Pastors – Pastor Fran

June 7, 2024June 7, 2024 Fran Trascritti Pastors, Seeking God

Why I’m taking a break…

All of us should know how important it is to take time to think, to pray, and to refresh in order to be effective in their daily life. Days off are important. Vacations are important. A period of reset is incredibly important.

At key points in my life, I have been blessed to have taken time to reflect and seek the Lord, and He has always spoken in one direction or another. Time away from the grind and towards the Spirit’s leading is essential, and these past ten days have been especially fruitful.

I’m coming off of a much needed vacation, and God has spoken to me that I need to confess and adjust. What do I need to confess? Here it is: I’m confessing my over-scheduled life, my addiction to screen time, and my lack of deep, meaningful, and worshipful prayer time with the Lord.

My daily grind has been more secular than spiritual, more world than the Word, and though I have taken great steps to not fall into the “flesh trap” of doing ministry apart from the Spirit, I fear that I have been heading there. What’s worse is that after a year and a half of a daily grind to revitalize a church and turn our focus to gospel centeredness, I realize now that the greatest tragedy is the lack of the power of the Spirit of Christ in the work. And apart from Him, we can do nothing.

That’s why I am taking a break. Not from ministry and not from my church, but I’m deemphasizing activities in my life that take me away from the two greatest loves: God and people. This means less screen time, less social media, less TV, and yes, less email, text, and FB messenger. I’m instead replacing it with other things: more activities that involve me seeking to read, pray, reflect, care, share, and love life and those around me. I’ll focus less on postings and more on people. Less on “efficiency.” Less quantity, more quality. More on life. More on eternal life.

My hope is to be better, to be ever more focused on Christ and His abundant life rather than getting sucked into an inferior substitute that the world offers. This is why for the summer at least and possibly longer, I’m disengaging from social media. I’m removing it from my phone, even in some cases, deactivating some accounts.

I ask you to pray for me as I begin again at Beacon Church this week to renew our call to the gospel. Pray for a new focus, for renewed faithfulness, and for a proclaimed future in Christ, both in me and through me.

Blessings,

Pastor Fran

May 26, 2023 Fran Trascritti ministry, Pastors

Stop Trying to be Famous!

Years ago at a gathering of church leaders, I ran across a young man and immediately could see that he was a guy who was trying to climb the “ladder.” He entered the large lobby, chewing on a piece of gum, hair done perfectly right, clothing in style, and spoke to no one. No one, except those who in his mind, mattered. He quickly climbed that so-called ladder, rose to more influential, higher paying, and well known positions, and appeared to be set. At least from a fleshly perspective.

Years later, this young man would fail morally, losing his ministry position, and falling into relative obscurity. His fall was faster than his rise.

In the Book of Genesis, there is an interesting description of the people post-flood and how they reacted to God’s commands to multiply and fill the earth: Genesis 11:4 (ESV), “4 Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.'”

The people were commanded to fill the earth, but they intended to do the opposite. They were to be a world that would praise YHWH’s name, but they sought to elevate their own. In other words, the Kingdom of God would have to wait, because, after all, they were out for themselves.

Ministry is no place for names to be made. It’s no place for famous people. In fact, it should be the opposite. For a church leader, there’s only one name that needs to be elevated, and that is the saving name of Jesus. People don’t go to my church but Christ’s church, people don’t need to worship their pastor, but Jesus and only Jesus.

Brother, sister, stop trying to be famous. Vanity is vapid and the praise of man is folly. God will not share His glory with you or any other, so move on. Instead, join with me as we seek to go deeper in our walk, loving people who may not always love us, and share what it means to serve a holy God in a whole hearted way.

Pastor Fran

April 28, 2023April 28, 2023 Fran Trascritti bible, Devotional, ministry, Pastors

What Do you Do When Others Attack?

Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” Nehemiah 6:8 ESV

At this point in the building of the wall around Jerusalem, the enemies of the work resorted to threats, lies, and deceit against the city, the people, and especially, Nehemiah. They openly mocked the work, threatened the safety of the families, sent multiple letters to Nehemiah, and even hired a prophet to try to entice him to sin.

Yet none of these plots worked. At every new threat, Nehemiah resisted and relied on the Lord. Even when the enemies accused him of beginning a rebellion against the king, Nehemiah refuted it and plainly told them, “you are inventing these things in your own mind.” The work continued as he inspired confidence and encouragement in the people. Soon the wall was built, the Temple was protected, and regular worship and sacrifices took place again.

When we are truly doing God’s work in the Kingdom, the enemy is almost certainly going to attack. And it tends to come in waves of strikes, usually in the form of accusations, deceptions, and even attempts at personal smears of the leadership. Opponents of the gospel will devote hard work and energy to divide and discourage the people of God, and good, godly leaders will often experience great pain and suffering. Personally, I have experienced these attacks in the past and I expect that attacks will continue to occur until glory comes. That is, as long as I am not discouraged or dissuaded from preaching Christ.

But, as we did with my last post, let’s look again at Nehemiah’s responses to his opponents. When he was attacked, Nehemiah had a response of encouragement, a word from the Word. He was angry but did not sin. Instead, he stood firm, held to the task at hand, relied on the Lord and His people, and stayed pure as he avoided temptations to sin.

His example should be your example if you are under attack. Here’s a few practical responses you can take:

Run to the Word. Check your motives and walk. Don’t let the accusations have any ground for truth by being in the truth of the Scriptures.
Be confident in your calling. This does not mean to be self confident, but be “God confident.” Stay reassured that God’s calling in you is going to be completed, for “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6).
Stay free of temptations and sin. Everyone is going to sin, of course, but it is vital to avoid the intentional sins which so easily plague us. Nehemiah did just that, choosing to stay pure in God’s eyes, whether avoiding sin or even more importantly, being righteously angry and not sinning. You need to be no different in your lifestyle, but when you do blow it (and you surely will) repent and do better.
Respond in a godly, firm manner. The best and only response is a calm, Christ centered response that places the gospel first and ego last. Let God work it out, because, well, He will. The means to again run to God, not standing on your own strength but on His power. This also means, of course, to stay connected with the Spirit in prayer and the Word.

Hope these are useful and helpful. Let me know if you have any other takeaways from this passage.

May the Lord use you greatly, suppressing the enemy and advancing His Kingdom. To God be the glory!

Pastor Fran

May 17, 2020May 17, 2020 Fran Trascritti discipline, ministry, Pastors

3 questions to ask for your next Ministry

No matter what you do, any profession is something that God can use for His Kingdom. We are all ministers. All of us are called to something for some greater purpose in Christ (see Ephesians 2:10).

For me, to borrow a term that one of my former colleagues just used, right now, I am a free agent. Because of the revenue impact of the COVID-19 closings, my organization had to eliminate a significant number of positions, including my entire ministry team. No one did anything wrong, nor did I leave on bad terms. But the truth remains that like some of you, I am prayerfully seeking God’s next assignment.

During a time like this, it’s perfectly normal to do some soul-searching, trying to get guidance on what to do next. For me, I have chosen to look at my own life, aspects of my personality, and remembering the times that I had the most joy while I served Jesus. My process has been to ask myself three basic questions. And while none of these questions are earth-shattering or overly creative, they are still helpful:

1. What is my passion?
2. What are my gifts?
3. What is my calling?

First, what is my passion? I believe that a person’s passion is God-given. These are the things that cut the heart, that stir up excitement, that keep you up at night (in a good way). When I served in my last ministry, I would wake up at 5 am or sooner WITH NO ALARM CLOCK just to get into the office and get started. That’s an example of the type of passion for doing what you are supposed to do!

What are my gifts? When a person comes to Christ, God the Holy Spirit provides gifts to a believer to build up and multiple the church. I have gifts, you have gifts, but none of us have the same gift. It’s different for each person. The key is finding out which gifts you have and use them in the work of ministry.

What is my calling? We all have a calling from God. Christ has given us the general call, to make disciples of people (Mt 28:19), but how we exercise this can be different. And God will take that calling, use your gifts and passion, and guide you to the ministry that He has placed before you. This ministry can be across the street or across the world, but it is a ministry nonetheless.

Here’s a general example of what this looks like (I just used some terms at random as possible examples):

My encouragement: ask and answer these three questions prayerfully, carefully, and spend time with a trusted, godly counsel talking about them. When you do, I am confident that you will have a better direction for your sweet spot, allowing you a new freedom to serve with joy for Jesus.

For me, this process has helped me to better hone in on my next steps. It’s good for me, but also good for the next ministry that God leads me to be a part of. And this is the key: to follow God’s leading to a place in order to serve Him joyfully, effectively, and faithfully, all so He can be magnified through me.

Fran

November 10, 2018 Fran Trascritti discipline, ministry, Pastors

7 Reasons Why You Need a Pathway for Discipleship

Although some churches do a wonderful job of discipling, I continue to be amazed at the number of churches that have no pathway for growth for their members to follow. Yet, we all know that spiritual growth is essential! And while we know that growth is a work of the Spirit, it is also healthy to have a plan to follow as you let Him do His work in you. I’ll share another time on how you can set this up, but for now, here are 7 reasons why you need a pathway for discipleship, both individually and collectively as a church:

You are tempted to sin. Sin has been here for a long time, and temptation is not going to stop.
You need a far off view. A big picture view is an important part of objectively tracking areas where you are growing and where you need to grow in.
You are tempted to be passive. There are more tools for spiritual development than ever before, but there is a great irony that biblical illiteracy is so high. It is very easy for you to sit back and not get intentional with your spiritual growth.
Accountability is needed. The rugged individualism of the American culture tends to shy away from accountability, but there are many passages in Scripture that call us to submitting to each other in Christ.
You can avoid an unbalanced diet. Having a strategy for study will help you develop a healthy, balanced diet for discipleship and avoid doctrinal “hobby horses.”
You’ll study topics and books that you might not normally study. It’s natural that we tend to avoid the areas we are unfamiliar with, but a properly implemented pathway will stretch you a bit.
You can be humbled and challenged. You might see growth in some areas and a lack of growth in other areas of your life. This is a great opportunity for you to be further challenged!

Hope this helps. Next time, I will write on the “how” of creating a discipleship pathway.

Fran

May 19, 2018 Fran Trascritti culture, Jesus, ministry, Pastors

Relief is coming

This morning, I continued my reading through Nehemiah and one thing that stuck out to me was his complete dependence on prayer. When he dared to approach the king of Persia, he prayed. When people tried to discourage him, he sent up a short prayer. When he saw injustices by the nobles towards the people of Jerusalem, he prayed a simple prayer that he is righteous with God and not self righteous. And when he called the people out on their sinfulness, he prayed a long prayer of confession and repentance. Nehemiah was one of the most successful leaders of his time and his prayers to the Lord are consistently recorded. The prayers were often nothing fancy, but they were usually simple, direct, and meaningful to his situation on a daily basis.

Even more, we can see how much he depended on God’s leading through his time in prayer. Praying for him was like breathing. As he prayed, God led, and as God led, he followed in prayerful obedience. As others attacked verbally and politically, he stayed focused and firm on the calling God had burdened on his heart. His principled leadership was only going to move in a different direction IF God moved him. Nothing more, nothing less. Either way, he knew that as he followed God, relief was coming to him in some way, shape, or form.

photo-1448550603489-a7e43b0da4d2 Today, we have church leaders all over who are facing attacks. Some attacks have come from persecution and through threats. Others have come from some of the supposed sheep of the flocks they shepherd. I too have experienced this sort of man-centered garbage, yet I know that any response less than biblical is amounting to repaying evil with evil. Pastor, leader, deacon, friend, don’t respond with evil, respond to evil with good. Relief is coming, and it’s coming through the workings of the Lord.

You have a calling that God has burdened on your heart. Stay focused, stay firm, and stay prayerful constantly. The greatest tool you have is not your own words of wisdom or cunning man-centered politics, but your dependence on the One who fights your battles for you. Relief is coming, relief to continue your calling as you fight the battle for the souls of men. Stay encouraged, my friend!

Fran

April 5, 2018April 5, 2018 Fran Trascritti discipline, God's Goodness, ministry, Pastors, salvation

The God of the Possible

The fruit and potential of the land was amazing:

When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there.” Numbers 13:23‭-‬24 CSB

Now think about it: The vine of grapes was so big, two men had to carry it! The land was beautiful, rich, and flowing. The Lord had promised it, and He came through big! All they had to do was follow God and do His will. No enemy, no inhabitant would stop God’s will for His people. They simply had to take a step. A step of faith.

But they didn’t. They forgot the God of the possible, and instead created a god of the impossible. They ignored His miraculous work of the past and looked at the obstacles before them. But seeking to save themselves, they lost it all. They made a horrible, deadly choice and in a business meeting, individual by individual voted a resounding, faithless “no.”

Their “no” would change some of them forever. All if that generation would never see the promises of God fulfilled. Death would follow them when they could have had life and loss abounded when they could have seen gain. Most of all, the chance for God to be glorified by all Israel would be delayed for 40 years.

Have you been voting “no” to God’s work in your life? Has God challenged you to step out in faith? A year ago, I did something that made no sense to people (still doesn’t) and God has amazed me as I have seen Him working in many places I visit. He gets the glory!

And so, let me encourage you to do the same, to walk by faith, to fear nothing, to step out…and let God get the glory!

Fran

August 20, 2017 Fran Trascritti Pastors

What your pastor needs today…

As you worship today or any other day, remember to pray for your pastor. Here’s what he needs today:

He needs your prayers. The spiritual forces of evil has him as a target and the greatest response you can give is by praying for him.
He needs your encouragement. There seems to be a countless number of critics but not enough encouragers. Be an encourager.
He needs your support. Pastors need to have godly, loving supporters as he leads the church in the best way he knows. When he has godly people who he knows are with him, he can make good, thoughtful, and prayerful decisions for God’s church.
He needs your love. In a world of darkness and difficult ministry, he needs the love of Christ through His Bride. Would you share your love for him today?