In our HPE world, we know a thing or two about underdogs. From the moment we first heard the word “holoprosencephaly”, we received a front-row seat in the drama of underdogs. Who hasn’t heard the phrase “incompatible with life”, yet looks around our HPE community world and sees the smiling faces of 20 and 30-year olds living with HPE? In a world where expectations are low and words such as “can’t” and “won’t” are too frequent, it is refreshing to see an underdog excel and be recognized as the hero we know them to be.
For the past six years, race car driver Josh Timmerman has been a champion for the underdogs, using his race car to raise awareness for our special kids with HPE. By his own admission, Josh is an underdog; he isn’t the best driver on the track with the fastest race car, but he has the…
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Should it Hurt to Give Money to God?
PromiseLand’s Online Giving Website
Giving money to God often hurts.
We make a conscious decision to take money that we would normally spend on something else, invest, or save and give it to our local church. It can sound like a great decision on Sunday morning when the preacher lays out the scripture and vision of the local ministry. However, the truth is that later in the week or month, you will FEEL THE BURN.
When you look at your bank account online and see that there is a significant amount of money “missing”, your mind begins to struggle. This is normal. We often feel the weight of any investment. Any sacrifice whether it is physically working out, ‘doing the right thing’ with a relationship, or exerting time to study for a test will at some point be really tough to walk through. A pressure point. Tension. Questions…should I have really done that?
I’m not talking about giving God a tip. When we give God a minimal amount that is not a sacrifice or significant to our overall income, it does not take faith. In fact, you need minimal motivation (and no scripture) to make this type of contribution. We can put a litte in the offering and in the back of our minds, think “if this doesn’t work or if they don’t spend it correctly, then it doesn’t really matter. There is no real loss to me.”
Because of the Old Testament standard, we often use 10% as a guide today. Giving the first 10% of our income to God immediately gives us a different viewpoint of God and our money. All of the sudden we are relying on God. We are believing that when we start ‘feeling the burn’ of missing finances, that His grace is sufficient. He will carry us with our remaining 90% better than we could have handled 100% by ourselves. Not only will God deal with us individually (in a positive way) because of our personal commitment to him through sacrifice, but our local church will have financial resources to reach others.
+Robin
Sermon Notes: The LifeBoat!
Here are the notes I used for Sunday, Sept. 16th, 2012.
Genesis 6: 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth…
17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
3000 years later, Jesus was speaking to his disciples and said this about the last days of the earth:
Matthew 24: 36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Several weeks later, Peter’s words in the first sermon echoed the same message as Genesis 6 to Noah.
Acts: 2:40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
1 Peter 3: 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
2 Corinthians 6: 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
We live in a perverse generation. God is currently beckoning us out of this ‘world’ and into the kingdom. When we place our faith in the gospel: life/death/burial/ resurrection of Jesus Christ, then He saves us from this God forsaken world. Baptism ushers us into this ‘lifeboat’ with a new conscious.
Get in the boat that God has provided! Church services, baptism, PromiseGroup, volunteering to serve, mentoring/pastoring.
Immediately, our journey begins to the kingdom. We are in the world, but not of the world. Think of salvation today, not just something that begins after you die, but that you are entering your salvation now. Save yourself from this crooked generation. Be saved from this perverse world. Step out of this mindset, this rat-race,
Tony Morgan Coaching
Here is a blog from my new friend…Jason Vernon. What a great experience we had.
An Inside Look at Tony Morgan’s Coaching Network
Once a month, for the past 6 months, I have enjoyed learning from some great pastors. The coaching network was outstanding! As advertised, we prayed together, read books together, learned leadership principles and had many great times of connection. I have to say that I learned something from everyone in our group. Here are a few of my takeaways:
#1 Robin taught me how to be a humble leader. Robin started a church that has grown to nearly 1,000 people. His church just built a beautiful worship center and his ministry is growing at a rapid pace. Despite these great accomplishments, Robin always acted interested in what we were doing at RTPCC. He looked at our website and constantly gave me advice and encouragement.
#2 TJ taught me how to lead with insane passion and determination. He was up at 3AM this past Sunday getting ready for his service. The guy is full throttle all the time. He honestly reminds me of my wife when she drinks sweet tea. I wish I had half of his energy and passion.
#3 Doug Vernon (yes we have decided that we are cousins) taught me the importance of slowing down and enjoying life. Doug is so wise and he always seems to know the right thing to say.
#4 Danny taught me the importance of always staying hungry for more insight and knowledge. He recorded nearly every discussion and I watched him constantly taking notes.
#5 Chris taught me the importance of contemplation. The guy thinks about God all the time. We will be right in the middle of a strategy discussion and he will suddenly come up with an awesome thought that he had about Jesus. Watching him encouraged me to grow deeper in Christ.
#6 Scott taught me how to be a kind pastor (at least i’m trying to learn how). He always made time to listen. You can see the compassion of Christ in his life.
#7 Tony P. taught me the importance of vision. I am amazed by everything that is happening in his local church.
#8 Thomas reminded me of the importance of prayer. I can tell, this man prays ALL THE TIME. He seems to have a close connection with God. I really see the love of Christ in His life.
#9 Emily Morgan and Tony’s kids. In addition to leadership training, I was able to get a close up view of a great family. This family does not just slap up instagram pictures of their kids. You can watch the love of Christ in all that they do. Emily was an OUTSTANDING host. She even took time out of her busy schedule to talk to my wife (Casey). I am encouraged every time I am around these guys.
#10 Tony Morgan. What a great job of coaching! My biggest takeaway from the experience was learning about mission, vision and core values. I felt “stuck” in these areas but now I feel like I can lead with clarity and focus.
I would like to thank RTPCC for making it possible for me to attend the coaching network. I hope it has made me a better pastor. I highly recommend the experience to any pastor or Christian leader.
Blogging Update
Hello Peeps,
I have over 600 posts on this blog and it is a great place for me to post on my life and church stuff. However, since February 2012, my wife and I have launched a ministry specifically dealing with our life with Kennady (our daughter born with severe special needs). Ever since that time, I have blogged very little here on pastorrobin.com.
I will always keep this site going and will post from time to time. The most recent stuff on this blog is in the “Leader’s Resources” tab above. I have been posting leadership and general church stuff in that area for your reference. I intend to post more videos and resources from what we are doing at PromiseLand. Hopefully, you will get some benefit and be able to apply some of it to your scenario. I am very interested in helping other pastors and leaders. If you are in need of general or specific help in your ministry or church, please comment below and we can connect.
Most of the daily or current blogging centered around my life and personal experience will now happen at
www.mademeaningful.com. We would love for you to join the conversation over there.
Robin Steele 