David Whiting Live

How Do You Pray About the Hurricane?

Yesterday afternoon, three of us took a direct flight from Rochester to Baltimore and drove 90 miles to Fredericksburg, VA. Friday night we stayed in a hotel in the Fredericksburg area (60 miles north of Richmond). We are here for a free one-day conference that helps us prepare for multi-site. You can't beat a free conference... the problem is - HURRICANE IRENE!

We also discovered that our flight back to Rochester tonight is already cancelled, and all three of us have Sunday AM responsibilities. Waiting to fly back until Sunday isn't an option. So as soon as the conference ends this afternoon, we will drive back home. We hope to stay ahead of the worst of the storm as we head north. Wind gusts are expected tonight in the DC area between 30 to 60 mph and up to five inches of rain. (Don't worry, we will keep an eye on the weather in case we need to leave the conference early.)

But that raises a question - how are we supposed to pray about this hurricane and other natural disasters?

Yesterday while driving around Rochester, I heard someone pray concerning the hurricane and their prayer slightly annoyed me. The host praying on K-LOVE seemed to pray as if bad weather is something God can control if He wants to (and if we pray hard enough) but he prayed almost as if Satan creates bad weather. I do believe God allows Satan at times to use weather for his means (see the book of Job), but the bulk of biblical evidence doesn't indicate Satan's regular control of the weather. And the biblical material doesn't seem to correlate with how we often pray.

Here are some verses that come to my mind:

• Psalm 147:8, 16-18 - He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills... He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
• Psalm 148:7-8 - Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lighting and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding.
• Job 37:6-7 - He says to the snow, "fall on the earth" and to the rain shower, "Be a mighty downpour." So that all men he has made may know his work, he stops every man from his labor.
• Isaiah 45:7 - I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.
• Lamentations 3:38 - Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?

So - how do verses like that impact how we should pray? Do you ever hear someone praising God for showing his power through natural disasters?

Considering Senior Adult Ministries

I read a blog post by Thom Rainer (president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources). The title is "From My Perspective: Five major trends for churches in America."  You can read all five trends HERE. But the third one is the one that I've continued to think about. Here it is:

3. Senior adult ministries in churches will experience steep declines. As the large Baby Boomer generation moves into their older years, they will resist any suggestion that they are senior adults, no matter how senior they may be. Unfortunately, many churches are slow to adapt to new realities. If they do senior adult ministry the way they've always done it, it will be headed for failure.

We've seen this to be true at Northridge. Those in the 60's are not liekly to join our Senior Adult class. So - how do we "adapt to new realities" when it comes to senior adult ministry? I have some thoughts, but not many. What do you think? Any suggestions?

 

Politics, Protests and Boycotts - a GREAT video!

A couple of Sundays ago - I taught on FOUNDATIONAL POLITICS. (you can see or listen to it HERE). I spoke about my frustrations of Christian boycotts.

It is interesting that just recently the "boycotting" tool often misused by Christians was used by the pro-homosexual community to keep the CEO of Starbucks (Howard Shultz) from speaking at the Willow Creek Leadership Conference. Willow Creek is one of the largest churches in America and is pastored by Bill Hybels (who tends to draw a lot of criticism from those inside and outside the Church).

The pro-homosexual community had only 717 people sign a petition to boycott Starbucks if their CEO speaks at Willow Creek Church. The petition declared Willow Creek to be an anti-gay church. But the petition was enough to cause the CEO to cancel his speaking engagement at the Leadership Conference.

There is SO much I can say about it, but what I really wanted to point out is the great way that Willow Creek responded to Shultz and to the organizers of the petition. 

It would be worth 7 minutes of your time to watch how a godly leader responds to controversy from non-Christians.  Listen CLOSELY! What a great response! I love what he instructs the attenders of the conference to do!

 

As always, if you receive this by email - click on the title above to see the video, or click HERE.

 

"Why don't we show the giving in the Sunday program anymore?"

A few times in the last few weeks I've been asked why we don't show the weekly giving update in the program every week. It is a fair question and I wanted to explain why we have chosen to no longer publish the weekly numbers. There are two basic reasons:

• Primarily because that is "insider" information. That isn't the type of information that we think that brand new people need to see week to week. We are always thinking of people who are brand new to church and sadly, that is the item they notice most (for various reasons) in the program. Printing that info in the weekly program goes back to the days when almost everyone who showed up week to week were committed Christ-followers who were also members and givers.
• Secondly, we have an easy way to get that information to those who give.  We send out quarterly updates to all of those who give anything during the year. As part of that update of their personal giving (for tax purposes and for their personal accountability) we will include where we currently are on our weekly giving.

As a member, if you ever want more information, feel free to contact the church office. Karen can update you on giving statistics or put you in contact with someone who can get that information to you. Otherwise, you will be updated on a quarterly basis.  Great question... thanks for asking! Transparency on these things is very important to us.

Biblical Counseling Conference - Interested?

Those of you who are part of EQUIP may be interested to know of a great conference coming up in October.  If you are interested in learning more on the topic of Biblical counseling as it relates to Psychology - this conference sounds very interesting and challenging.

It is the CCEF National Conference and it is being held in Louisville, KY from October 21- October 23. 

The authors of many of the books we have read or will be reading are speaking there such as David Powlison (Speaking the Truth in Love), Ed Welch (When People are Big and God is Small and Addictions), and Tim Lane (Relationships a Mess Worth Making). To read more about the speakers check out this link -  http://www.ccef.org/conference/content/speakers-0

The schedule has many practical sessions listed such as...

• What's in a Name?  Understanding Labels and Diagnoses
• Making Sense of Complex Problems; Assessing and Counseling a Person with Suicidal Thoughts
• Out of Control - Understanding Anxiety Disorders
• Sexual Addictions - Bringing Light to Dark Places
• Listening to Prozac - Understanding Psychiatric Treatments

To see the entire schedule with short descriptions of each session go to -  http://www.ccef.org/conference/content/session-descriptions#intro-bc

The cost of the conference is $195 and the hotel that the conference is being held at is $119 per night. If you are interested in attending and riding together or sharing a room, please contact Kim Gagarinas at kimgagarinas@gmail.com.

Also, for those in EQUIP - don't forget to be reading "Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave" for our class in September!

 

Tomorrow @ Northridge...

Tomorrow at Northridge... two things that I'm most excited about:

• A baptism. We are constantly trying to figure out the best way to display and tell the Gospel through our baptisms.  We are not doing a beach baptism this summer (I will explain in a future post). Instead, we've been spreading them out on Sunday mornings and doing one or two at each service. The disadvantage is that half of our church misses the baptism at the other service. Tomorrow, we plan to only have one baptism (1st service) and see if the power of the story and the baptism carries into the second service (where we will show the testimony and baptism on the screen). We used to do it this way, but our technology has improved enough that we think it will translate much better... Anyway, more important than our chosen strategy, the story tomorrow is amazing! You won't want to miss it.
• Also, we will be taking a short break from Ephesians (our last Ephesians break) to do a short series called "The Hero of the Story." I'm really looking forward it!

• I suppose if I were to add a third it is this: I get a break from preaching tomorrow! That's a huge bonus for me and blessing for you (you need to hear other voices)! I can't wait until tomorrow!

New Constitution @ Northridge Church

This past Sunday night, the church approved an 18-month trial of our new constitution.  By an approval of 97%, we enter our new leadership system on September 1st.  We had 144 people who voted on Sunday night, with four 'no' votes. I'm so thankful for Jason DeGraaff and our deacons who worked so hard on the constitution over the past year.

You can pick up a copy of the new constitution at the info desk or you can email the church office for an electronic copy.

Great Words from Spurgeon

Reading and experiencing various debates happening among those who hold the same theology is discouraging. Whether it is John MacArthur going after Mark Driscoll or fights within the Sovereign Grace movement - it is discouraging to read and experience.

Today, I came across this quote from Spurgeon. POWERFUL words that are great reminders for us all!

Perhaps another source of tears may suggest itself to you, namely sorrow in Heaven for our mistakes, misrepresentations, and unkindness toward other Christian brothers and sisters.

How surprised we will be to meet some saints in Heaven whom we did not love on Earth! We would not fellowship with them at the Lord’s Table. We would not acknowledge that they were Christians. We looked at them suspiciously if we saw them in the street. We suspected their zeal as being nothing better than a show and an exaggeration, and we looked on their best efforts as having sinister motives at the heart. We said many unkind things and felt a great many more than we said.

When we see these unknown and unrecognized brothers and sisters in Heaven, won’t their very presence naturally remind us of our offenses against Christian love and spiritual unity? I can’t imagine a perfect man looking at another perfect man without regretting that he ever treated him in an unkind manner.

I am sure as I walk among the saints in Heaven, I cannot (in the natural order of things) help feeling, I did not assist you as I ought to have done. I did not sympathize with you as I ought to have done. I spoke a harsh word to you. I was alienated from you. And I think you would all have to feel the same; inevitably you must. If it were not that by some heavenly means, and I don’t know how, the eternal God will so overshadow believers with the abundant bliss of his own self that even that cause of tears will be wiped away.

Ephesians 6:1-4 Intro Video

In case you missed it, here is the intro video for 6:1-4 from Ephesus.

Sermon Intro - Ephesians 6:1-4 from Northridge Media on Vimeo.

As always, if you receive this by email, click HERE to view it. And to see the entire sermon, you can watch it HERE.

 

"I have read and agree..." REALLY!?!?!

I was updating an app on my smartphone. It is an update for iTunes. Before uploading, it shows me a 62- page document. And I have to "agree" with this statement: "I have read and agree to the iTunes Store Terms & Conditions."

I certainly am willing to agree to them, but I have no intentions of reading 62 pages of legal jargon.

So - do you read those documents or download anyway? Is it compromising your integrity? How do you view such things?