Pastor's Blog

What's the Big Deal About Baptism?

2011-07-27T17:15:00.001-04:00

In 1813, Congregationalist missionaries Ann and Adoniram Judson on their ocean voyage toward their overseas mission assignment in India were together studying the Greek New Testament when they determined that in light of scripture, believer’s baptism by immersion was an appropriate practice. They acted upon their convictions in light of the scriptures and were baptized, leading them to resign their posts with the Congregational denomination and in the context of their decision, seeking to work with the hope of support from the Baptists. The Judson’s went to Burma and their friend, Luther Rice, who had also come to the same conclusion about baptism, returned to America to seek aid for the fledgling American Baptist Missions in the Far East.
Such early Baptist mission pioneers illustrate the “baptism issue” for many.
To be a Baptist was not so much a matter of necessity but rather a decision born out of an understanding of biblical practice. Baptists point to “believer’s baptism” as the act of obedience corresponding to public Christian commitment. Many who have pointed to other baptism practices, whether in variations of amount of water or in the pattern of infant baptism followed by confirmation at an age of accountability, question the necessity or wisdom of “rebaptizing” or baptism by immersion---if, in fact, their commitment to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord is valid and ongoing. The practice of our
church has been for some time to receive members from other Christian denominations by the public testimony of their faith in Jesus Christ and prior baptism, in whatever form, and offering them baptism by immersion if requested. At the same time, we extend to all those who are for the first time publicly professing their faith in Jesus Christ, the opportunity of baptism by immersion. Such has been the distinguishing practice of Baptists resulting from their understanding of the biblical model indicated in scripture.
Over the years, there have been those who suggested that one could not be saved apart from baptism. I remind them of Jesus’ words to the thief on the cross who asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom. Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (See Luke 23:39-43) There was no opportunity for baptism, but there was opportunity for God’s saving grace.
What baptism provides is a public witness of personal faith and trust in Jesus Christ. It is a step beyond the ritual purification practices of the Jewish community and a link to what Jesus described as an action “fulfilling all righteousness.” In Christ, baptism is a picture of one buried and resurrected. It illustrates a life buried like Jesus was buried, but a life risen with Christ, resurrected to new life in Him. The images of immersion provide a reminder to us all of our new life in response to our Savior’s love.
Whether or not you have been immersed, let it be a matter of conscience. Celebrate with joy the knowledge of God’s grace and forgiveness and receive Him as your Lord and Savior…that’s what we are all called to trust and bear witness to daily.
If you would like to know more, or have questions regarding your relationship to Jesus Christ and church membership, feel free to contact me through the church office or email at wfbcpastor@embarqmail.com.
(This article was previously published in The Contact, Sept. 21, 2010)

An Open Letter to Coaches

2011-07-27T16:16:00.001-04:00

AN OPEN LETTER TO SCHOOL FOOTBALL COACHES AND THOSE WHO TRAIN THEM

Dear Coach,

As a long time football fan and a volunteer chaplain to an outstanding high school team for many years, I understand the sweat, blood and tears associated with winning football teams – please put the emphasis on sweat.

Weight training, aerobics training and establishing the teamwork associated with learning plays and how to execute those plays against the other team is critical to success. Good coaching requires long hours, getting to know players, and building team spirit. Football requires much of young players. Playing without proper conditioning opens the doors to serious injuries once the season begins. Learning how to hit and take a hit are serious matters. Achieving success also requires brain work. Adrenaline driven by fear or anger can certainly enable a person to run faster, hit harder, and perhaps stop a speeding train (or not)—but only for a while. To do it again and again and again requires determination, purpose, conditioning and will.

One of the tragedies of football participation in some places is the sacrifice of spiritual growth and development that is sometimes the outcome of demands placed upon highly impressionable and vulnerable young players. Let me be specific…almost every year some coach insists that unless a player drops out of their planned church involvement in an often long-planned mission trip, Christian retreat, or ministry project, they will not be allowed to participate on the team.

I realize, coach, that my feelings are wound up partially in the fact that I know most, if not almost all of the members of your team will NOT become NFL players, though I personally have known a few who did. Despite the dreams of all the couch potato quarterbacking parents on your case to make such things happen -- I simply encourage you not to give football the place of God in your life. If I sound like I am coming down on you hard coach, maybe its because I remember just how often coaches have come down hard on players for all kinds of things that were not nearly as important as their relationship with God. Jesus even made a somewhat bold suggestion that it was better to tie a millstone around your neck and drown yourself in the sea than it was to get in the way of the spiritual development of one of those who were not yet fully mature in their faith.

What I am so concerned about is the fact that preseason training demands on players before the school year begins, while a coaching concern before each season, pale in comparison to the impact that might be in play should a player discover a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives in another setting. Heaven forbid the coach should tell them they were not supposed to attend their church camp or mission trip because football was more important. It isn’t now, nor will it ever be. Equally sad is when a young Christian is asked to choose between a sport he loves to share in and a mission or ministry opportunity that would both enrich his life and challenge him to grow in expotentially more important ways than a week of summer football practices. I know, I’ve been to both many times. Now coach, you need to hear this. You have the power to do something about this. You may say,”I make the rules, and parents decide”-- but parents are fearful that if you are in any way slighted, you will come down on their youngsters in painfully hurtful ways. So they sacrifice their children to the god of your aims for football success and feel blackmailed into doing it.

The irony is, if parents had paid for some big trip to Europe or a family cruise, or had a death in the family, most parents would press you to make an exception and you would.

What is important is the nature of authority being established. Not your authority coach, but God’s. That’s important for your life and the lives of every player you will ever have responsibility to coach. Putting God first is something that good coaches remember and exercise. Getting team members to do what you say, just because you say it, is a long way from getting team members to share and give and act sacrificially when necessary to do their best in honoring God and in learning how to help the others around them every day. That can help them to become the kind of champions that truly matter.

Coach, I want your coaching year to be a great one. I will pray for your team’s success. I hope you enjoy winning; but in the big picture, every week one team wins, one team loses and all go home afterward to deal with their lives, their homes, their parents, their classmates, their homework, their dreams, their futures. I hope football helps -- without getting in the way of their learning about God’s help and gifts for their lives. I hope, coach, you know about those things too. I hope to see you in church Sunday. The game films really can wait; and if you don’t believe me, I’ll introduce you to some of my friends who can explain.

Thanks for listening.

Pastor Ron

P.S. The general point of this letter is also directed to baseball coaches, basketball coaches, volleyball coaches, lacrosse coaches, track coaches, wrestling coaches, tennis coaches, soccer coaches, softball coaches and others who hold a great trust in guiding youth. Blessings in Christ to all.

Dear Blog Friends

2011-07-27T16:13:00.000-04:00

Dear Blog Friends,

Apologies for those who missed reading this blog over the last several months. I have been investing heavily in writing for church ministries in the upcoming year. One of the things I want to assure you of is that we would like to get some read of those who are utilizing this avenue for reading. If you find this blog interesting, helpful, or just something you read from time to time, give us a comment to that effect. Thanks.
Happy blogging.

Ron Hinson

Ten Ways to Improve Your Children's Future

2011-03-28T00:33:00.000-04:00

1. Pray with them daily. The emphasis is on with. Let them know you pray. Let them see you leading them in prayer. Let them know you pray for them. Let them know that
praying allows them to share their concerns with God and that He leads and guides us.

2. Prioritize spiritual growth and development. Commit by intentional choice to the discipline of weekly bible study and worship. Children need parental leadership and yes, sometimes a no-excuses-will-do insistence upon what will be first…honoring God with our worship above lesser things. Parents who adopt a verbal commitment to God and follow it with an applied abandonment of faithfulness offer poor examples. Children will follow what YOU DO over what you say.

3. Value your children over the athletics they play. Sports are fun. In most cases, sports are healthy. Up until they become an overwhelming influence that compromises family relationships, family worship, family economics, and family being a family. Every healthy family appreciates the opportunity of encouraging one another to excel and to be a part of community. Sharing in teamwork and learning to work with others are important lessons. Likewise children need other adults that they respect to be guides, mentors, and teachers as well. At the same time…only rarely can one have as great an influence as a parent. You are the most influential help or hindrance to your children’s development and learning. What happens at your family table is far more important than what can ever be done in a classroom or on a field of play. Don’t let sports become the poor substitute for engaged and purposeful parenting.

4. Don’t miss the huge benefit of the church in your children’s lives. Children who grow up in church with regular engagement in church activities have a huge social and educational advantage over children who do not. For example: Children in church choirs learn to read music as early as preschool and elementary ages. Children in regular worship using hymnals learn to follow words and hear them sung, helping them to identify words early and to remember them through learned songs. Children who attend church regularly often participate in activities that give them opportunity to develop in their ability to share with others, learn about people and cultures in far away places, and to interact in ways that allow them to recognize their personal influence upon others for good. Learning from the scriptures offers children, not only the ability to learn about the gospel of Jesus, but to learn about the law, wisdom, geography, and human relationships.
Children who are actively engaged in the life of the church weekly often excel in many other avenues of life as well.

5. Tell the truth. Children are often left uninformed about many “adult” matters. Certainly there are appropriate ways to address children in helping them to understand the world and the circumstances around them. At the same time, it is tragic that many children become debilitated adults simply because they were constantly shielded or “left in the dark” about the circumstances of life in general that are a part of life. Children need to understand the facts of what they are facing. They need to comprehend their ability to deal with the world in which they live in a healthy way. They also need a spiritual foundation to support them in the most challenging of times. Talking and sharing and showing children that God helps us is important in the context of daily living. Helping children to understand the reality of death when a loved one dies is important for them to come to terms with. Helping children to respond in appropriate ways to challenges and difficulties is a necessity. Frank and honest and informative discussions about many subjects are needful and necessary in good parenting. The community of faith and the expertise that many can share in a church community are important resources to enable such discussions and valuable conversations.

6. Let your love for your children be evidenced by your testimony of love for God.
When children understand that you have a source of strength that you depend upon beyond yourself, they will understand that they have a source of help not only in you, but also beyond you. That truth will sustain them when you are present and when you are not. That loving gift of faithful witness is the greatest gift a Christian parent can provide.

7. Expect more of your children than they know to expect from themselves. God treats us the same way. To do so sets the bar high. It challenges us to do our best. It reminds us that there is always a goal before us worthy of our greatest and best effort. Couple that challenging expectation with heartfelt love all along the way. God will bless it.

8. Set aside time to listen to your children. Listen to them read. Listen to them share a bible verse. Listen to them pray. Listen to them sing. Listen to them talking about things important in their world. Listen to them without cutting them off to do 100 other less important things. You will long remember when you listened and what you learned and they will too.

9. Teach your children to respect those who are different from them. We live in a vastly diverse world. Making enemies out of everyone who is different from “us” only creates
an impoverished attitude and perspective upon life. God calls us to share his Gospel with all the nations. Every man, woman, and child is someone for whom Christ died. Teach
by example your willingness to be kind and engaged and influential in building bridges to others, instead of walls. Your children will follow your lead.

10. Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it for the glory of God. That measure of commitment will enable your best, will enrich your life many fold, and will enable you and your children to discover great hope and joy in the gifts of G

Home Changers

2011-03-22T14:46:00.001-04:00

One of the effective mission ministries of recent years has been World Changers, where college and high school youth join in doing practical ministry in mission settings, often related to home rehabilitation in impoverished communities. Whether the work involved painting, roofing, or porch repairs, many youth have been a part of learning to use their abilities and energy to help others in Jesus’ name.

Such a practical application of Christian ministry endeavor would also find a good place in the midst of most households. World Changers share a vision for reaching the world with the good news of Jesus, but we must also recognize the important foundation for changing the world is also to relate the instruction of Jesus to our homes and families and immediate surroundings.

Caring for one another within the home is an essential. Sharing responsibilities and the work of maintaining the health and well-being of all the members of a family is important. Too often we see persons sacrificing the health of the whole family for the sake of meeting aims that have little to do with positive outcomes for all involved. Living each day with a focus upon Christ in the home is the beginning of “changing the world.” Children who share a sense of security in the light of their parent’s love and commitments to each other receive a precious gift each day. Homes where honest and open sharing about the challenges the family is facing brings positive opportunities for good outcomes by the contribution of each family member to the health of the whole.

World changing is a wonderful aim, but think about what would happen if all the families on your block held to following Christ as Lord each day. How might it change the family dynamics as well as the relationships of the community in which you live?
Where do we start? Right where we are. Each and every day is a chance to change our world as we share the love of Christ, the forgiveness of Christ, the teachings of Christ, and the calling of Christ to all.

No Politics as Usual

2011-02-21T11:57:00.000-05:00

As waves of protest are observed across the North of Africa and in the Middle East, it brings us all to the awareness of large populations of people who have been struggling with the limits of autocratic governments and regimes that have maintained power by intimidation and the use of their armies to control. In similar ways the changes that came to the Soviet bloc countries in the 90’s has evolved in nations that have come to find large numbers of youth, many times professionally trained and educated, with few opportunities, crying out for new freedoms and open government.

The most important changes for any nation toward a positive future are those that find within their own capacities and resources the will to act in positive ways for the benefit of their fellow countrymen and their families. Political leaders who attempt to retain exploitive influence over the masses are likely to be perceived for who they are. Righteousness exalteth a nation. Nations that demonstrate an ethic of concern for one another in upbuilding and positive directions will have the advantage for a positive future.

Involvements in government and politics can be exciting, but also very difficult. Pray for leaders of nations and peoples of nations seeking new directions. Pray that wisdom and understanding might overcome threats of violence and chaos. Change is often difficult, but when redemptive…a great blessing.

Micah in the Old Testament shared important words: “…what does the Lord require of but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Doing justice …showing mercy…and seeking God’s will for our lives each day is an important reminder for all of us.

Forgetting and Forsaking

2011-02-09T14:32:00.002-05:00

Through centuries of worshipping the Lord God, the story is told of times when the worship of the Lord was forgotten by certain groups of people. Such forgetfulness was attributed to the lack of memory and a lack of connection to those Spirit-led leaders provided by God to guide his people.

Such a time followed the generation after Joshua in the accounts of the Old Testament. The story unfolded simply enough. A generation came that forgot or never knew of the mighty acts of God in delivering the people and calling them to relationship.

Similar accounts can be cited in much more recent history. Entire communities that once exercised vibrant Christian faith and practice were followed by those who never knew such faith and practice as their own experience. Too often the pattern is preceded, not so much by an intentional disregard for worship, but by a period in which meaning and understanding of worship become disconnected and ritual and patterns of community are held to, not for their intended purpose, but out of a form of superstitious behavior and thinking. In early American history, churches that practiced infant baptism often reported the discovery of unregenerate members, who held to a form of religion, but without a commitment of heart and life to following Jesus Christ. They were those who by baptism had “assumed” an association with the church, but never went beyond that act of their parents. Moving past that to another generation that baptized their infants to “church” them, with no real comprehension of Christian faith and practice in actions and relationships led to a destitute body of individuals who claimed “Christianity” without claiming Christ-following as a practice and pattern for life.

Today, in our Baptist context, we can find the same challenges. As we have neglected bible study and discipling ministries to which the church is called, we have seen many who adopt “unprincipled or superstitious religion” as their pattern, to the sad neglect of a growing faith relationship.

Characteristics of such “superstitious” forms of religious practice include those who
adopt “naturalist” religion. They cite their ability to worship God on the lake, or at the golf course, or while fishing, as a satisfactory and certainly equivalent exercise of religion. Others adopt a “groupie” religion, assuming that the ultimate benefit for their Christian development is to become a follower of a particular preacher or evangelist or Christian music group in order to become a more effective Christian. Still others cite a
“historical-genealogical” Christian experience that equates their parent’s or grandparent’s religious practice as sufficient to “cover them,” thus giving their generation a “break” from all that church stuff. Still others practice an “every man for themselves” religious attitude that says, “We let our children decide what they want to believe” or “We don’t make our children go to church, because we resented being told we needed to go when we were that age.” Still others practice an “any other gods” religion, citing the idea that there are lots of ways to worship and have a relationship to God and saying, “We don’t believe anyone has a right to tell anyone else who they should worship.”

All of these forms neglect to give attention to the covenant relationship that God establishes with his people. All of these “superstitious” forms choose human substitutes over God. To abandon the worship of God is easy when we have no heart engaged in worship in the first place. To abandon the worship of God is easy when we have no understanding of accountability before God and no comprehension of sin against God and our fellow man. To abandon the intentional, purposeful, thoughtful worship of God in favor of community practices that allow for our presence without our real engagement with God and His word to us will easily lead to a host of people “not knowing” and “not remembering” what such relationship is all about.

Soul liberty is a principle among Baptists that links our personal obligation to choose faith with our freedom to not choose faith. At the same time, that principle is grounded not in religious neglect and ignorance of the Gospel, but in a purposeful seeking after God and his instruction for life. Soul liberty is discovered in relationship with God, not apart from Him. In Christ we find true freedom for fulfilling the purpose for which we have been created and called into relationship by God.

Religious behavior indeed takes many forms…authentic and fulfilling in relationship to God and otherwise. We must not assume that forgetting or abandoning the mission of the church moves us toward the future God intends. His word to us speaks otherwise.

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 NRSV

The Desperation of a Godless Existence

2011-01-30T21:25:00.001-05:00

The aspect of fear lies beneath every act of the Godless human. No amount of sanity can conquer the desperation acquired by a life in contradiction to one’s creator.
To live in the absence of faith is to accumulate to one’s person responsibility for all existence…everything…or the opposite…nothing…no accountability at all…in a fearsome freefall of destiny defined only by one’s own abandonment of hope. Life without God is a self-defined box in which all humanity loses its grounding. The awkward and ludicrous attempt to eliminate the Almighty by declaring that there is no such a One…is to begin a baseless search for something better, someone better, something that matters at all. Eradicating God is as futile as defining time by one’s own attempt to count one’s own heartbeats. God’s time refuses the limits of our own capacities to measure or to quantify. God’s creation has constantly confounded us in every aspect of its exploration and while learning and discovery are fruitful endeavors and to be commended, the absurdity of suggesting that God is lost in the picture is an act of denial beyond measure.
God allows us all the opportunities necessary to recognize His work. Only self,
elevated to the place of God, allows the mind to limit the existence of everything to only what that person allows to be. I did not birth the existence of my wife, or my neighbor, or my friends. I did not birth God and yet many respond to the suggestion that God brings meaning and truth to bear upon life with the retort that they simply don’t give God a place in their lives. Therefore because they refuse to “think it” God isn’t any more. A Godless life demands fear as its motivator for everything. If God is not with us, or for us, or in us, then we are alone to the whims of everything else we have or must assume control of. We must control our experiences…our ideas…our actions…in regard to all living existence. We are controllers of the greater world around us…and everything literally revolves around our mental and physical manipulations of the universe. We are totally in control and therefore totally in charge and we face that world with fear because nothing else but insanity will allow us to do anything else.
Soldiers in war are taught to overcome their fear by training to respond to the stimulus of enemies presence without thinking. Those who disconnect themselves from
living in relationship to God require that they train themselves to respond as though God is their enemy. Thus, we can quickly account for those who see the worship of God as a threat to their worldview or a threat to their lifestyle decisions or a threat to their decision to be in charge of themselves in ways that they take total responsibility for. The fact of God will not be tolerated if that God requires justice, truth, or accountability. The nature of life that allows for God must also allow for His justice, His righteousness, His truthfulness, His presence…and some people just won’t stand for it. So they in their fear
respond as fearful people do…they run…or they fight. They run away from the idea of
considering God working in their midst…and because God does do so much, they must attack those whose existence their worldview denies. The absurdity lies in the constant failure of all those who deny God’s place in their lives to truly live in rejection of their own God-sustained, God-filled world. It’s like being born with eyes and insisting that you prefer to live with your eyes closed. Keeping your eyes closed doesn’t turn off the existence of what eyes could see if they would simply be open. In the same way we are invited by God to share the experiences of His creation and world.
Around the world, fear drives the responses of those who live apart from God.
Only with God, only with a life open to God’s leading and God’s guiding will there be an appropriate fearfulness that stands in awe and wonder to worship and seek God’s way, only to discover in Him an invitation to fear not. In His presence the fear of helplessness
and hopelessness is removed. In his presence, necessities are recognized by their appropriate place in the world…valuable gifts of God for our blessing, not our harm. Peace, be still…and know God is with us. Ready or not…

Have All the Pages Been Turned?

2011-01-07T11:16:00.000-05:00

Just before Christmas I purchased a new pocket New Testament with the Psalms and Proverbs. I have begun using it in the New Year and I notice that almost all the pages stick slightly at the bottom corner until I gently pull them apart for the first time. It came to mind that there might be many bibles with stuck pages because they have never been turned.
Is your Bible like that? Could there be a Bible you have been using for years that still has “stuck pages” because they have never been read? I challenge you to make a point to take your Bible with you regularly and then to take the time to read each page. In the process, many things that you were not so sure about or had questions about or had forgotten, may become unstuck as well.

Teaching Your Child to Pray

2010-11-29T19:01:00.001-05:00

The scriptures have numerous examples of couples that were without children praying for the opportunity of parenthood. The model of their praying is a good start for any parent in recognizing prayer as a continuing expression of trust and faith in God.

Expectant parents can and should start by praying for their unborn child and for their wisdom in preparing for that child’s birth. A significant number of pregnancies do not reach full-term for many reasons. Not all couples are able to have children. Many couples seek adoption opportunities and pray for those who might be open to that option,
enabling them to be parents. Expecting parents would do well to seek God’s guidance for each day’s challenges during pregnancies or adoption processes. Trust God to guide you and to help you to discern your capacities for both providing for and caring for a child.

Having children is not parenting them. That responsibility is continuous and ongoing.
The good news is that God’s love is likewise our best model for Christian parenting. God teaches us the meaning of steadfast love and faithfulness. Caring for one’s health before and during pregnancy is essential for a growing fetus. Childbearing itself can be dangerous for both mother and child. The best of modern medicine remains at times confounded by the failure of some pregnancies to thrive. Nonetheless, we can trust in God and his provision. Fathers are likewise accountable to be available and protective of their spouse. As we are gifted in the wonder and grace of new life, we receive and welcome those tender lives into our care. While often the concern of our prayers,
now we also must share in teaching them to pray and to understand God’s love for them.

Teaching your child to pray is not so much a challenge as it is an opportunity.
It is an opportunity for you to put into practice your own spiritual discipline of prayer
and to model that practice for your child in age appropriate ways. Teaching your child to pray is not just about teaching them to perform for your pleasure. Teaching a child to pray begins with your own conversations with God. As you pray, and as your children listen to you pray, they begin to discern the meaning of your actions and words.

Things that are helpful in teaching your child:

Begin with simple words shared at regular times. For exmple, praying before meals and at bedtime would be good opportunities and times for regular prayer.
Begin with a posture of prayer. Joining hands in a family circle during prayers at meals can benefit in helping busy fingers to be occupied and to help little ones focus upon the action taking place.
Be consistent. The most important part of teaching is consistency. Over time, as patterns are taught, we learn, and over time we grow in understanding and knowledge.

For Pre-schoolers…

Teaching a child to fold their hands and to bow their heads and to close their eyes in prayer is helpful in many ways. It teaches them to express their own attitude of prayerfulness…they can pray. It teaches them to give attention to God and talking to Him, overagainst being distracted by all the other activities that might be going on around. To begin with bowing heads and closing eyes while a parent prays is a great start. It teaches respect for God in bowing before Him as an expression of humility and love for him.
Teaching your child to pray might include teaching simple patterned prayers that they learn to repeat.
God is great. God is good.
Let us thank Him for our food.
By his hands we are fed.
Thank you, God, for daily bread.
AMEN

Thank you God for food and all our many blessings. AMEN

Prayers never need to be long in order to be heard or spoken. More than once a parent would do well to model sentence prayers in the middle of the busiest times and places. For example, Praying before traveling was a frequent memory of my childhood. Sometimes it was prayer for safe travel, at other times it included prayer for a good day at school. Other times, it included prayers for friends or family or neighbors with special needs. Teach that praying can be done in many different settings. Explain and show by example your readiness to talk to God about the most ordinary and extraordinary events and concern of life.

For Elementary Age Children...

As children grow older, they should be encouraged to begin their own initiatives to offer prayer. Taking turns praying before meals, or designating a different person each day to say the prayers at set times would be helpful. Help a child to move to this process naturally, by asking them about things they would like to pray about before hand. Help them to think about asking God for his help and to thank God for his blessings. Guide children to understand that our praying is also a time to listen for God’s voice to us. Share in reading from the Bible together. Read portions of the scriptures or share a special verse that was meaningful from your own devotional reading. Allow children to talk about their needs and concerns. These conversations around family devotional times will be some of the most remembered of their and your lives together. Often reading from a collection of Bible Stories for Children is helpful at this age, reading a different story each day. Talking about the story and helping children to understand it will encourage them to ask questions and to explore the Bible as they grow older. Giving a child their own Bible to read, especially in a readable translation, is especially helpful as you move into this age. Help your child to learn the books of the Bible and to identify chapters and verses. Encourage them
to underline important passages or to identify those sections about which they have questions. Teaching how to use a Bible at this age is very important to their lifetime of using it in the future. It also encourages reading in general. Children would also be helped by learning a model of prayer from the scriptures in the Lord’s Prayer.

For Teens and Young Adults...

Enabling youth to engage in personal devotional reading and prayer time is an important step in their faith development. Developing the capacity for having their own time for daily bible reading and prayer allows them to grow beyond the supervision of parents into independent learners and self-motivated seekers. Having the skills to explore the Bible and knowing how to use bible study tools like Bible Dictionaries, Bible Concordances, and Bible Atlases will encourage their growth and understanding. Teaching youth to read aloud from the Bible is also important at this age. It encourages their participation in worship and also utilizes their capacities to give instruction and guidance to others. Reading devotional classics and collections of devotional readings can also serve as a help for daily quiet times. Many one-year collections are available in a wide variety of formats. A good basic study bible in a readable translation is again a very helpful tool for growing in understanding of the scriptures. Many good examples are available. At this age, youth, while often shy about publicly expressing themselves, should be encouraged to share their thoughts and prayers publicly. In group settings, sharing sentence prayers around the circle, or in family gatherings for family devotions, the practice of praying can continue. Teens and young adults learn best from the examples of their parents. Parents who demonstrate a personal devotional life, encourage it among their household. Coming together and praying together are important with friends, with relatives, with strangers who are a part of the gatherings of your family. The Psalms are a rich source of private and public prayers and praises in their meditations and reflections upon life and God’s provision. Reading from them with regularity can be an excellent basis for growing both in faith and knowledge of God’s love.

Did You Remember to Thank...?

2010-11-22T16:08:00.001-05:00

A friend of mine is a farmer and when I watch him sit down to eat a meal, I see in his eyes a kind of thoughtfulness about the food he is about to eat.
I decided to think thoughtfully about my lunch today and I came to the conclusion very quickly that I have too often thought too little about what exactly it took for me to sit down and enjoy the meal that I just partook of.
Today I had lunch in a local eatery. I ordered an unsweetened tea and then perused the menu long enough to decide that perhaps a healthy choice would be a chef salad with honey mustard dressing.
As I sipped my tea, I suddenly realized that apart from the waitress that had served it, there had been someone who took the time to brew the tea. Someone else had purchased the ice machine that had been manufactured by any number of people and transported and sold and installed by someone…likely a local plumber. As I enjoyed the cool tea, I realized the cup had been produced from plastics that had required oil for their manufacturing and linked me to a host of people who had explored, drilled, pumped and distilled those products to make them usable for the manufacturing process that involved numbers of other people, exclusive of those who transported the oil and the finished products from manufacturer to end user. Someone worked in a warehouse counting and stacking and shipping the cups to the place where I was eating. And that was just for the cup and ice.
I then remembered that the process of tea growing was a laborious one. The tiny tea leaves that were used to make my tea were grown in a distant land. The leaves were carefully picked at the right time and gathered laboriously and sold in a marketplace to resellers who enabled the products to be utilized over time by those who placed the tea in utilizable formats, teabags…for use in the brewing of my glass of iced tea. Don’t forget the paper that went into the bag or the cardboard that packaged the tea in the boxes that were placed together in larger corrugated containers for delivery. And I have only begun to drink a glass of unsweetened tea.
As I reflected on the food as it was brought to my table, I was thankful for its appearance. The salad greens, the cucumbers cubed, the hard boiled egg slices, the tomato pieces, the deli ham, the grilled chicken, the grated cheese. Before I had taken in the first bite, I remembered that if I was going to thank the people responsible for my lunch, I would have to thank a lettuce grower and all who worked for him…planting the seed, transplanting the plants, fertilizing the crop, weeding and spraying and watering, pickers who gathered, others who washed and crated, others who transported and sold and resellers who bought and distributors who took orders and resold. I would have to thank those who bought and delivered that fresh produce to the marketplace where my local food establishment purchased the lettuce.
I would need to thank an egg farmer…raising chickens newly hatched from a hatchery where eggs had been incubated for days, feeding and watering the chickens was one small part, but the veterinarians who provided antibiotics and supervision of chicken house environments, food inspectors and egg processors who evaluated the size and quality of eggs, the distributors who from gathering to selling carried on any number of processes to insure a rapid farm to market exchange of goods…I must thank all of them too.
The grated cheese in my salad involved a dairy farmer who fed his cows, had them cared for by a veterinarian, and whose milking operation was of necessity a carefully choreographed twice daily operation of milking and gathering, pasteurizing and cooling, separating and selling the components of the milk that would be used for cheese making. The cheese making process would involve a host of others engaged in that process, often involving extensive time, even months and years of aging, before the cheese might be ready for use in my salad. How many people looked after that cheese in the weeks of waiting for it to be ready? How many were responsible for the electricity that cooled the place where it was stored? How many were engaged in the shipping, selling and final distribution and labeling of that cheese for market? How many artists and salesmen and marketing personnel were involved in bringing that product to my lunch?
The tomato in my salad was fresh, and likely grown in a hothouse or in some other more favorable climate than ours. If it were field grown, it would have meant a laborious preparation of the field by the farmer, often utilizing a raised bed and often, an extensive use of plastic sheeting utilized in large commercial operations. Thank the oil producers again and the plastics manufacturers and all those who work for them. We can’t forget the providers of the fuel for the tractors and the semis that transport load after load of goods across the country. We should thank the nurseries that often start the seed and prepare seedlings to be transplanted at favorable times. The system of watering often uses elaborate irrigation systems, either drip or spray systems that use local deep wells or water from melted snowpack found in rivers corralled by dams to provide moisture over long seasons with little rain and electricity to go along with it through turbines turned when the water flows downstream. Did we thank those who built the dams and hydropower plants? Hothouse tomatoes, while often having a little less taste than fieldgrown, require a regular dose of energy and heat often provided by artificial lighting (did we think to mention those who manufacture the light bulbs) and large fan driven heat systems to maintain appropriate temperatures for growing (thanks to the HVAC people). Some of that electricity might have come from nuclear energy. These power plants require the proper and careful management of fissionable materials. The elaborate systems needed to maintain such facilities requires enormous initial cost in building and continues to require ongoing attention for centuries due to residual radiation in spent fuel. Those guys will be working long after my lunch is over…I should thank them. The pickers, the craters, the shippers again bring that load of tomatoes my way to be used by the local restaurateur.
The same again applies to my cucumber. As I dipped my chicken into the honey mustard sauce I realized a whole other group of people to thank. Those who live next to a chicken house know the price of growing those birds. There is the heat and labor of feeding, inoculating, watering, cleaning, catching, crating, shipping live chickens to the processor…then comes the killing, defeathering, washing and cutting into those most frequently used types and sizes for regular commercial use. My deboned and chunked portions would have required any number of individuals to be a part of the process before the meat was sold fresh or flash frozen for storage or shipping.
The chunks of deli ham were delicious. I couldn’t tell if they had come from ham that was fresh sliced or perhaps smoked beforehand. But I’m getting well ahead of myself. I remember feeding pigs on my granddaddy’s farm. It was a daily duty. Today’s producers use more efficient operations, but the requirements are many….from piglets to full grown pigs, usually necessitates a level of constant oversight. Pigs can’t take the heat. Cooling is often required in the form of watercooled areas or temperature-controlled environments. Pigs require frequent feeding as they grow steadily. Again the trucking requirements to move the pigs from farm to processor are critical to the process. The meat packing plant that handled the meat from hoof to deli ready meat required butchers and cooks, packagers and shippers again. Along the way, food inspectors qualified the processors and evaluated the quality and safety of the food production. I should thank them all.
I thought I had it about wrapped up when I realized I was sitting at a table made by a furniture manufacturer using wood cut from a forest, shipped by a trucker, cut by a saw mill, dried by a wood drying operation, planed, glued and finished by a series of processes made possible by another host of people.
And I haven’t even gotten to my honey mustard sauce…someone gathered the honey. Someone produced the mustard plants. Someone harvested and prepared vegetable oils and spices and other ingredients. Who added salt? That made for another group of people working to make my dinner. Did I forget someone else? I had salad crackers with my salad. A bakery made them, from ingredients that would start this conversation all over again. Wheat was grown, harvested, taken to a granary, later to a mill, ground, made into flour. Corn syrup made from a corn crop was used to supply the sweetness. The preservatives were added to retain shelf life. The plastics wrapped the crackers. Cardboard wrapped the goods. Shippers transported…again.
The hands and lives of people who labored to make my lunch possible begins to sound like a whole city of people making contributions to me indirectly, but for me to have that meal…each one was necessary. I am thankful for them, but then understand…I have no doubt left out a host of others. My check came. I used a ten dollar bill to pay. Someone made the pen used to write the check, dozens of people made the paper to prepare the pad for orders, a multitude of workers at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and the pressmen and printers, and press engineers and maintenance workers made possible the distribution of funds to the Federal Reserve and then to local banks and to the teller who handed me the bill when I last cashed my paycheck. I should thank them too, along with all those who made my salary possible.
I finished my meal, but as I stood to leave, I remembered that while I began the meal thanking God for the food, I was leaving the meal thanking God for all the people.
The meal was good. The food was nourishing and pleasant to the eye. The service was kind and attentive. The experience of remembering what it took for my lunch to be made possible reminded me that every part of our lives is such a miracle of relationships as we are bound together in countless, important, but often forgotten ways.
Thank you God for each and everyone whose life has touched me in this hour.
Bless them with the knowledge of your love and with thankfulness for all your blessings. AMEN

The Case for Naked Truth

2010-11-17T10:24:00.001-05:00

Allusion is that method of presenting thoughts or ideas or meaning through indirect methods. A person may allude to their faith yet never state it. People may allude to a commitment to being a follower of Christ but never clearly or directly identify themselves. Indirect preaching has been popularized as “surprising” the hearer with understanding at some point when it more or less “sneaks” in through allusive techniques of presentation and does not require the speaker to be confrontational or direct so as to avoid defensiveness on the part of the hearer. Allusion is a backdoor approach to relating or teaching.

I think it is true that some people are defensive at times when it comes to directness. Mostly they are just offended that someone would be so bold as to confront them about aspects of life that might require their reconsideration or rethinking. As I read the gospels, I am repeatedly confronted with the nature of Jesus’ message as not being a “backdoor approach.” Jesus taught with parables, but not to be indirect…but rather quite the opposite. Jesus offers us direct, forthright, bold, and, yes-- an unsettling declaration of God’s word to each of us. The naked truth…we are sinners in need of repentance and faith and God has sent his Son to save us as we trust in Him.

Delusion is the act or process of creating a false belief in spite of invalidating evidence. It is deception. It is quite popular. Athletes have recently taken to delusion as a means to “con the referee.” Faking being fouled, faking being hit by a ball, faking an extra yard by moving the ball while under the pile --- all are deceptive acts meant to create an advantage through a lie. Too much of the time, we see people in our world “working the crowd” and “playing the audience” with deceptive statements and something less than the truth. Half-truths are always easy to “sell” -- people are gullible and easily deceived.
The scriptures remind us that false teachers are a danger and ignorance is too often the greatest enemy in the room as we seek to learn about God in settings that we trust, but which may not be free of misinformation or misunderstanding. Delusion is a danger to those who are less than discerning in their spiritual journey. God does not play games with us. God does not hide from us. God does not seek to delude us into thinking he is something he is not. God is truth made known again and again to us in the walk, the works, and the life of Jesus Christ. We are not called to change his message or to “trick” anyone into believing. Jesus is the Son of God , the Savior, who died on a cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He rose from the dead, destroying the power of sin and death over those who trust in Him as Savior and Lord. He calls us to believe. He calls us to follow Him. The naked truth…Jesus saves.

Illusion is a false impression frequently based on wishful thinking. Illusion is a methodology incorporated by some to entertain, but the illusion often is matched by a distraction from the truth…a misdirection of our attention. While sometimes entertaining, it goes to the point that we are easily mislead. If efforts are made to create illusions, rather than realities, everyone suffers. God did not create a world of illusions. He created a universe of magnificence for humankind to comprehend as the work of God.
He created us with capacities for exercising creativity and having understanding and living in relationship to Him. God does not invite us to be a party to share a ”false impression” but to come to the truth of our need and his provision for that need.
The naked truth….we are sinners in need of God’s grace.

We live in a world that too often uses allusion, delusion, and illusion to sidestep the realities, the truth, and the life God calls us to know in Jesus Christ. Whether we accept Christ or not, the naked truth is God isn’t playing tricks. God isn’t hiding. God isn’t pulling the wool over your eyes. God isn’t out to deceive you into being a Jesus follower.

Truth - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
John 3:16-17 KJV

The Emotional Marketplace

2010-11-16T18:37:00.000-05:00

Every day in the business world, we see a constantly changing wave of emotion being represented by the moods and attitudes of people responding to the things they are hearing, seeing, and feeling. The kinds of emotions that we attach to our “security” regarding our means of livelihood or our fears about not having sufficient means for our desires leads to a multiplicity of responses depending upon the moment and the circumstances. The pendulum of extremes often comes into play when many others join us in having the same emotions at the same time. Intensity of emotion will do more to depress or inflate the marketplace responses of people over many other more practical and measurable factors.

When we hear about an executive of a large corporation with substantive name recognition having a personal crisis…the stock price of that corporation often declines.
News on the street has a way of suggesting that some factor may reduce the abilities of that corporation to act in a consistent and positive manner.

When the government acts to restrain or support credit opportunities, speculators on both sides of banking begin to swing their responses in favor of or in opposition to such actions. They “bank” their support by buying and selling bonds as an expression of their commitment to the future. They respond emotionally rather than technically.

In such matters as these, human emotion drives initial responses to extremes, followed by corrective actions, in light of what are recognized as overly acted upon emotions. Thinking usually follows strong emotional responses and often, additional actions are taken that reflect more measured calculation after a period of reflection.

Recognizing the emotional triggers that stimulate us and cause us to take extreme actions should remind us that our anxieties are often a product of our making. We upset ourselves because we fear and we want and we desire for ourselves in ways that essentially are unhealthy.

Jesus taught us that when we comprehend the true security of a life lived in a relationship of faith in Him, we are promised the means by which our needs will be met. What we fear often is our aloneness when we exercise an unwillingness to trust God and instead seek to make our way independently of God and his calling upon our lives. Such an existence is not the abundant life God has for his children. Such a life will be self-destructive and self-absorbed.

God has made himself known to us in His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Get to know
Him and you will find what is missing in your struggle to feel secure…to feel safe…to feel at home and at peace. In Christ we find the peace that so much of our world is at a loss to know. Share Christ …for the sake of the world that needs to know Him.

The Integrity of Leadership

2010-10-18T15:02:00.001-04:00

Leadership has long been a popular “buzz word” in the context of business. It is always interesting to follow the “institutionalization” of popular subjects into the academic arena. Today there are any number of “Leadership Institutes”, “Leadership Seminars,” Masters Degrees in Educational Leadership,” others in “Global Leadership and Entrepreneurship,” among many others.

The scriptures point us to the role of leadership with many examples. They include figures such as Moses, who led the Israelites out of Egypt. It includes those who served Israel as judges, those who were named kings, and any number of prophets who were called upon to lead by bearing witness to the people of the word from the Lord.

Leadership is often measured by worldly standards of success. For the most part, that is how it is referred to in present academic discussion. Good leaders are often those who help define the realities of the present, help determine the goals for the future, and who help take the steps toward achieving those goals in the day to day. Those essential steps are also included for effective leadership in the context of those who would seek to honor God with their leading. The difference is, those who are interested in honoring God with their leadership understand that it is based not upon their own influence and power, but upon the power of God at work in and through them. They also understand that the objectives or goals to be achieved are not measured only by their ability to reach them by any method. The manner in which the goals are both identified and achieved is as important as the result. Too often we see individuals “in the name of Christ” selling the processes of their “success” to the devil. The results may be “apparently achieved” but at the loss of integrity or witness because of the “way” in which they acted.

Too often the results sought are only temporary in scope. God’s leading requires that we focus on eternal measures. We are called to be a part of divine initiatives. We are called to be participants in sharing God’s light and life and love with the world. To do so requires our integrity of purpose, our willingness of spirit, and our openness to God. Following His lead is the strongest measure of any “leadership” we might seek to initiate. Allowing others to follow our example as God-honoring leaders is limited to those aspects of our personality and actions that honor Christ. The standard is higher than we have usually been willing to consider. We are called to follow the example of Jesus.
To do so is more than challenging. It is a high calling.

Success will not be the measure of earthly successes, but the measure of doing those things that God calls us to do each day.

Will We Ever Catch Up?

2010-10-04T16:55:00.002-04:00

It is almost a daily statement among the social commentators of our time. They bemoan the fact that our ethics seem behind our technology, or our social systems, or our economic trends. The conversation goes something like this: “We are behind in discussing the ethical aspects of the use of autonomous robotics in warfare.” Or, we have demonstrated that our ability to exercise ethical behavior in the marketplace has gone woefully lacking in light of our obvious manipulations and abuses of the present system.”
Such social commentary seems to be a popular way of saying that sin remains a distinctive problem in our time and our attempts at making decisions without a moral grounding leave us with less than satisfying results.
The popularity of “ethics courses” in the academic circles likewise has achieved little to change the circuitous weaknesses of morality built upon humanistic models, derived from a lowest common denominator approach coupled with relativism for every situation. It will always be easy to justify our actions, whatever they may be, if we assume that all we have to do is find others willing to join in to make it acceptable. Likewise, our ability to create technologies that disregard our very human weaknesses in their creation, leads us to assume that a “programmed response by a computer” is surely destined to be a “safe” decision. Is it using our best human choices to use a gaming platform to send weapons to distant countries from thousands of miles away, with limited capacity to recognize the consequences of those decisions? Are we allowing the politics of our time to drive the rationale for war in the first place? Our attempt to inject ethics into the realms of science, medicine, business, technology, or even into our own church practices will always be second rate when we ignore the model of Jesus.
Could it be that we will one day ”come to ourselves” and realize that we do not have the last word on what is good or right or just? On the other hand, we find God readily presenting us with his truth to guide and direct us toward the things we are seeking. Could it be that those who discover the capacities for exercising justice in light of God’s love will come to understand the nature of loving God and loving neighbor with insights on how that translates into every day living?
Our behaviors seem to be woefully out of step with what even in our own sinful perceptions is just, and yet, how much more might be accomplished if we would dare to seek the will of God in bringing his love to the world in daily witness of his grace, his mercy, and his truth. We are not so much in the dark as we are unwilling to come to the light. That light is Jesus. Consider learning from him. Consider following him. Consider knowing that he is the way, the truth, and the life.

Ministry Opportunities

2010-09-14T15:09:00.000-04:00

Countless persons have discovered the joys of volunteering and the subsequent pleasure of doing things that they derive genuine pleasure in being a part of. One of the most significant traits of this movement lies in the sense of accomplishment that comes with doing. One person once said to me after an extensive eat and meet gathering that they would rather clean toilets than just sit and once more hear about what others were doing. If you are among those itching to “do” in light of God’s gifts and abilities given to you, I challenge you to consider those things that allow you to serve in the name of Christ those near you. If some suggestions would be in order, let me share a few thoughts.
Volunteer to serve at a local food kitchen, or to stock shelves for a food pantry, or coordinate purchases for a local food bank assisting others in distributing food to needy families.
Volunteer at a local school to assist students who need extra help with establishing reading skills, or as a volunteer in a classroom that allows you to assist the teacher with any number of classroom activities. With budget crises in schools, assistants are often in short supply.
Volunteer to work with a local scouting organization sponsored by your church.
Work to coordinate with church ministries to enhance rather than detract from church ministries. Engage with church leaders in opportunities to offer scouts opportunity to explore and grow in their faith.
Volunteer to teach a bible study class at a local nursing home as a ministry of your church. Your consistent presence and interest in those who are in a facility would allow you to minister to them in countless ways and to serve as a liason for other church ministry groups.
If your time is limited, but flexible, consider offering your assistance with practical aspects of church ministry often needed at special times of emphasis in the life of the church. Offer special assistance with church history preservation efforts, recording of historical interviews, filing church documents for long term preservation, to name a few.
Church evangelistic efforts may include assisting with special mailings or calling efforts. Bible School always can utilize volunteers with a love for children and a patient spirit to teach and instruct. Church libraries often need those with skills in cataloging new materials and preparing them for circulation. Others can assist with shelving books, assisting with checking out books and even acting as a one person committee to take books to interested readers. Those with interest in assisting those with visual impairment might assist them in initial use of resources from the library for the blind.
Hospital volunteers are often utilized in gift shops, information desks, and flower delivery and mail delivery capacities. Chaplains often appreciate church volunteers offering their time and resources to their ministries.
Those working with foster children and many denominational children’s homes have need of assistance with special projects and coordinating such endeavors for members of your congregation to participate in is a great way to encourage doing by others as well.
Churches often have landscaping needs beyond the routine lawn and hedge cutting. Those who can assist with watering flowers, delittering parking lots, or replacing outdoor lightbulbs can be of great help.
Churches often need help tastefully decorating for special events. Preparing bulletin boards relating to ministry needs and church focus can often make great impacts on the cooperative endeavors of the congregation. Offering educational materials relating to Mission emphases and highlighting special events can go far to encourage others to be a part. Talk with your minister about becoming the “Bulletin Board Designer” if you have skills in that area.
Consider volunteering with a Habitat for Humanity building project. Volunteers often are needed to coordinate and serve meals for workers. Others do carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work as they have abilities. Others simply offer their skills at the level of ability they have to offer. What matters in willingness. What matters is helping others in Jesus’ name. What matters is finding your gifts and using them in service to God and his body, the church.
Yes, there likely are toilets that need cleaning….packages that need wrapping…bible lessons to be taught….conversations that need to be shared…visits that need to be made…prisoners and soldiers that need encouragement and prayer…missionaries that need support and assistance…neighbors who need your time and your Christian witness. Do what you can, where you can, as often as you can….
The blessings of being “doers of the word” and not “hearers only” will be quickly apparent in your life. There is joy in serving others in Jesus’ name. It makes a difference. Remember…do what you do, not for personal praise, but for the glory of God. That is what brings a satisfaction and joy beyond measure.

When We Last Spoke

2010-09-01T14:35:00.000-04:00

Conversations these days are often truncated by the media we use to communicate. Phone conversations often become brief text messages utilizing abbreviations and symbols. General vocabulary in use by newspapers and magazines has continuously been “dumbed down” in this past decade to accommodate the lack of vocabulary understood by the general population of readers. In other words, your grandmother likely could understand more of the words in the encyclopedia than you could. Large percentages of adults now rarely open books, including the bible.
Conversations likewise are stymied by the over utilization of observed media. In other words, we spend our time listening to programmed material, to the neglect of human to human conversation. It is harder than ever for husbands and wives to communicate, not just because he’s from Mars and she’s from Venus.
Consider the needs we might meet by a reinvestment in human-to-human conversation. Whether by phone or in person, to take advantage of the opportunity to hear one another directly would be a positive step. Newer forms of media connections, with video, may enhance even long distance communication, allowing for some “face to face” time, even with the limits of distance. That fact continues to challenge our generation to find a balance between communication with electronic “filters” and communication that is authentically “present” and allows human contact and engagement of personalities. It is becoming challenging for many people to even have conversations when they have lost the “fine art” of verbal communication. Written communication, via letters and personal notes, is likewise becoming compromised by a preponderance of limited expression.
Facebook, at its best allows individuals to “find” others that they once knew. But overall it is a group conversation of still physically isolated persons. At its worst, it becomes a kind of voyeuristic observation of persons without clear motives or personal investments of time, energy, or relationship. It also can be a dangerous place for children and adolescents with naivety in regard to the threats and dangers of some personalities that might be encountered. The internets new realities of our “observing” being “observed” by technical tracking programs with salespersons seeking markets brings yet another level of contact that aims to exploit rather than relate.
Do you really want to be instant messaging your friend about your interest in buying a car and then to be bombarded automatically by sales information about new vehicles, just because it was a part of your conversation? Do you want to receive an email from the last business where you purchased shoes every month for the next three years? Do your shoes wear out that fast? Do you want to spend your time anonymously relating to a glowing screen, or would you like the opportunity to engage in a person-to-person time of sharing with an individual or group of persons that allows for interactive learning and multiple expressions?
People are hungry for human contact. Isolation has become the norm for too many. Consider the place of the church in building community. It allows us to come together to share in ways that encourage and bless and build up one another in faith and knowledge of God. Such aims are worthy of our best pattern of presenting ourselves in person to be a part of this community of faith. Invest yourself in sharing your thoughts and understanding with others. Give of yourself in the power of your personality to be engaging and welcoming and listening and learning.

Doing Righteousness & Justice

2010-08-11T14:39:00.001-04:00

In one of the earliest passages of the Old Testament, we are given insight into the call of God to Abraham to take the initiative in “doing righteousness and justice.” (See Genesis 18:19) God gave Abraham instruction to teach his children and household members to “do righteousness and justice” as the means for “keeping the way of the Lord” personally and in the context of God’s promise for the future that would be enabled by their obedience.
The attempts to “be great” in our world too often are associated with anything but
“doing righteousness and justice.” The characteristics required in these endeavors are to understand that honoring God with obedience and positive actions that please him opens the way for his continuing blessing. The verses in Genesis that follow also reflect God’s judgment as the consequence of self made choices in directions other than “the way of the Lord.”
God’s initiative in extending to each of us an opportunity for a relationship of faith is bound to accountability for acting upon what we know. As God has revealed his instruction to us, it is for our good, for our blessing, and for the blessing of future generations. It is not in our images of greatness or in our plans for the future that we find our hope, it is in the “way of the Lord” that brings abundant life and the fulfillment made possible by God’s grace and love.
God reveals in countless ways his righteousness and his call for justice. Extending to our neighbors and friends and family a witness of that justice is a reflection of our relationship with God. It is our daily opportunity for influencing our world. It is our testimony of commitment to “the way of the Lord.”
God desires that your life be blessed and a blessing to others. Trust him and follow in his way.

Right Paths

2010-07-13T15:09:00.000-04:00

In the path of righteousness there is life, in walking its path there is no death.
Proverbs 12:28

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Psalm 23:3b

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Amos 5:24

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:10

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Romans 10:1-4

As I thought about the word “righteousness” and a few representative passages that speak about it, I am reminded that to discover righteousness as a part of us is best not a labor of burdensome attempts at self-improvement, but glorious thanksgiving in the context of continuing and ongoing daily relationship with Christ as Lord. Following Jesus always challenges us to a high road of action and attitude. His righteousness becomes ours as we acknowledge our sin and confess it and repent of it and receive his forgiveness. Jesus made possible a perfect righteousness before God that we alone could never achieve. In Christ, we live in the provision of his amazing love and grace. In his mercy, we discover and follow the way of life. He is our righteous and wondrous Savior.

Measuring Progress

2010-07-10T22:43:00.002-04:00

Making progress is difficult to measure in certain contexts. It is easy to see the progress of construction of a house or business or church building. On the other hand it is another thing to size up the changes in a person’s personality, behaviors, mental and spiritual development. Tests have long provided attempted measures of cognitive development, testing groups of individuals over time on the same or similar material to validate learning progress.

But where does one get a handle on how well a person has understood and responded to the spiritual disciplines? How do we measure the validity of change, if the changes require continuous observation over time? What the apostle Paul suggested was the capacity of each person to evaluate themselves in light of their own choices. While some self-indulgent types might attempt to deny negative choices when they were apparent in an attempt to avoid criticism, it stands to reason that they still know what they did. Yet there must be a greater measuring standard.

The New Testament offers the model of Jesus as the highest standard for our self-analysis, with the equally compelling reminder that God knows the heart of every person. There is no gaming God. There is no cheating divine knowledge. Pretenders don’t stand a chance of “getting by” the one who made them and gave them capacity for life.

Our progress will ultimately be a measure of humility in confession and repentance. Our ultimate benefit will be experienced in the forgiveness made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins. Understanding our sinfulness makes possible the confession of faith in our Savior and Lord.

Progress for human beings will by every measure be a gift from God. Our willingness to receive such a gift begins in the open heart and open mind that understand sin for what it is…the destroying divide between the present life apart from God and the eternal and abundant life made possible through faith in Jesus.

The measure of the progress we are making toward the future as God has promised is the measure of our trust and obedience in following Christ. Our peers will observe much in the manner of choices we make, in the measure of our presence and witness and worship….but God will know our heart….through and through.

Remembering that…should keep us mindful of every day as a day for taking aim…and moving forward…as we follow Jesus. In a world with few reliable measures…he will always bear the test as the one to show us the way.

In Pursuit of Less Junk Mail

2010-06-07T10:53:00.001-04:00

I love to read, and I really enjoy a number of periodicals that contain good information and news and interesting content. What is distressing is the vast amount of unsolicited, unusable, and from a general sense “undesirable” junk mail that also comes my way. There is no doubt that advertisements for fast food and hardware are less glamorous in scope than the multi-million dollar ad campaigns generated for countless industries interested as much in manufacturing my desire for their products as they are in making the products in the first place. What is facing me constantly is the landfill factor or constant recycling demanded by the sheer volume of material. Why should a company send dozens of copies of their monthly catalogs to the same address? Is there a benefit to them in doing that?
Back in the days of infinite credit offers, I kept a stack of the “imitation credit cards” that came with the offers. In less than a year I had more than 100 cards. All of them suggested that I was “pre-approved” for their offers; which in bank speak means, I can apply. The fact is I just don’t care to have a credit card with frequent flyer points that requires an interest rate above the average in order to also be able to have a logo from my college alma mater that will get some infinitely small contribution if I should sign up.
Sales gimmickry is as close to a magician’s slight of hand as we can get these days. The fine print is ever more maddening when you realize that your recently used discount coupon also enrolled you in an “automatically deducted” or “billed to your account” something that you never wanted and will now require your spending two hours canceling while trying to talk to a machine that requires you to punch through fifteen number sequences before finding out that there is no human being home to talk to.
I spent 30 minutes one evening trying to explain to a person from another distant country that I was not interested in the free $1000 of life insurance that was mine because I had a certain account. What she could not understand is why I wanted to cancel it before I received the free year, knowing that a year later, when the charge for the monthly service rose to a very high rate and would automatically be billed to my account that would again hide the charge in the fine print…I would likely have already been billed one or two months in advance before noticing the extra charges.
After being responsible for helping my elderly in-laws handle such things for several years, I realized that many of these offers are predatory in nature, because they appear as one thing, only to be discovered later as something else. Those with less than excellent vision, a magnifying glass, and a lot of time will inevitably be “caught” at some time or another.
Retail establishments often use similar means. The buy one, get one at half price will only be a 5% difference than the frequent 20% off on certain days offer, but you will have bought twice as much as you might have otherwise…and be assured the store profited from your decision.
One day I tried for an entire day to “just say no” to the kinds of things were “baited offers of one sort or another.” It was amazing how much time I saved by not responding to those things that implied I would “get something for nothing.” I did not scratch off for the free year of gas at the gas station with my fill up. I did not go online to check my bottle cap numbers on my soft drink to see if I had won movie tickets. I did not fill out the customer survey on my receipt to be entered into a drawing for a free shopping card. I did not sign up for the discount rate at a national hotel chain if I stayed with them during the next month. I saved a lot of time that day for better things. I also felt empowered to remember and recognize the subtle pressures every day of being lured by something less than quality and value. I learned to ignore what in effect was a subtle but powerfully abusive manipulation of my time. It made me a little angry at the thought of the energy wasted on such nonsense. Perhaps if we all would heed the words of Jesus and remember to pay attention to the present moment for exercising faith in Him, and trusting in who really is our hope…we would glorify God in some visible ways and find our time better spent in service to Him.

How to Respond?

2010-05-25T15:57:00.000-04:00

“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he
has founded it on the seas and established it on the rivers.” Psalm 24: 1 NRSV

As we share the experience of watching the gulf coast become increasingly debilitated by the effects of the offshore oil spill, now ongoing more than a month, we observe both the the consequences and the limitations of human efforts. I personally would hope that all those involved in the efforts to exploit oil resources almost a mile beneath the sea would not being doing so without due concern for an event such as the one presently experienced. Accidents happen. Mistakes occur. And when they do, we reap the consequences. All of us share those consequences. That’s the part where we need to stop and think about what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves. Do we care about our acts of omission? Are we thinking of our abilities to act responsibly each day? Do we recognize the connections between our own demands and desires and the outcomes upon others?

From another perspective, do we care what is happening to our neighbors in the gulf? Or do we only care when the oil starts to enter currents that deposit oil on beaches where we like to play? Does our concern only go so far as our self-interest and sense of our own pain or suffering or inconvenience or damage?

Human beings are frequently imperfect in judgment. Humility is the right response most of the time as we examine our motives and exercise our influence across the world that God has entrusted to us. It is a holy obligation that we share. It is a precious gift to be careful with. It is not unreasonable that we begin consciously and willfully as Christians to be the light and the salt for helping others in our world come to terms with realities.
Our job is to speak the truth. Our responsibility is to practice wise stewardship over the creation we use every day. Our opportunity is to use the gifts and abilities and understanding that God allows us to have to make positive and good choices and to help one another when we make mistakes to overcome them, to avoid repeating them, and to always learn from them. History stands as the testament of countless poor choices which bear our not repeating. Similarly, each generation is called to teach the next. Jesus commended us to teach all the nations the things he taught. He taught us to love one another. He taught us to do good to even those that we understand to be our enemies. He taught us to forgive. He taught us to heal, comfort, and show mercy.

In the midst of recent experiences, it stands to reason that Christians have an opportunity to step forward with diligence, wisdom, and love, born from above…these are our grace gifts to share for such times as now.

If you can plug an oil leak…offer your services. If you can employ a fisherman who has lost his livelihood, plan to do it. If you can build a business to reduce the occurrence of ever more costly mistakes to the health of our planet, build it. If you can offer a word of hope in the midst of tragedy, offer it. If you can show the love of Christ to someone near you, show it. If you can teach, teach. If you can preach, preach. If you can pray, pray. If you can do the work that needs doing, do it.

The earth is the Lords…and those who live in it. Make sure you and those near you know who is both the giver and sustainer of life. He holds us accountable….to use everything entrusted to us…to give Him glory.

Living at the Airport

2010-04-19T14:36:00.001-04:00

There’s a big difference in living at the airport and living near one. My wife and I enjoyed years of proximity to Hartsfield International at Atlanta. The airport represented a regional economic engine that helped to grow the city into one of the key transportation and business hubs of America. The nature of airports, however, is to move passengers, not to accommodate them for extended periods. This past week across Europe, thousands of travelers have been stranded due to the unusual factor of volcanic eruptions in Iceland. Volcanic ash in large quantities and in clouds reaching high altitudes has a caustic effect on jet engines and has grounded flights across England and Northern Europe. A day or two might be unsettling, but the disruption has extended into more than a week of challenges for travelers, now cascading into backlogged airports around the globe.
We offer our condolences to those who have been making do without bathing facilities and regular meals. Airport food has often been less than affordable and accessible. The humorous movie some years ago that depicted a stranded traveler who found himself without a country to return to for an extended period gives insight into some of the options available to long term airport campers: check the phones for loose change; get a job with an airport contractor; make friends with the airport manager and security personnel; learn a new language. As the situation resolves over the next weeks and months, we assume more people will be taking boats, trains, and buses, but even those systems seem strained in light of the present load. One lesson for us all -- keep your destination in mind, but remember to live each day…right where you are. Consider the opportunities that such interruptions make possible and perhaps make some new friends, share some good news, and offer a helping hand. Every now and then it would do us all good to be stopped or slowed down long enough to evaluate the blessings of being at home, or while being away, to look forward to getting there.

Confessions of a Guilty Bystander

2010-04-14T11:39:00.000-04:00

Almost three years ago, I read the news story of an 8-year-old orphan who lived in a large Ugandan city and worked daily breaking large rocks into small ones. He earned 35c a day by filling two five gallon buckets with his rock breaking labors. Earlier, his mother had taught him this work, that she too had taken up to provide her sustenance, only she had died in a rock slide and now the child was alone to fend for himself. The news reporter shared his account of the government official who took him to the place having difficulty finding it, not really being familiar with where it was. The child was a member of a minority population trapped in the urban sprawl and limited opportunities of his place. The government official was quoted as saying, there was not much he could do to help; but he emptied his own pockets and shared what he had with the people there.

Every time I think about an 8-year-old child faced with that type of existence, it haunts me. I wanted to go and find him and bring him to my house, knowing I could provide food and bread and education and opportunity. But there are children like him in countless places…almost everywhere, and my impulse is to weep for them, and to beg God to help them, and to know that their help may well be in my hands…in my heart…in my capacities. I have friends in Uganda. They struggle daily to share the love of Christ with multitudes who need to know him. They have limited resources, but a God who can make anything possible. I pray for that little boy. I pray he lives. I pray he finds those who care about his future. I pray that I may someday find a way to let him know God cares for him. In the meantime, I pray for God to open the way for a new life for him.

Baptists and Offerings

2010-03-29T16:42:00.000-04:00

Some people wonder why there are so many Baptist churches. But without beginning to step into that deep river of Baptist experiences and growth, we would do well to explore some of the common threads of Baptist-ness that deserve understanding.
One of those threads is the Baptist way of giving. Baptists arose as a small stream of believers flowing out of the great Reformation era of change who gathered around a common biblical conviction regarding believer’s baptism. Also connected to their developing community was a strong aversion to the support of a state church with which they did not hold common beliefs and feel the necessity to support. Nonetheless, taxes levied on behalf of state churches was the practice across England and Europe and was transported into the American colonies as a standard practice until the Revolutionary period brought some modifications. In that regard, the church and the state were closely aligned by the sheer connectionalism of the line of support designated to sustain their co-existence.
Early in America, Baptists, having long suffered the harsh outcomes of dissenting views…such as jail time, confiscation of homes and property, the levy of taxes and fines, the demand for an end to preaching without proper state-church licensure, among other humiliations…had suffered long because of the “state-church” stranglehold over their religious conscience and freedom to exercise their religion as they believed appropriate. In other words…Baptists resisted a religious practice against their conscience. Baptists also felt less than inclined to support a state-mandated taxation for the support of an official “state” church. This led to charges of delinquency in paying taxes, even when they offered evidence of their giving to support their own congregations. Fortunately for all Americans today, Baptist influence had an effect on the leaders of our new nation in calling for religious liberty for all. Along with that came the provisions that ended “state churches” and called for the state to make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion or any law establishing religion (as a state tax-supported entity).
So today, when you hear Baptists who remember this history or who have studied it long and hard rallying against calls for tax credits or vouchers to support church related schools and faith-based endeavors, do not interpret it as a failure to appreciate Christianity or the work of Christian education or the moral support of positive causes in the community. Rather understand it is the deeply felt and long established concern that no one should be directly or indirectly taxed by the state to support the religious activities of others with which they do not agree nor can hold in conscience supportable.
The protections of the first amendment to the constitution for the freedom of religious expression must not be sacrificed on the altar of parental dissatisfaction seeking alternatives to public education. Nor should tax dollars go to support the specific aims of religious bodies in the promotion of their religious aims. State funded church work should be regarded as inappropriate. Too often when it has occurred, both state and church essentially prostituted themselves in the responsibilities they were to carry out.
There is no question that the work of the church in sharing Christ has positive effect upon communities across the nation, but we should not muddy the waters with state funds for accomplishing that work that comes from those who do not hold to our beliefs. At the same time, if churches are to be sustained in their work, it is necessary to utilize the biblical bases for church support described in scripture, namely tithes and offerings, freely given in thanksgiving and obedient response to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Such giving is proportional, regular, and dedicated to the work of the Gospel.
When such giving undergirds the work of the church by the willful, purposeful, and intentional giving of its members…the church will have resources in abundance for doing the work God has called them to do. When it is otherwise, there will be pandering, begging, fund-raising, and otherwise distasteful and often shameful attempts to manipulate resources for the “survival of institutions” rather than for edifying the body of Christ.

Bible Stories

2010-03-23T11:05:00.000-04:00

More than a few children in this generation are not privileged to hear bible stories on a regular basis. Fewer than half of those enrolled in Sunday School across the country attend weekly and even more are forced by parental decisions to be “elsewhere” when it comes to religious instruction opportunities. A significant number of parents have adopted the principle attitude that “if my child doesn’t want to go, I don’t make them.” The same applies to the attitudes of some parents toward regular educational responsibilities, and it shows now in the public school’s struggle for even regular attendance by some students. A generation has now been marked by a declining rate of literacy. Further exacerbating problems are declining vocabulary, more visual technology, and more technologically linked communication, but less personal conversation, less personal attention to children’s needs for feedback, conversation about life choices from responsible, caring adults. I make the case that every child needs a host of people to help them grow and mature. Community is vital to the health and perspectives of those who otherwise would depend upon television as their source of comprehending the world. Soap operas do not define or describe life as it should be modeled for the masses. The level of violence portrayed in video games and many forms of “entertainment media” compete with the worst battlefields of history. Such is the daily diet of many children. While I make no case that the Bible is free from violence, sexuality, betrayal and pain, I will make the case that it relates to those experiences in redemptive measure. The stories of the scriptures teach important lessons for life. I remember the words of a man who spent much of his life struggling with alcohol addiction and years in prison because of behaviors associated with that addiction. He said, “If I had only read the Book of Proverbs thirty years ago, I would have saved myself a lifetime of pain.”
I remember the big red bible story book with the full page pictures every so often.
It was from there that I learned the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Lot’s wife,
Noah and the Ark, The Parting of the Red Sea, Moses and the Ten Commandments, Joshua and Caleb, David and Goliath, Samson and Delilah, Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, and on and on. I remember those stories read again and again through the years and the impact these and countless others have had upon my life. They formed a framework of understanding about God and His mighty acts in the world. As I heard the story of Jesus, and began to understand who He was and is, I looked forward to each new day as a gift of God, coupled with His promises and his blessings to experience and share.
I may not have a lot of other things that some find so attractive, but Bible Stories are one of those precious gifts I hope to keep on sharing with others.

Something for Nothing

2010-03-08T10:33:00.001-05:00

The pursuit of something for nothing has permeated our culture to the degree that even church ministries are adopting its themes and practices. Gaming interests have long understood the connection between bait and switch techniques to lure participants down the path toward greater and greater involvement in behaviors detrimental to their economic condition. The appeal of the sweepstakes was widely accepted in relationship to promoting magazine sales, but the lid came off when states adopted lotteries that lure millions of dollars into coffers, not necessarily for state use, but often for advertisers, promoters, and fees associated with “staying on top” of the marketing schemes necessary to keep money flowing.
Like English ivy growing into a brick wall, the tentacles of seeking something for nothing grow long and tenaciously. Allowing door prizes for bingo parlors charging for cards and expenses, in the name of “non-profit” interests, is ludicrously veiled gambling for the most gullible among us.
So in the same vein, churches are sought that will promote the latest pyramid scheme to raise funds for their building program or mission trip. Lotteries and “chances” on cars, boats, and get-a-way weekends are the frequently devised methods for separating people from their money for the sake of “Christian enterprises?” Where are we when the capacity of the people of God to be faithful in their stewardship has so fallen so as to allow the church to become the casino of chances, the proliferator of prizes, the auctioneers and street corner hucksters and merchandisers of everything from magazines to makeup, in the name of ministry?
It is a sad day when our church young people know more about candy sales than Jesus. It is a tragic hour when there is a more enthusiastic response to the “silent auction” than to the Sunday offering. It is a telling sign that less and less are we finding the next generation thinking the church is any different from the world they live in, when so often it simply isn’t.

In the Land of Tall Birds

2010-03-01T16:34:00.001-05:00

The sound startled me. I had heard it before, but never so close and never so surprisely interrupting my ordinary day. It was twilight, too dark to see past the edge of woods from where the sound came, but no doubt about it….a turkey was near.

And then another day…I saw another bird…tall and gray, standing on its spindly stalk of legs. A heron, if my ornithology serves me right. Solitary birds for the most part it seems…always alone, at least in public. I find them almost daily in my neck of the woods, along the shallow water-filled ditches that line the roads to and from my house. Others are found standing in the swamp shallows along the roads heading to the coast not so far down the highway.

I like these big birds. And others that I see here: the buzzards that share breakfasts of road killed possums and the seasonal influx of hawks adept at clearing out a host of field mice. These birds can soar, or mind their business. In the late winter storms when winds howl, they sometimes seem to battle mightily to stay in the same place in the sky….like great sky-watchers providing security for sacred ground. These birds provide comfort when I see them. They remind me to enjoy the place where I am. They remind me that even in the most shallow of places, nourishment can be found. They remind me of struggling against the forces that may be unseen, but upon which we can soar if we so choose. They remind me of the grace of God that provides for their needs as He does mine. If that turkey keeps hanging around, I might be tempted come thanksgiving to…well, you know what I’m thinking. Maybe its right to understand that what looking at the birds is good for is to teach us things that aren’t just for the birds.

Crises of Faith

2010-02-22T09:57:00.001-05:00

Most people have a lack of faith in the face of dominant self-centeredness. It is a controlling factor in most of our lives. We give attention to our needs over the needs of others. We are interested in satisfying our hungers and desires over those of others. We are interested in the things we focus upon, whether or not it is helpful to anyone else.
In some measure “self worship” is the greatest idolatry of our time. Perhaps behind the deep need to persuade others to adopt our point of view is the desire not only to be right, but to be approved by those with whom we share company. We want more than acceptance, more than approval, we want others to think like we do… because we have the corner on what we need and want focused upon so well.
At the same time we share this healthy sense of self that allows us to discern in some measure the value we place on any number of relationships based upon what we understand as their worth…to us…from our self-centered point of view. Interestingly,
some unique capacities appear to propagate attitudes of compassion, empathy, understanding and love. When we are the recipients of affirmation and genuine unqualified love, we are changed by it. When we discover in persons their trustworthiness, our own sense of trust grows. When we find others willing to help us, we discover the ability to receive graciously and likewise to understand grace.
For any of us to move past ourselves to a level and quality of life that supports relationships of friendship, trust, and committed love, it requires the discover of those capacities in the lives of others who not only model them, but teach us to comprehend the value of such immeasurable, but vital qualities.
When God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to model the highest qualities of human experience and to exercise his love toward all of humanity with redemptive intervention on our behalf, he enabled our capacities to comprehend that love. We are still learning, but that is the struggle of moving past ourselves to see the purpose for which we were created. God has something important for us all to comprehend…his love. When we do, we share it gladly in the knowledge that it won’t run out or run away. God’s love brings life…full and good and eternal.

Homeless for Three Hours

2010-02-15T11:07:00.001-05:00

Last week I had opportunity to be homeless for three hours. The lessons are important ones. In that brief time you have to locate a public bathroom to use because you do not have ready access to one where you no longer live. Cooking is out of the question, unless making grilled cheese on your engine block is up your alley. Having a small cooler in the car meant an available access to a bottle of water, but when my wife drove away with the cooler, I was waterless. There was computer access at my office, but no television available. When you are homeless possessions are burdens. You had rather travel light, because everything has to be carried in some fashion, in the car or on your person. My pockets were filled with the usual wallet and keys, but what was I doing with a screwdriver, a toothbrush, and my dental floss in my coat pocket along with a tape measure, two pens, notepad, and a small pack of Kleenex. Then there was the checkbook with three back check registers and my address book, the old one and the new one….
Homelessness is not for the fainthearted. Then again, my circumstances were entirely voluntary. By 3:30 I had signed on the dotted lines of numerous pages at the closing attorney’s office and I was once more in possession of a mortgage and perhaps doorknob ownership. That said, there is something to be learned by considering the plight of millions of homeless persons around the globe that struggle daily for water, food, clothing and shelter to meet their needs. Pray for them. And pray for those who can help to make their circumstances better in the future. Pray for those who enable employment
by their entrepreneurship and hard work. Pray for those who enable good agricultural practices that can supply food to multitudes of the hungry. Pray for those who serve within political systems of government that oversee policies that can improve the lives of many. Pray for those involved in financial services that can allow responsible lending and borrowing to be utilized effectively. Pray for those who have yet to hear about the provision of an eternal home with God who loves us and gave His Son to be our Savior.

Haiti

2010-02-03T11:23:00.001-05:00

For such a small place on the map, Haiti has seen more than its fair share of struggle in the past few decades. The earthquake seems almost like an insult to injury in light of the circumstances endured by the population there. At the same time, there is in the midst of such great trauma, the opportunity to see great strength on the part of those who exercise their human capacity to love, to show compassion, and to demonstrate the highest forms of human character in the face of tragedy, death, disease, and destruction.
It is heartening to be a part of efforts by groups around the globe to offer aid and assistance. At the same time, the strategic challenges remain great in getting to those most immediately in need of help.
Aftershocks have been a regular part of the environment for those offering relief, and the impact will inevitably bring about the exodus of many from the most immediately affected regions into the rural areas and smaller cities of the country. Housing needs are obviously an urgent concern for the near future and for a country already largely deforested and without strong agricultural infrastructure, food needs will remain unmet.
One of the most significant aims of those carrying out relief efforts should be to create sustainable food sources and training skilled workers to carry on the rebuilding processes needed. Long-term as well as short term solutions are needed for Haiti and this crisis may bring opportunity for focus to be brought upon important and significant positive improvements for the long-term health and well-being of the people there.
Christians have ministered in so many ways to this impoverished island nation, but the circumstances of economic poverty have also given way to many testimonies of incredible spiritual strength in the face of recent events. As we pray and give to meet needs in Haiti, may we give thanks for many who live and serve daily to share the light and love of Christ in this challenged nation.

A Call for Strength

2010-01-26T10:53:00.001-05:00

There seems to be an often-imitated image of Christian faith that associates any number of weaknesses with those who follow Christ. Weakness may be an experience physically, but should not be associated with the spirit of those who follow their Lord.
In the book of Proverbs, there is a pointed reprimand of those who would think it appropriate to declare their inabilities, when such weakness is not preventive of one’s ability to act.
“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength being small; if you hold back from rescuing those taken away to death, those who go staggering to the slaughter; if you say, “Look, we did not know this” –does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it? And will he not repay all according to their deeds? (Proverbs 24:10-12 NRSV)
I do not think I have ever read a more powerful mandate to seize the day; to take action at the time of opportunity; to never fail to do what good can be done as we have the chance. We are called to rescue. As Paul said, we are “ambassadors for Christ.” Jesus said we are to minister to “the least of these.” We are to face the moment we find ourselves able act and to do it. Excuses are not good in the face of the God who knows every aspect of our hearts. Veiled pleas of ignorance fail in light of the knowledge of his knowing. Even our own declarations of weakness will not stand in the face of our abilities to do something.
For those of us who know we owe our Lord everything…it stands to reason that we owe Him our best, our most willing and valiant efforts, our highest commitment to go in His name to share with this world of dying men and women the truth of God’s love and forgiveness and new life. No excuses will stand.

Prepared?

2010-01-12T15:15:00.001-05:00

Several years ago, a dear friend said to me that when her husband died, she had no idea what to do. “I had no knowledge of our family financial matters and no way to appropriately handle all the questions that came about his business when he died.” But she went on to say, “After I started working through all the things surrounding the business, I decided that the only way to support myself was to keep it going, so I did.” Years later, she has maintained a successful business enterprise that continues to provide for her needs and that of her family. She said, “God has blessed me to be able to take up where my husband left off and to keep the business operating. He has been so faithful to help me every day.”

Another friend shared, “When my husband suffered a stroke, all the things he had told me we were going to do were not possible. I had bills to pay, debts on cars, machinery, a camper, and a home and children with circumstances that needed my help. I sold the camper and a car, kept him at home and cared for him around the clock, and by God’s grace and with the help of Christian friends, we have been able to take care of things with what we had. God is so good!”

In the most challenging of times and the most difficult of circumstances, God is faithful to help us. As you think about helping your family in responsible ways, recognize the value and importance of a will, along with a living will describing your wishes in regard to medical care decisions, and a power of attorney and a medical power of attorney if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. Wise counsel can help many families deal with very difficult and often complex business and legal matters if there are plans in place to provide for suddenly changing circumstances. It is not “bad luck” to plan for the future.

Making decisions about your spiritual journey are also vital to planning for any future.
Do you know your Savior, Jesus Christ? Have you publicly acknowledged him in your witness to family, friends, and those important to you to share with? Have you recognized the blessing of a church family with which to share your life’s journey and testimony of faith? Do you recognize the importance and value of friendships that are worth your time now to build and share daily?

God enables us and equips us to be heirs with Christ! Such a provision is beyond our dreams and yet it is God’s gift through faith in Jesus Christ. It is a gift to be lived now and in the future. Undertake preparation in the ways you can and trust God for His help and wisdom and provision of eternal hope.

Christmas Journey

2009-12-22T10:29:00.000-05:00

We had an interesting Christmas that year. It was one of those years when Christmas was a Sunday morning. It involved a late night gathering of our children on Christmas Eve and an early morning gift opening, followed by morning worship at our church. The afternoon would be spent traveling across the state to visit with grandparents, aunts and uncles. We were the last to leave the church that Christmas Sunday, just past noon. And suddenly in the midst of all that we had planned for that weekend, we realized we had made no real preparation for Christmas lunch. The restaurants we normally might have considered were closed. The kitchen at home was empty and the pantry bare. The car was packed and we needed food for the long day’s journey ahead. And even the normal chicken fingers and fries that might have been found at the corner gas station were not to be had. I looked at my hungry brood and said to them all…well…we need to eat something. This is the only establishment in town still open. Go into the gas station and see what you can find and that will be our Christmas lunch. Get whatever you would like that you can find. What had seemed like a minor disaster in food planning was now transformed into a great adventure. Our long highway journey was an exciting time. Each of us had opportunity to try variations and combinations of foods we had never had. Beef jerky and Vienna sausage were main courses, laffy taffy and gummy worms were the closest we got to vegetables. Between the chips and peanut butter crackers and the cheezits, we all survived and yes delightfully thrived and in truth, we felt more like Joseph and Mary on their journey to Bethlehem than perhaps we ever had on a Christmas Day.
As you share with loved ones, friends and neighbors this Christmas, remember to share the wonderful story of the birth of a child in Bethlehem. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given….the Prince of Peace.”

Thoughts and Actions

2009-12-07T11:38:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wish I could get into some people’s heads to try and get a handle on just how they do see the world they live in. Probably someone would wish to do the same for me on occasion. What I wonder about may have nothing to do with what you wonder about. Maybe it would be helpful if we talked about those things from time to time.
As a child I once asked if everything was “real.” My mother answered matter-of- factly, “yes, of course it is.” And everything included the things I imagined and dreamed. They were real dreams…real workings of my imagination. What I was stuck on was some of the dreams… this giant image of “the mask that depicts drama as a symbol often associated with the theatre” and a match to one of my father’s cufflinks that depicted comedy and tragedy in the faces. I saw those masks in my dreams…daydreams and night dreams. For a long time I had a recurring dream of walking up the steps of our house to bed and lying down. That was all… Just going to bed. Then there followed a long period of dreaming about falling down the basement steps…those open wooden kind that went to a tract house basement with a tiny excuse of a rail that I dreamed I was too small to reach. I always saw myself tumbling down that staircase and I always woke up in a flash just before I hit the bottom…until one day I decided that if I ever had that dream again, I would relax and just hit the concrete floor. I did…the next time I had the dream…and I have never dreamed that dream again. Dreams are real experiences.
What about our thoughts about so many other things? Do our thoughts do more to determine what we will do, or do the things around us motivate us more to respond or to act upon them? I think there are times when we have so much going on around us that we forget what is or has been going on in our heads and we defer to the moment…using little or no forethought and just do stuff. At other times, we finally settle into a moment or season when we can focus long enough on our thinking to think things through to a decision…one that we indeed act upon. For some folks, it seems that they find it very difficult to get to that point about a lot of things in their lives.
What is our motivation for the things we do? I’ve read that many people are constantly motivated by the desire to please others. I guess that comes early in our pattern of learning that when we please others they affirm us or reward us or say nice things about us. But what if what you do is not so welcomed by those around you? And what if you are finding your “take on a matter” contrary to the opinion of the majority, or the powerful minority for that matter? Upset the wrong parties and the break in relationship could spell trouble in countless ways. Upset the one whose personal “say” matters to them over anyone else’s perspective and you may have crossed the “bridge too far…”-- if you can remember that old war movie. Consequences abound in the context of bucking trends, upsetting the status quo, or marching to the beat of a different drummer. We applaud such individuals when they succeed against all odds and at the close of the day win us over, but we create multitudes of obstacles for them socially when we choose to oppose their actions before “coming around.”
Back to motivation…what if pleasing others is understood as secondary to pleasing God? Consider Peter, going against the orders of the high priest and Sadducees, being threatened, and imprisoned, for obeying God over men. Consider Saul, confronted on the Road to Damascus with his own persecution of Christians, understanding the necessity of a new direction in obeying Christ, the risen Savior. From that day forward he faced opposition on every hand from those he had allied with previously. To obey God would cost him in many ways…all of which he saw as worthless now in comparison to following Christ and sharing His gospel.
The inspiration and motivation that we discover in God’s giving is known in the presence of the Holy Spirit…leading, guiding, teaching us and breathing into us the very life we are called to live. The word for Spirit was the same as the word for wind…but the reminder was to recognize the power of the Spirit to blow wherever the Spirit would blow…not in accordance with our determined agendas or preoccupations, but rather as it would be the Father’s will to inspire us…engage us…remind us…reveal to us.
The Psalmist often speaks of waiting upon the Lord…and along with his waiting the Psalmist spent much of the time complaining, crying, suggesting God wasn’t always giving him enough attention…waiting upon the Lord requires more than patience, but also expectation…attentiveness…looking for…seeking…active listening….active readiness to obey.…
If we prepare our minds in that manner…we won’t soon be left idle. Prayer and praise and ministry and service and loving action will proceed from the heart we have found to do those things joyfully in obedience to God. It is His way in us. It is His love for us that inspires and moves us to understand that we are not alone with our thoughts, but He is with us, to show us the way. He is with us, to teach us the truth. He is with us, to give us the life.

The Love Challenge

2009-11-30T16:34:00.000-05:00

Jesus set forward for Christians a standard of practice regarding having love for others that exceeded all previous revelations. Moral codes of ethics certainly have continued to change since the most primitive of times, but Jesus sets the bar higher still.
Jesus moved us past the ancient “annihilation standard” for dealing with enemies. He moved us long past the “eye for an eye” standard of the Old Testament. He in fact moved us past the limited “don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want them to do to you” and changed it to the positive, taking initiative approach of “love thy neighbor as thyself.” More amazing was his challenge to “love one another as I have loved you.” Recognizing that Jesus laid down his life for us all, we should understand just how amazing his challenge to us is. Jesus went even a step farther…he told us to love our enemies. He told us to pray for those who misuse or abuse us. He told us to do good to those who persecute us. He reminded us that to do so would be clearly different from the rest of the world’s ways of doing things. Loving enemies…a bold move to change the world forever…one person at a time. It’s a task too daunting to try on your own. If we have a prayer of doing what Jesus said…we must follow Him.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T21:34:00.001-05:00

Before you run out and overindulge in the seasonal delicacies of most tables around this time of year, do a double-take and offer a sincere word of gratitude to God for the gifts you have received.
Gratitude is the first motivation for thanksgiving, but our generation has been so overly indulged that we too often forget to be grateful for such abundance. The danger for most of us is the simple failure to respond to the reality of our blessings, the experience of our daily provisions, and the mind to recognize the stewardship we are engaged in as we use these daily gifts.
A big part of the pleasure we can derive from abundance is in perceiving the joy of giving and sharing. The struggles of many to achieve a sense of confidence in that daily bread and daily shelter is bewildering to watch when more than abundance is recognizable. Satisfaction is not by definition an outcome of abundance. In fact, many who have little and many who have nothing, derive satisfaction in life, not from things, but from relationships.
What measure of satisfaction do you derive from your things? What about relationships? Could things sometimes prevent relationships from being all they should be? Do relationships suffer when things become the basis for having relationships?
Could there be some benefit in engaging one another with no expectation of “stuff”, but rather for the joy derived from knowing and understanding another human being. Sharing life may be more satisfying in the long haul as a factor of connectedness…investment in conversation and openness to others…the engagement derived from shared experiences.
Thanksgiving is great in acknowledging the many blessings of things, but more important are the experience of shared joy, mutual trust, open and engaging friendships, life lived with others alongside us, sharing our best one with another. That’s a gift to give and to receive. That’s a reason for thanksgiving all year long.

Faith Sharing

2009-11-08T19:42:00.000-05:00

We live in a curious time. People are often curious about other’s religious perspectives, but seldom inquisitive enough to come right out and ask…what do you believe? The often-quoted statement that people do well not to talk about religion and politics runs contrary to conversations and inquiry everywhere. Major newspapers today have religion columnists; news personnel discuss politics in all kinds of political dialogue and often from partisan viewpoints. What is hard to understand is why so few of the religious community are offered a real voice in such public matters, but only a few “representative,” to use the term loosely, spokespersons. As always, media is seeking
the momentum of viewers, listeners, or readers. Ratings that generate advertising dollars mean more than content or integrity it would seem. Controversy and generating classic conflicts is more appealing for the needed result.
But faith sharing is at the heart of the gospel. Telling others about Jesus Christ is the basic mission of the church as we teach, baptize, and make disciples who seek to learn and grow in their relationships as followers of Jesus Christ. So why is it that we seem to have such a difficult time getting around to doing just that?
One issue is the great divide created by the actions of the church during certain periods of her history. Divisions between clergy and laity became such that at times only the clergy were generally given access to the biblical texts. At other times, clergy alone were regarded as approved to baptize or to authorize the giving of the Lord’s Supper. The authority of clergy became institutionalized to the degree that the implications for laity were often to be sidelined as public witnesses in the context of worship, and led often to the implication that it was not appropriate to go to another layperson for information about the bible or Christ, but only clergy. In other words, a wall of separation was established, more by practice than intention, but nonetheless, often abided by in terms of practical application. Laypersons lost their voice, and their sense of calling, and their capacity to access the biblical texts. It was a difficult time for the church in general. Abuse was easy. People who did not read the scriptures seldom had a strong capacity to communicate the message contained in them. Sadly, some unscrupulous types within the ranks of the clergy were even able to abuse the general public in their own misuse of texts to accommodate their own interests. Out of this context the Protestant Reformation emerged, first from within the church and then of necessity outside of the Roman Catholic tradition. Interestingly, a general reform occurred within the Roman church as a result of those initial protests that initiated Protestant groups.
One of the significant parts of this historical movement came with the availability of printed scriptures and the broader dissemination of the biblical texts to the larger public. The availability of scripture for public reading was a radical departure from previous days and yet it opened the windows of understanding and knowledge for multitudes. As literacy in general spread through the population, even greater access to the scriptures opened the way for broader focus upon the study of the Bible.
It has been in these more recent centuries that the church has had available in wide use the scriptures. Yet once more, it seems the church has entered the dark ages. Biblical illiteracy is a staggering reality within much of the community of faith. In other words, people own bibles, but do not read them. People carry bibles but do not know what is in them. People talk about the bible often, but without a regular pattern of reading and understanding. Why? Largely, because we are a less literate culture than in the past. This generation of Americans, for example, have a smaller usable vocabulary than the generation before them. We have diminished our own use of language. Little wonder that we do not have the facility of thought and ability to delve into the challenging words of Holy writ.
For Baptists, the writing has been on the wall…we have institutionally supported and promoted education while in practice we have dismantled a strong church focus upon discipleship programs and personal bible study. Sunday School, initially focusing upon children’s literacy in its infancy, and growing to a large adult bible study movement in the early 20th century, is now largely in neglected decline in most churches. It is unusual to see persons in large numbers even bringing their own bibles to church any more.
The Bible is not a collection of stories to be regarded as an equal to any other book on the shelf. It is the living word of our living God! It is the testimony of God’s revelation of Himself to humankind. It is the work of divine initiative and inspiration. God used many to carry forward through history the story of His actions and instruction for our blessing. The words they recorded from the oral history of ancient days to the letters of the New Testament churches were shared for our blessing, our understanding, and our faith.
John’s gospel so specifically declares, “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31 NRSV)
So where is our faith story being told? Is it the sole proprietorship of our pulpiteers or professional ministers? Heaven forbid. Is it the commodity to be distributed by the most successful talking heads on the religious broadcasting network? Probably not. Is it the word of faith, born from above, that is ours to share with family, friends and neighbors? Undoubtedly so….at least according to what Jesus said. And if we really believe what we have come to know by faith…we will also understand that our story of faith is ours to share and no one can refute what we know by experience. In other words…God gives you and I the opportunity and responsibility to bear witness to our faith and trust in Him daily. We give witness of something to everyone all the time.
Are we living the abundant life in Christ? Are we sharing the story of Jesus? Are we following Him with the commitments of our time, talents, and resources?
Someone once said, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” What about a living soul? What about a child for whom Christ died? What about the friend or family member near you who needs to know Jesus? Start sharing what you know…soon…with someone near you. Trust God to use your witness for His purpose. Results are His business. Our responsibility is to share what we know. God is good. God is love. God sent His Son to save us. It is time once more that believers join together…so that our faith “is proclaimed throughout the world.” (Romans 1:8b)
It is time that we share, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” (Romans 10:11) “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) That witness will come in answer to the questions…”But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” (Romans 10:14) Those are questions you and I must answer with our actions.

Treasure Up

2009-11-02T11:58:00.000-05:00

During her college days, my youngest daughter would often call me up on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings and leave me a message or text and say…“Preach ‘em up, daddy!” I suppose you would have to be a pastor to understand, but her encouragement was also a reminder of my most sacred responsibility as a minister of Jesus Christ. I am called to preach…and to point others to Christ. And to know Him and to follow Him and to trust Him with your life is to discover an “upward way.”
The book of proverbs commends the child of God to “treasure up my commandments within you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding…then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:1-2, 5 NRSV)
It would be wise for all of us to encourage one another to “treasure up” those things that enable us to discover God’s way for our lives each day. As we pursue His guidance with the enthusiasm of treasure hunters and with the joy of those who do find life abundant in Him, we will know as Jesus taught, that where our treasure is, there our heart is also.

Birthdays and History

2009-10-26T17:45:00.000-04:00

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. It also marks for numismatists (coin collectors) 100 years since the famous minting of the 1909 VDB pennies. In August of 1909, the initial offering of the Lincoln cent was revealed in the various forms produced by mints in Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. Mintmarks from Denver and San Francisco were noted with a D or S beneath the year. Philadelphia adopted the “plain” or no additional letter format for the penny. In this initial year of this new version of the one-cent coin, succeeding the earlier Indianhead pennies, the initials of the engraver, Victor D. Brenner appeared on the reverse at the bottom edge of the coin. Protests arose over the initialed inscriptions, with some suggesting that it was commissioned work and therefore not to be artistically identified. Protestors won out and while the coin faces remained the same in following years, the initials were dropped. Interestingly, the 1909 became something of a novelty. Even more so was the fact that the San Francisco mint produced significantly fewer pennies of that year and thus the 1909-S VDB penny became a collector’s delight, both for its scarcity and value.
This year, to honor the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, four different reverses are being minted and released at different times during the year to commemorate Lincoln’s birth in Kentucky, his formative years in Indiana, his professional life in Illinois, and his Presidency in Washington, D.C. Each new reverse of the Lincoln cent will bear the initials of those who designed the work and produced it initially. Interestingly, now the V.D.B. for Victor D. Brenner can be found under the shoulder of Lincoln on the face of the coin.
While remembering the details seems interesting to some and less so to others, in similar ways, we often take the ordinary and routine of our days and forget the significant history that enabled our own opportunities and blessings. As our church celebrates 175 years, we would do well to pause and recognize the gifts of many along the way that have remained less known perhaps, but nonetheless significant contributors to the life and work of the congregation that has blessed untold numbers through the years. Our discoveries in researching the past will mark interesting days of ministry and service. The names will be many, the offerings to each generation significant, and with clear voice and intention our aim has been to bring glory to our God. So together let us with one voice and one heart, unite to lift up the name of Jesus Christ our Lord…proclaiming the Gospel and sharing with all the good news. The details do matter. The lessons to be shared are important. The story to be told…is life changing…forever.

The Evolution of Greed

2009-10-19T14:41:00.000-04:00

It doesn’t take much to find evidence of greed in the marketplace or the boardroom these days. Greed has apparently become the motivation for many people’s self-ruination. The ultimate source of greed is the willingness to bow down to false gods. ….of all descriptions. It is a misplacement of trust in that which is ultimately incapable of being a source of trust. To call such things false gods is simply to understand what many have allowed to have control of their lives, whether it is their possessions or their obsessions, or their lusts for power in the worlds they choose to “rule.” Sadly the descriptions of those false gods would easily fall into that biblical description of idols written of in Psalm 115:4-7:
“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; they make no sound in their throats.”
Such descriptions relate the truth about those things we place before ourselves to worship and bow down to, rather than God. The “punch line” in this Psalm however is the next verse that says: “Those who make them (idols) are like them; so are all who trust in them.”
Greed is but one evidence of misplaced faith. It is the mark of a “taker” not a “giver.” It is the characteristic of one whose possessions take predominance over relationship. The results of greed are never attractive, but typically exploitive, corrupt, and abusing. Greed destroys those who are its victims and those who in bowing to “false gods” become overwhelmed with the never fulfilling nature of seeking what cannot be found apart from a relationship with the true Lord of all.

The Measure of a Man

2009-10-05T14:38:00.000-04:00

When Tom Wolfe wrote his novel, A Man in Full, it was a satirical view of a high-flying Atlanta real estate tycoon. More than a few of his descriptions were familiar places or venues, with names only slightly changed. But the story conveyed the often
sad story of those who pursue financial gain at the cost of their family relationships and personal integrity, accompanied by their own moral and ethical downfall.
A recent issue of Forbes Magazine highlights the richest Americans. Mostly billionaires who have made fortunes in everything from cosmetics to oil pipelines to chicken sandwiches. But the measure of these individuals is poorly judged by the dollars that are associated with their business endeavors. The real measure of these persons is in the character of their lives. It is in the visible fruit of their existence and their impact for good upon the world. It is the real measure of the individual that meets of the tests of the times and remains confidant in something more than their accounts at the local bank.
The challenge to those with wealth is the same as it has always been. Where do you put your trust? Poor men, while having little, should be equally impressed to recognize that their hope is not in what they do not have, but whom they might know as their help and their strength for life.
Ultimately, our Maker will judge our measure of worth. He is our perfect judge…He knows us best…and fully. If that is whom you are preparing to stand before to give account…it should challenge your actions and commitments of stewardship daily.
But the good news is this, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works. Lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19 NKJV)

Creatures of Habit

2009-09-28T15:08:00.000-04:00

Patterns are often helpful in matters of personal discipline, hygiene, and exercise.
We benefit from the disciplines exercised in countless fields of endeavor from food service to medicine, transportation to education. Disciplined patterns enable us to function effectively and efficiently. But we humans are far more than form and function.
We also operate in the context of community. We have the capacity to adapt to changes.
We have the opportunity to respond to circumstances that are new or suddenly modified.
That said, we also remain creatures of habit. Lessons learned in the midst of ordinary times allows us to use effective tools and responses during stressed times. Such is the training by the military, EMT’s and fire fighters. Good habits prepare a foundation for good outcomes. Good habits protect us and help us to discover ways to relate positively to stressing or difficult challenges. In the same way spiritual disciplines can inform us, guide us, and enable us. Good habits of worship, bible study, prayer, witness and service allow Christians to mature in their practice of faith and in their effectiveness in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Consider your present habits and consider ways to direct your time and energies toward those positive outcomes you seek.

The Parental Units

2009-09-21T15:56:00.000-04:00

Taking on the task of parenting begins in many ways -- Some planned, some unplanned; some with insight, some with no clue about what to do next. Parents come in all shapes, sizes, intellects and occupations. The remarkable thing about parents is that they always become smarter over time and always remain unpredictable on some measure of the spectrum…at least in the eyes of their children.

Responsible parents wish to provide their children with safety, support, encouragement, opportunities to grow and learn and explore their unique abilities, along with needed education and guidance to live long enough to be responsible enough to make their own decisions with wisdom and integrity.

While parents are not only concerned with these important aims for their children’s lives, they are also conscious of the challenges that are presented in light of those who might exploit their children, who could influence their children to become isolated and socially disengaged from those who care about them, or who could give misinformation that would be shared with their children in many unmonitored contexts. Parents could be concerned about the loss of communication and conversation with their children, the frequency of addiction among the larger population that influences behaviors in many families and communities, and the reality of family disintegration causing many levels of emotional and economic and social dis-ease. Parents often worry too much about things they can’t control and too little about things that can give their children the strongest foundations for daily life.

No child should be left without a comprehension of God’s love for him or her.
No child should be left without an awareness that they were created to be in a relationship with their Creator who loves them and made them for a divine and holy purpose. No child should be left without the awareness of God’s intention for a family to be built upon a relationship of love and care and mutual concern for one another shared in an understanding of God’s guidance for life. No child should be left without an awareness of God’s provision for his or her future. No child should be left without a sense of wonder and awe and mystery at the thought of all that God is and has done for them. No child should be left without the blessing of sharing in worship, in prayer, in singing and praising God together with a family of faith that loves him or her.

When these things are a part of a child’s life, the multitude of matters like sexuality, relationships, popularity, novelty, and the testing of limits and abilities, all become secondary to the understanding that we live in relationship to God and His love for us. That enables life to take on meaning and focus and direction. It enables an abundant life in the provision and knowledge of God.

Parents, together let us pray that we can help our children to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ…. we and they will be the better for it. That relationship allows us to grow in favor “with God and man.”

Living in the Alley

2009-09-15T15:09:00.001-04:00

Can you imagine life in an alley -- your world limited to the sights and sounds of that one place? Can you identify with your access to the outside world as a line of back doors, garbage cans and weed-filled culverts? Can you imagine what you would think about the world if only the alley were your world? Would you find the rats or roaches crawling through the garbage interesting? Would you find the discards of those who threw away their trash the center of your world? Would you wonder at the way of life seen through the garbage of those people? Would it reveal their habits and lifestyles, their addictions or their sufferings? Would the world of the alley reveal the sounds of those so nearby who struggled with life in ways that were obviously less than ideal? Would the views from the alley also reveal the good and the happy and the delight of those whose lives were full and joyous and marked by love? Would living in the alley allow you to see that even in the worst of times there were good times and even in the best of times there were struggles? Would the sights and sounds of the alley reveal the call of mothers to their children to gather for food and would it reveal the bitter curse of another toward one who certainly was at that moment far from being loved? Would the experience of the alley tell the story and then again tell another because of the many points of view it offered? Whether you live in an alley or not, you can be sure that the nearness of your life to others is never so far removed that you do not share the need of God’s love and mercy. The realities of our days are shared with those throughout time and history…we live and move in ways that need the direction of God to guide us. We have limited access to other people at times, like living in an alley, but we do not have limited access to God. The good news is that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
But then we are reminded of something else…”How are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent. …So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:14-17)
People in alleys or people in homes or at work or at play need the message of Jesus Christ. It takes someone willing to go to them to bring the good news. Are you willing to take the good news of God’s love to those near you? Will they ever hear of Jesus if all they know is the world right up your alley?

Reflections

2009-09-11T10:46:00.001-04:00

September 11 brings memories that remain all around us. Construction at “Ground Zero” has languished. The Pentagon’s rebuilt side looks like a giant new band-aid is on the roof compared to the rest of the building. Memorials abound and more prominently the memories of those whose families were changed forever by that event. We remember the tragic loss of lives that day, but also the lives of those who were touched by their lives. And we can’t forget the hundreds since who have died in the battles that were undertaken since that time in the name of national security and “taking the battle to them” and “protecting our interests.” There is no question, we must recognize enemies when we come to know them and understand their intentions to destroy. At the same time, we would do well to remember that our lives are different because of 9-11 events. They are different because we have made the world different as a result of our fears and our self-interests and our inability to understand why anyone anywhere would be so motivated in such a self-destructive manner to do such a thing. 9-11 has educated us to madness, and meanness, but also to the capacity of sick hearts and lives, broken and suffering existence, and twisted ideologies bent on instilling fear above all other effects. The “lessons” that are so often referred to can create a callousness of mind, like a wound that does not heal, remaining putrid and festering and causing pain. Or we can discover that there is healing and help and hope from the voice of God to each of us that reminds us that He will have the last word. In the meantime, there is a mission of mercy to be performed, there is a ministry of healing to be undertaken, there is the mindful, purposeful, meaningful intent to bring blessing and hope to those who are without those things in their lives. That is the gift of God to us and that is the word that He gives for us to share. “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus said. In Him we find more than enough to see us through everything…come what may.

Training Your Brain

2009-09-02T19:39:00.000-04:00

A Stanford University professor recently discussed research that indicates multi-tasking may be bad for your brain. Essentially, in measured tests, those who were attempting multiple tasks at the same time, declined in their productivity, or the ability to accurately accomplish what they were doing.
In large measure, we have socially embraced interruption to a point that it may be not only decreasing our ability to function, but it may also be recalibrating our brains to respond to interruptions without regard for the value of those interruptions or their importance. In other words, we train our brains to give attention to the new stimulus, no matter what it is or no matter how insignificant or unimportant it may be. Consequently, the brain surgeon who carries his cell phone in his back pocket may be more interested in the reason for the vibrating phone than he is in the brain he is currently operating on. It is a brain-influenced phenomenon. When we repeatedly respond to interruptions, to the neglect of the matters at hand, we lose effectiveness.
As a pastor, I regard it as a significant part of my work, to be able to adapt to the necessary interruptions required for ministry. Crises occur, persons need immediate assistance, timely response is important for any number of church related activities and meeting ministry needs. At the same time, it is becoming ever more necessary to identify times for solitude. Time to pray. Time to study. Time to read and reflect and write require periods without constant interruption. And apparently we need to work at reversing some of the patterns so prolific in our social context that cause us to do too many things poorly simply because we are trying to do them all at once.
If the research proves true, it may be the tip of the iceberg that describes the abilities of multitudes of people being compromised by the social interruption of 24/7 availability via internet, cell phones, and email, not to mention the bombardment of media via radio, television and disruptively injected video and sound bites of all sorts.
The constant stimulus to our brains with interrupting sounds, rings, bells, and voices may be limiting our ability to hear anything well, to listen hardly at all, or to appropriately respond when it is absolutely important to do so.
Persons who seem to have limited attention may simply be over stimulating their brains with interruptions that inadvertently “train their brain” to continue changing their focus away from matters at hand. Allowing for longer periods of focus without interruption may be the key to “resetting” our brain’s attention cycle.
When Jesus took time to separate himself from the crowds, when he spent time in solitude and prayer, when he demonstrated by his own example the importance of balancing the intensity of constant interruption with the needed time for rest, he taught us something important to recognize. Human bodies require rest, renewal, and time to give attention to God above all others. Our brains may not only need the retraining, but the
opportunity to learn from the One who knows us best.

Health and Americans

2009-08-25T16:24:00.000-04:00

I have listened and read with interest the widely diverse and opinioned comments of those seeking to make sense of the health care crisis in our nation. As a user of this system and one who has overseen the care of elderly family members for a number of years, there is much to be considered.
Most arguments against systems requiring greater accountability suggest that the management overload would prevent good care. Costs are currently escalating out of control and presenting all but the wealthiest or those with amazing benefit packages with restrictive health care choices. Most plans ignore a call for healthy lifestyle choices as a component of reduced costs. Most plans ignore preventive care as a component for improved health and reduced cost. Most plans ignore health personnel shortages as increasing the likelihood of less care, no matter how much it costs. Rapidly rising numbers of older Americans will stress the present system because it has not “ramped up” for greater aging care needs.
One of the great weaknesses of American healthcare is the dysfunctional family systems that provide limited or poor support to family members. With extended life expectancy and reduced birth rates, those circumstances are further skewed in favor of less supportive environments.
We also share in a moral crisis at the point of recognizing the human limitations of medical practice. Our expectations have risen beyond reason. No physician can cure everything. No doctor should be expected to fix everything. Attempts to remedy every pain, every discomfort, every sadness or struggle is unhealthy in itself. Pain discloses the need for change. Pain reveals where there are problems. To eliminate pain may disguise that which is most debilitating.
Prescription drug abuse has grown to astounding levels. Sadly, those who abuse their bodies and neglect common sense measures to improve their health are among some of the most demanding for results. There is also a general societal inability to comprehend much of the complexity associated with present systems of medical service delivery. At the same time, there are those who use the system so routinely that they know how to abuse the system’s resources by undermining its weaknesses. Multiple doctors treating the same patient for the same ailment may not know of the others efforts. Similarly, without coordinated systems for tracking medicine dispensing, we overserve many to their detriment and frequently prolonged abuse.
Other looming problems are clear. Physicians are in short supply in the most needed areas. As one family physician recently complained…his patient appointments were 3 weeks out….it required a 3 week wait for someone to see their primary care physician. Many can die in 3 weeks in emergency situations. Others can be seriously affected in negative ways if improvements are not sought in less than a three week time.
Our present “backup” to this limitation is the excessively expensive emergency room visit. Yet even there, the triaged waiting room efforts require prolonged waits and often slow progress toward resolving matters as critical as strokes and as ordinary as playground cuts and scraps. When minutes can mean the difference between life debilitating aftereffects or a return to health… it matters.
Facilities responsible for dispensing health care are under extreme pressures to reduce costs while faced with personnel shortages that undermine patient care and create stress and overload for present workers. Where are hospitals getting nurses? Many are regularly enlisting nurses trained overseas where trained nurses are more available. We are losing the capacity to serve our own population with sufficient trained personnel. It takes a long time to train a capable doctor or nurse. It takes even longer for them to specialize. Such patterns of training are failing because of less than favorable working conditions and the high cost of education.
Chronic drains on the welfare system are the growing load of unwed teen mothers, often with limited access to prenatal care and low birth weight complications to newborns; likewise is the percentage of drug addicted mothers giving birth to drug addicted infants…is there any stronger case for better educational instruction and earlier intervention efforts? Why have we socially ignored the crippling effects of poverty and made medical care a vast field of attack for litigation…seeking to gain compensation and benefits through microanalysis of every medical procedure and its outcome. “Ambulance chasing” has become a by-word for our times. As difficult as it has been for some of my acquaintances to receive needed disability benefits, I struggle to understand how we can so easily attach a disability diagnosis without also working more uniformly as a nation to provide alternative work opportunities for willing workers with disabilities. Perhaps we are struggling enough enabling work for the physically able? We further destabilize our social fabric by creating a class society of the sick, diseased, and disabled supported by the overworked, overtaxed, and overextended.
Friends who check on one another regularly can be most instrumental in providing good health monitoring and good mental health. Engaging in caring for others can improve one’s own outlook on life significantly. Partnering with others to share abilities and using the strengths of a group to meet needs goes a long way toward positive living outcomes. Where we need the most work on healthcare is in our own backyards. Physical activity, a healthy diet…best shared while eating with others and enjoying the company and conversation of friends, a spiritual focus on the future, and an awareness of
God’s help and guidance….these factors go far toward improving health and our quality of life.
Let us not mistake the role of government -- that while able to encourage “best practices” with legislative efforts --- will never be able to dispense to all efficiently or effectively the essential care that must be provided in the context of caring communities of individuals who invest themselves in the lives of one another. Jesus said it best, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 19:19b NRSV)

Keeping Up

2009-08-18T16:32:00.000-04:00

There is a phrase people often use…”keeping up with the Jones.” For most it is a somewhat sly remark implying that one is either attempting to “one up” someone else in terms of possessions or in some form of “showing off.” Keeping up with someone or some group has been a national pastime for quite a while. In fact, advertisers have been in the business for a very long time attempting to “create” your sense of need for something based upon their implied importance for having those things bringing you some never to be had “feeling” or “satisfaction.” Religious and spiritual language have often been used by such advertisers in the name of commercial endeavor. Often you would be invited to buy something to “bring good things to life.” At other times you were told you could experience something as “smooth, satisfying, and delicious” when it was “offensive, smelly, and life-threatening.” More often used were the subtle implications that having certain things would make you more acceptable. Brand names were marks of success. Logos on shirts or pockets meant you were “cooler” or more likely to succeed among your peers. The great “sell” has so often played to the emotions of the least secure individuals to convince them to buy something that would “improve” or “beautify” or make them more attractive to those of the opposite sex.
“Keeping up” has been a frustrating pursuit for all those who indulge in such rituals of behavior. Even if the “toys are gathered” those who have the most don’t win. They just have more broken toys in the end and sadly many have broken lives, distorted views of what is really valuable, and often a poor sense of their own self-worth.
God has sent his son, Jesus to inform us about so much of this. He told us to understand that God knows what we need. Having what we need, however, begins with looking first for God to be first in our lives. To know Jesus as your Lord marks the beginning of putting all the things of the world in the right perspective. It will also give you some wisdom about valuing other people in the way God values them. God’s love for each of us marks the fact that He wants all of us to know the blessings of his provision of eternal life through faith in Jesus. God invites us to understand that we are invited to share in the inheritance of heaven…the eternal and abundant life that begins when we look to him in faith and trust for our future. If we would be interested in helping our world keep up to speed on that good news…we would be doing what Christ has called his followers to be about.

Dispelling Distress

2009-08-11T15:46:00.000-04:00

For some persons, stress is a way of life. Some measure of stress can be healthy…regular exercise strengthens body muscles. Exertion can be instrumental in some strengthening, but constant or repeated stress over time yields destructive consequences to the human body. The demands placed upon the body during long periods of stress can lead to neurological events, breakdowns in the natural renewal processes of the body best accomplished during rest and sleep cycles, and a wide variety of physical distresses that indicate a need for change. Stress induced illness has become a common denominator for many. Like soldiers in combat, those engaged in high demand work environments, and today’s relentless constant contact/constant work venues made possible via messaging, phones and computers keeps many individuals under severe stress.
Still other forms of distress plague many. Distress regarding jobs, or the lack of, complicates life for many. Economic difficulties, and changes that seemingly lie outside one’s control often bring difficult circumstances to be addressed. Even mistakenly adopted models for achievement can be stressors to a degree that inhibits or prevents positive performance outcomes. Some create stress for others because of their lack of responsiveness or apathetic attitude, when others depend upon them for measured success.
Distress is with us, or not, largely depending upon our capacities to relate to the circumstances we are facing. For far too many, the circumstances are not the source of distress, but rather the inability to consider appropriate ways to face those circumstances. Without imposing the mystic’s mantra or the Tibetan’s gong, let me suggest that most of us just need an honest look at ourselves that will help us to see that we need God’s help for life. We need the wisdom of our Creator to tackle the tangle of issues our world seems so frequently to struggle with. We need our Lord and Savior to show us how to relate to one another redemptively and with a heart of love that is motivated and inspired with the love that was first shown to us by Christ himself. We need to consider that often in our haste to meet our needs, we fail to see the needs of others and even more often fail to see that which would be pleasing to God for us to be doing.
Distress is what comes when we reap the consequences of our own refusal to follow Christ…in attitude and action. What kind of stress would it bring for us to love one another as Christ loved us? The only stress of that is the surprise generated in those to whom we show that kind of love. In that situation, distress gives way to discovery…and hope and joy and forgiveness and life and peace…you get the picture.
Before you reach for the analgesic, perhaps following Jesus’ lead would show you the way to better handle your daily challenges. Consider time listening and learning from Him. Enjoy a time of daily reading from the Gospels. Listen for the things Jesus taught us and put them into practice. It will go a long way toward rescuing a very stressed world.

Perfection

2009-07-31T12:49:00.000-04:00

The 119th Psalm, a “super-acrostic” of the Hebrew alphabet, is the longest Psalm with the most verses. Today the first half of the 96th verse of that Psalm caught my eye. It reads: “To all perfection I see a limit...”
I think of how often we inject the call for perfection into our conversation without any real scrutiny of what we are asking for. Women speak of finding the perfect dress. Brides dream of having the perfect wedding. Men refer to the perfect car. Homebuyers seek the perfect house. Weather forecasters speak of perfect weather. I think the Psalmist was helpful in pointing to the limitation of our own pursuits of perfection. Our best efforts will always require that we yield to certain limits. The most detailed planning will not prevent the unexpected. The most exhausting preparation at some point has to give way to the necessity of doing what the planning prepared for…and all its less than perfect outcomes, however few or many may result. But that brings us back to the 119th Psalm. The whole psalm is essentially focused upon the fact that God gives us the best guidance and the best insight and the best direction for our lives. His word stands the tests of time and practice. His truth endures forever. His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
Perfection has always been a worthy aim…if we recognize our human limitations. At the same time…our imperfection is countered by our hope and trust in one whose love and mercy have made a way for our life to be full and abundant in Jesus Christ. In him, perfection abounds. In him, we discover the perfection of God and God’s deliverance from sin as we place our faith and trust in Him…the one who came to save us.
As the apostle Paul wrote, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We have our limits…and “the wage of sin is death”. As long as we pursue our own way…we flounder and the consequences are the outcomes of pride and intentional rejection of God’s way.
Yet God’s invitation is to repent of sin…to repent of the idolatry that puts something or someone or even our self in the place of God. It is a willingness to acknowledge our sin and to seek our Savior, Jesus Christ.
A story is told that Amish women in making their beautiful and often highly detailed quilts intentionally miss a stitch, to remind themselves that “nothing is perfect” apart from the perfection of God. I think the Psalmist had the same idea. The wonderful good news is that in the provision of God, we can put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ and know the abundant life that comes from sharing in His perfection.

Moonwalk Anniversary

2009-07-20T10:13:00.000-04:00

Forty years ago today, astronaut Neil Armstrong first walked on the lunar surface. It was an astounding feat of engineering and scientific effort, but it was also the culmination of countless days and hours of deliberate, intentional planning, evaluation, design, and experimentation. And the source of all these efforts began with a challenge, a goal, an aim set forth to inspire the best minds and best dreams to be engaged in the pursuit of learning.

As the Psalmist wrote so long ago, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Every move humankind has made into the cosmos has reaffirmed that statement. The infinite details revealed in the exploration of time and space continue to escalate our comprehension of God’s profound and awesome creation. The wonder of our ever growing awareness of the universe is that we continue to be directed by both the physics and mathematics demonstrated in our study and exploration to the intentionally unscientific declaration…”In the beginning God…”

Such is a perspective of faith and yet for many a declaration of experience. The most intense study of creation is only a testimony of the creator…it declares the glory of God…it is a manifestation of His handiwork. For all of our labors to extend our reach into the heavens, we will be ever able to marvel at the wonder of God’s gifts to us all.
Every ocean tide, every array of color in the sunset, every glow of brilliance from the night sky…should cause us to give thanks. God has blessed us. God has sustained us.
God has called us to abundant life in the joy of knowing our hope is in Him.

In the Interest of Life

2009-07-15T20:12:00.000-04:00

One of the greatest needs of our time is for a renewed respect for human life. Many individuals seem to be mentally dulled to both the wonder and miracle of life itself. We can observe the fragility of life at every hand, but we also can acknowledge the strength of life in every heartbeat…every breath. What seems to be present, however, is a sense of invulnerability displayed by some…as though the rules of physics did not need to apply to their own physical walk and movement. Others seem to wish to ignore gravity… or the laws of inertia…or the biological realities of physical death caused by poison ingestion. These kinds of ignorances frequently destroy otherwise healthy, generally capable, and even intelligent persons. Some part of the problem precipitates from the over stimulation of simulation games and visually stimulated sequences of digitally modified actions. In other words…people watch physically impossible movements and actions portrayed by modifications electronically recorded and mentally presume such action is possible. For a generation past, to see a cartoon coyote continuously smashed by large rocks dropped from high places was a humorous conclusion, but to see the portrayal of what appears to be live human beings being repeatedly blown up and restored by the reset button causes a mental lapse in comprehending the limits of human physical capacity. We observe violent acts toward human characters at astounding rates in drama, movies, and television programming. We see an equally disturbing rise in destructive behaviors among children and teens that most often are not well supervised in the selection of their video preferences. Abusive behaviors are often reflected in song lyrics and music video portrayals of characters. Murder, rape, drug use and assault are often the subject of what is sold as entertainment
to the masses. Many fill their hours with such and wonder why they feel depressed, disturbed, and fearful. A new appreciation for life is capable of being born within us as we give attention to the love God has for each of us. In His wisdom, he guides us to the light and truth of his word to us, to the understanding of his purpose for our days, and to a comprehension of his life giving presence as our Lord and Savior. Welcome Jesus as your instructor for living well…living joyfully…and living in the love of God.

Seeking Justice

2009-07-07T11:34:00.000-04:00

I heard the story once of a judge who was about to pass sentence. The convicted felon loudly shouted and said, ” Judge, I want justice. I want justice. I want justice.” The judge responded. “ Sir, you are receiving justice…what you should be asking for is mercy. “
The desire for justice is certainly a key element of our common sharing of life together. Justice assumes respect for one another. Justice assumes a valuing of all that is good and right and fair. Justice is conscious of matters of physical or mental incapacity, but it does not ignore patterns of behavior that are destructive to persons and community. The imposing figure of Justice depicted in many courtrooms shows Justice as blind in respect to those elements of external differences that might otherwise divide loyalties, or create partialities or partisan decisions as persons seek remedy for grievances. At the same time, Justice listens. Justice seeks truth. Justice hears witnesses to address the circumstances and events involved.
The context of Justice however is community. Community is seldom blind to persons and personalities, actions and behaviors. At the same time community has the capacity to inspire justice or to subvert it. Community defines acceptable parameters of behavior and activities deemed appropriate for the shared marketplace or in respect to human behaviors, precluding private acts of violence or destructiveness that endanger or threaten. Community determines the effectiveness of Justice in her efforts to provide a level of righteousness that allows for peaceful coexistence, while at the same time injecting the elements of mercy and grace that allow us to be redemptive in our flawed human imperfection.
Our flaws lie largely in what the Apostle Paul referred to as “the sin, which so easily besets us.” Sin undermines our pursuit of justice and our ability to uphold it socially. The nature of our times seems to have adopted a “lowest common denominator” definition of what is acceptable and the bar keeps falling. Not until we aspire to the calling of God and comprehend the righteousness of his providing will we know the experience of justice in its truest blessing and at the same time experience mercy as only God has offered us.
The next time you are in the mood for Justice, perhaps you should think again and turn to God and pray: “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” That kind of praying could not only remedy Justice’s blindness, but could open the windows of heaven to allow you to see the light of God’s love through Jesus Christ. That experience could change you forever.

Help For What Ails You

2009-06-17T11:05:00.000-04:00

When doctors candidly talk about the types of ailments and symptoms they see on a regular basis, they note the chronic nature of many illnesses and the disturbing number of preventable disease events that they confront. At the same time, there is the stark reality that when patients present themselves demanding help for their suffering, they want something to change the immediate circumstances.
Far too often, physicians are forced to enter into a kind of further debilitating co-dependent role as they treat symptoms at the expense of sustaining the behaviors and actions that prompted the “disease” in the first place.
It is a frequently accepted social pattern to serve and drink alcoholic beverages.
To do so is done with frequent attentiveness to the variety of colorful and sophisticated nuances of taste and selections offered by a seemingly endless variety of delightfully displayed and well-articulated options by which one can “enjoy” the effects of such intoxicants. But there is a reality to be faced. Alcohol is toxic to the body. It can serve as a disinfectant. At its best it serves in primitive fashion as a painkiller and may appropriately be given to the dying for such purposes. At the same time, to portray the results of alcoholism on the stage of life is to see disease, dysfunction, despair, disability, and endless episodes of vomiting, disorientation, boisterous and destructive behaviors, a pattern of social and societal disengagement created by a foreign substance entering the human body and attacking it with a vengeance.
Many today utilize this socially accepted and readily available toxin to treat their “dis-ease.” Many very real and treatable physical conditions are often “self-medicated” by individuals who go to the nearest source of cheap “pain relief.” Others have come to a pattern of self-destruction by the yearning for acceptance that drove them to act and adopt patterns that were assumed to be socially enhancing to their lives. All the while…not recognizing the socially debilitating effects of their actions, and equally physically debilitating results.
Perhaps it isn’t until you have attended the funeral of a teenager who died of alcohol poisoning that such a message stands out in contrast to the 75 year old closet alcoholic whose wife bears the scars and emotional devastation of years behind closed doors of pain.
We have our ailments. We have our pain. We have our suffering. But the tragedy of our time is that we multiply our agonies by our actions and decisions that rather than helping, only create further problems. There is wisdom, born from above, that God extends to us through His Son Jesus Christ. It is the comprehension of a new life and a new way of living. It is a gift to be received in faith…it is recognition of our need to turn to God for our help and salvation. It is an understanding that what ails us most is a broken relationship with our creator and giver of life.
When that relationship is set right…the ailments and pains and diseases become matters with which we can deal redemptively, in ways that direct us to the healing and life sustaining provisions of God. I thank God for the wonderful gifts of physicians and surgeons and nurses and pharmacists and therapists of all kinds who work daily to alleviate the pains and suffering of those who are sick. What I also rejoice to see are those gifts of God’s giving that are used daily to promote healing and health through actions and choices that preempt needless suffering in the first place.

Summer Reading: Key to Progress

2009-06-09T09:41:00.000-04:00

A host of voices have weighed in recently on the seemingly systemic problems associated with education. In the midst of pressing economic challenges, there are the statistics that point to a generational decline in literacy, a significant drop in science and mathematics Ph.D.’s in American universities and a significant indication of long-term social and economic distress linked to a dropout rate of U.S. high school students approaching 33%. Among minority populations that number can soar near 50%. When we factor in the realities of many children poorly supported in the summer months in regard to nutrition and active learning engagements, we see factors that exacerbate these problems.
One of the most interesting rays of hope in the midst of these realities lies in those communities and among those whose attention has been focused upon reading. For many children the availability of books has opened new vistas of learning and growth. It has been shown that when students, even those in economically disadvantaged circumstances, can have access to a steady supply of quality reading resources: whether at church, public libraries, through book mobiles, in community learning centers, or in any number of venues that allow for exposure to interesting reading materials, they have shown excellent progress. Even the poorest of readers, when exposed to others reading to them, and pre-schoolers who have parents or family or community members reading to them, show positive outcomes from regular “story time” and “reading events.”
My challenge to our church community this summer is to serve as facilitators to the children and youth in your reach to diligently help them to have good reading opportunities this summer. There is nothing like a good book on a rainy summer afternoon to inspire the imagination and mental capacities of a young mind. If you need good suggestions for summer reading, check out the public library. When traveling, visit bookstores on a regular basis…they are such fun! Help your children to develop verbal skills as you invite them to talk to you about the books they are reading. Read them yourself and model good reading patterns. Unplug the television and “flood” your children with reading opportunities. If your child is struggling with reading…make sure they have age and skill appropriate materials…invite them to read out loud to you, and then help them with “hard” words. Keep a good dictionary handy and put a big poster board on the back of their bedroom door and let them keep a list of the books they read during the summer. Challenge them to see how many books they can read before school starts in the fall. Encourage them to include the number of pages read with each book.
Don’t forget to introduce some “classics” to older children, and don’t be surprised to find some young readers able to tackle some thick books. Every aspect of learning is tied to reading. Encourage it, help those who for whatever reasons are struggling readers and realize that often the real difference for many is having someone who helps. Start a child on an adventure in reading, and you may be engaging them for a lifetime of learning and growing.

Culture in Crisis

2009-05-29T17:01:00.000-04:00

Philip Rieff is a sociologist who wrote a complex book entitled, “The Triumph of the Therapeutic.” In his foreword he explains his attempt to move toward a “theory of culture.” Interestingly, he moves between many of the cultural trends of his own day and points to an impoverishment of western culture, a trend toward the personal that undermines all reflections or considerations of absolutes, whether religious or social, and a cultural description of a “therapeutic mindset” in which our collective interests become only those self absorbed solutions to our own predicaments. He suggests that mechanization and urbanization have allowed us to adopt patterns that will fail to find the agrarian cultures self-correction in mandated community effort to survive and thrive. In the movement away from the agriculturally based culture of the past we have found an insistent movement to satisfy our secondary needs at the expense of our primary.
Failing to share, to communicate personally, to interact with intentionality toward community leaves the future looking less and less capable of exercising and demonstrating genuine love. In the midst of our times, we are casting aside internalized moral demands and ignoring the needs of others for the sake of self-interests or worse, self-destructive ends. In his words, we are asking for “more goods, more housing, more leisure, and…more life” in the “reformations” of our cultured requirements. And while more does not translate into “better” by our vocalized agreements, we still pursue more.
Failing to even internalize obedience as a principle for relationship, we now have created a system in which sin is foreign because the recognition of obedience is lost as a value.
For a book written in 1966, this book has a hauntingly prophetic ring for our times.
While Rieff may serve as an able social prophet, we are reminded to recognize that the Word of God to us is truth. In that word, we find the correction for this and every generation that points us toward a redemptive and positive life in Jesus Christ. It is a principled existence, but it is not only an existence, it is a love-generated relationship with our Creator -- initiated by God to redeem humankind and to save us. God will have the last word. The question is, “Will we be listening?”

Affirming Gifts

2009-05-18T12:12:00.000-04:00

The community of faith is commended to be mindful of the collective responsibility we have to affirm and encourage the use of our spiritual gifts. Every Christian has some gift. And those gifts may be, but are not necessarily attached to a vocational expression of our gifts.
We also need to understand that these spiritual gifts are not for our personal benefit. In fact, they rarely if ever are applied or used if the only motivation we have for using them would be for personal benefit or personal gain. Spiritual gifts are those to be used for the upbuilding of the community of faith and the exercise of those gifts, while likely to bring us joy, nonetheless are for giving to others.
You will never find a spiritual gift being shared by those who simply act as “religious consumers”. Spiritual gifts are shared by Christian givers – those who recognize and use the capacities God has given them in His service. It is a gift for God’s glory, not one’s own. It is a gift that God energizes and enables in us. It is a gift that demonstrates the love of God in its character and usefulness. And it is a gift given to others in the name of the Lord we serve. The blessing of those gifts comes when the church “sees” the gift of an individual and both nurtures and affirms that gift. Paul told Timothy to “stir up the gift that was in him” recognizing that he should “put into practice” his gift of teaching and preaching, devoting himself to those efforts and doing so in a way that allowed others to see his progress. Our spiritual gifts are not to be allowed to stagnate or to be neglected. They need exercise…in order to be utilized as God intended.
Christians need one another in community in order to bless and encourage the gifts God has given for us to share. “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good…” 1 Corinthians 12:7. So observe the gifts of those with whom you share Christian fellowship and encourage those gifts you recognize in others…affirm them…name them…bless their use. The utterance of wisdom, the sharing of knowledge, the expression of faith, the gifts of healing, the working of miracles, the gift of discernment, the gift of languages, the gift of interpretation, the gift of helpful deeds and capacities for helpful guidance…The gifts God gives for his church are many and diverse, but all are given for the his body, the church, to be strengthened, enabled, and equipped to accomplish its mission in the world.

Feats of Strength

2009-05-11T17:05:00.000-04:00

I read a recent article about Princeton Seminary student Ryan Bonfiglio. Ryan is an outstanding scholar who earned an undergraduate degree in Chemistry before starting his theology studies. He will be undertaking a Ph.D. in the near future, but he also has shown his prowess in a variety of physical activities. He was hired by Princeton as an assistant wrestling coach and just recently earned the status of Guinness World Record holder for doing 3,432 pushups in an hour. In addition to the pushup record, he holds the world pull-up record for 507 pull-ups in one hour. He also ran his first marathon in 2 hours forty-nine minutes and once hiked 50 miles and climbed fourteen peaks in New Hampshire’s White Mountains in a single day.
Balancing the athletic side, Ryan is an astute biblical scholar and has self-published his own Hebrew grammar. Ryan’s efforts should remind us all that life needs physical, mental and spiritual activity. Our lives need wholeness and appropriate aims and positive challenges.
The Apostle Paul wrote to his young friend Timothy about the importance of having a “spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” Each one of us shares the opportunity of such characteristics as we acknowledge the unique purpose and grace brought to us through faith in Jesus Christ. Whatever you age or ability, consider the “good treasure” entrusted to you. Let your faith and love distinguish your life in every expression.

Around the World

2009-05-05T12:44:00.002-04:00

Swine flu outbreaks have jarred us into once more recognizing the nature of sudden changes on the world stage. While medical experts sort through the details of this latest heath scenario, we recognize the effects of disease as an ever-present reality of life shared on this planet. Old-fashioned good sense about hand washing…soap and water will do fine by the way, and concern and help to those who are sick is a continuing and appropriate response of Christian ministry. Many ways in which Christians react are different than those without knowledge of Christ. We are called to minister to those in need, and to share concern for those who are lost, naked, hungry, thirsty, sick, and imprisoned, etc. We are called to teach, make disciples, and share the good news of Jesus Christ with the nations of the world. Thinking in Christ-like ways will move us toward addressing those needs, not away from them. Christians will be recognizable by their love. And when that love is inspired by the very presence of God with us, in us, enabling and energizing and equipping us, then we will see what God can do through us, beyond all we could ask or think. Swine flu may come…along with any number of other ailments that might afflict us in some form or another…but we have opportunity to point others to the healing, saving, life-giving relationship with our Lord.

Around the World

2009-05-05T12:44:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Blog Zone

2009-04-27T23:20:00.000-04:00

In the coming months, I hope you will enjoy the shared thoughts communicated through this medium of exchange. As a Christian pastor, I hope to communicate with integrity and good will helpful and thoughtful considerations for those seeking to know more about the Christian faith and the inevitable crossroads of a continually challenging discipleship. To follow Christ is joy and to share that experience is to know what it means to proclaim God's great work of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.