Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Posted on September 3, 2010 - by admin
The Benefits of Balance
We hear the word alot. “Balance” statements, sheets, balance bars, balanced meals,there’s even “balance” shoes, and on and on. You get the picture. Have you ever asked yourself what a balanced life looks like? Balance holds the secret to both advancement and contentment. Sometimes those two don’t travel together. I want to challenge you to take the time to write out what a balanced life for you would look like. Create a “pie” drawing for your life and list your priorities around the circle. You know, family time, finances, health, work, personal time & spiritual growth. Now evaluate how much time you spend in each area. Off the circle or under it, get specific about each area and write out what you need to do to get a “win” in each one. Making the goal of your life balanced will give you tremendous benefits. You see the secret to your success is not being a giant in one area and a midget in the rest. We’ve all seen that one. We’ve seen the financial king fail at marriage or parenting. Or the Spiritual saint mismanage their health or money. When a person has an unbalanced life, their level of stress is high. The secret to real success is in growing consistently and in increments in every area. You don’t have to go “over the top” in one area to the neglect of the rest. Give each area of your life consistent incremental attention. As they all rise together, balance occurs and when your life is in balance there’s harmony, achievement and contentment. “Sneak up on it” is a term one of my friends says. You’ll look around one day and glad you did. A balanced life has real benefits. Give it a try.
Posted on July 10, 2010 - by admin
Decisions That Direct My Life
I believe in the power of decisions. I’m thankful for free will and choice God has given us to make decisions. When I personally discovered the power of decisions years ago, life for me improved dramatically. I read this statement, “where we are right now in life are in large part a result of the decisions we made last year. The level of life we have a year from now will in large part be determined by the decisions we make today.” I made a decision that day to intentionally and carefully chose my choices. It worked too. So let me give you the decisions I chose in hopes that it inspires you to do something similar if you need to.
(1) I decided that the thoughts I think would be positive. No more negative thoughts. No allowance of anything that made me feel angry, bitter, resentful, revengeful, or poisoned my soul. “As a man thinks in his heart, so he is” says the wisest man. I recall how liberating that decision was. More than any other choice I’d ever made before, this one gave me instant freedom and power.
(2) I decided I’d speak positive things. Remember the words of the wise, “If you can’t say something nice, say nothing at all”. This is a power that radically changes your results in life. Ever notice how happy people attract happy people, successful people attract successful people, to the contrary, negative people attract negative people, complainers associate with complainers, jealous with the jealous, and so on. It’s clear that the words of our mouth advertise the product of our heart. In no time my friends changed. Suddenly, positive, happy, goal-oriented people began to flood into my life. Negative ones ran for the exit. That little change made a big difference.
(3) I decided to create a clear vision of where I wanted to be and work toward that end. It involved several areas such as family vision and goals, work vision and goals, financial vision and goals, health vision and goals, travel vision and goals, and so on. I’d heard John Maxwell say, “Most people plan more specifically for a week long vacation than they do their life” and I knew that to be true. Debbie and I wrote out our goals and like the movie, “The Bucket List” we got up every day and still do and attempt to go after them. While we are reading one book, we are discussing the next one we need to read. While we are on a vacation, we are calling and planning our next one, and so on. It keeps you moving forward.
(4) I decided not to waste time. Time is more important than money. Time is one of your greatest tools for a life of joy. Plan to use it wisely. Don’t waste time. Don’t waste it with people who don’t add value to your life. Don’t waste it with things that don’t matter. Don’t waste it with distractions, unproductive ventures. Look at time as something that you love and that you have in front of you to do the things you really want to accomplish.
(5) I decided that family and my faith would be of high importance to me. No leftovers here. No half-hearted devotion to either. The best friends I have in life are my married sons and their families. We laugh way too much together be considered “normal”. I can’t tell you the times we have to leave the room or pull over in a car because we are crying with laughter. That’s the way it should be. Family times should be a perpetual party. Our Jewish friends have taught us that. Faith is crucial. If my faith is not growing, I’m slowing down and minor things call for too much attention. Faith is an adventure. It’s the discovery of the God who created all and knows us personally. It’s a relationship that cannot be understood by an outsider. Only those who’ve tasted it can truly understand it.
So those were some choices, decisions I’ve made that made an impact on me. Take the time to evaluate your decisions. Create some principles to live by, to guide your life by and enjoy the outcome of those choices.
Posted on May 20, 2010 - by admin
Too Transparent
We hear the word “transparent” used a lot these days. In conversation with close friends last evening, it was brought to my attention that “being transparent” has not been my problem, yet it has been my problem. Let me explain. Being forthright and saying what I thought was necessary has never been difficult for me. Receiving the same is welcomed also. However, as I have grown in years and in faith, I realize now that my greatest strength was always my greatest weakness. Several years ago after a life changing experience in finances, relationships, & ministry, I spent several weeks fasting and praying for answers. Through that experience many things changed in me. For the better I might add. I discovered that Jesus refused to “disclose everything to people because he knew what was in their hearts”. I saw that discernment, knowing what to comment on, who to reveal personal things and private matters with was to be done with thought and wisdom. You see, my problem was not that I didn’t “open up”. My problem was that I was open to everyone about everything without exercising restraint. I created most of the “problems” with people. I freely gave them access to my personal life in ways that was foolish. Today it’s different and what a difference my life has taken on because of it. My relationships with a handful of others is at a level of depth that I never knew existed. My relationships with crowds and friends are in their proper place now. My personal life is full of enjoyment and peace. So here’s my takeaway from this; For some people transparency is a struggle and they should be more open. For others, it’s so natural that it should be guarded with wisdom because it provides fuel and fertilizer for deceitful people. May God give you wisdom to discern the level of and span of your transparency.
Posted on April 7, 2010 - by admin
Seeing Jesus
I heard recently of a little boy whose father didn’t go to church but he sent his son each week. He’d put a quarter in the boys hand and say, “When you get to church, give this to Jesus”. This went on for weeks when one day the father was in the boys room and noticed a handful of quarters on the dresser. “Did you give those quarters to Jesus like I told you” he asked his son. The boy quickly defended himself saying, “I tried to Daddy, but I never saw Jesus at Church” There’s a measure of truth in many ways in that. When people look at our lives or attend church they are looking to see Christlikeness. It’s found in our attitude and the way we live. A Christian is one in whom Christ is in. They’re not looking for perfection, no one but Christ was perfect, but they are looking for authenticity. I just had a conversation with a friend who doesn’t attend any church. For years we’ve been connected. He told me of an encounter he had with a “church planter” trying to make a hard sell for him to come to his church. He sized him up quickly. “All he wants is my money and financial support” he said. Fortunately, my friend wasn’t turned completely off to Christ. And then he opened the door wide. “Bill” he said, “you’re my friend. If you asked me for any amount I could afford, I’d gladly give it, but not this huckster, yet you’ve never asked me for a cent”. “You’re right” I said, “we are friends and I never will”. He smiled and said, “I think I’ll come to your church on Easter”. Knowing him as I do, this was big! Let me urge you to remember, to do what you do for the right reasons and with the right motives and when people come to church, they’ll gladly give their quarters, their attendance, their skills to help the mission…They just need to see Jesus.
Posted on March 16, 2010 - by admin
Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide??
I was brought up hearing those words from well-meaning teachers, friends, and others. It sounded good at the time. As I grew older I learned that relying solely on a personal conscience as the measurement for “right & wrong” is absurd. It’s bias toward us and harsh toward those unlike us. In Old Testament words, “We become right in our own eyes”. I remember a scene in the movie, “Rainmaker” with Matt Damon playing the part of a lawyer and questioning Jon Voight, playing the part of another lawyer. Damon says, “I bet you don’t even remember do you“? to which Voight replied, “Remember what“? Damon paused and said carefully, “Remember the first time you stepped over that line, way back then“. He was speaking of his conscience. That’s the problem with conscience. You can cross the line so much, so often, that you become numb to any alarm of wrongdoing. There’s an Indian parable about conscience that goes like this. “In the heart of a man is an arrowhead laying in a spot created for it. It has three sharp corners. When we do wrong it starts to turn and cuts the heart. However, if we do wrong long enough the continual cutting reshapes the arrowhead design and now it turns freely without causing any pain”. The Bible teaches that there are different types of consciences in people. (1) Good conscience-sensitive (2) Pure conscience-innocent, uncontaminated. (3) Evil conscience-plotting and scheming to harm (4) Seared conscience-”crossed the line so much doesn’t feel a thing”. And there are many others described in scripture. The point is, your conscience is only a reflector of your character, not a creator of it. It doesn’t develop character, it just displays it. This is why some people can lie without shame, gossip without guilt, lust without restraint, manipulate without wincing, high step smiling over the line of ethics, & even do things that leave others in shock. So what can we do or teach our children in this area? (1) Understand that your conscience is only as good as what goes in it. Children enter this world with a blank slate and we parents get to write on it. Our guidelines will remain intact for life unless we fail to live them ourselves, and our example causes them to revolt.(Read that back again carefully). (2) Be intentional with what you put in their conscience. Some parents “overkill” and create children with paranoia issues & guilt-ridden for laughing. Other parents model or teach nothing and then blame their children for unruly behavior. (3) Teach and live the PRINCIPLES of the Bible. This is the “light” the psalmist refers to that gives guidance to the soul. Let Gods Word Be Your Guide, not your conscience. (4) Strive for a pure & balanced conscience. Do what Gods Word says with the right motive. Not to be more “spiritual” in the eyes of others or to get an upgrade in halo’s, but from with a pure heart. And concerning balance, I mean, give grace to others. If your conscience is guided by authentic love for God it will reflect it in giving grace to others. A properly developed conscience is like a spiritual nerve, it alarms us when something is wrong. Oh, another type of conscience the Bible describes is a “Clear Conscience”. This means we’ve made wrongs right so we don’t experience shipwreck down the road. Hope this helps. It’s all my conscience will let me write at this time on this matter.
Posted on February 17, 2010 - by admin
REAL interviews with those outside of church
Everyday I receive in my mail another article or promo for a book or conference entitled “What the unchurched are thinking” or “How to connect to the unchurched”. I’ve finally decided to address these “studies”. Reason? Because I have a lifetime of experience in this area. Please keep reading. I’ve never read a book or went to a conference to “learn techniques” about unchurched people. I know them. It’s no surprise to me, as it was to Dr. Elmer Towns when he visited here and asked a crowd of 3500 people “how many of you never attended a church in your life before coming here?” and 80% responded that was their testimony. He was shocked, I wasn’t.
You see, I was raised in a non-Christian home far from the influence of religion until I met Jesus Christ at age 18. I know that world. When Jesus convicted me of my sins, chose me and called me, I discovered that befriending unchurched people was the most natural thing a Christian does. This trend of surveys, articles, and books on “connecting to the unchurched” is foreign to me. It’s also strange to all of my unchurched friends and they tell me so. What I’ve discovered is that when those raised in church set out to define the unchurched, they often miss the mark. First, they fail to clarify that there are two separate groups of “non-churched’. Often they are really referring to the “formerly churched” so they begin with faulty assumptions that have no relevance to the unchurched I live among. They make a mission of going after those who know church lingo, jargon, music, customs, and the rest. That group can spout off the names of preachers, religious books, and so on. They can tell you “what’s wrong with churches, pastors, religion and so on”. Church planters today go after them zealously and print invites like, “Are you tired of church, been turned off by church, try a different kind of church.” Its obvious that they after the “already reached before and strayed from church” to fill their seats.
The people I personally know have never been churched at all. They couldn’t name 3 preachers if offered a million dollar reward. They know of Billy Graham and Mother Teresa. Period. I know, because I’ve asked them over the past 2 years. 60 or more of them and besides me, that’s all they know. Now I’m talking about both successful, wealthy, educated, white collar friends along with struggling, blue collar workers all with one thing in common. They have zero experience with church. I do almost every breakfast, lunch, or trip with one or more of these. In time hundreds have come to Christ. I fished for 14 years with one Doctor before he came, I traveled the states for over 10 years with another. Some came over months, but not all.
As is well known, for years I leased a hunting preserve each season for 15 people and the only requirment to hunt on it was that the other 14 people had to have never been in a church in their entire life. Never! I connect better with these people than church people. For years I chartered a fishing boat and took strangers who had never been in a church in their lifetime in groups to fish. That’s how I can say I know these people. Now for the interviews. Over the past 2 years, I’ve asked each of these what keeps them from the Christian faith? The number one (#1) reason they don’t have faith in Christianity or go to church in every single case was exactly what Jesus it would be in John 17. They (my friends) see Christians as divided and judgmental (not of the world, but of other Christians).
To them, God can’t be the answer since His people are fragmented. WOW! Let me get specific. They ask simple but direct questions like, “Why didn’t Christians get behind Mike Huckabee when he ran for President? If we’re so “focused on the family” as we say, why do we throw our support to the least family focused candidate instead of Huckabee? Wow again! Or why do your book sections in Barnes & Nobles or other chains offer books with contrasting arguments of election, church styles of worship, and so on, if our faith is really “ONE”. Or why does a new hip employee disrespectfully call baptism “the God plunge” in an attempt to be cool, when their college history class says people actually were killed for being baptised. What’s wrong with the word “baptism” they ask. (This was from a college professor) You see, my friends are real and real relates to real. They aren’t looking for perfection, they look for agreement in the Christian world among Christians and they find little to none. We are a divided team in their eyes. Christians slandering larger churches, Church planters wasting hours at Starbucks sitting around tables with other Christians instead of working or dining with unchurched people, Christians criticising “t.v. evangelist”. And they ask “what’s with all these conferences”? Everytime they turn around another employee wants to go to another conference. In their world of business, they attend one a year and if really necessary two, but Christians are always in their huddles.
They despise the attacking of TBN from other Christians, the slander of Pat Robertson, the hatred spewed at the late Jerry Falwell from other “Christians”, and a host of other things all in that arena and they say it’s a turn off to them. They expect the world to attack Christians, they just can’t grasp why Christians bite and devour each other. In fact one tells me of his well meaning assistant giving him a popular Christian author’s book for Christmas. The writer was outstanding he says until he came to a disrespectful paragraph on the “pink haired” lady on televison. He said he actually tossed the book into his fireplace on Christmas eve at that moment. They’re tired of hearing us bash each other. They’re sick of the elbowing our way through Gods’ Kingdom over each other. In their worst moments they don’t attack and slander their competitors like “Christians” do. We take it to levels the devil himself is surprised of. When they go to a Superbowl event or something of like kind, they support the toothless guy in bad clothing holding a sign rooting for their team even if his style of support is different than theirs. They don’t criticize their own. Yet we “Christians” take every opportunity to tear down our own in the eyes of the “unchurched” world. One gentleman tells me that after losing a $53 million dollar deal that he and his office team were at a resturant and the competetor and his team walked in. He said, “I shook their hand and we knew it was just business. It hurt, but we don’t attack them. You “Christians” slander, judge and critique proudly without so much as a care about how little or petty it is”.
What did Jesus say? “Father make them one as we are one, so that the world may believe that you sent me.” He says this 3 times in this chapter. What He knows is exactly what my friends tell me. If we can’t tolerate each other, how can we expect the world to believe Jesus is God’s answer. These are the answers my friends gave, hope it helps as we do our mission.
Posted on January 20, 2010 - by admin
Life Lessons
My children would occasionally ask when I sat them down, “is this a life lesson”? I think they dreaded “life lessons”. Most of us do. Yet somehow, the older we get the more we’ve learned from our life experiences. Soren Kierkegaard, that 19th century philosopher, who looked like Conan O’brien with his 6 inch hair said, “We live life going forward but we understand it looking backward”. True. Have you ever said, “If I knew then, what I know now…” however if we hadn’t had the experience then, we wouldn’t know what we know now, so that’s moot. Here’s a few “Life Lessons” I think I’ve learned through the years.
1. Life is a Gift from God, enjoy it, experience it, & embrace the days with wonder.
2. Love is too big to keep for yourself, share it.
3. Choose carefully with whom & where you spend your time, energy, & skills.
4. Learn from the past but don’t live in it.
5. Life is too short to waste it & too long if you do.
6. Be Thankful. For the good & bad, the friends & enemies, the successes & failures.
7. Remember God. Our connection to our Creator is the connection that keeps us “alive”
Posted on December 1, 2009 - by admin
Worship Leaders
This is a shout out to “Worship Leaders”. Just a sincere thanks from a Pastors perspective. You help us have greater impact and you give opportunity for people to draw close to God. And what’s so great about this is, that you do this week in and week out. Like pastors, lawyers and others, I know you’re disrespected at times. I’ve heard the old “devil landed in the choir loft” comment too many times to count. I know people without a clue ask “what do you do all week’? I appreciate the time you’ve sacrificed and the talent you bring to the experience. I’m aware that it took years to develop your skills and your heart is still in development. It’s not just a song I applaud. It’s the life, the devotion, the authenticity, and the support of the pastor and church. Sometimes when I’ve crashed and burned in preaching, it’s refreshing to hear someone say, “The music was awesome today”. And after you’ve heard my sermon for the third time each weekend, I’m amazed that you still laugh at the jokes or listen to each point as if it’s the first time you’ve heard it. Many times I’m tempted to point you out and say, “and on bass here we have….and on keyboard is….” because you bring it so well, so often. Thank you. I might not enter His gates with thanksgiving or His courts with praise without your reminder each week. For any worship leader or team member reading this who hasn’t felt understood or appreciated, let me speak for one pastor. We need you. We want you. You are a very important part of the team. Here’s a life lesson I learned long ago, “The people, circumstances, or things that draw us closer to God are our friends”.
Posted on November 21, 2009 - by admin
My Mothers Last Words to Me
As a pastor I’ve heard the “last words” of many, but my own mothers last words to me are treasured. The week between the death of Princess Dianna of Wales (August 31, 1997), and the death of Mother Teresa of Calcutta (September 5, 1997) my mother died of cancer. While my sister Sonja and I witnessed the exact “moment” she left this world, my mothers last words to me came in a hand-written letter 11 months earlier. Oddly at that time ,she didn’t even know she had cancer and she expected to live a long life. When she handed me the letter she said, “Bill, I hope you never have to read this. But take this in case you ever need it”. She said she felt strongly impressed to write it in the event of her death in the far future, in case I needed the information inside. She said she’d prayed over this for several weeks feeling God divinely directed her to write this for me. She said, oneday I may need real answers about our home, my childhood, things I suspected and couldn’t understand, and other matters. I took her letter, put it away, and never suspected she’d be dead within a year. Today I know she really was divinely directed. 10 years passed before I opened that letter. One day in 2007, I was in a place in my life with serious questions. I sat quietly in my study, opened her letter and noticed it was 13 hand-written pages. I carefully read each word. Like peeling layers of an onion, each page brought both tears and relief. For the first time in my life, things made perfect sense. I gained understanding and found freedom I didn’t know existed. I never acknowledged before that day how deep I’d buried hurts and things affecting my early life. I’ve always picked up, moved on, and mastered the art of leaving the past in the past. My strength is to “never look back”. It’s a survival instinct. I won’t reveal the contents of her letter because its personal, but I will tell you that if her intent was to set me free, it worked. Today I see people in need of the healing that a parent could provide and I only wish for them a “letter” like I recieved. It was the greatest gift she ever gave me. So here’s my advice. If you have a chance to pass on a blessing to someone you love, a healing to bring, an understanding that opens up their life for a better future, do it. Write it out and put it in their hands. Its worth the time it takes to do this. Especially for them.
Posted on November 15, 2009 - by admin
It’s a Girl!!
“It’s a Girl!”
Those are words that I’ve never heard in a delivery room referring to a Purvis child. We have boys. Can’t help it. Don’t regret it. It’s just that way. I identify well with those Bible characters who had boy after boy.
Last Wednesday all of that changed. My middle son Brent and his wife Carrie placed in my arms a little new born girl named Emme Reese Purvis. I had no words except, “Wow.” I have many nieces all of whom we see at Christmas, Thanksgivings and throughout the year, that I love and they love their “Uncle Bill”. Maybe God was preparing us for this with them.
Now we have 2 grandchildren, Prince Beau (6 mo.) and Princess Emme. If having a thankful heart pleases God, then we’re there for sure. God has been good to us.
More pictures of Emme can be viewed at www.emmereesepurvis.weebly.com.