Pastor Ken Dyer

I received word this morning that Pastor Ken Dyer will be going home today. On Tuesday afternoon, Pastor Ken had double heart bypass surgery. We give praise to God for the good things He is doing in and for Pastor Ken and ask that you continue to pray for full and speedy recovery.

I love you, but I hate your body

The following is something I read on Pastor Gary Langley's blog today. I just thought it was worth sharing!
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I love you, but I hate your body

If you said those words to your spouse, your marriage would be in serious trouble. In an intimate relationship, our love and affection for one another is most often expressed in various forms of bodily contact.

So why do so many people who claim to love Jesus reject contact with his body, the church?

Yes, I have heard all the reasons... the excuses.

"I can't find a good church in my area." Really? Seriously? With a dozen -- perhaps a hundred -- evangelical, Bible-believing, worshipping congregations within a few minutes of your home, you can't find one that meets your approval? You think maybe, just maybe, all those churches are not the problem after all?

"I was hurt before." Welcome to the real world. In any group or organization composed of people, it is highly likely, perhaps inevitable, that sooner or later somebody will say or do something that hurts you. If you let that keep you away, how do you survive in the workplace? In the mall parking lot, even? If you think people who attend churches get their feelings hurt now and then, you wouldn't believe how thick the pastors skin has to be! Get over it. Grow up. Go to church.

"I just don't seem to fit in anywhere." Then ask the Lord to help you plant a church for other misfits like you. Maybe what you are experiencing is "Divine discontent." The Lord might be allowing you to be an uncomfortable misfit because he has called you to a task you have resisted. Remember that story about Jonah? Avoidance is a bad strategy. Give up, give in, give all.

"Most Christians are just insincere hypocrites." Step away from the mirror, champ. You know the old cliché -- "You'll never find a perfect church, because as soon as you get there..." This excuse is among the biggest smokescreens of them all. Look, here's the bottom line: the church is not just a good idea, it's a GOD idea. It is such an important idea that Jesus gave his life for it. For you to disregard the church, avoid the church, criticize the church from the outside, or -- can we be straight here? -- just get so lazy, self-indulgent, and arrogant that you start to believe 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' should be sending up all kinds of warning alarms in your head and heart, because "you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."

If you love Jesus, love his body.
Go to church.
Get involved.
Take a risk.
Allow yourself to possibly be offended or hurt again.

You can't really love Jesus and disconnect from his body. You wouldn't want to make the body of Christ an amputee, would you?

Read more: "I love you, but I hate your body - Kahu's posterous" - http://kahugary.posterous.com/i-love-you-but-i-hate-your-body#ixzz0Crps5gP3&A

Update on Pastor Ken Dyer

We praise the Lord for His goodness and His favor. Pastor Dyer came through his by-pass surgery yesterday just fine. The surgery took about 2-1/2 hours, a little less than had been anticipated. I received word this morning that he was talking and eating and that he will be leaving the ICU and going to a room a little later today.

There were a host of people who came to the hospital yesterday to offer their prayers and support for Pastor Ken and his family. At one point it seemed that almost half of the waiting room was there for Ken. We appreciate the prayers of all who prayed for Ken and we give praise to God. We are trusting the Lord, too, for a full and speedy recovery.

Easter Service

We had a wonderful service at New Beginnings today. The youth and children did an awesome Easter skit portraying the power of the resurrection. There were 65 people in attendance. This broke our last record attendance of 54 of just a few weeks ago.

I preached on the facts of the resurrection. At the conclusion, 2 people said they had confessed their sins and asked Jesus into their lives. I am so excited to have a part in the awesome things the Lord is doing in the lives of the people of Crossville, and I am looking forward to the future with great anticipation!