JM 20220203 - did not say much, did pray with dave ed and scott which was nice.
Disagreed with so many things. ... All things work together for good is trite. but if that's the only thing you can hang on to then it's very good. A maturity that's beyond comprehension., Need to work at relationships - but upwards relationship with God more important?, Claude asked help of a pastor, pastor rejected PJ said that's really bad. almost condemning but do not hear the other side. Methinks that Claude was being a pain and the pastor had other things to do.
JM 20220210 - said a bunch of things - hopefully helped but can't help wonder if it's going in one ear and out the other.
Ed shared, Paul shared, Scott shared. Jeremy talked too much about himself. I'm thinking of the maturity level of the men. (What about me!!!) Sorry Lord, maybe too holier than thou!
I also wonder about the climate/culture of the group. Almost having problems is a badge of courage.
Men are willing to share their downtrodden life but to what purpose? Is it a release for them. I don't see any benefit to us who listen. Even Pastor John seem to bring up the muck and mire that we are in. But they are stuck there, and I think they have been stuck there for a long time. LORD help me to pray for these men, that they see growth and maturity in You and Through You.
JM 20220303 - Fatherhood - Claude and Paul told about their experiences in their school, how the kids are just out of control. Disrespectful. Thought about how the church has fallen down in their responsibility in teaching the next generation. Is it the church's fault?
Efrain shared about his time in the ministry. About being criticized.
I shared this time and Pastor John thanked me for sharing.
JM 20220310 - Integrity - good talk table of what's consequence of good integrity and consequence of bad integrity. Paul wanted prayer for his baby. I guess it's ok.
JM 20200317 - Tongue - Efrain brought some tongue tacos.
PJ shared a chart that had Compassion and Honesty where honesty goes from seen to the unseen to Jesus doing the Fathers will. He said that the Honesty/Truth side is doctrine and is not as important as the other side - Compassion. I told him that for me doctrine has made me so close to God and my love for him has grown exponentially along with love for the Son.
Hmm don't know. again preaching to the choir. Maybe put PJ on the defensive.
Also instead of being angry or indifferent to the men, maybe feel sorry for them. Maybe pray more for them, pray more for my interaction. Help Lord to convey my Love for you. I'm sure they love you the same. Who am I to think that I'm so much better than them? Just hope they have the same zeal and want-to to learn about God.
JM 20200324 - Perseverance (on call)
JM 20200331 - Church / Giving - Talked more than any time else. Got a bunch off of my chest.
PJ said that the most important thing is relationship in the church. I said I don't agree. I said that teaching the Gospel and solid Biblical doctrine is key. If your relationship vertically is sound, then the horizontal relationships will take care of themselves. Also said RC's quote about teaching at an 8th grade level. I said that I understand that the teaching has to cater to both new Christians and mature Christians. But we as Christians have to learn more about God apart from sermons.
JM 20220407 -
Hmm interesting meeting. PJ was gone so Jeremy was leading. Talked a lot.
Challenged men to be men of conviction. I asked them if I were to ask their wives where there was no repercussions and the husband will not know. what would they say about him. I told them that I told PJ to ask my wife or ask my kids how I am. If they ask do I love Jesus, they would say Yes. If they ask am a good husband or father, they may hesitate. Then we we talked about sin. A lot of guys were focusing on their sin and lamenting over it. I said that Yes, we sin it's a part of our nature from original sin from Adam. But I said don't forget who we are, don't forget about the Gospel. That Christ died for our sins once and for all, Our past, present and future sins have been absolved. Then they started asking questions about my faith. How do you get faith. I told them that it comes with maturity. You have to live a life long enough to go through numerous trials to exercise your faith, With each victory you faith get stronger. I started feeling uncomfortable. Who am I to answer these questions? Hopefully the Holy Spirit spoke through me...
Patrick texted: Thank you for a wonderful group last night. The spirit was certainly stirring!: Erick texted: It was really good!! Amazed by what the Lord did last night.
JM 20220415 -
Only 6 men showed up. Good meeting. Shared about equally yoked with wife. Told them about moving our ego out of our way to have a more loving relationship with your wife. Also witnessing, They all laughed when I told them "You know I'm a Calvinist", but I told them that we are elect and God has appointed persons to be saved. So we can do what we can but God will not be thwarted, I don't do it, someone else will. Patrick shared at the end of the meeting that he really appreciated what I shared last week. Nice. Always pointing to Jesus > God.
JM 20220505 - Just a few men Dave, Paul, Claude, Me, Efrain. Jeremy led. Topic was Discipline in Ministry and Discipline in Discipline. We talked about Ministry most of the time, Paul and Claude spoke about their struggles. Claude did say some things that surprised me. He knows more about theology than he lets on. Prayed for the men who weren't there. Scott was missing, PJ was not there (Covid). It looks like Chris bailed out
JM 202205/13 - Only 7 men (PJ, Dave, Scott, Paul, Efrain, Jeremy, me). Great ribs from Lucille. They had beef ribs. We had a round robin exhorting and praising fellow JM. Dave - great hospitality servant always willing to help. Scott - how much he has grown spirtually from initial study with him and Suzanne to now. Paul - how he willing to share every week, his problems and issues and how he seems to rise above them. Efrain - how he struggles with ministry, told him to persevere because there are not enough good pastors out there. Jeremy - told him he was a capable leader when PJ was gone. How he led but let us talk the previous weeks at Dave's house with Patrick and Paul asking questions. Me - the praised me for not letting things go and make sure everything was correct. Dave called me a berean. PJ said that he valued me speaking in the group. Paul said that when I got emotional talking about God he knows that I really love Him. Efrain said don't remember. Jeremy said that was kind of hesitant until I started to speak about God. PJ - I told him how we was a man of character. The last JM yeeay!!
Hi Men, don't text often but just a word... tomorrow is Easter Sunday, the day in which our faith hinges on. I know that i probably sound like a broken record but remember who you are in Christ. Forgiven from our sins past, present, future so we can stand blameless before a Holy God. How can we not live for Christ or fall on our face in adoration? Now we look to an empty tomb, redeemed and justified and well on our way to sanctification. Hallelujah!
What do I think about Joshua's men?
Don't ask:)
I wouldn't do it again, even if it was free.
There wasn't in-depth study of the chapters. We didn't do a deep dive into the reading. Just asked questions based on reading and relating to the men's experiences.
It seemed that there was one thing that prohibited the men from a true deep relationship with Christ. Men were being patronized and babied. There was no kick in the pants.
The retreat should have been at the end where guys new each other and less posturing and more friendship.
Jeremy still needs maturity in leading a group. Talked too much about himself and his experiences. He didn't facilitate as well as he could have.
My time would have been better spent studying on my own or hanging out with Donna.
Talked more about individual problems than giving glory to God.
Didn't know my place in this group? Kinda like a fish out of water.
20220507 - St5raight Ahead - Partnered with Kathleen. Met the guys for the first time. I was surprised that they talked a lot. Didn't have to draw words out of them. Some had great insight. Initial prayer was the Lord's Prayer. Kathleen said that I need to lead next time.
20230316 - Straight Ahead - did the 3 day Ready for Life with Scott Larson and Jason ? Wrestling with God. Having thoughts of what I am doing and what I want to do... wanting to tell the kids more about the Gospel and to talk more about being righteous. The Holy Spirit won't leave me alone... I can't sleep. Why is God doing this to me? Regurgitating the Gospel. Almost like trying to convince myself of God's magnificence. LEAVE ME ALONE, (not really), let me sleep.
Kathleen answered that it wasn't a good idea to do any of the above.
She wanted to go by the book.
I was upset but did not reply.
Dave sent out the study for Saturday (Money)
Went with Scott. Modified my plan. Substituted Muslim with the Money study from the book.
Scott led the "After getting out" activity.
Had a meeting with Kathleen and Dave after meeting and voiced my concerns
She said that the book had to be followed. I said I follow the book but I need
to enhance or modify the book. We will pray about it. God knows what is in my heart.
We started attending this church after a long time away from Summit Ridge. Researching the doctrines of the church, the followed the Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort. Sounds good.
The pastor, Pastor Ralph Mack was a tall black man with a commanding voice.
The preaching was refreshing, no opinions, just the Word of God.
But he mentioned that they were reformed but not very conservative, just middle of the road reformed. He also mentioned that they had a woman elder. (The other elder was a man, Denny).
I knew in scripture (1 Timothy and Titus) that an elder/pastor/overseer is a man. But I was satisfied with the rest of the church where the congregation was really friendly and down to earth. Donna was also enjoying the church. Another important aspect was that they had communion once a month.
We had been going and tithing faithfully for several weeks. Until the first week of August where we were invited to take membership classes. At this point we were sent packets of homework to be filled out and then talk about in class.
I read the commitment page where we affirm all the doctrines and bylaws of Grace Valley. This gave me great pause, knowing that scripture does not support women elders. I could not in good conscience commit to this church that goes against scripture. They also use the Apostles Creed for their communion liturgy, and I don’t agree with the phrase hat Jesus descended into Hell (but this is a minor point).
So on August 11, before the 2nd membership class, I talked to Pastor Mack and voiced my concern. He was disappointed but he knew that I could not go against my conscience. Also, in the CRCNA Church Order, there was an addendum that said that each congregation can or cannot have women as elders or pastors. This also gave me great pause. Donna and I will continue our study of Mark with Kim Riddlebarger and pray that God lead’s us into a future church.
No comments:
Post a Comment