iAsk: Pastor Ron McCants, Ministry Ambassador with In Touch Ministries

Every Monday I will be posting new interviews with Christian leaders to find in-depth counsel on issues such as ministry, family, careers, politics, finance, and theology. Today's interview is with Pastor Ron McCants with In Touch Ministries. Pastor Ron and I met earlier this year at a men's discipleship event in Florida and have stayed connected encouraging and praying for each other. 

Pastor Ron McCants

PAUL: First if you can give a small summary of who you are, what you do and what is your greatest passion in life?
 
RON: I have been in ministry for 35+ years, mostly in Tennessee and Florida. Barbara and I have been married 42 years and our lives together just get better with each passing year!

We recently moved to the Atlanta area to accept a position as Ministry Ambassador with In Touch Ministries. As an Ambassador I travel and call on Ministry Partners – sort of a Pastoral extension of Dr. Stanley’s ministry. It is such a joy to get to meet so many people and pray with them about their needs and hear what God is doing in their lives.

An added bonus is living less than an hour from our daughter and her family and getting to worship with them! We are about to launch a Life Group in our home beginning in January.

The mention of family brings me to the greatest passion in my life – relational discipleship. What joy to see people grow in their relationship with Jesus.  As the Body of Christ walks in right relationship with Him it must involve a relationship with each other. The purest form of discipleship happens in close quarters!

PAUL: 1. Pastor Ron, thank you for taking the time to share your heart with me. I would like to first ask you what has the Lord been impressing upon your heart the most this year? Its been a year of ups and downs for many families and ministries. What has the Lord been talking to you personally about?

RON: Since this has been a year of tremendous transition for us it is hard to get beyond what He began speaking to my heart the beginning of the year – Isaiah 54:2 – enlarge…stretch…lengthen…strengthen!

It seems sort of strange in a time when everything around us seems to be shrinking but the initial imperative for Israel and for us – enlarge – refers to the “place” of our tents. I believe that while we are facing those “ups and downs” we should not retreat or downsize our thinking. It was a prophetic word for Israel – He wants to be the God of the Gentiles – and it is a prophetic word for us – there are many people out there that are unlike us that we should enlarge the place of our tent to include!

The transition of ministry for us has placed us squarely in the midst of people I never could have imagined I would be. He may be shuffling the entire deck of Christianity…

Pastor Ron ministering

PAUL: 2. If we take a holistic view on the body of Christ today with all its spiritual victories and weaknesses, what have you observed as being barriers to unity among the brethren? Also, how can we begin to heal some of these issues?

RON: As referenced above, God has a larger place for us. I believe that means that we should not narrow our focus to strictly those circles in which we have been comfortable. As one person said (I don’t remember!) “Everyone is a 10 at something.” For the Body of Christ that means we can’t discount any stream of tradition.

It may seem like a cliché but we need each other, and we need to focus on the things that unite, not the things that divide us into different camps. And I don’t mean to include every heresy and extreme theology. Let’s work on those things that are not essentials of the faith and cling to those that are.

There is ONE place where we are all alike – at the foot of the Cross. There is ONE spiritual discipline in which if we engage together, it would heal not only the Body but the culture – prayer!

PAUL: 3. Many are concerned today about the decline of morality and spiritual hunger in our country these days, what hope do you see for a revival to awaken? Some say that natural disasters like Katrina, Sandy, and violent tornadoes are God's judgements against America. Does this have any significance for Christians in America?

RON: I heard Bishop B.E. Underwood say many years ago that in the world there are two agendas. The devil’s agenda is that in the end times perilous times would come, but the Lord’s agenda is that in the last days HE would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. Whose agenda will we follow?

I don’t think we can specifically say that natural disasters are necessarily from God – if He is punishing or judging America, then why are there more disasters in other parts of the world? The recent earthquake and typhoon in the Philippines is an example. Are they more corrupt than America? This is an example of comparing ourselves among ourselves and we are not wise (fools) – 2 Corinthians 10:12.

That does not mean that we are exempt from God’s judgment. We do have much to answer for, especially the Christian community but we can’t pinpoint a natural disaster as being judgment from God any more than we can pinpoint the cause of the man born blind to his or his parents’ sin! (John 9)

Pastor Ron preaching

PAUL: 4. As a seasoned minister, what counsel can you share with young people in my generation on walking in the fear of the Lord? It seems many have lost sight of this and enjoy messages of hyper-grace and living life as one seems good and right. It deeply concerns me seeing an imbalance of truth and grace. Pastor Ron, share with me your father's heart on this.

RON: We have so misunderstood the fear of the Lord. The first definition listed for that phrase in most commentaries and lexicons is “morally, reverence.” The concept is that we revere God – hold Him in such high esteem – that we would not want to do anything to disappoint Him.

The best example I can come up with is that any child wants to please their father (parents) so badly they will do or refrain from doing anything, regardless of his or her home life or treatment from their parent. That seems to be innate for all of us.

So it is with our loving Heavenly Father. We cannot use the great grace poured out on us as a license to act any way we want towards God or fellow man. Although we don’t have to DO anything to receive His grace, because of His grace and my reverence of Him why would I do anything to displease Him? My greatest goal is to know Him (the fellowship of His suffering and the power of His resurrection); His goal for me is that Christ be formed in me. I don’t envision Christ presuming on the grace of God to act in His own self-interests, otherwise the Cross would not have happened!

Young people, please do not take the liberty of your freedom in Christ to diminish His life and power within you to be Godly examples. As Paul wrote to Timothy, his son in the faith, I would admonish your generation to “pursue righteousness….” Read 2 Timothy 2, especially verses 19-22.

PAUL: 5. One conclusion I have noticed is our generation is thirsty for transparent leaders and spiritual fathers and mothers. Having said that, looking back into your walk with the Lord what are some personal disappointments have you been through that may help someone avoid them in the future?

RON: I think the greatest disappointments I have had came from making decisions (early on) without really laying out the options to trusted mentors or spiritual fathers. When I began my walk with the Lord and in ministry that concept was not really on the radar screen in most of Christianity, at least in my circles of influence.

I would NEVER make another major decision without having at least 2-3 mentors whom I look up to and respect as fathers in the faith giving me their blessings. Find them, stick to them like barnacles on a pier, and trust God to speak through them. But at the end of the day…you make the decision.

And I must say, not to my own credit, my life has had very few disappointments. God has been good to me. Someone said that you are not old until regrets replace dreams – I must be very young!

PAUL: 6. On a more lighter note, What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Any interesting family traditions you do that you can share?

Pastor Ron and his wife Barbara

RON: Actually, our plans for Thanksgiving this year are brand new. Living in Florida and our daughter, Stephanie, living in NE Georgia, we have been having Thanksgiving with her family – Kirk and Will and Kirk’s parents and extended family. This year they are all coming to our house! Pray hard for Barbara. She approaches it a little differently than me – for me if there is food and family it is a good day, no matter the quality of the food…or the family!

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Consequences In Dealing With Sexual Sin Publicly

The Bible is the infallible Word from God and it is written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Every word, every phrase, every command, and every promise is God's pure truth for our lives. One verse that keeps slipping the minds of many men is found in Numbers 32:23, "But if ye will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out." In our age of hyper-grace and distant personal accountability we have discovered the true meaning of this verse with the epidemic tsunami of moral failures one after another from mega-church preachers to local 50 member congregations not only here in America but around the world. As a warning and guard to recheck your personal lives here are 6 consequences of dealing with sexual sin publicly.

1.) Major Depressive Disorder Occurs. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, major depressive disorder is characterized by a combination of symptoms that interfere with a person's ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy once-pleasurable activities. If God has called you to minister in a public way, either its in front of a Bible study group or in front of a large conference as a speaker, take heed to knowing that any form of joy will be eradicated from your life if sexual sin is exposed publicly by not dealing with it privately. 

2.) Ruptured Relationships Privately & Publicly. When a life lived and portrayed is exposed to be false as in sexual sin then family, friends, peers, co-laborers, and public acquaintances flee from the vile smell of sin's result which is death. No one wants to be in a relationship with a hypocrite. Search your hearts to ask the Lord to remove any roots of hidden sins. 

3.) We Become Arsonists to our Credibility. I know many have heard about fires being started by criminals called arsonists. They set buildings, stores, cars, and houses on fire for the sole purpose of bringing destruction to the owner or those living in it. Not dealing with sexual sin before the Lord will result in your own hands setting spiritual, emotional, physical, and psychological "fire" to everything you had built to that time. Be accountable to mentors in your life. 

4.) Lifetime of Regret. We can be restored, forgiven, and given new chances to rebuilt our reputation and relationships but the lingering thought of the damage done is difficult to erase from a heart. Many times marriages result in divorce, ordination revoked, ministry taken away, and even financial payments needed to be made for restitution. The Lord wants our hearts and he must be the King of our lives. Save yourself future pain and live clean before the Lord. 

5.) We Flame Persecution on Christians. Yes, that's right. Christians have enough persecution to deal with in the world and dealing with sexual sin publicly flames the burden of even more persecution on Christians. How many pastors, youth leaders, counselors, lay leaders, Sunday school teachers have given the body of Christ extra weight to carry? Every time a moral failure occurs every Christian must continue to take time away from building the kingdom to defending the faith because the mockery of "Christian Leaders" has been blasted on every media channel that exists today. Just STOP it! Your private pleasure is not worth millions of faithful believers to take time to stop building the kingdom. 

6.) Children, Teens, Young Adults Subconsciously Model Your Behavior. It's one thing to say I didn't mean to hurt someone or I never wanted this to happen but it's another to realize that a generation of young people will subconsciously think it is okay to do the same. If we are fighting for purity, abstinence, and sex for marriage then you will not only destroy your own life but the lives of thousands of others. Deep down someone thinks that pastor or that leader got caught but I will not get caught. Enough is enough. Zip your pants up for the sake of future generations. Inspire the next generation to live holy because it starts with you.

Here are links to recent examples of the consequences of dealing with sexual sin publicly: 

 Orlando, FL: Pastor Sam Hinn steps down as Senior Pastor from Gathering Place Worship Center

Virginia Beach, VA: Youth Pastor sentenced for sex abuse 

Chicago, IL: Ex-mega church pastor gets 12 years in sex scandal 

Louisville, Kentucky: Pastor Accused Of Covering Up “Biggest Evangelical Sex Scandal Of All Time”

3 Calls To Action:

1.) Stay Accountable. Find mentors to talk about struggles and don't hide from your weaknesses. 

2.) Intentionally Ask for Resources. Too often we have big heads and small hearts. We think we know everything there is to know about all subjects especially about the ones we struggle with. Be intentional in seeking resources and the Lord will order your steps. 

3.) Be Mature in Friendships. Its easy to find friends who adore you and want to hear the next greatest thing from you. Find friends who will be a Barnabas in your life. He will encourage but also reprove when needed. Be balanced in picking friendships. You want to grow not sink. 

Twitter: @PaulMuzichuk

Holy Spirit Teach Us To Love

According to the world population clock there are 7,127,160,367 people living in this world as of July 4, 2013. In that number is you and me, your neighbors, your peers, your friends, your family, the gas station attendant, your supermarket cashier, and billions more! They come from many countries, different languages, variety of cultural traditions, from white to mocha to black skin colors, all with a unique and complete originality about them. Each one of these people desire one thing in common, pure love. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are told that people will see the love of God when they observe how we, as Christians, love one another. What makes us stop loving one culture from the next? Why do we passionately love, care, and bless those with the same language or same church name or same denomination or even same Bible college name yet find things inside our heart that has no compassion for an impoverished family in a different region or a church leader in a different denomination or a young person who dresses and speaks in unrecognizable tones to you?

Unconditional Love 
I am so happy that Jesus did not love me because I belonged to a denomination or a seminary but loved me unconditionally with an everlasting love. The Bible teaches us that Christ loved you and me when were yet still sinners! Hallelujah! Jesus saved me, became my best friend for the pure love of God was in Him. It moved His heart with compassion to serve a world that failed to show mercy, kindness, and love. Jesus teaches us how to love ALL the world!

What has happened to us as followers of Jesus Christ that we have become so divided,  prejudice, and self-serving? We have denominations and affiliations that keep order and structure yet draw lines in the sand to determine are these outside folks or churches or organizations "clean" enough to shake hands with. We pretend to love the world and the world sees our disguise. Thousands of church leaders and pastors have fallen prey to hurtful discouragement and wounds because we see a microscopic vision of God's love. We want to love those that adore, love, and respect us. However, Jesus reminded us we receive our reward already here on earth if we only love those who do the same in return. As Christians we have become unresponsive to our selfish motives and we need the unconditional love and grace of the precious Holy Spirit to move us to love people who desperately are seeking it in this world of sin and hurt.

Break Pride via Servant-Humility
Masking your pride and conceit will only lead you to a dungeon of despair and personal torment. Have you ever met a Christian person or leader who wreaked from pride all over? You could smell it in the dialogue, in the careless attitude towards you,  and in the selfish wants not needs they had for themselves for you to do. How do we break this in our generation? We must learn to be humble and servant minded to ALL people. That means praying for ALL types of people, caring for them, befriending them, genuinely having a heart felt conversation and not just the regular "God loves you" Christian slogan. Get personal with people and let them SEE the love of God. It is time we stop our endless meetings and start conversations with real people that need real help from the real source which is Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit!

I challenge you to inventory your circle of relationships and ask yourself the following:
Do I love them mostly because they love me?
Do I initiate friendships or do I wait for the friend to come to me?
Can I love every nation, every people, every race?
Jesus, examine my motives inside my heart and teach me by your Holy Spirit to love ALL people!

Twitter: @PaulMuzichuk

Pornography for Women: 50 Shades of Grey

If we as Christians stay silent to social, ethical, moral, religious, and even political issues in our time then all boundaries of faith, purity, and righteousness will be washed away and forgotten for generations to come. We must not only preach salvation and faith but purity and consecration too. Our task at hand is to awaken slumbering believers to realize the dangers of spiritual apathy and the agony of sin it causes in ones life. One specific area I want to address is a series of books that have been circulating in Christian homes, specifically women's hands. It's a book series called 50 Shades of Grey.

According to the books publisher, Random House, they say, " it sold 70 million copies of the trilogy between the series' March 2012 debut in the US and December of that year. That figure includes print copies, audio books, and e-books sold in English, Spanish, and German." What's even more astonishing is that in a recent article by the Christian Science Monitor they state, "Random House recently revealed its sales figures for the series – a number high enough to boost the publisher’s operating earnings (before taxes and interest) by 75 percent." This is one of the fastest selling trilogy books ever published and keeps growing in sales exponentially. We must stop and ask the question, why is that? Why would women, liberal and conservative, Christian and unbelievers, from all different nations continue to flock to this series? Could the lure be that of a deep longing sexual fantasy that still lingers inside the hearts? 

Pastor and 30 year veteran of social work and christian counseling, Mark Peters, shares his viewpoint on this subject: "Porn for women starts more from an emotional point.  The guy in the movies is cute, seems like he would treat a women right, what a women is looking for in a man.  This is still fantasy and lust...  She may not be looking at his genitalia...but she most definitively is desiring him to take her away as Prince "Porn" Charming - the result would be sex.  Especially true of most of Hollywood movies - sex follows the attraction...  He has something her man does not: looks, body, talk, charm....interesting....it is still physical, all awhile starting in the emotions.  Remember Jesus said if we look after "woman[man]" to lust we have committed adultery." 
We are dealing with an epidemic of sexual perversion, elevated sexual fantasies, and a deterioration of righteous boundaries for purity. If we as the Church of Jesus Christ sweep issues under the rug we will come to find out the toxic effects of sexual sin and its practices. The first particular book deals with 50 different sexual positions the couple involve themselves to receive the highest pleasure and satisfaction. Thus, the title for the book '50 Shades of Grey'. 

More and more I hear discussions on the popularity of this book among Christian circles and even on a few occasions have seen this book inside the homes of Christian families. What continues to strike me with shock is how believers continue to approve, distribute, and even not see a problem with this type of writing. We must find ways to consecrate our minds and purify our hearts from the lures of the world. Jesus Christ did not die on the cross so we can continue to live willfully in sin, but He paid the price for our sin and gives us freedom from the stronghold of sin. Our hope is not in a sexual fantasy that degrades our mind, soul, and relationships but in the power of Jesus Christ and His love. 

Have you seen your friends, family, or peers reading this book? Have YOU personally read this book? 

Our assignment is not to condemn the world but to be free from it. We have no desire to bash those who rebel against the laws of purity but we do have a command to speak the gospel of truth. Our generation must have the willingness to fight against the Goliath of pornography in every form. Take heed friend that this is not reading material for the lover of Jesus Christ. This is a trap that entangles your heart and brings rebellion towards your spouse who will never fit the mold of the 'perfect sexual man' but will continue to divide until all is lost and destroyed.

Much Christian based warnings against porn has been geared towards men which is appropriate due to men's natural tendency towards sexual release. However, women have been entangled in this web of lies and deceit as well and both male and female need the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. I have learned in talking with many who have struggled with sexual sin that it takes accountability, perseverance  and most importantly a complete fruit of repentance change. We can all say a sinners prayer but will we allow the Holy Spirit to start changing and cleaning areas in our life that have been tormented by sin. Choose God's love and God's desire to make you whole emotionally. God still loves you!

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;" 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5