Tim Harlow

The Future’s so Bright; I Have to Wear Shades

I’m out at Starved Rock right now on a retreat with our elders and our consultant, Carl George.

Carl’s been the guy that has been with us for about 6 years now helping us get through the stages of development in our church structure and staff organization, etc. He’s been invaluable to us as an organization!

We’ve spent a lot of our time talking and dreaming about the future.  Not all of these decisions are easy and there is a lot of work involved.  But I can tell you that I’ve honestly never been more excited for the future of this place.  When they bury my bones out by the motorcycle parking pad some day, this place will look very different.  Maybe not the building or the structure so much, but I believe tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of people will have been touched by the ministry that God’s Spirit is pouring out on this place. 

Yeah, I know the economy is hurting and money is tight and our budget has needs.  I know there are more opportunities than we can possibly venture into right now.  But that’s exactly the beauty of it!  The future is so bright.  The possibilities are endless. 

We spent a bunch of time just reminiscing about the ways we’ve seen God work in our lives.  For Bill and me both, those memories included our clear call to Parkview. 

And as we look backward, that is when we are encouraged about the “forward.” As we see how God has worked, we can know how much more God is going to work.  We just went on a little hike to the Starved Rock (as much as Bill could take), and as I was standing there, Carl looked out at the river and said to me, “God has really been good to you.” 

He’s right.  I’m blessed. 

So what do I do with it?  We look backward so we can look forward in excitement. 

Psalm 78:1-4 O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth… what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. 

We acknowledge that everything we have has come from God and this place is blessed by God. I acknowledge that I HAVE been blessed by God.  I will unashamedly ask for MORE.  And I/we will not forget the Lord of God. 

Deuteronomy 8:10-14 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Not going to happen. Wouldn’t be prudent. 

DON’T MISS THE THREE CHAIRS THIS WEEKEND.  IT’S MY FAVORITE SERMON. 

Tim

The Blessing

I had a conversation this morning with a friend who told me that he has a hard time asking God to bless him.  

I told him I have the same problem.  

It’s easy to ask God to bless my family and ask God to heal my friends, but when it comes to me - it feels somehow selfish.  I’m supposed to take up my cross and follow. 

But I told him to read the Psalms.  I read them every day. And it seems like whenever the Psalmist of the day is in trouble – he asks to get out.  And whenever the writer wants more blessings, he asks for them.  If you just read David’s Psalms, you will find this to be true. 

Does that bug God? I guess not if the Bible calls him a “man after God’s own heart.” 

The problem is that some preachers make it sound as if you have enough faith you can have everything go your way. If that’s true, there are a lot of martyrs who must have a lot of questions in heaven right now.

But the fact that I am willing to follow Christ in his sufferings shouldn’t keep me from asking out of them – should it?  We just studied Joseph, and we know he asked to get out of prison.  He was just content to stay there if it was God’s will. That’s the key. 

The Bible also tells us that if we ask we will receive, and James says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:2-3) 

Maybe that is the key. If I am asking for God’s blessing so that I can be a blessing – I think he’s happy with that.  If I’m being a selfish brat – why would he? 

I told my friend to think about it in relation to his relationship with his kid.  God is our father and the giver of all good things. 

It was an interesting conversation because I just read this Psalm and felt guilty praying this way. 

Psalm 118:25-26 O Lord, save us; O Lord, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.

But when I read on, I think I got the balance. It comes right here. 2

28-29 You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 

I’m going to ask God for help and blessing, and like a good father he will decide what I can handle and what I can’t.  And I will give thanks either way.  Because his love endures forever. 

Tim 

P.S. – Please move to Saturday.  It’s still August, and we really got hammered in both services on Sunday, especially in the parking lot.  We only have so much room.  We’re looking into adding a service for the fall growth, but it will be on Saturday night too, so please think about switching over and making room for the new people.

Don't Forget

I’m feeling old.   I’ve got a birthday coming up, I took my middle child back to college, the oldest one is OUT, my back is OUT, and I’m doing this sermon on the end of Joseph’s life and how he finished well, and trying to apply it to my life, and I'm feeling it.

I love this story.  (DO NOT miss this weekend; this service is going to move you!)

I also spent some time with two different younger pastors’ that I’m mentoring this week.  Both of them are in their early 30’s with young kids at home and great churches that are doing really well.  It’s exciting to see what God is doing.  But I thought I was a young pastor!  What happened?  How did I get here?

I was reading in Hebrews this week about staying faithful…

³² Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.  ³³ Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.  ³⁴ You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  ³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.  ³⁷ For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. ³⁸ But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”

³⁹ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

¹Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  ² This is what the ancients were commended for.  (Heb 10:32-11:1)

This passage really spoke to me.  And it’s not because I’m in some mid life crisis period in my life (I’M TOO OLD FOR THAT).  It’s not because I’m being especially tempted, or because I’m feeling a lack of passion for ministry.  I’ve never felt more passion for what God is calling me to do!  It’s because I am going to be Joseph.  I’m going to finish well.  I’m going to persevere!  I’m “not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”

 

Jesus told one of the churches in the book of Revelation…

“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

(this is all great stuff, right?  Sounds like things are good at this church…but he goes on)

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”  (Rev 2)

I think it’s very good for us to take some time and rethink where we are in our relationship to God and our calling.  Summer is always a good time for me in that regard.  I’m really ready to attack this season,  I can’t wait to see what God has in store for Parkview.  I’m going to persevere and endure hardships, but all the while I will not forget WHY.

Don’t forget!

Tim

How do you know when you are done?

I’m preaching on the end of Joseph’s life this weekend - Finishing Extremely Well.  And just in case I need a sermon illustration, Brett Favre reports BACK to Vikings' camp to play again another year.  Brett Favre – finishing well, and finishing well, and finishing well. 

I can’t fault the guy for wanting to play.  He just needs to make up his mind.

Which is something you and I will never have to worry about – at least in relation to our most important job, which is serving Christ.

I will retire from this place someday.  And maybe I’ll come back, and retire, and come back:), but I know that it will be better for me, and this church, for me to move on someday, but that’s a long way off. 

But even when I get to that point, I’m not done serving Christ. 

It is God’s will that we maintain our enthusiasm for living and our integrity in our walk – all the way up to the end when he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

The Bible says - Be faithful unto death and I’ll give you crown of life. Revelation 2:10 

Joining AARP is not a license to retire from God! 

That’s why I love the story of Joseph.  

Genesis 50:26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt. 

He maintained his faith right up until the end. 

Retire from your job – or don’t. Or do and don’t and do and don’t. But don’t quit on the work God has for you to do.  

Tim

Wait and See

I don't have a lot of time today, I have to perform a wedding at 1 in Valpo for Rachel's best friend Ashley.  It's just amazing to me how the time has flown by.  Ashley has spent enough time in my house that I think I could sing "Is this the little girl I carried."  (ha - now that song is in your head)

I'm so excited for her and Scott and their life together.  As I preach about how life came together for Joseph this weekend, it all kind of goes together for me.  It was 13 years from the time Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers until life turned out for him and he figured out his purpose.  I've known Ashley almost that long and to see how God has brought her to this point reminds me of the same thing.  

It's about trusting and waiting on the Lord.

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart.  Wait, I say, on the Lord.

Isaiah 40:31 They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

I Corinthians 2:9 - “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”

If you are in a season of waiting and wondering about the future.  Please read these verses again, and be here this weekend for this amazing story of Joseph

PS.  If you didn't see the testimony's from last weeks sermon time, you really need to watch them at our media center.  And the local Sun Times paper did a story on our young guy, Alejandro, who is fighting Hodgkins Lymphoma.  I met him at the Jackhammers game.  Keep praying for him.

Alejandro's News Story

Tim

Worship Leading

On the occasion of my wife’s 15th anniversary as the Worship Programming Director here at Parkview, I asked her to share with us some insights from her perspective on how things have changed.

A week and a half ago, one of our elders here at Parkview found me to give me a card on behalf of the Elders for my 15th anniversary here at Parkview. To be honest, it totally took me by surprise, because I hadn’t even realized it was my anniversary. (Thanks so much you guys!)

But it did give me reason to look back on these 15 years and to think about all that the Worship Department has been through...and most of you have no idea! You see, when I started “temporarily,” :) we had a piano player, a keyboard, and an organ. We had a slide projector and slides that we used for singing (and we were on the cutting edge!) that Tim and I had to make by literally taking pictures of lyrics using slide film of our computer screen. We had to take many because, yes, it wasn’t always easy to tell if they were crooked! Oh, and fixing slides that were out of order? We had to climb tall ladders to fix them in the slide projector! (Did you know they have to go upside down and a particular way? Yes, I learned that the hard way!)

We also went through an era of starting a band. (Yes, Johnny B has only been here 6 years!) We didn’t have many players so we only used them every other week. Band weeks, we’d call them. And once people starting asking which were “band weeks” so they could invite their friends, we stepped it up to every week. We had an era where we used midi and drum tracks to help us get by when we didn’t have enough players yet undependable floor monitors (bless your heart, Bev!). We went through a time of no drummers so I prayed for drummers and we got 3! (Thank you, God!). Our drama team did step it up to at least 2 weekends a month. We had a few visual arts from time to time. Lights, at the beginning, were only turned on and off at the fuse box at the wall (very distracting!) Thankfully, Andy Yex eventually hooked them up to dimmers in the back booth. I made the vocalists start rehearsing with vocal practice tapes (yep, made at home by me with my young family and dogs often interrupting). And to my tech team—yes, I started Tech Agendas way back then!

I knew what wires to tweak, which buttons to make sure hadn’t been turned off, and where to hit on the wall! We went from 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 services (whew!). Dawn Yex won the “chipper award” when we had to add that early Sunday morning service. And the team was challenged to park and walk from a park nearby. When Parkview moved to Wolf Road, my girls asked, “Do we finally get to park at church?”

Two goals were in my heart over the years:

• For people to experience authentic worship to God during our services and to grow in their love for Him. That has been my prayer for 15 years.

• And to build a community of volunteers that cared about each other.

I certainly have learned to love them as I have “lived life” with them over the years. You see, we’ve had many joys and tears to share. Parents aging and dying; a team member not being able to get pregnant; one whose child was killed; ones who have been out of work; one who had triplets; one who changed jobs in order to do more ministry; many (!) who have had babies; one who has fought cancer; some who have gotten married; one who has adopted; and so much more. And they have given God their lives through it all. Team: it’s been an honor to serve alongside you.

I do want to thank and honor my family for putting up with so much, sharing their mom/wife with a Worship Ministry. I have tried to make sure they never felt “cheated,” over-planning and preparing both locations so neither would suffer. Although there was the Christmas Eve Santa Claus forgot to come! (Yes, we even have my horrified look on video! And that was when I realized we HAD to hire more worship staff). But because of such great people with such servant hearts, it has been a joy to serve and my girls have seen that in others. But they did have to continually get up early for church. They had to give up some family time when mom was rehearsing for Christmas Eve services or the Easter services, but they never knew the difference—we just were creative when we DID do stuff.

Thank you, Rachel, Lauren, & Becca. I love you, and my biggest prayer was that you would love Jesus with all your hearts and that our ministry would only help develop that love and not hinder it. My husband has been so wonderful - helping by getting the kids to church, because I had to go earlier; never getting a breakfast made by his wife on Sundays when he really needed the extra energy; trying to sermon feedback when his wife is scrambling; and helping make slides, midi tracks, and change projector bulbs over the years. :) I love you, Tim. Thanks for being my partner in ministry as well.

But I also want to thank those volunteers who have served alongside me for 10+ years. They have gone through more changes than you can possibly imagine! And they have kept a loving, servant heart through it all: Darrell & Cindy, Dawn D., Gale, Dawn Y., Doug, Jill, Rick & Carol, Tim J., and for anyone else I am forgetting. (I’d check our church database, but I don’t know how, we’ve come so far!)

I want to thank the Worship staff for making the services at Parkview so honoring to God and for doing so much better at the elements than I ever could! Thanks, team. You rock and I know Parkview wouldn’t be what it is today without you all.

All glory to God! He is the one who makes it all come together!

Because of Him,

Denise

Christian at Work

This whole story of Joseph that I'm working on this weekend has a lot of application to how we handle ourselves at the workplace.

Another one of the questions I answered for the Quest Study bible was on...

What is appropriate and inappropriate for "faith in the workplace"?  

 

God rested from his work on the 7^th day – both as an example to us of how to rest and also as an example of how to work.  (The world’s oldest profession is landscaping, in case you had other ideas). Work should never be treated as a means to an end, but as a blessing and a chance to show an example.  Paul told us to obey our bosses not only when they are watching but “with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord…with all your heart, as working for the Lord” (Col 3:22-23)

What is appropriate for faith in the workplace is what is appropriate for faith anywhere. If you are going to be a crummy worker – keep your faith a secret.  Do NOT put up a WWJD poster in your cubicle and then act like a jerk – nobody likes a hypocrite. 

The book of Titus tells us to set an example by doing what is good; “showing integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned.” That’s going to go a lot farther than looking down your nose in judgment or shoving your faith in someone’s face.  Peter says to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (I Pet. 3:15) Paul says we should work in such a way as to “make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.  ([1] Titus 2:9) 

 

I think Joseph give us a great example of someone in a tough situation who acted as if he believed that God was there, even when he couldn't see him.  

If you are in a tough work situation today, watch the example of Joseph.  And listen to Paul

Eph 6:7-8  -  "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.  ⁶ Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.  ⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,  ⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free."

See you this weekend,

Tim

Family

I had a long talk around the fire pit last night with Lauren.  It was just her and me, and it was awesome. She’s such a great girl. We talked about family, and since I preached about Joseph’s family, I thought I’d comment today.  

As I recounted to Lauren some parts of the family history that were muddy to her, because she was young at the time or never got the full history because she was a kid, it was interesting to think about all the different ways God worked together to bring us to this point. 

I’m sure all of you would have the same reaction in your family history. There were tragedies, there were quirky people, okay, there were wacky people, and it was just interesting to fill my adult daughter in on some of the weird parts. I’ve said many times that I come from the most normal family anyone ever had. My parents and in-laws have both made it 50 years together, there is very little divorce even out in our extended family – none in the immediate.  Abuse and addiction is probably as non-existent as any family you would ever meet.  There are many odd folks in the mix, but the unit she comes from is as “functional” as you could ask for.  Yet we could still fill two hours talking about how if God hadn’t worked through many of these situations, we wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation. 

As I preached about Joseph’s family, it struck me how odd it is that these lousy, stinking brothers are the ones that the 12 tribes of Israel are named for as God divides up his people into family groups. “Yeah, I’m from the tribe of Gad – the guy who made a town get circumcised so he could kill them, and the one who threw his brother in the pit and sold him into slavery. WE’RE NUMBER ONE!” 

As you hear the end of the story, you will see how God used Joseph to change the world, in spite of family.  I know many of you reading this would say, “My family is so screwed up, I’d love to have a heritage like Lauren Harlow.”  But the truth is if God can work through Joseph’s family, he can work through yours. He IS at work in yours. Your job is to move on from here. 

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 

I was asked to write answers to some questions for the new Quest Study Bible they are publishing, in less than 250 words.  One of them was “What is a Christian Family?”  Here is my answer (thanks to Karyn Purvis for her help).

What does a Christian family look like?

A Christian is someone who knows there is nothing he can do to deserve God's love, but who gratefully accepts and trusts in what God has done for him through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. This faith translates into a life lived in love, gratitude, and service. A Christian family, then, reflects these same values. While not made up of perfect people, and not exempt from problems, a Christian family believes that God has their best interests at heart. They strive to live according to His word and are able to face life with faith and with hope.

The family unit has changed since the days of “Leave it to Beaver.” Whether made up of a husband and wife with numerous children or with no children at all; a single parent raising her children on her own; a large extended family; or any number of other scenarios, the goal of a Christian family is to love God and love people.  100% participation is not a requirement either.  There may be only one spouse believing (I Corinthians 7:12-14, I Peter 3:1), and it’s possible that some of the children don’t believe.  Even Satan rebelled against the perfect Father. So Christian family or not, everyone makes their own decisions.

The simplest answer to this question may be found in Matthew 12:48-50 when Jesus said that his “family” is those who do the will of his father in heaven, seeming to emphasize the greater importance of our larger spiritual family. 

My point is that God is at work in your family.  Let him work.  Don’t worry about being something you’re not.  Take your mostly normal family, or your mostly Manson family to God and let him work.  Love him with all your heart, and trust him even if this is a bad time in your family.  “The Lord is with you” also (Genesis 39:2). 

Tim

Great to Gone

I don’t usually write my blog on Saturday before I finish tweaking my sermon, but my heart is heavy today.  One of the churches that I used to serve is struggling.  I won’t go into details, but it’s really sad. It’s obviously been a long time ago, but we had such hopes and dreams for this body of believers. The dream that we had of relocation and a new building was realized and things were rolling.

What happened?  I don’t really know much, and I know there were a myriad of situations that came up a long the way.  The bad economy probably was the last one.

Who’s to blame?  No one.  Satan.  I don’t know.  There were some ugly periods of dissention and strife and people didn’t get along.

It’s just sad.  There were many people saved, and lots of spiritual growth, and they sent missionaries, and all of that.  I guess local churches just really aren’t destined to be around forever.  My friend Ben serves a church in Maryland that is something like 150 years old.  And they are thriving and doing really well.  Our church is actually 58 years old and that’s pretty incredible.  But this is not the norm!  Local churches do have a life cycle.  Jesus said the “gates of hell would not prevail” against HIS church.  That doesn’t mean the local church; it means all of us together.  Local churches will come and go.

But does it have to?  Does the local church inevitably have to die?  Will Parkview die?  Will we someday have a few hundred people rattling around in our big old building?

These are fair questions, and I ask them of myself often.  We as leadership ask these questions.  My brother in law, Jack, just sent me this blog from Thom Rainier who is a church organization guru.

Churches that are no longer great

It’s about the churches he’s studied that were “Breakout” churches in a previous book, that had all of the right things going for them, but today are no longer there.  I’ve just read Jim Collins new book “How the Mighty Fall” about businesses that didn’t make it.  He is the author of one of my favorite leadership books, “Good to Great,” a book about how organizations become successful.  In this book he laments about several of those companies that went from great to gone.  It’s an interesting read and I guess you should be glad to know that we are thinking this way.  Because the first trait of a company that is on it’s way down is “hubris (pride) born of success.”  Which means the first trait of an organization that is going down is that they are too full of themselves to ask these questions!  That’s the sobering place I’m at today.  PCC is considered by many to be one of the most “successful” churches in America.  Which is dumb, because you can’t measure most things that are really important in a successful church.  But we’ve grown and we are reaching, raising, and releasing.  So it is very important that we not rest on our laurels, as they say, and think we’ve arrived.

I know many of you have come from churches that fell apart. 

I don’t know what I’m trying to say except I’m sad for my friends.  And I am committed to making sure that PCC continues to grow and stay strong.  I want all of us to realize what a blessing we have in each other here at this church.  Please don’t take it for granted, and do your part to make sure we are all moving towards the beautiful future God has for us.

I’ve never been more excited about the future of this place.  Honestly.  Please read the last blog about VBS and you can see that we are so blessed!  I’m riding high from this week, and paying attention to the signs at the same time.  I guess you need to know that.

And, I’m very excited to be studying the life of Joseph.  So much so that I took back the one preaching weekend that Bill was going to do and I’m doing the whole series.  It’s one of the best stories in the Bible.  Invite your friends to this series.  It’s going to be a good one for everyone to learn from.

Stay strong,

Tim