I’ve not blogged in a while…please forgive. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to, it’s just that my blogger has been a little off. JK.
So I’m doing some prep work for a new series at Midway Church and I ran across this video. VERY cool. It’s a great process of thoughts dealing with happiness. I want to share it with you guys. Well worth the 6 min to watch.
It’s Labor Day, I know. I haven’t blogged in a long time, so what better day to jump back into the swing?
The next two months at Midway Church, we’re reading thru the book of Acts as a part of the Midway Journal. It’s just a unified reading plan that we encourage all the members of Midway to experience each day. So, the first two chapters of Acts are quite interesting. Well, I suppose thats an understatement; I should say they’re world changing.
When you look down through time at the ripple effect of that day, as far as our ability to minister to each other is concerned, if staggering. Set aside some of the controversy for a moment and let’s look at what happened and to whom it happened.
1. A word from Jesus himself was fulfilled. He promised a comforter, an infilling of God’s Spirit. It happened on the Day of Pentecost, it was witnessed by many and was the stone thrown upon the still waters of the early church. It’s effects are eternal and still cause life change today. I’ll share my thought on this later.
2. Who was there? There isn’t a complete list of names given, but from all we know it was a group of those who followed Jesus and the disciples through at least part of Jesus’ life. It was those who had decided to become a follower of Jesus, and it was those who were seeking a greater understanding of what His life meant. It was also for those who were waiting on the comforter.
What does it all mean? I don’t even begin to be able to answer that question or questions is raises. But, here’s something that I’ve been thinking about in the last few days;
What if the power of the Holy Spirit was given for many purposes…not the least of which is to raise the dead?
Can a dead person be brought back to life physically? Absolutely. There are literally thousands of accounts of those who’ve been “on the other side” of death and been brought back to give an account. (A book that is very popular right now is called “Heaven Is Real” and is an account of a child who endured a traumatic event that caused him to pass and then back again to life. The book is written from experiences that the little boy conveyed to his parents in the months and years after this experience.) I recall as a young man meeting one who’d fallen from a building and died, only to come back and give a very detailed account of the afterlife; Heaven, hell and even people that he was allowed to meet. Now, it doesn’t really matter what we think about these accounts or even if ALL the accounts are legitimate or accurate; the question here is does the Holy Spirit give power to bring life again? YES!
You see I believe that God has called and equipped us to raise the dead; the spiritually dead! Ok, put down your stones. Hear what I’m saying, and set aside for just a moment your opinions on Calvinistic doctrines and their implications to this idea. Believe me when I say, I’m a 4 point Calvinist (if such a thing exists…lol) so I am familiar with those ideas. What I’m saying is that as believers that follow and hunger after Christ and His truth, the scripture clearly tells us that His power dwells on the inside of us. For what!? Just to make us feel better? No, it’s to love those around us to life. I don’t think there is a place we can go in this world where God and His Power can reach us and His love doesn’t lead us. Consider the scriptures…
Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I can’t think of a more comforting scripture! In context of bringing life, consider a passage earlier on in that passage of Romans 8…
Romans 8:6
6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
If we have ANY power what so ever, we’ve got the power to lead people to a Spirit led life. We have the power of the Holy Spirit that guides and directs those who are aligned and on-line with what He wants in our lives and in the lives of others.
We have, through the Holy Spirit, the power to raise the dead. Don’t get lost in controversy. Don’t get overwhelmed with guilt or confidence. Run from ideas that lead you to thinking it’s any more than God’s mercy and grace alive in you!
Prayer: Lord let me be a life giver! As Romans 8:6 declares, remind me to life by the Spirit that lives on the inside of me. Remind me of who I am because of Christ. Remind me that I am filled with You when AND because I seek You. You’re my source and strength! For God You are good and Your mercy endures forever. Amen!
Sermon Title: “They Still Speak”
Song Selections:
“Send The Light” – an original arrangement of the old hymn. I was amazed at the response. It’s a old baptist stand by that when updated has been a song that is well responded to.
“You Never Let Go” – A Matt Redman staple song. Again a song that I placed in this slot because it’s a song that people love to respond to.
“Nothing But The Blood” – Charlie Hall’s version of Matt Redman’s arrangement and new take on an ancient hymn.
“The Same Love” – a new song from Paul Baloche, from his album of the same title. A relatively new song to our congregation but still well received and a good response.
Our Response song: “How Marvelous” – Chris Tomlin’s arrangement.
The day was around the concept that heritage and sacrifice shape who we are today. As the Sunday before Memorial day we remember the ultimate sacrifice of those who gave their lives for freedom. We also recognize the one who made the ultimate sacrifice for all humanity.
Pictures from the day.
This time of year, it’s the sounds of hundreds of birds in the morning. We have these two big Bradford Pear trees on either side of our back yard, and it seems that birds especially like to build nests in those trees because of the way the branches form natural “V’s” and the fact that there’s a source of water found beneath them. So our back yard is especially noisy in the mornings and afternoons.
Today I just listened.
A few months ago I stumbled across a video of this 29 yr old mother of two who’d had the cochlear implant that allowed her to hear for the very first time. It’s the kind of captured moment that will change your life. If you have a pulse, you’ll be moved by that moment. You may have seen this before, but it’s worth another watch. This particular video has an interview with Ellen Degeneres that has some of her back story and experiences that I found particularly revealing. I’m not a big Ellen fan, but this video was amazing. The things she says about hearing sounds that at times annoy us made me think about the things we take for granted. It’s a good thing to go grab a tissue before you watch this.
Most of us are such music snobs. It’s not just what we hear, but what we appreciate that makes us pay attention. I’ll admit it’s hard to appreciate Lydia crying at 3am. I don’t appreciate an out of tune instrument. It’s difficult to find the humor each sunday while a locomotive passed just outside the doors of our church (when you experience it for the first time you’re either comically amused or horrified; either emotion is pretty legit). But, thank God for the ability to hear! Thank You Lord for the ability to love you with music and remind me today of how wonderful you are!
So one of my favorite worship leaders and in my humble opinion the absolute best example of a faithfulness in a servant is releasing a new recording later this month titled, The Same Love on Integrity Records. Not only is he an amazing song writer, but there’s another story there that speaks to me so deeply it’s changed many ways I see my role in the church as a worship leader and artist.
Paul is not a Texas native, although like me I think he just got here as quick as he could. He serves as the Worship Pastor of Community Christian Fellowship in Lindale, TX. And, he’s been there for almost 20 years. There is nothing about the man that impresses me more than that.
Let’s put that in perspective. (Keep in mind that this is my commentary on that and not in any way from Paul himself) I’ve been in full time ministry for 22 years and have served at 7 churches. My longest stay was almost 8 years in Houston, shortest being 1 year in Oklahoma City (which was oddly enough my first venture away from home as a young worship leader – everyone has at least that one moment of DUH in decision making). Average tenure for me is about 3.4 years. My average is far above the national average of 2 years, but Paul’s been planted at CCF for over 20. This is also a guy who if he wanted to could lead worship anywhere his heart desired. For this and many other reasons, I think the man has some things to say about faithfulness, humility, relationship and love for the local church. Every time I hear the man speak, he just oozes local church. His songs speak the language of the local church and believers of all maturity levels can grasp and respond to God through his melodies and lyrics.
The Same Love
When you listen to his first single from the project, The Same Love, you see the heart of Paul to draw us all into fellowship with Christ, and evoke response to a loving creator. Thats what it’s all about isn’t it? I’m just like every 
other worship leader in the world; I’m sometimes foolishly fooled by a visual response to the songs we sing and the moment we shape. Wisdom of years teaches us that there is more to a response than what we do with our hands; it’s the position of our heart. The single goal of every worship leading experience for me is that we all respond to the message of the Cross by drawing near God corporately. I think Paul puts that idea into each song he writes. The bridge of “The Same Love” simply says “You’re calling….You’re calling, You’re calling us to the cross…” So beautiful, so simple and yet so inviting.
You can check out “The Same Love” video here…
Thanks Paul, for the great example of faithfulness and artistry that God pours out of you.
Scott
It’s not often I see a link on Twitter and just randomly follow it. But at the C3 Conference this year I decided to follow a guy named Steve Furtick. He’s the pastor of Elevation Church, and he posted this video on his blog this morning. It moved me to my core. I want to share it with you.
Fasha’s Story from Elevation Church on Vimeo.
I’m re-aquainted with the FACT that there are millions and millions of hurting and dying people on this planet, in our country, our states, our cities and even our churches. NEVER doubt the power of the invitation. You don’t have to use a fancy piece of paper; all you have to do is invite someone to come face to face with Jesus. Just a reminder today.
I’m a firm believer that God will not give you to bear that which you are not capable of bearing. That being said, my wife and I have often said that God must have inflated confidence in us. I say that tongue-in-cheek because God is never wrong.
I was raised a preacher’s kid. It was expected that I would by default be in the ministry myself. I never really resisted, but I felt the weight of knowing that I needed to build my life and family around a wife that was just as passionate about ministry as I was. God’s greatest blessing in my life along with my children, is the woman He gave me. She is what I call my attractive opposite. 
In almost every way she’s my balance. I’m the emotional high energy one. She’s the steady never-too-high and never-too-low rock and anchor I am tethered to. I’m always in a hurry, always moving quick. She slow and steady…but she’d agree with me that she wouldn’t win many races. I don’t care. She’s the balance for me, and I am for her.
Here are three big lessons WE have learned together about being a ministry family.
1. My wife carries the burden of ministry with me. It’s important that I remember that, and that those that I’m close to in life and in ministry are aware of that. I give my life for what I do and those I serve, and she gives me to that task every day, without fail, faithfully and willingly. She has to love and be steadfast in what God has called me to do in a way that so many others have no concept. We have a large family, but she gives up the expectation and many times she never asks for the help she needs and stands tall in the shadows. Do not underestimate or take advantage of that rock. Remember, behind every man of God is a woman rolling her eyes at him.
2. A thriving ministry does not a happy marriage make! I almost lost my marriage 8 years ago because I foolishly believed that building a ministry and a church would ultimately lead to a better life for our family. I worked way too much, she worked too hard. It was such a dark time and all I wanted was a better life. It’s a trap, and it’s so easily 
sprung on us. The creative side of us is such a sucker for the bliss found in the “what could be”. Not that that is unimportant; on the contrary it’s what makes life worth living. My mistake was living in what could be, and neglecting what was. I hated coming home to a house that was chaotic and messy (at the time we had 4 children, two under the age of 4 all under the age of 10 and it was overwhelming to my wife). She hated me coming home and being stressful over petty things that just needed my energy and effort rather than a critical eye. We moved further and further apart. Thank God for a friend and pastor who patiently walked us thru, helped us mature and basically got my head back on straight. I’m called to be a husband and father first; not a minister. As worship leaders we’re gifted people. Thats how God made us. We must remember to never allow our gifting to take precedence over our calling.
3. I really like my wife. Seriously. I mean, if you asked me who I would like to spend time with more than anyone else on earth, it would be her. I guess this isn’t a “lesson” so to speak, but for anyone who’s planning on being married at all, my advise is to marry someone you really like! I love my children love the time spent being with them. But SHE is my best friend. Nothing would make me happier than to be with her. We laugh together a lot and I know that is a key to a healthy marriage. It’s a good thing she likes me, because I can be a real pain in the back side some times. Actually…a lot. But this woman has the patience of Job and the heart of a saint. ”Love” and “like” are two different things and I think to have a successful marriage, ministry or not, you have just got to have both. The real key of getting along is being able to be honest about frustration and perception, and we know that our perception is our reality. It’s good to be able to keep it real with a person you both love and like very much, and this has been a key to our marriage.
There isn’t a perfect marriage. There are usually lots of flaws that we all have to deal with in each other. That is certain; but what I like best about a great marriage is grace. A gracious person is hard to offend and easy to reconcile with. May God continue to grant us the honor of serving Him together and with long life to love our children to love Him. Thats our true calling and it goes beyond our gifting.
The best comedy happens, when something is just so funny that it’d be way too hard to have made it up. This ACTUALLY happened last Saturday night.
A week ago Wednesday I had knee surgery; Complete ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) reconstruction; I do not recommend hurting yourself in that manor, but if it happens to you we can talk. I know how it feels to tear an ACL, I know how dumb you feel as you’re falling to the ground after you’ve torn your ACL, and I can tell you what NOT to do after you tear your ACL. Now, I can tell you all about the surgery to repair an ACL, I can tell you about the meds you’ll be prescribed and how many NOT to take, I can talk to you about how much the surgery costs ($41,000 and thats just the hospital charges) for the 45 min procedure. Thats like almost $1000 a minute. Wild isn’t it.
The recovery process has so far been better than I expected and a little less painful. The only down side is that my Doctor instructed me not to walk or put weight on my right leg for 3 weeks. So, I’m on crutches for that time. They don’t send crutches instructions with you on the way home from the Hospital. You gotta figure that one out on your own…and those of you who’ve had be be tied to crutches know what I mean when I say, it’s harder than it looks. Also, with 47 kids we have, our house is filled with “land mines” all over the place making maneuvering in this state even harder. So if you’re keeping score here, I’m recovering from surgery, on some decent pain meds, AND I’m getting around on crutches in a mine field. Keep that picture in your head.
Heather, my awesome beautiful wife of almost 19 years, is pregnant with our 7th baby. We’re not Mormon or Catholic. It’s just the way things went down in the Harrison household and we’re good with it…just expect a certain amount of controlled chaos when you come to my house. And NO I don’t need a lesson in HOW to avoid more children! She’s due in January, so the math says she’s almost in her 7th month. She’s a trooper. She’s the toughest, most considerate, most patient woman I know. But…she’s not intimidating, quick of foot or in any way tactically talented. She would have never made a good cop, her biggest weapon is the wide-eyed lecture. THAT is powerful.
So, it’s Saturday a week ago. I’m 3 days post-op in my recovery, trying to sleep with my extremely swollen knee in an elevated position. It’s 3am when we hear a gigantic noise, sounding like someone was trying to force their way into a back door in our home. I jump to my elbows (get the picture?) and said, “Did you hear that!?” Heather answers, “Yeah…what was it and where was it coming from?” I quickly informed her what I thought and we…or rather she, sprang into action.
We got guns. Big’ole Outlaw Josie Wales guns, and little back pocket guns. I opted for the closest which was under my matress; a little gun with a lazer site on it. Nothing subtile about that one… So get this picture, and imagine how if you were actually breaking into a house you’d feel seeing a 7month pregnant woman slinging a little pistol around down a hall way followed by a one legged man who looks half stoned? I’d say your chances were pretty good to get the goods AND get away without getting shot.
Half way out the door she turns around to me and says, “Is it loaded?” “Yes, it’s loaded.” She says, “So how do you shoot? just pull the trigger?” Here’s where the meds did me an injustice. I just couldn’t remember…so I said, “I think so, if not pull the slide back and chamber a round.” “What?”
Yeah man, thats protection. So, for the next 2 weeks we’ll be calling the police if we need protection.
So thankful for God’s protection, a safe and successful recovery and a family that loves me and has waited on me hand and foot for the last 10 days. This is a trial…a thing. It’s temporary and God has taught me so much thru it and for that I’m thankful.
However…being waited on hand and foot is pretty cool. Just sayin’.
.jpg)