24/7 prayer tent to come down 5/30/2007
MISSISSIPPI RIVER PRAYER WALK TO CONTINUE
JUST A NOTE: THIS IS PROBABLY THE SIXTH TIME THAT I HAVE EDITED THIS PAGE!
THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE MAY REALIZE THAT I HAVE REMOVED THE
NAMES OF THE PASTOR AND THE CHURCH I WAS WORKING WITH AT THE KATRINA RELIEF
SITE IN LOUISIANA ON THIS PAGE AS WELL AS ON MY HURRICANE KATRINA
NEWSLETTER, PAGE, BECAUSE MY INTENT
IS NOT TO SPEAK ILL OF ANYONE OR TO ATTACK THIER MINISTRY. I AM ON A PRAYER
WALK, PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH IN AMERICA, NOT PRAYING AGAINST IT! I RESPECT
THE PASTOR WHOSE MINISTRY I WORKED UNDER WHILE I WAS AT THE RELIEF CENTER,
AND I AM GRATEFUL TO HAVE WORKED AT THE RELIEF CENTER AS LONG AS I DID, AND
THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAGE IS NOT TO ATTACK HIM, HIS MINISTRY OR ANY OTHER MINISTRY.
THIS IS MERELY AN ATTEMPT BY ME TO DETAIL TO THE READER AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE
THIS CHAPTER OF OUR SERVICE TO THE LORD! THE PASTOR WROTE AN E-MAIL TO ME RECENTLY AND TOLD ME THAT HE FELT LIKE I WAS TAKING A "CHEAP SHOT" AT HIM AND HIS MINISTRY BECAUSE OF "HURTS" THAT WE EXPERIENCED WHILE WE WERE THERE. BUT THAT WAS NOT THE CASE...I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT I LOVE THE BROTHER, AND I RESPECT HIM AND ALL THE WORK TO FURTHER THE KINGDOM OF GOD THAT HIS MINISTRY HAS DONE. I HAVE REMOVED MORE STATEMENTS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN PERCIEVED TO BE INFLAMMATORY TOWARD HIS MINISTRY. My intent isn't to offend anyone...just to present the facts of our time there, and my observations of the things that took place there. The sad truth of the matter is that I have spoken to brothers and sisters who were involved in other relief centers in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast, and thier observations of what went on behind the scenes are very much the same as mine. So regardless of what a person may think the purpose of this article is, it's NOT about the ministry I was working with! To my surprise the pastor told me that this page was on several blogs. If you have posted this page to your blog, please either remove it, or replace it with this edited page. If you know who this article is about, let me tell you, that despite the shortcomings that I mention here, that church did more for the Katrina relief work than any other ministry I know of. If you don't know who this article is about, Praise the Lord! Because it is all about the Church in general.
What follows is my personal evaluation of the result of a small ministry (Crosscountry
Ministries) working for the past 20 months with a Large International type
ministry. Because of the nature of each ministry involved, the perspectives
and priorities of ministry will differ. As they say there are three sides
to every story: Yours, mine, and the Lord's.
What is written here is NOT intended as an indictment on any other ministry.
Having said that, I do want to go on the record as stating that I believe
that the bigger a ministry gets, the more out of touch with real one-on-one
ministry a pastor can become. The more ambitious one becomes in expanding
"his ministry", the less involved with "common people" he will become. On
my prayer walk, I have been praying that pastors in America would return to
their first love. That they would remember what it was to simply minister
and not administrate. That they would repent of their building their own Kingdom
mentality, and begin to seek each other's good before their own. The Lord
has made me walk out the prayers that I pray.
For twenty months I have worked with a local church to see the city of New
Orleans impacted for Jesus Christ, and in doing so, to assist the Pastor and
his ministry to be restored to pre-Katrina standards or even better. In doing
so, the Lord opened my eyes to seeing how a big ministry operates. I am glad
I have remained small. Hallelujah! I believe it must be very difficult to
hold on to a semblance of integrity when you are courting other churches for
the support you need to make your corporation run! What follows is my personal
observations of the past 20 months.
Praise the
Lord! Our season at the Hurricane Katrina relief center is winding down. After
20 months, the time has come to head North back to Central Louisiana, and
to resume the Mississippi River prayer walk after we spend some time up there
getting our personal affairs in order. Around the first of the month of May,
the lead Pastor of the church we had been working with told me that the tent
would have to come down. Sometime in March I had told Michelle that I thought
it would be time to move on from the relief center, but I wasn't sure that
we were done with the city of New Orleans. I thought that maybe we would end
up setting the prayer tent up in another spot. The focus of the relief center
was turning more to getting the campus up in shape and rebuilding the church
and the retail shops that were on the property that had been under water,
and I knew that the tent and the trailers would be considered an eyesore from
a business perspective, and it probably wouldn't be a real draw to businesses
to rent from the church with all the stuff at the relief center. No one told
me that was an issue, but I knew that it probably would be sometime soon.
When the pastor told me that he had decided that the tent had to come down,
I could never actually get a solid answer from him as to "why" he
felt that the tent must come down. When I asked him if he prayed about the
necessity of the tent coming down, he said that although he hadn't spent a
great deal of time seeking the Lord about it, he had prayed, and "felt
a peace" about his decision.
One of the reasons he mentioned for taking the tent down was that at the relief
center people refer to me as "pastor", and,
he said, "there is only room for one lead pastor at the church"!
Of course, I told him that I had never taken that designation for myself...just
the fact that I was available here at the relief center on a 24/7 basis if
anyone wanted to get some spiritual counsel caused some here to view me as
their personal pastor. I had always been very careful to be in submission
to the church and those who are in Authority here. The only time I questioned
authority was when one of the sheep were being emotionally shredded to pieces
by a hireling shepherd (three times in 20 months), or when someone from the
church scheduled some teams to gut out the local Islamic center!
I told the pastor that I was never here to further the name of Crosscountry4Jesus' ministries, but that I had always lifted up the Name of Jesus Christ first, and then gave the credit for the work done here to the church and the Pastor in particular for having the vision to begin this relief center. The bottom line is this is his ministry, and I just came along side to help for a season, and whatever the reason may be, if he deems that the tent comes down on his property, who am I to argue? I enjoyed the time it was up, and the opportunity I had to work with other like minded ministries who came to minister nightly under the tent and to pray for the church and the city of New Orleans.
I do need to clarify something here. The pastor never asked me to leave the relief center. He just told me the tent had to come down. But the tent has been the most crucial part of what was being done here as a vehicle for 24/7 ministry and prayer for this city, and if that isn't going to happen any more, then it is time for me to move on.
I have mixed feelings about leaving the relief center. On the one hand I really don't think that there is anyone on the Church staff that will take ministry serious enough to be available at any time of day or night to meet the needs of those who come to the relief center for help, unless someone else comes on board as a permanent volunteer to fill that need. That has been my joy here; to be available for ministry at any time of night or day for those who need someone to listen to them.
If it seems like boasting on my part, that is not my intention; but during this time at the relief center, everyone that I had contact with knew that they could come to me at any hour of the day or night. There were many nights that I stayed up until three o'clock in the morning counseling someone or comforting them in their loss. I never took the title of "pastor" for myself...It was just what I did and how I lived that caused people to recognize that I am a true shepherd of the sheep. One of the hardest things about leaving is that I have no where to commend my sheep that the Lord committed to me. I know they won't be content with the twice a week ritual of 3 fast songs, 4 slow songs, 45 minute oration from the paid speaker that prevails in most churches. But they are His Children, and I was able to disciple them in a way that they know they are to remain in fellowship. As I said, I'm not positive, but I am almost certain that there is no one on the paid church staff who would be consistently available for people at any time of the day or night. AT LEAST I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT TO BE THE CASE WHILE I HAVE BEEN HERE. Maybe things will change as the church expands. I sincerely hope so.
Plus,
I got to see some of how a "big" church conducts ministry as it
seeks to broaden its influence in the area. Because of the obvious lack of
focus on true ministry in the pursuit of rebuilding their facility I am also
grateful that we are leaving the relief center. In all the years that I have
been in ministry, and have worked with numerous churches, I have heard of
the term "church politics", but have never been close enough to
it to understand what that looked like. What's really scary is that the existence
of "church politics" is accepted as the norm. Call me naive, but I have seen
too much red tape and delegating
of responsibility as people in
positions of authority scramble
for recognition and leave the real work to the "little people" while
the "Big I's" take all the credit for
what has been done. I KNOW that isn't the way it is
supposed to be in ministry, and unfortunately,
much of what is called ministry in the churches today is
not ministry. The artificial compassion that
is demonstrated from the pulpit in many churches does not carry through in
the everyday life of the paid pulpeteer! That's made evident through the office
hours they keep. Jesus said you will know them
by their fruit.
Though in the pursuit of building up their own kingdoms and acquiring some
degree of recognition, some men may be content with playing at ministry or
with fitting ministry into their "schedules", I don't ever want to fall in
the trap of "PLAYING MINISTRY".
There are
too many ministries in the United States who PLAY at ministry while furthering
their own selfish ambitions. It will be a terrible day when "ministers of
the gospel" stand before God and find out the programs they bought into became
substitutes for the Holy Spirit, and they had been deceived all those years
that they perpetrated those things! There is going to be a shaking and a judgment
coming on the self professed ministers of God who take that which God has
entrusted to them lightly. Yet there is no fear of God in their circles.
I
have seen jealousy, gossip and vain ambition among some of the official staff
at the relief center result in many offenses.
I have seen too many people who have a title of ministry such as pastor so-and-so
come on board to "assist" in the relief center, and yet it seemed
to me that their concept of ministry is to be in the lime light and to make
the relief center look good to the church groups there so they can be sure
to get the financial support they need. From my perspective in the relief
center, I have personally seen more business being conducted than ministry
by the "ministers" of this church. Of course, my perspective might
be wrong. But that's what I have seen.
Again, as they say, hind sight is 20/20, and from my perspective looking back
on all that had gone on at the relief center, the real ministry that went
on in the neighborhoods, on the streets and at the center was always done
by the permanent volunteers who led the temporary volunteers into the opportunities
for ministry. Some of the Church staff made occasional appearances at the
relief center to greet a team that just came in (particularly if they were
from a larger supporting church), but it was the full time volunteers who
did the real work. I don't think I ever saw a church staff member (except
for faithful Chris) out at the food distribution site, sweating alongside
of the rest of the volunteers. It's that hierarchy mentality that the Church
in America needs to repent of. It's that kind of thing that makes me question
the genuine sincerity of any ministry.
The most I ever saw the staff of the church actively involved in the relief center was when Laura Bush and Santa Claus visited the relief center in December of 2005.
The
relief center would not have functioned without the volunteers and ministries
that came from elsewhere to work with them and it was the work done by those
volunteers that gave the Church the good name
that it got from the things done at the relief center. I believe the pastor
would be the first to admit that.
It
wasn't always like this. When Chris and I first opened the relief center,
there was nothing but pure ministry that happened. The only thing that mattered
were the souls that needed to be ministered to. All the church
staff were gone. Once
the staff started coming back, more and more rules began to be implemented...programs
and protocol began to be the standard. As time progressed, every Monday and
Tuesday Chris had to be gone the greater part of the day because of meetings.
The
more the church staff began to get involved, it seemed like less individual
ministry needs were being met at the relief center. That's where digging into
my own pocket to help people came into play. The church was generating hundreds
of thousands of dollars through donations to the church and the relief center,
and yet the person on the street had a tough
time getting a motel room or a bus ticket.
Standard protocol was to call the office, go through the steps on the electronic
answering machine; "If you know your party's extension press one..."
and then hope that someone was available to talk to regarding the need that
we were trying to meet. Of course in such a system, the need has to arise
between 9 and 5 P.M., and you weren't always assured of getting the person
you needed to talk to any way. Call me simple minded, but I don't believe
ministry is supposed to be that complicated. A person who reads this might
say, "But Lance, there is such a world of difference between your ministry
and the ministry of Big churches. Just the volume of everything that needs
to be done requires so much more for them to function than your ministry."
I believe when ministry becomes more like a corporation and blurs the simplicity
that is in Christian service, it is time to reevaluate your priorities. According
to 1 Corinthians 12, every member of the Church is to be trained to be an
effective minister. If that actually took place in the churches in America,
just imagine what the large congregations could do to impact their cities.
For
eleven months last year, the church blessed us financially each month from
some funds they had received from another church, and I was able to use the
bulk
of that money to buy
motel rooms for individuals who came to the center and needed shelter
for that night, or to buy
bus tickets for some who needed to get out of the city, or food, gas,
car parts for those who had
broken down, even hospital expenses on a couple of occasions! Because of the
financial blessings during that time, I was even able to deliver a brother's
car from Mississippi
to California.
There were many people who had great need that either
couldn't (because of the time of day that the need presented
itself - No ministry from the paid staff after 5 PM) or wouldn't ("we
don't do that here") be met by the church or the relief center
but because of the generosity of that church or churches
toward the church, I was able to skirt all of
the nonsense that comes with the red tape of men's organizations
and just do what needed to be done!
My intent here is not to boast on what was accomplished by me, but just to
illustrate how a ministry on a shoestring budget with seven children to feed
was able to meet more out of pocket after hours individual ministry needs
than a ministry with hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s kind of comical.
Sometimes I was “refunded” when Chris would hear of what I did, but for the
most part I kept those things between me and Jesus and the parties involved.
I am grateful for the church's generosity in sharing some of those funds with us during that season. Because of that extra money, I was able to do many things to help others that I couldn't have done otherwise; but I had been able to keep my integrity before God and I didn't have to solicit any of it from the church.
I am absolutely convinced that ministry is supposed to be a 24/7 lifestyle. Those of us who are ministers of the Gospel are NOT supposed to be in it for wages, and the whole "paid office staff" business type mentality in the churches is WRONG!
That's been one of the hardest things to come to terms with here. How can anyone call themselves a shepherd of the sheep and hold office hours? It doesn't matter how one would like to justify their position, they are inexcusable if they think the 9-5 weekdays and 8-12 Sundays are sufficient to pastor the Flock of God. If you desire to be known by a title, you need to live up to that title. A true shepherd of the sheep needs to be watchful at all times, but it is in the night that the wolf really prowls around, looking for a lamb to devour! The more I have worked with the corporate setting of something that has the semblance of "church", the more disgusted I have gotten with the 9-5 mentality. It's really just a farce. I know the 24/7 availability of a pastor is possible, because I have walked it out for the past 20 months. I believe it is time for "church as usual" to come to an end. If you are a minister of the gospel you need to repent of your hireling mentality. Either get serious about your calling, or get another job, and quit making a mockery of the things of God!
If you are a pastor and have fallen into the 9-5 hireling mentality, let me encourage you to return to your first love. Chances are that there was a day when you used to be available at all hours of the day, and you were blessed to be a blessing, but you bought into that leaven that the American Church ministry has bought into. If you don't repent of the hireling attitude, you will have to ultimately answer to God for it. Chances are that most pastors who read this will have their consciences so seared that the last statement won't bother them at all!
Again, I am not aiming to blast the church or the pastor I was working with.
Need help? We have staff available 24/7 to be of assistance to you.
You might say, "well, I don't have a staff," or "no one is willing
to be available after hours." Well, if that is the case, just suck it up!
Or, as the Bible says, "Quit ye like men!" If you can't handle
the opportunities the Lord brings to you, then find another job.
The Bible doesn't mention anything about ministers having spiritual burnout
because of too much work or holding office hours. If you have a true heart to
serve the Lord, He will equip you if He has called you! You just need to repent
of your backslidden ways and return to your first love. Ministry is NOT a job.
It is a life long calling, and this Nation is deteriorating fast because of
the pursuit of popularity and acceptance by those paper generals or hireling
pastors who call themselves "men of God."
The watch men have left their posts to fly to this speaking engagement or that
"pastor's conference", and the enemy of apathy has crept into their churches
and their cities. Ministries have opted to entertain the spectators that come
to their theaters, rather than equip the Body of Christ for warfare and to occupy
the land. Recovery programs modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous prevail, where
the only hope that someone has is to stay connected with a support group that
will help them stay clean and sober. These programs substitute the Power of
the Holy Spirit for man centered psychological nonsense.
In the twenty months that I ministered to my small flock under the tent I have
seen some with drug and alcohol issues get set free. I have seen some with suicidal
tendencies delivered. I have seen some with severe depression come out of that
funk and begin to walk in the joy of the Holy Spirit. Every one of them became
able ministers of the gospel. It just required some personal late night ministry
on my part, and preaching the uncompromised Word of God, while letting the Holy
Spirit do what He does best!
One
of the hirelings who held a title here offended many of the permanent volunteers
with his youthful arrogance, and liked to use his position to bully the permanent
volunteers. I was told by a "pastor" on the staff that "he
was young and inexperienced, and he was learning." That's the clergy-laity
mentality. The Layman volunteer wasn't as valuable as the "novice" clergyman
in training. This "inexperience" caused one of the volunteers to
eventually break and to speak some threatening words
regarding wanting to "kill him", and the volunteer
had to leave. He was one of the most accomplished and
dedicated volunteers we had here,
had worked selflessly to build the good reputation of the church,
and because of a moment in the flesh, he was kicked out and the
hireling continued to
work in his position and to aggravate
and offend others. That's why the Bible speaks against "novices"
being put into leadership roles.
As far as I can tell, the issue was never to address the hireling and to wonder
what would cause the volunteer to be moved to such anger to say such a thing.
It seems that because the man was a church employee and the permanent volunteer
was just a volunteer, the volunteer was seen as expendable, so he was asked
to leave. Before the volunteer left, I spoke with him as a pastor and encouraged
him in the things of the Lord, and to leave his bitterness behind. Then
there was the jealousy issue. Before I go on,
I need to clarify that I still respect the lead
pastor for the things that this relief center
has accomplished in this city. Thousands
of people have been impacted through the relief
efforts that were initiated by the pastor who
unselfishly responded to the call of God to help the people of New Orleans.
I just believe that the bigger the organization
gets, the more church politics come into play,
and what was once a God idea degenerates
quickly into a good idea that has gone terribly wrong. At
the last part of 2005, a pastor/evangelist who was holding Sunday morning
services at my tent had put out a vinyl sign advertising his web site, and
the sign had to come down. Early on in the relief effort, another ministry
joined forces with us, and many of the volunteers that came to work the relief
effort saw more people from that ministry than they did from the church, so
the other ministry started to get the credit for the relief center. They soon
got phased out from the
relief center. Permanent
volunteers were required to pay 20 dollars a day to work here at all hours
of the day and night, and if they got donations from other ministries to help
pay for their stay here, they were called into the office, rebuked, and often
asked to leave. Like
the other ministries that have come and gone,
we are NOT members of the church, and since October 8th 2005, the prayer,
evangelism and worship tent has been a central feature here at the relief
center. I
have received many e-mails and personal affirmations
of how many brothers and sisters' lives have
been impacted as a result of the devotions, the
evangelistic outreach excursions out to the French
Quarter, the "evangelistic outreach orientation
excursions" (commonly called "tours" by almost everyone
else!) into the devastated areas. My
family has been known by most of the relief teams
that come as an integral part of the relief center.
A large portion of the people who come to the relief center for help ask for
"Pastor Lance" or Michelle. Most of them don't even know there is
another pastor until I explain to them that the
Church offices are located elsewhere, and they can go there between 8:00 and
5:00 on weekdays, and the services are Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
The
sad truth of the matter is that while the church has been the hosting church,
very few people from the church have been actively involved
in the relief center. Most of the Church staff worked in the background, calling
shots from the other Campus, but doing very little hands on relief work. I personally
had many temporary volunteers comment on that detail. So it is no mystery why
other ministries that actually worked the relief center would be noticed and
accredited with doing the work.
From
my perspective, if a ministry has office hours that have been designated for
ministry, it's more a business than a ministry.
Even though some of what I am writing might seem harsh
and critical against the church, that is not my intent. I have edited this web
page numerous times already ( and once again on October
4, 2007) because I didn't want to make the church seem like the bad guy.
There are a lot of staff members that I love and respect, including the Pastor...I
am just trying to give an accurate report of what I have seen as far as the
relief center and corporation type ministry was concerned. This IS NOT about
the church I worked with. I believe that as a part of my prayer walk up the
Mississippi River, the Lord blessed me with the opportunity to work in the shadow
of a corporate ministry so I can see some of how they function.
As far as reaching out to the community, this church is better than a lot of
churches we have fellowshipped at, and to be honest, it doesn't seem to be much
different than a typical American Church. But I believe that pastors are very
responsible for the direction the church goes, and will one day have to answer
for their compromise in ministry as they emulate techniques that are extra Biblical
in order to expand their influence. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
Emulation is a work of the flesh, and it seems that most ministries try to emulate
other "successful" ministries.
PASTOR, EVANGELIST, PROPHET, APOSTLE, TEACHER, BISHOP, MINISTER, REVEREND, CHRISTIAN...WHATEVER
YOU CHOOSE TO BE CALLED...TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR OUR NATION AND FOR THE FREEDOM
TO PRACTICE CHRISTIANITY AS WE DO NOW. UNLESS YOU REPENT OF YOUR SELF SERVING
GLORY SEEKING WAYS, JUDGMENT WILL FALL! REPENT OF THIS HUMANISTIC WATERED DOWN
PSEUDO-CHRISTIANITY BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! IF YOU CONTINUE TO REFUSE TO HUMBLE
YOURSELF, AND TO SEEK THE FACE OF GOD AND TO PRAY, REPENTING OF YOUR WICKED
WAYS, WORSE THINGS THAN KATRINA WILL HAPPEN. WHAT GOOD WILL THE MILLIONS OF
DOLLARS YOU INVEST IN YOUR SANCTIFIED THEATER HALLS BE WHEN THE LORD DECIDES
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?
I believe that all of this is just an extension of my prayer walk up the Mississippi
River. I believe the Lord allowed me to
be here and to work with this church to be able to see
how far off track the Christian Church has gotten
from what true Christianity is! And He has called me to expose the folly of
the American Church for what it is. At
first the abrupt manner in which the pastor approached me and told me that
the tent had to come down hurt and frankly, I felt like I had been betrayed
and used by someone I had held in high regard over the years. The truth is
that I had been very careful to do what I could to support that church's efforts
to rebuild, but the pastor that I considered as a personal friend never really
got behind the prayer tent, nor did he encourage his people to participate
in it. I
never took offense at the Church's lack of participation in the tent; (I believe
that the mentality of many pastors in America is if it's not their idea, they
won't get behind it); all I know is those who did not get the vision for the
24/7 prayer missed out on a wonderful opportunity to partake in an awesome
move of God in this city. If it is not centered around some kind of program,
most pastors don't even understand the concept. FOR
MOST MINISTRIES THE ISSUE IS CONTROL. IF THEY CAN'T CONTROL WHAT IS HAPPENING,
THEY ARE AFRAID OF IT. THE RELIEF CENTER WAS NO EXCEPTION! ALMOST EVERYONE
WANTED TO HAVE CONTROL! SOMETIMES IT WAS ALMOST COMICAL TO WATCH THE LITTLE
POWER STRUGGLES THAT TOOK PLACE! THE SAD THING WAS THAT THE MORE MEN GOT THEIR
AGENDAS INTO PLAY, OOPS! THERE GOES THE HOLY SPIRIT OUT OF THE PICTURE! Because
of the desire for control, churches in America have substituted Programs for
the Holy Spirit. As I said, I was grateful for the opportunity to contribute
our part in impacting this city for Jesus. The fact is that I came to help
the church and my friends Chris and the
pastor...I never came to be helped by their church! I
have never asked any of the churches that came to work at the relief center
for any kind of support for the ministry the Lord has
called us to, and never even asked the church for anything as well,
except for once when the pastor asked me if there was anything they could
do to help us, I told him there was one item which was donated to them by
another church that would be a great help to us, but he couldn't see donating
that to us anyway. The
Lord gently reminded me of how Abraham would
not receive any spoils from the king of Sodom for assisting him in regaining
and reclaiming his kingdom. Gen
14:21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me
the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22 And Abram said to the king
of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor
of heaven and earth, 23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet,
and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say,
I have made Abram rich: 24 Save only that which the young men have eaten,
and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let
them take their portion. I
am not comparing the pastor to the King of Sodom, but that is the Scripture
that the Lord reminded me of, and He confirmed that Word to me the same day
through the mouth of a person who came to the tent service as he was telling
me that he had read that scripture earlier that day. Receiving help from man
has never been the focus of our ministry, and we shouldn't begin now to rely
on men to be our providers! One
of the Scriptures we have lived by as a model for the ministry for these past
19 years is Acts 20:33 where Paul declares: "I
have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel."
I
can echo Paul's words to the Church in Corinth as I leave the Hurricane Katrina
Relief center: 2Co
11:7 Or did I do wrong in making myself low so that you might be lifted up,
because I gave you the good news of God without reward? 8 I took money from
other churches as payment for my work, so that I might be your servant; 9
And when I was present with you, and was in need, I let no man be responsible
for me; for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, gave me whatever
was needed; and in everything I kept myself from being a trouble to you, and
I will go on doing so. 10 As the true word of Christ is in me, I will let
no man take from me this my cause of pride in the country of Achaia. 11 Why?
because I have no love for you? let God be judge. 12 But what I do, that I
will go on doing, so that I may give no chance to those who are looking for
one; so that, in the cause of their pride, they may be seen to be the same
as we are. (Bible in Basic english) We
have had devotions under the tent (probably referred to by too many as "pastor
Lance's tent"), and generally at least 5 days of the week I have been
blessed to be the one to lead the devotions, encouraging the volunteers who
come to work with us to pursue after following the Lord in service to Him
and to others, not just for a week long mission trip, but all the days of
their life. The
devotions have personally been a blessing and an extension of my Prayer walk
up the Mississippi River. As I have been praying that the Body of Christ in
the United States would
rise up and work together to further the Kingdom of God, I have been blessed
to encourage hundreds of groups from all over the United States to continue
doing what they do here in their own home towns. On
my prayer walk, I have been praying that Christians would walk in the Authority
of Jesus Christ, and I have been able to exhort them to do so in the morning
devotions. I
have been praying that Christians would understand that each one is called
to ministry as service to the Lord, and that the Christian walk is more than
just a two hour a week attendance at a building, and I have been blessed with
the opportunity to speak those words to the groups that come. I
have been praying that those who are in ministry would stop trying to compete
with one another, and that they wouldn't be jealous of their pulpits that
someone might be noticed more than themselves, and that they would be truly
about the establishment of the Kingdom of God, rather than their own kingdoms.
While
I realize that if it wasn't for the pastor opening the door for me, I would
not have been so blessed with these opportunities, I also know that the Lord
is the ONE Who opened the door for me through the pastor, and the "Pastor
Lance" issue shouldn't have even been an issue with my brother in the
Lord. The same goes for the other ministries that came to work with the church
and then were asked or encouraged to leave. The truth is I would
have been grateful to have someone on site that was available for pastoral
ministry to those who needed it 24/7! I know that I have spent literally months
with just 2-6 hours of sleep a day for the ministry here at the Hurricane
Katrina relief center. That's not a complaint; it has been a real blessing
to me to be there at 3:00 in the morning for the one who needed somebody to
minister to. Summer
is coming, and a great many volunteers and churches will be coming here, and
maybe our absence will facilitate more of the local church staff to fill in
the gap and get involved in the one on one ministry that is in such great
demand here at the relief center. Or
maybe the focus is going to shift from meeting the needs of the more "undesirable"
people that come to the center to rebuilding the church building on the relief
center campus. The church has sustained millions of dollars in damage, and
the stores on the campus are a major source of funds for the church, and as
I said, the tent and the trailers could be too much of an eyesore for generating
business. Whatever the reason is, it's the pastor's ministry and he has the
freedom to do whatever he sees fit, and I can't fault him for any decision
he may make regarding the tent. I just came here to help for a season, and
the season is over. I
ended up negotiating with the pastor not to take the tent down immediately,
but to allow me to give the various ministries that had participated throughout
the week at least one more
night to minister before we take the tent down.
The
pastor told me that he would give me until May 30th.
Praise the Lord! I am thankful to the pastor for giving me the grace to set
up my tent on his church's property and to have
these past 20 months to bathe this city in prayer
and for the opportunity to open my tent up to the various ministries that
came on a weekly basis. I
personally believe that New Orleans needs a prayer and ministry
tent (not necessarily mine) to be established and that the
Church in New Orleans needs to get involved in it. I say "tent",
not because I have a tent, but because for years before
the beginning of this 24/7 prayer/praise and worship/evangelism effort I have
seen clearly the necessity of the church to come
out of the four walls and to go outside and attack the devil's turf.
There is a wonderful move of prayer walking and 24/7 intercession in this
Nation, and those who engage in the prayer walks understand the principle
of claiming the ground for Jesus Christ. Satan is referred to in the Bible
as the Prince of the Power of the air, and the god of this world, and when
the Church goes out, it is invading Satan's turf. But in addition to prayer
walking there has to be Gospel preaching in the marketplace. In
the early years of the 1900's, gospel tent meetings were common place. In
the '30s through the '50s, many powerful evangelistic tent crusades were invading
the atmosphere with the Glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ and impacting the
nation for the Glory of God. Miracles
and healings were commonplace at these tent meetings, and many were saved.
Of
course, the Devil won't just sit back and passively allow men of God to invade
his turf, so he went to war. Some of the evangelists fell to various forms
of temptation, and their ministries were effectively put to silence. Some
fell to the power of alcohol. One of them died from cirrhosis of the liver,
and they found his apartment strewn with pill bottles and alcohol. Others
fell to the alluring power of wealth and success, and started to preach about
money more than they preached about the Gospel of Freedom from sin that is
in Christ Jesus. Others fell to the power of pride and began to further their
empires instead of the Kingdom of God. William Branham declared that he was
Elijah the prophet. And still others fell to the seductive power of
lust and infidelity, and soon the tent crusades became a source of
ridicule and mockery by those who saw the hypocrisy
of the men who had fallen to Satan's devices. Gradually, Christians stopped
"going out" to preach the gospel, and started to build their kingdoms
in auditoriums and eventually mega churches. I
don't believe Satan much cares about what goes on in a building. As long as
he can convince the church that "normal Christianity" is a two hour
service once a week inside four walls, and then the rest of the week Christians
can be conformed to the ways of the world, he wins. He does NOT want Christians
to realize that Jesus came to establish a priesthood
of believers. The
gospel (which is not the Gospel of the Bible,
but is another gospel) that is being embraced
by most of the leadership of the church and being
presented to the Church in America is this: "If
you just give your heart to Jesus, you can have the
same type of music and entertainment that you
have always liked; we'll just put the name of Jesus in it once in a while.
You won't be required to change much. Certainly, you don't have to worry about
'going overboard' and becoming a minister of the Gospel. That's the job of
the pastor and his staff! All you really have to do is just attend our entertainment
halls for a few hours a week, and join us as passive spectators while we speak
about how the world is going to hell in a hand basket!" The
Brownsville "revival"
is a case in point. I was carrying a cross through Pensacola while it was
going on in 1997 and even visited the church a few times. People were "falling
under the Power of God", "manifesting" and testimonies were
being given of people receiving healing and being saved. Yet while all of
this was going on indoors with all the people coming from all over the world
to hear the anointed men of God who ministered at the famous revival of Brownsville,
I evangelized the neighborhoods around the church, only to find rampant drug
abuse, prostitution and multitudes of unevangelized
people. What
a sorry state the Church in America has gotten herself
into because of her compromise with the devil! It really makes me weep to
think about it, but I literally weep when I find
that men of God I have once esteemed very highly have bought into that same
deception, and I have known many pastors and evangelists who have done just
that. Unless the leadership in the Church repents of its self seeking self
serving "me and my kingdom" mentality,
there will be more catastrophes that will hit this city and this nation. Our
Father has ways to get our attention. We need to repent of the leaven
that we have allowed to creep into our ministries. While
I have been here I have met a few ministries that are truly about seeking
the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Trumpet of Truth, Jesus' Miracle
Power, Verbo Christian Fellowship, Timothy House, Bethel Colony, Pastor David
Johnson, and Pastor Jagen, Pastor Don Eskine of No Cross No Crown ministries
(Raven Gulf Coast chapter), Brother Frank on Bourbon Street, and I know that
there are others as well who intercede for the city on a daily basis, and
have no other agenda but to see the city impacted for Christ. I have met a
couple of pastors who have a real burden to pray for this city and the church
on a consistent basis. I have met pastors who have ministries that truly reach
out on the street level and who give unselfishly of themselves to see those
who were held in bondage to sin delivered by the Power of God. They are here.
There are just a very few. The majority of them are still confusing the pursuit
of establishing their kingdoms and their programs with ministry. The
Mississippi River Prayer Walk will continue. The Church in America still desperately
needs prayer. This has been a wonderful parenthetical
adventure in ministry that we have partaken in. Many souls were saved and
discipled underneath the tent. 55 people were
baptized, and we recieved many testimonies of healings
and deliverances. Thank You Jesus! In
addition to the Pastor for allowing us to work here for as long as we did,
I want to thank my brother and friend Chris for all his dedication to the
cause of the furtherance of the Gospel. The truth is NONE of this relief center
would have happened like it did if it wasn't for Chris. If I begin to mention
names of people who have been essential to this relief center and the prayer
and worship tent, I know I would probably forget
to mention someone, so you know who you are,
and I thank you. I
do want to thank each member of my family for their
selflessness in service to the relief center. They got hit the hardest by
the big church business political goings on that
have happened here. The ministry the Lord has
called us to over these 19
years has always been simply about reaching out to souls.
A few of them have become disillusioned about
what Christianity has become in the organized church
as a result of seeing the garbage and
the artificiality of what is called ministry
here in the Name of Jesus.
It's because of the leaven
that so many pastors have embraced that many Christians and non-Christians
shy away from the organized Church. I believe we need to be lights to our
brothers and sisters who have fallen into error, and we can't do that if we
stay on the outside. The Church in America is in drastic need of reform, but
we can't just throw the Baby out with the bathwater. Most self seeking pastors
weren't always that way...they just got caught up with the lights and the
glitter. Someone needs to work beside them to demonstrate what true ministry
is. It's ALL about Jesus and it's ALL
about Souls! As flawed as I might be, God has called me to be an example.
I don't just preach it, I walk it to the best of my ability. If
you haven't read it yet, you can read about the first eight months of the
hurricane relief effort in my CROSSCOUNTRY4JESUS
NEWSLETTER. COMMENTS? E-MAIL
ME GO BACK TO THE
INDEX PAGE FOR A DESCRIPTION OF HOW OUR MINISTRY DEVELOPED, CLICK HERE, GO TO THE NEXT PAGE
The 9-5 office hour ministry is the mentality of most pastors in America. But
pastors with that office hour mentality are really not pastors in the Biblical
sense of the word; they are ADMINISTRATORS
at best. YOU MIGHT CARRY A CARD SAYING YOU ARE A PASTOR. YOU MIGHT EVEN INTRODUCE
YOURSELF AS PASTOR SO-AND-SO, BUT IF YOU HOLD OFFICE HOURS, AND YOU ARE NOT
EASILY AVAILABLE TO ANYONE AT ANY TIME OF DAY OR NIGHT, YOU ARE NOT A PASTOR.
IN MY ESTIMATION YOU ARE AT BEST, A BUSINESS MAN TRYING DIFFERENT METHODS (PROGRAMS)
TO EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS, AND TO GET MORE PAYING CLIENTEL! That is not intended
to be a "cheap shot" at anyone. If someone has a different perspective
to offer that will justify the 9-5 ffice hour mentality of ministry, please
e-mail me and set me straight! crosscountry4jesus@juno.com
I just believe that there is a simplicity to ministry, and when you emulate
the ways of the world to make your ministry "more effective", you will lose
that simplicity, and people who need you will fall by the wayside. I am grateful
for the season of ministry I personally was able to do here, and I couldn't
have done it if I was not called to work here.
I am not neccesarily totally against office hours...used properly, that should
give a person an opportunity to be assured that they can visit the pastor any
time of the day if need be. But the pastor also should be available at all times
of the day or night. I can say that because for the past 19 years I
have walked in that reality. This is stretching it, because I personally believe
that whoever views himself as a “senior” pastor should be in the field with
the rest of the flock, but if there is a large staff, they should at least have
people take certain nights where they would be available at any time. If nothing
else, have a card that tells people where to call if they have a need after
hours.
Mondays call Chuck at 555-555-5555
Tuesdays call Susan at 555-555-3333
Wednesdays call Sam at 555-555-2222
Thursdays call John at 555-555-1234
Fridays call Jim at 555-555-1342
Saturdays call Mary at 555-555-2435
Sundays call Chris at 555-555-4325
Anyone who knows me knows I work intimately with churches to build the Kingdom
of God in a city or a neighborhood, and I am not about slamming them or putting
them down! But the Lord has given me eyes to see and ears to hear what His Spirit
would say to the churches, and to call the Church in America to repent and to
reform before it's too late, and the lead pastor and his church are not exempt
from that call!
The section of my web site concerning the leaven
that has crept into the Church in America came
as a result of seeing first hand how Corporations
that refer to themselves as ministries conduct
themselves. There were many times when I wanted to leave
because of MY PERCEPTION of the deviation from true service to Christ
that I have seen here, but the Lord always
held me back from leaving. I still am grateful
for all the wonderful opportunities I had personally to pour my
life into others here, and it wouldn't have happened
without the pastor having the vision to open
up the relief center. I just believe that the church
needs to regroup and focus on the Kingdom of God and on what true ministry
is.
Although I didn't actively participate in the church's Halloween festivals
or in their Santa Claus Christmas "outreach" (I believe it is wrong
and compromises the Christian faith to mix pagan festivities with Christianity,
regardless of how you try to justify it), I worked behind the scenes to facilitate
what needed to be done to make it happen.
Even as I asked for it, I felt like I compromised our walk of faith just by
asking for that thing! It's no excuse, but I guess after working for twenty
months along side ministries that rely on men's assistance by soliciting help
and donations from them to facilitate or to expand their ministry, I allowed
some of that leaven to creep in for a moment.
As long as he can convince Christians and Pastors that
the clergy dominated entertainment industry that passes
as "normal Christianity today" is legitimate,
he wins. It doesn't matter to Satan how many
programs are instituted or how many buildings are erected in the name of the
church; as long as they remain "seeker friendly"
and continue with the "I'm O.K. you're O.K.
but you would be better if you gave your heart to Jesus in the secrecy of
your pew while no one is looking
around" mentality. 
I will continue praying for the Church in America. I will continue to work
with the organized churches. With the help of the Lord, I will strive to continue
to demonstrate by my lifestyle what true Christian
ministry is supposed to be. I am flawed. I have faults just like any one else.
But I certainly don't want to be found guilty of keeping silent as my brothers
and sisters muddy the waters of Christianity and make a mockery of service
to God.
PASTORS, EVANGELISTS, PROPHETS, APOSTLES, TEACHERS:
UNLESS WE REPENT OF OUR RELIGIOUS VANITY, AND GET BUSY ABOUT ESTABLISHING
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN OUR CITIES, DIRE TIMES ARE AHEAD. JUDGMENT MUST FIRST
BEGIN AT THE HOUSE OF GOD. YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE SIZE OF YOUR CONGREGATION
OR YOUR ABILITY TO CONVINCE PEOPLE TO SOW INTO YOUR MINISTRY ARE NOT INDICATIONS
OF GOD'S FAVOR UPON YOUR MINISTRY. SATAN HAS THE POWER TO GIVE YOU WEALTH,
PRESTIGE AND KINGDOMS, AND HE WILL AS LONG AS YOU COMPROMISE YOUR WALK BEFORE
GOD BY LORDING IT OVER THE FLOCK, AND ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS INSTEAD OF A
MINISTRY. AWAKE TO RIGHTEOUSNESS AND SIN NOT, FOR SOME HAVE NOT THE KNOWLEDGE
OF GOD, AND I SPEAK THIS TO YOUR SHAME! SHAKE OFF THE VAIN PHILOSOPHIES AND
TRADITIONS THAT YOU HAVE EMBRACED, AND PURPOSE IN YOUR HEART GIVE THE LORD
24/7 OF YOUR LIFE, EQUIPPING EVERY BELIEVER TO FULFIL THE CALL THE LORD HAS
FOR THEIR LIFE.
A 21ST CENTURY PASTOR'S PRAYER FOR REVIVAL
