Category: Church Life

Pastor Dean, Advice for a Teen?

Hey, Pastor Dean, um, I have an assignment from one of my teachers, and wonder if you could help me?

Sure, be glad to.  What’s up?

Well, we’re supposed to ask someone who is older, and maybe in a position of authority or something, some questions.  You’re pretty old, right? And you’re my pastor, so I thought I’d ask you.

(Laughs) Let’s do it.  Want to sit over here?  So, what are your questions?

The first one is, What do you think is the greatest challenge that kids face today?

Let me think a minute.  There are a lot.  But I would say, you are hearing so many voices, through friends, school, movies, music, celebrities, news, advertising, scientists, philosophers, pastors :), people trying to explain life, that it is hard to figure out who is right, who you should listen to, and what you should accept.

Ok, yeah, that’s true.  The next question is, What should people my age consider as dangerous?

Ooh, very good question.  A few things come to mind.  An obvious one would be addictive and destructive substances like drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.  It’s no myth that smoking pot and drinking beer leads to harder stuff.  Ever see pictures of someone addicted to meth?  You don’t want to end up there.  Another obvious one is porn.  Once you start, you’re pretty much hooked, and it makes it really tough to have a normal long-term relationship with a guy or girl.  I’ve seen a porn habit that started in the teen years destroy a marriage.  Of course, there are dangerous people who want to hurt you.  Here’s probably one that you might not think of – I think there’s a real danger in believing everything you hear or read.  It goes back to my first answer about all the messages and voices you’re hearing.  If you just accept what someone says because he or she is your friend, or has a lot of followers, or communicates well, or seems successful, you’re vulnerable.  You need to test what you hear and read.  You need a source of truth to test everything and everyone by.  Believing the wrong things can really get you into trouble.  I tell people, “Just because someone says it doesn’t mean it’s true.”  And be careful about the subtle messages presented in TV shows, movies, and music.  They do influence us.

Hmm, that’s a lot to think about.  Here’s another one:  What one personal quality is important to develop as I enter adulthood?

Ha, I have a long list!  Do I have to narrow it down to one?  Well, let me try.  I’m going to go with . . .  wow, this is tough . . . I’ll say, learn to have a realistic view of yourself.

Can you explain that a little bit?

Yes.  What I’m really talking about is humility.  Learn to see yourself as imperfect, but improving; as important, but not more important than anyone else; as dependent, yet confident.  Be who you are in personality, physical appearance, strengths and weaknesses, but grow in ways that you can and that reflect well on your Creator.  We’re all sinners, but God saves sinners and changes us over time.  So this doesn’t mean you never change or try to improve, but that you don’t think of yourself as too hopeless for change or too good to need it.  True humility produces concern for others, willingness to take advice, and dependence on God.  Ha, you can see I worked some other qualities in there!

Yeah, that’s ok.  Alright, there’s one more question.  Actually this one’s a little open-ended, so you can do what you want with it.  What advice would you give me as a teen?

I would say first, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”  That’s from the Bible.  Second, as I said earlier, you need to have a source of truth.  I’ll tell you, the Bible is it.  Regardless of what you might hear, it has never been proven untrue in anything it says.  It relates to every aspect of life.  Check it out for yourself. Then, wait for things.  Look, I know there are things you want to have now, or soon.  But it’s better to wait and get it right.  I’m talking about things like the man or lady you’ll marry, your career, certain big purchases (like a car or house).  I’ve seen young adults get into a big mess because they were impatient, rushed a relationship, got into major debt, made hasty decisions.  Take your time.  When it’s right, you’ll know.  Here’s one more:  Dedicate your life to living for God’s glory, not your own.  Take some time to figure out what that means, then spend your whole life doing it.  You won’t be sorry.

Thanks Pastor!  I enjoyed talking with you.  I think my teacher will like this. 

Well, thanks for asking me.  Glad to help.  Anytime.

Three Happiness

A few weeks ago my wife made a meal for our family consisting of a few ingredients mixed up and poured on top of pieces chicken in the crock pot.  Of course it was delicious.  We were raving about it, and one of us asked, “What’s it called?”  She didn’t know, but named the three main ingredients in the sauce.  For some reason Three Happiness came to mind, so I said, “Let’s call it Three Happiness Chicken.”  It’s made from chicken, has three ingredients, and makes us happy.  (You can tell how deeply I think.)  Realizing it sounded like something I had seen on a Chinese restaurant menu, I did a search, and yep, there are a zillion Chinese restaurants called Three Happiness and a million Chinese food menus with Three Happiness Chicken on them.  Oh well, it’s not original, but it fit, and we will probably call it that the rest of our lives.

So this is a Three Happiness blog entry.  Here are three “ingredients” of our ministry and my life that are bringing me and our church family joy.

  • We’re spreading the Word.  Calvary Baptist Church in Simpsonville has started broadcasting a recorded and edited version of our Sunday morning worship services.  It airs on Sunday mornings at 8 on WGTK FM 94.5, a 100,000 watt station in Greenville, SC with a signal that reaches the area around us to about a 100 mile radius.  The program is called Sunday Morning at Calvary.  So we are able to share our musical worship and message from God’s Word with potentially thousands of people every week.   People like to have noise going in their cars while driving, and often flip on the radio when they hit the road.  I hope that our giving thanks to God in song and the preaching and teaching of truth may catch someone’s attention.   Last Sunday a lady came to our fellowship for the first time and said she heard about us on the radio.  Love it!  If you care to listen, but aren’t in range, you can click the link here and listen over the Internet.
  • People are getting more closely connected.  This is exciting because in our study of Ephesians 4:1-16 over the summer, we learned how important it is for members of the body of Christ (Christians in the church) to remove unnecessary barriers that put distance between themselves and others, to overcome differences and resolve offenses, and to work at communicating truth to one another rather than just engaging in small talk. I’ve observed and heard about numerous examples of all of this taking place.  It brings me great joy to see people unified, not just in attending an event in the same building, but in spirit, in fellowship, and in truth.
  • We’re explaining the Good News.  This is happening in our Good News Club at a local elementary school, in Truth Trackers on Wednesday nights, in the classrooms and parent events of Calvary Christian Preschool, and more.  In just a few weeks we will have a week of evangelistic outreach led by Jeremy Frazor and his awesome team of assistants and musicians.  I believe God has been preparing us to reach out and touch our community with the love of Christ like never before.  Let’s live the Gospel and then explain it to whoever will listen.  Jesus will draw people to Himself as we tell the story of His substitutionary death and triumphant resurrection.

My stomach was happy after that great meal, and my heart is happy when I think of the good things God is doing.  I’m thankful to serve a body of believers who are growing in love for one another and in showing people the love of Christ and sharing the Good News.  Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! (Psalm 144:15b)

Seeing Through Suffering and Pain

Painful experiences are part of life.  During the past few months, I have been close to people as they have gone through some of the most traumatizing events that a human being can face.  In each case, these people have received much comfort and help from those who love them.  But the question arises, “Why would God allow this tragedy?”  In the midst of suffering and pain, the natural question is, “Why?”  If God is in control, why would He allow those He loves to hurt so much?

When you are hurting, that pain is your reality. It’s what you feel.  The suffering and what is causing it is foremost on your mind.  It is hard to think about anything else.  A hurting person needs to be able to see beyond the suffering and pain.  

The BIble contains the story of a man who experienced extreme pain and suffering.  It was so awful he said he wished he had not been born.  He was a believer in God, committed to trusting God even through the hardest of times, but he wrestled with God’s purpose in his suffering and pain.  The man’s name is Job, and his story is in the book of the Bible that bears his name.  Here is his testimony at the end of his ordeal:  “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5).  Job learned to see through his suffering and pain.

I will be preaching at Calvary Baptist Church on Seeing Through Suffering and Pain starting Sunday, September 1.  The truth I will be presenting has potential to help many people.  These messages will be presented and distributed in the following venues:

  • Sunday Mornings during our Lord’s Day Gatherings at 10:30 am, September 1 – November 3
  • Sunday Morning at Calvary, recorded music and message broadcast on WGTK FM94.5 at 8:00 am Sunday mornings.  Also live-streamed at www.calvarysimpsonville.org/radio.  (Messages broadcast 1-2 weeks after originally preached)
  • Available for download at www.calvarysimpsonville.org/sermons

Whoever you are, whatever your pain, I invite you to learn how to change your focus from how you feel and what is causing your suffering to something outside of yourself and your circumstances.  Invite someone to come or listen with you.  People in pain desperately try to find relief.  When time doesn’t heal, the drugs wear off, and the advice of well-meaning friends is insufficient, you need something real, something transformational.  You need to be able to see.  Job did. You can. Come see.

suffering