I have a 2008 Ford Edge. Does that make me a “Ford Man?”

I have been married to the same beautiful women for over 30 years. Does that make me a “One Woman Man?” Okay, I don’t really mind that label…

When people ask me about the church I co-pastor, Remnant, I try to explain it the best I can. Invariably, if the person asking is a pastor of another church my answers lead to more questions. Then the labels come.

“Oh, so Remnant is ‘seeker-sensitive’?” Um, yeah, we try to be sensitive to everyone.

“Oh, you are a ‘niche church’, reaching out to certain types of people?” Sure if you consider anybody with a pulse a certain type of person.

“Oh, you are a ‘modern church?” Well, yes, we use modern things like music and preaching to reach out to people. So, I guess we’re modern.

Why are we so caught up with labels? Why do we struggle so hard to put churches or people into little tiny boxes? Soren Kierkegaard said, “Once you label me, you negate me.” When we label somebody or something, we are saying that we know everything about them. We have enough information to put them in a certain cubby-hole and that somehow makes us feel better. The problem is that labels are not always accurate, and they certainly don’t tell the whole story.

What about the label of Christian? Do you call yourself a Christian? If so, what does that mean? It has become a generic term these days, and people use it far too loosely. Christian literally means “one who follows Christ” or “one who is like Christ.” Now ask yourself if the term Christian applies to you.

I most often these days call myself a Christ Follower instead of Christian. No matter how hard I try, I am not like Christ. I do my best, but I am far away from his level. I follow his teaching, I follow the way he asked me to live, I follow his guidance. I told Remnant last week that the greatest threat to Christianity isn’t another religion, or drugs, or anything else, it is people who call themselves Christians and don’t live it.

Dropping the labels brings freedom. Pastor Craig Groeschel said, “Peeling off the labels that cling to our reputation brings great freedom for us as individuals and as the global body of believers known as the Church. Only when we push past those artificial constraints can we truly become who God created us to be.”

There are a lot of people who have not rejected Christ, but they have rejected his church. They still want to know more about Jesus, they just may not want to do it in a church setting because they have labeled “church” as something negative. “Oh, I grew up in church, I don’t ever want to go back.” If that is how you feel, maybe, just maybe, you need to look at church again. Take a look at three or four if you need to. My guess is that unless you are totally close-minded, you will find one that hits you in the right way.

As for me, I just keep doing my thing. Following Jesus and his teachings, and trying to be the best follower of his I can be. Am I perfect? No, and if you don’t believe me ask my wife! But I am trying to show the world that someone who follows Christ can be positive and make a mark for good wherever they go.

Peeling off labels… Jerry

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So, of course, I am going to just walk away from her. Oh, I will do it over time, not all at once. I’ll begin by not talking to her as often. I will keep things to myself, enjoying life. I will still talk to her in times of crisis, or when I need her, but I will talk to her less and less, then not at all.

It started when I got disillusioned by seeing the marriages of others. Other wives have cheated on, or been rude to their husbands, so how can I possibly believe in Lanette?

Eventually, I will convince myself that I don’t really need to be with Lanette to be married to her. “Sure we’re still together,” I will tell myself, “we’re just not TOGETHER…” I may even be able to convince myself that I never loved her, in fact, she may not have ever existed. It was just a phase, and I left her behind.

The thing is, I can’t do that. I love her too much. She means too much to me. Nor could I walk away from God.

I see people who do. I am Facebook friends with a lot of former youth group students, or people who have gone to my churches over the years. For one reason or another, many of them do not attend church. They have walked away from a relationship with Christ that once meant so much to them. They say they still believe, they may even talk about God, but in the end, they have slowly removed themselves from their relationship with him. Maybe they left because of things they saw happening in other people (maybe even me).

In Luke 15 Jesus told the story of the Prodigal Son. After taking his inheritance early and leaving, he finds himself out of money and hungry:

“That brought him to his senses… He got right up and went home to his father. When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’

“But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.”

My greatest hope is that my friends and family who have walked away from God will come to their senses. God has been sitting on the front porch of heaven waiting for them to come home. All they have to do is make that first step. He has been waiting, longing for you to come back. He already has the BBQ ready!

Waiting to see old friends… Jerry

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Palm Sunday 2013: The Fork In The Road

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Right in the middle of the prayer is a huge statement. In verse 12 it says, “And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.” What Jesus is saying is that the way we forgive others is the way that God forgives us. In fact, he felt it was so important that in Matthew 6:14-15, ““For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

It comes down to a simple mathematical equation: My forgiveness of others + God’s forgiveness of me = Redemption. Redemption means that I am right with God, my sins are forgiven and I am right with others.

Why would Jesus tie our forgiveness by God with the way we forgive others? There are a couple of reasons.

First of all, for us to get along with the people around us, we can’t walk around with grudges and the pain of being unforgiving. When we are upset at others it affects the way we deal with everybody in our lives, not just the person we are upset at.

God also knew that unforgiveness would tear us up from the inside out. Better Health Research shows that resentment and a general lack of forgiveness raises blood pressure, depletes immune systems, and makes you more easily depressed, causing stress to the body.

So how do we do this? Let’s be honest, there are people we don’t want to forgive. We don’t like them, they are mean, and we don’t feel they deserve forgiveness. And you may be right. They may not deserve to be forgiven, but you do.

Peter came to Jesus and asked him, in essence, “Lord, how many times do I have to forgive my brother? I’ll be generous and forgive him seven times.” Jesus looked at Peter and said, “No, Peter, seven times isn’t going to work. Let’s start with seventy times seven.” The problem wasn’t that the other guy was going to need to be forgiven 490 times, Peter was going to need to be forgiven that much. Jesus was saying, “Peter, don’t limit the forgiveness you will get by limiting the forgiveness you give.”

Now you may be reading this and saying to yourself, “That’s all well and good, Jerry, but I’m not a Christian, so I’m not worried about God forgiving me.” While I wish you would accept Christ, forgiveness is still needed in your daily life.

How many marriages break up because of unforgiven slights and petty arguments that are allowed to fester? How many parent/child relationships are permanently damaged because kids won’t forgive their parents or parents won’t forgive their kids? Forgiveness is not just for Christians.

The final step of forgiveness is forgiving yourself. Peter denied Jesus then went on to become one of the most influential people in the New Testament. If he continued to wallow in his failures he could never have done that.

As we approach Easter, it is a good time to think about forgiving the way Jesus forgave us when he went to the cross.

Making sure I’m forgiving and forgiven… Jerry

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When I got married the fair was (and still is) a good place to show off how blessed I am to have such a beautiful wife. I proudly walk with Lanette all over, hoping that someone I know sees me and notices her.

I took my kids to the fair. There is something very cool about introducing your kids to something that has been a part of your life for so long. My kids would walk around, eat cotton candy and corn dogs and get a stomachache. It was perfect!

The last couple of years I was able to take my grandson, Soren, with me. A new generation of Godsey to walk around the fair with and show off to friends and coworkers.

The fair has Polish Corn Dogs from the stand across from the Sheriff’s Command Post. They are awesome, and I only get them at the fair. I like walking through the building with all of the cheesy sales guys trying to hawk cookware or healing orthotics for you shoes.

The other thing I love about the fair is seeing people that I know. I will run into people I haven’t seen for years, spend a few minutes catching up, and then move on to the next person or sight. It’s great!

I think that heaven is going to be a lot like that. After we get over the initial shock of actually being in heaven and seeing Jesus face to face, we are going to look around and see friends and loved ones who have gone on before us. My grandparents will be there to greet me. Grandma will hug me and Grandpa will feign shock that I made it!

Many of you have friends or family who have passed away.  In the last year I have seen friends lose loved ones and it is always difficult.  We’re just not prepared to handle the loss of someone we love.  Heaven is going to be great because we’ll get to see people we miss so badly.

Make no mistake about it, though, heaven can only be solace for you if you are living for Christ.  Not everybody gets to go to heaven. You can’t ignore God’s call all of your life and then expect him to welcome you with open arms when your life is over.  God has given you the option of living any way you desire.  He won’t stop you.  He has put roadblocks in your way, but if you want to bad enough, you can get past them.

This column is a roadblock.  I know that not everybody who reads it is a Christian.  In fact, I bank on that fact.  I hope that what you have read today makes you stop and think about what comes after this life is over.  You’ve got to make a choice, make sure you choose well.  The consequences are for eternity.

If, on the other hand, you have accepted Christ and are living for Him, your reward awaits you!  The best thing about heaven won’t be angels or streets of gold.  It won’t be mansions or any of that other stuff.  The best thing about heaven will be being reunited with our friends and loved ones.  And that includes the one who loved us enough to die for us so we could get to the reunion.  You remember him, don’t you?  His name is Jesus.

Waiting to see my old friends… Jerry

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“Don’t make me stop this car…” That one invariably came out when my children decided that whatever side of the car they were on was nowhere near as good as the side their brother was on. This usually led to punches, crying and threats.

“I’ll give you something to cry about…” This phrase usually came after the back seat fights and threats.

“Quit hitting your brother with (fill in the improvised weapon of choice)…” These weapons ranged from Hot Wheels to pieces of sports equipment.

“Yaaaay! You pooped in the toilet! You get to flush!” Yep, a full grown adult man clapping next to a toilet with one little floating piece of childhood victory. The embarrassment of uttering that sentence was overshadowed by the chance that I wouldn’t have to buy diapers soon.

“Why did you hit dog poop onto the neighbor’s house with my five iron?” Yes, that actually happened, and I actually said it.

“Because I said so, that’s why. You’ll do it and you will like it.” When I was a kid I swore I would never say it. I did, though. As a parent, it just comes out!

Before people come to Christ they have no idea how much their vocabulary will change, either. When you become a Christian so many things change in your life that you begin to say things you never thought you would say. You know, things like…

“I can’t believe how peaceful I feel.” Coming to Christ allows you to feel peace like you’ve never felt before. There is something about knowing that your sins are forgiven that gives you a great feeling.

“I forgive you…” One of the great things about being a Christian is knowing that God gives you the ability and the love to forgive those who have hurt you. Forgiveness brings freedom you cannot imagine before knowing Christ.

“I was praying this morning and…” Suddenly, prayer is not something that you use only over your eggs in the morning or in an emergency. It becomes a necessary part of your life, and you begin to wonder how you lived without it.

Just like becoming a parent changes your world view, so does becoming a Christian. In his book, “The Radical Christian,” Arthur Wallis says that becoming a Christian puts an axe to the root of our life and turns our lives upside down. The things that used to be important are, as Paul said, “dung.” The things that never mattered, like prayer, loving others, and following Christ are now as vital to your life as breathing and eating.

Becoming a parent made my life so amazing in so many ways, and opened up facets of my life I could not have possibly imagined. Yet as rewarding as parenthood was, becoming a Christian changed my life more profoundly than anything in my life. Just like I could not imagine not being a parent, I cannot fathom trying to live my life without Christ.

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV)

Far from making your life drudgery or boring, following Christ will make your life fuller than you can begin to imagine. You just need to give it a try.

Living life to the full… Jerry

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“Don’t Judge, But Judge”

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