Starting March 9th, Family Worship Center will begin a new REALIFE Series “Faith, Foolishness, or Presumption?” This series will be based on the book of the same title by Frederick K.C. Price.  If you’ve ever wondered how you can live a life of Faith or what you can use Faith for, this topic is just for you!  For this new REALIFE series, every class will be taught by a new teacher! The Connections Married Small Group will be taught by Pastor Steve and the Fusion Singles Ministry will be taught by Mrs. Amy!  Mrs. Mary Scarllett will be teaching the Infinity Seniors Small Group and Bro. Louis Small will be teaching the Varsity Young Adult Small Group.  Don’t miss out on this awesome series!

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A Word From Pastor Steven McCartt

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to make a tough choice, and you knew that doing the right thing would cause you grief?  I was recently there.  I found myself struggling with what I knew in my heart, and with what I knew in my head.  I was standing there trying to decide what was the best thing to do for all those involved. It left me terribly conflicted. On the one hand was the abuse I knew I was going to endure, and on the other hand, the safety and protection of everything and everyone that was involved.

My first thought was to just forget it. I thought, man this isn’t worth it. I should just forget this and go on about my business. Why should I stick my neck out and get it chopped off? After all, it’s always the one’s that you help the most that hurt you the most. I asked myself, “Do you really want to go there Steve?”

After a short bout with self pity and the “Why me?” thoughts, I came to my senses and began to think of the others who were involved. I thought about the need for those persons involved to understand the true nature of what they had done. This was a moment of education–lessons could be learned and character could be examined and taught, judgment would be challenged and behavior would most definitely be curbed. I sensed, that should we overcome this challenge together, everyone would be stronger as a result. I truly thought that others would see the benefits of this and that I was going to have tremendous support moving forward. God had exposed things and brought things into the open. God had shined His light on something that would have prevented catastrophe in the future. Conflict would bring us to a position of strength. How could I possibly be so selfish as to think that this wasn’t worthy of taking some abuse?

True love for someone is not just giving them everything they want. Love doesn’t overlook or support poor choices and poor character. True love exposes inappropriate behaviors and deals with it strongly, all for the purpose of change. Real love looks into the future and says, “I want what is best for you without regard to what it costs me.” It says, “I care about your future and what you become.” It asks the question, “Where are you heading?” Love challenges higher performance and often times wants more for us than we want for ourselves. It isn’t a relationship without accountability, responsibility,  or correction. True love is as Hebrews says,

“My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons…. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Heb 12:5-11)

How could I possibly be a man that would just cover up a situation and not deal with it?  No, I had to do something for this situation that would draw a map to a future filled with the goodness of God.  Everyone in the situation need to know that character counts and that integrity is vital to becoming your best. Yes, I have to make a point here. First, to the people involved and then to everyone watching to see if I would be a man of my word.  Could I be trusted?  Could those who follow see the value in me that they have invested in? So I made a choice and it was the right one. I did what I knew was best no matter what it cost me.

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus suffered the most abuse from those he loved the most.  His people rejected him. He was humiliated by the very people that He reached out to.  He was rejected, ridiculed, despised, and crucified all for the love that He gave for His brothers.  He had given to them, and they had received of Him. However, when Jesus began to show them a new way and began to correct their old way they refused to accept it. They hung Him because He loved them (John 3:16). It’s that simple.

I have found this to be true in my own experience.  Not only with regard to my own life, but also in the lives of those that I pastor. Challenging people to go to the next level in their lives often causes the most resistance. People seem resistant to change. Albert Einstein once said that the definition for insanity is doing the same things over and over again, expecting different results.  How profoundly true.  I am amazed at how varied the responses are that accompany moments of confrontation.

My pastor has always said that mature, spiritual christians resolve conflict.   Bitterness, hostility, and strife are unacceptable and should be replaced with humility, forgiveness, and love. Believers should be the examples of better attitudes and better behaviors. We should be the model, not only to other believers, but also to the world that’s watching.  How many people are affected by the poor conduct of the church? How many have left the church and avoided the church altogether due to the lack of love that’s shown? Retaliation is a worldly pursuit. Believers shouldn’t pursue retribution or revenge. Vengeance is unbecoming of those who follow Christ. How can it possibly be that the church acts in a manner that is despicable to the world that we are witnessing to? How much love is really in us if when we come to a point of conflict we become so hateful and so mean that even those who are not believers are appalled? We talk as though we desire to lead others to Christ and act as if we don’t know Him.

What is most sad to me, as a pastor, are those who refuse correction. I am grateful to my pastor for the correction he has brought in my life. I am thankful for his challenges to my character and integrity. I willingly submit to the accountability of our relationship.  I have not always enjoyed the moments when I was brought to a place of introspection, but I have always risen to a higher place because of it. I respect my pastor’s position in my life. I recognize his authority.  I acknowledge his calling and the covenant between us, he as the greater me as the lessor. The choice to submit to my Pastor is what makes me a son in the kingdom of God and not a bastard. I understand that as a pastor we are not eye to eye. He is not my peer, but rather my superior. I couldn’t imagine ever lowering the man of God in my life to my level. I want to hear from him in his God given office. I want to sit on the other side of his desk and sit lower, so that I am calling on the gift that is inside of him. I would never reduce him to anyone, under any situation. That is why I can always receive from him, and why I will always be blessed as the Word of God says every true obedient son will be.

To sum all of this up, I want to encourage those that I pastor and all Christians to be teachable, correctable, willing to put your pastor (and all pastors) in the proper place in your life, to be men and women of integrity, character, and true witnesses to the world that we are so desperately trying to reach. When your pastor approaches you about a situation, trust the Holy Spirit within him, and follow that leading, whether it causes you pain or not. Spend time praying for him and get to know his heart. Ask God to bring revelation to you and your pastor.  Before you explode and begin defending your position hear the matter out. Look for the good and accept the opportunity to reason together. Support the man of God that God has so wonderfully placed in your life. Realize that your church and your pastor are a covering to you. They are more than just an expendable part of your life.  I believe that if we will do that, then we will fulfill the great commission, and protect the church that God has established.

Pastor Steven McCartt, Family Worship Center Church of Florence SC

I was asked a question recently about the relationship between job, church, and family. My personal experience might be helpful to those who are asking this question. I have one disclaimer though. I knew from a very early age that I had a call on my life to full time ministry. With that said, I came to a point in my life where I had to choose between going into the corporate business world with lots of money on the table or to pursue the ministry.  I made the choice for ministry.  I refused the money because I knew that I couldn’t be entangled in the business world.  I got too caught up in it. As a matter of fact, I nearly lost my soul.  Not everyone has that to deal with.  Many people are called to be business men and women. They do a very good job staying balanced and keeping their priorities right. They are committed to being kingdom financiers. I, however, struggled.

God had called me into the ministry.  The better I did in the business world the more I was pulled into worldly pursuits.  I knew that I couldn’t go to deep.   I knew, if I did, I would have passed on the ministry.    The money would have bound me.  Even today I am very careful not to do things that could pull me away from my calling.  I have had opportunities come my way that I have refused because I knew I would have succeeded, and It would have required me to commit too much of my time, energy, and resources.  I could get too distracted and would become ineffective and entangled in worldly pursuits.

My first love was, and is, God, church, and family. Because I chose to obey and accept my calling, God has rewarded me with both my love, (church & family)  and money.  He said, “delight yourself in him and he would give you the desires of your heart”  (Ps 37:4).

If a person who is promoted and blessed with financial blessings will stay humble and teachable, they will be ok.

Deut has a stern warning against self reliance.  I think that everyone should read and internalize this scripture. Deut 8:10-19.

We should protect ourselves against the belief that the blessings we receive are what got us the blessing.  The blessings that come to us are a result of the seeds we have sown yesterday or even years ago. They are the fruit of our obedience before the blessings came. They are results of faithful service in the house of God. They testify to our commitment to be present in the house of the Lord. They are the products of the prayers that we have prayed and prayer meetings we frequented.  Blessings come because we have submitted ourselves to the gifts that God has place in the church, and in our lives. They are not the indicator of God’s will. They do not stand alone in isolation to indicate that we have arrived.

I said that, because people tend to forget that blessings do not indicate the will of God.  Instead, being in the will of God, and doing the will of God, will point us to the blessing.  Obeying God will produce blessings.

Many have strayed thinking that the new refrigerator, the washer and dryer miraculously given to them, or even a new job, was God’s divine leading and mark of approval.  They leave what got them those things. Only to be left deceived by the devil.  We should identify what has brought us to where we are.  Yes, it is God, but what about where God has led us.  What about the pastor, the church, our family, our church family, and all of the relationships that God has given us.

I am always amazed at those who come to our church with serious problems and challenges who receive the Word and begin to grow. Their lives begin to change and finally they see life begin to improve.  They receive healing in their bodies. They see their finances begin to turn around. Family troubles are rectified. They see their desires coming to pass.  Then all of a sudden they decided that they should leave and that God has showed them some new thing.  Their justification for this is the blessings that they now see.  Again discounting the fact that their blessings are the product of what they previously sowed.  They fail to recognize that a seed planted requires time to produce it’s fruit.  One doesn’t plant tomato seeds today and pick tomatoes tomorrow.  Time lapses and fruit is harvested.

So it is with the things of the Spirit.  A decision made or an activity we have done today most likely is not going to bring a manifestation today.  That would violate the seed time principle. No! today’s harvest is yesterday’s planting.  More often then not an open door is a manifestation not a leading. Our resolve should be to follow the Word of God and not the signs that follow, which leads me to my final thought.

Finally, it is important for us to remember that our spiritual pursuits are not of lesser importance than our natural pursuits.  People should realize that Godliness is profitable unto all things. (1 Tim 4:8)  Yes money is important but our pursuit of God is of far more consequence than the dollars that we earn.  We can not afford to prioritize our lives such that God is only in the portion of our lives that does not contain our work.  All of my life is His.  All that I have is His.  All that I do is His.

Pastor Steven McCartt Family Worship Center of Florence SC