Better Times

I think this was taken about 5 years ago when we were up in Macon.

He'd have turned 89 today.

The last couple of years were really tough ones. I try to remember the man I knew before.

Job Chapter 2 recap

1 One day the sons of God came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered Him, “and walking around on it.”

Again, a gathering in which Satan is present among the angels before God's throne.

3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him, to destroy him without just cause.”

God is presented as aware of the earlier trial, and its results.

4 “Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. 5 But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

Then Satan makes his revised argument. Since his earlier scheme didn't work, this was his new one. The idea behind it is a simple one - people will act to preserve themselves at the expense of anything or anyone else.

“In Job’s ancient culture, ‘skin for skin’ was a bartering term meaning to trade one skin for another. The Devil is accusing Job of being willing to risk the skin of his children and livestock in order to protect his own skin.” (Lawson)

"When it came down to it, Abraham betrayed his wife to save his life. David forsook his sanity to save his life. Peter denied Jesus to save his own life. There is certainly some truth to the statement, all that a man has he will give for his life." (Guzik)

6 “Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.

Notice that God is in control here, and Satan again can only work within the boundaries that God sets for him. This is not meaningless suffering, but the opposite. The idea that God will be glorified and Satan defeated as a believer trusts God even though everything is going wrong is on display.

There are so many skin diseases that could have fit this description. Guzik develops the diagnosis from other passages in Job.

"• Intense pain (My bones are pierced in me at night, and my gnawing pains take no rest; Job 30:17)
• Peeling and darkened skin (My skin grows black and falls from me; Job 30:30a)
• Pus-filled, erupting sores (My flesh is caked with worms and dust, my skin is cracked and breaks out afresh; Job 7:5b)
• Anorexia, emaciation (My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh; Job 19:20)
• Fever (My bones burn with fever; Job 30:30b)
• Depression (I loathe my life; I would not live forever; Job 7:16 and My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me. I go about mourning, but not in the sun; Job 30:27-28)
• Weeping (My face is flushed with weeping; Job 16:16a)
• Sleeplessness (When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, and the night be ended?’ Job 7:4)
• Nightmares (Then you scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions; Job 7:14)
• Putrid breath (My breath is offensive to my wife; Job 19:17)
• Difficulty breathing (He will not allow me to catch my breath; Job 19:18)
• Failing vision (On my eyelids is the shadow of death; Job 16:16b)
• Rotting teeth (I have escaped by the skin of my teeth; Job 19:20)
• Haggard looks (When they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him; Job 2:12)
• Painful swollen sores all over his body (painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head; Job 2:7)
• Intense itching (to scrape himself; Job 2:8)
• This condition lasted for months (Oh, that I were as in months past; Job 29:2 and I have been allotted months of futility; Job 7:3)"

As anyone who has had a chronic disease knows, the physical disability also brings with it a psychological cost. Satan knows this of course, and his intent is to attack the whole man, not just his physical self. People who stay hopeful have a much better chance to fight off illnesses and recover. If Satan can get Job to lose faith in God then Job will lose his hope. In that case, Satan will win.

9 His wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

This is an interesting verse for a lot of reasons. The fact that Satan took everything from except his wife is always a point of derision as men often comment on how perfect that strategy is to cause Job more misery. I tend to think that if Satan could have taken her from Job he would have. That whole "bone of my bone,flesh of my flesh" deal? Might apply here.

The Septuagent, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures adds some verses that our modern translations don't. And she talks in King James English! :)

"How long wilt thou hold out, and say, “Behold I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my deliverance?” For, behold, thy memorial is cut off from the earth – [even thy] sons and thy daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb, which I bore in vain, with sorrows; and though thyself sittest down to spend the nights in the open air among the corruption of worms, and I am a wanderer, and a servant from place to place, and house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labours and my pains, which now beset me. Now curse God and die." (Cited in Bullinger)

We aren't served well though even by the verse as popularly translated. The "Curse God" quote? It literally should be translated sarcastically as "Well 'Bless God'!" The idea is that Job hasn't given up but his wife has and is now gone so far as to ridicule her husband.

10 “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.

And yet Job treats his wife very kindly. Notice he doesn't say she IS a foolish woman, he says she is "acting like" one of them.

Still, her actions must have really hurt him. Ray Steadman writes:

"I do not know if women fully understand how much their husbands depend on them. I think husbands often draw emotional strength from their wives far more than either they or their wives realize. Here was a severe attack addressed to the very soul of Job, in which he felt his wife abandoning him, advocating that he turn from his faith and renounce his God."

Satan must have really thought he had Job.

Job’s Three Friends Enter the Picture -

11 Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they looked from a distance, they could ⌊barely⌋ recognize him. They wept aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense. Job 2:1-13 (HCSB)

We'll have plenty of time to crack on Job's friends in later chapters, but I think there's a moment here where we can appreciate what they have done.

They came to Job. They didn't have to come, and knowing what they believed about what had happened and why, they still cared enough about their friend to come.
They wept for and with Job. It's easy to do the minimum and get out. These guys came and suffered with Job.
They sat in silence with Job for seven days. I'm sure there was a lot they wanted to say to Job, but they sat in silence until Job spoke.
They intended all the best for Job, and were persistent in wanting and doing what they thought was best for Job.
They spoke their opinion about Job and his condition to Job himself, instead of speaking about him to others. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say "some people have said..." or the like, Bunny and I could have a nice meal out. Job's friends were mistaken about what was behind this event, but they were men enough to tell Job instead of hinting around about it or gossiping with someone else.

Suffering is one of the wedges that Satan uses to tear believers away from God and to keep people from coming to faith in God. So any treatment of this human condition that can help us understand how to live through it is essential. Ray Steadman wraps it up by writing:

"But let us never forget what we have been shown at the beginning of this book: it is God who is doing this, ultimately, and he has an aim in view. And because he does not tell us at this point what it is, we, too, must suffer through this with Job. We must feel to some degree with him what he is feeling, and sense the protest, the anguish, the emptiness of his life. Nevertheless, we must remember that there is an answer, God does have a reason, and it will be made clear as the book unfolds."

Stay tuned..

When Things Don't Go Right

Ah, irony.

We finished looking at the second chapter of Job tonight in Bible study. Job was having a pretty mean string of bad things happening and yet he kept his focus on God. I'll post some of the notes tomorrow for those of you who couldn't be there.

So then I came home, and a series of little things just destroyed my mood. Nothing major - any of them - and I really didn't have to deal with any hardship at all. But one after another a glitch would occur or a program would freeze, and I got progressively more aggravated to the point I had to put out the "Crabby" banner, which if you know me is a double red flag kind of warning.

And none of them amounted to what my father in law would call "a hill of beans."

So it's off to bed after needless aggravation.

There's a lesson in this somewhere. :)

Beach Baptism Pics

You Don't Have To Be My Twin To Be My Brother

Yesterday I wrote about how even though we have seen God work in awesome ways this summer, that there are areas of "needs improvement" at New Hope that have to change, and practices we have grown accustomed to that need to end in order for us to accelerate our effectiveness and impact.

Of course that assumes the church realizes it's not about them.

One of the hardest, most challenging, and draining parts of a pastor's job is dealing with the member's reaction to changes. The temptation for some is always there to break out of the group over certain preferences in style. Dave Browning is a pastor, author, and visionary leader, and he wrote this week on preferences in style and change.

Citing Thomas Jefferson's quip "In matters of style, swim with the current, in matters of principle, stand like a rock." Browning goes on to write some of the best advice I have ever read concerning this. I have excerpted some, but you should read it all at Dave's blog.

I have found that many believers have a wrong notion about Christian unity. They confuse unity with uniformity. Christian unity is not uniformity. Uniformity is the natural man's way of seeking unity and involves:

(1) looking for little things he has in common with others, then

(2) finding differences between his group and others, and finally

(3) increasingly insisting that those who are with him be like him.

That is not Christian unity.

That is worldly uniformity.

And, frankly, anyone can do it, which is why everyone is doing it.

Christian unity is embracing diversity within the will of God (see 1 Corinthians 12). Did you catch the difference? Christian unity actually embraces diversity. Within God's will, there is grace for differences in personality and presentation.

Can you appreciate a sermon that is preached in a different style than you prefer? Can you worship with a song that isn't your favorite? Can you "talk up" a denomination that isn't yours? If not, you may need to take some of the grace that you have for sin, and apply some of it to style.
Dave Browning

The number one request I get as pastor of New Hope isn't (sadly) "Can we do ministry to..." or even "Could I work with..." Instead it usually has to do with some part of worship we don't do enough or we do too much. Everything we do is prayed over and dedicated to the worship of Almighty God. And yet...

We can disagree on the things of style and still be brothers and sisters in Christ if we both acknowledge the power of the Holy Spirit working through and guiding us.

Sunday Wrap-Up

Some Sundays I cannot wait to get home and tell everyone what happened. Others, not so much. Add to that the anxieties caused by Larry Smith's hospitalization after lunch yesterday, and I'm just now approaching the review.

FYI - There are changes ahead for New Hope. No doubt in my heart that we have some areas of "needs improvement", and some areas where present practices need to end if we are to become more effective. We've had an awesome year so far praise God, but that's exactly why we need to look at what we do with a critical eye and see what else we can do to be more engaging, more effective, more in love with Jesus. So I'll be looking through our normal practices this week and seeking feedback from you all on how we can achieve Christ's vision of what New Hope can be.

One area that I am very interested in improving is our communication both outside our worship gatherings and especially in them. We definitely try to over communicate what is happening with an eye toward education of what we are about, but it can get out of sync with the purpose of worship. When we print a worship guide, run ppt slides before the service, then make personal announcements too, it can consume a good deal of resources. The worship guide contains our communication card, so it is multipurpose, but I wonder if something we did in house might be better. Ideas?

Back to Sunday - music was...

O Worship the King (the chorus always gets me)
Better Is One Day (GREAT job praise team!)
God of This City (awesome)
Come Home Running (I LOVE this)

We're going to work harder as a praise team, and get the media folks more integrated into what we do. Sound levels are hard in our building, but we can do better.

The message-

Well, we are almost at the end of the series looking at the churches of Revelation, and everyone's favorite whipping boy - Laodecia is next. But before we move on, a look back at what we saw in the church at Philadelphia. Maybe a better summation that yesterday.

- Weakness is opportunity - when we realize that it has to be God working through us and not our (strength, wisdom, skill, whatever)then we can fully work with Him
- Opportunity is Mission - God has opened doors and regardless of what we see with our vision, they are there for us to walk through
- Mission leads to "well done!" - the reward of being a faithful steward of what God has given is His continued protection and His blessings both now and later

Can't See the Forest OR the Trees

"What did you learn today via the sermon?"

"That there's still a bishop of the church in Philadelphia."

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh

Updated: Yes! Jesus Loves Me!

This picture is of a child named Sarah in Uganda who has received a New Testament and is reading Matthew 6:25-34 aloud.

25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?

28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matt 6:25-34 (NIV)

Look at the joy on her face. It made me weep. We are so blessed and so unaware of just what a treasure we have in Jesus. But SHE knows!

Go and check out the work of Children's Hope Chest and the pictures they are putting up on Flicker.

Go to Tom Davis' blog and read the story behind what they are doing and about Sarah.

Job Chapter 1

Well, we began our study of the book of Job last night. I'll be posting a recap every week of what we observed as a group in the text for those who might have missed the study.

1 There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.
Job 1:1 (NLT)

The NLT begins the verse almost sounding like a children's story. It reflects an interesting phrasing in the Hebrew that serves to put the story in place as a stand alone work, and not a continuation of another.

The land of UZ - Abraham's hood, Uz "lying somewhere to the Northeast of Palestine. Tradition supports such a site. Josephus says "Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus" (Ant., I, vi, 4). Arabian tradition places the scene of Job s sufferings in the Hauran at Deir Eiyūb (Job's monastery) near Nawa.—International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

"blameless" - does not means sinless. The word's use means "complete" and the sense is that he was a man of integrity - well balanced - aware of his nature and active in living out his devotion to Yahweh. That's also reiterated with the next clause and the follow-on sentence.

Then cue the ominous music... kind of a foreshadowing scene appears next.

2 He had seven sons and three daughters.3 He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and he employed many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.
Job 1:2-3 (NLT)

Knowing what we know already, we're thinking about just how much Job is about to lose, and yet I get the feeling that when Job saw this he simply saw God's blessings - His undeserved grace. He probably would have been surprised to know that he was the richest person in his area.

4 Job’s sons would take turns preparing feasts in their homes, and they would also invite their three sisters to celebrate with them.5 When these celebrations ended—sometimes after several days—Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.
Job 1:4-5 (NLT)

So this is an extended family that is still very close. And their patriarch father is still very active in their lives - their spiritual lives. It was mentioned that Job was "a priest to his family", and that's exactly what Job is acting as. However I have to mention that there is no provision for someone making a sin offering for another person in the OT. But this dad was concerned that in all the celebration, his kids might have forgotten the God that made it all possible. "Cursed" seems to me to be too strong.

The same Hebrew word means to "curse," and to "bless"; GESENIUS says, the original sense is to "kneel," and thus it came to mean bending the knee in order to invoke either a blessing or a curse. Cursing is a perversion of blessing, as all sin is of goodness. Sin is a degeneracy, not a generation. It is not, however, likely that Job should fear the possibility of his sons cursing God. The sense "bid farewell to," derived from the blessing customary at parting, seems sufficient (Ge 47:10). Thus UMBREIT translates "may have dismissed God from their hearts"; namely, amid the intoxication of pleasure (Pr 20:1). This act illustrates Job's "fear of God" (Job 1:1).—Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6 One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them.
Job 1:6 (NLT)

Oh would I love to see this scene. How does this work? Is it like a King's court with the thrones at the end of a great hall, and assorted court functionaries (in this case angels) and uh... Satan. In the Hebrew there is a definite article in front of the word "The Satan."

In the Book of Job, Satan is first designated by name: "Satan," Hebrew, "one who lies in wait"; an "adversary" in a court of justice (1Ch 21:1 Ps 109:6 Zec 3:1); "accuser" (Rev. 12:10).—Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

“Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan.

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”
Job 1:7 (NLT)

So with that scene in mind, and thousand upon thousand upon thousand of angels in front of Almighty God, God spots Satan. The pastor in me understands how easy it is to spot some one who is obviously at odds with what you are saying. You can be reading 1 Corinthians 13 and someone there might be upset with the songs we just sing, or with the Bible version you read and they look like they just bit down on a sour pickle.

I let it go.

God on the other hand.. spots the miscreant and singles him out. He asks what Satan has been doing and Satan gives him an update.

Cue that spooky music again.

8 Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”
Job 1:8 (NLT)

So God knows Job personally. Kind of heart warming. God is proud of His servant. Maybe Max Lucado is onto something when he writes that "your picture is on God's refrigerator."

And Satan knows Job well too.

9 Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God.10 You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!11 But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”
Job 1:9-11 (NLT)

Satan knows human nature, and he's betting that nothing will in the end trump the human bent toward selfishness. Basically his premise is that Job is good because it's rewarding for him. That as long as his life is good, Job will be good. But when things change for the worse, Job will go back to normal human default behavior. "What's in it for me?"

So what we can gather from this interaction is that both God and Satan are very aware of what people do and what people ARE. Also that Satan has access to the very throne room of God. But more important - God and Satan are NOT equals. Satan only speaks when spoken to, and his actions are limited to what God will allow. Satan had evaluated Job's situation and saw that God's hand was on him and that he was untouchable unless God allowed tests and trials by Satan.

And...

12 “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
Job 1:12 (NLT)

God sets the boundaries of the test. And Satan immediately goes to work. The results are devastating. Reread what God said to Satan. The limits of what Satan could have done included a range of options. Satan could have begun with small tests and worked his way up. He could have spread a series of sharp trials over a period of time. Instead one after another the reports of devastation come in, culminating with the loss of Job's family (with one notable exception).

13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting at the oldest brother’s house,14 a messenger arrived at Job’s home with this news: “Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them,15 when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
17 While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
18 While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s home.19 Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
Job 1:13-19 (NLT)

Now some of these occurances were things that happened normally in that area of the world. Tribes were always warring with each other, and bandits were always out to steal. But two of them were clearly what we would call "acts of God." "The fire of God" could have been volcanic activity, and the Scirocco winds of the area sometimes fierce. But it appears that Satan's license included use of whatever he chose to use.

My immediate reaction to this was a memory of the outcry after hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans after some pastors suggested the possibility that God had caused it to happen. When you read this passage, you cannot say that God caused these calamities, but it is very clear that they would not have happened without his permission.

20 Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship.21 He said,


“I came naked from my mother’s womb,

and I will be naked when I leave.

The Lord gave me what I had,

and the Lord has taken it away.

Praise the name of the Lord!”


22 In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.
Job 1:20-22 (NLT)

So after a series of devastating blows that took everything Job had the day before away including the family he loved so passionately - blows that occurred so close together there was no time to catch his breath - Job reacts by reminding himself and all of us of just where the blessings he had lost came from. He was devastated in grief and his actions showed it. I suspect you would have heard his weeping for miles.

But for all the pain and the heartbreak - Job collapses before his God.

Would we?

Beginning A Bible Study of Job Tonight

The Biblical truths in this book would rock many Christian's worlds if they were to seriously sit down and study it with an eye toward who we really are and Who God really is.

Sunday Recap 090609

Actually had a lot of fun with the graphics but they carried a deep truth about Christians who should be full of life and yet are living dead.

Ok, overall look at Sunday - lots of visitors and lots of home folks out of town or just out. Still, good crowd. After last weekend's highlight of the beach baptism and cookout I had selected songs that really focused on praising God, even though they didn't really mesh with the message. I just had to celebrate and thought that the rest of New Hope would want to as well.

"How can I Keep From Singing?" - Tomlin
"O Praise Him" - Crowder
"Hosanna" - Baloche

"Come Just As You Are"

My hope for the message was to set it in context then and bridge to today. Sardis was rich and totally free of the trials that the other churches were experiencing because they had religion but not a living relationship. It happens. I spent some time on what the "requirements of my God" meant for today, and how that would play out in the life of a believer today.

Live Churches

“Live churches are constantly changing. Dead churches don’t have to.
Live churches have lots of noisy kids. Dead churches are fairly quiet.

Live churches move out in faith. Dead churches operate totally by human sight.
Live churches focus on people. Dead churches focus on programs.

Live churches are filled with tithers. Dead churches are filled with tippers.
Live churches don’t have ‘can’t’ in their dictionary. Dead churches have nothing but.

Live churches strategize about vital kingdom issues. Dead churches focus on the mundane.
Live churches evangelize. Dead churches fossilize.”

The Times, They Are A Changin'

The world's changes rush in and by us so fast. The "latest and greatest" comes in and falls out of fashion that you can easily find yourself paralyzed in indecision. Nothing lasts. Everything is on it's way to being replaced by something else. That phone you craved? The replacement's replacement will be here before your contract allows you to upgrade. That laptop that was the real deal may not even be able to run next year's operating system.

So what lasts?

8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."

Isaiah 40:8 (NIV)

It's 3 AM

That line started one of the more notable commercials of the last election primary campaign. Then Senator Hillary Clinton used the prospect of a phone ringing in the White House while a family slept in their home to claim an advantage in experience over her rival, Sen Obama. We all know how well that worked in convincing the Democratic voters.

But phones do ring at 3 AM, and they often do signal a crisis.

Perhaps it is a sign of experience as a pastor that when the phone rings in the middle of the night, you immediately think that something has gone dreadfully wrong. There have to be calls being made to let family know that someone got home safe, pulled through, or entered this world to a joyous reception. But when the phone rings in the home of a pastor chances are someone needs help. Of all the skills I have been taught in two seminary programs, numerous conferences, and through literally thousands of books over the years, not one has addressed what to do when that phone rings.

Here's the most important thing you can do:

Start praying while it is ringing for clarity, wisdom, and for God to act on behalf of the one in need.

No, you don't know what's about to transpire. But God does, and I'm a firm believer in getting the attention of the Omnipotent God that His servant and the one he is about to talk to - need HELP!

You'll want to do some other things too, like getting a pen and paper and asking for names, locations, phone numbers, and what the military calls a "SitRep" - a situation report of how everyone is doing right now - but pray. Pray. Pray.

A pastor who has prayed and thrown himself on the grace of God as one who can only minister out of His grace, His mercy, and His wisdom is a far more effective instrument for God to use for His glory and for the comfort and direction those he will care for.

It might be 3 AM, but we serve the One Who never slumbers or sleeps.

Thank God.

Wednesday Nights Are Like This

Wednesday Night...



It's where the slippery areas show up, and where the reality of how many servants you have hits the road of how many needs you have.

It's a tug-o-war almost every week.


Last night it began in worship team practice for me and cruised right on through. We don't have a worship leader and operate with a team. But on the first Wed after school started, I knew going in it might be rough and it was. There are some songs in our set list that you can ease into, and some that you can't. I wanted to start Sunday's worship with a big sound - "All Hail the Power" - which is one of the hymns that even though the language is archaic in spots, has real power in the words and the music.

The team just wasn't up to it. Don't know why, maybe everyone was tired.

But it was weak.

The next two songs were hardly better.

Maybe there are times when we need to spend the whole time in prayer instead of practice. If we cannot sing the songs with joyful abandon in worship then how can we expect a congregation to? I'm going to be praying about how to prepare the worship team for worship practice not just from a skills standpoint but from a heart standpoint. Good enough is not good enough.

To do nothing means we've slid a little ways toward irrelevance without correction. Just like a tug-o-war, you lose when that happens too many times. So we'll pray and work preparing for next week.

This Life

Very intense week last week. Thought it would slack off, but not so far. Still, I wouldn't trade this job for any other in the world. Found this just now...

Brother let me be your servant.

Let me be as Christ to you.
Pray that I may have the grace
To let you be my servant too.

We are pilgrims on a journey
We are brothers on the road.
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and share the load.

I will hold the Christ light for you.
In the nighttime of your fear.
I will hold my hand out to you,
Speak the peace you long to hear.

I will weep when you are weeping.
When you laugh, I’ll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow
‘Til we’ve seen this journey through.

When we sing to God in heaven
We will find such harmony
Born of all we’ve known together
Of Christ’s love and agony.

— Richard Gillard

"Well Done"

"A man makes a living out of what he gets, he makes a life out of what he gives away." - Winston Churchill

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
John 15:13 (NLT) - Jesus Christ

We laid the body that had contained the immortal soul of Tommy Williams to rest yesterday. While living his life enjoying the love of his bride Amelia, his daughters Amy and Blythe, his grandson Ian, and that of his friends, he was overtaken by cancer and succumbed to death.

I knew Tommy mostly from the impact he had on his family. We had met several times when he would bring Ian (or pick him up from) to his piano lessons, and when he'd come to New Hope to watch Ian do something special in the service. Thinking back, I never saw Tommy Williams when he wasn't focused on someone else.

At the viewing, the family had provided dozens of pictures of Tommy and family throughout his life. They showed a couple in love, the family as it began and grew, and as they experienced one of the sweetest of God's gifts - joy. I peeked into those vignettes and found Tommy was many times sitting next to someone laughing. In others where he was the sole subject, he appeared at rest and in contentment. So few people are.

Yesterday more windows into Tommy's life opened as we heard from people who had known him for many many years tell of how he had lived a consistent life of service, compassion, and faithfulness throughout his adult life. His pastor pointed out that it was the presence of Jesus within Tommy that was behind it all. This pastor can tell you that though many people have been given new life through Jesus Christ, far fewer live one.

Tommy did.

To the very end.

Tommy's already heard this from Jesus, but I want to say it too.

"Well done."

He will be missed, but not forgotten.

Here's My Question - Does Anyone Ever Graduate From Sunday School?

The folks in the picture gathered in 1915. Wonder how many are still in that class?

Seriously. Does anyone ever reach the point that Sunday School doesn't add anything to their walk with Christ? People sit in the same room on the same chairs for decades. Shouldn't we expect more?

If it was public school they'd finally promote them out. Maybe we should too.

"Congratulations! You have been promoted to nursery worker!"

"We're so proud of what you have learned! Now come and help with children's church."

"Hey, saw you finished Sunday School. Now you can help with the shut-ins!"

Doesn't sound crazy to me.

Have To Keep Reminding Myself

The biblical fact is that there are no successful churches.

There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered before God week after week in towns and villages all over the world.

The Holy Spirit gathers them and does his work in them.


In these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called pastor and given a designated responsibility in the community.

The pastor’s responsibility is to keep the community attentive to God.

- Eugene Peterson from the introduction to Working the Angles

Your God Is Too Safe

Yeah, it's a book by Mark Buchanan, but it's also a truism.

If your God never leads you to risk, to dare, to sacrifice - I don't know who you are following but it isn't Jesus.

"They left it all and followed Him" wasn't a one time event. It was covered in the bold print of "take up your cross daily..."

That same Jesus who called people to "let the dead bury the dead" is the same One we follow today. What are you holding onto that is holding you back from following Jesus?

That same Jesus Who kept taking men's twisted interpretations of the Law and straightening them to point to God's love and mercy - you know, the One who said "You have heard it said, but I say..." Listen to Him, not some TV preacher or Oprah.

He is the same One who takes our hypocritical ideas about who is "in" and who is "out" and flings them back at us. "Who is my neighbor?" didn't work for the Pharisees and it won't work for us.

Watch out New Hope. I am praying today that we become know as a "dangerous" group of people. That we gain the reputation of the best friends of anyone working for the Kingdom of God that anyone could ever find - and the worst enemies of evil, injustice, and poverty known to mankind.

Hard pressed

"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."

It's been a hard week so far for several of the people Bunny and I know and love.

For some, it's dealing with past heartaches. For others, what the future will hold threatens to crush their spirits. And for too many, right now is just way too hard.

Perspective is key, but sometimes we have to fight our feelings to be able to grasp just where we really are.


16 So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. 17 These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. 18 There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

2 Cor 4:16-18 (MSG)

Amen. Thank you Jesus.

What exactly is courage?

We live in a military community where men and women leave here to go in harms way to "protect and defend." They do so leaving behind their families and loved ones.

When Erin Harrington (pictured below with Bunny) came to piano Monday afternoon, she came holding a tiny American flag that the Red Cross had given her. Erin, her mom Karen, and big brother Jonathan had just come back from seeing dad, Major Sean Harrington off as he left for a deployment to Afghanistan.


Don't be fooled by that sweet smile (either of them :) )

Courage. She has it.

Beach Baptism Details

Beach Baptism Service. Florida weather. Henderson Beach State Park

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Henderson+State+Park,+Destin,+FL&sll=30.511189,-86.497046&sspn=0.00843,0.013797&ie=UTF8&ll=30.395014,-86.440945&spn=0.033759,0.055189&z=14&iwloc=B

Well, right now the chance of scattered thunderstorms for tomorrow afternoon is at 50-60% depending on who you look at. Which is the pretty standard summer forecast. In fact it doesn't change until Wednesday when some dry air comes through. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances we are going ahead. Should that change we will contact as quickly as possible.

It is at Henderson Beach State Park and will begin at 3:00 p.m.

Here’s the plan.

First we’ll have a brief worship service, to include praise, scripture, and teaching. Second, we’ll baptize some folks. Finally, we fellowship while we eat a nice beach meal.

For the baptism, please tell me (just hit reply) or Kevin Hickman (kandmhickman@earthlink.net) if you plan to be baptized. We’ll baptize all who understand what this step of faith means and want to take it, but would like to have an idea of whom to expect. Dad's - if your son or daughter is being baptized, I'd love to have you be a helper when it is done. It will take two in the surf, and you both will treasure the memory of this step in following Jesus.

Everyone: Bring beach towels if you plan on getting wet - extras if you have them and are not. Wet and cold people just don't seem to be as friendly. :)

For the meal, the church will provide hot grills, some hamburgers and hotdogs. To make it a nice meal, please bring any other meat you’d like to grill and a side dish or dessert to share.

For the fellowship after. If everyone could remember that we are going as the church and dress appropriately that would be great. That means long T-shirts over bikinis if that's what you normally wear to the beach, and nothing outrageous or out of character. Also, the wind may be over 10mph so be prepared for that and also for sun should it choose to favor us. Sunscreen is your friend.

Hope to see you there so we can worship and fellowship together,

God bless,

David

So David, What Have You Been Reading?

Glad you asked.

The Reason for God - Tim Keller - Still reading in it off and on. Good stuff.

The Great Game - Peter Hopkirk - Outstanding look at the history of Afghanistan and the region

Labyrinth - Kate Mosse - Kind of Dan Brown-ish. Pretty decent over all, good in spots.

How Long?

For many years, the period every day when I stopped and read Scripture and listened and prayed was ordered by a method first popularized by Billy Graham. He supposedly has used this for many years for his own devotional time. It is very simple. Whatever day of the month it is, read that Psalm and Proverbs. You can vary it with the day x2 etc. for the variations to keep it from being rote, but it puts your mind and spirit under the authority of some great Scripture every day.

Today's Psalm 13 is one of those that I remember and echo at times in my prayers.

13 For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?

How long will you look the other way?

2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,

with sorrow in my heart every day?

How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!

Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”

Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love.

I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

6 I will sing to the Lord

because he is good to me.

And here is U2. I love it when believers bring their faith to work. :)

20 minutes, 4 times a day

Got off the phone with my Father in Law a little while ago. It had been a while since I had talked with him. He'll be 83 in November, and has suffered much the last few years with physical problems. The biggest struggle of all though has been the loss of fellowship with his sweetheart, Dot. I don't think any of us can believe she is gone. But Curtis is coping as best he can with being alone.

We talked about a wide range of subjects - from how horrible Vista is to him, all the way through his latest doctor visit (which was a good one!) and to what he eats and how he breaks his meals up into 4 a day so he can take his medicine and be able to go to bed and get up on his schedule.

He said that each time he does sits down to eat, he spends the time that he would have spent talking with Dot - talking with God in prayer. He told me this tonight - "I have 20 minutes worth of prayer, four times a day now. My list just keeps getting longer, but I believe in the power of God and prayer."

I told him I was glad I was on his list, and that he was on mine.

For me to know that my father in law, with all the needs he has, and all the struggles he goes through daily - to know that he is praying for me and for New Hope...

Touches my heart and makes me praise God for the blessings He has given through the life of Curtis Clinard.

I'd appreciate your prayers too.

Grace and peace,

David

Ten Things I've Learned In Ten Years

Realizing that there's no way I could condense ten years into anything coherent, I'm going to share ten things that I have learned in the last ten years as a pastor.

1. Calling matters.

There will be times when God's call on your life and to that place of ministry is the thread that holds everything together. There is no doubt in my mind I was called here to New Hope, and that I was God's choice to lead it. Have there been times when I wondered what God was doing? Sure. But I never have had a doubt about the call to New Hope. I've talked with other churches occasionally during the time I have been here, but God has never given me a clear "Go to a place I will show you..." I do not know how some pastors move so often. Growing to love a community and a group of people is an awesome experience. Seeing God at work - is so rewarding, especially over time.

But that conviction of being placed here by Almighty God is a bedrock of faith. Not every day is a great day. The cliche of a pastor's "Blue Mondays" has more than one grain of truth in it. So during times when things aren't going all that well you need the courage of conviction. "Here I stand, I can do no other" isn't just for that Luther guy. It's for every one of us on the line.

2. Context is key.

There are things you will be able to accomplish in some places easily that would be incredibly difficult if not impossible in others. Mistakes on gauging context WILL bite you. I definitely underestimated the extent of the traditional reversal at New Hope from what it started out to be and even the appeal of traditional forms and structure. I relied too much on what the search team told me and had too little information outside that.

Speaking of context - It's a military culture here. Took a while to understand it and operate with harmony within it for change. Now I wish I had become a chaplain when I had the chance so I could have ministered to the great people and their families who serve this country so well. New Hope sits within earshot of the loudspeakers on base. I can hear the "Star Spangled Banner" played on them every afternoon if I step outside my office at the right time. So there is and will always be a large group of younger people, and younger families with children who came here from somewhere else, and will most likely leave. There is also a large group of retirees who still are involved as employees of contractors on base. And then there is a group of older people who have stayed here after their service. The city of Valparaiso is home to more of the latter two groups than the former.

Yet when we drove up the first time and saw a little league field and elementary school across the street, I knew that children's ministry would have to be a big part of what we did, and that community involvement would be a key to advancing the Kingdom here. We've really gotten some chances to do that in the last year that we never had before and I can see more in the future.

3. Music = Worship = My Church- for many people

You can preach well, love deeply, teach with passion and lead with clear direction, but for some people what the music choices are is what the church is. Change that in any way shape or form and fight's on. Very few people can find happiness in blended worship. But my calling is not to make people happy, but to lead them to the cross. So it is not so unexpected when I hear the occasional gripe. From time to time we do need to stop and explain why a new song is worthy of considering as a hymn in the same breath as "It is well with my soul" and other great songs of the faith.

4. If your staff isn't sold out to the vision you are in trouble

One of the biggest shocks to me was a staff member early on who would say all the right things in meetings with me, would say that he understood perfectly what I was trying to accomplish in following what I believed to be God's direction, and then do everything he could behind the scenes to sabotage it. His deliberate misstatements to others, use of his cronies, and frequent use of "some people are saying..." should have been an indication that I needed to work to find a way to hold him accountable or find an exit strategy. But I came in believing that if there were disagreements, we would talk them out and then support each other as we ministered in our giftings.

While I could never see prior to this why a pastor would come in and change the entire staff (and still couldn't imagine ever doing it myself), I understand what would drive a person to that decision. I'm much more upfront now that I ever would have been at the beginning. That's important. Don't assume people understand what you want if you haven't told them.

5. Some of the same people who wanted you to come will later want you to go

This was a hard lesson to learn. Some people are like rivers - easy to navigate going with them, but life threatening if you head upstream. Within three years, it was apparent that I was seeing the context and direction we needed to head very differently than some of the leadership that brought me there. Working fairly slowly, I tried to bring them along. Working fairly quickly, they tried to toss me overboard. Once that happened, I sought godly counsel about the issues and about the people involved. On the issues, the insight was that I was right on target. On the people, the background was that this was not the first time they had done this. In other churches they had raised protests when pastors didn't happen to share their opinions on how the church should be. Still, it was difficult to have the same people who were so sold out for my calling here to turn so dramatically.

6. Small Church is hard

Years ago I was asked to go and talk to the pastor of a church in Mobile AL about planting a church with them there. We all piled into the car and drove over and spent the day looking, talking, and praying. He was an awesome pastor who is still at that church. Obviously I did not feel called to that opportunity, but the trip was rewarding anyway. I'll never forget what he shared about the context of New Hope and what I would face. "Small church is hard, David. It can be the most rewarding thing you will ever do with your life, but the highs are balanced by many lows as well. Unless you can find a way to deal with both and stay focused on Jesus, a bigger church would be much easier on you and your family."

Well, he was right. I LOVE New Hope. Bunny and I absolutely love the people God has given us. We'd do anything we could for them anytime they needed us to. We've shared great joys and great sorrows together over the years, and as a result relationships have grown deeper. Much deeper.

But every week here is a challenge. So many times we both are called on to do things that we aren't gifted in. Too many times Sunday morning will reveal a hole where a teacher didn't show up, or equipment died. There's very little margin. It is small church. You are constantly reminded of what you cannot accomplish. So you have to decide what you can and do it.

7. Do not try to please people

This was a lesson that took a while to sink in. Most people, pastor's included, want to be liked. That desire can, if you let it, have you second guessing everything. If you find yourself thinking "I wonder if ______ will like this?" then you have fallen into that trap. This is different than building consensus. There are times when you have to get input to gauge what is possible and what the cost of change might be. But personalizing it? No.

Over the years, as relationships develop, you do gain the ability to predict what people will think initially about ministry initiatives and decisions you might have to make. But again, if it is God's will as you understand it, you'll work knowing that to present the idea/concept/activity/whatever in the best way for them to prayerfully consider it.

8. There's a big difference between meekness and weakness

Meekness, as all of us who struggled through the King James years knows, means "strength under control." Weakness means you are a wimp. I have been weak when I should have been meek. Some people will take full advantage of any tendency by the leader toward weakness. I've apologized for nothing far too often, and even for things that I didn't do wrong. I learned quickly though that such actions did not advance the Kingdom nor teach people how to act in respect even while disagreeing.

Confidence, born out of your relationship with God, will enable you to follow Him no matter whether or not the path you are walking is going to be received with approval or not. An understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in not just your life, but the life of those you serve will mean that you will consider carefully the implications of every decision. Love for the people God has placed you with combined with those two will provide the basis for the loving harmony that makes real progress possible.

9. You can never get enough joy in your life

This is an emotionally draining job - if you put your heart into it. Bearing other's burdens is not light work. Many times the ups and downs can take their toll. So you have to seek out, find, and immerse yourself in those things that give you joy as often as you can. The kids Bunny and I have watched grow up over the years will never know how much their smiles and laughter have given us. Those times with the grown ups where we shared a meal, swapped stories, laughed until we cried, have mattered. The school plays, band concerts, chorales, etc that we attended with the parents of our New Hope kids - awesome.

Oh, and those days off where Bunny and I headed out to Henderson beach for an hour or so with the sound of the surf, the smell of the ocean, and the freedom of no worries - priceless. My wife has brought me joy from the very first time I had an inkling of her interest in me. Sharing our life together is awesome.

10. Own your failures, give away your successes

Remember, I'm not saying go weeping down the aisle in contrition when your ideas flop. But don't run away either or try to blame someone or something else. It's okay to fail as long as you learn from failure (fail forward as John Maxwell would say). I'd agree with several others that if you are seeing no failures in what you are attempting, then you are playing it too safe.

When something works great, find the people who contributed and make sure they get the credit they deserve. It is an awesome thing to see people grow spiritually right before your eyes as they take responsibility and see their efforts prove fruitful for God. It's a pastor's dream moment.

There they are. Ten things I have learned in ten years.

Ten Years @ New Hope

Ten years here as pastor of New Hope.

Way to Go Child2Child!!!

The Water Project

Still reeling from the weekend trip, but I wanted to let everyone know how proud I am of the girls in Child2Child and of the people @ New Hope for passing the $500 mark in support of the Clean Water Project. Last Sunday, the girls were going around putting labels like the one above on everyone. I got 4 stuck on me.

The story behind it?

Each $10 equals clean water for one person for TEN YEARS.

So $500 means 50 people will have the simple blessing of clean water for the next decade.

Guys, I'll say it again. We cannot do everything, but each one of us can DO SOMETHING to follow Jesus in love of our neighbors.

See You Guys Later

Ironically, I am writing this as I approach an extremely rare event in the lives of Bunny and David Wilson. We are on vacation until Monday afternoon.

It's been ten years since we took a leap of faith and answered the call to New Hope, and the church has rewarded us with a couple of days away. We are going to do our best the next couple of days to slow down and enjoy the break. If we do well away, plans are to actually take at least a week off later. I think this will make a total of 21 days of off/vacation time in ten years, so obviously I haven't proved any mastery of the vacation idea before this. :)

We leave New Hope in good hands, on course for a great weekend of worship and fellowship. Child2Child should pass the $500 mark in their efforts to raise money for the Clean Water Project after Sunday's offerings. Brother Jack Anderson and his daughter Cathy Flores will lead New Hope in worship and praise tomorrow. Neither is a stranger to New Hope. Jack is an anointed preacher who just happens to be the father of John Anderson, and Cathy is a gifted worship leader who has blessed us previously.

Preparations will begin this week for our first Beach Baptism Celebration on the 16th, and Sunday Night At the Movies on the 30th. August is going to ROCK!

I look forward to hearing what God did among His people. But for now, see you guys later.

Parking Lot Encouragement

That's what Wednesdays feel like for Bunny and me.

It is the day when (insert cliche like "the rubber meets the road" here) and we have to have everything prepared not only for Wednesday, but roughed in for Sunday worship too. We make sure the powerpoint and music are ready, gather the materials for that night's excitement with the girls, and finish prep for Bible study. Oh and Bunny teaches piano that afternoon too.

Most weeks we come home after and collapse since it is past 8PM and eat a late supper (provided by the great folks at New Hope), and do mindless TV, facebook farming or read until bed. It's a draining day, but a good day.

Last night right before we left New Hope, I was walking around the parking lot saying hi to people who had come to pick up their kids. Wednesday nights are tough for some parents to make it to, or aren't their sort of thing. So it's great to connect with them when I can. And last night there was such a great Spirit at work among the folks as they left that the parking lot was the place to be.

One child came over and had me walk across the parking lot talk to her mom about a Korean variation on pizza.

Another came by and gave me a fist bump.

Then one gave me a sideways hug and said "I love you brother David."

And then people wonder why we love this place so much?

So Where ARE You?

Does God seem to be hiding from you? Would you respond "yes" immediately if someone asked you if your faith was growing?

Every now and then, we all need to stop and take an inventory of what we have become. One of the best classes I have ever taken was a Spiritual Formation class with Dr. Robin Jumper at the New Orleans Seminary extension in Graceville. He helped us, probed and prodded us,and really kind of got in our face about what we, pastors and future pastors were doing to measure how we were growing in our faith.

We read several books on Spiritual Formation that semester, and my least favorite is actually the one I'm posting an excerpt from today. Donald Whitney is so dry (IMO) that I have trouble staying focused on his work. That's a shame because he really has solid content. Problem could very well be on my end.:)

Donald Whitney, in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, provides ten questions to help evaluate spiritual health:

1. Do you thirst for God?
2. Are you governed increasingly by God’s Word?
3. Are you more loving?
4. Are you more sensitive to God’s presence?
5. Do you have a growing concern for the spiritual and temporal needs of others?
6. Do you delight in the Bride of Christ?
7. Are the spiritual disciplines increasingly important to you?
8. Do you still grieve over sin?
9. Are you a quicker forgiver?
10. Do you yearn for heaven and to be with Jesus?

Might be worth spending some time over, friends.

Monday Is Catch It All Up Day

No, my home office does not look like this, thank you very much. Though the expression on the guy's face does seem familiar in a Monday sort of way. Considering I lost two days on the up and back to Macon, I'm really in good shape for this week. Especially considering Bunny and I will be away on a church-mandated :) vacation next weekend. :) Wonder if we will just decide to stay on vacation....

Nah. I love this job!

Working on upcoming events - Beach Baptism celebration, Sunday Night @ the Movies, National Night Out Blockparty(s), Fall Small Group materials, Children's Sunday School restructure.

Reading Tim Keller's "The Reason For God" today. Need some good fiction to balance the heavy reading coming.

Good day yesterday. Worship was great, some other things not so great but because we have some amazingly giving people, holes got filled with love.

Even had one of the best deacon's meetings I've ever been in.

Glory be to God for all He is doing at New Hope.

Home and away

Bunny and I made the trip up to Macon Friday and came back late this evening. Since last September we have driven over 20,000 miles. Given we have not gone on vacation, and typically a tank of gas lasts us 3 weeks, I'm going to say that trips to Macon make up the bulk of that.

When Bunny's Mom came down with the illness that eventually claimed her, we started making the trips. Sometimes they were emergency got to get there right now whatever day it is dashes. Most were go up Thursday evening, get there before 1AM Friday, then hit the ground running later that morning. I lost track of how many times we went, but toward the end it went to every other week, and then every week. Since Bunny teaches piano during the week, she can't phone it in - she has to be there. And since I'm a pastor, my Sunday's are tied up. So I switched my off day to Friday, and Bunny cleared hers too. And we went - all through the fall, into the winter, and to the cusp of Spring. We were totally focused on Dot and willing to do whatever it took to help her get well and help Curtis cope. She was THE priority.

But we lost her.

And the aftershocks in Bunny's heart continue. Bunny slept almost all the way back home tonight. I think she was just emotionally spent. The trip was almost as tough as the one we took to be at the funeral.

This weekend was at her father's request - to clean out Dot's closet. To give you an idea of how hard this is for Curtis (Bunny's Dad) - he changed closets rather than be faced with Dot's clothes every day - without Dot. My mother in love was a beautiful woman with the taste to match. Bunny carefully gathered, then separated and placed the clothes in black plastic bags - crying as she did so, because over and over and over again she remembered what her mother looked like in those clothes.

On Dot, they were beautiful.

But now they are just clothes. Nice clothes. Certainly still can be used. They will look good on the right person.

Yet Bunny and her dad KNOW what those clothes could look like.

I'm sitting here thinking that when Bunny, Curtis and I read and think about heaven and its beauty, we're as limited as the folks who will receive those clothes.

Dot on the other hand, KNOWS what heaven looks like.

And my thanks to God for that will be the last thought before I fall asleep tonight.

Good Grief

It's been 18 years now since my Mother passed from this life to the next. On most days, the only way you can tell that I ever knew her is by the lasting impressions her fierce love made on me. That love wasn't altogether perfect, BTW. Any Mother (and later Grandmother) that would taunt their child (and grandchild) when she absolutely destroyed them playing Checkers, has some issues. But I think I can speak for my family when I say that we know beyond a doubt that we were loved by her.

Today would have been her 89th birthday.

And I miss her.

It's not as bad as it was early on, when the sting of the immense loss was still so fresh. Those days of picking up the phone to call her and then realizing that it would be fruitless are long gone. Now my grief has a softer tone to it. Songs bring her immediately to memory. Bunny's piano recital last weekend was filled with songs from the 30's and 40's that my Mother used to sing at the drop of a hat. Every now and then we come across a picture of her, and I'm transported back in time. It's seldom I go to McDonalds, see a Milky Way candy bar, or refill a coffee cup I used before that I don't think of her little quirks and thank God that I had her as long as I did. Tears well up sometimes, like now, but far more often I feel a deep joy at having been loved by her, and having loved her.

And I do thank God upon every remembrance of her.

She'd like that a lot.

I think that's a good form of grief.

So Happy Birthday Mom. Save me a seat in the choir. I'm not in a hurry, though. :)

Where I Was Today

Days off are good.

A day off with the love of your life at the beach...

priceless.

I Can Has Cheeseburger?

Tonight in Bible Study I'm going to do the first of what I hope to be several "Table Talks". The idea is to be more interactive and help people learn to learn rather than imparting info.

The first?

Levitical Laws - In force over Christians today or not?

As you can tell by the picture I chose, there's a lot riding on this. :)

Stay tuned.

Amazing! Incredible! Awesome Sunday! - next week

It's Monday, and this is when we internet savvy pastors get all reflective about yesterday's gathering. Typically you will see words like "amazing!" or "incredible" tossed out pretty liberally. And there are times when those words definitely apply.

But if I can be blunt, there are other times when the worship was "okay."

I should remind everyone that we see what's going on from a very limited perspective. We know that if God's Word is proclaimed and Christ is lifted up, that there is spiritual value to what happened. But again, from the human point of view there are times when it just doesn't click.

Yesterday seemed to be one of those days. Challenges in the congregational music (although the "special" from Bethany and Kira was sweet), mediocre sermon, smaller crowd.

Meh.

And yet there was one moment I will remember the rest of my life.

It happened during the announcements.

Our Child2Child and Niara girls were telling the church about this month's effort - to provide clean water to kids who have none. They used a simple skit to illustrate. Each girl counted to 5. Three girls, 15 seconds. The point was that while they were counting out the fifteen seconds, a child died as a result of not having clean water.

Sarah Hickman was supposed to do the wrapup, explaining what the 15 seconds meant. She began well, and then as she read her information, it became real to her and she was overcome with grief. She left the stage in tears.

I will never forget seeing the Spirit of God work in Sarah's heart.

It was awesome.

As We Celebrate 223 Years of Freedom

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, by certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” – Declaration of Independence

Bunny and I just finished watching the excellent HBO mini-series on John Adams. His life spanned the very beginning of this nation - the run up to Revolution, the struggle for our freedom from tyranny, the young nation finding its place in this world. I highly recommend you watch the series.

It reminded us both again of the uniqueness of America.

Despite what some might have us believe, America is an exceptional nation. Those lines I quoted from the Declaration of Independence" should establish that fact once and for all. We were born in war, but we were established through faith - faith in the providence of Almighty God. Those brave men and women who made the decision to "pledge our lives, fortunes, and our sacred honor" knew that by doing so they made their lives forfeit should their cause fail.

But they believed in the rightness of their cause specifically because they believed it was a God given one. They had faith in God.

“Were my soul trembling on the wing of eternity, were this hand freezing to death, were my voice choking with the last struggle, I would still, with the last gasp of that voice, implore you to remember the truth: God has given America to be free.”
– Patrick Henry


So as we go out this weekend, flying our beautiful flag, enjoying fireworks and backyard BBQ, we should celebrate everything that God has given us then, and gather to give praise and honor to, as Thomas Jefferson wrote "the Author of Liberty."

May God continue to bless America.