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10 Things Seminary Never Taught me

Yesterday, I had the privilege of speaking in the chapel service at Dallas Theological Seminary. I had been there before. It is a fine institution. Their President, Dr. Mark Bailey, is a dedicated and competent leader. Later, I would be honored to meet at lunch with a group of students preparing for pastoral ministry.

One of the initiatives of our outreach to the clergy at Focus on the Family is a commitment to the future leaders of the church who are presently in preparation at Seminaries and Bible Colleges around the country. We have learned so much from these talented men and women. They will be facing challenges in their assignments that I did not face. I pray they are ready for those challenges and committed for the long haul. The truth is, many begin the pastoral ministry journey, but a lot of them never finish.

As I reflect on my visit to DTS, I could not help but think about all of the things that my Seminary training did not prepare me for. For instance:

1. They did not teach me how to love. That came through experience.

2. I did not really understand how complicated the lives of people really were. Some of them were too broken to mend.

3. I was surprised at how judgmental and cruel Christian people could be. Graduate school did not warn me, or at least if they did I didn’t listen.

4. I probably needed more specific training in problem solving, and crisis management.

5. In my day there was not much attention being given to financial management. Even though my first assignment was small, I was still a 23 year old CEO. Scary.

6. I do not recall much attention being given to family matters. In fact, I remember some well-meaning leader saying to me, “You just go out and serve the church. God will take care of your family.” It didn’t happen that way.

7. There is no way you can prepare for loneliness. But the importance of friendship with colleagues should have been reinforced.

8. Another problem I would have to deal with, and had to learn on the fly, was that the church was God’s church … not mine. I was an under-shepherd.

9. I had to learn how to be myself and build on my own strength. Seminary had made me into a kind of cookie-cutter presenter.

10. Pastoring was not for the faint of heart. Probably, if they had told me everything I would never have completed my training. I am so glad they didn’t, and I am so glad I did.

What advice would you give to the institution that invested in you?

Originally appeared in the February 18, 2011 Pastor’s Weekly Briefing, a Focus on the Family publication. Copyright © 2011, Focus on the Family. Used by permission.

H.B. London, Jr. is vice president of Ministry Outreach/Pastoral Ministries for Focus on the Family. A fourth generation minister, Rev. London was born in Little Rock, Ark. He is a graduate of Pasadena College (now Point Loma Nazarene University) and was ordained on May 24, 1962. On June 10, 1990, Point Loma Nazarene University conferred on H.B. the Doctor of Divinity degree.

More from HB London, Jr. or visit HB at www.parsonage.org/

Why I Will Be At The Missions Conference This Coming Week

The question has been asked, "If your church closed its doors and disappeared today, who would notice?" I believe the 14 missionaries along the back wall of our church represent hundreds, if not thousands, of people who would notice if Vine Fellowship closed its doors today. The vision of Vine Fellowship is to connect people to God, other Christians and the world. One way we focus on reaching the world is through our support of world missions. Through these missionaries we preach the love of Jesus, help feed hungry children, send students to school, teach people how to grow their own food, raise up and train indigenous pastors, plant churches, and train more missionaries to go out and do the same. We believe in and support world missions.

Our vision statement...connecting to God, other Christians and the world, is not just text to put over a pretty graphic on the front of the bulletin. Our vision statement defines who we are as a church and guides where we invest our time and finances. I hope that our vision becomes a part of the DNA of our church body and our church members.

Our annual missions conference is just a few weeks away. I hope that world missions is a part of who are as a member of The Vine Fellowship and that you are as excited as I am. As we spend these four days together (March 27-30) focusing on connecting to the world, we can all be involved and play a vital role. Not only do we Faith Promise financial support for our missionaries during our conference, but we also hear from our missionaries and allow God to speak to us about the role He wants us to play in these ministries. But another big role we fill is loving and supporting our missionaries. Our attendance at the gatherings shows our missionaries the heart of Vine Fellowship and says to them, "Keep doing what you are doing. You are important to us and we will partner with you in this work." Our missions conference is always an exciting time, and I hope to see you there!

Spring Break 2011

Today is Saturday...either the last day of Spring Break or the day after depending on how you look at it. This year's Spring Break was different. Spring Break camping has become the official vacation of the Hurt household for the past five years, but because of the way some things worked out this year, we were not able to go camping. Brooke's new job required her to work and I took some vacation time so Amanda would not be home alone. While we would still have preferred to go camping, we still had fun and made some memories this week.

MONDAY

Amanda and I planned to go for a bike ride, but the weather was cool and windy. Instead we headed downtown to the big library, found some good books to read, sat and read for a little while, grabbed a Coke at Sonic and came home. Not too exciting, but better than being at work and at school!

TUESDAY

The weather was a little more cooperative for bike riding. Amanda and I loaded up our bikes and drove to Craven's Park. We got the bikes out and hopped onto the bike trail. Craven's Park has a paved walking/biking trail that goes from Matlock heading east all the way past Great Southwest Parkway. We rode to Hwy. 360 and turned around because 5.5 miles was about enough biking for Amanda. As we were headed back, we met two girls who were also riding to the park. They began following us and obviously wanted some company, so we all talked while we rode. When we arrived back at the park, we passed a geocache that I had done before. We stopped so Amanda could find and sign the cache and we introduced our two new friends to the hobby of geocaching. When our ride was over, Brooke called to say she was picking up Ryanne to spend the night. The girls set up the tent in the back yard and spent the night "camping".

Girls we met while biking at at Craven's Park.

The geocache is hidden in the stick the first girl is holding.

Amanda and Ryanne setting up the tent in the back yard

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday morning was strawberry muffins for breakfast and then a trip to Bass Pro Shop. Nope, didn't buy anything, just took the Amanda and Ryanne to have something to do. The girls watched the bass being fed, got on and checked out almost every boat at the store and even practiced some putting in the golf area. Afterwards we stopped by McDonalds for lunch on the way home. The girls played outside some more, sang with Ryanne's karaoke machine and then went to church.

Amanda and Ryanne at Bass Pro Shop

Amanda and Ryanne on one of the many boats they "tried out"

One last picture before leaving

THURSDAY

Thursday wasn't so exciting. We were supposed to get our new copier at church this coming Monday, but since the old one broke, they rescheduled delivery of the new one for Thursday. Since I am the guy who will connect our computers to the new copier, I wanted to be there to learn how to do this. I was also trying to get an explanation of a security bid so I could pass that along to the Advisory Team for their meeting Thursday night. At 4pm, my Dad stopped by to help me put up a book shelf he built for Amanda. As you can see from the picture below, when Dad builds a bookshelf, it's a NICE bookshelf. My day was already going "great", but it got even better when I tried to carry the bookshelf in from the garage and dropped it! The glue and staples did not hold, so it broke into 4 parts. Fortunately it was not damaged so Dad and I used screws to put it back together and got it hung.

FRIDAY

Amanda has been asking all week about going to a museum, so we went online to see what we could find. We stumbled upon the Crow Collection of Asian Art. Although this seemed as exciting to me as poking myself in the eye with a fork, it excited Amanda and so we made plans to go. Brooke heard us making plans before she left for work, and when she got to work she was miserable. Not only had we missed camping this week, but Brooke had not been able to do anything with the family. Next thing we knew, Brooke was home telling us she had gotten the day off. Amanda and I cheered, we all got ready and headed to downtown Dallas to visit the museum. After touring the museum, we were hungry and looked for a place to eat. At my suggestion, we stopped at TGI Fridays which was not such a great experience as the food was expensive and not so good. After that, we headed for what used to be West End Marketplace. Brooke and I had many memories of visiting this huge building with friends back in our CFNI days and were disappointed to find out that it had closed down (who knows how many years ago!). We then went searching for the tunnels under downtown Dallas. I had great hopes of visiting some unique shops and having a family tunnel adventure, but real life didn't work out that way. There seems to be more than one tunnel system and they are not interconnected. At least we got some exercise walking around downtown and we got to take some pictures at "The Fountains" which also had many fond memories for Brooke and me. We headed back to the car, stopped at Sonic during Happy Hour and returned home. Friday evening we fixed dinner and watch Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. It was Amanda's first time to see the movie and we all enjoyed it.

At The Fountains

So Spring Break was different this year. Hopefully we can return to camping next year, but as long as you have family, anything can be fun!

Context Is Important

Have you ever been around “movie people”… the people who are always quoting movie lines to each other and then laughing hilariously? You may laugh with them so you don’t feel left out, but on the inside you are painfully aware that you have missed the context that makes the quote funny. Context is important because it gives meaning to what was said.

When we read God’s Word, context is important, too. Sometimes we quote Bible verses and claim them as God’s personal word to us. Don’t get me wrong, I believe God speaks through His Word, but we have to remember context. All Scripture was written to a specific person/people in a specific situation, and we have to understand that context before we can make application.

Here’s a quick example. In Joshua 1:9, God was speaking to Joshua about leading the people of Israel, “…Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (NLT) If a friend were considering a career move to another state, should he claim this Scripture as God’s direction because He promises “…the Lord is with you wherever you go”?

Looking at this Scriptures in context, we can see God’s encouragement was being given to Joshua not for his personal benefit, but for him to be able to accomplish what God had called him to do. To apply this passage to my example, perhaps our friend needs to ask, “Does this career move open a new door of ministry to accomplish something for God’s Kingdom, or just a bigger salary for me?” If it’s the former, perhaps God is using this Scripture to bring direction. If it’s the latter, while God may want to bless him with a bigger salary, context would tell me that God is not using this Scripture to communicate that message. Context is important because it gives meaning to what was said.

(written for "Pastor's Note" in 2-13-11 bulletin)

Oswald Chambers Quote

"We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself. If you will give God your right to yourself, he will make a holy experiment out of you-and His experiments always succeed. The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ."

(My Utmost, June 13)

45 Life Lessons

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio. "To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

12 of 12 Highlights for 2010

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This is an overview of 2010.

JANUARY - Tuesday morning staff meeting

FEBRUARY - Record snowfall in Texas. 9 inches at our house. 12 inches at DFW airport.

MARCH - Teaching Technology Application at ECIA on a Friday.

APRIL - George had me over for dinner and I helped him file his taxes.

MAY - Dad spent a couple says helping me reside the mower shed at church.

JUNE - Going to pick up Amanda after spending the night at a friend's house.

JULY - Going to the Liberty Fellowship family conference in Lake Junaluska, NC.

AUGUST - Getting backpacks ready for Operation Backpack at Deaver Park.

SEPTEMBER - Youth Sunday

OCTOBER - Bee removal guys finally got rid of our bees...after 5 tries.

NOVEMBER - Garage sale!

DECEMBER - Taking toys left after our Christmas Store to our neighbors in the Springs area.

Animals of YouTube Singing "Deck The Halls"

10 Power Principles on Church Strategy

Taken from a year old post at the Will Mancini (clarity evangelist) blog.

#1 Programs don’t attract people; people attract people (Aubrey Malphurs)

#2 Think steps not programs; strategy makes the next step simple, easy and obvious. (Andy Stanley)

#3 Strategy is a missional map, therefore communicate it visually (Church Unique)

#4 As a whole, cluttered and complex churches are not alive. (Thom Ranier)

#5 Growing people grow people; consuming people consume programs. (Church Unique)

#6 Strategy as assimilation should not be confused with spiritual formation; one is about getting individuals into the body of Christ, the other is about getting the life of Christ into the individual.

#7 Strategy connects programs and events vertically with the mission and horizontally with one another. (adapted from Bill Donahue)

#8 The fewer specials you have the more you sell. (An executive chef said this in an Auxano Vision Pathway, talking about church strategy.)

#9 Churches need strategy because mission and values alone are not enough to remove competing pictures of the church’s future. (Church Unique)

#10 The two biggest reasons people don’t get more involved are 1) they don’t know how and 2) nobody invited them. (Auxano survey work)

Core Values

These are the core values listed on National Community Church's web site. Not what you typically find listed as core values for a church, but how can you not get excited just reading them?!

CORE VALUES
NCC's twelve core values are part of the DNA of National Community Church. They are both descriptive and prescriptive of who we are as a church.

• Expect the unexpected
• Irrelevance is irreverence
• Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it
• Playing it safe is risky
• Pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you
• Everyone is invaluable and irreplaceable
• Everything is an experiment
• You cannot out give God
• Maturity does not equal conformity
• Go the extra mile
• It's never too late to be who you might have been
• Do it right and do it big

New Twist on Ventriloquism- HILARIOUS!

12 of 12 December 2010

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Sunday.

#1 - 8:09am - The whole family goes to wake up Amanda in the morning.

#2 - 8:30am - Me and my love

#3 - 8:34am - Sully asking if he can get some love...or some table scraps

#4 - 9:44am - Harry and Arleen greeting guests and members on a Sunday morning

#5 - 10:16am - Sunday morning worship at The Vine

#6 - 11:51am - Pastor preached What We Can Learn From Joseph. Here is a Joseph figurine he used in his sermon.

#7 - 1:33pm - Removing the old to make room for the new

#8 - 1:57pm - Amanda helping with the new mailbox

#9 - 4:26pm - We had a few toys left over from the Christmas Store outreach the day before so we headed into the neighborhood we reach out to and gave away our remaining toys from the back of pick up trucks.

#10 - 4:24pm - Amanda wanted me to take a picture of her in the tree by the Fellowship Hall at church

#11 - 4:26pm - Rob posing with the new mailbox. Turned out to be a little shorter than planned!

#12 - 2:53am - Actually taken on 12-13-10 'cause it took that long to finish Christmas wrapping

Eskimo Baptism

A Letter About Christmas

Dear Children,

It has come to my attention that many you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. . .. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. Not just during Christmas time, but all through the year. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the president complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sends out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family? Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them.. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8.. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name..

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the The Vine Fellowship which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions and words that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :

I LOVE YOU,

JESUS

How's Your Social Networking Record?

Book Recommendation

My best friend told me about a book he read that totally revolutionized his life and his ministry (my friend is a Nazarene pastor). Last week he sent me a copy of the book which I finished yesterday. The book makes the case for getting back to one-on-one discipleship and talks about this being the only way to make true disciples. It's not a bash against the church or Sunday morning services (it's written by a pastor), but it's hard to argue with most of what the author has to say. I read the book in less than a week but it's going to take me a long time to digest. I am already praying about how to put some of this into practice in my own life now. I'm thinking this may be a book that majorly transforms me, too. Will be praying for what all God wants to say to me through this book.

You can click here to go to Amazon to read more about it.

12 of 12 November 2010

12 of 12 Basic Idea - 12 pictures from your life on the 12th of every month. This month, the 12th was on a Friday.

#1 - 7:04am - Writing the napkin poem for the day

#2 - 7:08am - Boo always waits by Amanda's door so she can run in and say good morning.

#3 - 7:09am - Sully wanted to take his turn saying good morning.

#4 - 9:05am - Updating drivers on computers in the lab at Amanda's school.

#5 - 12:00pm - One of my favorite past times... my remote control helicopter.

#6 - 12:37pm - Working on another school computer during lunch. Installing Windows getting it ready for the school network.

# 7 - 2:48pm - Tammy commenting on my Tweet about my 12 of 12. She was glad it was on Friday so that she did not appear in any of the pictures.

#8 - 12:59pm - Carol dropping off some business for More Tech Savvy.

#9 - 1:16pm - The offices of More Tech Savvy

#10 - 1:53pm - Working with Brooke in the garage tagging stuff for our Garage Sale the next day.

#11 - 3:43pm - Picking up Amanda and Avery (and Franswa) from school

#12 - 3:57pm - Amanda doing her knee exercises.

Lessons From The Fire Pit

Tonight was a crisp and cool night...perfect for sitting by the fire pit. I like it when it's cold enough that a blanket is needed and the only way to keep warm is to sit close to the fire. I wrap a blanket around myself and then drape it over my head. I use my hands to grab the sides of the blanket and open it just enough to form a funnel for the fire's heat to warm me. Sometimes this works so well I have to shield my face because it gets so hot.

I don't know if there is such a thing as a "fire expert", and I may not be at the expert level, but I know how to build a fire and keep it burning. I'll be honest and admit that I did use 1/3 of a "fire brick" to get my fire started this evening. I broke it into three small pieces and placed it on some scrap wood my Dad had given me surrounded by newspaper. On top of that I piled some twigs, followed by a couple branches stacked tee pee fashion and finally a good sized log. I lit the newspaper which, in turn, lit the fire brick which then lit the twigs and the branches. The flames were finally big enough to catch the log and then I had a real fire.

As I watched the fire burn, I felt the Lord making some comparisons between my fire and his Church. I looked at all of the different types of wood (twigs, branches and logs) that went into the fire and how each was vital to the making of the fire, yet they were all secondary to the fire itself. I thought about the different types of people that make up God's Church and how important each are to God's Kingdom, yet they are all secondary in importance to the work Christ is doing in and through them.

Twigs

When it's time to start a fire, big logs are pretty much useless. A match or lighter is not going to catch a log on fire. A fire must be started with twigs, and generally quite a few of them. The more small, dry twigs that are put together, the easier it is to get the fire started. Twigs light quickly and burn easily, but they burn up pretty fast. The fire will quickly die without more fuel.

Branches

Branches are bigger than twigs and, like logs, are very difficult to light on fire with just a match or lighter. But once the twigs have created a good size flame, branches stacked on top of the twigs will catch on fire causing a bigger flame that will burn a bit longer. But for a real fire, something bigger is needed.

Logs

I like to watch the stages of my fire. First the twigs light, and then the branches catch on fire and finally the log that I lay on top begins to smoke and slowly catch on fire. The branches have been stacked in such a way that the twigs can burn to start the fire and there is plenty of space under the log for a flame to get all the oxygen it needs to burn bright and hot. Once the log catches, the fire begins serving it's purpose and puts out some serious heat.

It would not be possible to have a fire without all three of these. When starting a fire, the twigs are most important. When the fire is just starting and needs a bigger flame, the branches are most important. For the fire to reach it's full potential, logs are most important. Twigs are not better than logs because they light faster and logs are not better than twigs because they burn longer. What's most important is not which type of wood burns the fastest or the longest...what's most important is the fire itself and the warmth it produces.

God's Church is made up of people and personalities that might be compared to these three types of wood. You could make up your own category for each of these, but as I watched the fire burn tonight, this is what came to my mind.

Twigs

There are people in the Church who are easily excitable and ready to run as soon as they even sense that God might be moving in a certain direction. Maybe it's a new ministry within a local church or an evangelism idea. Whatever it is, they sense God in it and the spark immediately catches with them.

Branches

These might be the people in the Church who have the skills that are seen more easily. They may not be as excitable or sensitive to what God is speaking as the twigs, but once they get the vision, they have the skills to move things to the next level. They use their skills, get others involved and what started as just a whisper from God begins to take shape and others can see what God is doing.

Logs

As I watched the big log burn in my fire tonight, I couldn't help but notice the long, slow burn. I thought about people in the Church who have walked with the Lord and served his Kingdom for a long time. They may not be as excitable as the twigs and their talent may not shine as brightly as the branches, but they know how to stick with it. What they bring to the work of God is stability and longevity. The twigs started the fire, the branches helped others see the fire, but logs give the fire substance.

In the Church, each of these types of have two choices: judge others for not being "useful" like them, or appreciate the function served by each. If the fire represents a work that God is doing in and through his Church, the fire is what's important, not the wood. The wood is simply what is being used to make the fire possible.

The twigs could look at the branches and judge, "Why can't they be as sensitive as me to the moving of the Holy Spirit? Isn't it obvious what God is wanting to do?" The branches could look at the logs and say, "Years ago they were like me having the skills to make this happen." And the logs could look at the twigs and judge, "Sure you're all excited about this, but you're just getting started. Do you realize how long I've been doing this?"

or

The logs could look at the twigs and say, "Thank you, Lord, for the excitement that comes from following you and for those who are quick to respond." The branches could look at the logs and say, "Thank you, Lord, for these logs that have been around and have what it takes to keep this going." And the twigs could look at the branches and say, "Thank you, Lord, for bringing the branches along to take this work to the next level."

In the end, if all of the wood has served it's purpose, the twigs, branches and logs are indistinguishable in the red hot embers that put out so much heat after the flames are gone. And even then, the wood is not useless. Although the embers are flameless, if fresh twigs were thrown on them, the whole process would be started again. God's purpose for his Church has always been for one generation to pass on to the next the things of God they have known and experienced.

As tinder for God's flame, we best serve our purpose when our focus is on the flame and not on ourselves. Not only will we appreciate the way God has created us with a need for each other, but we can also pass his flame along for generations to come.