Overwhelmed

There are days when nothing seems to go right.  You’re probably saying, “Days? How about weeks and years?”  I know the pressures of life begin to pile up.  Nothing you do seems to be working correctly.  Yet despite your most valiant efforts, you’re getting farther and farther behind.  There is only one word that comes to mine – OVERWHELMED!

It seems of late I have been no stranger to the dreaded word.  Being under stress and overwhelmed seem to be a very common problem.  The deadlines are past due at work, your cell phone is ringing, and the kids are making a mess.  I would love to think that this is just modern era problem.  We live in such a fast pace, technology rich society it seems common.  But I dare say that being overwhelmed is universal human problem, affecting everyone whether modern or not.

So what should we do when we are overwhelmed?

In Numbers 11, Moses was no stranger to being overwhelmed.  He had a pretty tough task in leading the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land.  “Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents. The Lord was very angry; Moses was also provoked. So Moses asked the Lord, “Why have You brought such trouble on Your servant? Why are You angry with me, and why do You burden me with all these people?”  Numbers 11:10–11 (HCSB)

Needless to say he was in a stressful and overwhelming situation.  As he tried to deal with the situation I imagine he only got more frustrated.  Even to the point where he said, ^“I can’t carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me.”  Numbers 11:14 (HCSB)

Moses was doing one thing right, he was pouring out his problems and concerns of being overwhelmed to God.  I would love to give you 5 simple steps to less stress, but the spiritual fact is there are no quick fixes to dealing with being overwhelmed.  There is only one step = be in a close relationship with God.

When that feeling of being overwhelmed occurs, there is only one solution.  That solution is to drop on our knees in prayer to the God that controls the universe.  I know He is more than capable of handling the latest mess my girls made.  I don’t want to sound to simplistic in dealing with the situations of life, but we make life more complicated then we have, or at least I do.  Yes priorities have to change, workloads have to be evaluated, delegation has to occur, and assistance from those in our life will help with being overwhelmed. 

If you try to unclutter life without God, the results will be no peace with God.  Plus here is God’s response to Moses after appointing him some helpers.  “The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s power limited?  You will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.”  Numbers 11:23 (HCSB)

Give your stress over to God and allow His power to remove the feels of being overwhelmed. 

Anniversary & Houston

Being a parent is always a challenging adventure.  As a parent to 4 daughters, one of those challenges is trying to get some time alone.  One of my girls always wants to show me their toy or dress up daddy in princess clothes.  As much as I love my girls and they are a precious gift from God, I love my wife even more.  So when ever I get a chance to spend some time alone with Rebecca, I seize that moment.

This week we are blessed to get away.  We are in Houston, TX for National WMU, Pastors Conference, and SBC Annual Meeting.  We flew out of Duluth and enjoyed the flights together.  (Well once we finally made it through security, which was an adventure in itself, example "random" extra screenings.  Some of you may know I always get flagged for extra screening.)  We were able to talk, listen to music together, and act like adults.  I really do treasure these moments together.

Once in Houston we joined up with friends that were going to take us with them to the meetings.  First up was the National WMU (Women's Missionary Union).  My wife has started a WMU group at Northern City to help educate, promote, and pray for the missions of Southern Baptist life.  I am so impressed with her passion for missions and going to these meetings she has been able to meet other women with the same passion.  This year was also the celebration of 125 years of WMU.  Most of our mission endeavors owe their exsistence impart to the work and support of the WMU.

Monday was the last day of the WMU meetings, Pastors Conference, and also our 12th anniversary.  I have to admit getting away for buisness and spending it with my wife is always a joy.  We had a good dinner and the went to some more sessions.  I went to hear Governor Mike Huckabee speak at the Pastors Conference and he brought a strong challenge to the pastors.  "Children don't need a governor, a president, or a senator; they need a pastor to teach and lead them.  Jesus said to care for the body of sheep.  Pastor your mission is to feed, lead, and sacrifice; and sometimes even bleed for them."

After all the sessions this evening, we had a wonderful dessert date in the hotel cafe.  Nothing says anniversary like cheesecake, apple pie, and coffee.  Then we went and explored the hotel, finding a great view of the Houston skyline.  It has been a wonderful anniversary and time alone with my wife.  I am looking forward to a few more days with her as we attend the SBC Annual Meeting.  

Thank you LORD for the gift of my wife and wonderful times alone.

National WMU 

WMU 125th Birthday Celebration

My Bride & the Houston skyline

I'm shining in the night light

Exponential - Day 3 "Find the Wolves"

Coffee on a sunny Florida morning.

Find the Wolves

Today was the final day of the Exponential conference. I have really enjoyed my break from the Northland but I am ready to get back. Jenny and Steve have been wonderful hosts. Love ya sis! Here are a few takeaway thoughts from today.

The morning workshop started off with Neil Cole rocking the missional concept of community from Matthew 10 and Luke 10.  He dove right into the question that most church planting pastors have. 

How do I reach and connect with my community? 

This question has been asked to me and I have prayerfully asked the question by myself.  A church planting pastor's heart is to reach as many people in the community with the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ as possible.  This is the heart cry of church leaders and believers alike.

But the problem is, we are not connecting with our communities and we are not impacting the hurting with the healing message of the Gospel.  Why?  Because we don't know where the hurting are and don't know how to get to them.

"Now go; I'm sending you out like lambs among wolves."  Luke 10:3 (HCSB)  

The sheep are out there and so are the wolves.  The things about the wolves, they know where the sheep are and how to get a hold of them.  If we want to reach the sheep, we have to get to know the wolves in our community.  The wolves are those people that are negative influences and can have a following. 

The problem: This takes us way outside of our comfort zone.  Christianity was never intended to be safe.  The idea that Jesus wants us to be happy and safe is heresy.  Jesus said he will be with us always, but it will not always be safe. 

God give me the courage to enter the dangerous areas of my community.  Please give our churches the desire to find the hurting and the courageous heart to love them like Christ.  God let me find the wolves in order that some of the sheep may be saved.

Went to Exponential and now have to dress like a church planting pastor.

Exponential - Day 2 "Diversity"

Diveristy

Today I enjoyed another sunny Florida day at the Exponential conference. It was again packed with a full day of teaching and worship. My mind is pretty full with thoughts about my church family and the context of the Northland. I am going to have to take some time to unpack those thoughts and allow the Holy Spirit to do some speaking into my heart.

The thrust of today's teaching was discipleship through relationships and leading by example. As I absorbed and tweeted all day, the thought occurred to me that I am actively working on developing my skills as a leader and follower of Jesus Christ. Then I looked around at the 5,300 plus in main sanctuary. Then I imaged the 20,000 plus watching the webcast and also received several tweets from the online attenders. We all had 2 things in common: developing leadership skills as followers of Christ and our diversity.

God will develop His followers if we have the heart to be molded by our Father. As I looked around and talked with leaders, I heard that heart and passion for the people of their communities. But the amazing thought was the complex diversity that was present. The only reason we are all here and online is because of Christ.

As I walked around, I saw such a diverse group of church planting pastors that my soul was amazed and in awe. At every turn you hear people speaking different languages and different people groups represented. I saw different types for pastors from hipsters, to hip hop, to Southern rural, and to Northerns like me. Flannel shirts, tattoos, and bald heads were on full display, with skinny jeans to a minimum. Praise God! I spoke with pastors from Canada and Brazil.

God takes delight in His diversity. He created us diverse and He works in our diverse contexts. During our times of worship, we heard diverse voices together praising our Father in heaven. It was such a sound of diversity and praise, of which I could only imagine how heaven will be. But even through the voices of praise, a heart of learning was ever present. I don't know how God manages to keep a diverse group of people growing, but I praise the Father that through the diversity we are united together with the purpose of being followers of Jesus Christ.

I am looking forward to tomorrow's lessons. May it be filling and useful to my life and my context of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. I am also looking towards spending the afternoon with my sister, brother-in-law, and their kids at the beach. May it be a time of rest and relaxation before I return to the spring snow of the Northland.

Exponential - Day 1 "Pray for Leaders"

Pray for Leaders

As some of you know this week I am in Orlando, Florida for the Exponential 2013 conference. It was nice to venture out of the Northland winter that is still going on into spring. And yes my wife sent me a picture of the 8" of new snow.

This trip is not an escape from the snow, even though I saw 80 degrees today. This trip is about connecting and seeing the heart of other church planting pastors. Today during the worship and great teaching there was one inescapable fact. There are a lot of people here! 5,300 people on site and over 30,000 watching via free webcast around the world!! According to www.Exponential.org, this is the largest gathering of church planters.

The theme is DiscipleShift. We are discussing how to more effectively make and grow disciples of Jesus Christ. Today, speakers like Francis Chan and Jim Putman put forward a challenge to be more intentional in our relationships to disciple those God has place in our lives. Our hearts need to beat with the love of Christ to make discipleship the priority in our churches and church plants. You can join the remaining days via FREE webcasts at www.exponential.org/webcast.

As much as I enjoyed the teaching and fellowship, one thought keep coming to mind. We need more laborers! You might think we have enough pastors in this world and that is the problem. But today hearing pastors talk, the need is very clear. We need more leaders that are completely sold out to Jesus Christ to follow His example to make disciples. These Jesus-type disciples don't just sit there, they are reproducing disciple makers.

"Then He (Jesus) said to His disciples, 'The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.'" Matthew 9:37-38 (HCSB)

Jesus saw that the people were worn out, needing leaders to shepherd and feed them. Jesus said there was a problem, there is not enough workers. As pastors and leaders, we need to pray to God for more laborers. But prayer is not the only thing we can do. We have to disciple those people God has put in our churches and in our lives through relationships. A disciple of Christ impacts and models change for people in relationships as they do life together.

As I process all I've absorbed today, my heart is filled with joy and wonder. Joy that I have a Father in heaven that cares enough to love and teach me. Wonder in how I can impact my context and culture of the Northland with love and relationships that can cause people to grow as disciples in Jesus Christ. Join with me in prayer as we look to God for guidance in making disciples that impact the Northland.


Note: Stay tune for more updates from Exponential.  If you want to see live post, follow me on Twitter @jhlemaster or Facebook www.facebook.com/jhlemaster.  Blessings from Florida!

Airport Security = God Appointment

In days gone by, airport travel was fun and adventurous. One would enjoy the trip to the airport and find an easy place to park. You were then treated like a guest on your flight to wonderful destinations. Now, I am nowhere old enough to remember the good old days of air travel.

My generation can define air travel in one word - Security. Now when someone says they're flying, the only image you get is airport security lines. You can't just pack a bag and hop a flight to destinations unknown. You have to worry about every aspect of your bag, is my shampoo too much, and I better not loose my ID. Granted it is the age we live in and I do appreciate the security, but going through airport security can be a nightmare. There are so many rules to remembers and don't leave your belt on. (I've left my belt on with my infant daughter in my arms and gotten the 3rd degree before.)

I am not a seasoned traveler and it probably gets easier the more you fly. But for some reason I always get picked for extra security scrutiny. When I came back from Israel with all of the delays from Hurricane Sandy, my group was rolling with laughter as I got held up for more security checks. I must look shady with my bald head, goatee, and pleasant smile.

Today as I fly out of Duluth's new terminal to Florida for the Exponential conference for church planters, I hoped that Mrs. Airport Security wouldn't call my name but she smiled at me again. As my bag goes through the machine I hear the TSA officer say, "Sir is this your bag?" There it is again, forget Murphy's law, Lemaster law is in full force! Something will always go wrong. As I followed the screener to the station for scrutiny, the last thing I was thinking was that this is a God appointment.

As the screener did his check through my bag, I wondered what had flagged me. He looked and did the explosive test, I passed. I took my Israel photo book to share with my sister and I notice that the screener looked at it, but I didn't think anything about it. He finished and I was cleared to wait in the terminal.

The new Duluth terminal is nice and I had a good view of the new snow on the ground. (Yes, we have spring snow on the ground.) While enjoying the view, I was catching up on emails. All of sudden one of the TSA officers that screened me came over and startled me. My first though was what's wrong and followed by what did I do.

The TSA officer asked when I went to Israel and if he could look at my photo book. This request was definitely not what I expected. Of course I showed it to him and we started to talk. As we talked, we found out he knew some people at my church. As we talked more, I found out we was looking for more spiritual answers. He had to get back to work, so he asked for my contact info. It was a real blessing to have met this man through a God appointed moment. I do pray we can connect again when I get back.

I'm not exactly sure why God used airport security to be a divine appointment, but I'm over joyed that He did. This experience is not going in my nightmare category, but in the thank you category. God wants to use His believers to make an impact on this world. I was just preaching this morning about loving your neighbor and being available to be used by God to show His love to people. I didn't expect it to happen a few hours after the message. When our heart is tuned to be available, God will play a wonderful song that will touch people's lives. My encouragement to you today: be available and God will use you in His appointment book, even through airport security.

"Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the message, to speak the mystery of the Messiah, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it as I am required to speak. Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person." Colossians 4:2-6 (HCSB)

Struggling through snow

Snow is one of the great joys of the Northland.  Snow seems to create a culture of its own, from snowman to snowmobile.  Yet in the same breath we say we love snow, we also curse snow.  One of the struggles with snow is its removal.  It seems that as much as I love to watch snow fall and enjoy the wonder of God's frozen beauty, the nagging thought in the back of my head is I have to go shovel soon.

Not being one of those mechanized northerners I don't have a snow blower.  As much as I want one, I just can't justify buying one yet, even though it would save a lot of time.  My wife keeps telling me of all the health benefits from shoveling, but I'm the only one out there shoveling.  Though I hear people complain about shoveling and struggling with the snow, I rather enjoy it.  It is usually pretty peaceful out when shoveling.  While shoveling, all I have are my thoughts and of course plenty of snow.

Even being a joyful shoveler, the task is labor intensive and easily wears you down.  As you get worn down physically and mentally, you wonder if the snow is multiplying and if there is an end in sight.  I had one such discouraging episodes of shoveling the other day at the church.

Being the pastor of a small church in the northland does involve wearing a lot of hats and gloves.  We have an emergency exit from the basement to the back of the church.  The problem, it always gets buried when it snows.  It seems that the drifts of snow just love to block off the door.  This exit is particularly important as it is the exit right next to the nursery and children's area.  This path has to be cleared; I love the little ones in our church.

Well as I begin digging from the parking lot to the back door, I start to wonder how long this will take.  It was heavy wet snow and I started to struggle early.  It didn't seem like I was making any progress.  Then as I neared the door a 3 foot drift was in my way.  As I shoveled, I got mad.  There has to be an easier way.  I shouldn't have to struggle to reach my goal of clearing the path.  In that moment of struggle, God hit me with a thought like a ton of bricks.

Path to the back door of the church

"...But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I purse as my goal the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus.  Therefore, all who are mature should think this way."  Philippians 3:13-15

In order to press on to reach my goal, I have to struggle.  The struggle is the most important part of achieving a goal.  My nature is I want goals and achievements to be easy, no struggle.  But that goes against everything God wants to teach us.  God is more concerned about the struggles along the path of spiritual mature, and then He is about us achieving spiritual maturity.  Don't get me wrong, God wants us to be mature believers in Him.  But in our pursuit to follow hard after Christ, the struggle is the best maturing tool God has to shape us.

I could get a snow blower and zip through this path in 10 minutes.  But I wouldn't have had time to struggle and hear God speak words of encouragement to me.  The fact is there will be more snow to come this winter and there will be plenty of times my faith is challenged.  If I don't take the opportunities to learn from the struggles and get stronger, I will miss what God wants to teach me in the smallest of everyday tasks.

Keep on shoveling and keep on struggling.  God is here to get us through the coldest and toughest of times.  Don't forget to enjoy the snow!

Unburied back door

Height of the snow

Winter moon and my girls

For my first blog I want to describe a wonderful northland adventure that my girls and I experienced.  Monday night we had the chance to go out to dinner as a family.  The girls had a blast and they even got their faces' painted at the restaurant's special event.  Since we ate early, we decided to run some errands.  We went to the church, grabbed the donations for the local food bank that the church members collected, and headed off to downtown Duluth.  Of course in Duluth the sun goes down very early in winter, but this night was a little different.

After we dropped off the food, my wife noticed how clear the sky was and that the moon was out shinning on Lake Superior.  We of course got into a debate as to what color the moon was.  She said it was pink and I said it was orange, the matter was never solved.  But as we argued over the color, the girls in the back of the van keep saying, "We can't see the moon."  As I pointed, they keep saying, "Daddy we can't see gets us to a place we can see!"  The adventure was on.

I knew a perfect spot they could see the moon, enjoy the darkness of the night, and feel the winter chill of snow and ice under their feet.  Off I was to Brighton Beach.  As we going away from downtown, finally I heard it, "Daddy we see it!  We see it!"  Then my wife chimes in, "Where are you taking us?"  I laughed, "You'll see."  As we got closer to Brighton Beach my wife looked at me as if I was crazy, but I wasn't.  In fact there were several other northlanders that had the same idea.

As we pull up to the ice covered beach on Lake Superior the cold was ever present and the moon shined proudly, even though we still debated the color of the moon.  I did a quick survey of who was going out to the ice with me.  My wife was out, Grace was asleep, and Abigail didn't want to leave the van, but Sarah and Rachel where up for the cold.  As we stomped through the snow, I thought I would loose one of them in the deep crunches of my foot steps.

We finally get to the edge of the ice and this is the view we saw.

Winter moon on Lake Superior

I know my iPhone camera doesn't do it justice, but with the low light darkness and the bright moon it was beautiful.  Then we move to the very edge.  I ran up the hill and almost slipped on the ice.  It is a good thing I have my ice lover legs, otherwise I would have ended up in the fridge waters of the Lake Superior.  This story would have definitely had a different out come.

The girls wanted to follow me, but being the protective dad, I only let them get so close.  I did of course have to scare Sarah by pretending to push her over the edge.  They want to remember this moment and insisted I take another picture.  As you can tell the wind was blowing and they did look like they were starting to get cold.

Winter moon and my girls

I was so proud of their adventurous spirit.  We had fun in the cold, but it was time to head back to the van.  I am so thankful to God that I can share these little moments of His beautiful creation with my girls.   I am thankful that they get to experience the wonderful northland that I enjoyed as a child.  I am even more blessed that God has called us to the northland to share His love and healing forgiveness of Jesus Christ with those in this beautiful land.

Lights of Duluth in the winter night