Pastor Rob Stephens

I’m a track and field coach, so I love it when the summer Olympics come around.  The United State always has a powerhouse track team that typically reserves spots on the podium, especially in the sprints.  We may not always have THE fastest guy in the world, but the depth of our sprinter pool is amazing.  For this reason you would think that no one in the world (save the Jamaicans) could even challenge us in the sprint relay races.  However, we have struggled to even get on the podium in recent years.  Why?  Because our guys have a hard time handing the baton off.  You see… you could have the greatest talents in the world, but if you botch the baton exchange you will ultimately fail.

You know, the same is true in our spiritual lives.  Anyone who ever finds themselves in a position of leadership must learn the concept of passing the baton.  You could have the greatest ministry (be it vocational or lay ministry) ever, but if you don’t pass the baton to the next wave of leaders… that ministry dies or leaves with you.  But this concept does not just apply to those in leadership positions… it applies to everyone who calls themselves a parent.  We have been given the mandate of God to pass the baton of faith to our children.  Now, as any track runner knows, you can’t run that leg of the race for them.  But you can prepare them for it and you can make sure you pass to them the charge and wisdom to run that leg.  As parents, this a crucial element of our calling.  In fact, I would say without hesitation, that passing our faith to them is just as important as keeping them fed and clothed.  How are we doing that?  I must confess I don’t always do a good job.  But my goal is to grow in this area… to pray more with my kids… to use more teachable moments to point them to the cross and allow them to see the great commission lived out in daddy!  It is not an easy job because there are so many things vying for their attention and affection.  It’s tough to train runners because there are so many distractions… the same is true of our passing of the baton of faith to children.  O God, please help me in this very difficult task!  Please remind me often how important this is and I beg of You God to draw my boys to faith in You and I beg of You to use them for your glory!

I remember when the movie “Speed” came out.  It was the one of those movies that I think set the tone for what action movies needed to be like from then on… 90% action, 10% everything else.  Now, I don’t think that is what makes a great movie, but Speed was the first movie I remember seeing like that.  The premise of the movie was that a mentally unstable man had planted a bomb on a bus, that if it went under 60 mph would explode… so you can imagine the action that pursued.  It was one obstacle after another.  Even after the stars got off the bus, they had more obstacles to overcome… the action seemed to never end, which was great for the viewers!  But I remember thinking at one point in that movie… “Really… another roadblock… another danger… another obstacle.  When will it end for these poor people!”

I’m reading through the book of Joshua right now, and I got to chapter 11.  After multiple conquests in the land of Canaan, Joshua now faced an allied army in the North that is described as “a horde as numerous as the sands on the sea.”  I can imagine Joshua thinking… “Really God… c’mon… give us a break!”  As I pondered this, it hit me… life can be alot like Joshua’s conquest… it’s alot like Speed.  Once we overcome one obstacle… there stands another.  Once we reach one goal, there stands another deficiency staring us in the face.  It almost seems that it never ends.  How did Joshua deal with it?  Just when discouragement may have been setting in… God’s promise came.  ”“And the Lord said to them, ‘Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.’”  God’s promise brings comfort in the midst of constant onslaught… it brings confidence in the face of overwhelming circumstances and odds… It gives peace as we move forward into obedience.

When I was a kid, we always used to sing an old hymn called, “Standing on the Promises.”  How true that song rings when life throws it blows… we have to stand on His promises… we have to claim them and then… press on.  God, thank You for Your promises.  Thank You for being completely able and faithful to keep them!  May we move on in light of them!

I am a good ol’ southern boy that loves college students, which means there are two constants in my life.  I hate cold weather and I like staying up late and sleeping in.  However, the older I get the more appreciation I have for the peace of a winter morning.  I have a new discipline in my life that involves getting up well before my family arises and spending time in God’s word, so that i may have as John Piper says, “some spiritual sense about me” before I lead my family and my church.  In order to accomplish this I need two things… a good dose of coffee and a nice warm fire in the fire place.  There is just something very soothing and reflective about a good fire on a winter morning.

As I look at the fire this morning, I pray that God would consume our little church like this fire is consuming these logs.  My friend Andy and I were prayer walking yesterday… just praying for such a passionate revival… praying that God would consume us, and God revealed to me an encouraging thought.  When I started my fire this morning… I didn’t take a flame thrower and light it… I didn’t soak it in gas and light it either.  I put two “starter logs” down lit them and then stacked some other wood on top.  When you first light a starter log, it is not a raging flame.  It starts with a relatively small flame but eventually it sets ablaze all that is above it.  You know… the same is true with our church I believe.  This past Sunday, our announcement time turned into a praise report time.  We heard about God answer prayers concerning our mission efforts in Antigua.  We heard about two ladies who were blessed by our evening of prayer.  And we heard about the exciting prospects of our VBS program this summer.  Now… these were not roaring flames that immediately consumed our church.  However, I do think they were starter logs.  God is work!  There are little flames kicking up that I have complete confidence will turn into a consuming revival that will change our church, community, and world forever.  So, this morning… let’s praise God for our starter logs and eagerly expect the warmth of His consuming fire!

You know… life is all about our perspective.  I’ve found that most people tend to focus so much on the negative things in their lives rather than all the amazing blessings they have.  I’m not sure why this is true, but it certainly seems to be the norm from my experience.  Every now and then God just hits me with a good dose of healthy perspective.  He did that this morning for me.  I woke up to a very aching foot.  I don’t know what in the world I’ve done to it, but I woke up a few days ago injured.  I’ve decided I can’t afford another doctor visit so I’m just using all my years of sports related visits to the training room to rehab myself.  One of the things that heals is ice, and since the foot is a hard part of the body to directly ice, I’ve been doing so through soaking in ice water.  It’s cold man… I hate that first “step” into the bowl of ice water.  This morning I was icing my foot and doing my quiet time and then I popped on facebook.  I had a friend request from my good friend Ryan and right there on his wall was his latest passion… an organization called charity water.  You can learn more about them at www.charitywater.org.  Did you know that at this moment around a billion people don’t have clean water to drink?  That’s hard to fathom isn’t it.  As I looked at this website… it just hit me… man, I’ve got clean water to soak my foot in and there are a billion people in this world who don’t have clean water to drink.  God has blessed me beyond belief!  With such perspective there are to be two responses.  One, a heart of gratitude and thankfulness.  A non-complaining spirit and a joy filled existence.  Two, to take of my abundance and be a blessing to those who have not… to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty and clothe the naked.  Jesus said in the book of Matthew, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’”Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  ”The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”  God, thank You for a dose of perspective this morning… I need that periodically.  Please let me be a blessing to others from the blessings You have given me.

I’m sitting here by a crackling fire with 6 inches of snow on the ground tonight, and God’s word is just soaking into my head.  I’m reading through the book of Joshua.  I love this book… Joshua takes over for Moses (arguably the greatest leader in all of Israel’s history) and he gets the task of doing what Moses couldn’t.  No pressure Joshua!  Sometimes I just feel a ounce of what Joshua must have felt.  I feel so very inadequate… so overwhelmed by both the importance and difficulty of the task ahead.  And tonight… God leads me to the story of Rahab the prostitute found in Joshua 2:1-21.  The story of the spies encounter with Rahab is always  a fascinating one to me.  You wonder sometimes why God chose to reveal certain aspects of this huge story.  But He chose to tell us about this encounter with Rahab.  There are several things that jump out at me as I read over the first part of this story.  First, who God decided to use for His purposes.  He chose Rahab… a prostitute.  Did God approve of her profession?  Of course not.  Was it sinful?  Of course it was!  Was she a very unlikely choice?  You better believe it!  But God sometimes chooses prostitutes to carry out His purposes… He often picks the least likely of all candidates.  Now… the question is… will He use us?  Most people in the world feel like underdogs.  We feel as if our lack of ability or our past has disqualified us from any hope of being used of God for big things.  But that simply is NOT the case!  Our God is a forgiving God… He is a God of second chances… He is a God Who looks more for willingness than ability.  If God can use Rahab, He can use us… He can use little ol’ me.  I’m just a good ol’ boy from the hills of NC.  I’m a guy who has made his fair share of mistakes and have, regrettably, had moral failures throughout my life.  In short… I don’t measure up.  But as I read the bible, I begin to see that my ineptness probably makes me a likely candidate for God’s purposes!

         The second thing that jumps out at me in this story is how God had paved the way for His plan.  The Israelites would have to get off their butts, march into the land and engage the enemy… but God had already laid the groundwork for that victory.  Rahab tells the spies that their people had heard how God had led them out of Egypt and that, “our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.”  Sometimes, this is happening and we don’t even know it.  I’m sure that the Israelites had no idea that word of the Exodus from Egypt had spread to Cannan.  Maybe a victory of epic proportions is on the horizon for you and me, but we simply can’t see it happening.  Is it possible that God is laying the groundwork as we speak?  The people of Jericho were beat long before the Israelites came a marchin’!  God had paved the way… He is sovereign and His ways will prevail.  God, thank You for being a God of second chances… thank You for being a God Who uses little people.  I confess that I am nothing… and if I am something it is only because You have made me something.  Please use me for Your glory… to advance Your kingdom.  Would You pave the way for this kingdom explosion and may I follow in great confidence.  

This morning my friend Andy and I did some prayer walking in some of the local neighborhoods.  It’s cool how as you walk and pray for homes and things you see, how God just brings things to your mind.  As I walked on this cool, brisk morning, I was struck by the massive homes before me.  I’m just a good ol’ boy from the hills of NC.  My two brothers and I all stayed in one room, we all shared one bathroom and sometimes had to use a 5-gallon bucket to flush the toilet… so you can imagine my perspective here.  I was praying… “God, how in the world can I reach the people in this community?”  At that moment, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind the story of the rich young ruler.  Jesus made this statement, “It is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than to pass a camel through the eye of a needle.”  At this, his disciples responded, “who then can be saved?,” to which Jesus made this amazing statement, “With man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Yeah… that’s it!  That’s why I’m out here in the cool of the morning walking and praying with my friend… because it is impossible for me to bring Christ to the community to which God has called me!  I simply cannot do it… but my God can!  Why is it that prayer becomes such a side note in ministry?  It must be the first and foremost in our ministry effort… it should dominate our calendars.  But too often it becomes man’s efforts.  There is great satisfaction in what I’m now calling, “Camel Eye Ministry.”  It is calling out to God for revival… it is begging Him to draw men and women to Himself… and then just leave the results up to Him.  This does not mean that we do nothing… that we simply pray and then sit on our butts.  In fact, the opposite starts to happen… the more you pray for lost souls, the more you feet naturally move toward them.  God… this is a camel eye community… and I am totally giving it to You!  Please do what I (we) cannot… show off God for Your glory.

Do you remember when you fell in love?  I do!   Trust me on this, as hard as it may be to believe… I was the farthest thing from a ladies man when I was young.  I’ve only had one serious relationship my entire life and that is with my wonderful wife Denise.  And you know… I remember falling in love with her.  We were in college and ran cross country together… go WCU!!!  In college, we had tons of time to just hang out… to go on walks, to watch movies together, to just <drumroll> talk!  We would ask each other tons of questions, laugh together and do spontaneous trips to see things like beautiful waterfalls.  I remember those times… falling in love is fun.  We’ve been married now for eight years and I love her more than ever… but you know… I really think it’s hard to cultivate love in the busyness that our lives have become.  In fact, I have to be very intentional about creating times for us to cultivate that love.  We can fill every second of our schedule with ministry, doing things with the kids, sporting events, and a million other things that compete for our time and attention.  I have to intentionally date my wife in order to grow in our love.

As I thought about when I fell in love with Denise and how now, it’s much tougher to cultivate that love because of busyness, it reminded me of the greatest love in my life… my love for Jesus!  Do you remember when you first believed?  Was it ever sweeter?  And more than that… where is that love now?  I actually think that sometimes church can be the hardest place to cultivate a love for our Savior.  Sounds ironic I know, and before you pick up your stones, please know that I think the local church is both essential and lovely in the life of a believer.  Church is great for fellowship, for accountability, for being taught and teaching others… but sometimes I find it hard to just fall in love with God when I’m at the local body called the church.  Why?  Because, without realizing it, we have gotten so busy “doing” that we have neglected sitting at His feet.  Think about your Sunday morning experience for a minute.  If it’s anything like mine, you are probably getting out of breath just thinking about it.  So what’s the solution?  Certainly not abandoning the body… that would be setting yourself up for failure.  But rather, like I must do with my wife… we have to start being intentional about being still.  I pray this is not heretical… but we have to “date” our Savior!  We have to be intentional because our society has placed such a high value on being busy that it feels almost sinful to be still… and yet, that is exactly what we need.  There is a stench of death in churches all around our country because apathy is decaying our hearts, and apathy only exists because we are not cultivating love with our Savior.  And to do that… we HAVE to learn to be still.  Look at your calendar… are there intentional “still” times… are there times you have slotted out to fall in love with Jesus?  Convicting?  Sure is to me!  God forgive my neglect of Your love.  As Jars of Clay sang, “I want to fall in love with You…” please help me to learn the art of being still.  Please help me to create the right environment to fall in love with You.

Well… the Stephens in me is poking up it’s persistent head again and it is beckoning me to get back into racing shape!  Years of injuries and wear and tear on my joints are not making this venture very easy, but I’m a pretty stubborn guy, so I’m making a run at it.  How do you get back in shape?  By being consistent, and sometimes being consistent means running when you don’t feel like it or running in not so ideal conditions.  As we speak, we are in the middle of one those 3 day rain storms… a soaking, cold, October rain!  I have two options before me… run in the cold rain or jump on our treadmill in the basement.  For some this would be a no-brainer… hit the treadmill right?  But I must confess, I HATE running on the treadmill.  My heart and lungs don’t know the difference but my eyes and mind do!  When I run… I wanna feel like I’m going somewhere… I wanna see my progress, and you just don’t get that on a treadmill.  It makes a 4 mile run seem like an 8 mile run… so I went and ran in the rain, which I’m sure didn’t help the cold I’m currently battling.  

     As I thought about my hatred for running on treadmills, it reminded me of why our efforts to serve Jesus and show the world the love of Christ can be so hard… because sometimes it feels like we’re getting nowhere.  At least that has been my experience.  Sometimes I seem to strive so hard for the kingdom of God, only to see apathy among his people and very few coming to faith in Christ.  It’s daunting and downright discouraging at times… it feels like I’m running on a spiritual treadmill.  But here’s the thing… when I’m running a treadmill… whether my mind is engaged or not, my body is reaping dividends.  The same is true when we are planting seeds that seem not to be growing.  Some seeds take more time to develop… but we are NEVER wasting our time when we invest our lives into others.  Not long ago, I got an email from a guy that I ran cross country with in college.  I haven’t talked to this guy in 9 years, so you can imagine my surprise when I got his message.  He is a young man who has made some poor decisions in his life, but is now trying to connect with God, and he said, “the only person I could think of was you Rob.”  Wow… I planted that seed 9 years ago and haven’t seen him since, and yet… here now that seed is beginning to grow.  What’s the point?  ”Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 6:9)  It’s time to instill some treadmill faith… faith that God is at work even when we feel like we’re going nowhere.  Sometimes I need to be reminded that God is at work in ways that can’t always see.  Thank You God for Your sovereign work in my little life!

I’m sitting here in bed tonight… and my mind is racing!  I coach over at Glenelg High School and I come in contact with so many high school students everyday… and most of them do not have a clue about the abundant life that Christ offers them.  On my wrestling team (my current coaching position) there are alot of guys who clearly do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ.  And I sit here in my bed tonight, with an aching in my stomach for them to know the truth… for their lives to be dramatically changed by my Savior!  But I often find myself asking… where does it start?  Tonight I was reading a book by Jonathan McKee called “Do they run when they see you coming?  Reaching out to unchurched teenagers,” and he gives a one word place to start… LOVE.  That didn’t sound too earth-shattering to me at first… I’ve often said this myself… “We just have to love on ‘em,” and yet… I find myself struggling to love the unchurched.  Not like Jesus did anyway… he ached for them!  Tonight… I’m aching!  I don’t care about being a coach that wins championships, but one that leads students to a fulfilling life in Christ.  What if we all loved this way?  What if we quit worrying so much about ourselves and what we do inside our four walls and started worrying… no… aching for those outside our walls?  Wouldn’t we see dramatic change?  But alas… even the church (and maybe especially the church) is consumed by self… the very thing Christ said we had to deny in order to be a true follower of Him!  Tonight… I’m burning to reach the unchurched!  I want to see kids smoking in our parking lot!  Not because I’m all for teens smoking… but because those are the kids I want to reach.  I want to see teens in our church that look like the tripped and fell into a tackle box!  I want kids who find love no where else… to find it here.  That is why we named our ministry 748 Ministries to begin with.  It comes from Luke 7:48, where Jesus says to an unlovable and condemned (by religious people) woman, “your sins are forgiven!”  I pray that such a desire will not be mine alone.  I’m not sure if anyone even reads this blog… but I plead with you to LOVE with me… let’s love our community… let’s love the unloveables and let God do the rest!

Alright… confession time… I love sports! No, I mean… I LOVE sports! It’s kinda ridiculous sometimes. Right now I’m trying to juggle my sports obsessions. My Cowboys are in the thick of a nasty playoff race… my Tarheels are looking like the clear favorites to win it all… and the defending state champion Glenelg wrestling team I coach is trying to remain on top after losing 4 studs from our line-up. Look at my computer history and you will see a very familiar pattern of bouncing from hotmail to ESPN and then to the Maryland wrestling forum. Sometimes I get so into checking out stats and possible scenarios, that they race in my head even as a lay down to sleep at night. In fact, just the other night, that is exactly what happened. I had just spent a couple hours evaluating the chances of the Cowboys making into the playoffs and evaluating how in the world we were going to beat a couple tough Howard County opponents in wrestling. As I was laying there in bed thinking about the next wrestling match, a very sobering thought hit me. What if I shifted the focus of my sports passions to the passions of Jesus Christ? What if I spent more time praying for and strategizing how to reach those wrestlers with the gospel of Jesus than I did how to win a match? Wow… talk about a God-sized slap in the face! Please don’t misunderstand me… sports are fine… in fact they are great, and I think they carry in and of themselves great value to those involved. There is nothing wrong with being a fan and keeping track of your teams. But why in the world can I not be that passionate, naturally about the things of God? Let’s be honest… most of us have to make it a “discipline” to spend consistent and quality time in the Word of God. At least, I know I do! But I don’t have to “make” myself watch some Sportscenter or surf espn.com. That night… convicted by the direction of my passions, I found myself shifting the focus. I immediately got out of bed and starting praying over my wrestling roster. I prayed for one of my wrestlers who I know was really struggling cutting weight, that he would sleep well that night. The next day, I conveyed this prayer to him, and planted a small seed I hope to water throughout the rest of this season. I don’t expect that I will abandon sports or my love for them… I think God put that in my heart. But I do plan to shift the focus in the coming days!