What Will You Do When You Are Through?

What will you do when you are through? Today is Friday, July 29th. We have completed the last work day of our Youth In Mission trip to New Orleans. Tomorrow we head home, back to the lives we led before we arrive here - 23 people, some of whom had never met before, all of whom we will never forget.

What happens when one goes home? After such an event as this, can one ever truly go back to what was in their life before? We hope we will go on ministering. We know it won't be in the exact same way as we have been able to minister here. We will be confronted with the demands of school, family, and work. There will demands and requests for our time and energy. We will have to choose. We will have to set priorities. You see, ministry is one of those things that usually gets our left over energy. We spend it on our job, our families, our hobbies - then, AND ONLY THEN, we seek time to minister. Usually, by that time, we are as drained as we are from a workday in the New Orleans heat and humidity.

There is a picture at the top of this post. On my right is Mr. Charles Wilmore. On my left is Mr. Feltus Lee. Mr. Wilmore is 76. Mr. Lee is almost 88. They spent their summer assisting in a day camp with several dozen screaming, caffinated, highly energetic children. They could have, maybe they even wanted to, let the day softly stretch by as they rocked on their front porch at home. They could have watched television, gone down to the Senior Center, visited friends in the neighborhood, or played checkers under the shade of a huge live oak tree in the park as I remember so many of the older men doing in front of the courthouse in Winder, Georgia where I grew up.

Charles and Feltus, I did ask permission to be on a first name basis with them, chose to jump right in the middle of all those kids. They chose that because they realized they are not through, that God has something great and grand yet in their lives, that in the middle of the hurt and pain of New Orleans he has called them to spread hope.

Are you through with life? Please, I hope not. God has great and wonderful work he is doing all over the world, some of it in New Orleans, some of it in far off and exotic sounding places, but much of it in your neighbors' houses, among the hungry and the homeless in your own community, in the heart of the person you see at work who has yet to experience what Christ can do in their life if they will only let Him. However, to be that person, to do that ministry means getting up out of your chair, turning off the television, and making ministry a priority. It means also deciding on your ministry group, place and purpose, but, please, don't be through!

Pastor Craig

Lessons From the Oaks

I learned something this past week. Well, I guess I learn something every week. It’s just that sometimes the things I learn have a greater impact.

William Bryant Logan writes in Oak “In some forests, oak trees of compatible species graft their roots together and ‘become one flesh.’ Through their shared root system, the stronger, dominant trees may provide the weaker trees with nutrients. In this way, even the roots of stumps can continue to live and contribute to the forest.”

That’s kind of like the body of Christ, isn’t it? There are days, times, periods in your life where you are the mighty oak, supplying nutrients and life to those who seem to be running short on both. There are other days, times, or periods of your life where you feel sapped (Sorry, but I had to do that.) of all energy and hope for life and future. It is at those key moments that another part of the body of Christ comes along to pick you up and increase your hope, indeed your very life! My guess is that you are thinking about someone specifically who has been that tremendous blessing to you.

Even more appropriate is Christ’s own claim in John 15:5; I am the vine, you are the branches. We’ve known that all along. We can certainly tell the difference when we cut ourselves off from other believers, when we ignore fellowship and do not tend to our spiritual relationships, when we neglect times of prayer and Scripture reading. It doesn’t take long, after we pull our roots away from the source of our spiritual nurture, before we become spiritually unhealthy.

Jesus Christ is that never-ending spring of eternal life and love and hope that continues to well up within us even when times say it should be otherwise. It is through the Spirit of Christ that we continue to live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). Even when we don’t connect well with one another, we can be connected to Jesus Christ who nourishes us all and provides us with life now and life eternal!

Pastor Craig

Who Sings a Song About You?

There is a wonderful quote in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I think most of you will be able to pick up on the essence of the quote even if you’ve never seen the movies or read the books. However, just maybe it will inspire you to do both!

Sam: I wonder if we'll ever be put into songs or tales.

Frodo: What?

Sam: I wonder if people will ever say, 'Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring.' And they'll say 'Yes, that's one of my favorite stories. Frodo was really courageous, wasn't he, Dad?' 'Yes, my boy, the most famousest of hobbits. And that's saying a lot.'

Frodo: You've left out one of the chief characters - Samwise the Brave. I want to hear more about Sam. Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam.

Sam: Now Mr. Frodo, you shouldn't make fun; I was being serious.

Frodo: So was I.

Many of you, like Frodo and Sam on their journey to Mordor have come far. Most of you try to give credit to those many people who have helped you along the way. However, many more of you have failed to see how the Spirit has used you in the lives of others. Just like Sam, you think of yourself as baggage than bravery, more hindrance than helper. Yet, you are a child of God. We sing that chorus almost every week. It is a chorus of triumph and victory, not one of defeat or despair.

If you have given yourself to Jesus Christ you are under the power of the Holy Spirit. You are being used of God is ways small and large, obvious and obscure (at least obscure to you!)

Sam’s main gift was availability. He was willing to pour his life out to the last measure to assist Frodo in his quest to destroy the One Great Ring. He was nothing but an instrument, but it was that very attitude that made him the most valuable instrument of the whole journey.

This week, I want you to do a couple things. First, contact one of the Sam people in your life and tell them how much they have helped you along the journey of your life. Second, if even for only one day of this next week, put yourself ENTIRELY at the disposal of some other cause or person that can never return the favor for you. Pour yourself out on some great quest for others. If you choose to accept this challenge, I would love to hear about it in the weeks ahead!

Pastor Craig

What Is a Church?

What is a church? I could have asked, “What is The Church?” That is a very different question. When we talk about The Church we talk about all the believers in Jesus Christ regardless of denominational affiliation, differing theologies, languages, races, cultures, ethnic groups. The Church has no boundaries. The Church has no need for a building, nor does it even want one. The Church hopes, loves, believes, and welcomes without prejudice.

Then there is “a church.” A church is a local assembly made up of broken and failing people. It is a collection of sinners, saved by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. A church is a collection of walking wounded warriors sent out to do battle with injustice, Sin and sins, prejudice, hatred, guilt, evil, Satan himself. Yes, there is a real Satan. No, he probably isn’t red with horns and carrying a pitchfork. Yes, he is personal, meaning he has a personality.

A church is a group of children called to take on and fight legions of enemy warriors. A church involves people called to make a difference. A church is never satisfied. It yearns and longs for purpose and mission. A church is people like you, called by their Creator to do tremendous things.

A church is sent. Maybe that is the best way to think about it. A church is not called. Here, I know some of my Christian brothers and sisters will take issue with me. They will say, “Well, of course The Church is called! How could you say it is not?” For this purpose today remember this – a calling is to something. We are called to come to Jesus Christ for salvation, equipping, gifting, and commissioning. After that we are sent! We were never meant to be limited to just the Call. The Sending part ALWAYS follows the Calling part. God calls us to Himself to prepare us to do something in His name. That’s the sending part.

The mission of a church, even The Church, is never limited to looking through the windows and feeling sorry for all the people who may not know Jesus as we do. A church is a group of people who are committed to take care of and support one another for the express purpose of making a difference in the lives of the people who are on the other side of the glass through which we look.

A church is never guaranteed a future. It is called and sent into the present with all its resources and assets at the disposal of the mission of making a difference to those outside of the comfort and peace of salvation. Where will you be sent to make a difference this week?

Pastor Craig

An Open Letter Concerning the Recent Decision of the PCUSA

Below is a letter to the congregation I serve in Texas. The recent decision of the Presbyterian Church (USA) left the denomination adrift and at the mercies of culture and the whims of society rather than calling society back to the considerations of Scripture.

In August of this year (2011) there will be a meeting in Minneapolis of people who feel they are no longer welcome within their own denomination. Please be in prayer for that meeting. It is more important than any of us realize at this point. What is done, or not done, will effect millions of Presbyterians across the country and strongly impact the nature and ministry of the entire denomination. The letter is below. I would value your response to it.

June 1, 2011

First, I would like to say that the Presbyterian form of government is an awesome thing. We saw several unique and foundational principles from the Book of Order put into play on Sunday. My favorite comes from G-1.0301(a). “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his Word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship.” In other words, we don’t have to agree. We can take different points of view on issues, even many points of theology, and no pastor, session, church, or denomination can say “you can’t do, believe, or say that” with any authority other than that which the Word of God or the Spirit of God would give of their own authority. It is an awesome foundational principle.

Ultimately, we MUST recognize one another as family. God gives us no other option. He has put us together, and when all the debate and discussion is over, that is where, if possible, God wants us to continue to stand.

I hope this explains why I consider this Minneapolis meeting so important. There are people within the PCUSA (yes, I am one of them) who no longer feel welcome in their own denomination. Viewpoints and theologies which were, at one time foundational pillars of Presbyterianism, seem to have been cast aside by popular vote. In some cases, entire congregations feel this with such intensity that they have requested dismissal from the Presbyterian Church (USA). The meeting in Minneapolis is not a meeting for or of those seeking to leave the denomination. None of the representatives or planning team members are planning to separate themselves from the PCUSA. The conference is an effort to find a place to stand within the denomination, not apart from it.

We are not aligning ourselves with one side or the other simply by our attendance at the conference. We are making a desperate attempt to save our family of faith from division. The worst thing we could possibly do is to remain unengaged, uninvolved, and uninformed. Attendance at this conference says in a loud, clear voice to our members, our presbytery, and our denomination that we want to do all that we can to continue our historical connection to the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Peace,
Pastor Craig

Changes in Course

Changes in Course – I was asked a question one time, about 25 years or more ago. I answered it as honestly as I could at the time. The question was, “Which beliefs do you believe you will change over the course of your vocation in ministry?”

My answer was, “None of them.” That was my answer because I felt the question made little sense. It required an ability to look into the future and clearly see the events that would occur in some distant time or place, and interpret those events in a context which I had not grown into yet. It remains one of the sillier ordination questions I believe that has ever been asked.

I have indeed grown over the quarter century since that time. I hope my faith has grown along with me. It has a tendency to do that, but only if we put it to use. Skills develop as we practice them. Trusting our Savior in situations, seeing his guidance and protection in those same situations, and recognizing his faithfulness to us and to his word encourages us to trust more completely and fully. Stumbling through life with no real spiritual context means that we fail to see the events surrounding us as providential in any way at all. An encounter with a homeless person on the street is not an opportunity to minister, witness, or learn. It is simply the random collision of two life paths that then bounce of one another and continue on a lifelong series of other random collisions. I don’t believe God operates that way. I do not believe in randomness in the universe. Yes, I know, that gives me some other difficult questions to answer and puts God on the line for some things we are uncomfortable about laying at his feet.

These 25 years have been strengthened by a firm believe in the faithfulness of the Word of God in the Scriptures. If we cannot believe the Bible, our faith and existence is indeed random. We end up with no standard for truth, righteousness, morality, relationships, or daily living. We have no assurance of eternal life or, even, our own salvation. For all we know, the writings of the Apostles and Prophets may have been the ramblings of some deranged hermit secluded in his cave. Sermons would be pointless, and Sunday school lessons a waste of time. Theology by popular vote would become the practice of the church.

Experiential theology is indeed on the rise and it is one of the most damaging invasions of culture on the Christian Church. “It is only true if I believe it to be true” has become the testing point for historical principles of faith. “Well, if it works for you,” has been the approval stamp of modern personal orthodoxy. However, the early disciples fought and died for things. There were beliefs that were not subject to the approval of others because they had been commanded by their Lord and Savior. Not all that is right is easy. Not all that is easy is right. Jesus never commanded a convert to return to their former way of life. His “Your faith has made you whole” was most often accompanied by a charge to “Go and sin no more.” The present day church needs to keep that model before its eyes in the days ahead.

The picture above is from the healing of the 10 lepers. You see the one is already looking back even as the nine are hurrying to complete their required tasks of cleansing. The one looks back because he knows the process is not complete until the one who made it so is given credit. May our faith be less about us and more about Him every day.

  Pastor Craig

The Watchman

The Watchman – If you have been a regular attendee of worship, or, maybe, even if you have not, you have heard this parable preached on a number of times. The illustration is one that is common in the words and teachings of Jesus, the idea of the shepherd tending his sheep. It communicates how carefully he looks after them, how he guards, and guides them, how he even lays down his own life that the sheep may be preserved.

Within this parable we also recognize the villain, the shifty-eyed, rotten-toothed, foul smelling villain who crawls over the wall, breaks in through any opening he can cram his body through. His one motive? To steal, rob, and kill. He cares nothing for the sheep. He only cares for himself.

Of course, then there are the sheep, the poor, dumb, weak sheep. In case you are wondering, that’s the role for me and you. Not the most noble part to play in our little skit, is it? We aren’t smart enough to stay protected by the shepherd’s house or barn, so we are put in a sheep pen. We would wander off after any eye-catching morsel of grass that called to us. We have no real means of defense. The shepherd provides all that for us.

There is, however, one character unaccounted for in this play, The Watchman. Who is this guy? He seems to hold great power over this little plot of land. He is the one who opens the gate for the shepherd. In a sense, he checks the shepherd’s credentials. The watchman asks, “Is this indeed the one who has authority over the sheep? Is this the one who will discharge the responsibility for keeping the sheep safe and fed?” We take the watchman for granted, but without him, the shepherd does not gain access to the sheep. The gate remains closed.

Jesus states his own claim to the sheep, but unaccounted for in this story is the confirmation of The Watchman. This person says, “Yes, this one, and ONLY this one is the one who will be given access to the sheep!” The Watchman, whoever, or whatever he is, bows before Christ recognizing his claim to the sheep within this pen. They indeed are his and they hear his voice. Here indeed is the one who has all power and authority. All others who come to claim these sheep are liars and deceivers. In an age and society of political correctness and required inclusivity, it is an even bolder statement now than it was when Jesus uttered it in the presence of the Pharisees and religious officials of his day. He, not they, was the one who was granted full rights and authority over the sheep! The only question remaining is whether we are true and faithful sheep or if we have lost the ability to discern the one true voice of the shepherd calling our name and staking his claim on us

.  Pastor Craig