Pastor's Circle - Joseph Parker

Joseph Parker, Pastor of Trinity AME Church and Director of Outreach and Intercession at AFA, talks about witnessing at Christmastime.

Are there appropriate ways to witness for Christ during Advent?

This time of the year is a great time for us to take advantage of, because people are open. 

There are so many opportunities for God to use us.

The Holy Spirit can use us to do all kinds of witnessing during this time of year. 

Whether it's seed-planting or watering the seeds, we should be pointing people to Jesus.

Is the stress a big factor in our lack of witnessing/

It really is. As in the story of Mary and Martha, we're busy because we choose to be busy. We do what we want to do.

One of the things I think of is on knowhim.afr.net, which is basically for people to be saved or grow in their faith.

But one of the things we've put on there recently is a challenge to people to read through all of the Christmas narratives several times during this month. 

You will learn all kinds of things about Christmas that you didn't know.

Why is it important to do it multiple times?

That creates the classroom that the Holy Spirit wants us to have in our lives so he can teach us.

Not only is this a wonderful story to read at Christmas, it's a wonderful story to teach us about all kinds of issues.

Do you think the stress makes people more or less receptive to the gospel?

I believe they are more receptive. That's why I think it's important for us to emphasize that Christmas is about Christ. Those are seeds that the Holy Spirit will use.

I believe people have a much greater openness to the gospel at Christmas.

How do you encourage your churchgoers to prepare for Christmas?

Going back to what we just mentioned, I really push for them to read through all the Christmas narratives.

Don't just read it once, read it several times. The Holy Spirit will help you dig more and more out of it.

Is it more important to just read it or to meditate on it?

I'm of the opinion that both are important, although taking time is more productive.

God's word is God's word. There's value in reading it once. But there's greater value reading it two and three and four times.

I really like to encourage people to set reading goals.

Does it help to pray for wisdom in reading the Bible?

It does. It's always wise for us to pray the prayer specifically. Just before you read, pray every time. But also take time to think through what you're reading.

In the Gospel of Luke, Luke is writing from the standpoint of a doctor. He deals with pregnancy significantly.

In Matthew, for example, the powerful thing about Joseph is his fatherhood. God doesn't have to send a thousand angels to protect Jesus; he has a man who will listen to him and do what he says. That's what every father is called to do.

Pastor's Circle - Dan Boone

Dan Boone, president of Trevecca Nazarene University, joined the Pastor's Circle to talk about his testimony and the moments of grace that run throughout. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

Tell us about your testimony.

I grew up in a Christian home that was so profoundly Christlike that my earliest memories are of family altars with three kids on their knees.

I was probably 5 or 6 when I made a public trip to an altar and asked Christ to forgive me of my sins.

I think everyone's journey in God probably has other key moments. I was 12 or 13 once, at a youth camp, and I remember this deep sense of God telling me that he wanted me to do something for him.

Although I didn't know what it was yet, I remember being at the altar committing my life to whatever he wanted for me.

When I was a sophomore in college, like most sophomore kids, I was discovering my freedom from home and starting to start my own path. The Lord really dealt with me about the discipline I was establishing in my life.

And I remember playing tug-of-war with God over that. I remember kneeling beside a bunk bed and settling with God that he would be Lord of my life. Something happened in that moment.

It was the shift of the magnetic needle in my life, from my will to God's will. From that day, the lordship issue was sealed. He saved me, he is saving me today, and he will continue to save me.

Are there more of those moments in your life?

In trying to view life as a relationship with God, I often use the picture of trying to get from Nashville to the West Coast.

There are many roads that will get you there, but they all have to go west. And God is standing at the fork of all of those roads, pointing you to where you need to go.

Sometimes I think we do the gospel disservice when we define theology as the front edge of the gospel. The front edge of the gospel has always been testimony.

We are to be out there telling this story. We are to tell what God did in our own lives.

Pastor's Circle - Bill Ury

Dr. Bill Ury is Professor of Systematic Theology at Wesley Biblical Seminary and hosts the Hour of Holiness on AFR on Sunday mornings. He joined the Pastor's Circle to discuss the importance of forgiveness in our lives. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

Why is forgiveness controversial?

When it really comes back to is resentment. We want to get back at people; we don't want them to get away with whatever they did to us.

But Jesus is clear: if you're going to hold that stuff in your heart, you can't be forgiven.

So I began to look at Matthew 18, the story about the man who was forgiven and yet would not forgive.

Jesus said this was a pretty big deal. At some level, every one of us is accountable to have a willingness to let the other person go from whatever you're holding against them.

Every aspect of forgiveness is a process. You may not be able to completely forgive all at once, but you have to be willing to start the process.

At its base, forgiveness is bearing. You bear with the other person's sinfulness in your heart. That's what Jesus did when he died for us.

And then, probably the hardest of all, is the willingness to begin the relationship again. It may not be an intimate friendship, but just to put the other person ahead of yourself in every aspect.

All of this is a window for how we see God and for how he involves himself in our world.

Is it harder to accept forgiveness, or to ask for it?

In the story, what I get from Matthew 18 is that it's more difficult to receive it. The guy can't comprehend what God has done for him. He never allows it to permeate his life. If you can't receive, you can't give.

People will hurt you in life. It's going to happen. You've just got to keep receiving that grace in your life.

Pastor's Circle - Johnnie Moore

Rev. Johnnie Moore serves at Liberty University as Vice President and Campus Pastor. He joined the Pastor's Circle do talk about the "healthy soul". Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview. 

 

Does life get easier when you're a Christian?

No, it doesn't. A lot of times we think that if we get our lives right and start going to church, we've made a peace treaty with God. But the greatest miracle is that of endurance.

Sometimes, the greatest miracles from God aren't the ones that make life easier; they're the ones that teach you something more about God.

As you grow in a relationship with Jesus, you get stronger. Your fellowship with God starts influencing your relationship with God.

You're going to get better at dealing with temptations in life. James tells us that the trying of our faith produces all kinds of things. And they're all good.

How should we cope when bad things happen?

You have two choices: you can run to God, or you can run away from God.

We know what the right choice is, but sometimes when the storm is all around you, it's hard to see that.

I think it's very important to prepare for the trials before they come. Knowing Jesus today will prepare you for tomorrow.

What are some steps we can take to be prepared?

First, you've got to get your perspective right early.

You need to put the right stuff into your life.

And lastly, you have to have the attitude that you are not going to quit.

If you don't believe you have what it takes, you're not making a statement about yourself; you're making a statement about God.

I remember that famous quote by Winston Churchill, who said that success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.

This is a man whose career almost failed multiple times, but who saved the entire world because he didn't give up. If Winston Churchill had that kind of hope, imagine the kind of hope we should have.

Pastor's Circle - Todd Hudnall

Todd Hudnall is the pastor of Radiant Church in Colorado Springs, CO. He joined the Pastor's Circle to discuss the "storms of life". Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

What kind of storms are we talking about?

One of the things that really struck me was when we talked about the source of our storms.

The tendency of so many people when storms come is to assume that God sent them, when so many storms that come into our lives really had nothing to do with God.

Ultimately, He allowed it, but many of them are self-imposed storms. It's more a matter of sowing and reaping than God's judgment on us.

I got a lot of feedback about how people really didn't put that together, that they're the source of the storms.

Give us some examples.

I think that the Bible lays that out when it says, "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life..." People choose not to do that.

They get involved in sexual relationships out of marriage, and when there's an unexpected pregnancy, or a sexually transmitted disease, they blame God.

They don't spend time with their children or nurture them, and when their kids rebel, they blame God.

We treat our bodies disrespectfully, and then when our health fails, we blame God.

People want to blame somebody, and God's an easy target.

I think a lot of it is more sloppiness than outright rebellion.

I think there's no doubt about that. If God would zap us every time we stepped out of line, I think we would stay inside the lines a lot more.

But his grace and mercy make us feel like we can get away with more.

And sloppiness is hard to recover from.

I think the Bible talks about that, when it talks about God "handing us over."

I think those are the most terrifying Scriptures in the Bible. There comes a place where you just can't get back.

How can you get out of your storm?

One of the passages I used was Acts 27, where Paul was in an actual storm. You need to "drop anchors" in your life before the storms come.

In Matthew 7, where Jesus talks about the two men who built their houses on the sand and the rock, both of the men have storms. It's all about how you prepared.

Pastor's Circle - Steve Blakemore

Steve Blakemore is the Professor of Philosophy at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, and the pastor of Wesley Chapel He joined the Pastor's Circle to discuss. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

How important is the Advent season?

I'm glad you asked, because I think it's a shame that so many Protestant denominations have forgotten about what's called the "liturgical year."

It sounds boring, but it's just the calendar of the church that was established to help us live our lives around the life of Christ.

Advent was established by the church to be a four-Sunday period to have a time of introspection, a time of reflection, and even to some degree, a time of fasting.

Last week I was challenging my congregation about whether we really have taken seriously the idea that Jesus became flesh to redeem all flesh.

We always complain about the secularization of Christmas, and then we don't do anything to establish a greater meaning for that day.

What can families do to create a deeper meaning for Christmas?

One of the things I would suggest they do is to create some family rituals. "Rituals" sounds dead, but they aren't dead, they're just things we do to shape our lives.

Years and years ago for Advent, my wife got a wreath that we stuck four candles in, and each Sunday after church we would light a candle and have a devotional reading.

Another thing families could do is something like what we're doing at Wesley Chapel, which is that we're all fasting one meal a week.

We're setting aside the money that we would spend on that meal, and we'll put that in an offering on Christmas day. It's a way to give of ourselves to remind us that God gave himself for us.

You've talked for years to people about trying to capture and reclaim your family's life by what you do together.

We are a time-enslaved people, enslaved to clocks and calendars. It's so easy to forget to just stop and sing a song together, or read a passage of Scripture. 

What about churches that won't have services on Christmas Sunday?

Those are basically just pagan institutions.  

Pastor's Circle - Sam Shaw

Sam Shaw is the lead pastor of The Orchard Fellowship, located in Memphis, TN. He joined the Pastor's Circle to discuss the book of Jonah. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

In your study of this book, what did you find to be the main emphases?

I think I could sum up the entire thing. As I finished it and thought back, it's about how God saves the saved.

God's problem wasn't Nineveh, it was Jonah.

Why was Jonah reticent to go to Nineveh?

Jonah hated the Ninevites; they were corrupt; they were the enemies of his people.

Knowing God's nature, Jonah was afraid that God would hear their prayers and send him, and he absolutely did not want that to happen.

Why are we reticent to evangelize today?

I think today we're fearful. We're fearful of what people will think of us, we won't get it right.

We're afraid of stepping out of our comfort zone.

I think the basic word in the Christian life is not "stop." We hear that a lot. But the basic word in Christianity is "go."

It gives me a lot of hope; if God could use Jonah, he can use me.

God is always working behind the scenes to prepare people's hearts to hear the message.

When we get the nudge in our hearts to say something about the gospel, we can assume that God has been doing work behind the scenes.

What about the last chapter, where Jonah loses patience with God?

If nothing more, it's about the fact that God is patient when we are not.

God makes a plant to give Jonah comfort, but then He sends a worm to eat it down.

I think it shows that we are concerned about different things than God. At the end of the book, Jonah is concerned with his own comfort, but God is concerned about fifty thousand people.