Bill Easums Observations

I’m preparing to speak to the Presbyterian Church of Canada in a couple of months.  They choose as the subject “The Emmaus Project.”  It consists of selected churches from all over Canada.

As I was preparing, I got stuck on the tiny phrase the two pilgrims who walked with Jesus said once he had left them -”Did not our hearts burn within us?”

I think that says it all. The problem today is with our hearts- they don’t burn for Christ.

John Wesley was once asked why so many people came to hear him preach.  His reply-”I set myself on fire and they come to watch me burn.”  I thought about this in relationship to denominations today and here is what I came up with.

They come to Methodist to watch us organize.
They come to Presbyterians to watch them study.
They come to Baptist to watch them fight.
They come to Disciples to watch them scratch their heads.
They come to ELCA’s to see if they can pronounce their funny names.
They come to Disciples to see if they know the meaning of the word.

Oh, don’t get mad. Take it to heart and ask yourself -”When was the last time I cried over my city?” If you can remember a time, then discard the above. If you can’t remember a time, perhaps you should not discard the above.

P.S. If I left your tribe out. Sorry.  Why not send me your take on your Tribe. When they come to you they come to see………..

Over the years I’ve watched pastors do all kinds of work trying to grow their church.  Many of them have brought in a consultant, myself included, and had a thorough examination of their church and a clear directive to the future shared with them only to flounder after the consultant left.

It has become clear to me that the further we go into the 21st century the more important it will be for these pastors to have on-going coaching to achieve their goals. Our times are too complicated and tricky for most pastors to go it alone no matter how good marching orders a consultant may leave behind.

That is why I have shifted more and more of my ministry to both consulting and coaching. It is also why I’ve started what I think will be one of my best ministries.

In March of this year I will begin a new session of what I call the Next Level Coaching Network.  It is designed to help pastors lead their church through the next growth barrier.  I feel this is one of the best ministries I have done in the last 20 years and want to share it with you.

The Network is limited to a small number of lead pastors and includes, phone, Internet, pod and video casts, and in person coaching.

And the beauty of it is you don’t have to leave home to take advantage of it. 

If you want to see the benefits and how it works go to www.nextlevelcoachingnetwork.net

Sorry for not posting in  a while but my wife has been in the hospital going through two surgeries but is doing wonderful tonight and may go home soon. So I’ve been a bit distracted. But God is good and all is well with my wife. That is the good part of this post.

Now to the ugly part.

Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  A good friend of mine was in Haiti on mission work and had just checked into the hotel 5 minutes before the quake hit.  It took some time for them to find him and they flew him to Ft. Lauderdale, but the infection was too severe and he died.  If the quake had hit 10 minutes sooner he would be most probably alive.

My friend served with me on our staff at the church I restarted and served for 24 years.  He was one of the first associates I was blessed to serve along side. Clint Rabb will be remembered for his love and passion for the least, the lost, and the last and the radical ways he showed it.  He served with his heart not the polity. Not always doing it by the book but always doing it the way he saw it through God’s eyes. 

Clint was younger than me and didnt deserve what he got. But I rest assured in the fact that he is now with his maker.

Clint you will be missed.