For my friend Terry Ferguson

Terry Ferguson passed away this week. I think he was about 54 years old. He was a preacher in Lansing Michigan. I have known Terry since I was a little kid, his family and mine used to hang out together quite a bit. We even went on a few vacations together. Terry was one of my brothers buddy's. They hung out, went to concerts together, and basically spent a lot of time laughing. He was older than me so he and I didn't have a whole lot of "hangin'" time. But I do have some memories.

One of the vacations we went on together was to the Grand Canyon to ride the mules to the bottom of the canyon and spend the night and ride back up the next morning. I remember just before we were to leave Terry bought two things in the gift shop...a pretty expensive cowboy hat and a lot of Pepto Bismol. There was a time when Terry and I were preachers in Michigan at the same time and I was supposed to speak at a Statewide convention and they had Terry introduce me. There was a typo in the program so he followed what it said and introduced me like it was written...Red Idle. He laughed so hard as he was trying to introduce me.

But probably the way I remember Terry the most is that he was a good friend to my older brother and sister. Terry wasn't a big sports nut like my family, but he would sit in the room and watch the games because that is what everyone else was doing. He didn't have to be the center of attention, but he could always be seen sitting on the side, laughing hysterically when his friend Jack or my brother Steve would crack a joke. Terry was "there" for you, you know? He was just the type of guy who everyone likes. You couldn't say a bad word about Terry because there was nothing bad about him. He was a good husband, a good father, a good brother, and a good son. Simply put, he was a good man. A man of God. He will be missed that is for sure. Terry was one of the good guys.

To Luann, his wife, you are in our prayers. To Ken and Carol, his parents, I am so sorry for your loss. I want to leave you with this if I can.

"Grieve not for me, nor let one small tear fall. For things you dream of, I now see. And brother, it's worth it all" Terry is walking hand in hand with Jesus now. WOW.

Trash talking...

Trash talkers have taken over sports. In football, guys are out there now acting like they won a Super Bowl when they make a tackle after a running back gains 7 yards! They pound their chest, mouth off, screaming like they are world champions. Celebrating too early for too little really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. In basketball, a kid slam dunks a basketball and runs down the court staring down the opponents bench and crowd, yet his team is losing by 20 points! Ridiculous behavior to say the least. Check out the score before you go dancing down the court! We lose sight of the purpose pretty easy don't we? I wonder if the church is full of trash talking too?

I mean, have we lost the urgency of the message in the church? You know what I mean? I mean, have we lost our sense of Biblical purpose? The kind of purpose that effects eternity. The kind of purpose that ticks off the enemy. Have we lost our sense of urgency when it comes to the message of salvation and the need of Jesus? Do we celebrate too early and for too little? I am not trying to judge the world here, but I think about Journey and I like what is going on, but I don't want to celebrate too early of for too little. I don't want to be a trash talker. I want to remember what is really important in my life. Why God placed the church here on earth. I want to remember the urgency of what really matters every day of my life. I have two friends here in Fernley who do not know Jesus in a personal relationship way...I am going to talk to them both this week again and encourage them to start their life over again...with Christ.

Take care,

Rod

One Month to Live

I am beginning a new series for Journey in just a few weeks called One Month To Live. This is the study we are starting our Small Groups with as well. I am interested in hearing your thoughts. If you found out you only had one month to live...what would change? What things would you concentrate on? How would you spend your time? Who would you make sure you talked to? What would you tell your loved ones? What is on your "bucket list"?

I have been spending some time thinking about these things. If I were living like I only had 30 days left, I would have to make some changes to how I am living right now. I think I would start with my connection with God. If I start there, then everything else would have a better chance to be successful in helping me to leave a legacy. Because that is what I want, to leave a legacy.

So, what about you? How would you live differently if you had just one more month to live?

Let me know.

Take care,

Rod

Things I miss from back home

I miss my family...mom and dad, brother Steve, and my sisters Deb and Joni. I miss all of them, my nieces and nephews...all of them. I am especially going to miss them this thanksgiving. That is my favorite time of year and the whole family gets together and enjoys my mom's fantastic Thanksgiving dinner, watching football and eating some of mom's famous coconut cream and butterscotch pies. I really am going to miss them this holiday season.

I miss the crisp fall weather. Leaves changing colors is a beautiful thing to see. I love the smell of burning leaves in the fall.

I miss Skyline Chili. It is Cincinnati style chili and it is AWESOME! Along those lines, I miss Krispy Kreme donuts, Five Guys Hamburgers, Tiajuana Flats Mexican food, and my mom's beans and cornbread. Are you seeing a theme here?

I miss my friends. Dave V, Jimmy, Bob S, Mark S, Mark G, Kevy K, Ernie V, and all my golfing buddies.

Things I won't miss are easy. I won't miss the gray skies from November to March. I won't miss all that snow and wet...yuck. I won't miss having to watch the Detroit Lions every Sunday. I won't miss a cold rain in late October.

Not sure what all this means to you...but I appreciate the opportunity to share.

Take care,

Rod

What next?

I love that Journey Community has "begun". I love the thought of meeting with the family and friends every week. I love preaching and to be able to do that every week is an absolute blessing. We had 155 at our second service and 9 people made decisions to follow Christ. We hope to find a place to be able do some baptisms and we are sure we will. I am excited about the possibility of the influence Journey will have on the community of Fernley and for Christ. But now I am praying about "What's next?"

I am confident God wants something more than just another church in Fernley. What does He want? The call to be a church of Irresistible Influence (I2) needs to overwhelm and overcome us. I want to "tear this community up" for God. I am anxiously awaiting for what's next. I want to live, serve and do expectantly...do you?

Take care,

Rod

Last 5 Reasons to abandon ship

6. The church keeps losing it's Pastor. Let me tell you there are many reasons that make it necessary to leave, but often churches chase pastors away. Consistency and longevity often lead to strength and effectiveness.

7. Secretive leadership. I served at a church where the leaders thought it was best to keep the congregation in the dark...about everything! No doubt there are some things leaders can't share, but good leadership communicates clearly and regularly with the people.

8. Tolerance and Political Correctness become the key words of the church. Its amazing how many people believe that a loving church MUST be tolerant of all beliefs and social stances. Not true.

9. You don't feel loved.

10. You aren't being fed. I know that this can often be a lame excuse, but truthfully there are churches that are spoon feeding their people whipped cream. The church needs to take you deeper and challenge you to dig for greater truths.

Now I want to reiterate that often God calls us to change a church from the inside out. So I am not saying jump ship.

Take care,

Rod

10 (5 today) Reasons to Abandon Ship!

I was reading an article written by Rick Reilly on ESPN.com on the only 10 Reasons you can change your loyalties from one team to another. I thought I would try it for churches. So here we go (making these up as I go along). Here are the first 5:

1. The Pastor is NOT teaching the truth. I put this as number one because this is the biggest reason I could think of. If the truth, the WHOLE truth and nothing but the truth is not being taught...leave. I know the truth can be hard at times and sometimes very unpopular, but as a pastor we need to remember that we will answer to God and not to the size of our church or whatever man-made standard might be out there.

2. The church is not following biblical standards when it comes to finances, missions, or leadership. Most of the time, these are just signs of other deeper problems.

3. The leadership no longer desires to win the lost to Christ. I know, I know, ALL churches SAY they are about winning the lost, but often the sacrifice is too much for them to want to handle, or there are other excuses they have become adept at rationalizing and accepting. Too many churches don't even reflect the community in which they exist. There really is no excuse.

4. Bickering and fighting within the ranks take precedence over the call of the church. I have come to believe that when churches get into this mode they no longer care about the mission of the church.

5. The church has lost it's friendliness. Maybe because of some of the reasons listed above or some yet to be mentioned, but I have see churches become increasingly unfriendly over time. When no one feels welcome to your church it is a sign of deeper problems.

Now I know that many of the reasons I gave, you might disagree with because you think you can change it. Perhaps you can, and if God has laid that on your heart, then by all means, go for it. My goal is not to get you to leave your church, so please understand, if God has prompted you through the Holy Spirit to stay and be an agent of change, then great! Pastors always pray for agents of change and you are probably an answer to prayer.

Just my thoughts.

Take care,

Rod