faces and frustrating disappointment, the smiles of children and the fears of old men, amidst the carols and chaos….I still believe. With my nose against the glass, I see the hope that lies in a manger. I say with a choked up voice and tears of realization, “Merry Christmas, Jesus!”

by Pastor James Bell

What you do when things don’t work out reflects your true character.

It’s when you look around for your support group and there is nothing but crickets serenading the darkness. It might be when you yell, “Charge!” and your closest allies retreat. It could be when you seek the solace of a friend and find an empty heart and a blank expression. Sometimes it’s sharing about how God gave you the design for this plan and then, along with everyone else, you watch the wheels come off. What you do next reveals the substance of what God has built within you.

Regardless of how failure hits you, be it a right cross to the jaw or a sucker punch to the solar plexus, it will challenge you like nothing else. Like most all of us, failure wants acceptance. Will you at last accept all those things you feared you were, but hoped you were not? Can’t you just grovel in the bittersweet comfort of self-pity for awhile? Don’t you seriously feel a little bit like shaking your fist heavenward and saying something profound like, “Thanks a lot, God!”

Since this isn’t the first time you’ve faced failure’s challenge, you know those options don’t work for you anymore. Here is what you do instead:

• Ask God to search your heart for anything wrong or inappropriate in your actions.

• Forgive those who contributed to your failure by their own actions.

• Take some time to just sit at Jesus’ feet and listen.

• Do something nice for someone you don’t like…….yourself!
Note: I recommend a chair massage at the mall, a Godiva chocolate bar, or a large Dr. Pepper,     depending on your budget for “something nice”.

• Start over. Get up and pursue your destiny as never before!

Failure is never a reason to quit. Failure is a crucial part of your education. Failure teaches you to know yourself better, to understand what makes friendship authentic, to value integrity and character. In many ways, failure can propel you toward success.

Balance and objectivity are the keys to making failure work for you. Avoid defensiveness and reject condemnation. Right there, in between those two destructive emotions, there are some great truths waiting to be revealed to you about yourself. Then you’ll better understand the spiritual giftedness God is providing to enable you to achieve what he has called you to do.

Through the years, my enthusiasm for relationships and teamwork has often caused me to lead with my chin and end up on my backside. My heart has become a mosaic of broken pieces put back together by the gentle hand of a loving God. Every true shepherd knows brokenness. Every victorious warrior is no stranger to despair. Failure will challenge you, but you will win.

It’s your destiny.

Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.   – Philippians 3:13-14 

by Pastor James Bell

by Pastor James Bell

Some of my favorite ignoramuses love to blame everything from the deterioration of family values to the rise of gang-related violence on the fact that prayer was removed from public schools. For those whose brains actually function, this is patently ridiculous. My mother, a gifted public school teacher, impacted many young lives for Christ by demonstrating the love of God in her vocational calling. She often reminded me, after my emotional tirades stating where this country was headed in a handbasket, about what was actually removed. These repetitious “prayers” were mostly rhetorical statements based on religious jargon. Real prayer has not, and cannot, be removed as long as there are students who choose to pray.

While we are deeply concerned about the attitudes of our culture toward Christian beliefs, the lack of values in this generation of students reflects the emptiness of their parents and peers. The resulting depravity stems from an emotional void and a deep desperation rooted in the lack of a spiritual relationship, not the removal of a vainly repetitious “prayer”. It cries out for a demonstration of the love of Jesus, even without many of these kids actually knowing what that really looks like. We can pray about it or do something about it. What is needed is both authentic, intercessory prayer and bold, intentional action!

We now have an unprecedented opportunity to do something far more effective and lasting than politics and legal action can accomplish. In fact, I am convinced that this is what Jesus would do. He was never into public prayers and sanctimonious proclamations. Jesus was (and is) an intercessor. His prayers, and the prayers of those who follow Him, undergird the steps taken to share His love with those who desperately need it. Here is an opportunity to reach into our community that we must not miss:

Our schools are inviting churches to help them reach the children of our community.

• Cy-Fair is the third largest school district in Texas.
• The district’s changing demographics mirror the changes happening in Texas and throughout the whole country.
• The number of “at risk” (economically or otherwise disadvantaged) students has dramatically increased in the past five years.
• Funds have been slashed due to the economy, resulting in larger classes and fewer teachers.
• Extra-curricular activities have disappeared from many elementary schools.
• Educators (many of them devoted Christians themselves) are asking for our help.

I recently sat with a group of pastors, listening to the Superintendent of Cy-Fair School district speak of his faith and his concern about the next generation. He invited churches to help Cy-Fair schools.  Cy-Fair has an Adopt-A-School program for churches and faith-based organizations to come alongside professional educators to make a difference. Principals and administrators wiped tears as story after story was shared about the difference a few churches were making in the district. Some of those stories were about us. Last year we adopted Tipps Elementary, and many of our members reached into the hearts of students and teachers, causing the Principal, Dr. Pam Redd, to repeatedly thank us for our efforts.

This year we are adding Wilson Elementary, adopting it as our second school. We need your help! Nora  Chunn is our public school liason. She can get you equipped and ready to go. I believe the Lord has opened a big door of opportunity for Hosanna. I’ve walked through it to have planning sessions with Principal Pam Link of Wilson and Principal Pam Redd of Tipps. Mentors, Bus Buddies, Readers, Library Volunteers and more opportunities await you! We can show the love of God to many who gave up on him long ago, as well as introduce that love to their children.

Back to school, anyone?

Pastor James

p.s. I am hearing the same vibe from educators in Katy I.S.D. Hopefully, we’ll cross over Clay Rd. and also reach out to them soon!

by Pastor James Bell

A survey of college students asked for the most often quoted verse in the Bible. After John 3:16, the survey showed this very popular verse:

“God helps those who help themselves.”

Of course, that’s not in the Bible. Ben Franklin came up with that. It was, however, based on a biblical principle. Obedience attracts blessing. That doesn’t mean we ever earn God’s favor, but it shows us that alignment with His purposes opens spiritual doors for us. For me, this means that when I have aligned my heart with the word of God and I still come up short, I am lined up for a miracle. And so often that has actually been the way things happened.

How responsible are we for doing the right thing? Can a person actually take over a part his/her life that is out of control and get it back in order? How much can we change our habits if we really want to? Behavioral studies are inconclusive, but I’d still love to know. How important is it for us to make an effort before Jesus makes up the difference? Pssst! Now I’m going to slip in a loaded question:

Can you be on time for church?

“Well, how rude!” you might respond when reading a question so bluntly put, “Just be glad we come, you spoiled, unsympathetic pastor-type person!” In my haste to not be offensive, let me quickly list the reasons I am asking:

1. We are scheduling some things to at the beginning of the service, and we don’t want you to miss any of them.
2. The flow of worship begins at the beginning of the worship set, and it is hindered by people dragging in on the third or fourth song.
3. While we would never say anything negative about people coming in late, habitual lateness does say something unflattering about you –and we don’t want anything bad said about you because we love you!
4. Visitors usually come on time. They take your lateness as an indication that you don’t especially want to be here (so why should they?)

This Sunday’s second service will feature a baby dedication. It will be the first thing at 11:00. The parents would sure like for you to be here and to see this special event for their child.

In the future there will be testimonies at the beginning of our services. People will be sharing their hearts before we start the first song on the day they are speaking. If you miss it, well, that’s kinda sad.

On Sunday, August 21, we will hear from the principal at Tipps Elementary concerning our ministry there. You can hear it at the beginning of each service.

People blame everything from their cultural roots to the stress in their lives for lateness. Usually people who are habitually late have a difficult time organizing their lives. Reading something like this makes them even more stressed out!

So, if you are feeling a bit flushed or lightheaded as you read this, don’t hyperventilate! Stay calm. Come on to church even if you have to be late. We’ll love you anyway. But I have to wonder if it’s a coincidence that, on the Beachboys’ “Essentials” album, “Good Timing” is followed by “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”.

Probably not the kind of thing pastors should spend too much time thinking about.

by Pastor James Bell

When Suzanne was single and living in an apartment, she would see a little girl named Shawna on her bike, flying down the street with her hair blowing in the wind. When Shawna became a part of Suz’s class at church, God began whispering some things to Suzanne. When I first met Shawna she was at the awkward pre-teen stage, not above giving me a few “whatever” stares. When she became a part of our family she was also celebrating her thirteenth birthday. That’s when all this started.

I doubt if any of us knew how much we needed each other. There were two crooked roads, with many a twist and turn, that merged when we got married. Then came this third person, who had her own twisted road to contend with. How this merger ever ended up in ministry is a miracle in itself.

We lived from day to day, crisis to crisis, and often made the best of difficult situations. The church was small, money was tight, and at times we literally laughed to keep from crying. On many occasions, when things were looking bleak, Shawna would say or do something as a result of her “unique perspective” on life. Suz and I would look at each other, then crack up laughing. Shawna never fully understood how she was the sunshine in many of those dark days.

The church grew, many wonderful folks like you became a part of Hosanna, and we got a little older and wiser. Shawna became our youth pastor and touched the lives of teenagers, some of whom have their own kids now. She met Scott, the only boyfriend she ever had that I liked, and they got married. They gave us grandkids! How good can things get?

Then came the call to ministry in Minnesota. For the last six years we have stretched out our emotions over the long route from H-town to St. Paul. Long trips for the Borens, and tearful departures when they left. But God grew them both. Scott has an outstanding reputation as a writer and consultant. Shawna became part of the preaching/teaching team at mega-church. Good stuff. For them. Okay, for them and lots of others to whom they ministered.

Now the best news. The Borens are headed back to Houston! Scott will be working for Hosanna part-time and pursuing his writing career as well. Shawna will be our Dream Team Pastor and will oversee our small group ministry. I probably need to wait until they are all settled in before I share what the Grandkids and I have planned. Don’t wanna blow this thing. Suz can be “Grammy” to Deklan, Gavin, Jensen and Afton as only Suz can be. After all, they are going to live right down the street!

When Shawna was at ORU, we had this father/daughter conversation. She asked, “When a kid gets adopted, and she goes off to school and her parents move (we had), is that new place still her home? Do kids get to come home again, even when they’re grown?” I replied, “When school’s out you’re still our daughter. When school’s out you come home to our home. Your home.”

Thinking I might not have communicated our love for her enough, I added, “When you get married, you’re still our little girl. When you have kids, they will be our grandkids. No matter what happens, now or later, you are still ours, you and yours…and you can always come home.”

They are coming home. I couldn’t be happier.

Wanted you all to know,

Pastor James

by Pastor James Bell

I don’t like commitment.

And it’s not just because it’s hard to spell it correctly, either. Commitment seems to sneer at me and say, “Really?” It threatens me that, if I fail, I’m not worth a plug nickel. It ignites a fire of fear under my comfortable routine. Commitment builds a fence around my creative, elusive, independent side. It demands that I take responsibility for whatever I’m committing to. Of course, no self-respecting pastor would admit to not liking commitment, so don’t tell anyone else about this blog.

I am motivated by a calling. It’s quite different than commitment, at least the way I understand it. A calling is a response to something deep in my soul. It grabs my feelings and won’t let go. It stirs my emotions like nothing else. My calling eats with me, sleeps with me, and impatiently waits for me if I am distracted by other things.

There is a verse in Romans 11 that says the gifts and calling of God are ‘irrevocable”. Spiritual gifts are to enable you, but your calling is to pull you toward God, to draw you to his purposes. Gifts without calling are a recipe for disaster. It is the calling of God that leads you into true spiritual giftedness.

I am called by God. My primary calling in to love my Heavenly Father above all else. I don’t think I could not love him. This calling has wrapped itself around my thoughts and emotions to the extent that I can’t separate them from each other.

When commitment arrives on the scene, I shiver a little. I get this spiritual twitch. I feel like I have to be a little different from the man that I know I am to be friends with commitment. But I am right at home with my calling. I causes me to whisper toward the sky after everyone else has gone to bed, “I really do love you, Lord. I just really, really do”. Not needing, thankfully, to be impressed with profound words or religious phrases, my Father beams down his affection and approval. I love the calling.

“Now wait a minute,” you say, “How can you be a Christian, a leader, or in your case a pastor, and not be committed? What about your ministry, your family, your wife?”

I am called to pastor. I don’t have to motivate myself to do it.

I want to.

Passionately.

Constantly.

I have a God-breathed love for my kids and grandkids. I feel called to be Grampy. You laugh, but I feel anointed for that job!

I am called to love Suzanne. Our worst times would make my personal list of best times. No motivation needed there. I just do. It’s in me. It’s my calling.

Then I hear God whisper, “You aren’t really avoiding commitment. It’s included in your calling. The calling just makes it go down a lot easier.” When you are called, you don’t have to worry a lot about commitment. The calling will take care of it without even telling you.