Jason Daughdrill

Weeping Prophets

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 01:50:26 +0000

There has been a lot of talk lately about gay marriage, homosexuality, and the church’s response. It seems that people have opinions and they are not bashful in sharing them. Let me say there is a danger in getting distracted with certain sins so that we will not deal with our own. Church this is time to have a Spirit-led response to our world and ourselves.

It is easy for me to stand here with my finger pointed at weak preaching, homosexuality, and those that condone it, but in the midst of it all miss the work the Spirit is doing in me. Don’t get me wrong, homosexuality is a sin. I do not support nor recognize gay marriages. However, I pray that I don’t miss out on the Spirit-led response to those caught up in this sin. I also pray that I don’t get so fascinated with the sin of others that I can’t see the sin I need to get out of my own life.

With that said, if we really love people the way that we say we do, we must not be silent about the sin that is destroying them. We have the answer and we must present it in a loving but truthful way. I don’t believe love can exist where truth is hidden, and truth can be untruthful when not saturated with the love of God. The emerging tendency of some to avoid discussing tough issues appears to have more to do with the desire to be accepted and less to do with love for the other person. This is the epitome of selfishness.

In some ways the times that we are living in are exciting times for the Church. We are re-imagining our response to a lost and dying world. We are people that carry hope in a world that is hopeless. We live by faith in a world that is looking for something to believe in, and we offer loving community to a world that is lonely in the midst of crowds. Our lives should bear witness of the sacrifice of Jesus and His embodiment of truth. To effectively reach a cynical world we must prove the love we so eagerly proclaim. With that said, ignoring blatant sin is not the answer.

So, we begin the dance! The dance of being led by the Spirit. One thing about the prophets in the Old Testament is that they were faithful to God’s message. One that I especially love is Jeremiah. He spoke the words he never wanted to say, and he did it with tears in his eyes. Father, may my heart be so full of compassion for the lost that truth is always enveloped with a love that can not be denied. Otherwise I am untruthful in my telling of the truth.

What I Wish I Had Been Told Before Ministry

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:08:00 +0000

1. Guard against doing for God without being with God.
It is far too easy to get caught up doing ministry and end up wondering where the Master is in the midst of your busyness. I have went through seasons of ministry where my calendar is full and I am constantly on the go. Trust me when I say that I am not the only one that faces a busy life in ministry. Most ministers work well over a 50 hour week and are constantly on call. It is what it is, but I have had to be intentional not to miss God in the midst of all the good stuff I do. Sadly, there have been times I have missed Him.

Make sacred space in your life and put it on your calendar. Set appointments with God and make it nonnegotiable. You can only give from the depths and riches of the well you have cultivated in your own life. Monitor weekly your time with God and make sure you do no lose the Master in the midst of ministry.

2. People will want more from you than you can possibly give.

I love being a pastor! Really, I love it! My mind can’t fathom doing anything else with my life. The call to be a pastor is in me and I wouldn’t want it any other way. However, I have a tendency to be a people pleaser. All of my life I have tried to impress those that I respect. Whether it was grades, athletics, or how much I could bench press, I had a goal of impressing those I respected. In ministry this will kill you!

Let me paint a scenario for you. Imagine you pastor a church of 150 people. In this church there are people that love you and care about you. 30 of those 150 want a “best friend” relationship with you. Such an amazing problem to have, but there is only one you and only so many hours in a week. It is humanly impossible to maintain that many inner circle relationships. When you don’t live up to the expectations some people will be offended.

Be honored that people love and respect you, but don’t spread yourself too thin. Create healthy boundaries that allow you (pastor) to be a healthy and whole person.

3. You will not always feel God, but know that He is there.

When I first came into the Kingdom it was blissful. Every time I prayed I felt goosebumps from head to toe. When I prayed for people it felt like holy fire was rushing over my entire body. Back then I did not walk as close to God as I do now. I still had struggles and my devotional life was pretty weak, but man I sure felt God.

I have found over the years in ministry that there are still times that I am overwhelmed with sensations and manifestations in His presence. However, there are other times when I don’t feel a thing! I still had to take the pulpit to preach, and still had to pray for the sick in the altar. In ministry you will at times have to function out of sheer faithfulness. It’s ok though, because it only made my walk with Christ grow deeper. It made me appreciate those special graces of His manifest presence.

Even when you do not feel Him… He is always there!

4. Measure success by obedience instead of results.

There are so many variables that affect results. Will the person in their freewill respond to God? Will someone in your church stir up division? Will that person that is financially able obey the Spirit and fund that ministry project? All of these things are out of your hands but have a significant impact on results. If you measure success by results then all of your joy and worth is placed in the hands of others.

With that said, the only one you can control is you. Faithfulness and obedience to Christ is the only true measure of success. I wish I would have known this early on in ministry. I can tend to fall into the trap of comparing myself to others. Are my sermons as good as his or hers? Is our church growing as rapidly as theirs? This is a slippery slope!

We are conditioned to think this way. We measure our report cards as kids, athletics teach us to compete, and our capitalistic society teaches us to fight to get to the top. Nothing is wrong with godly ambition, but my joy is not found in the results but rather in the journey. If I walk obediently then I know I have done my part in the Kingdom. This give me something I can really strive for that is a lasting accomplishment.

Remember that it is God that gives the increase. Just position yourself for God to use your life for His glory… that is success!

5. There will be times you want to quit.

My family and I have went through some very difficult times in ministry. I could go into detail, but lets just say that there have been times we have thought about walking away from ministry. We would never walk away from Christ, but wounds that come from working in ministry can drive you to want to get your family as far away from the mess as possible.

We didn’t quit. It wasn’t because we are so great and the desire never entered our hearts, but rather it was the divine call that would always override us pulling the plug on ministry. For a season I felt like I was a failure for even having these feelings. I thought all of these other great men and women that are giving their life for the Kingdom never entertain such ideas. Sadly, it gave me comfort to find out that I am in no way the only one that felt such things.

Whoever you are, and whatever God is calling you to, understand that a time will come when you question if it is worthwhile to keep going. That is a question you will have to answer yourself as you cultivate your calling. I will say this though… I am so thankful that we didn’t give up!

Dreams Opposed

admin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 22:15:47 +0000

Success… Victory… Mission accomplished… We did it! These are all words that we long to hear. Day by day we go about our business working toward our dreams and goals. Sometimes those dreams feel like they are so close to realization that we can taste it, and at other times realized dreams feel like an idealistic Never-land. Something we long for, pray for, but in the back of our minds we are not sure if we are ever going to see it come to pass. Dreams become mere tales that inspire children, but we have moved on to the “real world”.The more I read the Bible the more I am convinced every dream from God faces intense opposition. We have to choose whether we will fight for realization or file it away in our drawer of distant memories.

Throughout the Word of God people faced opposition to the dreams God had placed in their life. Joseph is one that immediately comes to mind. He had a great dream of reigning, only to find himself a slave in Egypt. David got the word that he would be king, but found himself hiding in caves. Peter got the word that he would be a fisher of men, but found himself in brokenness as he denied His God. Every great story, whether it be the true stories of the Bible or other great literature, has a conflict. Do not expect to go through life and journey toward your dream without conflict. Often it is the conflict that makes the story powerful and reveals the protagonist and antagonist. Our place in, and response to, the conflict reveals our allegiance and dictates our future. Conflict is inevitable because we live in the middle of a war-zone! Since humanity partook in treason, by listening to the serpent in the garden, open war has been taking place in creation. The dreams God gives us are not for self-gratification, but are strategic war-plans meant to advance His kingdom and set the captives free. This is the key for all of us. Make sure the dreams you have are from God and then depend on His Spirit to empower you to see it through to completion. There is no other way but by His revelation and empowerment.

With that said, we all know Joseph ended up reigning, David ended up as king, and Peter caught 3,000 people at Pentecost. The dreams of these men came true, but there can be just as many examples of unrealized dreams. I want to encourage you to keep going after Christ! Keep chasing Jesus because in the pursuit of Him you find wholeness. Do not allow your dream, ministry, or calling to become an idol. It all begins with God and ends with God. He is the Alpha and the Omega to all things, including your life and dreams. This is where we find our rest! This is where we find our joy! This is where peace surpasses understanding! We keep going because He strengthens us, and the farther we go the more we realize that we can’t make another step without Him. That’s the point isn’t it?

Just Like Jesus

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:48:22 +0000

Sunday morning we talked about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. The culture around us screams that life is all about what we can get and how much power we can attain. Being a disciple redefines success and points us to a more excellent way… the Way of Jesus. That means that discipleship is a journey to be lived out, rather than a lesson only to be understood.

We traced discipleship back to the first century and how the Jewish people made disciples. We noted some primary observations from this study:

Discipleship begins in childhood. (Don’t overlook the importance of formation in children)
Discipleship is very Word focused. (Children memorizing the entire Torah)
Discipleship is a process. (Jewish stages Betz Safare, Bet Talmud, & Bet Midrash)
Discipleship breaks down the sacred/secular divide. (It affects all of life)
At the heart of Discipleship is being just like our Rabbi (teacher, master)

Jesus did not call us to be disciples in order to recite the stories of His life. He called us to be His disciple so that we may relive the stories of His life, and be just like Him. John 14:12 states:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also;

and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

Isn’t that amazing? The God of all creation, incarnate in the flesh, said that we are to do what He did and even greater works. This pushes us beyond the teaching that Jesus is the exception. Many times we hear that Jesus did (fill in the blank), so I don’t have to. Understanding what it means to be a disciple awakens us to the reality that Jesus is not the exception, but the example. He served, so I serve. He loved, so I love. He went to the cross, so I will take up mine. When the people of God embrace this radical call to follow Jesus we will see the reality of Acts 17:6 as the world is turned upside down. We can/should/are called to change the world.

I want to challenge you to examine your life. Look at your patterns (the rhythm of your life). Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas you need to better imitate Christ. This is the beauty of sanctification.

I will leave you with a verse to reflect on. I would also ask that you read this verse and then enter a time of prayer. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit for understanding and application. Then just sit in the silence and listen.

“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”

– 1 John 2:6 NKJV

Why Blog?

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:03:46 +0000

It was a stormy evening in Whitwell, TN. Sylvia, the boys, and I were staying at the church because of a black mold problem in the parsonage. Due to the weather we decided not to allow the boys to watch TV or play any games. Motivated by a bit of boredom, Trevan found my journal and began reading. I was about to learn a major lesson on the value of writing down your thoughts.

Trevan found a page that I had written a few days earlier in a hotel. That day I wrote down some covenant statements to the LORD. I wrote about how I would “covenant to love and lead my family to Christ.” I would covenant to “model humility and love.” I wrote about things that I felt were vitally important for my family. What happened next brought me to tears.

Trevan found a pen and began to write in my journal. He wanted total privacy and decided to go into my office. After he had finished writing in my journal he placed it back in its place and went to bed. I opened my journal and found a page and a half of Trevan writing out his own “covenant statements”. He wrote things like, “I covenant to be a better brother.”, and “I covenant to love Jesus and my family with all my heart.”. I will never forget that night and how vividly I am reminded that our children are watching. We have such an opportunity to impact and mold the lives of our children. God please help me be the man I need to be!

With that said, I have found extra motivation to blog. As much as this blog is a place for me to get ideas out there, and share my heart with the world. It is especially a place for me to chronicle my heart and faith journey for my children. I am saving the word document of each blog and will present them to my sons when the time is right. So, I pray this blog is a blessing to you. I pray that you glean something of value that will encourage you in your walk with Christ. I also pray that my journey will be an inspiration to my boys and create in them a hunger to continue the pursuit of Christ.

Blessings!