Pastor's Blog

In Matthew 8:24-29 Jesus gives us a glimpse into what really allows us as believers to become grounded as Christians. And I'm not referring to the old religious attitude of "I shall not be moved" either. I'm referring to what brings us stability in our life. Which to be honest is really lacking in today's church. Good, rooted, grounded, stable and mature believers. Not those who are constantly shifting in their convictions. Or jumping from address to address and church to church. I'm talking about those who know the truth about enduring THROUGH the fire and not running to avoid it!

You see, after Pastoring now for 16 years I've seen it all too often. God starts to really deal with someone about maturity and stability and instead of accepting His correction or choosing to endure through the fire I see people run. And many times under the spiritual lingo of "It's time for me to move on... I feel led that it's time for a new season". The only thing that happens is that this person is just prolonging what God is wanting to do in their life. Because we can change our outer circumstances all we want but true change comes from within first. And instead of running from issues we need to be mature enough to confront them head on once and for all!

When I look out into the landscape of my own church, the ones that are mature, rooted and stable are the ones who have endured THROUGH the trials that have come their way! Not the ones who run from them. They are the ones that when God is requiring change they understand that it is a change of heart and character, not usually a change of their "spiritual address". They are the ones that when trials or attacks come against our church are standing with their armor on and their swords lifted high! They are the ones who stand for unity, endurance and stability. These are those tested and tried saints that make up the foundation of a local assembly. The ones whose words hold weight and whose opinion cause me to respect them enough to listen and receive from them. These are the saints that younger believers respect and listen to. These my friend are the only kind of saint that a local church can really build upon and grow with.

You see, in Matthew 8:24-29 Jesus lets us know that storms and trials will come to EVERYBODY. And no matter how good of a church we have our churches are going to go through seasons of trials and purging. Period. That's just a reality of ministry. And the ones that make up the foundation of such a church are the ones who have obeyed Matthew 8:24-29. They have heard the Word of God AND obeyed the Word of God! They have applied to their life the solid wisdom of Scripture and have become mature, strong and stable believers as a result of it. It's amazing how when people start to "church shop" they want a church with solid leadership and a solid Pastor but they themselves have failed to understand that these types of stable people have become so because of the trials that they have not ran from.

I thank God for the trials that we have been through as a church. Why? Because James tells me to "count it all joy" when I go through them. And 1 Peter tells me that the trial of my faith is much more precious than gold! Show me a strong and growing church and I can show you behind the scenes a church that has endured!!! Hallelujah!!!

Never forget...don't run from the trial. And don't think that changing your "spiritual address" is the solution. Obey Jesus from Matthew 8. Hear the Word, stand on the Word and ENDURE the storm. Because according to Jesus, if we do that, in the end we will still be standing!


Blessings,
Pastor Dennis Sanders

As Valentines Day is quickly approaching I felt it timely to post some thoughts that are really upon my heart concerning Christian marriages. I hope that my thoughts today will challenge and enlighten you concerning your own life. And I'm going to be very transparent about what has recently happened in my own life in an effort to minister to you.

Last week Crissy and I were blessed to have been able to go to Gulf Shores, Alabama for what we're calling a "20 year delayed honeymoon". It was one of those "God moments" in life that comes your way and will change your life forever. "Say what?", you might ask. Let me backtrack and you'll understand what I'm referring to.

Back on October 28, 2009, just a little over three months ago, Crissy and I celebrated our 20th wedding aniversary. Wow! 20 years! I guess in today's world that's something to celebrate. Of course it is. But for me, God was getting ready to open my eyes bigger than they've ever been opened before concerning my relationship with my wife.

You see, for 18 years now Crissy and I have been in ministry, and 16 of those have been in Senior Pastoral ministry. We've been working diligent in obeying God's call for our lives and trying to win as many people to Jesus as possible. We've seen God do miraculous things in our midst and we've witnessed God grow our church here in Terre Haute despite every trial and every attack that's come our way. We have labored and sowed and poured out blood, sweat and tears into God's calling in our lives. And over the last 5 years Crissy has obeyed God's call to birth CSM and as a result 1000's of people have been ministered to through her conferences, retreats and mission trips to Africa. But.... Yes, but.

This is the hard reality. I had been so busy doing "God's work" that right underneath my nose I was not being the husband that I should have been. "What did you do?", you might ask. Had I given into sin or an ungodly addiction? Was I not providing for my wife as God commands me in His Word? No, no, no. Not what you might think. What I was doing was putting ministry so ahead of my priorities that I wasn't being the husband that I should have been. I quit romancing the relationship. I quit using my creativity and I quit writing poems and love letters. I quit sending those unexpected gifts and cards. I quit doing the things that I should have been doing and as a result God gave me a huge wake up call on our anniversary. God began to convict me and deal with me about my sin of not investing into my wife anymore. Sin? Oh yes, sin!

You see, I quit investing into my marriage the way that I should have. I was taking for granted the fact that we loved one another and that we would always be there for one another. I was so busy winning the world that I quit investing into the most important relationship in my life...my marriage.

Now before you start judging and trying to imagine what a horrible husband I am I want you to listen to me for a second. Because I realize that for me to post this on my Pastor's blog is being very risky. But I believe that my transparency about this issue probably speaks for a huge percentage of people in the ministry today! Hear me....We can't be so busy doing ministry that as a result we quit being the kind of spouse that we should be! And the thing about it is is that I thought everything was OK. I love my wife, I'm providing for my wife, I take care of my wife, I tell her all the time that I love her and she knows I love her. THAT'S NOT THE POINT!
Remember when Jesus confronted the church of Ephesis in Revelation 2? He started the chapter by telling them of all the wonderful things that they were doing. But then in verse 4 He drops a bombshell. He tells them that they had forsaken their first love! Wow! The solution Jesus gave them was to repent and go back and do their first works over again. What were my first works to Crissy when I was trying to win her heart? And why was I not doing them anymore? Hello!
I think all of you understand exactly what I'm talking about!

I am so glad that God gave me this wake up call! And I hope that my transparency and my honesty can help minister to any of you that read this blog. That is my intent. And if I had to come out as a Pastor and speak about a taboo subject that many are unwilling to confront than so be it. Because as a Pastor and minister I can honestly say that there's a huge percentage of people in ministry who are doing the same thing that I was.
My advice is to repent and go back and do your first works over again. Romance your spouse. Shower your spouse with love, encouragement and edification. Put the passion back into your marriage! And as a result your marriage can be more passionate and on fire then it ever was when you first got married.

As a result, Crissy and I were able to have last week the honeymoon that we never had 20 years ago. And you can too!

I encourage you today. Let God show you what you need to do to "return to your first love". Be open to receive any truth that He shows you and be willing to do what it takes to obey.
Believe me, you'll be glad you did. And your life and ministry will never be the same!


Blessings,
Pastor Dennis

2010 has gotten THCOG off to an awesome start! The power of God is flowing freely, the anointing is rising to another level, but most importantly lives are being transformed by the Word of God. And as a Pastor that is what I desire to see in the lives of my congregation. I simply don't want to just exist as a church and have a congregation of good "hearers" who know the lingo and have mastered the mannerisms of a spirit-filled believer. You know God is truly moving when the anointing that is flowing is proceeded by changed lives! Hungry lives! Lives of people who are actually bearing fruit in their own personal lives. That's when you know that a real move of God is happening in your church! Lasting fruit that is demonstrated in the lives of those who have been impacted by what God is doing! So many times we hear of how God is moving in a particular city, region or church, but the fruit isn't lasting. People get "touched" by what is happening but not permanently changed. Huge difference! My desire is that lives are truly transformed and made free by the uncompromising Truth that is preached. That the "amens" are translated into a changed life outside of church. And this is how you know that the move of God that's happening is real and lasting! May God continue to pour out His presence throughout this new year and my hope is that the growth we are seeing is more than just numerical, but spiritual. That is my prayer!

Luke 13:6-7 says, "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit therein, and found none. Then he said unto the dresser of the vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why encumbereth it the ground?"

As a pastor I've noticed that most of us don't like change. We run from it at all cost. We get used to our surroundings, our environment, the ones we worship with on a regular basis, and the way things are being ran. "Don't rock the boat!"

But what happens when Jesus shows up to inspect His church and tells us that there's sin in the camp? Or rebellion in leadership. Or attitudes present that's destroying the unity of the church. What do we do then? Do we let Jesus have "all access" to HIS church and let Him do what He needs to do in HIS vineyard? Or, for a fear of change or for fearing the repercussions of man do we run from it?

This right here is where our obedience is put to the test!

You see, in Luke 13 it speaks of Jesus, the owner of the vineyard, coming and inspecting his fig trees. And what is He looking for? Fruit! And what happens when He finds none? Let's just say it’s not good.

One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is the story of Caleb. Sure, he seems to not be as popular as Moses, David, Abraham, or one of the prophets like Elijah or Isaiah. But his life of faith and endurance is one of the most inspiring stories in scripture. And there’s a few lessons about his life that all of us should apply to ourselves.

Here’s the backstory. God has miraculously saved and delivered Israel from 400 years of Egyptian bondage. He has given them a promise of an inheritance. A “promised land”. We all know the story, right? The 12 spies were sent in and only Joshua and Caleb had the good report. As a result a whole generation of people failed to walk into their inheritance because of their unbelief. All except Joshua and Caleb. Out of a nation of 600,000 men, 599,998 were cut off from their promise. Wow!

Hopefully all of this was just review for those of you who know the story. But what about Caleb? Although we don’t hear much about him I think he’s pretty important if he was only 1 of 2 people out of a whole nation who was able to receive their promised inheritance. And how did he do it? Joshua 14:14 says, “...because he WHOLLY followed the Lord God of Israel...”