Posts by Jason Lombard (Page 4)
Let the Score Take Care of Itself
Renowned football coach Bill Walsh led the San Francisco 49ers to success 102 times over his 10-year career in the National Football League (1979 to 1988). Complementing this impressive record, he was able to amass three Super Bowl wins as well (1981, 1984, and 1988). Coach Walsh recounted his journey in a book published in 2009, titled “The Score Takes Care of Itself.”…
Rekindled. Renewed. Relationship.
A large crowd cramped under the white canopy to hear the words of the pastor. It was the middle of an evangelistic campaign and it seemed the congregation only grew larger each night. A member of the visiting choir and mission group, I wandered around the perimeter gazing at the faces and doing my best to understand the pastor’s rapid Spanish monologue. As I rounded a…
Why Do You Serve?
The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men [Note: this means all people, not just males. —JL]. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world.” —The Acts of the Apostles, p. 9 In this space over past weeks, I’ve lauded your efforts as a church body with regard to service, and let me be clear, I have…
Never Stop Learning
As I write this, I’m sitting in the airport at Love Field in Dallas, Texas, on my way back from the North American Division’s (NAD) CALLED meetings in Austin. What a blessing it’s been to attend the first divisional meeting for pastors! I want to affirm the efforts made by our denominational leadership and mention how spiritually refreshed I’ve…
Responding in Service
Over the past few months I’ve seen our membership step up and commit to serving this church at an impressive rate. Not only do we have almost 300 people signed up for H.I.S. Teams, but our estimates show that almost 50% of our average weekly attendees are…
The Most Important Gift
James Harrison has a gift. At first glance, he’s an average 78-year-old Australian grandfather, but he’s credited with saving the lives of countless babies. In 1951, at the age of 14, Mr. Harrison had an operation to remove a lung. During the procedure, he received 13 units of blood. When he awoke and was told of the gift that he’d been given, he decided to become a blood…
In Need of Encouragement
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus showed His need for encouragement. “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death….O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:38) Jesus turned to His Father for encouragement even though His divine nature had full knowledge of God’s salvific plan. Encouragement is…
Encouraged by the Ordinary
It’s easy to think of the disciples as an elevated group that followed Christ—wandering to and fro, teaching and healing in His name. But they were a rag-tag bunch of guys with ordinary lives—each with quirks and issues. However, in them, Christ saw something He could use, and He bid them to follow—committing the totality of their lives to the ministry (Luke 9:2-3).…