Go and Do by Jay Milbrandt

Go and Do by Jay Milbrandt

This book was not what I expected but glad I read it. Author Jay Milbrandt takes the old idea of go to school. Get good grades. Get a good job. Work twenty years and retire happy. Blows it right out of the water. With a world so caught up with self this book is a relief. The world is a smaller place today. Tribal hills of eastern countries have smart phones while still living in wooden huts. It is not till you have seen the lack of basic needs do we discover how different the world is from the U.S.

The travels from Jay's college days to his service in the Global Justice Program. As a young law student one summer he entered into the Go and Do experience. Forever changing his life and the lives of others.

How often we too want to go and make a difference when it is those experiences that end up making a difference in our lives. Though I may never be able to travel to far away lands, Go and Do made me see the world a little different than when I first began reading the book.

I can relate to how the author put it, “I like doing the little that I can with the little bit that I have.” As Jay shows, just a little bit can make a big difference in someone's life even around the other side of the world.

He opens up with outreach. The basis of the “Great Commission.” Yet outreach can be the hardest action to get fellow Christians to do. At first you feel as if you are doing nothing. Feeling unprepared and thinking you could be doing something better with your time. Not so, as the author points out over and over again that just being present can make all the difference in the world in the lives of others. Beyond what we might expect.

Within the book we go along with Jay Milbrandt on his journey and into the Go and Do experience. We see the hardships. We feel the distress one goes through trying to help to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than us. When I say less and mean really less fortunate. Imagine if you could. Being woken in the middle of the night having to run for your lives. Your family scattered to the wind. Death all around you. These are just some of the conditions faced by our brothers and sisters in developing countries. Developed by who? It is always the children who are made to suffer the most.

Rich or poor, we as Christians all have the ability and desire to “Go and Do.” Sure traveling overseas sounds great, but it is not a vacation. We come back with stories of the lives of others. Forever touched deeply by our fundamental interaction.

Many of us dream of “Going” but never “Doing.” Go and Do is a challenge and a dare by the author. To dare to “Go” and get involved in something that helps others which in turn makes us come alive inside. There is the point. To come alive inside. Something corporate America has no desire to fulfill.

Either working globally of locally. Each one of us has been called to “Go and Do.” Just many of us seem to ignore that voice of God calling upon us. Ignoring it for a calling of self-absorbed infatuation with the American lie spawned by corporation after corporation. A world that screams, “Forget about others. Get what you can for yourself.” A world of haves and have-not. The haves seem fleeting standing before God on the day of judgment.

A great call to action and guide book for getting started. I highly recommend reading “Go and Do” by Jay Milbrandt.

Idolatry

This is not the article you think it should be. The question has come up. Have I committed idolatry? The answer is YES. Look at my writings over the past few years. You see a pattern. I am very quick to defend pastors and preachers. Therefore have I placed my pastor on a pedestal? When have we not? It makes me think do I want to become a pastor? If you had asked me that question 6 months ago I might of answered yes. Ask me that today and I would diffidently say No. What I want is to be what every pastor and preacher aspires to be a servant of God. By idolizing the position of pastor we have done all we can in preventing this man of God from in fact serving God.

Pastors receive enough pressure from associations, periodicals and other pastors on growing their congregations. Look at the back of a baseball card. We Americans are obsessed with numbers. When it comes to church and determining how well a pastor is doing we look at “the numbers.” You know what I am talking about. Numbers published on how many baptisms your church had last year. How many new church members, attendance records, Sunday School enrollments, and let’s not forget the most important one, MONEY. Money received. Money given. Money spent on church operations, buildings, maintenance and so on. Just where in the Bible does it state that is how we measure the success of a pastor? Where?

I am guilty too. Thinking my pastor has some obligation to me to listen to my whining. We expect our pastor to be on call 24/7 without any thought to their families and personal life. Don’t get me wrong. I agree that the Christian life and being a servant is a life of servitude and poverty. Look at the recipe for failure we as followers of Christ have created for pastors. We demand them to have an education that surpasses any CEO of a Fortune 500 company. They need to be great communicators with the ability to draw in the masses like a celebrity. They need to be the CFO so the money is better spent. A degree in counseling and we expect them to repair our marriages and relationships within minutes that took years to destroy. Did I forget to mention years of experience too? How can one man be expected to meet such expectations?

We measure the success of a pastor by the numbers. When the church is packed and the money is flowing in everything seems to be great. Do we dare say a blessing? Sounds like college football to me. One losing season and you are out. When did corporate America suddenly dictate how the church is to be conducted? Have we moved from church members to shareholders? Are we looking for serving Christ and saving the lost or just looking for a return on our investment? I cannot tell you how many church meetings I have attended that spent more time reviewing a balance sheet than focusing on missions or discipleship.

How do we measure the success of a pastor? The same way we should measure the success of a church.

1. Is the pastor’s faith stronger with the Lord than when he first begun? Whatever the answer we as a congregation need to minister to our ministers.
2. Is the congregations’ walk with the Lord stronger now than before? Ask the Sunday School teachers and they will tell you who is thirsting for God’s Word and who is there for the social meeting.
3. Is the congregation participating in worship? Ask the choir members for they see first hand who is engaged in worship and who is there for the entertainment value.
4. Are lay leaders being trained and actively involved in part of the overall ministry of the church?
5. Is there an active new church member class being conducted each month?
6. Is the church supporting the development and making opportunities for members to enter into the ministry?
7. Is outreach a habit of the congregation rather than a chore?
8. Is the church actively involved in new church planting or a cooperative program?
9. Is the church part of the local neighborhood or part of the highway road show with signs rivaling those of an Indian Casino or Wal-mart?
10. Do the sermons contain more text from God’s Word than jokes and illustrations?

Not one of these 10 measurements involves the American Corporate yardstick of what they call success. Just ask a cattle rancher. You might have more cows than the other ranch but that does not mean better beef. You need to decide if your goal is raising hamburger or steak.

If you agree or disagree with me have the guts to leave a comment. Just click the comments link below.

Soap Opera of the Lukewarm church:

Any waiter at a restaurant will tell you that when serving others do-not-be surprised by the comments your patrons may openly say out loud. The same goes for the church.

While in the middle of searching for a new Pastor many questionable comments have been made from senior church members. Comments I have found disturbing, but describe the problems facing our churches for the past 40 years. Many older church members are afraid of a new young pastor fresh out of seminary. Claiming their inexperience will be a hindrance. Nearly all churches these days require their senior pastors to have at least a doctoral degree(s). You would be hard pressed to find such a requirement for the CEO’s of the Fortune 500 companies. We have a hard enough time getting church members to attend a 40-minute Sunday School class let alone attending seminary. Ask yourself this question, “Does our church encourage or sponsor our members to enter into the service of the Ministry?” Some may sponsor Missionary work and give a missionary offering once a year.

Each month we hear more and more pastors leaving the ministry. At the same time we hear reports of fewer and fewer students enrolling into seminary. This has been going on for decades. What did Jesus tell us?

He said to his disciples, The harvest is great, but the workers are few.
Matt 9:37 (NLT)

Church enrollment has been sliding downward for decades. Baptisms too. The church has lost its influence but more important it has lost its respect within society. We are Americans. We love numbers. So much so we feel it is the only way to keep score. Is that what Jesus taught?

In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! Luke 15:7 (NLT)

Over the last 10 months I have been watching the employment section of a major Baptist publication. Over and over there are requests for Senior Pastors, Associate Pastors and Music Ministers. Asking for years of experience and degrees in education. In the last 10 months I have not seen one ad from one church calling for a man of God. Not one yet. What does God’s Word have to say about this?

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
1 Cor 2:1-5 (NLT)

Paul clearly shows us that the qualifications are not eloquent speech. A man of God is not an entertainer. Not one of long words that few can understand. He focused on Christ. Without Christ he had no purpose or reason. Paul came to us plain and simple before God. Relying solely on God the way all of us should.

We set standards we cannot live up too, let alone God’s standards. Let’s stop trying to reset the bar expecting our pastors, preachers, and servants of God to jump through flaming hoops to serve us. Instead let us follow their lead in serving Christ.

Barabbas and Easter:

Here it is Easter so why would I be studying about Barabbas? I have found that when the Bible mentions a name or an event twice or more we should take notice. The word Barabbas is mentioned five times in Matthew chapter 27. He was guilty of murder. It does not take a lot of head scratching to figure out that it should have been Barabbas on that cross and not Jesus. Therefore would you agree that Jesus took the place of Barabbas?

Why is that important? Dig deeper. The word Barabbas in Greek means “son of father.” With that said. Follow me on this one. Barabbas was a son of Adam as all of us are the sons and daughters of Adam. Born into sin and death. Jesus the Son of God the Son of our heavenly Father took the place of the son of our earthly father. Jesus took our place on that cross. Jesus was the only sacrifice acceptable to all mighty God. Conquering sin and death.

Pilate could have chosen anyone. He chose Barabbas. The people chose their earthly son. As we choose our earthly ways. While our salvation stood right in front of them and us now!

God has given us a clear message.

Who wants to be a Pastor?

I am just finishing my first semester experience at seminary. I personally feel every Christian should attend at least one semester. It is an intense study in our Lord’s Word. It is eye opening to say the least. So why do statistics show that 1 out of 2 seminary graduates leave the ministry after just a few years?

If you had to write up a job description for your Pastor how would it look? Just looking at what our ministers have to go through I would describe it like this.

Skills include but not limited to: cop, referee, cheerleader, manager, fundraiser, financial advisor, judge, counselor, administrator, teacher, student, salesman, marketer, news anchor, and so on and so on. Not one CEO in the Fortune 500 could meet these requirements. Yet we require our Pastors to meet these standards and more every day of the week.

Our church has several hundred who meet every Sunday. Can you even imagine what it might be like to be on call 24 hours a day? You could receive a call at any time from hundreds and have to respond to their needs immediately regardless of your own family’s needs. It is not fair. It is not biblical.

Mark 16:15 (NLT) And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”

God’s Word is clear on what we all should be doing. Our Pastors have dedicated their lives to just that. Why as Christians have we decided to get in the way and try to stop those fulfilling what we are all commanded to do? Our Pastors stand in the open to preach and teach God’s Word. They stand in judgment of God and are a clear target for Satan to attack. Many of our Pastors seem to be engaged in having to pull our churches along rather than leading us from the flames of Hell.

There are only two professions I have any respect for. First are firefighters. The building is on fire. People run out. Firefighters run in. It is not natural. The second is ministers. They have given up their lives to serve others. Both save lives. One profession is for eternity.

Please pray for your Pastor. Pray for protection and strength for them. Look for ways to minister to your Minister’s needs.