Well it has only been eleven months since I have visited my own blog site. Obviously I have not been what you would call an active blogger. I am showing just over 12,600 pending comments of which at least 12, 599 are spam (and some of them are rated at least R) which I will try to delete and clean up. So what has prompted me to return this page called Promptings. Well exactly that, a prompting, in fact a very strong prompting.

Today was a great day in so many ways. The weather in Franklin was absolutely beautiful, worship at TPC was really strong under the leadership of Matthew West (one of my favorite good guys), and the day was capped off with a late afternoon round of golf with friends at Nashville Golf & Athletic Club. When I came in tonight I did the obligatory check-in on Twitter and Facebook. And that’s when it happened, my button just got pushed!

A young pastor that I have never met personally contacted me to let me know how our ministry had inspired him to take some bold steps and cast a new vision for his church today; and to see if we could meet and visit together in the near future. I thanked him for his gracious words of affirmation and then set out to find out more about him through his social media accounts. Reading his comments I soon discovered that someone had just laid into him for his new vision and had decided to exercise “the spiritual gift of criticism”. Now, understand that leaders are not immune to criticism. That is a given and accepted by most who lead. However, when I discovered that the source of his criticism was a fellow pastor, I confess to the strange desire of wanting to open a shoe store in the critic’s backside!  Hey guys, who are you kidding? Aren’t we suppose to be on the same team? Isn’t there enough criticism to deal with in life and ministry without leveling your guns on a fellow pastor?

One of the first things that I taught our church 30 years ago was about speaking the truth in love; always asking three basic questions. Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Now I happen to believe that those same questions should apply in what we write, especially in a day when it is open for the whole world to read. I think that we could all agree that Jesus said that people would know that we are His disciples by the way we LOVE each other. Now it seems to me that this young pastor’s critic failed all three of those tests.

We live in a day and time where those of us in the church are talking more and more about the conditions of the world in which we live, the loss of civility, and the anti-Christian sentiment in our culture. Maybe, just maybe if we practiced what we say we believe and preach we might actually have a positive impact on those things that concern us.

Come on brothers, we are better than this. Maligning one another is not what we signed up for when we answered the call of God to serve Him in ministry. Let’s remember who the real enemy is and it is not the brother down the street in another church. Even if you do not agree with the direction your pastor brother is leading, make it a matter of prayer and not pontificating.

So to my younger pastor friend, go for it! Dream great dreams for God, keep your eyes on Jesus, and persevere. Those of us who are a little farther down the road will be pulling for you. To my pastor friend’s critic: Hey friend, you need to repent, go back and remember why you signed up for this thing call ministry, and seek a new standard for loving your brother. He could use it, you could use it,  and we all could use it.

Still in the journey!

Rick

This past Monday evening I had the pleasure of attending a banquet to honor Dr. Don Finto as Pastor of the Year as  recognized by the Operation Andrew Group here in Nashville. I have known Don for over twenty-five years as we have pastored together in the same city. For twelve plus years we participated together in a pastor’s small group meeting simply called Metro Pastor’s Fellowship. I cannot begin to express the joy that group brought to my life as we walked together as brothers in Christ. While there was never an official leader, Pastor Don was the one we looked to for leadership and guidance.

Though in some ways we were peers Don was the spiritual father figure we all looked up too. Filled with wisdom and truth, Don would always seem to have the right word at the right time for every occasion.

Knowing and walking with Don over two decades helped me understand Paul’s word to young Timothy: 2 Timothy 2:1–2 (ESV) ¹ You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Don has been a faithful steward of the gifts that God has given to him. He has been and continues to be a leader who invest in future generations. His love for Christ, the church, pastors, and people of all kinds makes him stand taller than most. He has a smile that is infectious and a heart that is continually overflowing with mercy and grace. Now into his 80′s he continues to minister with the strength of a man half his age.

When I grow up I want to be like Don. He is truly a man that has blessed many along the journey. Don, speaking for many of us who have been privileged to walk with you, we love you. You are our hero. Lead on and we will follow.

She has only been with us a few months but it seems like she has always been part of our family. Zoe is my four year old granddaughter; the daughter of Tori & Derek Jones (my daughter & son-in-law). Her name not only means life but she is FULL of life. While the other grandkids refer to me as Tato, she refers to me as Cha-Cha for reasons known only to her.

Her beautiful dark Ethiopian skin, brown eyes, and pearly white teeth really set her aside in a family full of blondes and blues. She has a laugh that is infectious, a smile that is contagious, and she is as quick as a cheetah. So how could any such child possibly need medical attention?

A few days ago during a routine physical the doctor spotted something that caused him concern. He scheduled additional tests for Zoe which led to even more test. Bottom line is Zoe is now scheduled for surgery on October 27 at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. It appears that 75% of her stomach has pushed it way into her chest through a hole in her diaphragm. While this is not a life threatening situation at this time it is something that has to be corrected immediately. So once again our family could really use your prayer support. The doctor has told us to prepare for a least a five day stay in the hospital, so her first Halloween may be courtesy of VCH which I understand throws a great party for their kids.

That same week Carrie is expecting her fourth child, Lucie, who is due to make her arrival also at Vanderbilt. So as you are praying would you please consider placing our family on your prayer list? We do believe in prayer. Already we can see the hand of God in the fact that Zoe is here and can get the medical attention she needs, so we are counting our blessings even as we face our challenges. Blessings to all.

Rick