by Pastor James Bell

Jesus heard the laughter, even the punch line of the joke the greeter was telling some other folks. And it was a funny story, but Jesus had heard it many times before, usually in churches. No one took much notice as he quietly slipped through the door and across the foyer. You simply can’t greet everyone who comes into a service, especially if they all seem to wait until the last minute to arrive.

“Is this your first time with us?” asked a smiling receptionist at the welcome desk.

“Actually, I’ve been here a few times, but not in a while.”

“Well, it’s good to have you back. Be sure to fill out a visitor card!”

“May I ask why?”

“So we can have a record of your visit. Also, the pastor will send you a nice letter.”

Smiling once more, Jesus entered the Sanctuary and found a seat near the back.

“Look at someone and tell ‘em Jesus is alive!” bellowed the service leader. “We’re gonna give him our crazy praise today!”

The band was good. Very good. And the singers could do more than just sing. They were dancing, grinning, vibrant vocalists who never lost eye contact with their audience. The place was rocking. Everything ended with a crescendo exactly 23 minutes later. The pastor smiled his approval. After all, this service was being shot by three cameras and exported to five remote locations. Timing was everything.

After a video of a man asking people on the street why they didn’t come to church, which ended with an obese, unshaven homeless man wiping his nose and saying the preacher’s sermons didn’t make sense to him anymore, the pastor boldly approached the pulpit.

“My message today is ‘Why the Gospel Makes Sense’. If you are the man in that video, blow your nose and listen carefully!”

The congregation roared with laughter. They realized they had been set up, but it was great to be part of a church that was never boring and always so creative. The pastor worked his way skillfully through his power points, streaming from huge screens above his head.

“Even if you didn’t believe in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, just following his principles would change your life for the better”, the Pastor said, “And as your faith deepens, you start to realize that the poor choices you have made are hindering your search for true joy and fulfillment. Look in the mirror! You were designed to be something special!”

There was an impressive response to the call for transformation. You simply had to stand to respond. Many people did. After a prayer of agreement, they were thanked for coming and dismissed. One of the ushers approached the pastor after the service, striding quickly across the altar area and leaning to whisper in his ear.

“There’s a man sitting on the back row. Looks like he’s been crying.”

“Did anyone talk to him? Did he fill out a visitor card?”

“Don’t think so. He has kind of a strange look on his face. Seems like I’ve seen him around here before, but it’s been a long time. Always looks kind of outta place …”

Exiting the Sanctuary, the worship leader walked past the single figure sitting on the back row with one arm across the back of the pew. She smiled at this man with a troubled look on his face. She thought about how you often don’t really know who you are ministering to on a Sunday morning. She remembered that he didn’t seem be very demonstrative in his worship response, especially to the new song she had written, “Dancin’ Throwdown (a Hallelujah Hoedown)”. She consoled herself that he was probably too old school to appreciate cutting edge stuff.

The Sanctuary was quiet and almost empty now. Ushers were cleaning and straightening.

“Could I help you, Sir?” an usher said, walking toward the only person left in the Sanctuary.

Jesus smiled. “I don’t think so, but thanks for asking. And I was just wondering if there might be some way I could help you?”

“Nah, not really. I just gotta straighten up the church and get all the trash and stuff outta here before the next service.”

“I understand. I have a lot of experience doing that myself.”

The usher smiled, sighed, and shook his head, remembering how someone said at the last ushers meeting that this church seemed to attract some really different kinds of people. Reaching the front of the Sanctuary, he turned to get one more look. The visitor was gone.

Our new series, "Where in the World is Jesus" starts this Sunday.

by Pastor James Bell

1. A choice to do nothing is still a choice….and it will have consequences.
2. Everything comes to him who waits. Sometimes that includes things you didn’t really want to come, and often the timing is way bad.
3. The second hardest thing about any project is the planning (the hardest thing is the disaster that occurs when you don’t plan).
4. You can lead a Christian to the church, but you can’t make him worship – even if he is dying of spiritual thirst.
5. Prayer is not helping God direct the cosmos or venting our spiritual perspectives. It is breathing the breath of God.
6. There is an all-important difference between being passionate for Jesus and spiritualizing our hysteria.
7. There is such a thing as colorectal theology, which involves the placement of the theologian’s head.

Okay, can we make sense of these soapy revelations? Here we go:

If you just sit back and let life happen, you will be rewarded with a mixed bag of good and bad experiences. Life will lack meaning or purpose, and you will often feel victimized by circumstances. The question is usually who to blame rather than why.

A true believer will value the life-giving Holy Spirit, and as a result will meditate on the paths available to us. Prayer becomes a lifestyle and worship flows naturally to the one who is love-stricken with Jesus and his way. This person’s theology is experiential more than academic, seeing everything in the picture rather than focusing on just one corner of it.

In my robe now, meditation time over. Oh, by the way, the shampoo didn’t seem to work…

by Pastor James Bell

I was the kid who was bored in Sunday School and fantasized about playing baseball as the pastor droned on in his weekly sermon. How did I get to be so religious?

I can’t blame it on my middle-class, church-going, upbringing. Mother and Dad were faithful to the church, but more generous than most others in our flock about understanding when their kids simply got worn out from “churchianity”. They did worry a bit more about my eternal destiny than that of my two sisters, and rightfully so, because I seemed to relish not being religious. I changed lyrics, shared them with my little friends, and sang them lustily to the appreciative glances of adults who had no idea what I was actually singing. Mother did check me out occasionally to make sure I was not about to commit the unpardonable sin. Dad warmed the seat of my pants in response to a verse he felt disrespected the pastor.

I thought it strange when the pastor announced one Sunday morning that I had been saved, and there was weeping that erupted from the children’s ministry workers. One lady looked over at me and began to pray in tongues. My state of bewilderment was further evidence that a religious person I was not. The pastor even dropped me in the baptistry while I was being immersed, giving me an immediate disconnect with the sacredness of the moment and a strong suspicion that he was not above revenge.

For me, the rites of passage that brought out the worst in many of my friends actually centered my thinking on Jesus and his church. The seed sown by my school teacher parents, as they filled my mind with scripture, began to take root. Serving Jesus made sense to me. The fact that I really did experience salvation, unlike some of my pre-adolescent buddies who just went along to get along, made a huge difference. The Christian lifestyle fit perfectly with the verses I had kept in my heart.

But even in Bible college I wasn’t religious. Even as a future minister, I found much liturgy to be embarrassingly outmoded or hilariously funny. I related strongly, as did every young person in the 60’s and early 70’s, to the word, “real”.  To many of us, that word meant embracing transparency and rejecting hypocrisy. Religion was out. Spiritual expressiveness was in. Not being very expressive by nature, I found myself, once again, on the outside looking in.

After wandering through the wilderness of self-promotion and ambitious striving (I was Jonah in retailing), I arrived back at my original starting point. Religion opened it’s intricately decorated doors to me. I came right on in. But before long I was questing for something more, driving my newest set of mentors to distraction. The result was a leap of faith back into ministry, back into my true calling, back right square in front of the big “R” once again, but this time I had a determination to avoid all things religious. Except maybe Christmas.

Hosanna has drawn like-minded people into a big family. We cherish the teaching of the Word. We give ourselves to unbridled worship without the bondage of religious tradition. We celebrate our freedom in  spiritual things. Then at times we, at least some of us, look in the mirror and repent for things that might not be religious or hypocritical, but are surely just as detrimental to our walk with God.

Time has woven the realization that everything religious is not bad or even outdated. The Lord’s Supper and baptism are our heritage. Places of worship serve as reminders of what God has done (and will do).
There is a place at the altar area of our sanctuary that is sacred to me. I experienced a huge personal victory there. Hymns like “When I Survey The Wondrous Cross” and others can bring me tearfully close to the Master, even though my daily worship usually involves worship songs from this present era of music composition (thank God for Baloche and Redman), and Mississippi Mass ranks high on my iPod playlist.

I don’t worry about being religious anymore. Instead, I am grasping, reaching with a passionate heart, sometimes running and often stumbling, to that place of refuge, that secret place of the Most High. Just “being” with Jesus is worship in it’s most intimate sense. Elijah knew that, as did Rahab and John the Baptist. I like to think they were were about as religious as I am. And yet, we are surrounded with a cloud of witnesses like them from pages throughout the Bible.

So I suppose, in fact I deeply believe, that when we gather to worship these days, we are all in pretty good company.

Blessed abundantly,

James

by Pastor Kenny Innes

We know that God is gracious, loving and merciful. We know that God forgives sin. Does that mean that God doesn’t care about our sin, and therefore, neither should we?

There is a false grace movement on the fringes of our faith which says that we can sin all we like because God will forgive us anyway. This “grace” of God “frees” us to indulge our sinful desires, safe in the knowledge that God will forgive us for it all. This is an evil thought.

God hates sin, and wants people to be free from the sinful desires that separate them from Him. Furthermore, God says that He will judge all sin, and the consequence of an unrepentant life is death and eternity in Hell. To those who repent, He offers forgiveness.

The forgiveness that God offers us is not free. It was bought with a price. Jesus, God’s Son, became a man to live the perfect life that we cannot live, to die the death that we deserve to die, and to rise again to offer us new life. God poured out all of the wrath and judgment for our sin onto His own Son. When we believe and trust in Jesus, His righteousness is given to us. Our forgiveness is very costly indeed.

The cross shows us another very clear thing about our sin – we are not able to pay for it ourselves. It takes action on God’s part to remove the stain of the very sin that we commit against Him. All of our good deeds are not enough to satisfy the wrath and judgment of God towards our sinfulness. We need to throw ourselves on His mercy, confess our rebellion and wrongdoing, and surrender ourselves to His forgiving, healing, changing power. Only then can we gain any power over the sin that holds us back.

This is what David recognized in Psalm 51. He couldn’t appeal to his own goodness as a basis for forgiveness. He could only appeal to God’s merciful character upon those who sincerely repent and desire to be changed. So David, distraught by his own sin and unable to see a way to change within himself, cries out to God to rescue him.

Many church members forget that God is the only source of change and forgiveness. Instead, they try to hide their sinfulness under an outward appearance of godliness and good works. This works-based righteousness leads to a life of defeat, guilt, and shame. No matter how hard they work to cover their sin, they still have no power over it.

What God desires is for His Church to conquer their sin by depending on the work of His Son upon the cross to forgive them. Every one in the church will battle the sinful desires of the flesh. Those who hide it from God and from others will struggle in their faith. Those who confess their sins and cling to the cross will have victory after victory over sin as they experience the sanctifying work of God’s grace in their lives.

Trusting in Him alone,

Kenny

by Pastor James Bell

The first church Suzanne and I pastored was about fifty people meeting in a strip center. They were nice people and they were appreciative of our ministry to them, but there was a problem. They didn’t want to grow. “If we wanted to be in a large church, we would join one” they said. So they asked me to not make any plans to invite others or do any kind of outreach to the community. They explained their position very kindly, and I, just as kindly, resigned the next Sunday.

Looking back, I realize that in that church there was a fear of not being loved. People need to know that someone cares. This group had fallen victim to the myth that more people meant less available affirmation and care. In other words, the larger the group, the less people expect for others to care about them. But that’s simply not the case.

One of the most loving small churches I ever experienced was actually a small group within a very large church. I knew that I could count on the people in that group. They cared for each other. In fact, that’s what drew me to that church and that group. I saw, as an outsider, how they really reached out to each other.

The number one reason people join Hosanna is love. We are blessed to have quite a few other things going for us, along with some things that we could improve upon, but love is what opens doors more than anything else. I am convinced that the characteristic of God that is so attractive to non-believers is the love that they feel in his presence. We need that. Everyone of us yearns for that, even though some do not realize it until they experience it.

Now this is where you and I enter the equation. God desires for us to demonstrate his love to those who need it. Who are those folks? They are every person you know. What about haters? What about grouchy, cynical, mean-spirited people? They need love even more than most people! And they probably don’t get much of it.

When people feel loved, they begin to open their hearts to God. They rarely open their minds to change unless love provides a reason. Knowing that you care piques their interest. The door begins to crack open just a bit. Assurance that you are sincere in your feelings about people, about life, and especially about them, will result in doors flung open to the gospel. Jesus demonstrated love to the unloved. As much as we might love him at this point in our lives, it is still a response to what he initiated.

Somewhere there is a man or a woman waiting for you. He is wealthy, but unfulfilled. She is determined, but really struggling. He is penniless, but still hopeful. She has been rejected and abused. He feels angry and misunderstood. She is resentful and doesn’t see any way out.

The Lord simply asks you to be Jesus to one of these people. “How do I do that?’ you ask. “I’m not gifted in this kind of thing. At times, I am barely hanging in there myself.” You just show love when it  is unexpected. You listen and value and care.

Jesus does the rest. His love never fails.

Confidently,

James

by Pastor James Bell

Bob Hamp, one of the ministers at Gateway Church, recounts a story about the time he was a parole officer in a small West Texas town. In his book, Think Differently – Live Differently, Bob tells of a distraught mom as she was nervously asking about the restrictions to be placed on her under-aged son, who was convicted of car theft and using stolen credit cards. The boy had left West Texas and headed to Florida, leaving a trail of stolen credit card usage. She just couldn’t believe her son had done these things, but he was caught red-handed and admitted everything.

Attempting to get a little more information about the situation, Bob asked the boy’s mom, “Why did he go to Florida? Is there family in Florida? Maybe a girlfriend?” The mother replied, “No, we don’t know anyone there.” She paused, and then spoke of her trip from West Texas to Florida to pick her son up after his arrest, offering this explanation:

“Freedom. He went for freedom. The further I traveled, it was as if I was leaving behind every care and every difficulty. The more I drove, the more I considered joining him, because life just seemed easier in front of me than it did behind me.”

I’ve been to Florida a few times myself, so I can easily understand what a wonderful change of scenery the white sands and blue water must have been for this young man. Nothing like the sleepy, dry, dust-blown little town he knew so well. But it wasn’t freedom. At least, not for long. An alert service station cashier phoned the police, and a short time later the boy was gazing at the walls of a jail cell.

Do you ever feel the need to escape? Lots of folks think a new city, a new job, often a new church, and sometimes even a new spouse, will bring freedom into their lives. Then they get to their “Florida” (whatever and wherever that may be) and reality slaps them in the face. Hard. Accountability, along with those “sins that so easily beset us” will follow us wherever we go. After a few glorious hours of feeling free as a soft, gulf coast breeze, that young man paid a price of humiliation and regret. Florida has laws, too. Florida has officers who administer those laws. It wasn’t really freedom, it was just Florida!

If you are looking for an escape route from the life you are living, consider the offer Jesus makes to all of us. He will change you from the inside out and give you joy and peace that the world can only imitate. There are places everywhere that people have gone to find freedom. New York, L.A., and lots more are filled with disappointed freedom seekers. But beautiful, sunny Florida makes a great metaphor for my message to you. Instead of plotting your escape, find out about overcoming instead!

My prayer is that you’ll never find yourself in a faraway place mumbling something that could be metaphorically stated as, “This ain’t freedom. It’s just Florida!”

Peace,

James

by Pastor James Bell

A few days ago I read an article where Christian leaders were predicting the direction of the church during the next decade. There seemed to be a consensus that some radical shifts are beginning to happen and will continue.

For example, Larry Stockstill believes that “results will no longer substitute for character, and gifts will no longer replace anointing”. Jack Hayford predicted the demise of “convenience oriented sermonizing that tickles ears preoccupied with personal fulfillment more than service to God and the church”.

When will we “get it” about church? How you feel about church reflects your actual relationship with God. Someone recently told me, “I loved the spontaneity of the services where my family and I attended previously, but I would have never invited my extended family or friends to come.” When I asked why, my friend said that the services were just too “out there” and would be hard to explain or difficult for non-believers to understand. I could relate.

Others have said they seldom, if ever, felt the presence of God in the churches they attended while growing up. They endured a formal church service, with teaching from the word of God, but no sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Been there, too.

While far from being a paragon of all things ecclesiastical, we welcome the Holy Spirit’s involvement in every service. He is invited to interrupt our agenda anytime, or lead us in a different direction while we are planning a service. We are also committed to spiritual and scriptural order, and will protect our congregation from false words and self-glorifying displays of emotion.

On Sunday mornings we are sensitive to the fact that non-believers often come with their Christian friends. We want them to feel comfortable and included in our worship. On Sunday nights the services are less structured and often result in a strong, prophetic move of the Holy Spirit. There is also more time for personal ministry.

Some Christians, in countries suffering religious persecution, meet several times each week. Some underground churches in North Korea, Vietnam and China, meet every night. Some new Christians at Hosanna wish we had more services, and try to find small groups to attend in addition to Sunday mornings and evenings. What these believers have in common is that they “get it” about the heart of the Lord for his church. They have fallen in love with Jesus.

A backsliding Christian will begin to see church as an inconvenience. Idols are not seen as idols, but rather entitlements, deserved and needed as they attempt to replace the Holy Spirit with “stuff” that brings momentary pleasure.

How do people “get it” about church? Usually it happens something like this:

They reconnect with Jesus through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
They realize and consider the importance of knowing Jesus.
They consider that, at the end of this life, only what we have done for God will have value to us.

They change their schedules to include church as a top priority.

When you develop a passion for God, everything else will come into focus and have meaning for you. And you’ll probably start to wonder why some people don’t “get it” about church.

Believing for the best for you,

James

by Pastor James Bell

Matthew, Mark and Luke all shared the phenomenal story of a demon-possessed man who lived among the tombs near the city of Gadara. No one could control this man. That is, until Jesus arrived on the scene. The spirits within the man cringed at the sight of Jesus and at his command they left the man free and sound of mind.

Among the graveyards of mainline Christianity toward the end of the last century, there emerged, not a maniac, but rather a charismaniac of sorts. It was known for it’s displays of power, it’s struggling against chains of restraint, and it’s habit of tearing itself (dividing) when frustrated in it’s purpose.

What is a charismaniac? I would call it “charisma-gone-bad”. It’s the perversion of something God-breathed. Charisma means “giftedness”, which is a blessed and good thing. But when gifts are not administered with scriptural authority and spiritual order, the word “mania” gets added to the equation.

So in the midst of a spiritual graveyard, charismania erupted. The roar of overzealous, out of order giftedness became unsettling and disturbing to many people who didn’t “get it” about the latest strain of hyped up, pseudo-prophetic power trips. From Baker to Bentley, from Hinn to Haggard, the idolatrous images of one-man shows crumbled to the ground. The faithful who followed now found themselves wandering through a graveyard, bound by the past, repeating words of proclamation that now seemed to fall powerless to the ground. Would this signal the end of an era?

Not at all. You see, there is no such thing as a counterfeit three dollar bill. There was once a spiritual reality and a scriptural authenticity in spiritual giftedness. That never died. It was just that ignorance screamed more loudly and was better financed than reason. But truth always triumphs in the end. We are at the end of charismania, but only growing stronger in genuine spiritual giftedness.

Okay, how does that play out in church services? Well, there is a list of things we probably will see a lot less of, and that list includes rhetorical, self-serving prophesies that are too vague to evaluate or are clearly and spectacularly wrong. The church has had it’s fill of both. Many of you could add to that list, but let’s not. Let’s talk instead about what we will see more of, or what’s being anticipated in the Spirit by many believers today.

The key phrase is “multiplicity of ministry”. We are finally excited about becoming Ephesians 4 churches. Spiritual gifts manifest in a way that glorifies God, not the gifted ones. Equipping happens on Sunday nights as we share spiritual insights with the passionate core of the church. Words are shared in our three Sunday daytime services as fresh, anointed direction from the Father, without appearing to be the second coming of Moses or Elijah. Healings happen during worship, even without the old healing- evangelist-type of prayer lines. We have exchanged production for presence. Sinners and saints alike now get the message that Jesus is Lord!

When the leaders and townspeople of Gadara visited the graveyard to see what happened, they found the “maniac” dressed nicely, smiling and sitting with Jesus. He now had the charisma, but that maniac phase was over.

Feeling the need for spiritual giftedness? Welcome to the new definition of “gifted”! The power has been there for a long time. It’s just that we’re learning how to glorify God in it’s use.

So more power to you! Use those gifts God has given you….for His glory!

by Pastor James Bell

It’s that time of year when everything is changing. New life is springing up everywhere! How about you? Can you spare some change?

“Moses, you have had an exciting life. Hidden as an infant, raised by the Pharaoh, exiled to another country, and now raising sheep. Ever think of writing a book?”

“Hey, I’m only eighty. I sense a major change coming in my life. In fact, I heard God speak from a flaming bush in the desert yesterday. The book might have to wait.”

Five books, in fact. We call them the Pentateuch. Starting at age eighty, Moses radically changed his lifestyle by following God’s leading. Feeling absolutely unqualified, he led God’s people from slavery to freedom.

There is never a convenient season for change. It often comes as an uninvited guest, forcing us out of our comfort zones. Preferably, It comes as the result of an intentional act, rooted in a passion for things to be different. But, one way or another, change will come. It will leave you breathless and full of faith, or it will see you disappointed, and clinging to the safety of a compromised life.

“Saul, you have always been an over-achiever. Gamaliel found you to be a brilliant student. The Pharisees recognize you as a scholar. Will you gather young men around you and share your wealth of knowledge?”

“My life is a pile of crap. That is, compared to what I have just discovered. I am completely changing my perspective on the scripture. I am being filled with the Spirit. I am set on disappearing as Saul, and letting Jesus be huge in my life. Might even change my name…”

The world would never be the same. Some said of this Saul of Tarsus, who changed to become the Apostle Paul, that he and his associates “turned the world upside down!”

It is both exciting and frustrating to know that we have people like Moses, Paul, Ruth, Gideon, Esther, and Peter sitting in our congregation. We see insecurity, pride, fear, misguided ambition, and low expectations. God sees powerful ministry impacting lives. The difference is change.

Good change is a result of revelation. It comes to us when we “get it” about life. Our role in personal change is simply to come to Jesus with a wide-open heart. He takes over from there. Positive change always begins at the cross. We leave everything. Then we receive God’s best.

There are leaders in men’s ministry, intercessory prayer warriors, teachers of children, missionaries and pastors in our midst. Gifted musicians and singers are all around us. Gifts of prophecy, healing and discerning of spirits are waiting to be unwrapped and used. Gender and generational bias is giving way to the will of God, as religiosity is exposed and dealt with. Spiritual sensitivity is fueling a change. Do you feel it coming?

Hearts are hungry for truth. Lives are in a state of confusion. The world is waiting for some answers, looking frantically, one last time, at the church.

Can you spare some change?

by Pastor James Bell

Authentic Christianity is, more than anything else, a reflection of Jesus. This Easter we we were caught up in joyful, exuberant worship. The welcoming of many visitors and the fellowship of our church family was highlighted by a new peak in attendance. We had 701 in our combined (9:00, 10:45 and 2:00) services! I am so thankful for two people who came. It doesn’t matter which two. 701 just sounds better than 699, doesn’t it? What a great weekend it was!

I think many of those who attended Friday evening were surprised at what a powerful move of God we experienced. The videos, the communion service, and the connection of the worship songs to relevant truths about the cross were all a part of a strong presence of the Holy Spirit.

Saturday brought us face to face with more visitors than you might have imagined. So many thank you letters were sent out to families who were experiencing Hosanna for the first time. Many of those families returned to one of our services on Sunday.

“Exuberant” would be one word to describe Sunday’s worship. It seemed like waves of the Holy Spirit were moving across the congregation. Expressions of joyous praise echoed heavenward as everyone was blessed and refreshed.

On behalf of the Elders, Deacons, and staff, I want to say thanks to you. Thanks for coming, thanks for helping, and thanks for bringing your friends to church with you. It was one of the most memorable weekends we have ever had. Glorious worship on Friday night, wide-eyed kids finding multi-colored eggs and having a blast on Saturday morning, and then wonderful Easter services on Sunday.

Oh, and there is one more thing I want to share with you. Why not keep this going? As we begin our new series “The Church and the Kingdom of God”, let’s bring the same anticipation and enthusiasm to every service! The tomb is still empty, Jesus is still alive! All we have to do is bring the same heart for worship. The same Lord will show up with the same power in our services. Are you ready for a continual outpouring of the Spirit? Me too!

He is risen indeed,

Pastor James