Pastor Steve Kayner
    "Jack of all trades and, finally, Master of Divinity"

        Firstly, my wife, Amy, has informed me that I have given biographical information for everyone but me.  Therefore, I have created a page that will eventually hold my story.  At the moment,  the page only contains an opening statement, but that will change as I get time to add my story to it.  My bet is that eventually, that page is going to be very lengthy.  I have a long story with many facets and I hope to publish it, even if it's only to the web.  If you wish to get started, you can click on this link to be whisked off to that page.  

    Steve has been given a vision by God to launch a ministry of Pastoral Care to Christian leaders and their families, especially those who are somewhere in the process of burning out from their work. The primary word describing this vision is Restoration.  The modern American church seems to attend to every kind of action except restoration, and I feel confident that powerful biblical restoration is one of a short list of actions that is necessary in the church today, especially for Pastors and Christian leaders.  The process of growing and building this vision has included a Master of  Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary.  Some of the preliminary ideas for the ministry that have grown from my education can be found on the Dream Page.   While the details behind this ministry have been developing for close to eight years, the real beginning of the ministry is very likely in the very near future.
              At the present, the Kayners are growing in grace and searching  for direction in Pittsburgh, PA.  Some things are happening for us.  In early November, we began to file papers with the State and Federal Governments to launch the ministry officially.  To date, we have our Employer Identification Number and have registered the fictitious name, Fisherman's Robe, Inc.  There are also papers in the works for us to be considered a non-profit-ready corporation in PA.  Once the papers are filed in this commonwealth, we then apply to the Federal Government for 501(c)(3) non-profit status.  It is a step, and it is in process.  In the meantime, we have our Fourth Sunday worship times and are praying about an alternate, larger location and funding.
    On another front, after a long time, I have been released to work.  It is amazing to me that if I had fought with God and ignored His direction to wait, I could have had a lousy low paying job for the sake of having a job.  As it is, I am working with my father for a really good wage, doing work that we can taper off as the ministry begins to grow and be funded.  It is not terribly hard work, mostly driving for him and handing him tools.  As he is preparing to retire,  we can pick and choose the work that will be most fun, lucrative, and a blessing to his favorite customers.  We can leave the hard, monotonous, and painful work to whomever wants to do that work.  If I had been more worldly minded, I could be much worse off and trapped in a job that I would have to terminate abruptly to begin the ministry.  Now, in reality, we can both work toward the ministry in God's timing and earn the money that we need to live.  God is amazing in His eternal vision and wisdom!  We're still waiting, but not so painfully.  Good work, good company, and moving in a positive and creative direction!  A Coincidence?  I think not!

(Links to the archives page(s) that hold my previous ponderings.)

    4/18/02   ;  6/22/02  ; 7/22/02 ;  9/10/02  ; 11/15/02   

The Current Pondering from the Desk of Pastor Steve            

1/20/03

    So it's the New Year.  Happy New Year!  That usually calls for a New Years message.  I'm not sure whether I'll be cooperative in that, but I will share what's on my heart.  Actually, that's just what I always do, so this won't necessarily be any different.  I don't tend to buy much into the cyclical concept of starting over every year.  I guess there are times when I find that to be useful, but I am tired of starting over.  I work hard to live my life in such a way that I am not trying to escape it, but want to keep moving and growing and progressing, so as to this idea of constantly starting over, if you have to, fine, but not for me, please.  Another peculiar tradition that I find essentially offensive is that of making a New Year's Resolution.  I made one maybe fifteen years ago that  I have never broken.  It was never to make another resolution to break for the New Year.
    The Bible says this thing about letting your Yes be Yes and your No be No.  I have understood that to mean that we are to make up our minds and not be wishy-washy.  Our word is to be our bond.  When we offer to do something or set our minds on a task, we should be true to that direction.  It is so hard in these days to find people who will commit to anything.  Gee, I wonder if that is part of the trouble that is the church?  If people can't commit to each other or to their church or country club, things, places and people that are tangible, how would they be able to begin to understand or be true to a commitment to God who is real, but not visible or readily obvious?  I know that  theoretically backward, but in today's world, the seen and the tangible are the real to this generation.  Immediate and in my hands are the acceptable terms of  operation today.  If it takes time or energy or work, it's not worth it.  Money on the other hand is a different matter.  If it costs a lot, then it is valuable, and money is no object.  No money?  Get credit!  No credit?  No problem!  If I want it, and it is available immediately, I can find a way to get it.  Heck, some store front on the corner will loan me half of my paycheck until I get one.  The problem that is not so apparent from the outside of the store is that the loan costs me the other half of my paycheck, but I guess I'll just have to borrow the other half  from somewhere else.
    (OK, back away from the soap box and regroup!  Breathe deep.  Again.  What are you thinking about?  What is your point?  Do you have one?)
   
    So, they say it's a New Year!  Wow.  How fast time moves...  This is a wonderful format for expelling random thoughts in an attempt to make some point or some sense.  I guess one thing that is rumbling around the cranium is a growing dislike, distaste, almost hatred, if I can go that far, for a rampant faction of the church, the legalists.  For a Legalistic Christian, it is the rules that make them comfortable.  If there aren't enough rules, life gets uncomfortable and even scary.  There is an air of Holiness that floats around these churches.  Their greatest pride, and unfortunately, is it pride, comes from the sentiment expressed in the rhyme, "I don't smoke and I don't chew.  And I don't go with girls that do!"  Their "faith" is based on following the rules and their greatest joy comes from trying to make others responsible for their law keeping.  You always know if you have come into the presence of a legalist.  They almost always look like they drink castor oil and prune juice instead of milk and coke, and when it takes its natural effect, the real "sacrifice unto the Lord" is to ignore the pending natural results as long as possible.  There is no joy except to bust a "brother."  Their god is very small and unforgiving.  He can't abide a sinner, and even hanging out with people who sin, according to their very careful, stringent standards, is to promote the sin that they so greatly hate.
    They love to "get people saved."  If they can have a meeting and "get them saved" by the dozens, that's better, and a real good batch of  them sinners could clear out the local bar.  You see, they expect that once one has closed their eyes and raised their hands and prayed that "Sinner's Prayer*" that all is right and obviously it is now to be only a day or so until those newly saved souls have given up every vice and begun to work the streets, preaching repentance.
    Now wait.  I know that I am employing a little tiny bit of sarcasm and overstatement, but there is a major pile of truth in this slightly exaggerated paragraph.  Let me explain so that you don't assume that I am a godless heathen, too.  (If you're a legalist, you have already made that assumption, so read on....)  I fully believe that there is only one way to heaven.  Eternity is only available through faith in Jesus, the Christ.  I put the phrase in quotation marks because, as I read the word, it is a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit to convince people that Jesus is the one way.  Our job is to offer those who are seeking and curious, the opportunity to accept their salvation, and then to spend time making disciples of them.  If the Holy Spirit is working on a soul, it is not difficult to explain what the Bible says to them, and offer them the chance to recognize what God has been doing in their hearts.  God is not impressed by how many people "get saved," because He is watching and waiting to see those souls changed and taught and endued with God's gifts and fruit, so that they  are on the road to a mature faith.  And, in my learned opinion, it is God's job, and God's job only, to convince people that their habits and old ways are sinful and harmful.  Sure, if asked, and maybe if I were really hungry to see someone get out of a hard place, I might suggest that they reconsider those habits that are truly harmful, but it is not MY job to be the Holy Spirit.  I agree that there are people in our lives that we are accountable to, and to whom we hold accountable, but even with those people, there is a point at which it is not our job to "inform" them of every error they make.  
    I have been taught by the Holy Spirit that if I see a "fault" in someone, there is only one option that I have as a mature believer.  Sure there is more than one way to deal with someone else's "fault," but when I have practiced what I've been taught, the results are amazing and perfect.  Let me explain.  If I find a "fault" in someone that is well within my close circle, I have been taught to pray that God will show them their fault and convince them to change it, and then help them to make that change.  When I do that, and practice what I've been taught, the results have been 100% effective.  There have been a few times where the change took some time, even several weeks, but the change was amazing, and that thing that I would have caused a fight over, became a moment of deep meaningful change and a solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem.  Imagine that, prayer that allows God to work in someone else's life, and by agreeing with God's plan for that person, no arguments, no hurt feelings, and real tangible change.  God is faithful, and perfect in His work.  When we take on the job of the Holy Spirit, we cause pain, but when we agree with God, He is perfect and His work is effective.
    I guess I have only one more thought to tackle before I post this.  I put an * after the term "Sinner's Prayer."  That term is not found in the Bible, nor is there one patented prayer that is necessary to pray to be "saved."  I am not saying that prayer is not a proper way to approach God for His salvation.  Prayer is a perfect way, but in too many circles, people are made to feel that if they don't pray this one specific prayer, they cannot get to heaven.  Or at least, they come to believe that there is only  one prayer that will work.  The "Sinner's Prayer" is not a set of magic words that opens the gate.  There is nothing really wrong with having a prayer on tap to help someone who is struggling with the words, but an honest cry out to God from their heart is much more effective and personal.  By letting the penitent speak for him/herself, too, it allows them to discover that talking to God is not magical or specific, but just a heart to heart dialogue.  If one were to search the scripture for "THE" way to be "saved," they would be hard pressed to get a single answer.  The Bible is clear in that salvation requires faith in Jesus and some form of a confession of that belief.  The ongoing work of the Holy Spirit to effect the change that God requires of His children also demands that we turn 180 degrees from that sin that we recognize and begin walking toward God.  We are made new in the transaction.  Our old nature dies and falls away from us (as we surrender it to God), and God's new nature grows in us, so that we become virtually unrecognizable.  HOWEVER, it is not up to any person to dictate what we change or when.  I submit that ONLY God knows when, where, and how to transform a sinner into an heir.  And better than that, He wants to help us make that change, and our only responsibility is to let Him change us.  When a "brother or sister" makes it their business to "assist" you in your walk, I submit that they are commiting the sin.  Legalism is a man made way of putting an unlimited God into a tiny man made box, so that the legalist can feel better about themself.  There is nothing Biblical about making a new law code from only parts of the Bible, and selective parts at that!  God is well able to speak to every one of His children, and I believe that it is my job, if I must involve myself in the spiritual life of another, to pray for them, that God would have his perfect way with them.  Any more than that is at best interference and at worst playing god.  If you truly love someone, pray for them!  And please, if a brother or sister has not asked you for help, then keep your attention on your own life.  If you must interfere, then simply pray.  I am convinced that those who spend all of their time meddling in other people's spiritual lives are trying to divert God's attention from the huge holes in their own faith!

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