Just Charlie

A digital commonplace for a Regular Guy called Charlie Pharis

Category: Thoughts (page 10 of 15)

June 1, 2008 / 0 Comments

At the End of Sunday…

Interesting day today. Here are some thoughts making their way from my heart and mind, through the Mirado Black Warrior, into the Moleskine, and wherever else…

  • It’s not a good thing – even though it seems like a prudent or easy thing – to shortchange the people who show up, by claiming you’re going to “cut it short” because “we’re few in number,” or “a slim crowd,” or whatever terminology you’re tempted to use. It’s actually a disservice and an insult to those people. Oh, and it’s a disservice and an insult to the One Who Matters Most.
  • To be unprepared under the guise (excuse?) of “not laying it on too heavy” to the “few” is not acceptable.
  • Our people – no matter how many or how few – deserve the very best we can offer. It doesn’t have to be flashy or spectacular. But it has to be our best. Every time. More importantly, the One Who Matters Most expects our best.
  • Having said all that, I’m reminded that even when we don’t offer our very best, God can and often does use it for His glory and for the challenging and encouraging of our people.
  • Sometimes a simple little exercise in encouragement does a lot of good for people.
  • 1 Corinthians is already rocking my world!
  • Oh, and right now,  “God He Reigns/All I Need Is You” is, too!
  • Do I see “people in the park” or “countless souls who will one day spend eternity in hell if they don’t find their Savior”?
  • That “Disturb us, Lord” prayer Craig Groeschel quotes is slapping me up side the head, too.
May 13, 2008 / 0 Comments

Two Old Friends, Together…

I’m enjoying a new twist on two old friends tonight…Community Coffee’s New Orleans Blend, made in my  little Bodum French Press! We learned to love chicory coffee way back before coffee was hot. Well, the coffee itself was pretty hot, but it wasn’t cool…pre-nationwide Starbucks days.

Our apartment in New Orleans was in close proximity to the industrial canal, and the Luzianne plant was right there. Most mornings when it was hot and muggy, the aroma of that coffee and chicory being made hung thick in the air as I made my way to class!

Of course, we made the almost-every-weekend pilgrimage to Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter. The cafe au lait and the powdered sugar from the beignets were highlights!

Later, when we knew what it means to miss New Orleans, we discovered we could mail-order the good stuff from Community. Now, it’s our morning go-juice of choice.

My nighttime working brew is usually some kind of Starbucks, but tonight I’m out, and just don’t feel like making the trip to my local mega-mart for more, so I grabbed the Community bag. Good stuff!

NOTE: WOW! I just noticed – and you will, too – the Google maps link to our old address in New Orleans shows the Seminary campus post-Katrina. And our apartment building – along with all the other “States” buildings are no more!

April 17, 2008 / 0 Comments

Where Should Ministry Decisions Get Made?

On the front lines of ministry, of course! Where else?!?!?

I was reminded of this lesson again in a powerful and practical way today. I’m sure glad the “guys in the field” understand and appreciate that principle. Now if only the “higher-ups” understood the same thing, that “service” is about people and their needs, not necessarily about policy and procedure.

I’ll be chewing on that one the rest of the day today.

April 13, 2008 / 1 Comment

Miscellaneous…

What’s on my mind, in my heart, and in my notebook tonight…

  • New book: Journeys: Transitioning Churches to Relevance by Todd Wright and Marty Duren
  • New book #2: The Aladdin Factor by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
  • New book #3: Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko
  • When the “convenience charge” to pay a bill online is more than the bill itself, something is way out of whack!
  • Coming next week at The ‘Crest: “The Church of the People Who Play It Safe.” (I’m their leader, BTW!)
  • The Sunday morning “events” just keep piling up in our family. Two weeks ago, it was “The Boy’s” unfortunate little handgun incident. This morning, it was the lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie’s” twin sister’s husband’s office – and the speeding car in the front door. Yikes!
  • Tax refund deposited. And spent. Life is good…one extra large insanely stupid debt gone, along with a couple of other not quite as large and not nearly as stupid ones.
  • The song “God of This City” is rocking my world these days!
  • My neighbors are a microcosm of our culture. And a reminder of our strategic placement in it for divine appointments to happen.
  • Indigenous worship means a worship style that is inborn – but not inbred.
  • If prayer, a clear and compelling vision, indigenous worship, small group opportunities, meaningful membership, and the people in ministry are levers for moving our church to new relevance and all that means, I’ve got to live out and model those values in my own life.
  • Don’t tell her, but I’ve really enjoyed spending this week with the lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie.” A little yard work is good for your soul – and your marriage. Back to the grind for her tomorrow.
  • It’s winter again here for a couple of days! Brrrrrrr!
  • I’m tired…but I need to finish up some reading. See y’all later!
April 13, 2008 / 0 Comments

What to Do with a Burden…

Timely and challenging insight from Oswald Chambers in today’s My Utmost for His Highest selection…

If we undertake work for God and get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility will be overwhelmingly crushing; but if we roll back on God that which He has put upon us, He takes away the sense of responsibility by bringing in the realization of Himself. Many workers have gone out with high courage and fine impulses, but with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, and before long they are crushed. They do not know what to do with the burden, it produces weariness, and people say – “What an embittered end to such a beginning!”

“Roll thy burden upon the Lord” – you have been bearing it all; deliberately put one end on the shoulders of God. “The government shall be upon His shoulder.” Commit to God “that He hath given thee”; not fling it off, but put it over on to Him and yourself with it, and the burden is lightened by the sense of companionship. Never disassociate yourself from the burden.

March 22, 2008 / 1 Comment

“Kind of Believing” in the Resurrection…

Did Jesus rise from the dead?

If you can answer that question in the negative honestly, if you can say, “No, he did not; the evidence does not support that conclusion,” then forget about religion. Get on with life, enjoy yourself while you have the chance. But if Jesus did rise from the dead, then the same logic applies. Stop fooling around with Christianity. Make your commitment to Christ and get on with the serious business of living for God. This life is not the end. There is a life beyond.

One day you will stand before your Maker, and you will answer for what you have done in this body. God forbid that you should say, “Well, yes, I kind of did believe in the resurrection. But I, you know, I lived in the world and for the world, and I took my pleasure where I could find it. I acted as if the future would take care of itself, and , well, here I am. I have nothing to offer you. I have been a bad servant.”

James Montgomery Boice, The Christ of the Empty Tomb (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985), 95.

March 20, 2008 / 0 Comments

Incomplete and Inadequate Worship…

Making my way through Psalms 96-100 today.

This powerful picture of worship resounds with the attributes of a holy, awesome God and our response to Him and His character. Pure praise, right?

Hold on, there. In with all the exhortations to praise, mingled in with the commands to worship, there are some other “necessities” that actually make worship what it was always intended to be.

  • Worship must include evangelism. Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! (Psalm 96:1-3). After all, didn’t Jesus say that the Father is looking for people from every tribe, nationality, tongue, class, and geography to worship Him in spirit and in truth? By the way, He shared that principle in the context of a conversation with a woman who was far from God: evangelism – that goes along with worship. Are we so enamored of “worship” and all that has come to entail today that we have forgotten the Father’s heart for those who are not yet worshipers?
  • Worship must include stewardship. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! (Psalm 96:8) Real worship costs something. It’s impossible to say we’re worshiping God with our whole hearts while our treasure tells the real story.
  • Worship must include holiness. Not holier-than-thou-iness. Not rigid, legalistic Pharisaism. Not a pseudo-elitism that separates “us” from “them.” But real holiness of character in our everyday life. O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. (Psalm 97:10-11)
  • Worship must include seeking and expecting to hear from God – and obeying when He speaks. Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called upon his name. They called to the LORD, and he answered them. In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them; they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them. O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings. Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy! (Psalm 99:6-9). If we claim to be seeking God’s heart in worship, why don’t we expect Him to speak to us? And if He is actually going to communicate His heart and His plans and His purposes, why aren’t we willing to obey Him fully?
  • Worship must include joyful service. The “classic” passage often used to describe worship is this: Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! (Psalm 100:1-2). How many times have we heard – or said – something like, “I just can’t give up my worship experience to work with the children/students/hospitality/whatever”? Guess what? You already gave it up. And you replaced the only true Person worthy of your worship with someone far inferior. Ouch!

My thoughts. As usual, the customary disclaimer applies. Oh, and your mileage may vary…

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