KenPetrus.com

Executive Pastor @ North Side Baptist Church

Always Trying To Fix It…

May 13

Posted by ken in General, Leadership, Personal, Sonshine (Special Needs) Ministry

If you are like me, you are a “fixer”. Whenever someone comes to me with a problem…I always try to fix their problem. This is a great message from Joni Erickson Tada that all of us “fixers” can learn from…
And Abraham said to God, ”If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
Genesis 17:18

I admit it. I would be the first to line up with Abraham as those guilty of buying things from the Do-It-Yourself Depot of Life. Something’s broke? Here, I’ll fix that. Someone’s hurting? I can solve that problem. Someone’s mad? No worry, I’ll talk to them. It seems I have an unflagging spirit to make right that which seems wrong. My friends have to warn me from time to time, “Now don’t try to fix this. I’m just sharing it with you so you can pray.”

It’s too bad Abraham didn’t listen to his friend, the Lord. Though he had been promised a son, Abraham sought a solution apart from God. And Abraham knew he had made a mistake in his haste to please God. You can hear his regret in those words if only: “If only my solution was pleasing to you. If only my way had been the right way. If only my idea was good enough.”

God would not abide by Abraham’s solution. It was to be done his way, as he had promised — Abraham and Sarah would have a son. He ultimately fulfilled that promise, but not without Abraham’s regret seeding the ground of strife between Isaac and Ishmael. Abraham’s do-it-yourself solution has repercussions even in our day. The Middle East might be a safer place had Abraham trusted fully.

What has God promised you? Are you attempting to fulfill that promise with a do-it-yourself life? No matter how tempting a solution appears, always, always stop to ask God. Compare it with his Word, his character, his Spirit. Anything short of complete trust in those instructions will ultimately lead to regrets. “If only” living is no living at all.

Let’s pray…

What does it take for me to remember, Lord, that I don’t have to fix your Word, or “hurry it up” to make everything turn out right? You don’t need a helping hand. So, please bind my heart to believe your promises and obey your commands. I can’t live any other way.

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Why pray?

May 7

Posted by ken in General, Leadership, Personal

Many of our friends and family have asked us what they can do for us as we sit with Eric in ICU. Our first response is “pray”…pray for physical healing, pray the meds will  do their job and clear up these infections, pray for wisdom for the doctors and pray that Eric will continue the fight. Interestingly, the following is the question of the week from http://www.gotquestions.org which arrived in my email inbox a few minutes ago. I wanted to share it with you.

Question: “Why pray? What is the point of prayer when God knows the future and is already in control of everything. If we cannot change God’s mind, why should we pray?”

Answer: For the Christian, praying is like breathing. It is easier to do it than to not do it. We pray for a variety of reasons. For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him. We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also. If He needed to pray to remain in the Father’s will, how much more do we need to pray?

Another reason to pray is that God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations. We pray in preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13); to overcome demonic barriers (Matthew 17:14-21); to gather workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:2); to gain strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41); and to obtain the means of strengthening others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19).

We come to God with our specific requests, and we have God’s promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we do not receive specifically what we asked for (Matthew 6:6; Romans 8:26-27). He has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15). Sometimes He delays His answers according to His wisdom and for our benefit. In these situations, we are to be diligent and persistent in prayer (Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8). Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God’s will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own.

For situations in which we do not know God’s will specifically, prayer is a means of discerning His will. If the Syrian woman with the demon-influenced daughter had not prayed to Christ, her daughter would not have been made whole (Mark 7:26-30). If the blind man outside Jericho had not called out to Christ, he would have remained blind (Luke 18:35-43). God has said that we often go without because we do not ask (James 4:2). In one sense, prayer is like sharing the gospel with people. We do not know who will respond to the message of the gospel until we share it. In the same way, we will never see the results of answered prayer unless we pray.

A lack of prayer demonstrates a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word and bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for (Ephesians 3:20). Prayer is our primary means of seeing God work in others’ lives. Because it is our means of “plugging into” God’s power, it is our means of defeating Satan and his army that we are powerless to overcome by ourselves. Therefore, may God find us often before His throne, for we have a high priest in heaven who can identify with all that we go through (Hebrews 4:15-16). We have His promise that the fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much (James 5:16-18). May God glorify His name in our lives as we believe in Him enough to come to Him often in prayer.

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Love is…

May 6

Posted by ken in General, Personal

Love is… How would you complete this sentence? I have been watching my daughter-in-law, Cheyenne demonstrate incredible love during the past several years as she has cared for our son Eric during his re-occurrence of cancer. She has placed her life on hold and and focuses all of her energy in caring for Eric. During the past 10 days…she has truly kicked it in high gear. Cheyenne has been a true model of the biblical love that the Apostle Paul wrote about and what we many times include in our wedding ceremonies…

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,  does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Cor 13:4-7 (NASB)

Cheyenne is a loving, caring, patient and incredibly strong caregiver. She has an incredibly strong faith and family support system. I know how Cheyenne completes this sentence…how about you? Love is…

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Comfort continued…

Apr 29

Posted by ken in General, Leadership, Personal

I woke up early this morning (sometime before 5:00 am) with this verse on my mind…

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NASB)

Now as I sit outside the Intensive Care Unit where the doctors and nurses are caring for our son, I take great comfort in this word from God. I know that God put this verse in my mind this morning because He knew exactly what I needed as I awoke this morning. This is going to be a difficult day as Eric is going to be placed on a dialysis machine. His kidneys are not working. However, I know that Eric is in good hands. It is a day that we will draw our strength from the Lord and receive comfort from His Word.

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Should I reduce my tithe?

Apr 28

Posted by ken in Career Care Ministry, Finance, General, Leadership, Personal

This is a post by Dave Ramsey…great question and great response.

Dave Says – April 27, 2010

Should I reduce my tithe?

Dear Dave,
My husband and I are on Baby Step 2 of your plan, and we’re working hard to pay off all of our debt. We’re Christians, but would it be a good idea to decrease our traditional 10 to 15 percent tithe while we work through the debt snowball?
Janelle


Dear Janelle,
I’ve studied Scripture on this subject for about 20 years and taught in Christian settings. But I don’t want you to take my word as the final authority. What we’re about to get into comes from God, not some guy with a radio show, okay?

When you look up the Hebrew word “tithe,” it literally means tenth. Not 10 to 15 percent a tenth. The book of Deuteronomy says to give a tenth of your net increase. In Proverbs, it refers to the tithe as first fruits, off the top, before anything else. About 1,200 years of protestant Christian teaching has focused on the idea that the tithe goes to the local church, because it’s the New Testament representation of the Old Testament storehouse. The storehouse took care of the Levites, which were the priests or pastors and the widows and orphans. Today, the New Testament church in your community is supposed to use it for the same kinds of things: pastor’s salaries and helping people who are struggling.

Now, once we’ve said all that, the problem is that there’s enough toxicity in Christianity and twisted information that surrounds tithing to choke a horse! I want you to remember one thing, though. God doesn’t love you more just because you tithe more than the person sitting next to you. It’s not a salvation issue, either. We’re not going to get into performance-based legalism here. God thinks you’re cool! You’re his kid, and He’s going to love you even if you don’t tithe. But He knows what tithing does for us. It makes us focus on something other than ourselves. God doesn’t need your money, but He does want us to be loving and giving to the people around us.

I wouldn’t stop or reduce my tithe if I were in your situation. When I hit bottom 20 years ago, I tithed all the way into bankruptcy court and all the way out. Just please keep in mind that you shouldn’t do this because Dave Ramsey gave you a “rule.” It comes straight from God, and it’s a loving father’s instructions as to what’s best for his kids!
Dave

For more information on Dave Ramsey’s financial resources go to http://www.daveramsey.com

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Spiritual Gifts Survey…

Apr 28

Posted by ken in General, Leadership, Personal

Just came across a free spiritual gifts survey…check out this website: http://buildingchurch.net/g2s.htm

My top three spiritual gifts are:

  • Administration
  • Leadership
  • Service

Identifying our spiritual gifts allows us to understand how God has gifted us to fulfill His purpose and serve in the local church and community.

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Great Comfort…

Apr 26

Posted by ken in General, Leadership, Personal

I am sitting outside the ICU room where our son Eric is resting by means of a ventilator and heavy sedation fighting pneumonia. Throughout the day I have voiced many prayers and heard of many by friends and family. Tonight when words no longer seem sufficient, I take great comfort in the following verse of Scripture:

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 (NASB)

Amen.

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Repost: PREPARING TO ATTEND A JOB FAIR

Apr 21

Posted by ken in Career Care Ministry, General, Leadership

I am posting this again for those planning to attend the Greenwood Job Fair on the 28th of this month…

PREPARING TO ATTEND A JOB FAIR

Prepared by: Ron Damer

  1. Why do you attend a Job Fair?
    • Identify hiring companies
    • Identify companies that use your skill sets
    • Get an interview
    • Plant your resume’
    • Network with other job hunters
  2. What should you take to a Job Fair?
    • At least 10 copies of your most recent resume’
    • Business cards with your name, address, capabilities and objectives to give to recruiters and network contacts
    • Your “elevator speech”
    • A notepad or memo pad to record contacts made
    • A cell phone camera if you have one, to take pics of job postings off bulletin boards
    • Your calendar (hard copy, in your cell phone or PDA) to check dates you are available for interviews, follow-up.
  3. What should you wear to a Job Fair?
    • For salaried positions – Suit and tie
    • All others – “Business Casual”  — collared shirt and dress or casual pants.  No jeans, shorts,  or T-shirts.
  4. What should you do at a Job Fair?
    • Submit your resume’ to as many plausible openings as possible.
    • Leave your business card with all recruiters, company representatives and networking contacts that you encounter.
    • Find and take home copies of all material that may be helpful:
    • Job Market publications
    • Job Postings
    • Other Job Fair Announcements
    • Recruiter advertisements/handouts
    • Websites learned about
    • Contact info for network contacts
    • A listing of all participating companies (usually handed out at the door
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Greenwood Job Fair…

Apr 19

Posted by ken in Career Care Ministry, General, Leadership

Greenwood Job Fair…an article from GwdToday.com

A local human resources representative who will be attending the Upper Savannah Regional Job Fair on April 28 looks forward to the event because employers and job seekers have a chance to really connect, he said.

“The face-to-face meeting brings with it a power and advantage that a simple letter or resume cannot produce,” said the HR representative of a large local company which requested that he not be identified.

“There can be no substitute for your own personal presentation in which you have all of the verbal and nonverbal tools available to use in convincing the employer to give you more of their time,” he said.

“However, the power of a personal meeting can work for ill as often as good if the job seeker is not properly prepared.”

Job seekers and employers who are hiring or will be hiring within the next four months will have the opportunity to meet April 28 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Greenwood Mall.

The semi-annual fair typically draws at least 50 employers from the general area of Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry and Saluda counties as well as more than a thousand job seekers.

Employers are encouraged to attend whether they have one job opening or 50.

Several local companies have had much success hiring at the Upper Savannah fair, including the unnamed HR representative. Success stories start with job seekers who are dressed appropriately and are prepared.

“The individuals who make a positive impression for me during a job fair are those who dress appropriately for the event, speak clearly and confidently and shake hands with enthusiasm, have an accurate updated resume ready to give to me, and have an ‘elevator speech’ prepared.”

He said the job seeker doesn’t necessarily need a suit and tie.

“The candidate should dress a step above the position in which they are interested,” he said. “For example, if the candidate is seeking a position as a production worker where he or she will wear jeans or a uniform to work, then the appropriate interview attire is a nice pair of pants and a shirt with a collar. Other job fair interactions may require a higher level of dress if the job requires it.”

Enthusiasm is crucial, he said.

“I like to see candidates with a little bit of spark. This does not have to be over the top – just enough to show me that speaking to someone from our company about employment is important to them.”

He said job seekers must come prepared.

“There is no excuse for attending a job fair without an updated resume or without enough copies, particularly understanding the wonderful employment resources available within our State and local community,” he said, specifically referring to the One-Stop Workforce System with satellite offices in each county.

An elevator speech, often referred to as a one-minute commercial that sells your skills, is an effective strategy, he said.

“I appreciate those candidates who approach me with a brief summary of their situation and employment interest,” he said. “This should be a 60 – 90 second introduction that includes the person’s name, current employment situation and desired type of employment.

“It is in this short delivery that the candidate can hand me their resume for further reference. This shows organization, preparedness and communication ability on the part of the job seeker along with presenting the employer with key information up front.”

Those are the good behaviors and preparation methods. For every good move, there are equally as many bad impression risks.

“There are several types of behavior that will almost ensure that I will not be following up with you at all, such as sloppy or immodest dress that shows no concern for the professionalism of the event or for even decorum in general,” he said.

“Slouching, mumbling and staring at the floor are not interesting and could be construed as indicating laziness. If the candidate acts lazy and sluggish during the job fair, how would the employer expect them to act on the job?”

“Pushiness, interruptions and other inappropriately aggressive behavior” are also turnoffs, he said.

“I like tenacious, determined people, but I do not like a resume shoved in my face, particularly if it is at the expense of job seekers who are patiently waiting their turn,” he said.

“Resumes that are dirty, wrinkled, hard to read, or in otherwise poor physical shape stand out just long enough for me to shred them. I also am not pleased with the job seeker who has one resume. Don’t approach my booth until you have visited the copy room and have some resumes to distribute.

“Worse yet, if you don’t have a resume, how am I supposed to remember you? It is not appropriate to expect me to write down your contact information for you.”

Conversation needs to be kept to a minimum and to the point, he said.

“In a typical job fair, I will speak with dozens of people. Some I may choose to engage longer than others. In the job fair setting, I am not interested in hearing someone’s life story unless I ask for it. This is not meant to be condescending or prideful. My point is that some candidates will talk you to death unless you make them stop.

“These types of individuals do not have well-developed sense of conversational savvy, a trait I definitely want to see particularly in candidates for leadership positions. It is not a cardinal sin, but in my estimation starting the job fair encounter with “What jobs are you hiring for?” is not a strong beginning.”

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Hamburger Helper…

Apr 13

Posted by ken in General, Leadership, Personal

Hamburger Helper…one of my favorite meals. You guessed it, I am a pretty simple guy…give me the basics. Don’t get me wrong…my wife, Gail is a great cook.  She can just about make anything from the simple to the real exotic. But, Hamburger Helper fits the bill for me…pretty basic, simple, easy to fix, and you only need one tool to eat it…a fork! No decisions on which tool to use…whether its the big fork or the little fork, or the spoon or even something that most of us guys  haven’t seen before.

I am reminded of life…many times we have a choice…the basic or the exotic plan…each with its own risks, costs and rewards. The basic meal plan doesn’t cost us a lot for the ingredients and certainly from a time resource perspective, it is pretty efficient. However, it can be mundane, boring and not a lot of excitement. The exotic meal plan does cost  more from both a cost and time point of view. Oh, but the rewards…there are plentiful…that wonderful meal that last for such a short time. I sometimes wonder if the time and energy and financial cost is worth it. After all, my deal with Gail is that she does the cooking and I do the cleaning up. Ahh…maybe that is the reason for my liking of Hamburger Helper.

We all have our meal plans in this life, whether it be basic or exotic. The older I get, the more content that I am and the simpler that I long for things to be. I am beginning to understand that the “new”, the “shiny”, the “hype”… all of that stuff wears off pretty quickly…and we are left with the basics. If you don’t believe me, look in your closet. Check out what is in there that at one point in your life you could not live without…a time when you bought into the new, the shiny or the hype.

What plan are you on? The basic or the exotic life meal plan. Maybe it is time for all of us to re-evaluate our life meal plan. Here are the ingredients of my basic life meal plan…my relationship with Christ…my relationship with my wife and my family…my relationship with other believers and my impact on the lost world.

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