What's the difference?

Daniel and his friends, living under the thumb of a foreign king, are continually challenged to compromise and conform. While they compromise on several fronts (Babylonian names and education, for example) they refuse to eat the king's food. In doing so, Daniel makes it clear his allegiance is to a Heavenly King, not an earthly one. What makes you and me obviously different because our ultimate allegiance is to Jesus our King?

While we could apply this question to many contemporary cultural issues, let's consider how we can express our peculiar identity as Jesus followers in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Psychologists tell us we are entering the "disillusionment" phase of recovery. This phase occurs once the Pre-disaster, Impact, Heroic and Honeymoon phases fade. The Disillusionment phase is characterized by disappointment, resentment, blame, anger, and frustration. During this phase, media attention drifts, and an "every-man-for-himself" mentality emerges.

How will we respond as Jesus followers to such a time as this? Will we join the chorus of complainers? Will we shove our heads in the sand and pretend real problems don't exist? Or will we find a voice of hope and compassion because we serve a King who makes beauty out of rubble?  Daniel 1:19 says, "None was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king." May we be found like none other, as we stand before our Heavenly King.

If you missed last weekend's message you can listen to it here. 

Without Reward

Here's the Monday email message I sent to my congregation yesterday... I'm tongue-tied today about how to respond to the weekend's violence in Charlotte, Virginia. I want to speak out, but don't know what to say. I worry my words will be misunderstood - that I might step on toes I didn't mean to, or that I'll be found uninformed, or that I'll be labeled with a position I don't fully embrace. I rationalize there is already plenty of commentary in the news and on social media. There's no need for me to pile on. But yesterday Pastor Rachel preached on Luke 17:5-10. She reminded us that we serve the master Jesus "without need" (another way to translate the word "unworthy") for reward. In other words, we serve in God's Kingdom in response to a Savior who delights in us and gives us all. Then she asked what motivates our missional living. I realized then as she raised the question, as I do now as I consider my dilemma, that I am highly motivated by reward. I tend to keep silent when there's slim chance for reward. Ugh. So, here it is. Here's what I can say as much as I know I can say right now. It doesn't feel like enough but it's what I'm sure of. In the name of Jesus Christ and for the sake of his Kingdom, I am against any view that declares one race supreme above another. I am against any view that sees another person as anything less than created and loved by God. I grieve for my sisters and brothers of color who live in more fear today than yesterday. I grieve over those whose hearts are consumed by hate and bigotry. I grieve my silence and the sin living in my heart. I long for Jesus Christ to restore, mend, redeem, and return. Yours for Christ, Steve Oglesbee steve@clpc.org

It Starts with Surrender

The missional life begins with surrendering our brokenness to Jesus. Just like the woman in Luke 13:10-17, we are powerless to "fully straighten" (vs. 11) the crippled places in our lives and in the world around us. We need the healing power of Jesus to set us free! But when Jesus starts setting people loose, things can get messy. Like the synagogue ruler who reacted negatively to the woman's healing on the Sabbath (vs. 14), we can feel threatened when Jesus straightens out crooked places we've become accustomed to.

Pornography and the church

Pornography is a silent marriage-killer. It confuses our young people about healthy sexuality. It drives human trafficking and exploits countless men and women trapped in this multi-billion dollar industry. Even so, a toxic combination of shame and ignorance makes talking openly about sexual exploitation and pornography difficult in the church.

That's why I am encouraged by a growing movement within our congregation to break the silence. Parents are seeking resources to help their children safely navigate the complex world of social-media. Individual men and women are seeking healing from the addictive lure of pornography. Couples like the one below are finding freedom and wholeness in the wake of sexual brokenness.

The letter below was published in our church's quarterly newsletter. With the authors' permission, I am posting it here. I encourage you to reach out to them if you relate to their story.

If you'd like more information about the contemporary impact of pornography, you may want to consult https://www.barna.com/the-porn-phenomenon/.

Our Missional Journey

I am one of you - we have been a part of you for many years.  We are ordained leaders. We have stood before you in classes and in worship.  We have served with you on committees and task forces, served you the elements of communion, prayed with you in heartbreak and loss, and celebrated with you the arrival of children and grandchildren.  

Two years ago this summer, our marriage collapsed - collapsed under the discovery of and the unloading of my own secret life of addiction - sex addiction, pornography addiction.  I watched as my best friend, companion and lover was traumatized by my betrayal.  My shame and sense of failure had me in a deep well of darkness.  In such a place of extreme trauma and shame, sadly church did not seem like the safe place that we needed it to be.  We pulled back, re-trenched with a few trusted friends, and tried to find a way out.   

I consulted with a therapist acquaintance for some emotional triage.  His quick assessment was that addiction was not in play - just marriage problems.  He suggested that I attend a Sex Addicts Anonymous 12-step meeting or two and just listen.  That would confirm it for me - that addiction was NOT my issue.  Others suggested the same thing, so one evening I walked into a strange room in a strange church, into a room full of strangers, and after an hour, I knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.  I had found a “spiritual program of recovery.”  Not only that - GOD was in that room.

We began to work with a coach/therapist couple in West Houston who specialize in trauma based recovery for couples/partners that have been decimated by sexual infidelity and addictive behavior. They worked with us through a difficult-but-effective re-boot of our marriage - that walked us into a program of rebuilding a trusting relationship and our marriage - our very life together in all of its constituent pieces.  GOD was in that place.

Almost two years later, we are not only still together, our marriage is healthier than it has ever been. I am a more honest man than I have ever been.  The cancer of secrecy has been cut from my life and from our marriage.  The wholeness that we have long desired in our marriage has begun to manifest itself.  GOD has been with us each and every step of the way.

The growth of missional awareness at CLPC has resonated within us.  Recognizing that GOD is at work all around us, we have found our place to live, work and serve in the missional communities of addiction and trauma recovery/healing groups.  We have found ourselves on the roadway “from shame to grace.”  This is, as we say often in our meeting liturgies, “simple, but not easy,” requiring time, money, mental and emotional energy and availability.  

In closing, I need to make an amend.  Amends are part of Step 9, where the addict makes amends to those whom he has harmed.  I want to apologize for my life of secrecy and deception in my years of life among you.  I represented myself to you as a mature christian man and husband, when I was at best a spiritual and emotional juvenile, in pursuit of my own sense of importance and worth.  At worst, I was a hypocrite-in-the-first-degree.  I regret this truly and deeply.  Please forgive me.  I have changed my mind and my life, only by the grace of GOD himself.  I am committed to my marriage, and to living a whole life, one day at a time.

Finally, if this story resonates with you - if you or your marriage are floundering in this addictive swamp, and if you are willing to do whatever it takes to see your life restored, there is HOPE.  We are not experts, therapists or any other authority, but we do know where we found help, support and tools for survival. We have also found great purpose in sharing the good news that GOD can and will meet you, if he is sought.  

My name is _________, and I am a recovering sex addict...YOU are not alone.  We can be reached:

recoveringhusbandtx1@gmail.com

healingwifetx1@gmail.com

Needing One Another

In the face of abundance, the rich man in Luke 12:13-21 tore down his barns and built bigger ones. The man's foolishness was not his greed, his wealth, or even his planning for the future. It was his lack of relationship. Riches lured him to the illusion that he needed no one.

Material blessings spoil in the absence of community and genuine community requires sharing. It involves giving and receiving; loaning and borrowing; blessing others and allowing others to bless us. Look for an opportunity this week to bless someone from your abundance. But also look for an opportunity to put yourself in the vulnerable position of having a need that someone else could meet. There's nothing foolish about that kind of living!

If you missed last weekend's message you can listen to it here, or watch the Facebook live event here.

The Missional Habit of Listening

It takes intentional, dedicated time to practice the missional habit of listening to God the Holy Spirit. Without tuning into God's voice, our lives become scattered. 

In John 10, Jesus describes a caring shepherd who leads sheep with his voice. While predators attack and scatter the sheep under the control of the "hired hand" (John 10:12), sheep under the care of the Good Shepherd "go in and out and find pasture" (John 10:9). 

I like the image of my thoughts, desires, and plans (like sheep from a sheepfold) being led by the steady voice of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. That's why I regularly make time in my schedule to sit uninterruptedly in the presence of God and listen for the Holy Spirit. 

Try taking twenty minutes or more this week to sit quietly. Eliminate distractions and invite the Holy Spirit into your awareness. See where the Holy Spirit leads you and follow his lead! 

"no answers" to prayer

After we've prayed for something for a while, it's hard to know if God is denying our request or if God simply hasn't answered yet. How can we know if God is telling us the answer is "no" or if the answer is "not yet?" In these times, I've decided to keep on praying. I'd rather risk praying too long for the 'wrong' thing than give up praying too soon. Those who waved palms when Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11) had prayed long and hard for a ruler to restore Israel to the glory days of King David. As Jesus hung on the cross, however, it looked like the answer was "no." Little did they know, God was getting ready to deliver a big "yes" beyond their wildest dreams. Perhaps what looks like a no answer to your prayer right now is really the precursor to a bigger yes from God.

If you missed yesterday's message, you can listen to it here.