In my first dream, I went to a store that I do not frequent. A huge grocery store. Walking in, I noticed that many were not wearing masks. One person had a mask on, and I felt bewildered as I looked about. I watched how people were doing things. There seemed to be a carnival atmosphere. The one with the mask was upset, angry.  

In the second dream, I had driven over 200 miles. Only when I stopped did I realize that the footrest plate was missing on my motorcycle. (How did I ride it over 200 miles with no place to rest my foot?) I decided to drive over to the dealership and get a replacement. When I arrived, there were a lot of folks in front of the counter waiting their turn.  

While I was waiting in line, I felt someone “bump” into me. I turned to see a young friend. Hugging her, she joined me in line. The line moved slowly, and I let another couple of folks jump in front of me. My young friend was not impressed, but suddenly there was no one in front of me. Everyone had disappeared, and I was at the counter. 

I awoke, and I began to contemplate the two dreams. I felt in both it had to do with love. And like Tina Turner, I asked myself, “what’s love got to do with it?” But that was what was being impressed upon me. 

Love-the force and the nature of the Lord Himself. 

I often talk about honor, and in the first dream, the honor was there, but I was missing something. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was about others’ treatment. One of the verses that popped for me was Ephesians 5:6- “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” A more exact translation is, Fathers are instructed not to behave in such a way that causes intense frustration in their children. WHAT? Do not frustrate them? 

In that dream, the dream was not about masks. It was not about the wearing of them or not wearing them. It is about legalism and grace. About love. Too many have adopted a “do as I say and not as I do.”  We must move forward in love.  

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

As believers we must learn to be sacrificial in our actions towards others placing them first. 

I felt the missing footrest in the second dream, which indicated a “walk in another’s shoes.” The experience of not having “rest” and the response. The young woman who came up to me is gay. She came up to me because I have never shown her anything but love. I let others move ahead of us. (Sometimes, our own stuff causes us to back out of one line of legalism into another. This was why my friend struggled with me letting others move ahead.) I believe the experience of seeing everyone “disappear” in front of revealed not only love but love often opens doors we have not seen before. 

Our love for one another is on the table. Will we love? Or will we frustrate or create anger in others? Will we have compassion for those behind us? Will we embrace the rest of the Lord? 

Many believers are walking in anxiety, devoted to worrying, lacking peace, and creating anger in others, all in the “name of the Lord.” Let us not take the Lord’s name in vain… 

Love has everything to do with it! 

The post Dreams Of Change-What Does Love Have to do with it? first appeared on Lee Johndrow Ministries.

“You are a boomer!” 

If you ever heard one of these statements, I hope you realize they are insults. Insults to generations. Insults to children, parents and grandparents. 

The NIV Bible in 1 Peter 2:9 tells us, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” But, the King James tell us, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 
 
A GENERATION-not generations. A chosen people, not “peoples”.  

All connected. All one. Not predicated on age or gender, but a group of people called one. (We don’t pray, “my Father”, but “OUR Father”.) 

This morning, I went to a restaurant to meet a friend for coffee. I went to order my coffee. The young woman, said, “Is that all you want?” I was like, “I didn’t order yet.” She told me my “regular” order and said, “you are royalty here”. Let me say, it was a great start to my day. ???? 

See, that is the other part. We are a royal priesthood. Together! ONE! 

AND WE ARE ONE GENERATION! 

I value the child as much as I value the parent. I honor the child. I honor the parent. I completely believe that “Christ in each one of them is the HOPE of glory.” 

In my own life, I have taken one of my grandchildren, and begun a journey we currently call Lee and Jacob Generations Together. A video channel where we talk about technologies and items of the past and present. (You can follow us on Youtube and/or Facebook.) 

With a young friend, he and I are starting a podcast, called “Bridging the Gap”. He is 30 years younger, but we have built our relationship on our personal diversity. The podcast will talk about things like social media, politics, relationships and more. He would tell you there are lots of areas we might not agree on but how else do we bring resolution, compromise and agreement, without dialog. 

And next week, yet, another young man and I will be talking about politics, religion and more. 

Why do I think those things are important? Because they are PEOPLE! And we will never bridge gaps, stop the tide of division or connect people, if we do not make the effort and hang in there! 

We have talked about respect, but we have failed in so many areas to bring honor. Honor is not earned. It does not expect anything in return. The purpose of honor is to lift up another. Honor will always respect, but respect will not always be honor. 

In this Christly generation, there are age differences, but that ought to not stop us from honor and conversations and actions, that uplift and encourage. 

I know many who are in my generation, who are fearful for what the upcoming generations bring. Their fear is all to often unfounded and yet it continues to be driven by politics, media and social media. I know many in the younger generations who feel older generations have left them with a world of insecurity.  

We need to gather up and begin to walk together.  

I do not profess to have all the answers, but there are a few things I read in scripture. 

Malachi 4:6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. 

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails… 

Each one of those requires faith in the Lord and the willingness to be obedient. I think it is worth it.  

The post Generations? Generation? Are You Listening? Getting It Right first appeared on Lee Johndrow Ministries.

People will be asking “where are they?”

The spirit of division.  

If I have learned one thing about Christ, it is every time I draw a line to keep people “out” I look over to see Christ on the other side of the line with the very people I wanted to “keep out”. And to quote Erin Reagan, maybe the reason for the line being drawn in the sand is so you can erase it! 

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 ESV 

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 

 Division seems to be the way of the day, over the past few years. Because everyone has an opinion, all too often many feel that not agreeing or “agreeing to disagree” (God, help us! When people run around picking their battles, they have already approached it from a place of “war”.) is the way to go.  

Is Christ divided? That is Paul’s question. And perhaps one we need to look at.

In my dream I saw the “spirit of division” causing issues that allowed the enemy to “dislocate” people. To remove them from the presence of others. To get them distracted from the place of Christ and unity. And like sheep to the slaughter, they leave the safety of friends and family. 

I felt like I was watching the conversation between Lot and Abraham. Lot choosing the lusher, peaceful, comfortable place. We all know how that worked out… 

I awoke from this and lay there for a long time.

The enemy of our soul causes division. People just follow it. Like a general in battle he caused division. People began to go their own way. Or so they thought… 

And there was the deception. Rather than knowing that they were being led away, they just left. 

For the last few years, I have told people that social media was dividing us. I did not mean it was us doing the division, but that was the result. In an effort for social media, to keep people on, their algorithms were keeping parties apart over their values and beliefs. Without social media people would have conversations with one another and in many cases worked out their differences.  

Behind a screen, people became more outspoken because in many respects there was no way to “see” what was going on so people said “whatever” and began to operate outside of feedback. The algorithms made it easier to divide, to draw lines and to exclude. Steering people with their deceptions. I do not think it was inherently evil, but really began out of the desire to have “market share”. 

The results included the return of tribal thinking and greater disagreement and division began to arise. (Please remember, I am only talking about the spiritual implications, but it certainly can cross over into politics and more. And certainly those physical realms are the ones social media can monitor and control.) No longer were we one. While we began with “there is unity in diversity” it became clear that people soon wanted to be with their ilk, their kinds. (An Old Testament reference from Genesis.) 

And the slide began. People soon began to be splintered, divided, and broken. 

Romans 16:17-18 ESV 

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 

This is the realm the church can work in. That they can labor in. I saw a post of a bunch of men with Bibles in their hands. Christ was speaking to them. “You read the scriptures to learn how to love, I love to know how to read the scriptures.” 

Hmmm… 

The enemy has removed boundaries and made them walls.  

As the dream continued I saw cattle in two large pens. One group crowing about how they had left the others behind and “boy, didn’t it feel good to be free”.  The other group in a pen not visible to the others, boasting about how they had won, “good bye and good riddance to them”. 

What neither of them saw was that both trails from each place lead to the same “slaughterhouse” or abbatoir. The word abbatoir means “fell”. 

There is a “falling” coming and I believe it is a shakeup that we could avoid. An opportunity now, that we could embrace. 

I am reminded of the tribes and decisions. Joshua still counted them Israel, and the 3 tribes Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh fought alongside the others. 

While God is calling us together, people are using offence, politics and more as a reason to divide.  

I say to you in all humility, beware the spirit of division and the accompanying thinking. Be careful what you place as an idol(s) over the Christ and His commandment to love. 

It is not the first time, people called out for a king, or built a golden calf out of fear. 

As I sit here at a table of communion, I recognize the body of Christ. 

The post Look out! Where Will The Spirit of Division Lead us? first appeared on Lee Johndrow Ministries.

I want to give you a little of my pre-Christianity or pre-kingdom history. 

I was born in New England. My dad, “a lapsed Catholic” and my mom, who leaned more towards the Episcopalian and Congregational church thinking. My mom was the one who “took us to church”. But truth be told, other than the social piece, church gatherings seemed to have little to do with the Bible.  

For 35 years, I leaned more towards what many calls “alternate religions”. And then one day, Christ appeared to me. And my life changed. 

And that line in the sand, forced me to review the last 30 years. To evaluate my spirituality. Because of my “alternate religions” and beliefs, several well-meaning Christians had confronted me. And a number of them were not “nice” about it. Conversely, there were folks who were sincere and spent the time to talk to me. 

I grew up in the 60s. Vietnam, Woodstock, assassinations and moon landings. I was part of the “love generation”. Years later, I found the histories of the Jesus Movement and the Jesus People. Christianity in many respects, spilled out across the nation.  

And during it all, legalism and “conservative Christianity” came. Just as in the Bible, lines were being drawn.  Those lines were no longer being brought about “in the church” but now they were reaching out into the world at large.  

Before my move to Christianity, I watched over the years, what I call “isolationism”. I saw and heard about the camp areas, communes and communities where Christians were gathering.  (You can even think on Jim Jones and Guyana.) 

When I would ask about them, I was told that there were basically two schools of thinking that were out there.  

One group wanted to “be not part of the world” and the other, wanted to practice Acts 2:41-47. (Unfortunately, the full scripture for the first one, is, As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. … as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. For the second it was the practice in Acts 2:41-47 where the community comes together. BUT, in Acts, it was open to others. To the people of the community.) 

I even had a group of folks in our fellowship as Y2K approached that decided that they needed to isolate. The results were frightening. My first church isolated a lot from other fellowships and gatherings. Over time a flourishing group deteriorated. These things are not healthy on ANY level. 

Any time the church gets into a return to tribal thinking, we begin to exercise exclusion instead of inclusion. The very antithesis of God’s message to us. 

For years many heard the messages of the history of the previous 30-50 years. The periods of missed opportunities. Bad words and teaching increased personal debt, many never saw education and others grew up in place of no love. 

Christ died for all of us. His prayer in John for unity. His death was for the whole world. 

We are called to go out into all the world. We sit on a great opportunity. Let us not repeat the history of past  generations and isolate. We must avoid the tribalization that many are seeking.  We are called to be light and light in the world. To be salt. We cannot provide that by the process of isolation. 

The changes we seek will not happen without our participation. 

Let us not miss our chance. 

Matthew 13:24-30. 

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The post Take the time to Let Your Light Shine first appeared on Lee Johndrow Ministries.

Each day social media is filled with rants and raves.  The airwaves overwhelmed with statements of who is right and who is not. 

This week, the Pope, talking on Lent, said in partially improvised remarks, “is a time to give up useless words, gossip, rumours, tittle-tattle and speak to God on a first name basis,” he said. 

“We live in an atmosphere polluted by too much verbal violence, too many offensive and harmful words, which are amplified by the internet,” he said. “Today, people insult each other as if they were saying ‘Good Day.'” 

One of the things that each one of us must deal with on a regular basis is what I share often which is, “how do we lift up the oppressed without destroying the oppressor?  

We are not called to be social justice warriors. If our anger at someone causes us to destroy the oppressor, it is because we have not understood the heart of the Father. If we choose sides in relationship disputes whether it be a friend’s marriage, friends or even workplace, we put ourselves at risk for being judgmental. We know that the Bible says that “by the measure, we judge so shall we be judged”.  What about the reaping of what we sow? (Even the world believes in karma.) 

How does this exemplify, “love others”? Matthew 22:39 tell us to “love our neighbors as we love ourselves”. 

Where does that leave us? All too many are trying to say that keeping toxic people out of our lives is okay, but as you walk with Jesus you find out that He did not do that. He walked with them. He may have brought correction to their lives, but He did not close the door on them. 

“Who is my neighbor” Jesus is asked. He tells the story of the “good Samaritan”, considered “lower class”, who stepped up to the plate, when a man was injured, even though a priest and a Levite walked on by. He showed mercy. He got “involved”.  

There are a healthy method and manner to this process, and it’s called boundaries. Boundaries bring freedom. Without boundaries, neither side knows where they’re at and that is where the problems begin. Boundaries are not a wall to keep people out, but in fact more like a fence that’s either movable or has you with the ability to open the gate. (Walls not only keep people out; they keep you in.) Jesus did not shy away from toxic people. I do not think we ought to either.  

In reading a book about the pains of the church regarding sexual abuse, physical abuse and emotional abuse, and toxicity, I think many have missed the reality of biblical correction and help.  The Bible has in place the method and manner to work with and deal with people on both sides of the equation. Unfortunately, all too often that has not been the way that it is been done. This connotes a bigger conversation then I’m going to put out here in this writing. There certainly is much out there to help people with these things. On both sides of the issue. 

If we consider people with varying degrees of mental illness or toxicity, how do we handle that? If we choose sides in the middle of relational disputes, do we really believe that’s the walk of the Lord Jesus? What do we do when abuse has or is occurring? 

We are called to love those don’t look like us, think like us or love like us. Maybe they don’t pray, speak like us, or heaven forbid, vote like us. Is there an exception to the rule? What about their mental health challenges? Or their immigration status? Maybe it is their sexual orientation or their economic status. Have we hit the exception yet? Gender, disability, religion or race? I think Jesus would say, “show mercy”. 

Part of what Jesus did was bring equality to all.  

A few days ago, I had a dream, and, in that dream, there was a young man whose father yelled at him all the time. He embarrassed him, beat him down and in that dream, I found myself working to speak with the father. He would not listen to me, and just kept up with the toxicity and angry behavior. Later in the dream, I found myself spending time with the young man who was beaten down and disappointed. He and I talked about boundaries, honor and his own value. We talked about joy. I shared how we wanted to see him restored, and yet, not allow his father’s behavior to cause him to lash out or do something he might regret. He began to move in the discovery of those things. Dad did not change right away, but the boy did. One day we were out in the yard in a greenhouse of sorts, and the father came out with tears in his eyes, crying out with anguish and despair. He apologized. 

One of the fruits of the Spirit is longsuffering. It is called that for a reason. That is not to suggest that abuse is okay. Just that bailing out is not often the option

We have made up many rules about things, but if we practice the principles of the Kingdom, things change. Sometimes things are not a “quick fix”. Nor is it the time to run and hide. The goal ought not to be the restoration of a ministry or even relationships, so much as they ought to be the restoration of one’s soul. 

The church is messy, even when it is “all things are done in an orderly fashion”. God is not afraid of the messes. (He was born in a manger.) 

If we “take a break” from something “toxic” and do not work on ourselves we have missed much of the point.  If we constantly avoid what is painful we will not change. Shy away from those we disagree with and our growth will be slow. 

This morning, I wrote this… 

How is that rant working? Do you find it really makes you feel better? Do you see it changing the world other than perhaps a few likes? 

What usually works, is loving one another, participating in your community or neighborhood, writing letters or voting, and believe it or not … praying.  

In the lingo of “professional facebookers“, end of rant. 

Love is and always be the answer. To the questions, many dare not to ask. 

The blessed John the Evangelist lived in Ephesus until extreme old age. His disciples could barely carry him to church and he could not muster the voice to speak many words. During individual gatherings, he usually said nothing but, “Little children, love one another.” The disciples and brothers in attendance, annoyed because they always heard the same words, finally said, “Teacher, why do you always say this?” He replied with a line worthy of John: “Because it is the Lord’s commandment and if it alone is kept, it is sufficient.” 

This is from Jerome’s Commentary on Galatians, 6:10. Andrew Cain, the translator of this edition of Jerome’s commentary, suggests that “the source for this story was possibly Hegesippus’s Memoirs via either Clement of Alexandria or Origen.” However, none of the works of Hegesippus survive, so this is speculation. 

Is it not time to bear the burdens of another?  

Lift up the oppressed without destroying the oppressor. 

The post Lifting up the oppressed without destroying the oppressor first appeared on Lee Johndrow Ministries.

I met this young man over 20 years ago. An up and coming author, soon to be church leader, he was engaging and real. 

This is not about him, his separation, his book, or his choices… 

It IS about the church. Not the building, but people. Even leaders. 

This morning, I was watching a Facebook post, that said “see you in hell”. Another made light of the fact.  WHAT!!! 

Paul tells us in Galatians 5:13, You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. 

The BOLD is my emphasis. So, much for loving others. It would say to others, there is not much love for one’s self. And that the method and manner will lead to destruction. Not his, but those who bite and feed on these things. 

I could fill this page with scriptures, but to what avail. 

I am disappointed in those who condemn and look to make a name for themselves. Were it be you, would you not want prayer, love and compassion? 

Paul would probably bring this up… Romans 1:29-30 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 

It matters not what I think, but what God thinks. To paraphrase, the Wendy’s lady, “Where’s the love?” 

1 Corinthians 13: 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 

For the love of God…STOP! 

Pray for this family, the children, and please, get off your high, judgmental horse. If you want to make a difference, it begins, with you. 

The post Stop The Judgement! Love as you are loved first appeared on Lee Johndrow Ministries.

HELP!

I made the decision to go interactive with them, to push them on scripture, to challenge them. They rose to the top, like a fish on a fly. And they became bolder, louder, even aggressive. The “class clowns” were coalescing into young men wanting to fill the stadium.

This dream revealed something to me.

Lay down your old school thinking. Focus on love, helping others and coming together to celebrate Him. Spend time with Him. Address challenges with the words of Him. Align your life with His for you.

Division is on our land. (Read the news.) As a history buff, I can tell you the enemy is laying “powder kegs” of entrapment. DO NOT BE DISMAYED. LOVE WINS. Wield love. Jesus fought with a towel around His waist here on earth. NOT a sword.

Do not let nationalism and Americanism be your banner. His banner over you is LOVE. We can be proud of our country, but always keep in mind we are aliens, sojourners. (Think about that.  Genesis 23:4, Deuteronomy 10:19, Leviticus 19:34, Colossians 3:11, Revelation 21:3)

If we spread love, if we serve others, EVERYTHING CHANGES!

Perhaps, I would not have posted it, had I not gone to coffee with some in our fellowship.

We had a good gathering for coffee and Jesus. I got there early. As I listened to the music being played in the restaurant, these were part of the lyrics…
When the walls come down
When the walls come down
When the walls come down
When the walls come downOne by one I’m seein’ them fall
Some just don’t show up at all
I’m just here to fight the fire
Oh, a man ain’t a man unless he has desireAnd the walls come down
And the walls come down
When the walls come down
When the walls come down

Do I think God is trying to say something? Obviously, I do.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. Today is the next best day.

Today is 7/17. Interesting date. Noah’s ark came to rest in the 7th month on the 17th day. Noah and his family stepped out of the ark into a brand new world. Now it’s your turn to step into a brand new world. The flood of misery is over.

It is time to love.

The post Dreams FOr The Future first appeared on Lee Johndrow Ministries.

And then, I heard the words “judgement free”. Now, lots of people use those words, including Planet Fitness, but, what does it mean to the church at large? 

I have thought about this a lot over the last 24 hours or so. I want to be “without judgement” when it comes to others. To be accepting, gracious and caring. Loving the unloveables, as it may be. I thought about my own fellowship I oversee. What would, or does the outsider think? I ended up at this place called “perception”.  Perhaps 90% of our life is predicated upon perception. Not reality, but perception. Mind blindness, Paul would say.

It is one thing to be willing to accept prayer for a broken arm, but how about an STD? (I know silent or unspoken prayer requests. Not making fun of them, but where is our love?) Would we even dare ask? (Or would we rely on the prophetic voice to “call it out”?) What about issues with OCD, or anxiety and depression? Lots of people are coming out about “their mental illness” but do they feel like they can ask for prayer? Why would they not want prayer or feel they could ask?  

Perhaps it comes down to people. Not the person with the illness, but the people in the room.  Is not having time for others the antithesis of all we preach, all we ascribe to? Perhaps the “curse” of busyness or perfectionism is an illness in itself. 

What about the man or woman who cannot speak without a showering of cursing? Or the one who is always “down” with their conversations, negative and depressing? Do they feel judgement when others avoid them or “look down” upon them? 

Over the last few years I have made some decisions to be a friend to some going through terrible times. Not a mentor. Not a coach. Not a church leader. A friend. My purpose was to be nothing more than a friend. I think I have done okay. But it is not the friends that I have purposed to be friends to that I stumble with.  It is the ones that “sneak” up on me. The ones that get by my radar before I know it.  

Do I look down? Do I think I have the answers? Do I even know all that is going on? 

Why is that dad out drinking away? Or the mom unable to console her child? Or the young girl in need of a shower? 

I think we all want to think we have the answers, but really… the only answer is love. 

I am tired of the things that take away from relationships. Social media has made us closer and further away. What a dichotomy. STOP! 

We are divided over sex, life, gender and all parties are crying out, but to paraphrase Wendy’s, “where’s the love?” Certainly, not in political debates or declarations of “I’m right”. 

To be a “no judgement” zone we will first need to remove the judgement of our lives that we often go over and over, trying to be better. We can sing about no shame or guilt, or free from chains, but have we believed it. But is that not where we focus on the Lord and His love for us and allow His grace to permeate our lives? 

Only when we begin to have hope that we will be restored and made whole, do I think we will open our arms and our hearts to the person walking in brokenness. And to be judgement free, we will have to remove the filters of “that’s the way they are”, or “you know where they are coming from”. 

Let’s begin to reach out to the broken. Not keep them isolated. Too many are falling away from the goodness that a community can bring, because love has not prevailed. Let’s change that. We will always have crying children, folks who are broken and those with attitudes, BUT if we do not look through eyes of love, we will always be in judgement of others. And if the church cannot be judgement free, where will it begin? 

Let’s change the world for the better. 

The post Judgement Free? Our choice? first appeared on Lee Johndrow Ministries.

But are we ever going to say, “good bye”? I am not talking about the spiritual piece, for that is so important, but the places he will be “seen”.  In his children and grandchildren, for instance. In many of the folks who gather tomorrow. In the people of the community and the region. In places and people, many will never know. 

The impartation remains. The legacy he has left continues. (How many for so many reasons will not be there, that he sowed into? I wonder. Proverbs 13:22: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.”) 

What does it look like? How will it take shape? 

Many years ago, he and I were praying about a situation and I was struck by his childlike faith. 

One of my favorite areas of his life, that I admired about my friend, was the area of prayer. When he prayed, you could sense the humility and the wonderment in his voice, whether it be for an individual, the church fellowship, or a community and region. The simplicity of his prayer, in the expectation, was always there. 

I recollect a time, he and I, along another local pastor traveled, to a prayer summit. It was a great time of fellowship, and friendship. (Perhaps one of the most fun things that happened, was that the three of us roomed together. It was about 4 in the morning and there was a knock on the bathroom door. He asked me what I was I doing sleeping in the tub. I explained to him that the snoring didn’t allow me to sleep so I figured I ought to come into the bathroom and pray a while, laying in the tub with a couple of towels inside of it. He just laughed and said what do you expect from old men.) He had been instrumental in our area and bringing leaders of fellowships together to pray for the region, the state and the nations. His times of prayer and praying were one of the many reasons I was attracted to him in our early days together. 

And he was never too prideful to ask for prayer. (Not all leaders were or are like that.) He would sometimes share the most painful or personal things to be prayed for. He was authentic. 

He desired to see unity. And he did not just pray for it, he worked hard to maintain it. 

Seeking unity was one of the things I truly admired about my friend. His willingness to do as much as he did for the cause of unity. It could be a pastor’s meeting or a get together with others.

In the late 90’s, I had a dream, related to unity. He and 3 other leaders were in that dream. We began to talk about it, and he encouraged me to contact the others. We met in his home. And the dream began to be real. Thank God for his heart for unity. Our first meeting took place a month later. From around New England and New York, they came. 60 men and women.  

Out of the five us who originally met, four of you have gone home to be with the Father. Out of that 60, there are 7 of us left in ministry.)

He often opened his Church Fellowship and the building to a call for Unity across the region. Whether it was a night of worship or a night of Prayer or simply a gathering of leaders to break bread he never thought twice about it. He truly was an ambassador for the sake of unity often crossing barriers that others had put in place that people make feel welcome. 

He taught me to include, rather than to exclude. 

A few years later I was going through a very tough time, losing my mom, stepmom, spiritual dad and having my son in a coma in just a few short months. Besides the phone calls, he made trips to let me know as long “as I swing the bat” I was still in the game.

Death is neither timely, nor convenient.

I thank you for the heart and thinking, that you have shared with me.

I will be adding to this in the near future.

The post Requiem For A Friend Part 2 first appeared on Lee Johndrow Ministries.

18 years my senior. A generation. A nothingness and a forever. 

This week I rode my motorcycle on one of the trips we used to ride together on. In remembrance. To see, if I would see you. A little celebration of your life. 

How often I left seeing you these past few years, with tears in my eyes, because I saw the struggle from who you were to what you were faced with, in terms of physical health. The times you asked me to pray. Wanting the restoration of your health.

Many would have described you as a “man’s man”.  In so many areas you were. Even just a few years ago you came to help at my home, to get it back in place after the destruction. (My thoughts were a “man’s man” that was “hard” on the outside, but marshmallow on the inside.  You were so kindhearted. ) How many times I saw you jump in to help others. 

A man who cared deeply for the underdog, the down trodden, who wept openly over the pain of others. Jesus would have been a “man’s man” and He was in good company with you. You wore your heart on your sleeve.  

I remember the first time I met you. We were at Lake George. A couple’s advance. They had a men’s morning devotion in a stone building. You were the speaker. You presented a message, that was simple, loving and touched my heart. It was on taking care of others. In 15 minutes of your sharing, I knew we would be connected. We met after breakfast, by the horseshoe pits and agreed to get together when we returned home. 

I was a new church leader. I knew little about many things. You offered to be part of the journey. 

I would like to say I followed up immediately, but I had my own things going on. But there came a point where we connected. God, motorcycles, business, family. 

And the early morning phone calls between us. 7 AM seemed to be our best time, and there were times it seemed like we were on the phone Monday through Friday. 

I wanted to get this writing out in one “fell” swoop, but like the process of grief often is, I am overcome with emotion and pain. I remember you and I had a conversation one time, about life when it didn’t “hurt” to go through difficult times. We laughed as we remembered the pain of loss. You shared about your folks, the Marines and more. We ended up crying. 

Because there is so much to say and to honor you, this is but a “part 1”. 

To those reading, I will be placing a part 2 in the next couple of days. 

The post Requiem For A Friend Part 1 first appeared on Lee Johndrow Ministries.