Posts Tagged ‘Ministry’

Some Thoughts on Ordination

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

“1. To invest officially (as by the laying on of hands) with ministerial or priestly authority.”  (Merriam Webster online)

Ordination is so much more than I ever though it would be.  As our ordination approaches God has been speaking to me, driving me to explore this idea of an official investiture in ministerial authority and responsibility.  The priests of the Old Testament were ordained to serve before God.  Leviticus 16:32  talks of the hereditary nature of the Old Testament priesthood yet still he had to be anointed and ordained.

The New Testament is perhaps  less explicit yet we cannot but envision ordination in Acts 13 when the elders of the Church of Antioch laid hands on Paul and Barnabas investing them with the authority of the nascent church to carry the gospel message to new lands.  I love the next verse, “The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit…”  Ordination then is not a symbol of The Lewis House but it is a call to the Holy Spirit by our peers, friends and colleagues.  It is a call for Him to send us on our way empowered by spiritual gifts which as Paul expressed to Timothy, we must fan into flame in the performance of the ministry that He has for us.

For Allana and I it is an acceptance of the responsibilities that are inextricably attached to the empowerment and authority that is represented by our ordination.  I would venture to say that if the past year has been our “engagement” to full-time ministry in service of the Gospel that the ordination is the marriage ceremony.  We commit ourselves to His service and recognize His call on our lives.  We trust that he will bring to completion the work that he has begun in us.

Read Full Post »

The Family of God, The Kingdom of God

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on April 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »

We just finished our first full week at The Lewis House.  It was a great week!  We had three awesome ministry events.  Wednesday our youth group from Compelled Church (EVERFREE) came and went door to door in the neighborhood handing out fliers for our Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.  Thursday we had our last Soup Kitchen Cafe.  On Friday we were so blessed.  The public elementary school agreed to distribute 510 fliers to all of their students.  So Saturday we had many children new to the ministry!  Two of our fine arts teams from EVERFREE performed as well as the Master’s Commission from New Life Tabernacle.  My lovely wife Allana led the children in a couple of worship songs and George took the opportunity to speak the Gospel to the crowd after our first fine arts performance.  We definitely put Jesus back in Easter for a whole bunch of children and parents.  It was such a blessing to see the people of God come together to server the Kingdom.  Members of Calvary Bible Church put together and ran a crafts table, while the teens from Compelled Church Assembly of God and the young adults from New Life Tabernacle Open Bible Church performed at an event organized by The Lewis House and hosted by the awesome pastor and congregation of Collingwood United Methodist Church.  Guess what folks, God does not belong to a denomination!  I believe I felt him smile even as I did looking out at His Family working together for His Kingdom.  I was so blessed to have the small part that I did in the incredible event.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…contending as one man for the faith of the gospel

Philippians 1:2

Thank you Lord Jesus for all the workers who planted your field on Saturday. Bless them for their faithfulness!  Bless them for their love for You and for the Lost!

Read Full Post »

Lord Am I Crazy?

Posted in Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , on April 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Wow, the Spaghetti Dinner is only hours away, the beginning of our full-time ministry is only days away and the doubts begin to creep in.  I am 48 years old. As I look around, urban missions seems to be a young man’s game, at least to start.  I am certainly past my “prime” in so many ways.  What a waste of years…

Then the Spirit gave me a very loud “Quit It!”  My mind turns to Owen Carr who felt called to pioneer a church in downtown Springfield Missouri at the age of 83, touched by the lack of godly impact in the very city that the Assemblies of God calls home.  Moses was 80 when God called him out of his comfortable middle class life in Midian.  The thing that matters is the call of God and our commitment to him, our commitment to love the lost.  Love, Love, Serve is our motto at Compelled Church.  Love God.  Love People.  Serve the World. We can do that!  It does not matter whether we are 9 or 90.  God has called my family and I to fulfill this in bringing his hope to the Five Points neighborhood of Toledo and he has made the way for us to do it.  He has already acted in so many miraculous ways to do this.  I look forward to watching his hand at work.  So I am 48 and starting a new phase in my life.  Who Knows maybe I will plant a church when I am 88…

Read Full Post »

The Lewis House

Posted in Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , , on March 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Guidry-Lewis House1

january-2011

Our initial ministry letter and the January newsletter for The Lewis House.

Most of you who read this blog probably know by now that we have accepted a missions position with The Lewis House ministry in the Five Points neighborhood of Toledo.  It has been a long process that God has brought us through to make this commitment to Him!  We sent out our initial ministry letter which I am attaching to this post.  If you have not received one and would like to be a part of our mailing list message me (Facebook or Email) with your address and we will get you added.

We are excited about this move and look forward to the future blessings we will experience as we work with George and Sarah Williams spreading the Gospel of God’s love in Toledo.  God has already been so good to us even as he hammered us into a shape that he could use in this ministry.

Read Full Post »

Prodigals

Posted in I'm Just Sayin', Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , on January 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

God woke me up at 4 am this morning and laid an early christian influence of mine on my heart.  Bob Harrington is “The Chaplain of Bourbon Street”.  My heart was wrenched when he left the ministry and spent 20 years running from God.  We have similar stories except that his wilderness time came at the peak of his ministry and mine came before it even got started.  That and the fact that a phone call from his friend Rex Humbard brought him back to God.  Though most of you do not know the name I hope to have many Rex Humbards as guides in my life.  I was saddened to see that Bob had lost his wife in July of this year.  He has also retired after adding many years of fruitful ministry to his legacy.  We are both reminders that God’s call to ministry is never negated by the foolishness of men, even when it is our own.  He waits patiently for his prodigals.   Thank you Lord for your patience!

Read Full Post »

Posted in I'm Just Sayin', Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Wow, here we are in Colorado.  Three weeks into our trip I am amazed at the hand of God in our lives.  He has provided ministry opportunities at every step, both opportunities to minister to people and opportunities to be ministered to.  I have been so touched by so many people already I am excited by what God is going to do over the next 17 days. 

Our time in Minneapolis was awesome.  Beth, Bruce, Grant and Luke were a blessing to us while we enjoyed their hospitality.  It was also great to be able to spend time with my son John and the most recent addition to our family his wife Julie.  We are so blessed and excited that God has provided teaching positions for both of them.  We know that they are going to be a blessing to their schools and to the children they teach.  Those of you that follow us on Facebook know of the great time that we had at Healing House.  Our time with the residents was such a blessing as well as the opportunity to contribute in some small way to the facility.  Highlights with the Olson’s included tubing on the Mississippi River, a visit to Big Lake, Great food, Neat fellowship and conversation for all; as well as an awesome day of playing Airsoft with the boys. We enjoyed our visit to Twin Cities Bible Church and it is always a treat to hear Julie play her violin no matter what the setting.  We are also thankful that God prompted Bruce and Beth to highly encourage us to take the time to travel through South Dakota and stop at Mt. Rushmore.  It was such a blessing to see so many facets of God’s creation.  It was also the beginning of the chain of events that led us to Mule Creek Junction and a visit with Velcro, head of  www.freeicewaterservices.com and of a Wyoming Biker Church (www.churchwithanattitude.com).  We enjoyed the free ice water, the kids enjoyed the free sugar-free cookies (yes they had sugar-free cookies!) and we were all blessed when Velcro prayed over our family.  The kids got a quick lesson in biker prayers and we were all touched by the Heart of this big burly biker, his wife and Coaster his associate from biker church.  We look forward to many more God-Appointments on this trip.  Be sure that God’s outlook calendar is full of appointments for all of His children.

So here we are in Westminster Colorado, enjoying the awesome hospitality of my other sister Lisa, her husband John and their kids Micaiah, Hannah, and J. Samuel (ok Joshua).  After one day of much needed rest I joined John, his father, Micaiah and Robert on a trip to the summit of Mt. Evans, 14,210 feet above sea level.  Fortunately there is a road almost all the way to the summit.  Unfortunately we parked about 1500 feet below the summit.  Fortunately the trail to the top is only 1.7 miles from where we parked.  Unfortunately this trail is UP the side of the mountain.  Fortunately I am not in horrible shape.  Unfortunately there is NO OXYGEN TO BREATHE…ok maybe a slight exaggeration.  Still I made it up…and back down so qualify as a hiker that has conquered a 14er as they call them.  There are over 50 of them in Colorado.  Robert has now climbed 3.  The view was incredible.  Again those of you who follow me on Facebook may have seen some of the pictures.  I may post some here but have not transferred them to my computer yet.  I am glad that I did not know exactly what I was getting into when I decided that this 1.7 mile hike couldn’t be so bad (Lisa did try to warn me!).  I might have decided it was too hard, that I did not have what it takes to succeed.  I would have missed the incredible Spiritual experience that it became for me.  I would have missed a view of God’s world that is breathtaking. If God has placed a mountain in your path, keep climbing.  I know that every joint in your life aches and that you feel like you can’t breathe, but the view at the top is awesome and God would not have you there if he did not KNOW that empowered by HIM you can do it. (Philippians 4:13)

We have another week of experiencing God’s blessings here in Colorado and then we head to Kansas City and Independence MO.  We are looking forward to visiting EPIC Church and Pastor Bobby Hawk (along with his lovely wife Vanessa and their new baby), as well as seeing Derek and Becca friends from the Lewis House!

Read Full Post »

Ministry Is…..

Posted in Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , on August 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

So if there is one thing that God has been teaching this summer it is about what Ministry is…

We often have a very narrow view of what ministry is. As the lovely pictures of me that my wife recently posted on Facebook demonstrate, sometimes ministry is getting beat at basketball by an 11 year old on an elementary basketball hoop. Ministry is demonstrating God’s love in an authentic way 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. It is an expression of the relationship that we have with God and flows exclusively from the renewed mind and spirit of the born again believer. (Colossians 3:1-17, Romans 12:2).  As Paul shared with Philemon (verse 6), it is also the way that we can appreciate and experience all the best that Jesus has for us!  Share your faith.  Share God’s love.  Minister and know the best that Jesus has for you, whether it is playing basketball, saying hello, smiling, crying, sharing, be the pipeline to the world of God’s kingdom of power and love!

Read Full Post »

Bringing His Kingdom to Earth

Posted in Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , , , on July 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »

July 2010

Bringing His Kingdom to Earth.  This link is the newsletter for the ministry that we are serving this month.  What a joy it has been to serve God here.  What an awesome goal this ministry has.  I think that sometimes we have a skewed view of what it means to Bring God’s Kingdom to Earth.  We measure that in so many ways that have moved our focus from God to so many other things.  The kicker is that the things are not bad, they can even be important parts of our Christian walk, but when they become the focus instead of the means of our walk with God then we begin to lose the essence of His Kingdom. 

 Sometimes we feel that we are inadequate to bring God’s Kingdom to Earth.  We dont’ have the skills.  We don’t have the confidence.  We have a past that continues to haunt us.  God’s word is full of the unskillful, the timid, the downright fearful and those with pasts full of evil, whom He has used in OUTRAGEOUS ways to serve His Kingdom.  He may not call you to be his vessel for parting the Red Sea, or defeating 135,00 Midianites with 300 men, or raising the dead and bringing the Gospel to the totally un-evangelized, (and then again maybe he will).  He IS calling you.  Focus on HIM.  Let the “locusts” fade and way and then serve.  Clean a floor, paint a wall, hold a hand, high-five a child, raise the dead, part the sea.  Ministry is in the focus.  The opportunities are out there.  Let God enhance your vision of the world.  When you focus on him ministry opportunities abound.

14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body ; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.  Colossians 3:14-17

Read Full Post »

Feeling the Power

Posted in Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , on July 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Wow what a day yesterday!  Allana was still sick so she was out of the picture for most of the day.  We got Sami and Emily up and moving.  They are on half days of school.  Then it was time to feel the power…the power washer that is.  We are getting the basement floor ready to be painted.  Chipping, scrubbing and spraying with the pressure washer and then channeling all that water to the available drains.  It was DRAINING.  I know all of us were beat but our Friday night meeting started at 7:00.  We enjoyed an awesome dinner of hamburgers and pasta salad (thanks Sarah!)  Then we were thrilled to have 4 kids come.  We played games, colored and spoke the fruit of the spirit into their lives for two hours.  Then we headed off to BCC for the fireworks.  By the time we got home, everyone was exhausted.  This leads into our busy day today.  No school today so we were able to sleep in a little.  Then it was breakfast, some nice fellowship at the table with Naomi and then off to our Party in the Park.  We were able to hand out a bunch of invitations to the Ice Cream Party that we are having next Friday night here at the house.  We are looking forward to sharing our lives with these wonderful children in the neighborhood.  Big Kudo’s to Chris and his gang from Calvary Bible Chapel.  They are bringing God’s kingdom into the darkness that is life for many children in this area.  Robert jumped right in with the neighborhood kids.  He is an awesome model for relational ministry.  Tonight we are headed to New Life on Summerfield near Petersburg for their fair, then greeting at BCC and then possibly back to the fair.  God is opening the doors of peoples hearts.  So many are ready receive, they just need someone to model the Love of God and speak the Gospel!

Read Full Post »

Wow What a Day!

Posted in Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , , on July 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Another awesome day at the Lewis House.  It started off a little rough with Allana down with a bad cold.  She is still wrestling with the sniffles now but looks and feels better.  Stacey, one of the full-time workers here, took Robert (instead of me because of Allana’s condition) to Sydney (I don’t know if I spelled that right) to stop at a ministry that helps to supply our foodbank here.   We were getting a little thin in the pantry.  I know this is a big problem for  food driven ministries now.  Fishes n Loaves in Adrian is running low on food also.  So if you have extra or want to donate to a food pantry now is a good time.  There is almost certainly some sort of Organization helped to feed the poor who could really use your help.

So since I did not go to the foodbank, I got to move furniture and sweep floors.  We prepared the floor in the  fellowship hall to be power washed which we are doing tomorrow.  Sami and Emily did an awesome job carrying about 100 chairs up two flights of stairs from the hall to the auditorium.  George and I stacked tables and swept.  George had previously finished putting the plugs in for the lighting.  As we moved the furniture we planned out our plan of attack tomorrow.  By the time we were done the place was ready for powerwashing.  This is a very different face of ministry.  Yet it is ministry.  We need to stop narrowly defining what is and is not ministry.  I believe at least in part this was Martha’s issue in Luke 10.  Martha thought she had a lock on what the ministry should look like, and she WAS ministering.  Her mistake was thinking that Mary had to be serving in the same way.  You may be called to be Martha and called to be Mary all in the same day.  We were blessed to be Martha this morning.

Later in the day one of the regular attenders to our Friday night meeting brought in a homeless man whom she came across in the Kroger parking lot.  George was busy so I put together a food box for him and prayed with him.  God said love him…so I did.  It was a learning experience.  Don’t judge…love.  Don’t assign blame for his circumstance…love.  Don’t be the cynic…love.  It felt good.  I may try some more of this loving the people that God loves even when my flesh wants to be cynical thing…It feels good when you can feel God smile.

Dinner was a potluck affair with some of our regular Friday night crew and people from the neighborhood.  WHAT A BLESSING!  We had a great night of fellowship.  Relational ministry, love the people that God love’s.  Definitely the lesson for today.  Love the unlovable.  Love that family member who is a pain.  Love your neighbor.  Love the little kid down the street who is desperate for any kind of attention.  Love the brothers and sisters in Christ  who are all around us. 

Robert had an awesome day on his trip.  He has been so awesome with the kids here.  Plus they got chickens, not frozen oven roasters, real live chickens.  You can see a picture of Emily holding one of the chicks in my facebook mobile uploads album.  The kids in the neighborhood when wild.  They mobbed Stacy when she pulled back into the neighborhood.  She had called one of the Mom’s and let her know that live chicks were coming.  Stacy spent time letting them all see the chicks.  Relational ministry, Love them.  Love the little children who mob you.  Love their silly questions.  Show them God in action.  It requires love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  Hmmm I think I have heard that somewhere before.  I guess I need to do more than memorize it.

Pray for Allana that she feels better soon.  Pray for the people in our neighborhood, that they would know Jesus!  Pray for the people in your neighborhood, that they would know Jesus…then show him to them.

God Bless and Goodnight

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »