Do You Have a Dream for Your Future?

Posted in: Uncategorized by DannyTice on August 17, 2010 | No Comments

Beginning in September through early October I will be giving a talk each week (9/12, 9/19, 9/26, 10/3) about how to have a dream for your future and see it come to pass.  Here is a little introduction to get you ready for the series.

            There are three worlds we can possibly live in.  One is the past, one is the present and one is the future.  Each of these worlds give some value to us mentally and emotionally.  Some people say we shouldn’t live in the past.  Not totally true.  I agree that one should not grovel in past failures or mistakes.  However, nostalgia certainly has some value especially when it comes to God’s faithfulness in our lives.  Looking back to see what God has done in you, through you and for you has great value.  After Joshua led the children of Israel across the Jordan River into the land promised them for centuries, he had the leaders extract twelve stones from the river bed to serve as a reminder of that special day when God proved faithful to them (see Joshua 4:20-24).  Looking back has its’ benefits.  Living in the present is a good practice as well.  Real time in life is right now so we need to enjoy each day and relish the joy of the moment.  People that can never live in the moment and enjoy the day that God has given them cannot enter into the level of joy that they need to. Today is very real.  Life is going on in the here and now so let’s not miss it. After all “this is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad” (Psalm 118:24).

Having said that the past and the present are important; one must never leave out the future.  The past is where we have been; the present is where we are; and the future is where we are going.  Where we are going is very important.  There are two ways we can experience the future.  Those two ways are “passive” and “proactive”.  The passive approach to the future is the laid back approach.  The passive person just receives whatever the future brings to them.  They simply experience the future, whatever it may be, instead of helping to shape the kind of future they want.  Being proactive about the future means that you allow God to give you a dream, a vision, of what you want your future to look like.  Seeing and believing ahead of time what tomorrow can be is a great way to live.  In the Old Testament part of the Bible the story of Abraham is outlined in the book of Genesis.  All of us have heard of the nation of Israel.  Abraham and his family provided the impetus for this new nation to emerge.  God chose Abraham or Abram as he was originally called and through Abraham a nation was born (Genesis 12:3).  God took Abraham outside one day and told him to look up.  God said look at the stars Abraham.  When you look at the stars you get a glimpse into your future.  I will make you into a great nation.  The exact wording goes like this in Genesis 15:4-6:

“He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars — if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”  Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

This exchange between God and Abraham has to do with a preferable future for Abraham.  God wanted Abraham to look beyond his present to the dream God wanted him to experience.  Abraham had to “look up” to the stars.  Abraham saw before he experienced his future.  At the time of this star gazing encounter between Abraham and God Abraham didn’t even have a child.  Although childless God caused him to see in advance that which would come to pass in his future.  What do you see regarding your future?  We must see today what tomorrow has the potential to be.  Abraham not only saw but he believed what God said his future was going to be like.  The rest is history (literally).  In our upcoming series this fall at Bay Shore Community Church I will be giving a talk each week about seeing our dreams now so they can be a reality in the future.  God’s dream for your future may be greater than you think.

How to Hire the Right People

Posted in: Uncategorized by DannyTice on June 14, 2010 | No Comments

      When I was in grade school we used to have field day every year.  Field day was a day of competition including the 50-yard dash, tug-of-war, a relay race and the infamous bag race.  The competition that intrigued me the most was the “three-legged race”.  This challenge featured two people standing side by side with their inside legs tied together and then they proceeded to walk (or try to walk) in unison.  To succeed in the three-legged race there had to be a measure of compatibility in height or stature.  Success in the three-legged race also required determination to learn the gate and rhythm of your partner.  Teams that succeeded in the three-legged race wrapped their arms around each other and focused on working together while less diligent teams tumbled to ground. 

When it comes to working together in local churches these two elements are imperative as well; we need to focus as one.  There is a great advantage to building a team that sticks together through thick and thin.  Each key leader you add to your leadership team must share compatibility with you as the leader and with other members of the team. Ask these questions honestly and openly with potential team additions.  Do you understand the vision and mission of our church?  Obviously you as a leader must know the mission and objective of your church or you cannot evaluate their answer. As the Lead Pastor own the vision openly in the hiring process.  Declare this is what we are; this is what we are trying to do.  How does that sound to you?  I often ask this question to potential staff members; what is your idea of the ideal church?  What would your “dream church” look like?  If they describe a church that bears no resemblance of your dream church shake hands, buy them lunch and keep looking. Pastors sometimes are so anxious to plug a staff hole they sometimes plug the hole with dynamite (not good!).  There must be compatibility on church goals and church style.  If you think you can reform or reshape a person’s core ministry dreams and passions I have a really nice unicorn I would like to sell you.  People have a certain church blueprint in their head and if it doesn’t match yours and the blueprint of your team than you are not going to have a pleasant, nor fruitful, journey together.  In the past I have added people to my team that didn’t share my true core values.  I have sometimes hired people that share a common history with me (went to Bible College with me) or had incredible credentials (great education or training).  History and credentials are not sufficient to make a good partnership.  A lasting working relationship emerges out of a shared passion for a distinctive blueprint of ministry. 

I look at my current staff after almost thirty years of ministry and see very strong people.  These strong people debate and struggle through day to day ministry decisions.  Our meetings are lively and filled with openness and varying ideas on many things.  No one is threatened by this “iron sharpening iron” (Proverbs 27:17) approach to ministry.  The reason is we are compatible on a common dream.  There may be disagreements about how to get there but there is never a disagreement about where we are going.  Our legs and hearts are tied together as we head toward the finish line. 

How to Avoid Negativity at Work?

Posted in: Uncategorized by DannyTice on May 26, 2010 | No Comments

It is so easy to get caught up in negative talk at work.  Every organization has imperfections that are often verbally rehearsed by unhappy workers.  One big question for a believer is how are we to process our words about work around other employees when we are unhappy about things on our job?  How negative are we allowed to be and still maintain a witness for Christ in our work environment?  I believe it is appropriate to address negative issues about work with supervisors and people that are in positions of authority regarding negatives at work.  However, to stand around complaining about work as a believer with other disgruntled employees seems to be a poor picture of what a Christ-follower is to be.  I love this verse in Philippians that expresses that Christ followers are to not be the negative verbal equivalent to a fire hydrant with negative words when it comes to work.

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.  Philippians 2:14-16 (NIV)

Here is a humorous clip about complaining at work from part 3 of @Work.  Enjoy and ponder.

The Right Attitude About Our Job

Posted in: Uncategorized by DannyTice on May 12, 2010 | No Comments

   I read a statistic the other day that states that only 39% of people under the age of 25 enjoy their work or jobs.  Of all ages only 50% of workers enjoy their jobs.  Another stat said that 40% of people would change jobs if they had the option.  There is a lot of discontent out there regarding working.  The Bible talks about work a lot.  There are over 380 verses of scripture that mention work.  Obviously God is concerned about this big area of our lives.  We spend 50 to 60% of our waking hours at work.  Yet many people are miserable while they are working.  If we can improve our attitude about work and begin to enjoy working then the quality of our life will go way up.  Some people that are reading this blog may be in a job that isn’t your final resting place vocationally but even if you are in a job that doesn’t match your ultimate employment ambitions you can still have a paradigm shift in how you look at your work.  Here is what we all need to remember when it comes to work:

• Work is an expression of the creative nature God has given me to improve the world around me.  The first person mentioned working in the Bible was God.  Ironic isn’t it that God was cited as working.  One would think God would not have to work but after the creation story in Genesis 1 it explicitly says that “God rested from his work.”

Genesis 2:2-3  2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.  NIV

God was a creative God who when he encountered the negative state of the world in Genesis 1:1-2 – the earth being filled with confusion, void and darkness – God went to work and re-ordered a negative situation into a positive situation.  All work is us being an instrument of God turning negative things into positive things.  Teachers, plumbers, physicians, construction workers all encounter the negative and constructively turn the things in front of them into positive things.  To enjoy work we need to see that we are operating out of our creative imprint from God to improve the world around us.  Any line of work, when properly understood has meaning and improves the world around it. 

Work is caring for the creation that God has made.  Work proceeded the fall of man and sin entering the world.  We falsely conclude that work was part of the judgment on man when sin entered the world.  Wrong! Work was introduced by God to man before sin entered the world.  Here is how the scripture paints the picture about work: “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Genesis 2:15 NIV)  This is the first work assignment ever given to anyone.  It was given to man by God.  And the summary of it was this:  “I made this garden and I want you to take care of the garden I made.”  Basically the first work assignment God gave to Adam was to take care of the creation he had made.  Work then is taking care of and serving the creation of God.  I am part of that creation.  When I went to BJ’s the other day to get new tires for my car the gentlemen working in the garage was very passionate about getting the perfect tires for my brand of car.  He was meticulous and passionate about his work and told me a lot more about tires than I really wanted to know but he was serving me.  I ended up with a great deal on great tires and I experienced someone serving me a member of God’s creation.  A landscaper that creates beauty around a new home is serving the creation of God.  The mother who wipes the snotty noses of her little children chasing her around the house is serving the creation God has made.  The grocer who delivers quality groceries to the public is serving God’s creation.  In short all work is sacred and sanctified by God and does these two things:  work expresses our creative nature to improve the world around us and it serves and takes care of God’s creation.  The great reformer Martin Luther wrote these inspiring words about work during his lifetime in the 16th century. 

“The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays—not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”  Martin Luther

My First Trip to Israel

Posted in: Uncategorized by DannyTice on April 28, 2010 | No Comments

I am sitting in a hotel just off the shore of the Sea of Galilee as I write this.  I have a few more days before flying home.  Walking in the land where Jesus came 2000 years ago has made me realize how real Jesus is.  I spent three days in Jerusalem and saw many incredible things.  The most amazing thing was what is loosely called the “Pavement”.  It is under what used to be the Fortress Antonia on the North End of the Temple mount area (where the ancient Jewish Temple used to be).  Many sites of Jesus’ life are speculative – and they aren’t completely sure where they exactly are.  They are very certain this is an authentic site.  The Fortress Antonia was the headquarters of the Roman military in Jerusalem.  It was where Pontus Pilate was when they brought Jesus to him before he had him scourged and then crucified.  We walked under where this building used to be and had to duck our heads under low cement arch ways.  As we climbed down a series of stairs we finally reached the level that was the floor 2000 years earlier, this was the courtyard where the Roman soldiers scourged Jesus.  The archeologist have found engraved on the floor a circle with the Greek letter Beta appearing just below the inscribed circle.  Scholars know what this symbol means.  It was the symbol of what is called the “Game of the Kings”.  The Roman soldiers used to inscribe this on pavement before whipping criminals that were condemned to die.  The person standing in the middle of the circle would soon die.  This cruel game was called the “Game of the Kings”.  I suddenly realized that I was standing exactly where Jesus would have been after he was commanded to be whipped by the Pilate. I stared at the circle on the pavement realizing that this was where Jesus was nearly beaten to death.  I knelt and rubbed my hand on the stone floor and imagined what it must have been like 2000 years ago.  The scholarly Jewish guides showed us where the Via Delarosa would have begun – just a few feet from the circle on the pavement.  “The other sites in Jerusalem of the Via Delarosa are uncertain but this one is certain,” Doran our Israeli guide said.  I moved around from the stone pavement and stood where the bloody Jesus would have begun carrying his cross to Calvary.  One does not need a holy site to feel close to the Lord but this was a special moment for me.  May I never again question God’s love and grace.  His love and mercy are profound.  Jesus really did die for the sins of the world and was resurrected to verify the power of his claims.  On this trip I sat on the steps of the ancient temple, steps that Jesus and the disciples would have walked on.  I went to the Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane – rode in a boat on the Sea of Galilee but visiting the stone pavement was a life changing moment.  His love for you and me is more real that we realize. 

John 19:13-14   13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. NIV

Post Easter Reflections

Posted in: Uncategorized by DannyTice on April 7, 2010 | 2 Comments

It is Wednesday after Easter 2010.  Lots of people were in church on Sunday.  Seating was crammed as well as parking.  Bay Shore Community Church was a fun place to be on Sunday.  There was a lot of energy and excitement in the air.  For me this Easter the Lord impressed upon me to tell the message straight.  There is nothing wrong with creative ways to preach; using humor and stories to engage people in your big idea is definitely a good thing.  Jesus told stories and all great communicators use a variety of methods to make their point useful and memorable.  This year my message was stripped down to just telling the message of the cross and the resurrection.  I discovered that the story of Jesus has inherent power to change people powerfully.  I, like Paul the Apostle many years before me, preached Christ and him crucified.  Paul said to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2:2-5:

“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.  My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” 1 Corinthians 2:2-5  NIV

Ironically we as communicators sometimes believe the message of Jesus needs propping up by our cleverness. The message of the gospel has innate power in and of itself.  Like a seed pregnant with life, the gospel when clearly sown, always bears fruit. In the New Testament book of Romans Paul said, “It is the power of God unto salvation, first for the Jews and then for the Gentiles.”  Romans 1:16.  I am sure the Lord will permit me to share, and even encourage me, to share with humor and with anecdotes and stories in the future but it was not his will for Easter this year.   “Tell the story straight and see what happens” he seemed to say to me.  I told the story straight and people came forward in groups to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.  Some were weeping under conviction – others even shaking with emotion as the gospel pierced their hearts as they fled the judgment of God to find refuge under the tree (the cross).  More people came to Christ this Easter than any Easter I have preached for the past 30 years.  It was an Easter I will not soon forget.  I saw again the fresh power of the gospel.  The story of Jesus is so powerful and bright it clearly eclipses all other human stories – regardless of how good they are.  We as communicators must remember that the gospel is not a story but it is “The Story” and the gospel is the only story that ultimately will alter the future of souls without Christ.  Telling the story straight is always the best way.

Rehoboth Campus Update

Posted in: Uncategorized by DannyTice on March 30, 2010 | No Comments

I wanted to thank everyone for coming to our first onsite meeting @ our Rehoboth Campus.  All of us in attendance sensed the Lord was smiling upon this outreach.  It was an awesome night.  I was so thankful to see over 80 people come to pray and worship as we begin to make a spiritual stand in this part of our community.  I believe the Lord is going to use our love for the people of this area and the power of the gospel to see radical things happen all over Rehoboth and Lewes.  Also our prayers Sunday night are already bearing fruit.  We received the go-ahead today from the State Fire Marshal to proceed with our renovations.  We were told the end of last week that approval could take up to two weeks.  After prayer we received approval in just two days.  We expect the final building permit by the end of the week and we should be fully underway next Monday.  Yeah God!  I love and appreciate each of you and I am very thankful for your partnership in reaching out beyond our current campus.  We are going to see the Lord Jesus do awesome things in Gumboro/Millsboro and Rehoboth this year.  Don’t forget to pray over your prayer list and look for opportunities to share about the new campus with the people you are praying for.  Remember that our next meeting in Rehoboth is 6PM April 11th.  By then we will see some of the renovations underway. Mark this date down and bring somebody with you on April 11.  By the way we will be having some great food at the end of our service that night.  See you then.

Momentum in the Local Church

Posted in: Uncategorized by DannyTice on February 25, 2010 | No Comments

When a church has momentum everything is easy; when a church doesn’t have momentum everything is hard. Momentum brings excitement and fruitfulness. Lack of momentum produces drudgery and boredom. In 30 years of ministry I have experienced momentum and have experienced no momentum; momentum is better. When you have momentum the church board wants your autograph. When you have no “mo” (short for momentum) they want your head on a platter. The early church in the book of Acts had momentum. People were getting saved and healed. The first century church was like a steam roller rolling through the ancient world. Everyone was talking about the apostles and this new movement. The government and archaic religious leaders were threatened by the people of the way. I can’t read the book of Acts without wanting to be there. When my devotions bring me to the book of Acts I am sooo… excited (not the same feeling I get when I am coming up on the book of Leviticus). I think we all need to dream more about being a church like the early church – not so much in form but in spirit. There are two schools of thought on momentum – the mystical school and the practical school. The mystical school says we cannot do anything about momentum. It is a thing of the Spirit and when revival comes every 300 years if we are standing in the right spot in history we will get a rise of “mo” from the Holy Spirit. True indeed – we need the Spirit to breath upon the dark chaos of our ministries but can’t we rub some sticks together to get a little fire going? God blesses people that try new things for him. Momentum comes from climbing out of a perfectly good boat to try to walk on the water with Jesus. Leaders that say – what new thing can we do that would bring freshness to our ministries will discover momentum. Leaders and churches that hum the song, “I shall not be moved,” will experience the spiritual doldrums. Momentum always follows steps of faith. Some examples of steps of faith are: a new satellite campus – redoing the stage in a different color – changing up the order of service or hiring a new exciting staff member. All of these are new things that we can do to produces momentum. The world of marketing understands this and slaps a new and improved label on their products. People grab the cereal they have eaten for years with new gusto because it is “new and improved.” Well you say, “The church isn’t a business and has nothing to do with marketing.” It is not about marketing it is about letting the Spirit lead us into uncomfortable places to do fresh and new things. Doing church the same way every Sunday will cause all momentum to evaporate. Being willing to dream of doing things in a new way is the secret to momentum. All Sundays shouldn’t be the same and every series needs to come from a new angle. After all, the early church was doing everything different from the religious movements before them. No movement had ever done some of the things they were doing. Their movement had momentum because their movement was led by leaders who embraced the new and improved Kingdom of God.

Keeping Balance With Your Schedule

Posted in: Uncategorized by DannyTice on February 17, 2010 | No Comments

One of the things that can bring excessive stress in our lives is over-commitment.  Laziness and slothfulness are sins but so is over-commitment.  Young children seem to have no problem spouting out “no!” when they don’t want to do something (sometimes things mom and dad need to insist on).  Some adults, however, have trouble saying “no”.  They say yes to every person that asks them to do something.  Jesus isn’t Lord of their schedules; their own personal guilt is.  They cram too much into their schedule to try to prove they are a competent and worthy person.  This pitfall was my trap for years.  I said “yes” to everything because I wanted to be a good pastor and a responsible person.  I wasn’t lazy but I fell into the trap of eliminating any margin in my life for fun and relaxation.  Below is a clip from last week’s message: Stress Test – Part 1.  This humorous story illustrates that when we fill our lives with too much it always leads to disaster emotionally, physically and spiritually.

What Happiness & Contentment Must Not be Linked To

Posted in: Uncategorized by DannyTice on February 4, 2010 | No Comments

Happiness that is linked to the stock market will ebb and flow with the condition of our portfolio.  Economic recessions and depressions have often deeply affected people psychologically.  If our happiness is directly tied to our economic situation then we are vulnerable emotionally. Economic issues are usually out of our control so our joy may be hijacked at any moment when our bank account staggers during financial adversity.  If our hearts are tethered to the stock market our joy goes up when the market goes up and our joy goes down when the market plunges.  You as a person are worth more than your portfolio.  You are made in the image of God.  You were made to have a deep and abiding relationship with the Lord.  He loves you and has not left you regardless of where your financial situation is today.  No manner of adversity can separate you from his love and care.  Your value and self-worth must not be tied to what you possess but with who possesses you.  The great news is that God loves you.  He is crazy about you.  Paul said in Romans, “If God be for you who can be against you.” (Romans 8:31)   Someone once said, “If God had a refrigerator your picture would be on it!”  Drink in these words from the pen of the Apostle Paul as he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39

What gives us emotional buoyancy in life is not what we have but who has us.  Meaningful living flows out of a personal relationship with Christ.  An abiding relationship with Jesus will ground and sustain us through the vicissitudes of life.  Jesus succinctly summarized where we find our worth in life.  He distinctively stated that our worth and identity as people should not be built upon possessions but upon our connection with himself. 

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  Luke 12:15