Getting a "Round Tuit!"

Keith Kiper
Media Pastor
Boonville Wesleyan Church

I recently bought an old book in a consignment shop written by James Samuel Knox. I still like books, especially old ones. Guess I haven't quite caught the I-pad fever. The title of the book is Personal Efficiency. I believe this was written as a companion to a book on salesmanship. Although some passages are humorous, because they are dated, specifically to the life and times of 1920. I like what Mr. Knox says in his chapter on time capital.

Everyone has a definite income of twenty four hours a day. This income is constant and is the same for rich and poor alike. It can neither be increased or diminished. Out of this income must come certain fixed charges. The use of time, the richest legacy bequeathed to man, determines whether an individual shall merely exist or by careful study...and increase his usefulness.

Wise words, especially for 2012! He evens mentions John Wesley, who rose at 4:00AM in order to have time for prayer and the deeds of the day. Was it old Ben Franklin who said,"Time is money?"

Either extreme has its consequences. Busying oneself too much and then forgetting appointments or meetings isn't much better than idle time simply wasted. I admit in this stressful world, that can become easy to do, especially for those of us in ministry. Facebook, computer games, the list goes on. Recent surveys suggest 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes to using entertainment media in a typical day. The average church gets these kids for only 1.2 percent of the week.

Of course, those who know me well, also know that I must close with a John Wesley quote,"You have nothing to do but save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work."

Exhortations on Holy Living-Then & Now...

I enjoy reading quotes from revivalists and theologians of past years. More often than not, their advice is very timely and applicable to our world today. I presented a Bible Study recently from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22. Sometimes the Bible does some "hard preachin'" Here are some parts of that presentation with some additional quotes of others from past years. First, let us look at the Scripture text:

¹² And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³ and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
¹⁴ Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. ¹⁵ See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise prophecies.* ²¹ Test all things; hold fast what is good. ²² Abstain from every form of evil. NKJV

^*20 Don’t brush off Spirit-inspired messages,CEB

Rejoice Always: This can be a difficult one when going through trials and temptation. John Wesley stated that in the book of Job,"There are many things hard to be understood." Others have noted that Job's "patience" only lasted two chapters out of a forty-two chapter book!

Pray without ceasing: "The evangelization of the world depends first of all upon a revival of prayer."- Charles G. Finney, in Revival letters

Quench not the Spirit: "Catch on fire and others will come to watch you burn." -John Wesley

Despise not prophesyings (Preaching) The original Greek word here was analogia, meaning "according to the proportion of faith" This actually meant preaching, and not predicting the future. However, the early "evangelists" were spiritually in tune with God. Most preaching in the 1700's and later was expository in nature, much different than many of today's user "friendly" and topical sermons.

"Sermonettes make Christianettes."- Jack van Impe

"What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace." -John Wesley

Abstain from all appearance of evil: In today's "Grey" world, this rings more true now than ever! There are several quotes herewith a humorous one by the late George Carlin.

"Vice does not lose its character becoming fashionable."- John Wesley

"Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, whatever increases the authority of the body over the mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may seem in itself."

Susanna Wesley, Mother of John and Charles

"The real reason that we can’t have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse:
You cannot post “Thou shalt not steal,” “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and “Thou shalt not lie” in a building full of lawyers, judges, and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment." George Carlin

Famous Quotes

"The grand reason why the
miraclous gifts were so soon withdrawn was not only that faith and
holiness were well-nigh lost, but that dry, formal, orthodox men began
then to ridicule whatever gifts they had not themselves and to cry them
all [down] as evil madness or imposture."-John Wesley

Thoughts on Pastor Appreciation Month...

We celebrated Pastor Appreciation Month today at Boonville Wesleyan Church. Pastor and Mrs Ames have been with us since the early nineties. How time flies. In that time we have seen such ministries as Indiana Wesleyan Academy. It has not been that long since we moved into our new sanctuary. Currently we minister on Wednesday evenings at Woodmont. I appreciate the different Pastors who have ministered to me personally over the years. Especially those who visited me when I underwent surgery back on February 2007. When Pastors are mentioned I always think of John Wesley who rode horseback enough miles to circle the globe several times. He gave up a life of comfort to bring the Gospel to many who would never be able to enter the great social churches of 18th century England.He often met great and violent resistance from those who didn't want to hear his message. Many churches of today probably couldn't handle some of the truths of which he spoke. As the Rev'd Dr. Jack Van Impe says,"Sermonettes usually produce Christianettes." Preaching the Word isn't always easy in today's world. When your Pastor does, be sure to give him or her a pat on the back and tell them how much you appreciate them...God Bless...keith..1 Cor 13.

What Would Wesley Want?

I was reading the Miami Herald online today, as I like to keep up with what's happening in South Florida. I used to live there and it seems to be that the coastal cities are an indicator of what eventually happens in the Heartland. The article I was reading focused on some Haitian immigrants that had arrived in Pompano Beach Florida, which is about 20 miles north of Miami. Most travel on makeshift rafts or stowed away in watercraft. Many times children drown or die along with their parents. Thanks be to God, these arrived safely. Illegal immigration and immigration in general has become a controversial topic in recent years. We hear much about it at election time, a lot of hot air from both parties, but no one really wants to confront the issue. In the meantime, emergency rooms are overcrowded , government funds are stretched to the limit leaving innocent children caught in the "crossfire." The problem is that the denominations which have their roots in the Wesley brothers have either become a denominational church which remembers the legalistic side of Wesley's teaching and forgets social activism, or a church of good works that has lost its moral compass.As Wesleyans we have a unique Christian Heritage. John Wesley believed there was a balance between personal heart holiness and a social Gospel of caring for the poor and disadvantaged. John Wesley believed the Christian could and should have it both ways. It is easy to look to a political party or leader to solve the social ills of our day. As Christians, we should give to Ceaser what is his and vote responsibly with Christian values in mind, hoping and praying the politicos don't turn on us as so many have done in the past. When Wesley started a "poor house for destitute widows and children," he had set it up so that he and the other Methodist preachers would also live with them, thereby maintaining solidarity. Here are Wesley's own words:

For I myself, as well as the other Preachers who are in town, diet with the poor, on the same food, at the same table; and we rejoice herein, as a comfortable earnest of our eating bread together in our father's kingdom. (A Plain Account of the People called Methodists, VIII:265)

In this day when many tele-evangelists are being investigated for misusing millions of dollars, it would be hard to imagine them living like this with the poor among us. What do you think?

Birthday Celebration!

Birthday Celebration!

Just a quick note to say, "Happy 306th Birthday" to John Wesley! - Wesley was born on June 17, 1703 to the Rev'd. Samuel & Susanna Wesley. He was either the 13th or 14th of their children; no one is quite sure. In any case, he was only the seventh to survive the first year of life. Oddly, he was the third Wesley child to be named "John" (the previous two had died). (cf. The Elusive Mr. Wesley, Vol. 1, Heitzenrater).

(From Rev. Dr. Todd Stepp's blog http://wesleyananglican.blogspot.com)

Weekly Commentary-How much is a Life Worth?
by Keith Kiper/The Circuit Rider
A comparison was made last Monday between the assassination of Martin Luther King and the murder of late-term abortion provider Dr. George. Tiller has one relative of the slain civil rights leader outraged. Dr. Alveda King, a notable pro-life advocate and Martin Luther King's niece, lashed out to The Washington Times about comments made by Dr. Tiller's friend and colleague, Dr. LeRoy Carhart. What's next? Comparing Adolf Hitler with Abraham Lincoln? Martin Luther King, Jr. campaigned for equal rights for African- Americans. Surprising to some, the greatest resistance came from the Democratic Party who resisted anti-lynching and other laws until the mid 60's when Lyndon Johnson had to reach to the Republican Party for enough votes to pass his famous Civil Rights legislation. (Hard to believe,Click here to read in Democrat's and Republican's own words) This in ironic, considering that some African-Americans would not even consider EVER voting Republican.

I realize that no party or candidate is perfect, and as some would say, "I just vote for the man."
However, in this day of lobbyists and political party payoffs, there are only a few good men (and women) left. After all, we have seen some of the "Blue Dogs" turn yellow for Nancy Pelosi in recent weeks. Back to the Tiller/King comparison. Tiller snuffed out the life , by his own admission, of some 60,000 lives, more than the entire Viet Nam war. He often used the mental health exception as a ruse for his "practice." Dr. King risked his own life to better the lives of others. Not much similarity or sacrifice there. Tiller and others have made millions with the government sanctioned practice of infanticide. A large percentage of the abortions were performed on African-American women. Some would consider this to be a modern form of racism. We live in a day and age when there seem to some to be a lot of gray areas. They probably haven't read the same Bible I have read. Look at what 2 Peter Chapter two has to say,
"Many will follow their sensuality and because of them the way of truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words..."2 Peter 2,3 (NASB)

I don't write these commentaries in an effort to promote or condemn a particular political party. Unfortunately, there are more differences than there used to be. A Christian should pray about this and seek God's guidance. Galations tells us,"It is fine to be zealous as long as the purpose is good."Jesus commands us to shed light where there is darkness. As John wesley said about slavery, we can apply to the sanctity of life,"Where in the justice of inflicting the severist of evils on those who have done us no wrong?" There are many resources available. Just check out the left hand column of this blog. What do you think? Your comments and differing points of view are always welcome and will not be criticized here. I'll close with Father Frank Pavone's Prayer for Life.


Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,
And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.
I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion,
Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by
the Resurrection of Your Son.
I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.
Today I commit myself
Never to be silent,
Never to be passive,
Never to be forgetful of the unborn.
I commit myself to be active in the Pro-Life movement,
And never to stop defending life
Until all my brothers and sisters are protected,
And our nation once again becomes
A nation with liberty and justice
Not just for some, but for all,
Through Christ our Lord. Amen!

Fr. Frank Pavone/National Director, Priests for Life/Prayer to End Abortion