State of the Pulpit - Joel Osteen

Church Needs Dudes

John Hodges Drake 6th

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints, O LORD I am your servant."
-Psalm 116:15,16

There are some things that preachers cannot preach. Some things that sermons cannot speak, and even music that can hardly communicate. When speaking about the glory of the Son of God, Jesus, the only thing that comes close is a complete life of a saint. In my eyes my grandfather was like an early church father full of wisdom, history, and the Holy Spirit. He was a soldier, a husband, father of 5, a grandfather, and an amazing singer who spent part of his life traveling around the globe singing gospel music with his wife who played the piano. More importantly he was a lover of God who influenced and led an entire family to the throne of the living God. A few weeks ago I was in Cincinnati to say goodbye but was amazed to see how many people this simple man had influence over. In 1972 after serving with P&G for over 20 years he decided to step in as administrator of a nursing home with my grandmother. From 1972 to 1997 they both found their purpose in ministry as directors of a nursing home, ministering to people who were in their last chapters of life before stepping into eternity. One of my last conversations with my grandfather consisted of him updating me on his ministry. They had both grown older and was ironically residence of a nursing home as they could not live on their own due to poor health. In the midst of aging bodies my grandfather told me that they had begun a Sunday service at the nursing home with a local pastor preaching and my grandfather singing and my grandmother of coarse playing the piano. He continued to tell me that the service was so well attended that he decided to start a Thursday night Bible study in the nursing home which many more attended. The amazing part of his last days was that he could hardly walk 2 feet without his wheelchair and helping my grandmother who is now unable to see clearly enough to play piano but continues to do so by memory. But they still both ministered to those around them up to his last days on earth, glorifying God with all they had even when their very own bodies would not permit it.
I am not sure if you have ever read the book, "Don't waste your life", by John Piper but it's about living for the glory of Jesus Christ all the days that He allows you to be on earth. I have read it and love it, it's very biblical! However, I have now seen it in the life of my grandfather and rejoice that there is such an example in these days for me to follow. I will miss him dearly.

"Can you hear me when I sing, you are the reason why the music is in me."

God Is Enough!

Halls and Inner Rooms, thoughts from C.S. Lewis Part #2

"When you get into your room you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not camping. You must keep on praying for light: and, of coarse, even in the hall, you must begin to try to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by it's paint and panelling. In plain language, the question should never be: 'Do I like that kind of service? but 'Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me toward this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular door-keeper." - Lewis

I suppose we could take this particular paragraph of Lewis and draw many conclusions, all the way from relationships with people to areas of ministry. However, I will try to draw some thoughts out of Lewis on the idea of our commitment to the church. It may not seem like that big of a deal to some of us but for others their view on eternity, mankind, God, and the church are thoughts that take time and special attention. Some people in this world would say that they will walk in the hallway but never enter a room simply because they do not want to. It is safe to say that we could refer to these people as those who do not know the Lord and who would never want to come into any kind of church. However, there are some in the hall that are still trying to figure out what they believe and why they believe it, this we will talk about later on in regard to how we treat those who dwell only in the hallway (one of the rules that is common to the whole house). As for those who will enter into a door but trying to decide which one may be looked at as one who is trying to find a place, congregation, or people of certain thought like their own. In light of this I think Lewis is suggesting that we look at these rooms with an open mind, asking the question, "is this the leading of biblical truth or my own mere feelings and emotions?" I have run into a lot of people that would suggest it is perfectly alright to treat the church like a Friday night hook up and spend all 4 years of college or after college to run around from church to church and not engaging in any real relationships with the body of Christ. In 1 Timothy 3:6 Paul urges Timothy that as an overseer that person must take care of the church just as that person takes care of a household. The point is, is that the church is to be respected and cared for, loved and cherished. It is alright for those to spend some time waiting on the Lord to see which door is the right one for them to open and which room or "body" is the right one for them, but as we discussed earlier the hall is not a place to live in even though it may be a place to wait in. So why discuss this topic? Why talk about hallways and doors and churches and people's thinking? The reason why it is important is because Christ set up the church to be His lighthouse to all the world, and we need to be shown as people who are committed to the rooms and the people inside of the rooms, not just the hallways.

~JP~

Halls and Inner Rooms, thoughts from C.S. Lewis...

"It is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hall I shall have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in". C.S. Lewis "Mere Christianity"

It is certainly worth the time to think about how we do church these days. I have had many days in Bible College where I was excited to poor over many different theological thoughts and views, trying to see why one certain group believed this and one group believed that. Although, I am still learning a whole lot about my own theology and other people's theology I have come to be much more interested into how our theology plays out in church, more importantly a "worship service". I find myself always wanting more and more of a certain mid-week service that will "recharge my batteries" and will hopefully last me till Sunday as if walking through the week hand in hand with the Lord was not enough. Obviously scripture brings out the point of the importance of the fellowship with the body (1 Corinth. 12:12). However, it seems that sometimes I find myself depending on a one-stop worship service to be my Church or body for that entire week, forsaking the service to a real Church and body where my service must be placed. It might be that Lewis is trying to show an example of what happens when we depend so much on a service alone, a song alone, or even a certain sermon alone to be our main "meal" of the week. Not that we do not grow from a service, podcast, or event, but it seems that just one time of worship during the week or weekend is not a main meal but rather a late afternoon snack. Lewis says, "we are not to live in the halls", meaning that our dinner table to where we feast with the living Christ is not just in a one time event with our favorite worship leader and entertaining speaker. Maybe the inner room that contains a fireplace, chairs, and a meal is found in the commitment to the local church where there is a body of believers and discipleship. I will always visit and sometimes sit, and even learn in the hallway, but it is the inner room where the main meal will always take place.

~JP~

Crazy Summer, Crazier Fall....

My friend in Louisiana reminded me the other day that some people read this blog, so I do apologize for not writing on here lately. It has been a very crazy but very amazing summer, which mostly consisted of watching God do some amazing things and I was blessed to have a front row seat. When God first gave me this vision last fall to preach to anyone, any time, and most importantly anywhere, my number one desire was that I would just be able to see God do some amazing things in the lives of people around me. Looking back on this summer I see that He has shown me just that. I assume that if I could even explain all that God has done this summer it would take me until next summer to write it all out, and I’m sure nobody would read it all. For now I will simply say that it is an amazing thing to watch a student decide for the first time that Jesus is more than just a sermon, but that Christ is real and alive. I was blessed enough to watch students step out in faith to accepting the truth of the substitution that Christ gave us on the cross, and seeing students awake to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God. It reminded me that it is the simple things in our walk, with God, the most foundational beliefs we hold so close, that seem to be the most glorious. Praise God for a glorious summer that was full of rejoicing and learning!
For the past few weeks I have been looking back on my first summer in itinerant ministry and savoring the experience to learn everything that God brought my way. I have spent the last few weeks in deep reflection of how to carry this forward into the fall and winter. One thing that has always been consistent in God’s calling on my life is to always be available. I remember playing little league baseball as a kid and seeing all the kids running up to the coaches on the first day of practice with their parents behind them screaming, “I’ll only play short stop, and if you really want to win you will consider me your best pitcher too!” A few things that God has shown me over the last few years is that first, ministry must be embraced with humility. As ministers we must hold onto humility like it is our only child, and embrace it with all that we face in these times. We must also be on guard against shoving our plans in God’s face, proclaiming that our vision and our clocks are bigger and better than His. Not to say that vision is bad, not at all. Vision is a must in every walk of life. However, if we are to follow the vision of God we must be open to following Him wherever He leads us and at any time. Jonah was the perfect example of someone who heard the voice of God and decided that his own vision was bigger and better than God’s vision. It is with this thought that God has opened my mind and heart to continue to preach His word to anyone, any place, and at any time that He says so. This probably goes against some popular preaching that says that our visions have to be specific and have to work out in the end without any failures or changes, but that is not the way Paul lived his life. Paul had Rome always in his mind, however he also had a heart to be in many other places as well, before going to Rome.
With all that said I am looking forward to an amazing fall and winter with many different ways of preaching God’s word. I am currently working on a speaking schedule that will keep me close to the south for the first part of the fall, but hopefully will take me to other areas later on with the possibility of going overseas to preach too. I plan on meeting with some folks this week about spending some time in the next few years speaking some overseas so please pray for God’s providence and my discernment in these areas of this ministry. Lastly I plan to begin working on a book called, “more than enough”. The book will focus on one specific passage in John about Christ being the center of all of our needs, and how that truth alone sustains us for now and throughout all eternity. I am really excited about this opportunity which just fell in my lap one day when a publisher approached me about the idea of writing. Other than that I plan to spend much time in personal study walking through the Old Testament and many of C. S. Lewis’ writings which I am excited beyond words to dive into. Again, please pray for God’s leading and my following to preach His truth to whoever, whenever, and most importantly wherever He sends me. I plan on writing on this blog a lot this fall so check in daily for updates and other random thoughts on the greatest person mankind has ever known, the son of God, Jesus Christ.


For His Namesake,
John Pond

Is God happy? Reflections from "God Is The Gospel" by John Piper

In 1 Timothy 1:11 Paul focuses on the gospel as "the glory of the blessed God." The word translated "blessed" in this phrase is the same greek word used in the beatitudes of Jesus in the book of Matthew 5:3-11. It's a crazy fact that only in 1 Timothy 1:11 does the word refer to God, out of the entire Bible. Paul is making a statement about God, as he usually does in his letters. Here in 1 Timothy Paul is making the statement that God is happy, makarios.

"We may learn the phrase "the glory of the happy God" that a great part of God's glory is His happiness. It was inconceivable to the apostle Paul that God could be denied infinte joy and still be all-glorious. To be infinitely glorious was to be infinitely happy. He used the phrase, "the glory of the happy God," because it is a glorious thing for God to be as happy as He is. God's glory consist much in the fact that He is happy beyond all our imagination."

Imagine that. God is happy! Most people in this world awake to the idea every day that God is out to get them. That if they do not live a life full of good works and good deeds then God is out to get them and punish them forever. God does have a side of righteous wrath but it is not eternal for those who trust in Christ as the savior of their lives. So at the end of the day God does not have a kingdom full of worry, sadness, or regret. God knows the end and the end is completely filled with the whole earth proclaiming God is the glorious God, who else is like Him?

J.P.

"Be still and know that I am God. I WILL be exalted among the nations, I WILL be exatled in the earth!" - Ps.46:10

Hittin the road...

Well, we're off and running! I am just about to leave the coffee shop and hit the road to Panama City, the capital of Summer camp in student ministry. Please pray for safe travel and for a great time before the Lord with all the churches that will be arriving on Sunday night. I will be in Florida for a week and then leave for Lake Charles , LA for another camp. Thank you to all who have been praying for me over the last few weeks! Your prayers and words have been so comforting and encouraging. May the light of Christ be seen by all who have never looked upon the face of our Lord and have never seen Him as He should be seen!

For His Namesake,
John Pond
"In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Christ sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ". 2 Corinth. 4:4-6

Sermon on Podcast

"Unified living", a sermon that was preached at Shades Mountain Baptist Church back in April is now available to hear on itunes. You can get to the sermon by clicking on this link and subscribing to crave ministries podcast. http://www.shades.org/206064.ihtml

JP

Here comes summer '07...

Well summer is pretty much here for me, as I start to finalize a summer camp schedule and begin to spend the whole month of May in spiritual perpetration and study. I have decided not to post the final summer schedule just yet because there are a few more possibilities still flying around. More than likely I will be speaking at 3 camps this summer that will be in Panama City Beach, Florida, Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Dallas, Texas. So 3 camps total which is 3 more than I thought I would have. I thought my first summer would be pretty quiet and looking to summer of 2008 for anything to happen, but yet again God amazes the human mind at any chance He can get, especially when it's all about His glory. And it is!

How can you be praying? Please, Please, Please; be praying for my time in preparation. I am a big believer in preparing like it's your first time to preach and preaching like it's your last time to preach. I put a lot of time into studying and desire God to not only speak to His people but also to me in the process. I would also ask that you pray for me in taking time to rest. I will confess that I am an all or nothing person, which I pay for in the end. Pray that I find times to rest when I can especially in between camps. I am still working at Starbucks in the mornings, which helps me cover expenses that I cannot otherwise. So to say that I need physical strength from the Lord is a huge prayer request for me, especially when waking up at 4am almost every day! I trust that you will spend less time praying for me and more time praying for God's spoken word and the lives He will impact with it. Once I post the final camp schedule I will be asking for specific prayer request for specific churches and cities. Thank you for your time, and thank you for you partnering with this ministry!

For His Namesake,
JP
www.johnpond.org

"Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:16-17

Quick Update....

I say quick because the last 3 weeks have been insane and today is no exception. Even though it is Friday afternoon and I feel the living room couch and tv calling my name. But there is no time which is a good thing! I have been speaking a lot in the Birmingham area the past few weeks. Last Wednesday night April 4th, I had the chance to speak at FCA Wednesday morning at Vestavia Hills High School, at Shades Mountain Baptist that same night and then at another FCA meeting after that. So I have been fairly busy to say the least but I am glad that God has given me the opportunity to be so busy. I am in the process of putting a schedule together for the summer which will be on my website in the next few weeks. Please pray that God would continue to give me strength as the days get harder and harder and that I would remain humble in this time. Thank you for your prayers and your support!

For His Namesake,
John Pond

Reflections from A.W. Tozer

Water cannot rise above it's own level. Neither can a Christian rise above where they are in their walk with God. Think about it, how deep or shallow is your walk with the Lord? A constant reminder to the Christian is the reminder that it's not how we live our lives on Sunday, rather how do we live our lives on Monday. When it came time for Moses to share with the people of Israel it only happened when Moses came out of the tent where he met with the living God. Moses' ministry was not based on the shallow waters of him going out to speak on his own wisdom or passions. It was only after he had spent much time with the Father to deepen the waters of that relationship was he able to step out to speak to the people of Israel. If we are to preach, witness, or bear the image of our holy God, we must deepen the waters of our holiness through the grace of His son Jesus Christ. I'm not sure how many people actually read this blog which I guess is the risk you run when writing a blog in the first place. However, if you do read this blog, I challenge you to stop and think about this illustration. I also ask that you pray for me and all who preach God's word to keep the faith, persevere, and spend more time with the Lord than that of ministry.

For His Namesake,
John Pond

"In you, O Lord, do I take refuge!" - Psalm 31:1

Lots Goin On...

For those of you who have been praying for this ministry, thank you! The past few weeks have been very busy with much exciting news to talk about. First of all the new website went up, if you haven't seen it yet check it out at www.johnpond.org . I have also been busy speaking at local churches here in Birmingham and getting a schedule together for the summer that already includes a camp down in Panama City with First Baptist Birmingham. The rest of my time has been spent writing new sermons and spending time with the Lord and letting Him lead me with His grace and love. Please be praying for this ministry in the next few weeks, I will be speaking at Vestavia Hills High School at FCA club on Monday morning April 4th and then at Shades Mountain Baptist Church that night. Pray for God's leading and God's message to be spoken with clarity and passion. I have learned a lot over the past few months with this ministry but the most important thing is, is that the focus is never on the messenger but the message. I ask you to partner with me to continue to ask God that He would further His message of His grace and glory through solid teaching and solid theology.

For His Namesake,
John

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith --that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with ALL the fullness of God." - Ephesians 3:14-19

The Life of Jonathan Edwards

"Once as I rode out into woods for my health in 1737, having alighted from my horse in a retired place, as my manner commonly has been, to walk for divine contemplation and prayer, I had a view, that for me was extraordinary, of the glory of the Son of God, as Mediator between God and man, and his wonderful, great, full, pure and sweet grace and love and meek, gentle condescension..... which continued, as near as I can judge, about an hour; which kept me the greater part of the time in a flood of tears, and weeping aloud." J. Edwards

"He (J. Edwards) had an extraordinary love for the glory of God in nature. The good effects of this love on his capacity to delight in the greatness of God and on the imagery of his preaching were tremendous, Jonathan Edwards preached the way he did because of the man he was and the God he saw!" - John Piper

I pray that you and I would be gripped by the view of God as Edwards saw and expeirenced in his life on a daily basis!

Web Site Is Up!

The web site is finally here, go check it out - www.johnpond.org

Web Site Coming Soon....

In just a few days the web site will be up and going and able to see. The web site will contain photos, a bio, schedule of upcoming speaking engagements, news, and more. The web site address will be www.johnpond.org. Again, it should be up in a few days so keep checking in.

JP

The Lord is His Name

"He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, THE LORD IS HIS NAME!" - Amos 5:8

Well my time in Virginia was amazing, and we saw God do some amazing things. The theme was "Believe" with the emphasis on looking at God's existence in a new light. The more and more I think about our simple belief in the reality of God the more I am convicted of how simple we have made it. I even notice it in myself waking up every morning and not stoping to think about how amazing it is that God's existence and creation is still alive and well, instead I assume and go about my business. I think we need to stop, think, believe, and rejoice as opposed to driving by and not giving thanks that our God is real and ruling over all creation and all heavens. I am now back in B'ham and little bit under the weather, but hopefully on the road to recovery. I will be speaking at First Baptist Birmingham and First Baptist Trussville the next 2 weeks. Please pray that God's word would again be preached with Passion and Clarity.

For His Namesake,
John Pond

"of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known". Colossians 1:25

Well, another amazing day seeing God letting us be apart of spreading His truth around and telling the story of God to publish salvation for all to see. I am sitting in the Birmingham airport getting ready to leave for Virginia for a retreat at Tomahawk Baptist Church. Please pray for me and all who will be involved that we would simply see God for who He truly is and worship Him in light of the simple and glorious fact that GOD IS REAL! Also, pray for warmth, it is supposed to snow every single day while we are away. Meaning that I finally get to see some snow but will have to do so while it is freezing cold, seeing snow is funny that way :). Please continue to visit the blog as often as you like, and I am so thankful to the ones who are praying for me and God's spoken word. Please continue to leave our comments, they are a huge encouragement to me!

P.S. - Last night at First Baptist Birmingham was amazing God spoke and it was another chance for me to watch Him work. Praise God!

"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." - Psalm 46:10-11

Schedule for January and February

Please pray for over these dates, that God's word would be spoken humbly, clearly, and loudly!

January 24th : FCA Vestavia Hills 8:30p.m.
January 31st : First Baptist Church of Birmingham 6:00p.m.
FCA Vestavia Hills 8:30p.m.
February 1st - 4th : Tomahawk Baptist Church Disciple Now, Richmond Virginia
February 7th : FCA Vestavia Hills 8:30p.m.
February 21st: First Baptist Church of Birmingham
February 28th: First Baptist Church of Trussville

The Supremacy of God in Preaching

"All genuine preaching is rooted in a feeling of desperation. You wake up early Sunday morning and you can smell the smoke of hell on one side and feel the crisp breezes of heaven on the other. You go to your study and look down at your pitiful manuscript, and you kneel down and cry, "God, this is so weak! Who do I think I am? What audacity to think that in three hours my words will be the odor of death to death and the fragrance of life to life (2 Cor. 2:16). My God, who is sufficient for these things?" - John Piper, "The Supremacy of God in Preaching"

Ya, not much to smile about in Coney Island, where the snow comes at you sideways when it's around 5 degrees outside and the wind is blowing off the ocean. My time in New York was amazing, very cold, but amazing. The first couple of days were spent helping my friend Landon prep for a mission trip up there in April. I also got the chance to hang out with some folks from Brooklyn Tabernacle, sharing the vision of my ministry and what God has called me to do, to preach the amazing and overwhelming reality of God and His glory. The last day was spent playing in Manhattan and on top of Rockefeller center where I thought we would literally freeze to death. All in all my love for New York City is still alive and well and hope that God continues to open doors for me to go back there and preach. Next stop is Virginia for a d-now I am speaking at and you can begin to pray that God's word will be spoken with humbleness and clarity. God is at work, and I am having a blast just sitting on the front row, watching Him do His thing!

JP

''to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved". - Eph. 1:6

Back to NYC - (where Sox fans are questioned by the NYPD)

Sometimes the loudest response to the greatness of God is absolute silence. So it was this past week for me at the Passion conference in Atlanta. I never knew it could be so frustrating trying to tell someone what it was like. I guess all that someone can say is that it had nothing to do with a conference or the people there, but it had everything to do with the fact that God was there, and is always present every day of our lives. Maybe someday we can all treat that truth as an honest fact and not just something we take for granted. Lord knows I take it for granted. So, I now head for New York City, where it should be a bit colder and hardly anyone cares about College football. Either way, NYC is one of my favorite places to go in all the world. I will be up in NYC for 3 days helping prep a mission trip in March, and hopefully meeting some folks at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Please continue to pray for me that I would continue to be on my knees before God, humbled, and willing to go where He sends me. I have been very thankful to hear of the people who are reading these blogs and praying for me. I am continuing to see God open doors for me to go speak all over the U.S. and I'm very excited to see where He takes me throughout 2007. Thanks again!

For His Namesake,
John

P.S. - Please pray for me as I fly tomorrow on the big school bus with wings - Southwest Air.

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you". - Psalm 32:8

All I can say right now about Him.