PJ's Journal

One of the toughest realities of being a pastor is watching the destructive choices that people make that lead to an unhealthy relationship with Jesus, fractured relationships with others who love him or her, or self-destruction.  A common denominator of the carnage left in the wake of these decisions is the failure to take personal responsibility for the choices he or she has made or refuse to make.  Let me explain...  I have a passion to know Jesus more and to commune with Him at a soul level.  This does not just automatically happen, I must choose to engage in certain disciplines for this to happen.  If I do not choose to read and study my Bible, then I have no one to blame but myself.  If I do not intentionally carve out time to pray, I have no one to blame but myself.  If I am not actively involved in God's mission then I can only blame myself for not engaging in His mission.  On the flip side, if I choose to distance myself from people, I have only to blame myself for feeling

Perhaps one of the hardest things to do in a believer's life is to open up with others about the gospel.  It is interesting that many of us would claim to love the Gospel, but baulk at the idea of sharing the good news of a rescuer with someone else.  Research seems to indicate that less than 5% of Christians actively share the message of the Gospel with someone.  Further research seems to indicate that a person generally hears the gospel a tad less than eight times before responding to the Gospel. What is the Gospel?  Simply put, it is the good news that God sent His Son, Jesus, down to earth to rescue people from their state of condemnation, and bring them into a reconciled relationship with God through His death on a cross and resurrection from the grave.  It is impossible for man to get to God, and so God came to us... bore the penalty for our sin... and defeated death!  People can be free from condemnation, not on the basis of the good they have done, but rather on the basis

Allow me to be real for a moment with you... there exists within me a tension that is very difficult to navigate.  It is the tension between when to speak out against the moral decay I see unfolding around me and when to shut up and pray.  I had this conversation earlier today with my two teenagers.  One of them said, "Dad, trying to fight for traditional marriage is a lost cause."  There was something about that tone of surrender that did not sit well with me.  Now, they were not saying that traditional marriage was old fashion and should be given up on, but rather that gay marriage will inevitably be legalized in every state.  Additionally, our culture is all hyped up to see the book turned movie, "Fifty-Shades of Grey."  I have seen many posts about it and have been guilty of reading the comments.  One comment made my heart sink further into grieving.  The comment simply said, "People, it's just a movie... geeez."  As I unpack these emotions and tho

I will say that I absolutely love what I do.  I love to study, teach, counsel, encourage, and lead the church toward a particular vision.  There are things in ministry that energize me more or less, but I love it all.  Yet, I feel at times that I am unqualified to do what I do.  Here are a few reasons that periodically run through my head. I feel as if I let people down way too often, and I hate doing that.  I know that I cannot do everything or even be everywhere, and letting people down comes with the position.  People have their own idea of what your job ought to be and where your time ought to be spent without seeing the totality of your responsibilities.  Yet, why do I feel this way?  It reveals to me one of my insecurities...  I would not say I am a people pleaser, but rather afraid to fail.  All my life I have been performance driven.  I seek after the A, and desire to do things well.  There is nothing wrong with that unless it begins to creep into my identity.  At times I