"Down Into the Mess"

In my early morning fireside musings ("...while I was musing the fire burned," Psalm 39:3b) thoughts on personal leadership continue to emerge. In the arena of life, as a Christ follower, what is my responsibility to those who are broken and bleeding? After all, those people are all around me. What is my attitude? More important, what is my action?

As Jesus was teaching throughout the country, He would go into towns and villages and there he would see people who "were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Matthew 9:36 says that He said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few."

The clear implication is that He was confronting broken and confused people who were crying for someone to help. Jesus looks around and pleads for helpers...workers who will pour in healing oil and bind up wounds.

The need for harvest hands has not lessened in our post modern world. Will I turn my back and fail to inhabit this space? In her book, "Concerning the Inner Life," Evelyn Underhill says, "(The saints) do not stand aside wrapped in delightful prayers and feeling pure and agreeable to God...They go right down into the mess; and there right down in the mess they are able to radiate God because they possess Him."

Today, go down into the mess and He'll go with you!

Rex Bullock: 2013! Can You Make the Trip? We made it. We just...

Rex Bullock: 2013!  Can You Make the Trip?
We made it.  We just...: 2013!  Can You Make the Trip? We made it.  We just crashed through the threshold of a brand new year.  Some partied hard with champaign...

When the Church Prays

When the Church Prays

2013!  Can You Make the Trip?

We made it.  We just crashed through the threshold of a brand new year.  Some partied hard with champaign and fireworks, and some "hung it up" and went to be early.  Some worried about going over the "fiscal cliff," while others didn't care, because to them Washington is always in a state of perceived crisis.  Whatever our state of mind, Happy New Year is now more than words on everyone's lips.  2013 is here.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring.  This new year is untried and untested.  Whether you're an optimist or pessimist, I am assured, based on God's Word, that He goes before us into the unknown future.  The Master of the wind and waves will give us all the grace and victory we need. 

It's our attitude that will make the difference in HOW we make it.  Recently, I read a poem which puts it into perspective.  Written by former University of Illinois football coach Ray Elliot, I think it is appropriate as we enter 2013.

The Proper State of Mind

If you think you're beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you'd like to win, but think you can't,

It's almost a cinch you won't.

For out in this world you'll find 

Success begins with a person's will.

It's all in a state of mind.

For many a race is lost

Before a step is run,

And many a coward fails

Before his work's begun.

Think big and your deeds will grow.

Think small, and you'll fall behind.

Think you can, and you will.

It's all in a state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are.

You've got to be sure of yourself before you win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man.

But sooner of later the person who wins

Is the person who thinks he can.

It's all in a state of mind.

By keeping our faith in God, in 2013 we WILL win, because He is going to give us a winning mind.  We're going to minister to more people than ever before.  We are going to see more people come to Christ than ever before.  We're going to see God's Kingdom around the world grow as never before.  It's in our minds, but more than that, it is in our hearts.  It's in God's heart to help us accomplish His purpose and His path.

I welcome 2013, though I have no idea what He has in mind for me.  It will be a significant year.  Make  it a Jesus filled year.  Can we make the trip?  YES, with His help we can.  And we will.  

2012 Christmas Letter

             

                                                                                                                        December 2012

Dear Family and Friends,  

Every year seems filled to the brim with activities, but 2012 has to set the record for us. What a year! 

After ten years in St. Petersburg, FL, at Cornerstone Church, LaWanda and I have transitioned back to the Portland/Vancouver area.

We arrived in August, put all our earthly treasures in two storage units and spent four wonderful months with our daughter Sherilyn, son-in-law Allan, Gordon (11) and Canon (10). They were all so gracious and generous; we had a great time. When we weren’t traveling and speaking, we used our extra time to get readjusted to the area and look for a house. Sherilyn and Allan remain very busy and successful in their careers.  The boys are growing so fast and doing great in school. One of the highlights of the year is that they both achieved Black Belt in Taekwondo.   

                                                                        

We also began a very rewarding project with our son Brittian and his wife Kristi. The four of us, along with a core of friends are raising up a new church community. TransFORM Communities is a unique group of believers seeking to encounter Jesus Christ in deep change and engage the world around us. It is so rewarding to work with Brittian and Kristi and we're already experiencing growth, but most of all, God's rich presence.  To be with Ransom (7 ½), Judah (6) and Maxine (18 months) is a grandparent's greatest thrill. 

All of our family is in the same area now. A few weeks before we moved, our older son, Jonathan, transferred here from Los Angeles, so it is wonderful to get to be with him on a regular basis. He lives just 10 minutes from Sherilyn and is spearheading an exciting new project for Kaiser Permanente.  You would know that we're very proud of him.

We’ve managed to keep up with individual ministries, including travel schedules.  I spent two weeks in Lagos, Nigeria, in July teaching leadership at West Africa Theological Seminary to some of Nigeria's most gifted leaders. It was truly a ministry highlight!

LaWanda continues her work as president of Women's Ministries International, leading the U.S. team plus traveling, speaking in women’s conferences in many countries and raising awareness and funds for women’s issues. She’s been to fifteen countries since 2007, the latest being to India in September, where she and the team spoke to hundreds of women in five conferences in four cities. What a privilege to bring hope, instruction and encouragement to these beautiful women.

We've moved and are now in our new (to us) home in Vancouver.  The yard and big trees are beautiful and we’re thrilled to be here. We would love to see you and have plenty of room, so please come visit.

The hymn writer said, “Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.” So, most of all, as we close 2012, we're glad for the privilege to know our great Emmanuel.  Truly, our “God is with us.”  We are thankful for that knowledge and know He will lead us whatever the New Year brings.  May you have a blessed and happy Christmas season and New Year.

With our love and prayers,
Rex and LaWanda

"IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR JESUS "

"If It Had Not Been For Jesus"

Thanksgiving 2014

          Recently, I have been thinking of various things for which I am thankful.  My life seems pretty routine, average and rather unspectacular.  I just haven't had any major, earth-shaking events happen in my life.  Seemingly, I was put in a good family with good parents.  God has provided for all my needs and many of my desires.  He gave me New Life when I was a teenager, so I don't have any unusual stories to tell about how I came to Christ.

          Over the years, as I have traveled in various parts of the world, I have come to appreciate more deeply those "ordinary" items on my Thanksgiving list.  After being in countries where people have to beg and scrape for what they need, I come home and thank God for my life and my family.  In fact, I've come to realize that if Christ does nothing more than redeem me, He's already done far more than I deserve.

          During this Thanksgiving season, however, I've added another category to my list of things for which I am grateful.  It's the category of being thankful to God for sparing me from what might have been.

          Someone has said that God stood as the sovereign sentinel at the gate of Job's life, letting in only what could be used for good, and that God also keeps many things out of my life every day.  Perhaps they are things that I don't see and may never know about.  When I lay my head on the pillow each night, I can thank God for keeping out those things that would destroy me.

          As this idea unfolded in my heart and mind, I thought about what my life might be like today if it weren't for the fact that Christ transformed me.  One songwriter said, "Where would I be if it had not been for Jesus?"

          I'm a rather compulsive, spontaneous person and I could easily be an addict, chained to drugs or alcohol or many other compulsions.  Perhaps my self-centeredness would have led me down the path of broken relationships and loss of fulfillment.  Where might I be had it not been for the Holy Spirit's control in my life?

          What about my marriage?  Would I still be in love with the beautiful woman I have shared the last 47 years with?  What might I have done to my children, had it not been for Jesus who is filling my life with His love, enabling me to love others, in some measure, the way that He has loved me?  My selfishness might have made me estranged from sweet and beautiful grandchildren.

          Where might my greed or lust have taken me?  Down what kind of dead-end streets, with shame and despair as the ultimate reward of trying to please base passions?

          This year at Thanksgiving my heart is gripped with a fresh sense of gratitude to God.  I want this special time of year to linger, because it has become so important to me.  I'm learning a new dimension to giving thanks in everything.  Thank you Lord for sparing me from what might have been.

          If it had not been for Jesus, there would be no story of Thanksgiving to tell.

Messing Up Church

I've always wanted to "do" church right- to make sure that all our forms and strategies were proper and relevant. My heart has been in the right place, to be sure, but I've consistently thought that if we could have all the right elements as a part of our worship, if we could "just do it right" like the latest book said or the seminar speaker told us, then we could achieve the proper results. Most of the time, if I failed to see results, I would just try harder, thinking that with more intensity and fervor I would be successful.

The problem is that the formula changes every other week. There are literally hundreds of voices in the contemporary church marketplace which are telling us the hottest, newest way to do it. We all move like a herd of cattle going for the next green spot of grass in the pasture or the next watering hole which will satisfy our need. Since we're never quite satisfied at home with what is happening we are ripe for the newest eight week "how to" series from the iconic megachurch pastor.

However, like I once heard, "Doing church differently is like rearranging chairs on the Titanic." Matt Smay says that slight tweaks, new music, creative lighting, wearing hula shirts, shorts, and flip-flops won't make doing church more attractive. Church must not be the goal of the gospel anymore. Church should not be the focus of our efforts or the banner we hold up to explain what we're about. Church should be what ends up happening as a natural response to people wanting to follow us, be with us, and be like us as we are following the way of Christ.

Change is brutal. No seminar or training will give us the answers and it's hard to plan for the future because the future is constantly changing. Perhaps our only solace is that everyone is feeling it.

I believe our only real hope is to bring the message of the transforming Christ into every situation. He brings new life into old forms. He is messing up church programs and traditions. He wants us to trim down our Christian experience to His essentials. What would He remove in your life? What would be stripped down? And what would be left?

Perhaps what you and I need to do is let Jesus knock us out of our comfortable pew to follow the mission of Jesus to transform our communities.