All posts by Lee Johndrow

Lee is the Senior Leader of Abundant Grace Fellowship Church in Keene, NH He is the father of five wonderful children. Married for over 26 years to his wife Tina. Loving life with family, friends, faith, fun and food!

Dreams Of Change-What Does Love Have to do with it?

Last night I had several dreams, but 2 stood out to me. The others were good, but they did not have the interesting aspects that these 2 had. Add in that I felt they were connected and had a value to bring change to my life and those around me. 

In my first dream, I went to a store that I do not frequent. A huge grocery store. Walking in, I noticed that many were not wearing masks. One person had a mask on, and I felt bewildered as I looked about. I watched how people were doing things. There seemed to be a carnival atmosphere. The one with the mask was upset, angry.  

Continue reading Dreams Of Change-What Does Love Have to do with it?

Look out! Where Will The Spirit of Division Lead us?

On Wednesday of this week, I had a dream about division. Removing people from the fold. Pulling them out of the game

People will be asking “where are they?”

The spirit of division.  

If I have learned one thing about Christ, it is every time I draw a line to keep people “out” I look over to see Christ on the other side of the line with the very people I wanted to “keep out”. And to quote Erin Reagan, maybe the reason for the line being drawn in the sand is so you can erase it! 

Continue reading Look out! Where Will The Spirit of Division Lead us?

Take the time to Let Your Light Shine

Many of us have read the parable about the wheat and the tares. (It is easier when it is the first book of the New Testament. 😊 ) Unfortunately, the reading of it hasn’t always brought the church to focus on souls, but instead a lot of finger-pointing at folks who do not do what people believe they ought to be doing. 

I want to give you a little of my pre-Christianity or pre-kingdom history. 

I was born in New England. My dad, “a lapsed Catholic” and my mom, who leaned more towards the Episcopalian and Congregational church thinking. My mom was the one who “took us to church”. But truth be told, other than the social piece, church gatherings seemed to have little to do with the Bible.  

Continue reading Take the time to Let Your Light Shine

Lifting up the oppressed without destroying the oppressor

There are many people that are angry at others and they have made decisions according to their anger. 

Each day social media is filled with rants and raves.  The airwaves overwhelmed with statements of who is right and who is not. 

This week, the Pope, talking on Lent, said in partially improvised remarks, “is a time to give up useless words, gossip, rumours, tittle-tattle and speak to God on a first name basis,” he said. 

“We live in an atmosphere polluted by too much verbal violence, too many offensive and harmful words, which are amplified by the internet,” he said. “Today, people insult each other as if they were saying ‘Good Day.'” 

Continue reading Lifting up the oppressed without destroying the oppressor

Stop The Judgement! Love as you are loved

Earlier this week, I read the story of a young man and his wife who announced they were separating after 20 years of marriage. (Separation is not divorce, but who knows.) He also shared he was “not a Christian”. 

I met this young man over 20 years ago. An up and coming author, soon to be church leader, he was engaging and real. 

Continue reading Stop The Judgement! Love as you are loved

Dreams FOr The Future

Last night I had a dream. In the dream there was a large stadium and 5 teachers. I was one of the teachers. The administration began to assign “students” to each teacher and what was to be taught. As the topics came, I was excited they were not mine. Finally, they got to me. They gave me “words to change history”. I jumped up excitedly, screaming “YES”. Then they gave me the students. These guys were “smart” but they just played around ALL THE TIME. They switched seats, changed their names, and more.

Continue reading Dreams FOr The Future

Judgement Free? Our choice?

I was on my way home from our church fellowship. I had just taught on “signs and wonders that follow” the believer. I shared many of the miracles of Jesus, as well as the healings that are spoken of. (37 collectively, though the scriptures in John 21:25, say “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” 

And then, I heard the words “judgement free”. Now, lots of people use those words, including Planet Fitness, but, what does it mean to the church at large? 

Continue reading Judgement Free? Our choice?

Requiem For A Friend Part 2

Today, your obituary with a memorial service date appeared. Looking at your picture, tears welled to my eyes.  (It is now Friday, and tomorrow we gather to say “good bye”.) 

But are we ever going to say, “good bye”? I am not talking about the spiritual piece, for that is so important, but the places he will be “seen”.  In his children and grandchildren, for instance. In many of the folks who gather tomorrow. In the people of the community and the region. In places and people, many will never know. 

The impartation remains. The legacy he has left continues. (How many for so many reasons will not be there, that he sowed into? I wonder. Proverbs 13:22: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.”

What does it look like? How will it take shape? 

Many years ago, he and I were praying about a situation and I was struck by his childlike faith. 

One of my favorite areas of his life, that I admired about my friend, was the area of prayer. When he prayed, you could sense the humility and the wonderment in his voice, whether it be for an individual, the church fellowship, or a community and region. The simplicity of his prayer, in the expectation, was always there. 

I recollect a time, he and I, along another local pastor traveled, to a prayer summit. It was a great time of fellowship, and friendship. (Perhaps one of the most fun things that happened, was that the three of us roomed together. It was about 4 in the morning and there was a knock on the bathroom door. He asked me what I was I doing sleeping in the tub. I explained to him that the snoring didn’t allow me to sleep so I figured I ought to come into the bathroom and pray a while, laying in the tub with a couple of towels inside of it. He just laughed and said what do you expect from old men.) He had been instrumental in our area and bringing leaders of fellowships together to pray for the region, the state and the nations. His times of prayer and praying were one of the many reasons I was attracted to him in our early days together. 

And he was never too prideful to ask for prayer. (Not all leaders were or are like that.) He would sometimes share the most painful or personal things to be prayed for. He was authentic. 

He desired to see unity. And he did not just pray for it, he worked hard to maintain it. 

Seeking unity was one of the things I truly admired about my friend. His willingness to do as much as he did for the cause of unity. It could be a pastor’s meeting or a get together with others.

In the late 90’s, I had a dream, related to unity. He and 3 other leaders were in that dream. We began to talk about it, and he encouraged me to contact the others. We met in his home. And the dream began to be real. Thank God for his heart for unity. Our first meeting took place a month later. From around New England and New York, they came. 60 men and women.  

Out of the five us who originally met, four of you have gone home to be with the Father. Out of that 60, there are 7 of us left in ministry.)

He often opened his Church Fellowship and the building to a call for Unity across the region. Whether it was a night of worship or a night of Prayer or simply a gathering of leaders to break bread he never thought twice about it. He truly was an ambassador for the sake of unity often crossing barriers that others had put in place that people make feel welcome. 

He taught me to include, rather than to exclude. 

A few years later I was going through a very tough time, losing my mom, stepmom, spiritual dad and having my son in a coma in just a few short months. Besides the phone calls, he made trips to let me know as long “as I swing the bat” I was still in the game.

Death is neither timely, nor convenient.

I thank you for the heart and thinking, that you have shared with me.

I will be adding to this in the near future.

Requiem For A Friend Part 1

I have put this off, because I was afraid it would be true if I wrote it. A week ago, I went to your home and the next day you were gone. 25 years.  Nearly half my life and a quarter of yours, we were friends. Despite our different backgrounds we became brothers, close friends, kinfolk. 

18 years my senior. A generation. A nothingness and a forever. 

This week I rode my motorcycle on one of the trips we used to ride together on. In remembrance. To see, if I would see you. A little celebration of your life.  Continue reading Requiem For A Friend Part 1