I am humbled and inspired...

Most of you don't know John Piper. He has been preaching for years and for the last 30 years has been at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. A church of thousands. He is a writer, conference speaker, international traveler and Pastor, and he has a great web-site, www.desiringgod.org, which I often peruse. John has recently announced that he is taking eight months off just to be with his wife after all the years of grinding ministry. He said being rock solid to his wife, isn't enough and isn't the compassionate husband that he needs to be. I have his statement here for you because it reflects some valuable things for all of us, from a man who has a significant ministry and we are reminded of what some of the most important things in life are.

"As I have stood back in recent months and looked at my own soul—my own sanctification, my own measures self-denial or self-serving—and my marriage and family and ministry patterns, I have felt an increasing need for a serious assessment—a kind of reality check in the light of God’s word. Am I living in the mindset and the pattern of life that Jesus calls for here in Mark 8:31-38, especially in relation to those I love most?

On the one hand, I love my Lord, Jesus; I love my wife and my five children and their families. These are the supreme treasures of my life—my Lord, my wife, my children. And I love my work of preaching and writing and leading Bethlehem. Indeed, I hope that the Lord gives me at least five more years as the pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem. That’s my dream. And that’s my plan, if God wills.

But on the other hand, I see several species of pride in my soul that, even though they may not rise to the level of disqualifying me for ministry, grieve me, and have taken a toll on my relationship with Noël and others who are dear to me. Noël and I are rock solid in our commitment to each other, and there is no whiff of unfaithfulness on either side. But, as I told the elders, “rock solid” is not always an emotionally satisfying metaphor, especially to a woman. A rock is not the best image of a woman’s tender companion.

In other words, the precious garden of my home needs tending. I want to say to Noël that she is precious to me. And I believe that at this point in our 41-year pilgrimage together the best way to say it is by stepping back for a season from virtually all public commitments.

What I have asked for is something very different from a sabbatical or a writing leave. In 30 years, I have never let go—not on writing leaves or on sabbatical or on vacations—of the passion for public productivity—writing and preaching. In this leave, I intend to let go of all of it. No book-writing. No sermon preparation. No preaching. No blogging. No Twitter. No articles. No reports. No papers."

Think about your life on this Easter, Holy week and make plans to seek the Lord.

I love quotes

I love quotes. We hang them on walls, post them on Facebook, buy pictures with little sayings across the bottom and even scribble quotes down in our Bibles.

I recently noticed that a Minister friend in the area, always ends their emails, following their signature line, with this quote .

"Is the life I am living the same as the life that wants to live in me?"
Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak

That simple sentence says something profound that should be a constant searching in our lives. Jesus want to live within us. Do you let Him in? Does the life that I am living right now, match up with the life that really wants to live in me?

Great question! Great quote! Thanks friend.

Clint Brooks and the earthquake in Chile

Clint Brooks of our congregation, following his ordination here last June, left for missionary work in Chile. He arrived just a few weeks before one of the worst earthquakes in history.

Pray for Clint and his ministry. This is a difficult time. I will try to keep you posted on what is happening with Clint in the future. Here is a video recently shot in Chile by Clint showing the damage.