OBAMA IS OUR NEW PRESIDENT!

I have kept away in getting involved in politics but I need to speak up. I have consistently heard following the election how our new president is an "obamination" to the future of America. Whoever you voted for we have to trust and realize that God is control and nothing happens unless he gives the OK nod. It is not about Obama or Bush or whoever, it is about believing that God is bigger than all this and he is control. Secondly, we are called to pray and support our leaders. We may disagree with them but our best answer is to get involved and to pray.

Brand New Message Series - Financial Peace

You are invited to PF church for a brand new series called Financial Peace. Learn and discover the wisdom of God principles for finances.
If you want Financial Peace then You have to change your life!
If you want to change your finances you have to make changes in your life. I am convinced that success in personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge. The challenge will be to get on the on-ramp of spiritual growth and peace when it comes to your finances.

In this series you will learn:
• A proven process for getting out of debt
• How to create a lifestyle of generosity
• In today’s economy, how do we deal with living beyond our means
• How do we deal with the stress of finances
• How do we find peace in today’s economy
• Resources: Books, articles & financial tools
• And much, much more

Spirit's Leading?

I grew up in a Spirit filled church and have been around the block millions of times (well may not millions but a lot) and experienced many moves of God. There is a tension when it comes to humanity and the works of the Holy Spirit. One thing I do know is…not everything that shouts “Spirit-filled” is really from God. This tension is played out in many churches in some Spiritual abuses using the name of the Spirit but it also is played out in a powerful manner when God truly does move upon a human heart. When the authentic word from God is given to the body in an orderly manner, it brings life and freedom to a group of people who truly desire to have an encounter with God. I love it when God uses man to share his “Now” words to hungry hearers who desire to listen and obey. I am bummed when we fake it or try to make it up or the other side of the issue when a group of people don’t value the words that God has spoken to a faith community. My position as Lead Pastor is to shepherd a faith community who will authentically go after experiencing God to the fullest. The only way I can do that is to provide headship and ask God to lead me as I determine what is from God and what is not and then to challenge the faith community that I represent to value the gifts.

The process at PF church is to provide a setting that is safe but helps all to receive and understand what God is doing in the corporate setting. As the lead pastor, I usually sit in the front row and when people have a gift that they feel is from the Spirit, I then provide the covering that is needed to have a safe setting but also that can be shared in an appropriate manner with the faith community. This is done in our setting with first touching base with the lead pastor or whoever is leading the service and he will assist in when it will be used. This is done so that everybody will benefit and all will understand and value the words that will be shared. The result is the NOW Word has been spoken and many can encounter God more fully with hopefully less abuse. I believe gifts of the Spirit are to being given authentically from the Spirit and orderly so that all can benefit. Let’s be a passionate church who desires to hear from God!

Red Apple Evangelism

I received this transcript from a church out on the east coast. I have been massaging this idea in my thoughts and life.

The message is called Red Apple Evangelism. 2 Corinthians 2:15 – “Some will receive our witness and be saved, for we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved.” God is going to give us opportunities to share Jesus with some people and they’re gonna to be like, “Wow, you are the aroma of life.” There are people who are what you would call red apple people – people who are ripe to the gospel. You are going to talk to them and they are going to say, “Where have you been all my life? I have been searching and looking for this message.” You walk away and are taken back with a cool sense that you were an aroma of life to some people. It is so powerful when that happens; when people reveal their hunger to know about God. Please note that it is God who does the work. Who is it that gets people to the red ripened stage to receive the gospel? God does! And how does he ripen people to the gospel? I think he uses circumstances. Now, I can’t ripen someone to the gospel even though I would like to and even may try. This is the work of the Holy Spirit that draws many to know Jesus. Think of the process like the sun beating down on this apple ripening it and preparing it for harvest. Now the same sun can melt the ice but also hardens the clay. And you can see 2 people going through the same thing. One will become so tender, red ripe for the gospel, and another one will become bitter and hard. What’s up with that? One will reject our witness and perish or the timing is not right at this point. The other is an aroma of life and he or she is wide open to receiving the gospel.

Well it goes on to say, “To one a fragrance of death to death to the other a fragrance of life to life.” Some people will reject our witness and possibly perish. We have all seen that before. They will be spending eternity separated from God, even though they have heard the message. Well we call these people green apples. Maybe someday they will become red apples, but the key is to understand where they are at. Sharing to a green apple may be offensive and the aroma smells like death. Green apples are not ripe for the gospel; they are not ready to hear it. Have you ever tried to share Christ with a green apple? Yea, it is tough to see people who are green and not ready, but the key that we need to remember is God can ripen people to the gospel and we need to look for his lead and watch how he draws all people unto Him.

I like the analogy of the red apples maybe because my name is Apple or maybe it’s about a core passion that I have? One thing I do know in the last 4 weeks at Praise Fellowship we have seen 76 red apples. There may have been some green apples in our midst, but all I know there is a hunger for salvation and I can’t wait to see what God is going to do at PF church. Please note: Our core mission is all Apple’s are welcomed no matter where they are at in the ripening stage. It has been a blast watching many give their lives to the Lord. All I can say is…give us some more red-ripe apples!

The church is out of touch, irrelevant, and a waste of time?

"Christianity has an image problem" are the first words of the book called Unchristian. What do people think about Christians and Christianity? Should people's perceptions matter to Christ followers? The book brings out that people are seeming to have little trust in the Christian faith and esteem for the lifestyle of Christ followers. More and more intellectual and emotional barriers are being erected when they are around Christians. What does this mean for us…could this alter people's willingness to commit their lives to Jesus? Next 3 weeks (starting October 11th & 12th) we will be tackling this issue at PF Church...CHECK IT OUT! The series is called..."10 Things I Hate about Church" See you there!

Pass the Baton!

The leadership baton exchange and installation service was quite a powerful moment for Praise Fellowship Church. It had been 29 years since the last pastoral installation thanks to the excellent leadership of Ed & Margaret Homer. I was overwhelmed with this momenteous experience of thinking of the greatness of God and how He has orchestrated all of this and I can see his fingerprints all over my life for about 29 years. God has been moving me forward from the beginning to this moment to serve as a leader of PF. Wow – as my friend shared on a missions trip recently – "Way too much better than Great"! It was truly a…way too much better than great experience. Pastor Ed Margaret Homer was there along with my good friend and superintendant, Larry Liebe. Ed Homer shared some great words of support and expressions of gratitude. The charge was given by Larry Liebe and a new beginning has been declared: we are all on a hunt to see the bigness of God being revealed in PF and the Sheboygan area. Thanks to the board and leadership who have opened their arms to the Apple family and we all look with anticipation for what God is going to do next.

Have you seen the 5 billboards that PF Church has up right now? I am pumped about doing the billboards and raising the water level of spiritual interest. Soon there will be a direct mail piece that will hit every home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. This will make it easy for creating greater visibility. I am pleased in what I am hearing and seeing in people inviting others to our Community day. I invited my first person today! I am hoping and praying this person will come. Let me know what you think?