The Forgotten Minister

Pastors are great. I love pastors, yes partially because I am one, but also because many of my closest friends and mentors are pastors.  Many pastors are celebrated often.  Many of them are criticized often as well.  We even have a "Pastors Appreciation Day" in the evangelical sub-set.  Pastors, although far less than before, are celebrated.

All this attention on the pastor, yet there is still a forgotten minister.

This minister is behind the scenes and makes the success of the pastor possible.  This minister is rarely celebrated, often forgotten and usually suffers under the weight of the criticism that comes against the pastor.  This minister loves deeply, supports fervently and allows their sleep, dreams and life to be placed to the side (if not indefinitely, for a time at the very least) for the sake of the ministry.  This minister keeps the same late hours as the pastor.  This minister gives deep insight and input into the ministry; although many folks don't see this, they do.  Many times even the pastor themselves forget to acknowledge this minister and how deeply they assist and encourage in the ministry that is being done.

This minister is taken for granted and is often judged based only on two things: their appearance and their participation. The weight of this harsh judgment is often times hard to manage, but this particular minister does it well, leaning on God, (hopefully) their pastor and their friends (if they have any true ones).

Many times this minister is the one who is used by God to put the pastor back together when they are wounded. They come alongside their pastor and speak God's truth into their lives.  This is never seen by the normal congregant, but it happens and this love and care is vital to the vibrant life of the pastor.  In fact, I'd venture to say that the pastor is nothing without this minister.

This far in, I hope you are either A. asking who this minister is, or B. already know who this minister is.  SO....who is it?

 

This minister is the spouse of the pastor.

 

For me, my wife is my biggest supporter, cheerleader and confidant.  God has given me an amazing woman whom I can lean on for advise as well as counsel.  She's seen the beauty of ministry and the ugliness of it, yet she still supports me and encourages me to keep going.  One aspect of her ministry that is often overlooked; is her great support at home.  Without her staying back many nights I could not do the ministry I do.  I'm out of the house many evenings and she puts the kids to bed by herself.  She makes them dinner, bathes them, brushes their teeth and gets them ready for bed, some nights alone.  I've ensured that not every night is packed with ministry and have also made sure my night time events are later in the evening, so I can help with bedtime as often as possible.  Yet, there are still times  where my lovely bride has a night or two, or three where she is alone.

 

Very few see her effort, or her support to the ministry, yet she is there.  Often times, I too forget to thank and acknowledge her and do not fully appreciate all that she has done, is doing or will do.  I thank God for my bride and realize that I couldn't do what God has called me to do without her by my side helping me do it.  THANK YOU!

 

Pastors- don't forget to appreciate your spouse.  They are vital to your ministry both to the church and to yourself.

 

Churches- don't forget to thank and appreciate the spouses as well as your pastor.  If you are grateful to their pastoral ministry, know that it is possible many times due to their spouses support and encouragement.

 

For the record, this blog doesn't come on the heels of anything dramatic.  It came to me to blog on this issue simply due to the major sacrifice my wife made this summer as I traveled and was out of the house for almost the whole month of August. It was a hectic summer but she pushed through. It's been a hectic beginning to the school year, but she's been right there. God has blessed me tremendously and I desired to share how grateful I am! this month is "Pastor Appreciation Month" and I wanted to thank my forgotten minister. I am one lucky guy!

 

 

Sex Trafficking and Missions

Sex trafficking in today’s world is a hot topic that deserves attention. Estimates have come out that each year roughly 800,000 women and children are enslaved, enslaved strictly for the use of prostitution, stripping or pornography. They are abused, tortured, drug-induced and in some cases stolen away as little girls from their families under the false pretense that they are going to work at a legitimate job. The numbers of those in sex slavery are saddening, angering and noteworthy. When discussing this issue with college students, many wonder out loud: “What can we do? Can anything actually change?” The numbers are so huge and the issue so big, many simply give up hope and do nothing. Yet, those very questions, instead of killing the desire to do anything drove one young couple from Allegheny Center Alliance Church to do something incredible.

 

Josh and Jackie Blanchard asked themselves the question: “What can we do?” and sought the Lord in the process to assist in answering that question. They both come from backgrounds of music; Josh being a talented producer and rapper and Jackie a gifted singer. As they took stock of their passions, a dream was birthed. They dreamt of using music to tell a compelling story to highlight the true, ugly nature of sex trafficking. The God-birthed dream ended up in 2010 in the form of The Voice.

 

The Voice is a musical that tells the story of a young trafficking victim from Romania named “Roxanne”. The storyline is based on a compilation of several true stories regarding the devastating issue of trafficking. Too often, young girls and women from economically depressed nations are preyed upon by traffickers and lured to other nations with the hopes of making a better life. The musical has three movements: The Descent, The Despair and The Dream. The Descent details Roxanne’s journey into prostitution as a result of her father’s drug addiction. Like many other Romanian girls, once into the hands of traffickers, Roxanne gets sent to Amsterdam and then to Spain to different brothels. The Despair echoes the emotional despondency that so many trafficking victims experience: fear, anger, hopelessness and finally drug-induced numbness. In The Dream, Roxanne finds out that she is pregnant which brings about a whole new set of emotions like confusion and hope. Throughout the musical, the refrain “Can you hear my voice I’m calling? Will you take my hand and lead me home?” is repeated from the perspective of Roxanne. In a dream, she hears a voice that seems to be calling to her. That voice is God, who ultimately calls each and every one of us out of our lives of bondage to sin and into a life of freedom in Christ. The purpose of this musical was to raise awareness and to spur the church toward action in caring for these oppressed women and children.

 

This performance raised over $25,000 for a Christian and Missionary Alliance safe house in Spain that dedicates itself to saving those trapped in sex slavery. The Voice also began to expose the true and ugly nature of sex trafficking at a time when it wasn’t the hot social topic being highlighted. The sad reality is this: many people do not know how bad nor how pervasive the issue of sex trafficking actually is. Little girls are losing their innocence and being forced to please others with favors girls shouldn’t even know about much less do. We, as the church are called to care for the poor, the broken-hearted and the exploited, yet on this issue, The Church (Universal) is doing too little. There is more to be done to expose and abolish sex trafficking and this amazing couple is beginning a grass-roots effort, using their gifts and talents to serve the Kingdom in this way.

When I first saw The Voice, I was ignorant to much of what was actually going on with this major issue. The Voice inspired me to dig deeper and see what I could do. Josh and Jackie aren’t done yet either. They’ve now begun a new musical called Shadowed Faces to bring even more exposure and raise even more money to help abolish this evil trade.

 

Unlike The Voice, which follows the story of the trafficking victim, Shadowed Faces follows a young American businessman who travels to different countries for work, and becomes enticed to purchase sex. At each location the audience is exposed to the culture of each country, the humanity of the slaves in each country, and the battle between sin, darkness, and the freedom of grace found in Christ. Since 2010, Josh and Jackie have continued to learn about the bondage experienced by those trapped in sexual slavery for both the victims of trafficking as well as those who purchase sex. A study done in 2011 by Abt Associates Inc. found that as many as 15-20% of American men purchased sex at least once that previous year.

 

How has the purchase of sex become the fastest growing black-market industry in the world? The answer is simple: sin. Both the men who are trapped in sexual addiction and the exploited victims are in need of a deep, inner healing, which only God can bring about. No one wakes up one day and says that he or she wants to become a trafficker, or a man who purchases sex, or a woman who sells herself to make a living. Scripture tells us however, that the ruler of this world is of the kingdom of darkness and, since the fall of man, no one can escape sin, except through the saving power of Jesus Christ. Ultimately the domain of sex trafficking is the domain of Satan himself. We know that our only hope of salvation is Jesus Christ, but there are so many trapped in bondage, to sin and modern day slavery, that we must answer the Matthew 28:19 Great Commission to “therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” That is the emphasis behind Shadowed Faces. Josh and Jackie have heard the voices of their Father, reminding them of the countless millions of people trapped in the world of sin; “Can you hear their voices, calling? Will we take their hands” and lead them to Christ Jesus? Will you?

 

The purpose of Shadowed Faces is twofold: to spur the church on toward love and action in bringing Christ to those trapped in modern day slavery and also to raise support so that the Blanchards can serve full-time as Marketplace Ministries workers to prevent human trafficking. These days, the Blanchards are praying about where in the world God will send them. In the meantime, they are working to schedule tour dates to bring Shadowed Faces to interested churches and organizations. [If you are interested in finding out more about hosting a Shadowed Faces performance, you can contact the Blanchard's at jaxandthebeatfox@gmail.com] or check out their website- www.jaxandthebeatfox.com or their Facebook- www.facebook.com/jaxandthebeatfox

 

Josh and Jackie have been serving alongside me in ministry and are currently helping to build an international presence with global students at Aletheia Community Alliance Church (Allegheny Center Alliance Church’s Campus Site), which I have the privilege of leading. Their story is one worth highlighting because they are the real deal! God is calling them to some deep, rich, dark and risky stuff. I hope and pray that as you’ve read their story you are moved by this dark reality as well.

Four Years Ago...

Four years ago, I published my first book.  I thought that when the first printed copy would find it's way into my hands, I would feel a level of success and relief.  To some degree I felt those feelings, but in the back of my head I knew this book was self-published. In essence then, I simply paid for my book to go to print, it wasn't printed on the merits of the book itself, or my ability to write.  Anyone could do this.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized this was nothing to be excited about.  To add insult to injury, my book didn't sell more than 300 copies, which in the publishing world means it was a flop.  It's been four years and I've not braved the waters of publishing since.

I remember reading posts by Michael Hyatt on how his first book was rejected by 32 publishers, but then one picked it up and it became a NY Times Bestseller. I dreamed and longed for his story to be my own.  However, after about 15 rejections I caved and paid for it to be published.  I was given some good critique on how to make my book better before publishing, but I ignored it.  I went ahead and took my manuscript and asked others to help me get it published.  I deeply regret this move.

I recently put my newest manuscript in a contest with Thomas Nelson's self-publishing arm Westbow Press.  I'm no longer willing to pay for my book to get published, but I wanted to see if my book was good enough to win in a writing contest.  It wasn't.  I didn't even place within the top 10.  Yet, I write and I can't seem to stop writing.  I love to communicate and I don't sense this will ever stop.  I sense a call to preach, teach and to write, so no matter what happens to me and my writing, I can't stop.  I'm simply designed to communicate.

I've found that I invest a large amount of emotion into my writing.  I care what people think, but I've learned to take constructive criticism and not reject it.  I'm changing the way I approach how I write.  I'm changing the way I listen to the criticism I receive.  I desire to make my writing better.  It is hard to keep going when there is so much rejection of your work but I can't not write.  I am adamant that I will never self-publish again because if I have to pay for my book to get published, it's not good enough yet.  I understand the harsh realities of the publishing world where for the most part, if you don't have a platform you won't get a contract.  My thinking is if I don't have a platform, do I even have anything to say?  This can be a negative, disarming thought, but it can also be a healthy one.  If God desires what he's calling me to write to get published, he will make it so. Since I've written my first book, I've received more speaking gigs than I ever had before.  God has been slowly giving me a larger and larger audience to speak to...I believe he is building my platform...not for me to lift myself up, but for me to lift him up.

I will be honest, if I had a large platform when I was 22-26 (when I was developing and publishing this book) it would have been more about myself than about Him.  Too many pastors who were famous young have burnt out,  walked away from the Truth or screwed up in big ways.  If God would've allowed me to have what I wanted then, I may very well be the same.  I think I have grown due to the pain of disappointment in the rejections I've received from my writing.  When I first began writing, it was truly to gain recognition, a name for myself.  Now I am seeking to have a platform so I can allow Him to be known.

When things don't go as we expect, or feel like we were told they would, maybe God is up to something bigger.  When it comes to my writing and developing a platform I believe it is to ensure I will be able to handle what comes my way with it all.  I fully believe that before I die, I will have something that I write legitimately published by a known publisher.  I guess I'm just not ready yet.  I will keep writing and pushing towards the goal, even though it's hard and hurts sometimes.

MJ and the Star Warriors

I've been playing around with some fiction writing over the past several years.  No one really knows this save my bride and few friends I shared stuff with ages ago.  Below is a small beginning of a story starring MJ. I hope by the time he's old enough to appreciate it I can have a full fledged book about it...BIG dreams :)

 

MJ was a young Star Warrior who had already fought in many intergalactic wars. Although he was young and eager to prove himself he was the greatest warrior to come across the galaxy since the Old Order warriors known now only by legend. These warriors traveled across the galaxy to bring peace as well as order to a star system that would fall into chaos without such a governing force of strong warriors.  Now the cosmos was finding itself in deep chaos once again and needed warriors like the old order to step up to bring peace back again.

MJ seemed to be a prime candidate for this task since he was such a natural.  He was asked by his CO (Commanding Officer) to think about being part of the New Warrior Order of elite Star Warriors. Although he was eager to prove himself worthy of such an honorable task, the pressure seemed too much for him to bear. He was a warrior, yes but what did he know about bringing peace to the galaxy? What did he know about fighting back chaos? He seemed to be lost in a sea of chaos with no way out and they were asking him to become like of a bunch of old “mythical” men who used to be great warriors? This new order called themselves the New Warrior Order (NWO for short) and he was their prime candidate- although there were others, they deeply desired him for some reason. His CO gave no hints as to why they desired him so desperately, just that this would be an amazing honor and that he himself wished he was able to be apart of.

When the NWO approached him, he was thrilled at first, but now he was unsure. War didn't seem to be a life goal he had ever desired. He joined the intergalactic Star Warriors to make money, not to become a life-long warrior. He did enjoy the thrill of War and the joy of victory, but to give ones life to such a mission? He just didn't know. He asked his CO to as the NWO for two weeks to consider this offer. He decided to do what helped him figure things out- fly the galaxy. He hopped in his starship- the lovely "Bucket". MJ named his vessel “Bucket” right after it almost killed him mid-star leap for the seventh time. It's short for Bucket of Bolts because that's all it seems good for. Yet he loved Bucket and had found a deep fondness for flying her around the cosmos.

He grumpily pounded into the computer some random coordinates he didn't even know and began his journey of pondering what he was going to do with the rest of his life...