By Sunday Adelaja
Too much light burns the eyes. Too much salt burns the tongue. When Christians make church the focal point of their lives and ministry, they burn each other like an oversalted dish and blind one another like a room full of spotlights. Salt and light aren't meant for themselves. We aren't called the salt of the church but the salt of the earth. We aren't called the light of the church but the light of the world (see Matt. 5:13-14). And we aren't called to be church-minded; rather, first and foremost, we're called to seek God's kingdom.
When a church neglects the Great Commission and becomes self-absorbed, it falls into several predictable traps:
Infighting. When a church loses focus, people get busy fighting among themselves. A church that has an outward-looking kingdom focus simply has no bored people. Everybody is busy in the proper direction. Nobody has time for internal squabbles or unimportant questions.
Egocentric leadership. Having met with billionaires and famous people, I've found it's actually easier to approach many of them than it is to approach some pastors. God help us!
Size focus. It's OK to talk numbers and to rejoice in God's blessing of numerical growth, but it's childish to revel in it and compare ourselves with others. If a church grows in numbers, the point is to glorify Christ.
Egocentric followers. Egocentric leaders produce egocentric followers. When a pastor uses a church to meet his own needs, this trickles down to people in the pews, who begin to see the church as existing to meet their personal needs. A culture of self-gratification grips the church.
Teaching fragments of the truth. Unless a church continually pursues a total kingdom agenda, it's easy to fall into teaching partial truth. But the kingdom and its gospel is a totality.
So how do we create a church culture that's not insulated and self-absorbed? It begins by understanding that to be kingdom-minded is to reject the world's way of thinking and live by superior principles from a superior place. Our hearts and minds are consumed with better things, yet we are to thrust ourselves into the world because that is where we set people free. We don't run from problems; we run to them. We have the answer for every problem in the world. That is our Great Commission calling—through active application of kingdom principles. Here are two of those principles that can help any church become a kingdom-minded, problem-solving powerhouse:
1. Repentance. You can only transform something if you aren't conformed to it (see Rom. 12:2). The problem for many people is they don't fully reject the principles of this world. They try to mix kingdoms. They use principles of the kingdom of darkness to establish their rule.
Many preachers don't preach repentance, but Jesus did (see Mark 1:15). To repent means to change your mind and your belief system as often as needed. It's the process we go through to become kingdom-minded. We repent because the kingdom of heaven is here. It is about rejecting the old and embracing the new. There is no life apart from the kingdom.
2. Love. If I could sum up kingdom-mindedness in one word, it would be love. As we shift away from church-mindedness, we need to realize that without being identified with God and being kingdom-minded, we'll simply go back to our natural ways and won't change anything in our world. Love people! Love them no matter who they are or what they do. Love people regardless of their faults. Love them unconditionally.
Many ministers can teach, but fewer can love. That's why many churches remain so small and irrelevant. People don't come to church to be taught. They're seeking love, and that's our first commission. Let's be kingdom-minded and embody the nature and culture of our King, which starts with love.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
So That's Why My Church Is Full of Babies!
As a pastor, you naturally want to see those you lead become spiritually mature followers of Christ. But if your congregation is still full of infant believers, here's something to chew on from the latest Barna study: You may be the reason they're still that way.
According to a survey of more than 1,000 Christians and a secondary one of more than 600 pastors, more than half of all churchgoers can't describe how their church defines a mature believer. An overwhelming 81 percent believe spiritual maturity correlates to "trying hard to follow the rules described in the Bible," and even among born-again Christians (a small subset of the entire group polled), only 30 percent mentioned having a relationship with Jesus as one of the characteristics of spiritual maturity. Other elements included living a moral lifestyle (14 percent), applying the Bible (12 percent) and sharing your faith with others (6 percent).
Possibly more revealing than these statistics is the disconnect that exists within church leadership. Among pastors surveyed, nearly 90 percent said a lack of spiritual maturity was one of the nation's biggest problems—yet a minority of them stated that this wasn't the case in their own church.
Fewer than half of the churches represented have written documents defining, describing or outlining what a mature Christian is like. In addition, most pastors add to this ambiguity by using vague biblical references when actually trying to measure spiritual maturity. When asked to identify the most important portions of the Bible that define spiritual maturity, more than three-fourths gave a generic response: one-third simply answered "the whole Bible," 17 percent said "the gospels," 15 percent said "the New Testament," and 10 percent offered "Paul's letters" as their source of definition. Just one-fifth of pastors cited specific Bible verses that speak of a mature believer.
"America has a spiritual depth problem partly because the faith community does not have a robust definition of its spiritual goals," said Barna Group president David Kinnaman. "The study shows the need for new types of spiritual metrics. One new metric might be a renewed effort on the part of leaders to articulate the outcomes of spiritual growth."
Such an effort begins with most pastors recognizing their systems of measurement is lacking. Yet further indicating the disconnect from reality, the majority of pastors surveyed were moderately satisfied with their current methods and standards. (Granted, only 9 percent were completely satisfied with how they measured and assess spiritual growth of those they lead.)
In light of this, Kinnaman offered a warning to any grow-quick solutions: "As people begin to realize that the concepts and practices of spiritual maturity have been underdeveloped, the Christian community is likely to enter a time of renewed emphasis on discipleship, soul care, the tensions of truth and grace, the so-called ‘fruits’ of the spiritual life and the practices of spiritual disciplines. A related challenge is that as spiritual formation becomes ‘trendy’ it will inevitably become ‘watered down’ with products that over-promise or are simply counter-productive. Leaders have to take on this issue more effectively, and part of that task is weeding out the good from bad." [barna.org, 5/11/09]
According to a survey of more than 1,000 Christians and a secondary one of more than 600 pastors, more than half of all churchgoers can't describe how their church defines a mature believer. An overwhelming 81 percent believe spiritual maturity correlates to "trying hard to follow the rules described in the Bible," and even among born-again Christians (a small subset of the entire group polled), only 30 percent mentioned having a relationship with Jesus as one of the characteristics of spiritual maturity. Other elements included living a moral lifestyle (14 percent), applying the Bible (12 percent) and sharing your faith with others (6 percent).
Possibly more revealing than these statistics is the disconnect that exists within church leadership. Among pastors surveyed, nearly 90 percent said a lack of spiritual maturity was one of the nation's biggest problems—yet a minority of them stated that this wasn't the case in their own church.
Fewer than half of the churches represented have written documents defining, describing or outlining what a mature Christian is like. In addition, most pastors add to this ambiguity by using vague biblical references when actually trying to measure spiritual maturity. When asked to identify the most important portions of the Bible that define spiritual maturity, more than three-fourths gave a generic response: one-third simply answered "the whole Bible," 17 percent said "the gospels," 15 percent said "the New Testament," and 10 percent offered "Paul's letters" as their source of definition. Just one-fifth of pastors cited specific Bible verses that speak of a mature believer.
"America has a spiritual depth problem partly because the faith community does not have a robust definition of its spiritual goals," said Barna Group president David Kinnaman. "The study shows the need for new types of spiritual metrics. One new metric might be a renewed effort on the part of leaders to articulate the outcomes of spiritual growth."
Such an effort begins with most pastors recognizing their systems of measurement is lacking. Yet further indicating the disconnect from reality, the majority of pastors surveyed were moderately satisfied with their current methods and standards. (Granted, only 9 percent were completely satisfied with how they measured and assess spiritual growth of those they lead.)
In light of this, Kinnaman offered a warning to any grow-quick solutions: "As people begin to realize that the concepts and practices of spiritual maturity have been underdeveloped, the Christian community is likely to enter a time of renewed emphasis on discipleship, soul care, the tensions of truth and grace, the so-called ‘fruits’ of the spiritual life and the practices of spiritual disciplines. A related challenge is that as spiritual formation becomes ‘trendy’ it will inevitably become ‘watered down’ with products that over-promise or are simply counter-productive. Leaders have to take on this issue more effectively, and part of that task is weeding out the good from bad." [barna.org, 5/11/09]
10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe
Many Christians, new and seasoned alike, tend to bank on promises that God never made, says one pastor.
So when God doesn't come through on those "promises," some are likely to become angry at God.
And "that to me as a pastor over all my years is always one of the saddest things," says Larry Osborne, teaching pastor at North Coast Church in Vista, Calif.
Osborne, whose church draws over 7,000 people, is hoping to spare a lot of Jesus followers from that anger. He’s also hoping Christians will peruse Scripture more and align themselves with what God really says rather than the “word on the street.”
So he spelled out some of the "dumb things smart Christians believe" – ten, to be specific – in a new book.
He calls those "dumb things" spiritual urban legends – a belief, story, assumption, or truism that gets passed around as fact even in Sunday-school class or a Bible study.
"What happens ... is somebody passes out a truism that sounds good and we've just heard it so many times [that] we don't bother to check it out," Osborne explained to The Christian Post. "And that's the source of most of these urban legends. They're true partially, but they're not true completely."
One of the partial truths many Christians fall victim to is the belief that living God's way will bring good fortune.
"The Bible makes no such promise," Osborne writes in 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.
The 57-year-old pastor recalls one moment when a church attendee named Tim waited in line to talk to him after a weekend worship service.
"[A]s soon as I said, 'Hey, what's up?' he let loose," Osborne writes. "'Bleep your bleeping God!' he exclaimed. 'I'm done. Your Jesus hasn't done me a bit of good. I've tried to clean up my act. I even tried your damn tithing thing. It doesn't work. I just lost my job. My wife needs surgery, and now I don't have any insurance. Where's your bleeping God when we need him?'"
"After a few more expletives, he finally turned and stormed out. I never saw him again."
Osborne notes that it wasn't a series of "tough breaks" or "unfortunate events" that caused Tim's tirade. Rather, it was "a set of unfounded and unrealistic expectations about what it means to follow God and what should happen when we venture to do so" that set him off.
Tim's case isn't unique. Many Christians expect things to work out when living God's way, Osborne says.
"They all figure that a little bit of God might bring a little bit of luck. So why not rub the bottle and see if a genie pops out?" he writes.
Holding such a belief, however, could prove to be spiritually dangerous. Moreover, it results in a lot of "pretenders or dabblers" who try to play by the rules of Christianity but not really believe in what they're abiding.
"When we assume, imply, or promise that God is supposed to bring us good luck and lots of success, we're set up for deep disappointment and spiritual cynicism," he writes. "Even worse, we risk turning the King of kings into little more than a good-luck charm."
Osborne also warns that those who introduce Christ to others and testify of only the "abundant Christian life" while downplaying the "harder teachings of Jesus" set the stage for disillusionment when things go awry.
Following Christ can be tough and having faith isn't always going to fix everything.
It's another spiritual urban legend – that faith can fix anything – and another one that can lead to an angry outburst or a spiritual meltdown.
As a pastor, this is one of the most common urban legends Osborne has encountered.
Many Christians believe ridding themselves of doubts and having clear positive thinking – which is how many define "faith" – will lead to their desired outcome such as physical healing. But having faith doesn't always lead to victory, at least not in the earthly sense.
While the Bible famously "tells of kingdoms won, lions muzzled, flames quenched, weaknesses turned to strength, enemies routed, [and] the dead raised," it also speaks of people of faith who were "tortured, jeered, flogged, imprisoned, stoned, sawed in two, and put to death by the sword."
They all lived by faith "yet their faith didn't fix anything," Osborne points out.
What faith does promise, however, is forgiveness and the gift of eternal life.
"Faith is ... not an impenetrable shield that protects us from life's hardships and trials. It's not a magic potion that removes every mess," Osborne writes in his book. "It's designed to guide us on a path called righteousness."
Faith, Osborne says, is trusting enough to obey.
The other eight spiritual urban legends he lists are: forgiving means forgetting, a godly home guarantees godly kids, God has a blueprint for my life, Christians shouldn't judge, everything happens for a reason, let your conscience be your guide, a valley means a wrong turn, and dead people go to a better place.
The common thread through all of them, Osborne said, is the "disillusionment that comes when we bank of promises that God actually never made."
They're "partial truths that we shouldn’t be building the whole house on," said Osborne, who has been teaching a four-week series on urban legends – which include more than ten – over the past summers.
While Christians are not likely to buy into all of them, most may have one or two that they fall victim to, the North Coast pastor believes.
"Sometimes we treat the Bible as if it's a series of sound bites and little sayings that we can put on t-shirts, coffee cups and posters," Osborne pointed out. "But it's a big book."
"We need to look at what the Bible says about any subject in all of its passages. And when we do that we'll avoid these urban legends."
So when God doesn't come through on those "promises," some are likely to become angry at God.
And "that to me as a pastor over all my years is always one of the saddest things," says Larry Osborne, teaching pastor at North Coast Church in Vista, Calif.
Osborne, whose church draws over 7,000 people, is hoping to spare a lot of Jesus followers from that anger. He’s also hoping Christians will peruse Scripture more and align themselves with what God really says rather than the “word on the street.”
So he spelled out some of the "dumb things smart Christians believe" – ten, to be specific – in a new book.
He calls those "dumb things" spiritual urban legends – a belief, story, assumption, or truism that gets passed around as fact even in Sunday-school class or a Bible study.
"What happens ... is somebody passes out a truism that sounds good and we've just heard it so many times [that] we don't bother to check it out," Osborne explained to The Christian Post. "And that's the source of most of these urban legends. They're true partially, but they're not true completely."
One of the partial truths many Christians fall victim to is the belief that living God's way will bring good fortune.
"The Bible makes no such promise," Osborne writes in 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.
The 57-year-old pastor recalls one moment when a church attendee named Tim waited in line to talk to him after a weekend worship service.
"[A]s soon as I said, 'Hey, what's up?' he let loose," Osborne writes. "'Bleep your bleeping God!' he exclaimed. 'I'm done. Your Jesus hasn't done me a bit of good. I've tried to clean up my act. I even tried your damn tithing thing. It doesn't work. I just lost my job. My wife needs surgery, and now I don't have any insurance. Where's your bleeping God when we need him?'"
"After a few more expletives, he finally turned and stormed out. I never saw him again."
Osborne notes that it wasn't a series of "tough breaks" or "unfortunate events" that caused Tim's tirade. Rather, it was "a set of unfounded and unrealistic expectations about what it means to follow God and what should happen when we venture to do so" that set him off.
Tim's case isn't unique. Many Christians expect things to work out when living God's way, Osborne says.
"They all figure that a little bit of God might bring a little bit of luck. So why not rub the bottle and see if a genie pops out?" he writes.
Holding such a belief, however, could prove to be spiritually dangerous. Moreover, it results in a lot of "pretenders or dabblers" who try to play by the rules of Christianity but not really believe in what they're abiding.
"When we assume, imply, or promise that God is supposed to bring us good luck and lots of success, we're set up for deep disappointment and spiritual cynicism," he writes. "Even worse, we risk turning the King of kings into little more than a good-luck charm."
Osborne also warns that those who introduce Christ to others and testify of only the "abundant Christian life" while downplaying the "harder teachings of Jesus" set the stage for disillusionment when things go awry.
Following Christ can be tough and having faith isn't always going to fix everything.
It's another spiritual urban legend – that faith can fix anything – and another one that can lead to an angry outburst or a spiritual meltdown.
As a pastor, this is one of the most common urban legends Osborne has encountered.
Many Christians believe ridding themselves of doubts and having clear positive thinking – which is how many define "faith" – will lead to their desired outcome such as physical healing. But having faith doesn't always lead to victory, at least not in the earthly sense.
While the Bible famously "tells of kingdoms won, lions muzzled, flames quenched, weaknesses turned to strength, enemies routed, [and] the dead raised," it also speaks of people of faith who were "tortured, jeered, flogged, imprisoned, stoned, sawed in two, and put to death by the sword."
They all lived by faith "yet their faith didn't fix anything," Osborne points out.
What faith does promise, however, is forgiveness and the gift of eternal life.
"Faith is ... not an impenetrable shield that protects us from life's hardships and trials. It's not a magic potion that removes every mess," Osborne writes in his book. "It's designed to guide us on a path called righteousness."
Faith, Osborne says, is trusting enough to obey.
The other eight spiritual urban legends he lists are: forgiving means forgetting, a godly home guarantees godly kids, God has a blueprint for my life, Christians shouldn't judge, everything happens for a reason, let your conscience be your guide, a valley means a wrong turn, and dead people go to a better place.
The common thread through all of them, Osborne said, is the "disillusionment that comes when we bank of promises that God actually never made."
They're "partial truths that we shouldn’t be building the whole house on," said Osborne, who has been teaching a four-week series on urban legends – which include more than ten – over the past summers.
While Christians are not likely to buy into all of them, most may have one or two that they fall victim to, the North Coast pastor believes.
"Sometimes we treat the Bible as if it's a series of sound bites and little sayings that we can put on t-shirts, coffee cups and posters," Osborne pointed out. "But it's a big book."
"We need to look at what the Bible says about any subject in all of its passages. And when we do that we'll avoid these urban legends."
The God of Relationships
For the love of Christ compels us; because we judge thus: that if one died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them, and rose again. (2 Cor. 5:14-15)
The Bible is all about relationships. Obviously, the first example would be Jesus. When he was asked to sum up the God-centered life, he said that it was quite simple. Love God; love others (Mark 12:28-31).
I concur with St Augustine, one of the early Church Fathers, who observed that everything written in Scripture is meant to teach us how to love either God or our neighbor.
The triune God is a personal being who exists as a joyous community of humility, servant hood and mutual submission. Not only does God exist in a perfect community Himself, He paid a great price to make it possible for us to enter a relationship with Him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Now He wants this relationship to be made visible in our relationships with others. God knows that not only are we unable to save ourselves, but we are also incapable of truly loving others. So He went beyond offering us salvation; He miraculously infuses us with the ability to love others properly (Rom 5:6).
God created us in His image – with the ability to connect with others in deep and meaningful ways. Yet it did not take long for us to learn how to disconnect and live as enemies. He created relational beings, beautiful and good. Shortly thereafter humans added a creation of their own: revenge. As a consequence, pain, betrayal and loss are now inevitable in a fallen world. But there are two ways to live in such a world: the way of revenge or the way of reconciliation. One road leads to death; the other road leads to life. Make the right choice.
The Bible is all about relationships. Obviously, the first example would be Jesus. When he was asked to sum up the God-centered life, he said that it was quite simple. Love God; love others (Mark 12:28-31).
I concur with St Augustine, one of the early Church Fathers, who observed that everything written in Scripture is meant to teach us how to love either God or our neighbor.
The triune God is a personal being who exists as a joyous community of humility, servant hood and mutual submission. Not only does God exist in a perfect community Himself, He paid a great price to make it possible for us to enter a relationship with Him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Now He wants this relationship to be made visible in our relationships with others. God knows that not only are we unable to save ourselves, but we are also incapable of truly loving others. So He went beyond offering us salvation; He miraculously infuses us with the ability to love others properly (Rom 5:6).
God created us in His image – with the ability to connect with others in deep and meaningful ways. Yet it did not take long for us to learn how to disconnect and live as enemies. He created relational beings, beautiful and good. Shortly thereafter humans added a creation of their own: revenge. As a consequence, pain, betrayal and loss are now inevitable in a fallen world. But there are two ways to live in such a world: the way of revenge or the way of reconciliation. One road leads to death; the other road leads to life. Make the right choice.
Transitioning To Power: A Look At Pastor Fred Price Jr.
The following article was originally posted in this month's edition of EIF Magazine.
It was 30 years ago in March that Dr. Frederick K.C. Price held his infant son up during a church dedication service and said, “Frederick K. Price, I offer you up unto the Lord our God and dedicate you to our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Moving words—especially considering that his birth was a prophecy come to life. When Dr. Betty was pregnant with Frederick, she received a prophesy from Kenneth Hagin at an All Faiths Crusade at the Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. “God has restored what the devil stole from you many years ago. This child will be a blessing to you and will help you in the ministry,” prophesied Hagin. It was truly a profound moment for the Price’s whose first-born son Frederick K.C. Price, Jr. was struck by an automobile when he was only eight years old. He died of his injuries.
God indeed brought that prophecy to pass and is using the life of Dr. Price’s son in a magnificent way. On March 15, 2009, Pastor Fred Price will officially be installed as Pastor of Crenshaw Christian Center, the church his father started more than 35 years ago. The date is special because it also marks Pastor Fred’s 30th birthday.
“Fred will start his public ministry at the same age as Jesus did. That is prophetic,” said Dr. Price.
The decision was announced in November 2008 during the church’s 35th anniversary. While Dr. Price won’t be handling the senior pastor duties anymore, that doesn’t mean he will be disappearing from the scene. Dr. Price will still be doing what he loves best—teaching on Sundays and during the weekly Bible Study, working with the board of directors and mentoring his son.
Much of this sounds like a scene from the movie “Lion King,” And Pastor Fred agrees that it feels like it too. “Lion King is a good illustration,” he points out. “If you remember at the beginning, Rafiki, the little prophet monkey holds Simba up on behalf of Mufasa and his wife. At the end of the movie, he holds the new little baby up for Simba. Of course in this case Mufasa is not dying, he’s not going anywhere. I did see the transition like that. It’s my time to be king, so to speak. I’m really okay with it. I look forward to it because it looks like a challenge. I have confidence in some of the things that I’ll implement.
Before I implement ideas, I’m going to implement me. I think that when I implement me, God is going to use me in some interesting ways. I’m up for it. I’m not nervous. I’m not scared. I’m not frightened. I’m in anticipation of it.”
Chalk up the lack of fear to the fact that Pastor Fred has been working in the ministry as a pastor for the past six years and that his father will be here to help teach him the ropes.
“I think this situation is probably how it’s supposed to be,” said Pastor Fred. “I even look at it like this. God had interaction with man in the earth, it wasn’t like the Father was here and then He left. Then Jesus came and then Jesus was here and He left and then the Spirit came.
The Spirit of the Lord had interaction with man in the Old Testament. Pre-incarnate Jesus had interaction with man in the Old Testament. Then you see the Spirit descending upon Jesus in His earthly ministry. Jesus and the Holy Spirit had interaction with man. It wasn’t like the current boss was here and then he leaves. I think this is how it’s supposed to be. As he’s phasing out, he’s phasing me in. He’s still here to mentor me and teach me and show me the ropes. That’s the ideal situation anyway.”
Currently, Pastor Fred is taking the time to learn the ropes. While teaching is nothing new, the administrative side of pastoring is a new phase for this husband and father of one. His days have become full with mandatory meetings, officiating the majority of weddings and memorial services and counseling.
While Pastor Fred is excited about the new responsibilities that await him, one thing he’s had to face are naysayers—those who think he may be too young or inexperienced to lead such a large and influential ministry.
Naysayers have always been fuel for me,” he explains. “I encourage the naysayers to categorize and list everything that they think I should have or should be doing. My only reply to them is watch. They’ll see.”
Truth is, the younger Price has received far more accolades than criticism.
“I’ve seen some letters with my own eyes that have been negative. Some people are looking for a flaw. But most of the response if positive, probably because of the way he presented me to the people. It wasn’t like, ‘here’s your new pastor, I’m gone.’
People were able to see me grow. All of that is what makes the transition easier. On top of that, I respect the old school. I respect my elders. People always tell me that my wisdom is beyond my years.
That’s just because of my surroundings. That’s why it’s making the transition a lot smoother. I can’t tell you how many notes I’ve received from people who tell me that they have been here from the beginning with my father and they served under him and are looking forward to serving under me. That’s very humbling so the naysayers are very few.”
Pastor Fred accepted the call to preach right out of high school and went to attend the Cottonwood Christian Center School of Ministry as an alternative to Long Beach State where he had been enrolled. Two years later in 2002, he graduated from Cottonwood and became a licensed minister. That same year, he preached his first sermon in the FaithDome titled, “Does God Show Favoritism?”
The following year, in 2003, Frederick was ordained by his father Dr. Price. His life has pretty much been ministry work, though he admits that one time he did try his hand as a salesman pushing Cutco knives. Though he grew up a pastor’s child and ministry work has been all he knows, Pastor Fred is more than well-rounded.
A serious gamer, he’s into Xbox 360 and counts Call of Duty: World at War as his favorite video game at the moment. He’s also very much a bookworm and is into a bevy of subjects from his father’s books to fantasy and science fiction to history and information.
His goal now is to continue building the ministry his father established while stamping his signature as pastor.
“I’m a free-thinking techie. I observe differently but intuitively and in detail the way he does. I may pick different things out. I think I’ll be a leader in the same manner that he is. Excellence will still be the cusp of the ministry.
“Here’s I want: to see not just new membership and seats being filled but new life being breathed back into the ministry,” Pastor Price says. “I want to see new life—a youthful feel. A new excitement—that’s really what I’m looking forward to. My pastoring—on Sundays people mostly see me teaching. They know that I can teach but the pastoring are the other things—dealing with the people, making the hard decisions—things like that. I want to be a seasoned pastor. I want to see myself seasoned in a shorter time than what would be expected.”
It was 30 years ago in March that Dr. Frederick K.C. Price held his infant son up during a church dedication service and said, “Frederick K. Price, I offer you up unto the Lord our God and dedicate you to our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Moving words—especially considering that his birth was a prophecy come to life. When Dr. Betty was pregnant with Frederick, she received a prophesy from Kenneth Hagin at an All Faiths Crusade at the Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. “God has restored what the devil stole from you many years ago. This child will be a blessing to you and will help you in the ministry,” prophesied Hagin. It was truly a profound moment for the Price’s whose first-born son Frederick K.C. Price, Jr. was struck by an automobile when he was only eight years old. He died of his injuries.
God indeed brought that prophecy to pass and is using the life of Dr. Price’s son in a magnificent way. On March 15, 2009, Pastor Fred Price will officially be installed as Pastor of Crenshaw Christian Center, the church his father started more than 35 years ago. The date is special because it also marks Pastor Fred’s 30th birthday.
“Fred will start his public ministry at the same age as Jesus did. That is prophetic,” said Dr. Price.
The decision was announced in November 2008 during the church’s 35th anniversary. While Dr. Price won’t be handling the senior pastor duties anymore, that doesn’t mean he will be disappearing from the scene. Dr. Price will still be doing what he loves best—teaching on Sundays and during the weekly Bible Study, working with the board of directors and mentoring his son.
Much of this sounds like a scene from the movie “Lion King,” And Pastor Fred agrees that it feels like it too. “Lion King is a good illustration,” he points out. “If you remember at the beginning, Rafiki, the little prophet monkey holds Simba up on behalf of Mufasa and his wife. At the end of the movie, he holds the new little baby up for Simba. Of course in this case Mufasa is not dying, he’s not going anywhere. I did see the transition like that. It’s my time to be king, so to speak. I’m really okay with it. I look forward to it because it looks like a challenge. I have confidence in some of the things that I’ll implement.
Before I implement ideas, I’m going to implement me. I think that when I implement me, God is going to use me in some interesting ways. I’m up for it. I’m not nervous. I’m not scared. I’m not frightened. I’m in anticipation of it.”
Chalk up the lack of fear to the fact that Pastor Fred has been working in the ministry as a pastor for the past six years and that his father will be here to help teach him the ropes.
“I think this situation is probably how it’s supposed to be,” said Pastor Fred. “I even look at it like this. God had interaction with man in the earth, it wasn’t like the Father was here and then He left. Then Jesus came and then Jesus was here and He left and then the Spirit came.
The Spirit of the Lord had interaction with man in the Old Testament. Pre-incarnate Jesus had interaction with man in the Old Testament. Then you see the Spirit descending upon Jesus in His earthly ministry. Jesus and the Holy Spirit had interaction with man. It wasn’t like the current boss was here and then he leaves. I think this is how it’s supposed to be. As he’s phasing out, he’s phasing me in. He’s still here to mentor me and teach me and show me the ropes. That’s the ideal situation anyway.”
Currently, Pastor Fred is taking the time to learn the ropes. While teaching is nothing new, the administrative side of pastoring is a new phase for this husband and father of one. His days have become full with mandatory meetings, officiating the majority of weddings and memorial services and counseling.
While Pastor Fred is excited about the new responsibilities that await him, one thing he’s had to face are naysayers—those who think he may be too young or inexperienced to lead such a large and influential ministry.
Naysayers have always been fuel for me,” he explains. “I encourage the naysayers to categorize and list everything that they think I should have or should be doing. My only reply to them is watch. They’ll see.”
Truth is, the younger Price has received far more accolades than criticism.
“I’ve seen some letters with my own eyes that have been negative. Some people are looking for a flaw. But most of the response if positive, probably because of the way he presented me to the people. It wasn’t like, ‘here’s your new pastor, I’m gone.’
People were able to see me grow. All of that is what makes the transition easier. On top of that, I respect the old school. I respect my elders. People always tell me that my wisdom is beyond my years.
That’s just because of my surroundings. That’s why it’s making the transition a lot smoother. I can’t tell you how many notes I’ve received from people who tell me that they have been here from the beginning with my father and they served under him and are looking forward to serving under me. That’s very humbling so the naysayers are very few.”
Pastor Fred accepted the call to preach right out of high school and went to attend the Cottonwood Christian Center School of Ministry as an alternative to Long Beach State where he had been enrolled. Two years later in 2002, he graduated from Cottonwood and became a licensed minister. That same year, he preached his first sermon in the FaithDome titled, “Does God Show Favoritism?”
The following year, in 2003, Frederick was ordained by his father Dr. Price. His life has pretty much been ministry work, though he admits that one time he did try his hand as a salesman pushing Cutco knives. Though he grew up a pastor’s child and ministry work has been all he knows, Pastor Fred is more than well-rounded.
A serious gamer, he’s into Xbox 360 and counts Call of Duty: World at War as his favorite video game at the moment. He’s also very much a bookworm and is into a bevy of subjects from his father’s books to fantasy and science fiction to history and information.
His goal now is to continue building the ministry his father established while stamping his signature as pastor.
“I’m a free-thinking techie. I observe differently but intuitively and in detail the way he does. I may pick different things out. I think I’ll be a leader in the same manner that he is. Excellence will still be the cusp of the ministry.
“Here’s I want: to see not just new membership and seats being filled but new life being breathed back into the ministry,” Pastor Price says. “I want to see new life—a youthful feel. A new excitement—that’s really what I’m looking forward to. My pastoring—on Sundays people mostly see me teaching. They know that I can teach but the pastoring are the other things—dealing with the people, making the hard decisions—things like that. I want to be a seasoned pastor. I want to see myself seasoned in a shorter time than what would be expected.”
Friday, May 15, 2009
Shout grace!
"Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he will bring forth the cap stone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!” (Zech. 4:7).
Grace and Mercy are like two heads of the same coin. Mercy is God withholding the punishment I deserve while Grace is God giving me blessing or good that I do not deserve. Some of us appear to be more sin-conscious than grace-conscious.
God's unmerited favour is only one aspect of grace. Francis Frangipane says “Grace is God's power, motivated by His mercy, working to fulfill His compassion”. It is God’s promise to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
Zerubbabel had mountains in his life that were too much for him. He had a task of that was beyond his abilities. In the struggle of the battle, weariness settled on the governor. So, the Lord gave Zechariah a promise for Zerubbabel. He said,
"‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts" (Zech. 4:6).
God was saying, "You have laboured, your enemies are many and they are strong, but this work I've set before you isn't about your abilities; it's about what I can do working through you." Likewise, our salvation today isn't about our works. It’s about believing in the finished work of Christ on the Cross.
God promised His Spirit would help Zerubbabel, and when it was done, multitudes would be shouting "Grace, grace" at the finished work (Zech.4:7).
Don't run from the mountains in your life; face them in faith---and then shout "Grace, grace" to them. Let God make your mountains into "a plain." It doesn't say admire grace, but release your faith and shout "Grace, grace!" God's unmerited favour has been poured out upon you; now speak to that mountain of discouragement, sickness or financial need - GRACE, GRACE in Jesus name!
Grace and Mercy are like two heads of the same coin. Mercy is God withholding the punishment I deserve while Grace is God giving me blessing or good that I do not deserve. Some of us appear to be more sin-conscious than grace-conscious.
God's unmerited favour is only one aspect of grace. Francis Frangipane says “Grace is God's power, motivated by His mercy, working to fulfill His compassion”. It is God’s promise to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
Zerubbabel had mountains in his life that were too much for him. He had a task of that was beyond his abilities. In the struggle of the battle, weariness settled on the governor. So, the Lord gave Zechariah a promise for Zerubbabel. He said,
"‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts" (Zech. 4:6).
God was saying, "You have laboured, your enemies are many and they are strong, but this work I've set before you isn't about your abilities; it's about what I can do working through you." Likewise, our salvation today isn't about our works. It’s about believing in the finished work of Christ on the Cross.
God promised His Spirit would help Zerubbabel, and when it was done, multitudes would be shouting "Grace, grace" at the finished work (Zech.4:7).
Don't run from the mountains in your life; face them in faith---and then shout "Grace, grace" to them. Let God make your mountains into "a plain." It doesn't say admire grace, but release your faith and shout "Grace, grace!" God's unmerited favour has been poured out upon you; now speak to that mountain of discouragement, sickness or financial need - GRACE, GRACE in Jesus name!
The A, B, C's of the Prophetic
By James Goll
You see, we must understand some basic things concerning the nature of the prophetic. Few, in fact very few, prophetic words are ever sovereign declarations that will come to pass without any conditions being met. Most prophetic words are invitations into a process of becoming. Often, the Lord is more interested in our becoming a word and not just getting, releasing or receiving a word.
The prophetic at its best is partial, progressive and conditional. That is not the fault of the prophetic person – it is the way it works biblically, historically and how it works today.
Let me run that by you one more time - the gift of prophecy is partial, progressive and conditional and the conditions are rarely revealed at that time. This is where personal responsibility takes over and each believer must search out the King’s heart for the keys to unlocking the revelation.
There is a big difference between the revelation and the manifestation! As I have said many times before, the gap between the revelation and the manifestation is called the “until clause.”
You see, we must understand some basic things concerning the nature of the prophetic. Few, in fact very few, prophetic words are ever sovereign declarations that will come to pass without any conditions being met. Most prophetic words are invitations into a process of becoming. Often, the Lord is more interested in our becoming a word and not just getting, releasing or receiving a word.
The prophetic at its best is partial, progressive and conditional. That is not the fault of the prophetic person – it is the way it works biblically, historically and how it works today.
Let me run that by you one more time - the gift of prophecy is partial, progressive and conditional and the conditions are rarely revealed at that time. This is where personal responsibility takes over and each believer must search out the King’s heart for the keys to unlocking the revelation.
There is a big difference between the revelation and the manifestation! As I have said many times before, the gap between the revelation and the manifestation is called the “until clause.”
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