So there really are 24 full hours in a day?

I think I'm on to something here. The past few days have gone by entirely too fast, and I think I know why. You see, I have this theory - someone's stealing time. I know, I know - it sounds crazy. Just hear me out on this.
We have people who watch everything from our borders to our airspace...but what about time? Is there some guy sitting in a room in the "US National Time Defense HW" insuring that our time, our valuable time, isn't stolen by some...I don't know...terrorist? I really do think that some of my days here as of late have not had the full 24 hours in them...
And now I know what I'll hear from so many - "It's all about time management, Blake, time management." I understand that totally - and that's why I have a Dayplanner in my phone. The truth of the matter is - there's just too much to do in so little time! So, I've made up my mind about today...it's just this simple: I'll only do what's crucial today. That'll be my "time management" tactic for the day. Anytime else just won't get done. Bottom line.
I guess I should stop blogging now and get to work...oh, and did I mention that today's my day off? Life is so funny these days... :)

That's just a thought from my heart...and I welcome your's!
Feel free to email me anytime at pastorblakeman@yahoo.com.

Live blessed!
blake

Leadership...what fun, what fun

So today I came into the office pondering the concept of Leadership. Sure, I've got things to - but I think from time to time it's healthy to just sit, and think. It keeps us fresh - on our toes. And these past few weeks the issue I'm pondering this morning has really been an issue for a few friends of mine. They'll obviously go nameless, but one friend in particular needs our prayers. He's a leader, a shepherd of sorts - yet many who called themselves members of his "flock" have charted a new path for themselves...and attempted to chart a new path for him. It hasn't gone very well so far...M. Scott Peck said, "The best decision-makers are those who are willing to suffer the most over their decisions but still retain their ability to be decisive." My, my, my how true this is for one who serves as a Pastor. And I'm finding every single day that absolutely no one understands the pressures, daily, of a pastor than he who has served, or is serving, in that role. No, a pastor isn't a CEO - Christ is the church's Chief Executive. But a great deal of Administrative responsibility rests on the shoulders of the pastor. After all, he answers directly to the CEO...and no, he isn't just a supervisor, though a church, whether large or small, undoubtedly has those who he serves as a supervisor to. You see, the weight of not only his own spiritual condition weighs on his shoulders, but also the weight of his family, and his church. It's a heavy job, this role we call pastor.Erwin Potts said it best when he said, "The pioneers are the guys with arrows in their backs." To go one step further, I'll add..and the vast majority of those arrows came from those who he considered closest to him. It's a sad thing when a group of people, especially a church, forget who their real enemy is and begin self-attacks. It's been said that the church is the only army that is cannibalistic at the drop of a hat. And how true that is. I think it's safe to say that we all agree on the condition of our world - things are bad, and only getting worse. Not only is disease rampant in every corner of our globe, but sin is holding the vast majority of civilization in a choke hold. People are dying. Even worse, people are dying and going to hell for eternity. We all preach that. We all teach that. We even say we truly believe that. Yet if I were an outsider - looking into the world of the church, I'm not sure I'd buy into it. After all - if people who call themselves Christians truly believed that a lost person was headed for hell - wouldn't they be spending their time trying to reach that lost person instead of tearing each other to shreds? Hmm...there's some food for thought.Yesterday afternoon our worship band was here at the church practicing. I went in to say hello on my way to the house and someone exclaimed, "We have rats!!!" Well, that's a statement you really can't just walk away from so I asked for more info. Turns out, one of our guitarists and his girlfriend have gotten some new pets that they will apparently share custody of...they'll bounce from his house to her house on regular intervals...and you guessed it, they are rats. Not hamsters. Not gerbils. Not guinea pigs. Rats. Real, get into your cabinets and eat your food, nasty long scaley tails, rodent quality, rats. Why? They say they are extremely smart animals, so they wanted a couple. Now they are pretty, I have to admit...but I can't say I'd have one as a pet...but to each their own, I guess.But can I just say this one thing before I sign off from this long book I've written? We aren't the only church that has a rat infestation. Leaders: beware. As you strive to lead those entrusted to you through the peaks and valleys of life, there are probably some rats among the flock. They may be hiding in sheeps clothing, but they'll eat you alive at first chance. They'll be the ones that haven't reached a single soul for eternity, but want to critique the way you have. Lao-Tzu once said, "At the end of the days of truly great leaders, the people will say about them, 'We did it ourselves.'" And so goes the life of a pastor - or any true leader.Just do me this one favor, will you? Before you spend a minute criticizing a leader - spend 2 minutes praying for him. It's amazing what a little time with the Lord will do for our hearts...

That's just a thought...and I welcome yours.

Feel free to email me anytime at pastorblakeman@yahoo.com

Live blessed - blake

Dr. Pepper & Snickers

From Friday, January 23rd

I've been giving a little bit of thought to my "day to day routine" here as of late. It seems like sometimes people get a comfortable pace set for their life, and then stop stretching themselve to be more, to do more, to accomplish more - than they did yesterday. Some call it a rut - I call it "Life in a Coma." Seriously - we get in so much of a pattern with our lives that we could almost do it all if we were not even concious! My weakness when it comes to this routine? You guessed it - Dr. Pepper and Snickers.It's not just an issue of liking this particular soda or candy bar...I have actually found myself pondering what life would be like if I found a "magical pool of Dr. Pepper" or a "Snickers tree" so I could have unlimited supplies of my favorite snack and drink...yeah, I know...a tad bit scary...and my point?Well, it's actually really simple: I feel that I absolutely need a daily dose of this "burp potion" and "teeth killer"...when it reality, it's just part of my rut. Could I survive without Dr. Pepper and Snickers each day? Sure...but when the craving hits...I go get them anyway...and the reason?It's my rut. But I have begun to wonder...what if I stepped out of that rut to realize where that money to be better spent? Just one example: were I to financially adopt a Compassion Child through Compassion Internation...the money I spend on my daily Dr. Pepper and Snickers (approximately $2.50, depending on where I buy them) could feed and educate a child after a month's time. That could be my month pledge - right there! Wow - I could use that money to eternally change a life - seriously! But hold on a sec......okay, I'm back. I had to get a drink of my Dr. Pepp...um...nevermind. Back to what I was saying...I could save a life! So now what? Well, I have a choice...I can embrace this new challenge, give up 2 things that are probably not really that great for me anyway and commit to change a life...or walk away and forget I ever had this epiphany and continue my daily stop by the gas station...hmmm...This Sunday I will stand on a stage in front of about 100 people in Hot Springs, Arkansas and pour my heart out in a message that God has laid upon my heart to share...one that He wants His people, and the people who aren't even in His family to hear. It'll be a message that God has already poured into me so I can allow Him to pour it into them through me...it'll be a very serious thing...maybe even a morning that could mean life or death for someone's eternity...and yet......people will have two choices. They can recieve the message and commit to whatever it is that God is calling them to, or they can walk away, back into the rut they may call life...totally unchanged whatsoever.So does it seem silly that my Dr. Pepper and Snickers mean so much to me? Well, ask God to do an inventory of your own life...what is your "Dr. Pepper and Snickers"? What's keeping you chained to your rut? What's preventing you from experiencing a full life in Christ?
That's just a thought...and I welcome yours.
Feel free to email me anytime at pastorblakeman@yahoo.com anytime.
Live blessed - blake

"My Church"

Hope you enjoy...sad but true! Blessings - blake

“My Church” by Blake MartinAt my church, as soon as you arrive you are greeted at the parking lot with valet service. Our attendants park your car for you, and even wash the windshield and top off your tank while you make your way inside – at my church. At my church, when you get out of that car, you’ll immediately be met by a greeter that will give you your cup of coffee, a bagel, two donuts, a bag of mints just in case you have a coughing problem, and will review with you the entire map of the church just in case you need to get somewhere during service that you are not aware even exists on the grounds. At my church, you’ll enter through automatic doors, you know, so you won’t have to expend your energy opening a heavy glass one yourself. After all, at my church we wouldn’t want you to leave with that terrible memory of straining a muscle or over exerting yourself. At my church, when you get inside you’ll find spacious, luxurious seating with plenty of room for you to find your own seat and make yourself at home. Just be careful at my church I have my seat, so just watch for “reserved” signs with nameplates at some chairs. Full-sized, reclining, individual comfort seating will be what you’ll find at my church. With plenty of leg-room and even cup holders for your coffee or soda, my church has thought of everything in comfort. We even have handy signs in the side pockets of the chairs at my church that say, “Do not disturb” just in case you really don’t want to have to bother with shaking hands and all of that other stuff. You can come and keep to yourself, at my church.When the service begins, you’ll be really impressed with my church. We have a full 45 minutes of music time. And at my church, you don’t have to worry about whether or not the music is your style – you are guaranteed to find something you like about it. At every service at my church, we have every possible style of music to fit your personal liking. We begin with a little Christian rock (but don’t worry – at my church you can put on your headphones that plug into the seats and either turn the volume down or change the channel and listen and any radio station of your choosing). We then have a song or two of softer Christian praise & worship time. We move from that to a time of “interpretive dance” just in case you are a person who appreciates the arts. From there we move into our southern gospel segment, when our quartet the “My Church Singers” come onto the stage and provide some good quality entertainment. Oh, and at my church, just in case you haven’t been pleased by all that, after the quartet leaves the stage the chanters come up and do a few minutes of some Gregorian chants. See, at my church there’s something for everyone!Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that at my church we won’t bore you with some preacher standing and yelling at you. You see, at my church, you’ll get a motivational speech lasting only about 5 minutes to pump you up for the week ahead! And afterwards, we’ve fixed the guilt issues of an invitation – at my church, we don’t have one! Everything’s great at my church! We have taken all of the things that people complain about and simply gotten rid of them and replaced them with things people have talked so much about wanting!Oh, but there is just one problem: you can be a faithful member of my church and die and spend an eternity in hell. Oh well, that’s not that important, right? After all, it’s all about making US happy in this life – isn’t it? Well, it is at my church.

What's Wrong With America?

This is another blog I wrote back on July 6th. I'd had an "interesting" experience at Magic Springs, and it inspired me to share my thoughts. Blessings - blake

What’s Wrong with America? Oh golly, have I heard this question a thousand times over the past few days. I guess there's something about America's birthday that motivates people to try to decide what's worst about our amazing country - instead of the plethoria of things we have to be thankful for. Oh well - I guess I will throw my "answer" in the hat since we're on the subject. So, what is wrong with America?Everybody seems to know - and I can't help but disagree with just about all of them. First of all, it's not Democrats or Republicans, or Independents either for that matter. If you honestly think that America's moral slip can be laid at the feet of a political party you have a terrible misunderstanding of what our deepest problems are. See, the United States of America's biggest problem isn't welfare, social security reform, pork barrel spending, or even immigration (surprise, surprise). It's the devastating decline in the moral climate of our land - that's the problem. So who's to blame for it?Well, I've certainly heard my share of blame thrown around, that's for sure. And those of us in the "Christian circles" seem to be some of the best at throwing that blame. So is it the homosexual couples that are getting "married" in California or MA? Is it the so called "women's rights" activitists, protesting for a woman's right to kill her baby? Or is it the so extremely anti-immigration crowd that's ready to post machine guns at the border to shoot and kill anyone trying to get to this land of opportunity? Nah. I'm not at all saying those things aren't symptoms of the problem - they are. But the problem itself is far more dangerous.You see, I believe the weakness that America has happens to be its Christians...or should I say, its "Christians." We've become far too lukewarm to be the salt and light that Christ called us to be. While our nation has slipped into one that openly accepts such wicked and immoral things as everyday, we've been too busy fighting. And no, we've not been fighting the enemy - we've been fighting each other. And the topics of our fights - they're even more laughable.Do you have any idea how many churches have actually split over the color of carpet in a new or remodeled building, music style, or even "hurt feelings?" Here we are, the Church of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and we can't even love each other enough to oversee tiny differences. A reminder of just how sad this has gotten came yesterday at Magic Springs. A fellow with a blatantly "Christian" t-shirt stood in front of me in line and talked to a theme park employee like they were a 50cent dog. And do you want to know what it was over? Well, to his credit - there were actually two issues. The first - the ceiling fans weren't on. After finding out that they were broken, he quickly offered his "christian-brotherly" advice - "Ever heard of an electrician???" Nevermind that those teenagers working that ride aren't exactly the theme parks reps that would make that call - he vented nonetheless. Oh, and the other issue: this young lady's superiors had shut down the ride and they were taking out their frustrations on her, as if it were her fault. I think it's slightly ironic what the ride was shut down for - lightning. To be honest, I was slightly concerned it might strike that man - and I was close enough to be shocked myself.Our lives are no different than the lost world around us. We cuss like the unsaved, we drink like the unsaved, we have sex outside of marriage like the unsaved, we smoke like the unsaved, we party like the unsaved, and we treat people like steaming piles of poo like the unsaved. And in the midst of all this - we ask ourselves the question: what's wrong with America? I can tell you what's wrong with America - us.Tomorrow: What's right with America?

The Life of a Servant...

The following is a blog I wrote last June. I wanted to post it on here to recognize the great man mentioned in it - Fred. You'll understand as you read. Blessings! - blake

This past week God has been reminding me of who I am as His servant. When people think of the role of a Pastor, they often think of simply Sunday mornings when the man who holds that role gets into the pulpit and delivers the message. But oh, how that is only the pep rally! The rest of the week holds so much more than Sunday mornings!There are planning meetings, "committee meetings", counseling sessions, visitations, late night calls from those who just need to talk, disasters, crisis after crisis, and of course, weddings and funerals. This week I think I've experienced all those things...and it's only Thursday! And today it hit me - the vast spectrum between the wedding I'm doing Friday night and the funeral I'll take part in on Saturday...Though we know Bro. Fred is in heaven now - which means his life isn't over at all - his passing into glory does mark the end of a life here on earth lived for Christ. We'll miss you Bro. Fred...And at a wedding we'll celebrating the beginning of a lifelong relationship...Anyway, just a thought from my heart today. I'll begin trying to blog daily, first thing in the morning after me and God have our chat...maybe I can share some fresh insights after He's begun speaking to me for the day...