Anne Marie Miller

Category: Church

  • when leaders don’t confess

    it may sound like it from what i’ve written before, but i’m really not about trying to pass the buck. i realize leaders have a responsibility to find accountability and talk about their issues.

    but what is it that makes leaders feel unsafe to share sin in the church world?

    why did hundreds of pastors and church leaders who took my mad church disease survey last year say that they were afraid of accountability, or that they have it but they lie in that relationship?

    what can we do to make people feel less judged and more loved when they confess?

    that fear holds so many people back methinks.

  • when people confess

    sometimes people get busted. and sometimes people confess.

    either way, it seems that a lot of the time, those people don’t receive grace.

    i think of john edwards. kind of busted, and kind of confessed. the healer song guy confessed. and yet, a majority of people just drag them through the mud or cry about how disappointed they are.

    i will never forget two separate days in my life when i had to walk through dealing with serious confessions.

    my former boss, a pastor, and very good friend confessed quickly to an affair he had with another very good friend of mine. yes, it felt like my heart had been ripped out but surprisingly, i felt unexpected joy (??!!) because i knew he had just taken a step closer to freedom and restoration.

    two years later, another friend, who was almost like a father figure to me and my pastor confessed to his long term affair. my heart broke, but again, i still found some very random peace knowing that someone else was walking toward freedom.

    there are obviously consequences and pain that come along with confession…i mean, when you confess, obviously you’ve screwed up somewhere along the journey. and sin does break the heart of god and causes problems in relationships. sometimes it’s even impossible to mend those human relationships.

    people will let you down. i’d like to challenge you to suck it up a bit when you’re hurt or disappointed by someone who’s fallen.

    instead realize that their confession is actually a huge part of them becoming restored. it’s a huge step toward holiness.

    and that should be celebrated.

  • what makes the church different?

    what makes the american church stand out from the american culture?

  • i’m not one for begging, but i beg you, read this post

    [edit: i couldn’t take it anymore. i had to post it. yeah it’s earlier than i said. i was just so excited!]

    i really thought about titling this with the word “boobies” because statistics have shown that is the word that gets people to read your blog.

    but anyway.

    thank you for humoring my title and reading this.

    i cannot tell you the number of times that i have heard people say blogging is so narcissistic, but it’s been a lot. i cannot tell you the amount of hate email i get because people think i like to cause fights by asking questions that aren’t always religiously correct, but it’s been a lot. if i’m not careful, i can let the few bad things outweigh the good.

    and good? there is a lot.

    today, i just wanted to share an important stat about YOU. not stats as in how many people subscribe to my RSS feed or give me technorati points or whatever.

    but one important number.

    $80,000.

    in just six months, you guys have donated (through instant payments or gifts or commitments) $80,000.

    one blog. just a few hundred people. six months. $80,000.

    at least 40 children have been released from poverty from just this site (over 500 as a result of our blogging trip, which they tell me would equal about $960,000 based on the average sponsorship length!)

    110 mosquito nets to help prevent malaria have been paid for and sent to third world countries

    120 books have been purchased and sent to pastors in the dominican republic.

    over $850 has been given to various causes like haitian rescue centers, mission trips, and people just barely scraping by.

    $80,000.

    that number blows me away. i am speechless yet cannot thank you guys enough for putting your money where your mouth is, literally. you have shown that faith is not about rules or theological opinions but about loving others.

    so next time someone tells you that blogging is a waste of time, you can share with them otherwise.

    wow. just, wow.

    ==

    ps – if you want to sponsor a child through compassion international, and make that number 41, you can click here to meet some incredible and amazing kids.

  • how does the church feel about you?

    monday, i asked the question, “how do you feel when you go to church?”

    the responses were all over the place…”at home”…”worried”…”disgusted”…”excited”

    today, the question is…

    how does the church feel about you?

    there are so many comparisons between physical anatomy and the body of christ in scripture.? and similar to our physical health, we should be striving for harmony and unity amongst all the body’s parts.

    when i was twenty six, i had my gallbladder removed.? it stopped functioning and died.? and it was making me incredibly sick. even eating a little bit of food would make me throw up and have tremendous amounts of pain.

    but once it was removed, everything started working better.

    so…how does the church feel about you? are you functioning and encouraging growth and health? or are you a dead organ that needs to be removed?

  • when i go to church, i feel…

    fill in the blank:

    when i go to church, i feel _________.

  • last night i had a dream…

    Lunesta has become a close companion lately. I go through seasons of insomnia…usually about 3-4 months long, followed by 3-4 months of healthy, non-medically-induced sleep. Currently, I’m about halfway into one of those insomnia cycles.

    I decided last night to see if, by chance, I’d be able to fall and stay asleep without the drugs. No such luck. I drifted off into a weird, lucid dream.

    In my dream, I was given a choice to do something and the consequences would require me to leave ministry. I’d be disqualified completely. And I remember the battle I was waging in my head.

    “If I make this decision, I’ll lose my job.”

    “If I make this decision, my publisher will drop me.”

    “If I make this decision, I’ll never be able to speak into the lives of leaders again.”

    After I woke up following a very restless night of tossing and turning, I started thinking through what my dream-self was considering and realized something disturbing.

    Not one of those thoughts I had was “If I make this decision, I’ll be disobeying God.”

    Now, I realize this was just a dream and the decision I was considering in it was something that would likely never cross my path…and I realize a dream doesn’t represent my full consciousness.

    But if it was a real life situation, would I have asked myself the same questions, while neglecting the most important one…How does this affect my relationship with Christ?

    It’s easy for me to coast through life and walk a straight line. It’s actually pretty easy for me to be the good girl. But following rules isn’t the most important thing…that should just be an overflow of a lifestyle of obedience.

    Why do you make the decisions you make? Are they out of love and obedience, or out of fear for losing your position, your marriage, your ministry?

    Just something to chew on.

  • fear & loneliness

    i thought i’d share a few little blurbs with you from my article for the catalyst groupzine.? as soon as i know when you can order them, and when they’ll be available, i’ll let you know.

    my article is called “the lonely leader and the power of truth” and here are a couple of thoughts from it:

    Fear and loneliness are two inseparable lovers with a tragic common denominator: they seek to destroy the Kingdom within.

    and

    Sadly, we?ve often become so structured there?s no time to experience real life together.? We?re obligated to schedules and appearances but not to each other.? The business of community satisfies our addiction to productivity, but does nothing to nourish the anemia that is afflicting us.

    as a leader…do you struggle with loneliness?? do you find that fear isolates you?

  • Act Now! Get a FREE Autographed Copy of Mad Church Disease!

    So, we have been trying to figure out a good way to get the community here at FlowerDust.net involved in the Dominican trip this week. I have really enjoyed getting to know the staff here at GO Ministries and learning what they are doing to equip local pastors.

    The average Dominican makes $6500/year…so you can guess what the average pastor makes — not a lot! What GO is doing is forming a library for the 44 churches in the area they support.

    Here’s the deal.

    From 7 am CST Monday to 7 am CST Tuesday, if you purchase any book from the list below, I WILL GIVE YOU A FREE AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF MAD CHURCH DISEASE WHEN IT COMES OUT! Simply purchase the book and leave me a comment letting me know. I will email you to get your info this week.

    So, buy a book, or buy fifty (I can only send you one copy of mine either way, but hey, don’t let that stop you!) and get a free autographed copy of Mad Church Disease.

    You guys donated over 100 mosquito nets on World Malaria Day…so let’s show some love to some pastors and get them some study material they would never be able to afford otherwise. By the way, the money that comes through the Amazon Associates referrals also will go directly to GO Ministries!

    Now ready? Set? GO! Don’t eat out today and instead, buy a book for a pastor!! Their Wish List is below!