A Christmas Carol and lessons from Mr. Scrooge

My family and I saw the new A Christmas Carol movie starring Jim Carey a few days ago and were very impressed. The animation is amazing, and the the original storyline is followed for the most part. Each member of the family enjoyed the movie and agreed that it was well worth watching.

It is a movie that always causes me to reflect on my own life and consider those things that are truly important. I always come away contemplating missed opportunities to serve others and share God's love as well.

I was also impressed again by the sudden and noticeable change in Mr. Scrooge; the miserly curmudgeon became a catalyst for philanthropy and good-will overnight, literally overnight! As I was contemplating this phenomenon in old Ebenezer I was reminded that one who has received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior truly is a new creation. One who was once spiritually dead has been made alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit and now has a new life on every level. The Christian has a new purpose and Lord he serves as well as a renewed relationship with God. Every aspect of life for the Christian should be filtered through the reality that it's all about God. Loving God with all of our being and loving others is our sole passion. With this in mind I was rattled again by the reality that so many professing Christians live lives that appear to be anything but loving, kind, or marked by sacrifice. The "change" doesn't seem to be there in the lives of so many professing Christians.

The sad fact is that this is not biblical salvation at all. The Bible does not espouse a faith that does not lead to a new life. In fact, the Bible is emphatic in teaching that true faith in Christ will lead to a new life. A life changed in regard to thoughts, words, actions, and purpose. I am not suggesting that we earn God's favor or salvation at all, but I am suggesting that a new creature in Christ should have a new desire to serve God by serving others. After all, Christians are Jesus' ambassadors on this earth.

Perhaps pastors and Bible teachers are raising up legions of "Ebenezer Scrooge Christians," Christians who are not being taught the reality that "anyone in Christ is a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Maybe the malaise that marks many Christians is partly due to apathetic spiritual leadership. Are we teaching true biblical Christianity, a life lived for God on every front where loving others is an outpouring of our love for God? May we as God's people show the love of God as we sacrifice for others, and may we remember that there must be a change in our life once we become followers of Christ. In this way we can follow the lead of Charles Dickens' famous character.

Blogs, Narcissism and God's Glory

I can't believe that I am writing this blog. Does anyone really care what I think or have to say? I know I could care less what most blogs and tweets and face book walls say. As if television, video games, and the Internet weren't enough to keep us occupied and vie for our precious time, we now have new ways to squander the 24 hours a day God has given us.

Can God use all of these techno tools for His glory? Can they serve mankind in some positive way? Yes, and yes. There are times when someone actually posts some thoughts or information that is encouraging and refocuses me upon God and His ways or His Word, but more often than not the information gleaned from these self-aggrandizing methods of communication serve no purpose of importance. Posts and thoughts that convey the mundane, obvious, or simply complain are of little value. It seems that all they accomplish is an opportunity to make the author feel good about himself due to the fact that his face and thoughts are "published" on the web and whatnot. The bottom line is this: facebook, twitter, and blogs seem to have encouraged and fostered an already burgeoning culture of narcissism. Some of us actually think that others care what we have to say!

Oh well, no one is forcing anyone to read any of this. I can only promise that I will try to communicate something of redeeming value in my posts. I don't want to post a blog to simply post a blog. In the meantime I encourage everyone to guard their precious time. God gave it to us, and it is a valuable resource to be used for His glory. Pick an choose the posts you read wisely and try not to communicate worthless, inane posts full of complaints and obvious facts.

Pastor: Jack of All Trades!

At first thought I can't bring to mind a job that requires a general knowledge of so many areas of expertise and so many skill sets as that of a pastor. It is comical to think that on a day-to-day basis so many men (and women in some denominations) are required to weigh in and offer insight on a bevy of issues and challenges. Just think about it: on any given day a pastor is called upon to be a marriage counselor, grief counselor, personnel manager, facilities manager, long ranger strategic planner, event planner, hospitality coordinator, salesman (yes we sell everyday in some way or another), teacher, financier, athlete, etc. You get the picture, and I know I forgot some stuff too.

All of this is not entirely new to me; as a small business manager/owner I got used to wearing many hats. But at the end of the day I didn't answer to any man and the bottom line is what mattered. However, in pastoral ministry any and everyone in the church is happy to offer their thoughts, criticisms, and suggestions. This is truly unique; I suppose that politicians can relate to this on some level too. Sometimes you just have to laugh at some of the comments that fly out of folk's mouths. Anyway, the daily grind of dealing with all of this can get to you, as can the expectations and judgmental musings of so many. If you couple that with the fact that pastoral ministry is unlike other jobs in that spiritual life and death hang in the balance you start to see what can be a very stressful job.

Well, what's the point? First, I want to say that I love being a pastor. I love sharing in the lives of others; I love it when the light bulb comes on and someone grasps a spiritual truth. I love it when someone makes a decision that is life-changing in a positive sense. I love getting to know people and being a part of the most important events of their lives. I love that I have a job that cannot ultimately be judged by a bottom-line (though some want to judge it that way) and has eternal implications (well, everything is about God, but pastoral work is more intense in this way). I love it. But the real point is that those of you who have a pastor need to be lifting him up in prayer and offering him encouragement and help. He has a great and grave responsibility, so give him a break please. In addition, remember that your pastor is dealing with spiritual warfare on a very deep and real level. Also, remember that he is a human and is entitled to make mistakes. These mistakes make him human and allow him to relate better to you!!!

So the next time you don't like how he hit the ball in the softball game or handled a motion in a business meeting give him a break; he can't do everything well! He is merely a jack of all trades who ultimately is called by God, serves God, and answers to God...

If you are a pastor reading this, please give me your thoughts on the matter;)

How Can A Loving God Send Anyone to Hell?

This is an interesting question, and one that is often not met with an answer that is true to God's revelation of himself in Scripture. The reality is that many preachers don't touch this question or even hell as a topic. They don't preach it, for it is politically incorrect and controversial, negative and not uplifting. "Preachers today try to air-condition hell," said Al Mohler. The reality is that the God of the Bible does warn us of the reality of hell; in fact, Jesus spoke often about hell and in specific terms. One of the big problems that exist today is the reality that man insists on ignoring what God has said regarding hell; they try to explain it away or downplay its reality, insisting that it can't be a real place or an eternal place or a place of torment. Well, according to the Bible and the teaching of Jesus it is a real place, an eternal place for those who are thrown into it, and it is a place of torment.

This brings us back to the question at hand, and for that I appeal to the character of God and not man. Again, the problem is that we humans insist on judging ourselves against ourselves. In other words, when compared to many in the world we are "good." We can easily point to evil people such as Hitler or some mass murderer or terrorist and claim that we aren't that bad! In fact, compared to them we are good; plus, we are generally moral and law abiding. We must break the habit of judging "good" from a human standard and start judging it from God's. God's standard is perfection; He is perfectly holy. The mark we are to hit is His standard, and we all fall short of that mark. We all fail to achieve that standard and level, which is His perfection. The sad reality is that we all deserve hell when viewed from God's standard. And as a just and righteous God our sin can't simply be overlooked or brushed under the proverbial rug. God would not be loving if He did not uphold and remain true to His holiness, righteousness, and justice.

In His love He provided one to bear our sin and its curse- one who met His righteous requirements and standard of holy perfection. He sent His own Son Jesus Christ who lived a life of perfection and died in the place of sinners.

For more information on this topic and the question at hand I would refer you to www.albertmohler.com He posted a video of a sermon he gave dealing with this issue on his blog. I would recommend it; it is well worth a listen. And may I never shrink away from the doctrine of hell in my own preaching and teaching; I encourage any other pastor or teacher that might happen upon this to be true to the Word of God in this as well.

Men and the Sea- a story of sabbath

I was reminded of one of my favorite literary works this past week while fishing on the Chesapeake Bay. I felt a little like Manolin, the young understudy to Santiago, in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. Just like Santiago, the gentleman with whom I fished was a man of methodology; he has fishing down to a science. He knows exactly how to fish for certain fish, and he sticks to his plan. Hemingway's character had not caught a fish in several weeks before his epic battle with the marlin, but the old man of my experience is generally successful in his fishing endeavors. He is consistent and steady, the model of patience as he fishes. Like Santiago, his body is wearing down, but he still has a fire in his soul, a love for the sea and fishing. There is a quote from the aforementioned work, which won Hemingway the Nobel Prize in literature, that reminds me of my captain: "Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated." This description fits my fishing partner who is battling cancer yet again.



What a great day! Not only did I get the privilege of fishing with an 87 year old man who knows what he is doing but I was able to experience the bay on a hot, glorious, summer day. Those of us who live in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia are privileged to have access to some great bodies of water. From the marina in Hampton where we started the Chesapeake Bay was only minutes away, and the Atlantic Ocean was within reach as well. It was a beautiful setting for relaxation and sport; one that I probably take for granted. There was something therapeutic about fishing on the bay; perhaps the reality that no matter what I needed to be doing I wasn't going to get to it while out there was the main reason. But no matter the reason, I am convinced that I don't take advantage of opportunities to take a Sabbatical- a sabbath, a time to cease from normal activities and rest often enough. I hope that we all will learn to make time to cease from our normal activities on a regular basis. We need it- no matter how dedicated, talented, or indispensable we may feel.

"What's Pray?": Scary and Exciting Times for the Church

As a pastor of a local church (Southern Baptist) I am often amazed at what I see and hear. After my years in the business world and time spent on the campus of a state university I am surprised that I can still be shocked. Paul gave Timothy a warning of what he would continue to face and run into in 2 Timothy 3; he used words like "brutal", "lovers of themselves", "lovers of money", and "slanderous" to describe the actions and attitudes of people. Actually, none of this is a surprise at all, and most of us are used to dealing with this sort of thing and battle these tendencies in our own lives. But I have run into a few things lately that are scary on one hand and offer opportunity on another.

Last week our church hosted a Vacation Bible School for our community. It proved to be a great opportunity to meet and connect with some new families. As always, there were families who attended who already belong to a Bible preaching church, and they and their children were very knowledgeable of the Bible. However, I have to admit that I was surprised to hear a five year old child say "what's pray" when we were about to pray. I was taken back a little when another child confessed that they had never heard of Jesus. At first glance the reality that these children are ignorant of Bible basics is scary, but on another hand it simply shows the opportunity that exists to share God's love with people right in our own neighborhoods who have literally never heard it before. This is exciting!

For those of us who grew up in church it is hard to imagine not praying as a child or knowing about Jesus, but that is today's reality for many right here in the United States. All of this will prove to be a challenge for many churches who have a hard time imagining that there are folks out there who simply aren't "churchy" at all- masses who have never been in church and don't really know what it's all about. But again, that is what's exciting- the opportunity to connect with these people and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with them. After all, this is why we are here! The challenge then is many faceted for the church. How to connect to these people is only the first question. A better question might be "is the church ready and willing to accept them and deal with them once we reach them?" What will discipleship look like in a church where many are ignorant of biblical basics, which is not often the norm in many of the churches with which I am familiar or have attended?

Scary and exciting...right now that is all I have to say...

Oh, for even scarier check out this blog from Albert Mohler entitled "Does Your Pastor Believe in God?" at http://albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3532

the plight of the "neither poor nor rich" and financial aid woes

I have always appreciated Proverbs 30:8-9:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God. (New International Version)

These verses just make sense on so many levels to me; I feel like I get what the author is trying to say. In the case of the rich man or the poor man the temptation is to lose focus and bring reproach and harm to God's name and glory is greater than for the man in the middle.

If you are blessed with great wealth I simply encourage you to realize that you are blessed for a cause and purpose greater than yourself. God has blessed you for His purposes. Likewise the poor; God loves you and has a plan and purpose for your life. He desires to be your greatest treasure and can offer something far greater than riches. But that brings me to the point of this post:

If you are neither rich nor poor heed my words. Plan ahead and save diligently for your child's college education!!!! The sad reality is that if you are not dirt poor the financial aid system will not help you much. Hard working people who pay taxes and try to pay their bills get left out when it comes to grants and subsidized loans etc. I guess the rich can simply stroke a check, so they aren't all that concerned.

The bottom line: if you are in the "middle" tough luck. Hopefully your child will have a mind like Einstein, a bat like Albert Pujols, an arm like Roy Halladay, can tackle like Brian Urlacher, or run the ball like Ladainian Tomlinson; if so, a scholarship might be feasible. The normal, run-of-the-mill honor student who was active in clubs, sports, and philanthropy doesn't count for much in the "money for college" game. Am I whining? Yeah, I guess I am.

So back to the theological side of all this. Fortunately God loves the middle-class too and His promises apply to them. He "owns the cattle on a thousand hills," and it wouldn't take too many head of cattle to cover college tuition! But seriously, either way He has a purpose in it all....to be continued

Shiny Plastic People, spiritual ruts, and a call to honesty

There are times when I think I am the only one- the only one confused, the only one struggling to maintain joy and a hopeful focus, the only Christian enduring a crisis of faith. Unfortunately, most Christians I know are "shiny plastic people" who feign a smile and always wear an "everything is great" mask. But this isn't reality! Dark times come; they are real, and we must be prepared for them.

I am encouraged when I consider the great men and women of God in the Bible and throughout history who endured times walking through a dark valley. Moses, Elijah, David, and Peter quickly come to mind; these men all faced times of crisis, doubt, and failure. C.H. Spurgeon, the "prince of preachers" and one of my favorites, had well-known bouts with depression. The Bible reminds us and encourages us to approach these times with a proper focus; we should not pretend they aren't real and don't happen to God's children but should instead remember that God has ordained and allowed these dark times for a reason.

Perhaps James 1 is the most well-known passage that deals with trials and tribulations, as it reminds us that they produce endurance in us. We are also told by Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 than God always provides a way of escape and will not place upon us more than can be handled; in addition, God promises never to leave or forsake us. The reality that we are created for His glory and purposes (Isaiah 43:6-7) should also help us endure knowing that there is always a greater purpose to everything, and Jesus' words found in Matthew 6 about worry in light of the fact that we are more valuable to God than the lilies or the sparrows should offer encouragment. We take these thoughts and couple them with the reality that there is a spiritual battle that we can not see being waged all around us, and that the enemy is at work and wants to bring us down. With these thoughts in our mind we can begin to make sense of the battles we face and find strength and a reason to carry on through the tough times.

This post is a call for honesty among Christians. I am not advocating a perpetual whining or complaining, but I am encouraging God's people to face that reality that dark times- times in the valley- are real. I am hoping that we will be reminded of their purpose and the fact that God is allowing them and will use them for good. Furthermore, I hope that we all will use the weapons that God has given us to fight these spiritual battles in our lives. During my times of doubt, crisis, and struggle I have noticed that what I allow into my mind is of utmost importance. There is a direct correlation in my own life to time spent in Scripture, what music and movies and TV I am taking in, time in prayer, and areas of basic disobedience to my spriritual outlook. In other words, when the times of testing and trial and doubt do come I find that I can only trudge through if my focus is where it should be. If I lose focus I sink deeper in the mire.

A few things that are invaluable during the times of darkness: an accountability partner, a small group of Christians with whom you can share like a Sunday school class or Bible study group, a habit of personal devotion time in the Bible and prayer, a habit of gathering with other Christians to worship and serve, and a realization that God allows tough times. This is not an exhaustive list, but all of these have meant something to me in the last several days of my own darkness. I also found great encouragment from these two posts and I would encourage you to check them out http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1908_how_long_will_this_last/ and http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/944_what_i_learned_in_a_spiritual_storm/

Michael Jackson, Jesus, and starvation

Maybe it's a little weird that words from the mouth of the "king of pop" would cause me to consider the words of "The King of Kings" and "Lord of Lords", but Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror has been reverberating in my head for the past two weeks and reminding of Jesus' own words to His followers. Jesus stated emphatically that He had come to seek and to save the lost; He came to bring ultimate healing (spiritual) to humanity. Along the way He modeled for us what it means to be a servant of all. Jesus was the one who would touch the leper, the blind, the deaf and mute, the demon-possessed, the child who had died or simply needed a blessing; he reached out to the poorest of the poor and the destitute. Those who weren't "upper crust" in society were just the ones that He sought to impact. Jesus stated that he had "not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."

I heard recently that 16,000 children will die today alone from starvation related illness...just think about that! I could go on and on about the ills and suffering that exists in the world beyond this as well. But it begs the question of what will those of us who have food enough do about it? The same for any other need that exists around us. Who will reach out and make a difference? This is where the king of pop comes in: "as I turned up the collar on a favorite winter coat the wind is blowin my mind I see the kids in the street with not enough to eat who am I to be blind pretending to see their needs...I am starting with the man in the mirror...if you wanna make the world a better place just look at yourself and make a change."

This lyric speaks to us all, but it should have special meaning for followers of Christ. We not only have the responsibility to reach out in love and meet the practical needs all around us, but we have the "bread" that everyone most needs- the "Bread of Life"- Jesus Christ. But we are selfish with this spiritual food just like we are with physical food. God help a Christian or community of Christians ("church") that turns a blind eye to the either the physical or spiritual needs all around them. Judgment awaits the "country club" Christian and churches that are so prevalent today. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done..." (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Up and Gran Torino: secular movies deal with serious societal issue

The two most recent movies I have seen are Up and Gran Torino. These movies are in many ways polar opposites of each other, but they both touch on a cultural problem that is prevalent in our society- young men without a father or role model's guidance. Up is an animated film that is imaginative, fun, and even emotionally touching in places. In this movie the main character is an old man whose wife dies after many years of marriage. After her death he makes a trek to some scenic water falls in South America that they had always intended to visit, but he does it by traveling in his house, which he made into a hot air balloon. Along the way he begrudgingly befriends a boy who just happened to be on the porch when the house took off. By the end of the movie it is evident that the old man has taken his role in the boy's life seriously. He attends the boy's scout ceremony and the last scenes show them doing various activities together.

Gran Torino is gritty and violent and I was reminded of Clint Eastwood's character in the Dirty Harry movies. Gran Torino was not about a policeman, but Eastwood played a tough old dude who could kick butt and owned his own arsenal of weapons. In this movie the main character was also a widower after many years of marriage. Left alone in his home, which sat in the middle of a largely Asian neighborhood, the main character (played by Eastwood) ends up becoming friends with the young Asian man that lived next door to him. Along the way he teaches him how to fix things around the house, helps him get a job, shows him how to carry himself confidently, offers guidance in dealing with women, and generally encourages him to be a man of responsibility. The climax of this movie involves Eastwood taking down a gang in the neighborhood, but the ending has a twist (I want divulge here). I will admit that this movie has some bad language, which in many cases was unnecessary, but the story line is solid.

The common thread that ran through these movies was the importance of young men having strong male role models in their life. In both movies older men took the time to pour into the life of a younger man and helped get him on track; in both cases the younger man ended up more confident in who he was and able to accomplish things he would never even have tried before. Of course, this interaction between older and younger men is a biblical mandate too. 1 Peter 5:5 commands the younger men to be willing to listen to older men and follow their leadership, which assumes that the older men are setting a proper example. These movies also drive home the importance of fathers being active in the life of the family and especially of their sons. Studies have shown that the rate of incarceration is substantially higher for young men who had no father in the home (one issue among many that is affected by dads in the home). Churches benefit too when older, more experienced Christian men take the time to encourage younger men and engage them on an individual level by holding them accountable and inviting them to participate in ministry.

On some level and with a disclaimer for violence and language, I would recommend both movies, but I hope that dads in particular and men in general will anser the call on their lives to offer guidance and be the examples they should be to younger men.

Christians and prayer- monastery mindset part 2

In my last post I was discussing the reality that Christians very rarely reach out to those who are unchurched by way of inviting them to church. This doesn't mean that we don't have unchurched friends or don't rub shoulders with them; it simply means that studies show we aren't inviting them. In regard to this, I have noticed that many of the Christians I know do seem to be very involved with their Christians friends and other church members outside of church activities as well. When I think about this phenomenon it is not surprising at all. We enjoy doing life with those who share our goals and purpose; it is a blessing to be able to share burdens, joys, and sorrows with those of a like mind and faith.

This brings me to the topic of prayer. Not only are we by and large not reaching out to the unchurched by way of invitation, but I suspect that we are not praying for them either. Most church prayer meetings that I have ever led or been a part of were dominated by requests that we pray for other Christians- those sick or in need in some way. Now I am not knocking this; we are commanded to pray for those who are sick among us and to cast our cares upon the Lord. But if we look at many of the prayer requests and prayers made by the Apostles we see that they were largely focused upon the proclamation of the Gospel and the salvation of unbelievers. Here are a few examples, and there are many others: 2 Thess 3:1, Romans 10:1, Eph. 6:18-19, Acts 4:29, Colossians 4:3. Praying for others to come to God is not a New Testament reality either. The Psalmist prayed in Psalm 67 "may the peoples praise you...may all the peoples praise you."

If all of this weren't enough of an indication where our prayers should focus we need only look at the "model prayer" or "Lord's Prayer" of Matthew 6. Jesus prayed for God's name to be honored as great and His will to be done. The Lord's desire is that men come to be saved through His Son (2 peter 3:9), and Jesus stated emphatically that He came to save the lost. We know that Jesus honored the will of the Father perfectly, which ought to and must give us direction in our praying. The bottom line is this: are we concerned with the salvation of those who don't know God through faith in Christ; do we faithfully pray for them to be saved? Do we pray faithfully for boldness in sharing Christ, or are our prayers only inwardly focused?

Christians, the unchurched, and the monastery mindset

As a pastor I am called to guide, feed, protect, and care for God's people. I actually enjoy this aspect of ministry; it is a privilege to be a part of the major events in people's lives. I am there for births, graduations, weddings, funerals, and all of the highs and lows in between. I am literally a part of a very large family at my local church, and it is no different for any Christian who is part of this institution we know as the "church". However, we as Christians are called to share our faith and bring others into this close-knit family group. Our relationship with God through Christ is not something we are to keep to ourselves; our heart's desire should be to see others come to know God and find their place in this family.

It seems to me that we grow comfortable in our local assembly; we get to know one another, and as we do we learn to celebrate our strengths and tolerate our weaknesses. We enjoy sharing life together. My fear is that we actually become closed off to those outside our family we call the local church. I was recently re-reading a book by Thom S. Rainer entitled the Unchurched Next Door. Rainer and his staff do a lot of surveys that are mostly centered on issues of faith, and his books are insightful. One thing they found while researching for this book was that the vast majority of those who do not attend church are actually open to the idea of going to church. In fact, a full 82% said that they would likely attend if they were invited. Over 8 out of 10 people that we know who do not go to church would likely attend if we would only invite them! The sad part is that only 21% of active church goers invite anyone to church in any given year, and only 2% of all church goers invite someone unchurched.

All of this brings me to consider this question: do we as Christians actively pursue relationships with those outside of the church, or do we succumb to a monastery mindset? Are we scared to get involved on an interpersonal level with those outside of the faith? Do we enjoy our Christian fellowship so much that we become closed off to those we are called to reach for Jesus? Could it be that we are not scared of our non-Christians neighbors and co-workers but just too busy for them? Maybe we assume that they are not interested in our faith and what God has done in our lives....I encourage you to consider this and to ask yourself if there is someone already in close proximity to you that might be one you could simply "invite."

the worst thing about turning 40

While having a birthday is always better than the alternative, your 40th birthday is a day of mixed emotions. One might think that a receding hairline, expanding waste line, imminent poking and prodding from the doctor, or the reality that you are officially too old for the "young" couples class at your church would ruin your day. But nothing is quite as painful as having to spend an afternoon at the DMV. Happy Birthday; now give us $32 for your license renewal and sit and wait an inordinate amount of time. I don't like the person that created the Division of Motor Vehicles. They could at least require you to renew 6 months before or after your birthday....

D-day, the greatest generation, and God's grace

I am fascinated by the events of D-day in particular and World War 2 in general. There are so many lessons to be learned from Generals Eisenhower and Montgomery who led in the planning of the Allied attack on France's beaches. Both were very meticulous and gave great attention to detail, and the beach landings had been thoroughly rehearsed on the shores of England. Despite losing around 2000 men at Omaha beach on day one over 34,000 made it ashore safely.

Having grown up in a family where my maternal and paternal grandfathers were both WW2 vets I learned to appreciate the sacrifices made by that generation, a generation that Tom Brokaw would call the "greatest generation." It seems that adversity brought out the best in them; theirs is a generation marked by stories of courage and faithfulness to their families, country, and the cause of freedom.

There are so many lessons for us today couched in all of this- from the proper planning of the generals to the courage and sacrificial actions of those great soldiers. But I think it is important that we not miss the grace of God and His sovereignty and purposes in it all. We could discuss evil and its existence and look for someone to blame for that, but perhaps we would do better to see the possibilities that exist for us in light of a day like June 6, 1944. Ultimately, it is all about God and His purposes. The wise king Solomon grasped understood this as he dedicated the temple; Israel was blessed with peace and prosperity but Solomon knew there was more at work. 1 Kings 8 tells the story; Solomon proclaimed that the temple and its splendor would cause all nations to hear of God's great name (v42) in order that all the peoples of the earth would know Him (v43).

It is no different for us in the United States; we have been greatly blessed but not for our own comfort, glory, and purposes. We have been blessed in order that others can come to know God through His Son Jesus Christ. May God deliver us from our selfishness and self-centerdness and laziness as we take His gifts and the sacrifice of the greatest generation for granted.

joy and pain-my first 3 months in a new church

Alright, it's been over 90 days now. As I try to describe my first several months in a new pastorate I can only think of the title to a hit song that was popular during my college days by an artist that went by Rob Base; anyway, Joy and Pain was a catchy ditty.

Joy:

• the opportunity to fulfill my calling as a pastor in Christ's church. Having served as an associate for several years I was and still am excited about the opportunity.
• the opportunity to preach the Word of God every week. Again, I had always done a lot of teaching, but it is not the same as having the responsibility/opportunity of addressing the church each week in a corporate setting.
• the opportunity to meet, know and love new people.
• being there when the light bulb goes on in someone's head as they understand the Word of God and how it applies to their life through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
• watching God's people come together for a common cause or opportunity to serve others.
• having the opportunity to lead someone to Christ or be part of a Christian's life who rededicates himself to the Lord.
• watching someone in the church anonymously meet the need of another.
• noticing that each week more people are taking notes and bringing their Bible to church.

Pain:

• the reality that Christians can be self-centered and full of pride (myself included at times) as I watch them gossip and tear each other down
• presiding over a congregation that seems to have skipped a generation
• watching a saint suffer
• seeing God's people get caught up in issues that are not of eternal value and lose focus on what is important
• Realizing that my own lack of discipline, indiscretions, and mistakes will not only negatively impact me and my family but many families
• the reality that there are many all around us who are lost and are not being reached with the Good News of Jesus Christ

Well, these thoughts are not comprehensive but are the ones that came to my mind the quickest. No matter what the circumstances I know this: the church is Christ's; He suffered and died for it. I am only His servant, and I don't serve in my own strength.