Saturday morning I was asked to speak to Cancer survivors and their caregivers and supporters at the DeKalb County Relay for Life, which is a fund-raiser for cancer research. I was surprised they asked me, because I’ve never been involved with the Relay for Life (formerly known as Walk-for-Life). My first thought was that really didn’t fit my purpose, but then I thought about what an opportunity it was to speak to people facing a life-threatening disease about hope.
So, I shared about some lessons I learned battling prostate cancer:
1. I am Not Invincible.
A. Things Happen That Aren’t Supposed to Happen.
B. To Reevaluate What I’ve Been Taught.
C. To Deal With My Own Mortality.
2. God Will Direct Me.
A. He Arranges Coincidences.
B. Everyone Has A Home Remedy.
3. I Am An Overcomer.
A. To Make the Most of Every Day.
B. To Have Empathy With Others.
C. I Can Encourage Others.
These are things I have learned the hard way. Any lessons you could add that you’ve learned while going through the fire?
Tags: cancer, faith, lessons, trouble
As a Christian, I have to see a spiritual dimension in everything around me. So I have to ask the question, what is cancer and where does it come from. Doctors and scientists can put a scientific answer to these questions, but I need to ask them from a spiritual perspective.
In the Old Testament, on occasion people sinned against God, and they were immediately judged with leprosy, an incurable physical disease. Healing could only occur when God reversed the curse through answered prayer. Any leper, then, became associated with sinners and uncleanness because of that pattern.
Somehow that imagery has became transferred to cancer in our modern day. Committed Christians have this perverted concept that anyone with cancer must be a sinner and is unclean to the Lord. There is absolutely no scriptural evidence this is true.
I believe cancer is the result of the fall of man. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Cancer is the result of Sin, not a person’s sins. Cancer in any form is an Evil Invader bent on beginning the process of death in the human body. I believe we Christians should tackle this invader and cast him out of our bodies. Because he works rapidly, we must act rapidly.
Tags: cancer, leprosy, sin
The week after I first learned I had this cancer, I went to our Fellowship’s annual conference in Fort Wayne, and determined to not tell anyone, but see what God would do. There we got to reconnect with our fellow pastors from all over the country. One evening Anita and I were invited to a home for fellowship. We happened to sit on a patio with another couple from Florida. Immediately our wives connected and began speaking about health issues in their lives. Then the other wife made the comment that her husband had just dealt with prostate cancer. My spirit lept within me as I knew this must be one of God’s coincidences.
We spent an hour listening to Pastor Mark Goodman’s account of having his prostate removed robotically. After three months all side effects of the procedure were gone. He was healed, and I felt God had divinely arranged that encounter to encourage me and give God’s advice on what I should do.
Armed with this awareness, I met last Friday with my Urologist and discussed our treatment options. Together, we determined to follow this method of prostate removal. I will meet with the specialist who does these surgeries this Friday. Keep praying.
Tags: cancer, coincidence, Spirit
The Board of Directors have agreed to give me a 4-week sabbatical to deal with this cancer, once the procedure begins. There are many options I have with early stage prostate cancer. This is my decision to make, and not anyone else’s, and after much research and prayer, I have decided to pursue robotic surgery to remove the prostate. This will require an overnight stay in the hospital and a couple of weeks off work for recovery.
A ‘sabbatical’ is a form of the word ‘sabbath’ which means rest. It is separate from a vacation because I don’t have four weeks’ of vacation left this year and plan to work at home during this time.
I’ve got a wonderful staff at the church and know that everything will continue without a flaw in my absence. I plan to work at home on that sabbatical and put sermon plans together well into next year. Except for a wedding next weekend, there is nothing the rest of the year that would fall apart without me. And I want to do it this year because I’ve already met my hefty insurance deductible!
Keep praying. The next step is to meet with the specialist that does these robotic surgeries, which is scheduled for Friday.
Tags: cancer, rest, sabbath
If you were in church this weekend (Oct 4 or 5) you know that I have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Its in an early stage and is not life threatening unless I stick my head in the sand and hope it goes away, or try some unproven home remedy, like too many men do.
My faith is strong and I see the hand of God in and through this. I expect Him to teach me many lessons that I could not have learned otherwise. And, as a vessel of the Holy Spirit, I intend to pass those lessons and insights along to you through the whole process via this blog, which will be updated almost daily. We’ll walk through this together.
Anita and I need some space and time alone to process all of this until we’re on the other side, so although we appreciate your love and concern, we ask for your patience in getting your reliable news from this blog; its here especially for our church friends and family who are a powerful part of our lives. Stay tuned…
Tags: cancer, faith, support