Changing Perception

 

- personal - biblical - progressive -

finally
Thursday, April 30, 2009

We have been gone since last Thursday. We got home late last night and we were wiped out. We were so busy all week. It doesn't get any easier. We are headed off for an ultrasound this morning. I only really have today and tomorrow morning to prepare for my message. Tomorrow night we have iCHANGED, a youth retreat, then we are going to the zoo on Saturday. Busy, busy, busy. The good news is, that district council was great. Dick Foth was the speaker and he is such a great communicator and great story teller. I thoroghly enjoyed each message. I am processing through them and asking God to speak to me about each message. Well, we are off to the dr, please pray for us the next few days as we are busy. We need God's grace.

posted by Pastor Potter @ 8:14 AM, , links to this post

Council
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I am at district council voting on resolutions and new officials. Fun stuff! I love being able to hang out with about 300 of the best people of the world who have given their lives for the ministry. As one who is lucky enough to serve in full time ministry, I am so thankful to be a part of such a great group of people. Pray for us as we charge forward working to extend the Kingdom of God together.

Today I am 32. Yikes. I am old

posted by Pastor Potter @ 1:44 PM, , links to this post

gone another 3 days
Monday, April 27, 2009

This morning we are leaving Waterloo to head to Des Moines for District Council. I am looking forward to getting together with other leaders from across the state as well as friends we have in the ministry. 

posted by Pastor Potter @ 9:10 AM, , links to this post

smell
Thursday, April 23, 2009

Those of you who know me know that I don't have good smelling senses. I can smell really strong things sometimes, but not all the time. One thing I can smell and love is grass, more importantly frest cut grass. This morning I cut my grass for the first time. The smell really woke me up and made me appreciate the goodness of God. Is there any way to measure the goodness of God? I know that there isn't, most of the time we just casually go about life not even thanking Him for the daily things he gives us. I do think the more thankful we are, and the more we recognize God and His goodness, the more he shows us His goodness. I mean think about it, God is always good no matter what, but when you are good to people and they don't say thank you or anything, it is easier to stop doing things for them. That is the complete opposite of God. God is constant and great and is always working. Unfortunately, I think we all miss the blessings that he graciously sends out way. Today, stop and smell the grass. Stop and thank God for His goodness today.

posted by Pastor Potter @ 10:13 AM, , links to this post

trip time
Wednesday, April 22, 2009

So tomorrow we are going on a short trip. We are headed to Waterloo to see our family. We will be seeing our new niece Molly Jo Potter for the first time in person. We are really excited. Hopefully while I am up in Waterloo I will have time to play a round of golf. It will be really nice to see my family. One of the things that is hard about ministry is not getting to see your family as much as you would like to. We both understand that is part of the ministry package, but that does not mean it is easy. I am thankful for our families, both sides. After our trip to Waterloo, we will be making a trip to Des Moines for 3 days for district council. It is always a great time to get together with other ministers and friends in the ministry and share our hearts, frustrations, joys and pains. I am looking forward to this trip for a little refreshing time, and for interaction with other ministers. Please pray for us while we are away. Thanks and God bless.

posted by Pastor Potter @ 10:54 AM, , links to this post

if
Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. It begs the question "if someone is really in Christ, what does that look like"? It means that new things are happening. It means that old things should not be happening. When we encounter Christ it changes everything. Does that mean we are all together perfect now? Not even close. What it means is - we are willing to do whatever it takes to be like Christ. It means we now live for Christ by living for others, effected by the power of the Spirit and the death of Christ. So we must ask ourselves 3 things here

• am I living for Christ by living for others (or am I selfish? It's all about me)
• is the Spirit of God having any effect on me?
• is the death of Christ effecting me in any way?

posted by Pastor Potter @ 9:48 AM, , links to this post

Red Culture Conference
Monday, April 20, 2009

This past Friday and Saturday we took 9 students to Des Moines for what used to be known as youth convention. It started off with KJ-52 a christian rapper who is and A/G guy and his performance was great. His message was great too. Then the worship team called "current" came up and did awesome. They really got people to worship. After that Luke McMartin brought the message and it really got me fired up. I spent some time with God at the end of service and God confirmed a couple things in me. Saturday started off with KJ-52 giving the message. He basically gave his testimony and challenged the students. In the afternoon we had worship again and then spent the rest of the time praying and worshipping before God. It was awesome. God really moved. I am so excited that we were able to go. It is monday and I am still exhausted from it physically, but spiritually so refreshed. If you want to listen to yesterday's message go here. We have prayer tonight, so that will be a time of more refreshing. I can't wait to seek God with my friends from New Life in prayer.

posted by Pastor Potter @ 2:26 PM, , links to this post

Obsessed
Thursday, April 16, 2009

Last night we talked about being obsessed. I shared some funny things that we are all obsessed with. I shared a personal story of how when I was a young lad, yeah, that's right, young lad, I wanted a body by Jake. I had to have it and my parents spent a lot of money on it. I didn't use it very much at all. I don't know why I had to have it, but I just did. I wasted my parents money. I do feel bad about that now as an adult. Anyhow, we have all been obsessed at one point or another with something. Obsessed is to have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic. We talked about some of our childhood crushes and the superheros we wanted to be. It was a fun discussion. The main point is that our central topic or thing that we are excessively preoccupied with is God. If it isn't everything will be out of whack. If God is not the central theme that everything else flows down from, everything else will be shallow and unfulfilling in the end. God always satisfies, even more than snickers. Bad joke, but you get the point. You will never passionately pursue God and find him and feel empty of unfulfilled. Let Him be your central focus.

posted by Pastor Potter @ 10:04 AM, , links to this post

day off
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Yesterday I took the day off to spend with Melissa. It was our two year anniversary. It is so important for us to be able to unplug from ministry. People always say ministry is 24/7. I don't agree. Thinking about ministry 24/7 maybe, but doing it, not so much. God is my first priority. My family is my second. If I get those two out of whack, especially the first one, the rest of my life will be chaotic. Ministry is way more difficult than people think, but it is also more rewarding than most people think. For us we try to keep everything in perspective. It's a very fine line. Having our baby here soon is going to throw a whole other twist into this whole thing. I am so excited for our baby to be born, but I am nervous about the balancing act. One of the reasons people get out of ministry is because of burn out. They have so much going on and no release point and it changes everything they do. They don't get the God time, or family time, or ministry time in. They just spin out of control until it all falls apart. I am praying big time that God helps us balance everything correctly. I am sure we will mess up several times before we get it right. The goal is getting it right. By the way, my brother and sis-in-law had their baby. Molly Jo Potter.

posted by Pastor Potter @ 9:49 AM, , links to this post

2 year anniversary
Monday, April 13, 2009

I wont be writing a post tomorrow. I am taking the day off to get away with Melissa for the day. Tomorrow is our 2 year anniversary. I cannot believe it has been two years. It has flown by. Being married is a lot different than I think any of us imagine, but it is way better than I imagined it would be too. My wife and I share a passion for God and ministry which is something I am so thankful for. That is what most people see and rightly so. We try to be the best examples we can be. What people don't see is the caring, nurturing wife that I get to see everyday. The tears we have shed together. The love that we hold for each other in all the little things that we do together. I cannot wait to see her as a mom. From the start of our relationship I have adored my wife. I think about her so much. I love her so much. I cannot imagine what life without her would look like. Most of all I am thankful that she puts up with me. She sees a part of me that no one else sees. She sees my faults. My attitudes. My sports :) and yet she still loves me. I haven't figured out why yet, but she does. I am so thankful. Tomorrow I plan on spending the whole day with her. No phone, No email, No facebook. Just Melissa and I.

posted by Pastor Potter @ 11:41 AM, , links to this post

conversational christianity
Thursday, April 09, 2009

I hear a lot of talk among younger evangelicals about creating or having a conversation about God. We want to create a safe place for those who don't know Christ or who may be seeking Christ to come to where it will be ok for them to ask questions and give their viewpoints. I honestly have no problems with talking to people about faith. I think it is good for us to engage people in the conversation. The problem I think we put ourselves in when we do this is we want it to be so safe and ok for them that we won't let them know where we stand on things. We don't want to offend them on issues. So we step around those issues and try to bring it back to the central theme of the cross which is so important, but the real questions they have we can't answer because if we do, it will turn them away or so we think. The cross is what will change them, but most times I find they get so hung up on a certain issue that if that issue is not resolved or answered, they will never even go to the cross in the first place. I truly believe people want to and should know where we stand on things. They may not agree with it, but at least they know we have a stance on it. It is extra nice if we can have biblical references for our stance. When it comes down to serving Christ, there is really nothing safe about it. It isn't easy. It doesn't give us all the answers and doesn't have to. Our life is not instantly made easier. I guess creating a safe place for conversation is a good thing, but only if we are willing to let people know where we stand on things and we are not so worried about offending people, not that offending people is our goal. Jesus wasn't offensive to be a jerk, He was offensive because of what He calls us to is so radical.

posted by Pastor Potter @ 11:43 AM, , links to this post

Ministers attacking Ministers
Wednesday, April 08, 2009

One thing I see from time to time is ministers going after other ministers almost as if it is their God given duty to correct what that person has to say. Do I think there are people out there who are crazy and do things in the name of God and may even be on TBN. YES!!! Do I think that I need to correct them, or point out their theology and how it is wrong? NO!!! How many of these pastors who choose to go off on other ministers have actually approached the minister they are going off on or "correcting" in the name of God? I have heard of pastors doing a series on 4 different pastors and their false teachings. I don't think he personally met them or asked them about why they believe the things they do, but rather sat behind his pulpit and picked them apart. Since when it is a senior pastors job to point out what every other minister is doing wrong? If there is a false teacher, they need to be dealt with, but if they are 1000 miles away, what can I really do for them if I am not willing to confront them personally? What's worse is that we are leaders telling our people to love people, have grace for them and not to be judgmental, yet pastors feel it is their duty to correct other ministers? I don't get it. Maybe it's just not my calling?

posted by Pastor Potter @ 9:52 AM, , links to this post

busy time of year
Tuesday, April 07, 2009

There are times for each of us that just seem to be so busy we don't even know what to do. This is the time of year that is busy for us. We have Easter this week, which is what it is all about. Next week we have youth convention. The next week we have District Council. The next weekend we are having a youth retreat here at our church. That seems to be a lot in a short time. All of these things will take a great deal of planning. Please pray for us in this busy season not to grow weary. Pray for our strength. Pray for us to have wisdom to know exactly how much time we should spend on each separate event.

My prayer is that we never get too busy doing the things of God that we forget to see Him. To see His goodness, His love, His grace or His compassion.

posted by Pastor Potter @ 11:48 AM, , links to this post

lone pastor
Monday, April 06, 2009

When you are the only pastor at the church you have so many things to do other than preaching and teaching. For example, this morning, I have been calling around for hotel rooms for the youth convention, district council and reserving a 15 passenger van for one of the trips. I have replaced the offering envelopes in the chairs that got used yesterday. I have cleaned up some mud that someone drug into the church. I have been crunching numbers to see how much the church is going to have to pay out of budget for these trips. There is a lot of organization that goes into running a church than most think. I am only touching the surface with what I had to do this morning. In a small church and as the only pastor it can be a ton of work, not that it isn't in a big church. I have a great wife who helps out with so much. She really takes a lot off of my plate. Every week she helps do things at the church that get so overlooked. All of the small things in ministry get overlooked by most people who come to church, but they cannot be neglected just because you don't get recognition. It is great being married to someone who not only loves me, but is passionate about the ministry just as I am. I could never do what we do here at New Life without her. I want you to know I am not complaining about these things. I am only sharing some of the things that the average church attender might not be aware of. What we have found is unless people know there is a need in certain areas, the only way something gets done is if the pastor does it. I gotta lead by example. I am not above doing anything. Even watering the church plants.

posted by Pastor Potter @ 11:03 AM, , links to this post

the gospel part 1
Sunday, April 05, 2009

In the month of April we will be going through the Gospel piece by piece to give the clearest Gospel presentation we have ever given before at New Life. Listen to part 1 here.

posted by Pastor Potter @ 5:17 PM, , links to this post

psalm 62
Wednesday, April 01, 2009

There is a song by Aaron Keyes where he sings through this Psalm. It is one of my favorite songs. Here is the link to the song "Psalm 62". It is a youtube video so you can watch them sing it.

It is good to learn the Word of God. It is good to quote the bible. It is right for us to read His Word to see what it says about Him. When we worship Him according to who He really is, it opens up a release of His presence. I love new music. I love current christian worship. A lot of hymns and songs that we grew up singing seem to have more biblical content. Sometimes we need to worship God out of our hunger for Him. He is the reason we worship. So some of the older songs that quote scripture or talk about God are not necessarily bad or irrelevant. I have heard many people say, "hymns are about God, newer worship is music to God". There needs to be a balance of both. This song is very current and very biblical. I love it!

posted by Pastor Potter @ 2:56 PM, , links to this post