The Reality of Carnality

There is an unfortunate an ever present verity that exists within the walls of the Christian community called carnality. We know that carnality is the natural, in-born tendency toward sin and the satisfaction of our personal desires. From its very nature, carnality is in direct conflict with the new spiritual life we have in Jesus. It has been observed that the Christian walk is often patterned by an intense spiritual zeal followed by a gradual propensity toward carnality. What begins as a powerful, effectual spiritual force that changes lives becomes so diluted within the believer that the struggle to avoid and conquer temptation and sin is frequently lost. One can postulate that this is due to increased intesity from the spiritual opposition, however this can't be the only reason. The common assessment is that the believer experiences what many call the "tyranny of the urgent," meaning that there is a disconnect with God due to an over-occupation with tasks and service. I have found that the tendency to involuntarily exclude God from our service of Him and life in general is an alarming temptation. This is not to say that we try to exclude God but that we become so concerned about the "things" and the "to-dos" that we lose focus on God and forget the whole purpose and point of the ministry.
Now I may be digging myself a hole, exposing myself as the immature and, for all intensive purposes, infant Christian that I am, but I don't boast of having all the answers...so lay off.
At this point I have noticed, and am currently concerned about, the reality of this temptation to let the carnal nature propel the day to day ministry rather than the dunamous that I should be relying solely on. God is able and worthy and entirely self-sufficient, so why are we inserting our own efforts and fleshly power into the equation? It's silly. Thankfully, God doesn't expect anything more from us, because we are, after all, and bunch of sheep. Thankfully, He only expects us to lean on Him and try.
Here is the challenge: don't forget to include Him. God promises His "rewards" to those who seek Him diligently. D.L. Moody once said, "the world has not yet see what God can do with a man fully consecrated unto Him, and I aim to be that man." If by our diligence and desire we too can stake that claim to our lives, the floodgates of Gods blessings will by no means be withheld from our lives and ministries and this infection of carnality will disintegrate.
May God lead you.

Confessions of a Man-Pleaser

Today...the first of what I suspect may become a multitude of personal confessions.
Confession #1: I am a man-pleaser.
If you're fortunate enough not to know what that means, in short, it is a reference to a personal desire to make the people around me happy with me. It is a desire to be liked.
All pros and cons aside, I find that this character trait proves to be both distracting and destructive to success in ministry. I am often more concerned about the approval of my senior pastor than ensuring than I am serving God with my whole heart.
Fortunately for me the antidote is as easily obtained as the diagnosis: love God wholeheartedly and stop caring about what people think.
Sound easy? Let me know when you figure out how to get from A to B. I suppose that's the process called "sanctification."

Seasons Fleetings

As promised, our topic today will confront the reality of this strange human phenomenon, this kryptonite to our super-ministry, called procrastination. There may not be a more appropriate topic for this time of year, particularly for me. From shopping, to decorating, to card mailings, to planning, to the unfortunate shortcomings in ministry, procrastination reigns supreme in the world of Christian ministry. I'll continue to remind you readers that my experience is limited when it comes to ministry, but my observations over the past few years have forced me to draw some conclusions, however premature they may be.
What was once a silly schoolboy approach to studying and doing homework has become standard operating procedure when it comes to the service of our Lord. This is likely not out of some masochistic desire to inflict pain and stress upon ourselves, but it's existence and the ease at which the p-word can be identified reveals that we must be aware of it and yet do little to suppress this plague.
Proverbs 12:27 says that "diligence is man's precious possession." However, it seems that this precious possession is little more than yesterday's pet rock when you look at the way we value it. Sure, when the camera is on us we break our backs with smiles on our faces, but what happens when we're working on our own, when we face the deadlines, when we have events to plan? How often do we finish our projects or plan our outreaches before the deadline expires?
As they say, hindsight is 20-20 and we continually have the perspective to look back and realize how much better events could go, or how much more effective the message could be if we took to time to give it our best effort, to be diligent, to allow the Lord to work in us and through us, instead of around us and around our shortcomings. All glory goes to God to even begin the work in us, but I'd much rather be a part of the solution at the end than be an obstacle to God getting the honor He deserves. Amen?
So what's the challenge? What's the application to our lives and ministries? In short, repent. I need to repent of this lackadaisical attitude toward serving the true and living God. Serving God can and should never be dependent upon our energy, effort, or endurance. We should never be in the equation, except for being an blank slate, a dormant variable to the ways and means that God chooses to use us. And when He does use us, in His great grace, diligence is our response. Though not in the energy of our flesh, we strive toward that earnest desire to perform the will of God in any and every situation, and then follow through.
May God guide us and direct us in this endeavor and may He be blessed and receive the glory due His name in the process.

Mindreading: A Growing Necessity In Ministry

Though the title is sarcastic, the reality of it is not far away. What we know of communication, how far we've gone with it, where we've come from because of it, is in danger of becoming irrelevant for a few simple reasons. In the day and age when blogs, emails, and instant messaging take precedence and preference over picking up the phone or speaking face to face, we have become walking smiley faces (or I should say semi-colons and close-parentheses). Our emotions, being so easily misunderstood over this medium through which we deliver and receive most, if not all, of our communication, have become reduced to symbols and catchy illustrations. I fear for the younger generations that are learning this new habit of communication and losing all social awareness and necessary skills to function in the living and breathing real world.

So what does this mean for ministry? Well, as with many unfortunate activities, we find that the shortcomings of the secular world can easily be reflected in the body of Christ. Why? Because we're still dealing with flawed, silly, emotional people who, despite every desire to change, are at best a bunch of donkeys. We bray and bray and expect everyone else to know what we're talking about. That's the real issue here, the facade of communication when the reality is that everyone around is walking on pins and needles waiting to mess up because the communication in the body is lacking.
In the short time I've been in ministry I have witnessed and been a part of many instances where, due to a break in communication, the ball has been dropped or people have been disappointed. In ministry, we can't let this happen. People come to church and depend on staff to meet their needs. As we (the ministers) fall short, the congregation suffers, because they're the ones who need mending and ministering. This also means that, within the staff of the church, communication is an essential and supremely necessary tool. When the communication of the ministers become jumbled the only possible scenario is disaster, or a great moving of God's spirit to revive and rejuvenate the mess that has been made.
My challenge is a matter of striving and clawing at the hope that we, as ministers, can learn to communicate effectively. We have to fight the flow of the culture and become a group of servants that know how to work with and around each other. The only hope for this is prayer and a sincere and honest effort to communicate, even to the point of annoyance, so that anyone who has a hand in the ministry to which you belong knows and has a deep understanding of any and all expectations for that ministry.
If, by God's amazing grace, you learn how to solve this Rubix Cube of miscommunication you'll be able to move on to the next hurdle...procrastination. But we'll save that headache for next time.

In The Beginning...

Is it possible for a title to be clever and cliche? I don't think so. I'll let you decide which this is.
What reason(s) do I have to host a blog? Is my life that interesting? Do I have something profound to share with humanity that, if left unsaid, would result in some injustice? Probably not.
As egocentric it may be, I've found myself wanting to put pen to paper, or rather fingertip to keyboard, in order that I might educate you on my favorite topic...me. I do this not necessarily for your or my solitary benefit but in the hopes that we might mutually find favor in the things that fall from my heart into my head.
By way of disclaimer, let me begin by assuring some and warning others that I am in love with Jesus Christ. For those that do not understand this terminology, this means that Jesus is the most important thing in my life. Through His example, constant encouragement, and direction I live (or try to live) my life. It is in humble service and gratitude to Him that I find myself working and living my day-to-day life.
My name is Brandon Consalvi. I am one of few who have the honor and privilege of being paid to serve my Savior. I make money at doing something that I would normally do for free. Since becoming a Pastor I have often thought of the words my dad shared with me when I was in high school, looking for direction and a career. He said, "find something that you love doing and get someone to pay you for it." Now, a few years out of college and a year of pastoring experience gained I feel obliged to smile at the reality that those words of simple wisdom have manifested in my life so sweetly and profoundly.
Shortly after believing and receiving Jesus into my life I found that serving God in whatever way possible became and irresistible craving. I began serving in small roles, helping here and there. I then continued with some foundational experiences of humble service, including setting up chairs for Sunday morning. For the more fortunate worshipers, who have never experienced the "church in a box" situation, let me explain. Our church, South Shore Christian Fellowship, is a young body of believers that has only been around for a little over two years. What that means for us, mostly due to the real estate situation in Hawaii, is that we have to rent other facilities in which we hold our Sunday service. Currently we rent the cafeteria out of an elementary school in Aina Haina. So as Sunday morning rolls around we cart, carry, and haul all of our stage, sound, seating, and visual materials out of a large metal container and into the cafeteria. It's certainly worth it, but we look forward to the day when it is no longer necessary.
As a Pastor and servant in the church I have a few responsibilities that have continually pushed and stretched my boundaries and comfort zones. I currently am the Youth Pastor, the Worship Leader, the radio editor, the sound engineer, and in charge of a few other tasks as they come up. It's exciting to be a part of such a great ministry and watch the growth that God provides in it and through it.
Perhaps the greatest thing about being where I am is knowing that I live and exists in the center of God's will so I know that all the stretching and pushing that goes on is from Him in order that He might make me into a more useful servant. It's only been a year since it all began but I can already see the immense growth that is happening. I know that this is just the beginning and some exciting things are ahead...so stick around.