Last week I began the series of messages with the title, “Faith That Works.” The first message in the series emphasized that “Faith that works holds up under trials.” I will post the sermon and notes on the sermon playere sometime this week. The message on Sunday will point out how “faith that works has a right view of reality.”
Someone has said that our lot in life is caused by the things that happen to us (10%) and how we respond to those things that happen to us (90%). No matter what happens in our world, how we choose to respond to those happenings is much more important for how we live than anything else.
We can choose to respond with confidence in God and His ability to help us through whatever crises or problems we face, or we can choose to be afraid or allow ourselves to become bitter and blame God for the things that happen to us. I want to choose faith not fear. I want to choose confidence in Christ not self-pity and bitterness.
Look for the new sermon posts on the sermon player. Thanks for your prayers and interest in what God is doing at Holly Grove and in my life.
This Sunday I will start a new series of messages from the book of James. I am calling this series of messages, “Faith That Works.”
In the early 1980’s, I attended the meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) that met in Los Angeles, California (L.A.). A good friend from my days at Southwestern Seminary invited me to fly out and join him and six or seven other pastors for the meeting. We stayed in the home of the parents of one of the men in our group. It was a great time of fellowship as we made our daily commute from the suburban home where we were staying to the L.A. convention center where the SBC meetings were being conducted. We saw more than a few unusual sights on that ride.
The day after the convention concluded, we toured the back lot where movies were made at Universal Studios. On that tour we saw the “set” where the original The Ten Commandments movie was filmed. We rode on a tram through the waters that had parted in that movie. Halfway over “ther Red Sea” set, the mechanical shark from the movie Jaws came swimming up to our tram. I thought I would lose an arm!
After the tram ride, we saw many of the props for movies of that era. Each of the guys in our group had a picture made “lifting” a car that had been used in a “super-hero” movie. I still remember holding up one side of that car with one hand!
That car was a perfect replica of a real car. It had tires, headlights, doors, a steering wheel, and a windshield… the whole nine yards, yet it weighed less than 25 pounds! I tried to open the doors, but they didn’t work. If I could have gotten inside that car and somehow put keys into the ignition switch, the car wouldn’t have started. It looked so real, but it was a fake. It would not work.
That is the point behind this series of messages: we need a faith that works, not just a faith that looks good. James tells us that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). Many adults became believers as children and sadly some have never grown beyond the starting point in their faith. James teaches us that our faith must be put into practice if it is real faith. How about your faith? Do you have a faith that looks good or does your faith work?
I will post these messages on the sermon player as they become available in the coming weeks.
When my mother had the stroke on Sept 3, I thought that I would be able to write a blog every day or at least every few days as an update and as therapy for what I was experiencing as my mom was dying. Things just did not happen that way.
I was able to send out some email to people whose email addresses I have on my phone, but that is not everyone. If you did not get emails from me, please do not hold it against me. I appreciate your understanding of the situation.
These past few days after mom passed have been filled with peace and sorrow. At times I have been so overwhelmed with sadness and sorrow at her absence, that all I could do was weep. At other times, I had such a peace because I knew that she is in Heaven with Christ.
The two most trying times for me so far were at the visitation and at the funeral service. I was sure that I would lose any semblance of emotional control at the visitation. I entered the room where she was lying in state with a heavy heart and dread of this moment that I have known was coming for the past several years. How amazing it was to me that a peace swept over my heart and I felt better emotionally and physically than I had all week. I enjoyed the visits with childhood friend and relatives and left the funeral home feeling tired, but emotionally refreshed. I enjoyed the same peace through the funeral service and at the cemetery.
One of the last things we did as a family was to take some pictures of all of mom’s children, all 12 of us. Then we added in the two remaining step-children to the picture making 14 in all. We placed a copy of the picture of these 14 people who called my mom, mother, inside her casket. We paid our tribute to her love, godliness, and wisdom at her funeral and told her,”So long, Mom, we will meet you in the morning.”
As we sort through her things, clothes, shoes, and all the pictures– the memories of a lifetime– sometimes we weep and sometimes we laugh as we remember our wonderful mother.
Thank you to those who called, sent emails, flowers, and prayed for us. I have been told that there were people who came by our home in Bells and did acts of kindness for us there as well. Thank you is not enough to express our gratitude. I do not know how we could have endured these past two weeks without your prayers and loving support.
I have to say a very special thank you to those who came to show their love and support for me at this difficult time. They well represented Holly Grove and the community at my mom’s funeral. Thank you: Bob and Cindy Alexander, Lois Davis, Ricky and Kathy Hopper, John Gilana, Celso Lara, and Jan Outlaw. I have been told that the entire church membership would have been there if it had been possible. Others had planned to come but had sudden sorrows of their own to face. My family and I are truly overwhelmed by the love and kindness of all of you.
Pray for all of us as we return to our work and daily lives with a big hole in our hearts and mind. We will miss my mom, but we rejoice to know that we will one day join her in the presence of Christ forever.
I came to visit my mom on Monday (September 1) this week and I am glad that I did. Some of you may know that my mom suffered a massive stroke on Wednesday, September 3. She is in the hospital in Knoxville in what is probably a comatose state. I do not expect her to regain consciousness before she goes home to be with the Lord. The blood clot in her brain is inoperable and her condition is expected to worsen gradually over the next few days. I expect her to go home to be with the Lord within the next seven days, but she has always been a very strong person. Only God knows when He will call her home. I want to be near her until she is gone. So we are waiting in the hospital.
As I said, I had the privilege of visiting with mom from Monday through Wednesday morning this week. On Labor Day Nancy and I had a picnic at our home in Bells with our three daughters and their families. Later that evening, our daughter Christie and two of her boys came with Nancy and me to visit my mom. I had originally planned to visit mom on Thursday and Friday of this week, but when I talked to her on this past Sunday afternoon, I changed my plans. I am so glad that I did. We had a couple of good days with her before the stroke closed her off from us.
My eleven brothers and sisters (7 brothers and 4 sisters) and their families take up most of the ICU waiting room. It is a lot like a family reunion. It is a bitter-sweet experience to be with so many that are so dear to me as we wait in the hospital for mom to pass from this life into the next.
Mom had been recently diagnosed with the beginnings of dementia. She had trouble remembering some details of some things. When I talked with her on Sunday, she seemed a little more confused than what I had seen before. I decided that I wanted to visit with her before the disease progressed any further. That is why we left on Labor Day evening to visit with mom.
We had a good visit and as we were perparing to return to Bells on Wednesday morning. Mom started out the morning feeling fine. She and I had planned to go to the local “Hardy’s” for breakfast. When I got out of the shower, she had started to feel very sick, with nausea, etc. Since she takes blood pressure medicine, we thought that she had probably not eaten enough food to keep the blood pressure medicine from upsetting her stomach. She rested for a while and seemed to be feeling better. Nancy, Christie, her boys, and I said good bye and started back to Bells believing that mom would be fine. One of her grand daughters was staying with her so we were not anxious about leaving her. Within an hour, mom had the stroke and later that day Nancy and I returned to east Tennessee to find her unconscious in the ICU. Sometimes our circumstances change so quickly.
I know that those of you who read this will be praying for my mom and our family during these days. I knew that this day was coming, but like everyone else, I was caught unaware when it arrived so quickly. I have a peace about mom’s passing. She knows the Lord and for her it will be a home going. I do not know what funeral arrangement will be made when the time comes for that. I hope that I can do the funeral sermon, I do not know that my emotions will let me. Like anyone else, I will miss my mom. If I can preach her funeral sermon, I want to talk about Heaven. Heaven is getting more and more dear to me.
Each year during May and June, I preach a sermon series on family relationships. In all my sermons, I base what I say on the Bible, not simply on what may be the current wisdom on a “hot topic’ at the time. Having said that, the fact that 50% of all marriages in the USA, even the marriages among Christians, end in divorce should alarm all of us. That is why I choose this particular approach for this year’s series on relationships. I want to help people stay happily married.
This year’s sermon series made use of the book, Love Busters by William Harley (Fleming H. Revel, 2002). Harley is a psychologist and Christian marriage counselor. In the book, he cataloged and described six destructive habits that destroy the love between spouses. The six habits are (1) making selfish demands of your spouse, (2) expressing disrespectful judgments of your spouse, (3) exploding in angry outbursts, when the first two tactics do not get your way, (4) dishonesty toward your spouse about your feelings, personal failings, daily activities, and future plans, (5) not changing annoying habits that drive your spouse to distraction, and (6) independent behavior, i.e., He has his friends, activities, and interests. She has her friends, activities, and interests, but the married couple does not have their friends, activities, and interests. They live independently of one another. The key word here is habits. A single event may not so devastating, but when these six events become habits and occur repeatedly, the damage may become irreparable.
In my sermon series, I look at the “love busters” from a biblical perspective. What does God say about selfishness, about being disrespectful of others, etc. I also sought to apply the destructive habits not only to the marriage relationship, but to all of life’s relationships. These six issues if unchecked will destroy any relationship.
I hope to have the sermons and study notes posted on the sermon podcast later this week. You can access the sermons from the Holly Grove Baptist Church home page by clicking on the “Sermon Player” at the bottom of the HGBC home page or you can point your web browser to www.sermon.net/fredcampbellministries.
Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. My prayer is that God will use these messages for His glory and for your benefit.
This blog article was originally posted at myspace.com/fvcdmin on Tuesday April 22, 2008. I did an interpretation of the entire book by John Maxwell on that website, if you would like to read it.
The fifth star in “a five-star life” is influence.
I’ve been walking you through Becoming a Person of Influence by John Maxwell and Dornan. Let me try to wrap up the issue of influence in “a five-star life.”
The last two ways to make a positive impact on others and the world around us are: empowering others and multiply yourself.
First some requirements.
To empower someone, you must be an authority figure to them. Parents, teachers, a supervisor, etc. Folks with authority in people’s lives either grant permission for success or withhold it.
To empower someone, relationship is required. See the earlier post’s section about “connecting with people.” To develop positive influencers, evaluate them by their best not by their worst moments.
To empower others, you have to have mutual respect.
So we want the people we know to make the most of their work, homes, and their lives. How do we do it?
Maxwell and Dornan give the step by step:
-evaluation: What do they know? How well do they perform their taks? Do they want to do well or are they satisfied with less?
-demonstration: “Monkey see, monkey do” is not just about how children behave. We all do that. If you want something done right, then show how it looks to do it right. We are all better at imitating what we see than we are at reading or even following the instructions.
-express high expectations, tell them that they can do it, and keep moving the goal posts. This not only recognizes their accomplishments, it stretches them to keep growing.
bBack up their decisions.. This means giving someone not only the responsibility for a project, but giving them the freedom to actually get it done. You put it in their hands and don’t second guess or countermand them. This will work for growing up responsible children as well as for developing more competent adults.
-have an enthronement ceremony. What I mean is, let it be known in the family or in the company: “I know he/she can do this and I am behind them on it 100%.” This is not the time to keep your expectations and confidences a private matter between you and the person you are cultivating.
-be a mentor not a slave driver. Someone has said that “a kick in the seat of the pants and a pat on the back are not physically far apart, but there is a world of difference in the way they make you feel.” Private feedback and encouragement will be needed. You want to help them see how to succeed not tell them every reason why they aren’t.
-When you feel they are ready, let them fly solo. Just like teaching a child to walk or ride a bike, the time comes when you take your hands away and let them do it on their own. That is what empowerment is all about.
The last stage of making a positive impact on others is to multuply yourself. Every one of us will someday move off the stage of life. Like the George Jones’ country song asks, “Who’s gonna fill their shoes?” The answer is: Nobody, if you do not cultivate others to take your place. That is what multiplying yourself means, cultivating others who will make a positive impact on others. The good news is: You do not have to wait until the end to take advantage of this stage.:-)
How do we cultivate others to become people who make a positive impact in life? Here are some things that Maxwell and Dornan advise, and they’re right on the money.
- In order to cultivate and help others, you have to cultivate youself. We are all the sum total of the choices we have made and the experiences we have enjoyed and endured. What we will be tomorrow depends a lot on what we make of ourselves today.
-Always be on the look-out for people whom you can cultivate. I heard years ago that the right kind of recruits for becoming positive infuences are of a special kind. These recruits need to be FAT people. No, not obese people, but F.A.T. people: Faithful people, Available people and Teachable people. The person, who multiplies himself as one who makes a positive impact on others, has to be an ever-vigilant talent scout for these F.A.T. people.
-Be a person who lives to help others. This is more than just being a “team-player.” It means “not just looking out for your own interests, but putting the interests of others above your own” (See Philippians 2:3).
Hey, the best thing to do is to get Maxwell and Dornan’s book and read it for yourself, right?
That will wrap up my series on “Five-Star Christian Living.” Next time, I want to share a series about “Heaven” that I really enjoyed preaching earlier this at Holly Grove on Sunday evenings.
Here is the book. You can click on the sermon on the sermon player on the Holly Grove Homepage to hear it or go to
This is the next installment in my series on “Five-Star Christian Living.”
Integrity is the fourth star in the constellation of a “five-star Christian life.” This quality is the glue that really holds the other four qualities together. Without integrity and good character, the other four qualities are pointless. The good news is that character and integrity are not “set in stone” at birth. Anyone can develop good character and integrity. Of course, I believe that real character and integrity can only be found in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
In preparation for preaching on integrity, I looked at several sources to help me expound the truths of the Scriptures. One source I searched was a listing of books about integrity.
When you look for books about integrity, you discover that they are difficult to find. One of the best books on this subject is written by Dr. Henry Cloud, Integrity: the Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality, published by Collins, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, in 2006. The book is 282 pages. Cloud is not as easy to read as Zig Ziglar or John Maxwell, even though he uses a storytelling method popular in many business related books today. Your time will be well spent in reading this book.
Before I give you a summary of how I tackled the subject of integrity in my sermon, let me highlight some insights from Henry Cloud’s book on integrity.
How do we define integrity? Most of us may think that integrity is simply honesty, decency, and the American way. Check out the definitions of “integrity” at http://www.askaword.com/, or better yet, do a google-search for “integrity.”
Integrity includes a lot more than simply honesty and decency. Cloud proposes a fuller definition. Integrity is about being a functional person in a dysfunctional world.
In Integrity, Cloud expounds on “how six essential qualities determine your success in business” and life. The title of the book summarizes the author’s perspective on integrity. It is the inner strength (courage) one needs to face life (the demands of reality). Cloud’s theme throughout the book is that one’s character and integrity are the most essential elements for success in business and in life.
My summary of Dr. Cloud’s six essential qualities (see page 35 for his listing of them) are:
1. Trust
2. Truth
3. Perseverance
4. Proactive on problems
5. Still Growing
6. Humility
The author gives three pitfalls that may be avoided by developing integrity and good character are:
1. Creating an artificial ceiling to your abilities that is short of your potential..
2. Derailing your life or career because of some obstacle or situation.
3. Losing hard-earned success by self-destructive behavior or actions.
(see page 11)
I hope your appetite is whetted for reading this book.
If you were to choose someone from the Bible who is an example of integrity, whom would you choose? Of course, Jesus Christ is the ultimate good example of anything. Some people may think that it is impossible for a human being to live up to the standard that Jesus sets for us. In many ways, I believe this to be a true statement.
I chose two other people from the Scriptures whom I believe exemplify three essential qualities of integrity, Moses and Joseph. Moses demonstrates the two essential ingredients of maturity and a true perspective on reality, while Joseph demonstrates the ingredient of a sense of accountability.
You can listen to the sermon by clicking on the link below.
This article was originally posted on my blog at www.myspace.com/fvcdmin on Wednesday August 8, 2008.
A five-star life has to have the quality of excellence. Excellence is not the same thing as perfection or compulsive perfectionism. Excellence is simply doing your best and never settling for less than doing your best in everything you attempt.
Setting the standard of excellence for living will take discipline, effort, and perhaps more of your time to ensure that you really are giving it your best.
Look at it this way. Two boys set up lemon-aide stands on the sidewalks in front of their homes. One boy has a jar of lemon-aide mix, a metal spoon, several kitchen glasses, and a pitcher of ice water. The other boy has a pitcher of iced lemon-aide with freshly-squeezed lemons floating in it and a supply of plastic cups. Whose lemon-aide do you want to buy? I think the total package of iced lemon-aide already prepared for easy delivery shows a higher standard of excellence than a jar of instant lemon-aide, don’t you?
Whatever we do there is always a quick, easy, and substandard way of doing it. There is also a way of doing it that shows excellence, forethought, and preparation. Isn’t the extra effort worth it to always do your best?
Do you want to settle for an “instant lemon-aide” life or do you want to go the extra mile and strive for excellence in living?
This article was originally posted on Thursday July 26, 2007 at www.myspace.com/fvcdmin
If your life were a car, then passion would be the engine and gasoline. Passion is what drives us to do more than we should be able to do. If your life were a car, then purpose would be the steering wheel and the road. If all you have is a passionate desire to get something good or great done, you can still “ride off in all directions at once” and accomplish nothing but frustration and dissapointment. Finding your purpose gives you a target for your life and gives you a way to measure how well you are doing in hitting that target.
There are a couple of folks (among a lot of other) that have really latched onto this whole idea of finding your purpose: Rick Warren and Laurie Beth Jones. You can look them up on Amazon.com. They have helped a lot of people find their purpose for life with their books about, what else… how to find your purpose for life.
It would be kind of crazy for a Sparrow to try to be an F-14 Jet, don’t you think? The Sparrow might have a lot of passion, but let’s face it, a Sparrow will never be an F-14. That is not what he was created to be. Your purpose in life will fit your personality, your talents, your likes and your dislikes. You could say that your purpose in life is “custom-made” for you. Once you find it, you will have no doubt about it, because you will know: “this is what I was meant to be!”
What is your purpose in life? How did you find it? Are you still searching or looking for your purpose for life?
This is the first installment of my sermons available to you by podcast. I hope to post the sermons on other media outlets and have a larger ministry through the world wide web.
The first sermon in the five-star life series is “Do you have a passion for Jesus Christ?”
As promised here is the introductory blog post originally from my myspace.com/fvcdmin blog. This post was written and first posted on July 24, 2007.
In my previous posting, I wrote about what I think makes a five-star life. Today, I want to write about “Passion.” If there is any one quality that really kick-starts your life, it has to be passion. Passion is what drives you to do what you do. A life without passion is really dull and boring.
Everybody has a passion, something that pushes all their buttons and makes them go above and beyond what is normal and humdrum. I read about a woman who had a unique passion. No, really, she had a purple house, a purple car, purple clothes, and she even had her beautician dye her hair purple. I guess she really had “a purple passion.”
What excites you and keeps you awake at night? What do you dream about while you are wide awake, imagining something really important that you want to do with your short time on earth? What makes you mad? What causes your blood to boil? When you see it happen and you know that it is not right, and that somehow something needs to change– that is passion.
If the only thing you have going on in your life is passion, you will have an interesting life, maybe even an exciting life, but it will be a one dimensional life. A life driven by passion is a one-star life. To have a five-star life, you can’t leave out the other four qualities.
What is your passion in life?
Click on the link below or copy and paste the link into your web browser window to listen to the sermon: “Do You Have a Passion for Jesus Christ?”
