Personal Values

I had the chance to list some of the values that motivate me recently.  Here are those things I keep coming back to again and again.

The Bible is wholly true and trustworthy. The Bible show us Jesus.

Jesus is full of grace and truth-His body ought to be as well.

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is as needed today as in the days of Acts.

The church may vote on anything God has not voted on.

We are to use our ears before our mouth in prayer. The Moravian Daily Text helps me and my family in this.

Even when we don't know WHERE we are going, we know HOW we will get there.

The root of every sin issue is faith. The whisper of the enemy is never creative, always suggestive, and is effectively crushed by the Word of God.

I want each generation in the congregation to think that they are my favorite.

My call to Joy, Christian, Annika, Samuel, and Peter precede and are more important than my call to be a pastor. A congregation can easily replace me, but my family can not.

Marriage is made in the image of the Trinity.

The church is created in the image of the Trinity.

We must recognize women leaders, because God does and always has, and because we are weakened when we don't.

Restoration is a way of life, not something that happens after disastrous failure.

Absolution must attend accountability.

Identity precedes Mission.

We don't exist for ourselves.

The back doors of the church are sacred like the altar, font, and pulpit. Encounter places, where God meets desperate needs with His generous grace. We receive the means of grace to become means of grace.

Church planting and replanting are primary ways God uses to evangelize communities.

Pastor/teachers must recognize and value evangelists.

Leaders go low. They wash feet. They move tables. They take out trash.

Preference or agenda driven worship wars are self-worship (idolatry). There is a "sacrifice of praise".

We don't need to agree on how the end times will happen.

Cities are primary places God uses to influence the world.

Remember the Sabbath was not a suggestion.

The most joyful people I know are generous like Jesus.

I'll use the Alpha Course until I can find something more effective at conversion growth.

Mowing my lawn, coaching my kid's sports team, date night, reading a book, traveling, praying first thing, tithing, vacation, reading the paper, walking around a lake, dreaming with Joy, all make me healthier and happier.