Author: Addis Andy

I have an experience common to many of you.
Raising teenagers, specifically teenage boys, comes with a series of predictable issues and outcomes. 

There will be emergency room visits.

There will be “shenanigans.”

There will be drama.

I guess you don’t even have to be a raiser of teenage boys to know this is true; you just need to be near them, those jokers can eat!

Depending upon what cycle of the growth spurt there in, I cannot tell you which will be higher on any given month, my utility bill or my grocery bill.

A few weeks ago my boys came in from some outdoor summer frolicking. Before they got into the kitchen, I heard from their brotherly conversation that they were “starving.”

Good timing.

Mom had laid out a spread, and I had grilled up brats, dogs, and burgers. It was a teenager summer food dream come true.

As they walked into the room, they both eyed the kitchen table, and I felt a little fear for my life recognizing that I stood between them and the bounty that lay before them.

Mom told them to grab a plate and asked if they wanted a hamburger or a hotdog.

In unison, they both said, “Yes!”

I love that answer because it’s one of my favorite responses… Not either/or, but both/and.

They didn’t want one; they wanted one of each.

I think the church needs to get a good dose of both/and.

We argue about which is right or best and often it’s both.

It’s either traditional or contemporary… what if both were appropriate?

It’s either seeker sensitive or hardline fundamental… what if both had a place?

It’s either Baptist or nothing… well, let’s not get crazy.

Last week I had the privilege of sitting under the teaching of Dr. Claude Thomas. The former pastor of First Baptist Euless, Euless, Tx and now president of C3 Global.

He made an incredible statement that is probably the most important both/and I have heard in a while.

He said, “We (the church) need to grow spiritually, that’s true, but if we do not grow numerically we will eventually become irrelevant.”

True words, life-giving direction, and hard to reproduce.

I think there has long been a belief that we don’t need to be effective as a church as long as we’re faithful. That perspective has lead us down a road where we say that we may not be growing numerically, but we are growing spiritually.

I wonder, has this become an excuse? 

Have we traded in the difficult work of the objective growth of the church numerically as we point to a subjective growth that we want to believe is there?

The truth is, healthy things (spiritual growth) will naturally grow (numerical growth). 

And, didn’t Jesus himself say you will know a tree by its fruit? Fruit is also called produce… because it is something that is produced. 

I’m not arguing for numerical growth over spiritual growth. And, I’m not asking for spiritual growth to be dominant over numerical growth.

In fact, you may ask, “Andy, which one do you want spiritual growth or numerical growth?”

And my answer would be, “Yes!”

The truly healthy church and the truly healthy believer is growing spiritually, and the evidence of that is a fruitfulness in which the believer reproduces, multiplies and adds to the Kingdom.

Honestly, numerical growth is evidence of spiritual growth. And spiritual growth is the predecessor to numerical growth.

It is a both/and.

So step up to the table, the church is famished, and the world is in need. When you’re thinking about the direction of you, your leadership and your church, and that little voice inside your spirit asks which do I pursue… spiritual growth or numerical growth?

The answer is difficult and easy… it’s a both/and. 

The answer is yes. 
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Originally published in the Baptist Digest, Oct 2016

I have had the same haircut for 17 years.

First, I know this because I cut off the rebellious ponytail of my youth the same week my first son was born, and he’s 17.

Second, no comments from any of you about not having hair options because of the ‘limited resources’ I am working with as of late. I am aware.

So, back to the beginning. I have had the same haircut for 17 years.

I was pondering this recently as my son and I went for haircuts together. He sat in the chair first, giving direction for the new thing that he desires for the massive mane that God has given him. If you’re picking up on a scent of jealousy…oh yeah, it’s there.

While he was explaining his complex cut I was reflecting on the many iterations of his ‘do.’

As a toddler, he had a mullet. I know some would say that’s abuse, but he saw pictures of me in college and wanted “a haircut like daddy.” Come on, who is going to refuse that?

Then, he had the typical toe-headed little boy cut.

As a preteen, he morphed into a mop that could shame the Beatles.

Out of nowhere, a couple of years ago came the high and tight athletic cut (he looked all the stud).

And, now he’s doing this… thing. I don’t quite understand it: white wall sides and back, then long on top down the middle. We’ve already had the talk that if I ever see the man bun, he’s homeless.

They finished up, and I have to admit he can make any head of hair look good. There’s that jealousy again. I’ll pray about it.

Next, I climbed in the chair, and it’s funny. I don’t recall any conversation. She just started cutting.

Like I said, I have had the same haircut for 17 years.

Maybe I am not just jealous of Noah’s luscious locks. Maybe I am a little jealous of his willingness to take risks. And, I should be.

I think God blesses and encourages the risk taker.

Matthew 25 contains one of the most interesting parables in Scripture concerning a master, his servants, and entrusted resources.

Let’s talk about this in 21st-century terms. The boss goes away giving one guy five bucks, another two bucks, and another one buck.

He gave it to them according to their ability. That’s an interesting note, isn’t it?

The guy with five went out and traded his dollars, doubled down and cashed in big. The guy with two did the same. But, the guy with one went very safe.

He hid it, buried it and protected it. So when the boss came back he could say there was no loss on his watch.

But, the boss’ response was to praise the risk takers and the cautious, conservative operator he called, “You wicked and slothful servant!”

I think the theological term for that is, yikes.

Apparently, the Boss (with a capital B) is looking for the risk takers.

What are you doing to take a risk? Where is your church stepping up and stepping out? Where is your foot landing that will end in failure if God doesn’t show up?

I think that believers today, and consequentially the church, have confused faith with fear, stewardship with doubt, and holiness for the status quo.

We need Godly risk takers who know that betting on God is always a good bet. Who is willing to go big, because there is nothing more important than the calling upon us?

God’s has given us much, so let’s take a flyer. Life’s too short to play it safe.

In fact, I think I’m going to get a mohawk. Well, maybe a reverse mohawk. Just using what I got!

________________________________

This article was originally published in the Baptist Digest… you should check it out:

http://www.baptistdigest.com

I write this open letter to church planters because of the importance of the work you do, because I have a heart for pioneers and risk takers, and because  I pastor a church that believes in church planting and lives it.

But, the truth is this letter is for pastors, leaders, and believers of all stripes.

This is a dark world and times are (to use the nicest term I can think of) precarious.

These truly are days when people have started to call good things evil and evil things good. Doing the work to which you are called often feels fruitless at best and dangerous at worst.

But you, we, are not alone. The Apostle Paul was a man who obviously knew how to suffer for the sake of the Gospel and kept his joy, even singing in prison. This rock star pastor saw the miracles of God drip from his fingers and proclaimed that any suffering here is light and momentary compared to the eternal glory that awaits.

If I could be completely honest, his strength, determination, endurance and spiritual prowess are so amazing that sometimes… I really dislike him.

That’s why I was drawn to Acts 18.

• Paul moves from the cosmopolitan, spiritual epicenter of Athens to the dirty, outskirts travel hub of Corinth. Comparatively, this place was a hole.
• The city was hard and full of sexual dysfunction and immorality.
• He was broke and had to revert to a day job to support himself.
• And, the people he was trying to reach with the love of Jesus “opposed and reviled him” (Acts 18:6).

The rejection was so public and defeating that Paul “shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads!’” (Acts 18:6)

It was an obvious low point for Paul, and maybe this says more about my brokenness than his circumstance, but this is where I started to like him again.

He apparently doesn’t wear a cape; this guy bleeds too. Now we can share a cup of coffee and lick our ministry wounds.

But, at just this point in the story, we see one of the rare ‘red letter’ passages in the book of Acts.

18:9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”

I don’t believe we doubt the continual presence of Christ with us, even in the dark times.

I bet most of us don’t struggle with speaking up, even when the world tells us to shut up.

And, most of us have just settled in with the knowledge that attacks will come, and personal loss is a part of the game.

But, did you catch that last part?

“For I have many in this city who are my people.”

I wonder if Paul woke from his vision and said, “Really… where are they?”

Paul couldn’t see them because God was talking about His “already not yet” church. They were unknown, unreached, unconverted, undisciplined, but they were there! When Paul was ready to shake the dust from his feet and move to some place where things were more fruitful, God showed up and allowed him to see through the eyes of God.

God was doing more than Paul knew, expected or could even begin to understand.

This same chapter says that Paul’s response was to plant, dig in and commit. He stayed there for 18 months, even in the face of failure. He adjusted his ministry to focus clearly on his calling.

That’s when God did what only God could do:

• A new location, right next door to the synagogue (the house of Titius Justus)
• A celebrity convert who caught the city’s attention (Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue)
• New friends and instant leaders that would be with him for the next 16 years (Aquila & Priscilla)

I don’t know where you are right now leader, but don’t give up.

God is doing more than you know, expect or can even begin to understand. There are many in your city who are already His, beginning with you.

 

Seeking more of Him and less of me,

Pastor Andy Addis

John 3:30

Several years ago when Kathy and lived in Ft Worth during the seminary years, we had some friends come and visit us from Kansas.

It was a pretty easy trip; basically from Kansas go south on I-35 and exit on Seminary Drive… one turn and your at our doorstep.

Well, these friends took our simple directions, and we assumed they must have been running late, until we got a call from them. This was a big deal pre-cell phone days as you had to stop the car and pay for a call. 

They said they had been up and down I-35 through the whole city and never even seen Seminary Drive. I apologized, gave them some landmarks to look for and they tried again.

But, about 30 minutes later the same phone call. We played this game for about 90 minutes with increasing frustration at every phone call, until I heard my friend on the other end say in exasperation, “Why would you ever live in Dallas anyway?!”

My response was, I don’t.

I lived in Ft Worth, but just north of the Metroplex is a community called Denton and in that place, I-35 splits into East 35 and West 35 to pass through these two metros.

My friends had taken the wrong road.

All morning they had been going up and down the wrong 35, looking for an exit that would never appear, the whole time thinking to themselves they were right and I was crazy.

It’s unfortunate, and a much more devastating mistake, but Jesus says we do the same thing spiritually.

Matthew 7:13-14 says, “13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

How horrible it is to think of living a life, thinking you’re on the right road, thinking other people are crazy, and waiting for an exit that will never come.

Maybe you’re reading this because it’s a God-given opportunity to check the map. Maybe this is you stopping to make a call.

Maybe it’s time to make sure you are on the narrow road that’s going where you’ve been hoping you were heading.

I’d love to help you. 

Let me invite you to pray and get in touch.

First, pray to God asking for forgiveness for all our time on the wrong road and commit to following Jesus for the rest of your life as best you can.

Here’s an example of a prayer like that you might want to pray: “Father forgive me for all my mistakes and failures. I want to begin again with You. With the faith that I have I trust Your Son Jesus who lived, died and rose again for me. I want to follow Him for the rest of my life as my Lord and my Savior. I will mess this up, but help me to walk in a new way. In Jesus name, Amen.”

Second, get in touch. If you prayed this prayer I would love to help you get started out right on this new road. Drop me an email at andy@crosspointnow.net 

Many blessings my friend. I am thankful for you and pray you take the time to make sure these moments were not wasted. 

And, if the road you are already on is the right road, please share this post.

 

Dear Heavenly Father,

Over the years, I have often thanked you for Jesus, and I mean it every time. But, but I must confess that I have not thanked you for the effects of what He has done.

When Christ died on the cross, He defeated hell, death, and the grave, but those were the generals in the army of our enemy. At their destruction also came the crushing of their foot soldiers.

Christ devasted lust, pride, hurt, anger, greed, doubt, loss, pain, fear, laziness, unforgiveness and everything else that has ever tied me up and abused me! My enemies have been defeated and because Christ shouted from the cross “It is finished!” they are defeated with finality.

Jesus crushed those sins in my life, and I thank you God for that victory, that grace, and that hope. The only time I can every be imprisoned by them again is when I walk into their camp, sit in their prison and close the door myself.

So, I have three requests:

First, forgive me for the many times I have handed myself over to a defeated enemy.

Second, train and mature me so that I may never be bound again by defeated foes.

Third, let me remember to thank you every day that Jesus has already won the war.

Father, help me to walk in reality. Let me feet follow the path of freedom that you have already created.

In Jesus name, amen.