Written by Bill Grandi on January 17th, 2024
I used to have a haunting dream/thought. I felt like a failure. Not that I expressed it to anyone; it was something I kept to myself and, at times, brooded over. Since it was an internal musing and not expressed out loud, I’m not even sure Jo knew. In fact, I’m almost positive she did not.
Like many young men coming out of Bible college/seminary, I thought I had the world by the proverbial tail. I was going to accomplish great things. I would attend a conference and see and hear speakers/pastor/youth pastors of influence and dream that would be me someday. I would be the pastor of a big church, although I never saw myself as the pastor of a megachurch. I’m more designed by God to be a shepherd than a CEO. (I lost a job largely because of that mentality). But even though I knew certain characteristics of my personality probably held me back, I still had ambivalent emotions as I watched guys my age or younger “move up the ranks.” I know part of it was because I wouldn’t schmooze and play politics in the church world. Meanwhile, all my efforts to be a biblical, expositor preacher seemed to go unseen and unrewarded (in my mind at least). “Why not me?” reared its ugly head more than I care to admit. The twins, envy and jealousy, made their appearance, but fortunately didn’t stay very long because they were unwanted. While my friends we advancing, I was pastoring churches of 100-200, sometimes less. One was 35 which grew to 50 in 16 months but it about killed me spiritually.
Then one day, God got through to me. He didn’t make me nor want me in a big church. He didn’t care whether I broke the 200 or 300 barrier and did all that I was supposed to do to make that happen. Small churches need pastors too. Small churches need men who will love and lead them. I broke. I realized God (almost) always does His work through ordinary people. I’ve stated it before: in God’s economy there are no little people (as the late Francis Schaeffer called them); there are just ordinary people God uses in extraordinary ways.
When I realized that, I found contentment in my work. I currently pastor a church that is less than 200. I have never been happier and more content that I have been for the past 18 years. No matter what you do-no matter how big or how small-be content and just be His. As martyred missionary Jim Elliott once said, “Wherever you are, be all there.” That includes that seemingly insignificant thing or job you do.
God is not interested in you being extraordinary. He simply wants to use the ordinary you in extraordinary ways.
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Tags: Christian Living, God's Plan, Humility, Leadership, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Story
Written by Bill Grandi on January 16th, 2024
“I’m proud of my humility.”
“I’m humble and proud of it.”
“I can’t wait until tomorrow.” “Why?” “Because I get better looking every day.” (attributed to Joe Namath from many moons ago)
Those are just three of the statements we make about pride. We are, of course, saying them jokingly. Well…at least I think we are. 🙂
Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment (if our pride will allow us). Pride is an issue most, if not all of us, struggle with in some way. There are those who are blatantly arrogant. They turn us off immediately. It’s sort of like “Do I strangle them now or later?” It’s all we can do to even be around them. If we are the arrogant one our eyes are closed to the way we turn people off. “It’s their fault,” we say. “I’m good at what I do so they are jealous.” No, they are sick of your arrogance.
There are also those who have a false humility. They shrug while refusing help when it is offered. Or there feign humility (but really want to hear more).
What brought me to this topic this morning? Reading Proverbs 16 this morning. “The Lord detest the proud; they will surely be punished.” (v.5) “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness (arrogance) before a fall.” (v.18) “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” (v.23) {All Scripture from the New Living Translation}
To counteract the ugliness of pride, there are some verses on humility also. But you can read the chapter and find them on your own. 🙂
That is not saying all pride is bad. Some is good. Doing a good job. Working hard. Playing your best. But even then we must be careful pride does not enter the picture by taking even that good pride too far. A phrase from my generation is still true: “Don’t let it go to your head.”
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For you who like to live on the “wild” side, Christian rockers, Stryper, did a song called Pride back in 2015. You can find it here (if you dare). 🙂
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Tags: Christian Living, Humility, Lifestyle, Ministry, Opinion, Pride, Reflection, Scripture look
Written by Bill Grandi on January 15th, 2024
One of my favorite pastimes/hobbies was doing 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles. Many, many hours have been spent bent over a table building puzzles. Cold, winter weather was only good in my mind for killing insects and staying inside to build puzzles. I’ve slowed down in recent years because I have to admit to being a “puzzle snob” i.e. there are only certain ones I would do (Titanic & trains mostly), plus I didn’t want to spend the money on the ever-increasing price of having leisure. However, I was given a panoramic puzzle of PNC Park (Pirates baseball field) which I did, glued and gave away to a sports memorabilia collector, and one of the Pittsburgh skyline. I finally decided to do the skyline starting last Thursday.
I’ve been watching it come together. Sorting pieces throughout the “edge-finding” stage, has me sort of guessing pieces that go together. I then bunch them in a certain pile to be sorted later. Often, I find out I was wrong and they actually belonged somewhere else. This puzzle is s-l-o-w-l-y coming together, piece by piece (makes sense right?). Often I will have little side projects going on as “like pieces” are found. Eventually, I get to incorporate them into the greater puzzle. Sometimes it is literally a slog through seemingly endless tries. And then sometimes it is like voila! One piece pulls in another and another until multiple pieces later a bigger picture emerges.
One of my favorite groups is a Christian power metal group called Theocracy (I know that is probably not most of my readers cup of tea). Their most recent recording includes a song called Mosaic. The song, as you can probably surmise by the title, is a take on broken pieces made into a beautiful piece of glass. Out of the ugliness of broken glass the artisan can make something beautiful. A snippet of lyrics says, “‘Cause after all, the pieces fall landing where they may/You never left or chose to throw it all away/An unknown future, broken past/Like imperfect panes of glass/Revealing a larger grand design.” (Lyrics by Matt Smith-2023)
Life is a mosaic, very often made up of broken pieces of glass. No one’s life is perfect; we are made of broken pieces of glass. But we have an Artisan, a Creator, a Master Craftsman, who loves us, never leaves us, and puts us all back together. Sin breaks us; He rebuilds us. He will take broken, disjointed fragments and put them back together in the right place, making sense of it all. He makes a beautiful mosaic out of broken, shattered lives.
He’s done if for me. He’s done it for people I know. Let Him do it for you.
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Tags: Christian Living, Forgiveness, God, God's Plan, Mosaic, Opinion, Reflection, Salvation, Story, The Artisan
Written by Bill Grandi on January 12th, 2024
So…if you go to my other blog, Cycleguy’s Spin, you will see a post about this week’s sermon also. I’m trying to resuscitate Cycleguy’s Spin with a variety of approaches-book reviews, guest posts, upcoming sermons, and even a commentary of sorts when the “feeling” arises. If you have been there, thanks. I have a new series starting this Sunday called WELCOME HOME…where… I have been developing it and working on it since last October. Why you might ask? Simple. I think church needs to be different these days. I don’t mean compromising different where the gospel is withheld or not preached for fear of offending someone. But the church should be a “Safe Place.” Let me explain by using my approach for the next two months:
WELCOME HOME…where…
The Gospel is Preached
Jesus is Honored
Grace is Offered
Lives are Changed
Obedience is Encouraged
Truthfully, the Gospel is often hindered or hidden by pastors and churches who are afraid of being seen as bigots or hardhearted or uncaring or narrow-minded. I realize those are and can be said about churches, and quite possibly, me. I don’t think they are accurate though of what the church is supposed to be. We can be firm, but friendly. We can be convicted, but caring. We can be solid, but sweet. We can be passionate, but pleasant. But one thing we must never be is COMPROMISING.
We have a mandate in the Bible. Check out Col. 1:3-14. I Cor. 1:18-31. Romans 1: 16-17. I found this to be quite revealing:
The goal of the Gospel is not just that we might pass some kind of test by accurately recounting the importance of Jesus. The goal of the Gospel is to produce a type of people consumed with passion for God and love for others.
As you can gather, this first sermon is on the Gospel being preached without compromise. I can honestly say that I am more excited about this series than one I have preached in recent memory. I am so looking forward to it! I hope you will join me in person if possible. If not, we live stream our service at 9:00 and 10:45 a.m.
Posted in InTheShadow | Comments Off on The Gospel is Preached
Tags: Christian Living, Church, God's Word, Leadership, Opinion, Preaching, Reflection, Scripture look, Sermon Series
Written by Bill Grandi on January 11th, 2024
“Honesty is the best policy.”
I’m not sure how old I was when I first heard that, nor how often I heard it. I suspect it was when my mother lined us up to ask, “Okay, who did it?” and reminded us that telling the truth was best. (I’m glad it was always my brothers’ fault when things went wrong). 🙂
My blogging friend, Pam Williams, wrote a great post yesterday on honesty. You can access that post here. She stated it correctly that honesty is in every part of our life. (Please take a moment to read what she said).
If I think of someone in the Bible who stands head and shoulders above others in the honesty and integrity department, it would be Joseph. Perhaps never is that put more to the test than his lack of an affair with Mrs. Potiphar. The fact that the Lord was with him is stated twice at the beginning (Gen. 39:2-3) and three times at the end (39:21-23).
Consider the scenario. A teenager with raging hormones. A stranger in a strange land (no one knows him…no family to check up on him). A seductive woman. No one around so who would know? The possibility of advancement as Mrs. P puts in a good word. I repeat: who would know?
Joseph would (a godly conscience is good at reminding us of stuff like that). More importantly: God would. And THAT was the kicker! Joseph said to Mrs. P, “Look, my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” (39:8-9) (NLT)
That didn’t stop her. She kept putting pressure on him day after day, but he rebuffed her advances. Eventually, the saying came true: “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
Here is the tale of the story though: Joseph was aware of God’s presence and that He sees and knows all. There is no sin He does not know about-behind back doors or out in the open. So…besides my mom’s words mentioned at the beginning, another favorite of hers comes into play: “Remember, I may not see what you do or say, but God does.”
Sheesh mom! Why don’t you just throw down that Ace of hearts? Why not throw down the BIG ONE? But…she is right. I’d like to say just like when she found out my brothers committed all the mayhem. But I would not be telling the truth. 🙂
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Tags: Christian Living, Intregrity/Honesty, Lifestyle, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Sin, Truth Telling
Written by Bill Grandi on January 10th, 2024
The power of the tongue seems to be a common theme in Proverbs. Probably the most forthright and pointed reference to the tongue in the New Testament is found in James 3. Just a few picked and chosen from 3:1-12. “But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire…it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison…” If you have access to a Bible, I’d like to encourage you to read James 3:1-12 in its entirety.
Proverbs 10 is full of verses dealing with the tongue. Please get your Bible and read verses 6, 8, 11, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 31, and 32. I highlighted verse 19 this morning: “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” (NLT)
This hits home. I’m a talker. I’m very social (they call us “extroverts”). And I am. Jo just shakes her head sometimes when I strike up a conversation with a clerk or a total stranger in the store. I love children, especially those as gregarious as me, and Jo has to remind me to be careful who I talk to. Some parents are leery of adults who talk to their children. At the ball fields this past summer, kids I read to in school would come to me and say, “Mr. Bill!” and then want to give me a hug. (I did group hugs when I was done reading). Some parents stared at me and I had to introduce and explain who I was and how I knew their child. And yes, sometimes I talk too much. Someone said about me that “He assumes a familiarity that is not there.” Guilty as charged.
And sometimes, more so in the past when I was younger and less cautious and disciplined, I said too much. It got me in trouble. You know the old adage, “Open mouth insert foot?” That was written about me. I’ve swallowed a lot of socks in my day. I didn’t always heed Proverbs 10:19 nor did I listen and learn very well from James 3.
Those words on the pages of the Bible are there for a reason. Learn from them. Take it from a recovering talker. Be wise. Keep your mouth shut. You can’t ever regret something you don’t say.
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Tags: Choices, Christian Living, Extrovert, God's Word, Lifestyle, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Speech
Written by Bill Grandi on January 9th, 2024
“Comparisons are odious”
I remember reading that years ago but I can’t remember where. It just stuck with me. I do know part of it was that “odious” was not a word I used in my vocabulary…like never. 🙂
In Bill-speak that saying would be “comparisons are stupid.” In Oxford-speak that word is defined as “extremely unpleasant, repulsive.”
We have a bad habit of comparing ourselves to others. “He is taller than me.” “He plays baseball or basketball better than me.” What teen girl hasn’t compared her looks, her hair, or her physical characteristics to another? Influencers (the bane of existence) are constantly telling us “How to…” Adults compare houses, cars, and even bank accounts. There seems to be no end to our comparison.
It certainly happens in the church world. “He is a better preacher, teacher, singer, player, etc than me.” “He/she is wealthier than me so he gives more and what I give doesn’t matter.”
STOP!! HOLD THE PRESSES! SAY WHAT??? I have yet to see anywhere…ANYWHERE…that God’s Word makes that a criteria for serving Him. In fact, I read Luke 21 this morning and I love verses 1-4. It is the story of Jesus standing by and watching people give and a widow comes and gives her two mites (less than a penny in our currency). Pay particular attention to verses 3-4: “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” (NLT) Jesus put those “comparison-pickers” in their place. This widow gave all she had in comparison to the religious leaders who were mighty proud of themselves and thought they were all that and more. Looking down their noses at the “lesser givers” gave them a sense of being high and mighty. Jesus said, “Oh no. Not on my watch. This widow gave more.”
You see, it really doesn’t matter how much. It really does come down to your heart and the attitude in which you give. This widow gave all she had. Hang the comparison.
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Tags: Choices, Christian Living, Comparison, Generosity, God's Plan, God's Word, Humility, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Sacrifice, Scripture look
Written by Bill Grandi on January 8th, 2024
Forgiveness…it goes both ways. By saying that I’m not saying forgiveness happens when I forgive someone and they either forgive me or reconciliation takes place. No. I’m going in another direction.
First, there is vertical forgiveness. This is the forgiveness we receive from God-initially and ongoing. Forgiveness for sin in the process of salvation, and then forgiveness on a daily basis as a result of the continual need for it.
But I think the hardest just might be horizontal forgiveness. Forgiving others. Being forgiven. It is the former I am interested in today. Sometimes someone does something to us that rips our soul to pieces. Shakes us to the core. There is betrayal. Anger. Bitterness. All which can develop as a result. Betrayal is real; anger and bitterness are killers.
Let me explain. Without details let’s just suffice it to say that several years ago the church I pastor was the victim of a crime. A substantial one. The leaders of the church chose forgiveness rather than prosecution and restitution. I was part of that leadership and even today would not change a thing. While there were some people who were extremely upset at our decision, the choice was made. We have never looked back wondering, “What if..?” Plus, God has been so phenomenally good to us there is no way we made the wrong decision.
There are those who were wanting vengeance. I chose forgiveness and with that freedom. I’m convinced that the person who carries around or holds onto bitterness and hatred has the problem. I believe that to refuse forgiveness or to hold a grudge makes that person a slave to the one their anger and bitterness is directed at. To put it succinctly, they own me. If they enter my thoughts and dreams, influence my attitude or I find myself tying up in knots at the mere mention of that person’s name or presence, they own me. By God’s grace, I refuse to allow that. I belong to Him, the ONE who forgave on the cross, not that other person. He is the same ONE who said that if I have been forgiven I must forgive as well.
I laid to rest many years ago any hard feelings, ill will, vengeance, bitterness, or anger the enemy of my soul would want me to have. I refuse to play the devil’s game.
Today I lay to rest that perpetrator. The family asked if I would conduct the funeral. I, of course, said yes.
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Tags: Anger, Bitterness, Choices, Christian Living, Forgiveness, God's Plan, Love, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Story, Vengeance
Written by Bill Grandi on January 5th, 2024
As you can see my theme for 2024 is Run with the Horses. It is a take off of Jeremiah 12:5 where God is asking Jeremiah how he can run with the horses when he gets bogged down in the muck and mire of the Jordan.
The first sermon of the new year is based around three Scriptures: Jeremiah 12:5, I Cor. 9:24-27, and Heb. 12:1-2. They all have to do with running. The truth we all know is that people had feet of clay then; people have feel of clay today. People were evil then; people are evil today. They had a cult of celebrity worship then; we have a cult of celebrity worship today. While we often look at men and women in the Bible as heroic, ready and willing to take on armies, many of them were disappointingly non-heroic. Abraham lied; Jacob cheated; Moses murdered; David committed adultery; Peter blasphemed. And then there is Jeremiah. Jeremiah was different. There is no hint of pride, worldly success or personal achievement. What we do get is a man who is brutally honest about his feelings.
I’m also using the two NT Scriptures to talk about the need to prepare for what is ahead. I suspect that 2024 is going to be a test for those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ. Hebrews 12 tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus while I Cor. 9 reminds us to run the race and not look around while running. Vitezslav Gardavsky, a Czech philosopher and martyr who used Jeremiah as his “image of man” once wrote,
“The terrible threat is that we might die earlier than we really do die, before death has become a natural necessity. The real horror lies in just such a premature death, a death after which we go on living for many years.” (Run with the Horses-p.19)
I’d like to invite you to join me in person or via live stream at 9:00 and 10:45.
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Tags: Christian Living, Lifestyle, Ministry, Opinion, Perseverance, Reflection, Sermon Series
Written by Bill Grandi on January 4th, 2024
Just a reminder: Please check out my review of my friend, Martha Orlando’s excellent trilogy called The Glade Series at my other blog, Cycleguy’s Spin. You can access that review here.
I have mentioned a number of times about my practice of reading Proverbs every other month. One chapter= that calendar date. Today, for example: January 4= Proverbs 4. Maybe it is because I’m reading this year from the New Living Translation (NLT) or that I paid particularly close attention, but some seriously good stuff stuck out to me this morning. The whole chapter goes on about the importance of wisdom: Pay attention. Get it. Don’t turn your back on it. Prize it. Etc.
Beginning in verse 23 are some simple “rules of life” or “advice to live by” given. Here they are:
Verse 23- Guard your heart
Verse 24- Avoid perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.
Verse 25- Look straight ahead, fix your eyes straight ahead.
Verse 26- Choose the right path.
Verse 27- Don’t get sidetracked.
I thought I would give each a new heading, a new “wording” that might be easier to learn:
- Be careful what you expose yourself to.
- Watch your speech.
- Don’t let your eyes wander.
- Stay true.
- Stay focused.
Wise advice to follow today and every day. Choose wisdom. Then you will hear the ancient words: “You have chosen wisely.” (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) 🙂
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Tags: Choices, Christian Living, Leadership, Lifestyle, Ministry, Opinion, Reflection, Scripture look, Truth Telling, Wisdom
