Unexpected Blessings

I have just gotten back home from the National Association of Free Will Baptists, which met this year in Tampa Florida.  Joy and I drove down on Sunday afternoon, finishing up the trip on Monday morning.  If I were to characterize the mood of that trip, I would say it was a lot like the weather.  We had storms off and on and even though we hit Atlanta on a Sunday afternoon, the traffic was still thick and fast.  Now, lest some misinterpret what I said about the mood of things, the black cloud in the car had nothing to do with the other occupant of the vehicle.  No, I have to say that I was down.  I'm always a bit emotionally spent after Sunday morning, which typically leads to a Sunday afternoon nap, but today I was trading that for the traffic of Atlanta!  This day however seemed to be a peculiar combination of things.  Over the past few months we have lost some families from the church.  On top of that we did not have a good attendance Sunday and then when the service was over a couple wanted to explain to me why they would be leaving.

So with all of that weighing me down I got in the car to drive to the National.  I don't suppose I was very good company.  Thank the Lord that we had some good things to listen to on the trip.  When we finally got to our destination, it seemed like things were looking up.  We had a very nice room which was a short walk to the Convention Center.  There was no controversy to snarl up the business session and I heard some good preaching, especially from a man named Oral Macafee, that I had never even heard of before.

The kicker to all of this was when we got to the business session.  The Commission for Theological Integrity was giving its report.  They got to the election of new members.  It turns out they had one more opening on that commission than they knew they were going to have.  The result was that the nominating committee submitted my name!  I turned to a friend sitting next to me and said, "This has to be a sign of the apocalypse!"  I actually got elected.

Now, that election did not change things back at Bethlehem.  I still have a real uphill battle to make the church that I love everything that God wants it to be.  Still, this was an unexpected blessing, one that the Lord knew I needed.  Thank you, Lord.

Boots

I have always enjoyed Christmas, though I think that enjoyment has evolved over the years.  Early on, it was about what I might get and later about what I could give.  I think the latest step in the evolutionary trek is having opportunity to interact with people that I don't see all that often.  This year I had opportunity to talk with my nephew's daughter, Jane.  She is 5 and I suppose I see her maybe three times per year.  I noticed at our Christmas get together she was wearing boots, and looking for some way to interact with her I asked about them.  I suppose that we talked about her perspective on and history with boots for maybe five minutes.  Now, she did not say anything profound on the subject, but she did have definite opinions and all of this brought a smile to my face.  That, I think, was one of the best Christmas presents I got this year.  Children will do that for you, especially when you are not really expecting it and don't have any right to it.  I mean, after all, I'm just "Uncle Randy" who is very seldom around and yet she seemed delighted to tell me about her boots.  This leads me to say that I think it is the personal interaction that makes a holiday memorable.  Jane did that for me.  I am already looking forward to next year.  Maybe we will talk about hats.

Conviction or Preference?

Years ago I read an insightful piece by Warren Wiersbe about Christian decision making.  As I recall he said that every decision we have to make falls into one of three categories.  They are either matters which are fundamental, matters of conviction, or matters of preference.  Obviously, there is a desending order of importance in these terms.  Now it is entirely legitimate to make a decision based upon considerations from any one of those categories.  What typically happens in Christian circles is that something which really is a preference we elevate to the level of a conviction and possibly even to the level of a fundamental.  The example which comes to my mind is either having a projector "putting the words on the wall" or singing out of the hymnal.  I can't really see how anyone could say that is anything more than a preference.  Yet, if you have been involved in the "worship wars" you know that people are quick to think of themselves as Martin Luther standing up for justification by grace when they defend using hymnals.

The purpose of this post is not to make a strike in the worship war.  I use it simply as introductory to what I do want to say.  Recently I heard of a church board issue where the lay leadership unanimously wanted the pastor to change something about their church.  The pastor refused.  Who was right?  As I heard the story my mind went to that bit of wisdom from Warren Wiersbe.  Was the issue at hand a matter of conviction or preference?  Now, I do think there are times when pastors must be willing to draw a line in the sand about some things.  I see this as a matter of conviction.  However, if it was an issue of preference, even though the pastor disagreed, shouldn't his say leadership have some input?  If it really is a matter of preference, can't some compromise be worked out?

I suppose the bottom line for me was having the wisdom to discern between a conviction and a preference.  That would seem to be common sense.  Unfortunately, common sense is not all that common.  I do hope all of this can be worked out for that church.  I don't suppose I will ever know since I really only accidentally heard the tale. Whatever happens though it has gotten me to thinking about the process of decision making and maybe it has done the same for you.

Giving Thanks

I suppose I will be one of multitudes who will blog about thankfulness this week.  So be it.  I really do want to articulate some of the things that I am thankful for.  As a Christian I am certainly thankful for my salvation, but I want to emphasize one corollary to that concept.  God did not just save me, He called me into the ministry.  That means I have the opportunity to be vitally involved in the spiritual formation of an entire congregation.  Now, there are some of the members here at Bethlehem that I don't seem as connected to as others.  I am not saying there is an antagonism, just not as much of a friendship as with others.  Maybe they are just not looking for that from their pastor.  I am particularly thankful for those that do count me a friend.  I have the privilege of being a coach, a guide, a cheerleader, a spiritual resource, and a prayer partner for them.  To summarize it in biblical terms, I am there to care for their souls.  I cannot imagine a bigger challenge or a more satisfying possible vocation.  I suppose what I'm saying is that I am thankful for my church, but I am also thankful for God's calling to this church.

A Good Book

If I am asked about my hobbies I often mention golf, the spin bike, or old movies but I would have to say my keenest avocation is books.  I have always loved books.  It began with the complete set of Dr. Seuss and continues to this day.

Now, you might assume that when I say books are my hobby that I spend a lot of time reading.  Actually, while I do read a bit more than the average person (and that is not saying much) what I really enjoy is finding books.  I really love going to junk stores or library sales, or to used book stores like McKay's.  I always go with an idea of looking for a particular book or books, but am often happy to find things I really didn't know I was looking for!

There is a real benefit to having people know you enjoy a good book.  It means they will give you what they think of as good books.  Obviously, that will mean that you get some that are not worth the shelf space, but some that really are a find.  Recently, I was given a copy of Jerry Bridges book, The Transforming Power Of The Gospel.  I have to say it is one of the clearest books on spirituality I have ever come across.  I don't know for sure, but I think I will benefit from it tremendously.

What a thing to consider.  I have never met and will probably never meet, Jerry Bridges, and yet in this book I have the distillation of his wisdom on a very important subject.  That leads me to say that I believe books are a great way to benefit from the experience and insight of all sorts of people.  They may have died hundreds of years ago and they may have written in a language you cannot speak, but with a good translation you got to hear their voice.

All of that leads me to say, find a good book---and read it.

Post Surgery

It was seven years ago today that I was having a quintuple heart by-pass performed at Saint Thomas Hospital.  To say the least, that was a memorable event.  In fact, I have come to think of it as a marker in my life.  "Now was that before or after my heart surgery?"  I recall hearing David Letterman say about his by-pass that it was the most profound experience of his life and that he recommended it to everyone!  Well, I don't think I would go that far, but I know what he meant.

The other day I said to my wife, suppose I had an audience with God while I was unconscious having the surgery and He had said to me, "Randy, I'm giving you seven years."  How well have I used them? My dear wife told me that she knew I pray more and read my Bible more post surgery.  She also thought that, taken as a whole, I'm a better preacher than I was before my surgery.  I think most importantly she thought I am more appreciative of her these days.

Well, if I had such an audience with God, I don't recall it.  I was told by my cousin, who works with anesthesia, that it is impossible for people to go into a dream state during surgery.  I will take his word for it.  I just know that I'm profoundly grateful to God for His watch care over me seven years ago and every day sense.  I suppose the best way to show that is to live for Him.

Being A Good Pastor

I have to admit that my thinking about what makes a good pastor has changed with time.  As a younger man I suppose I saw the pulpit as the paramount thing a pastor was to be concerned with.  I know that I have tried to spend the lion's share of my time preparing for my messages, especially my Sunday morning message.  And yet I was struck by something this past Saturday.  I went with a group from my church to the Ocoee River to do some whitewater rafting.  It was a lot of fun, and I have to say that I throughly enjoyed myself.  On the way back home though as we were just making small talk I suddenly realized again that I was old enough to be the father of any of the folks on that van!

Ok, I knew that already, but then I began to think about these younger folks.  What do they really need from me?  What can I do for them that would minister to their need that they are not likely to get from someone else?  Now, you might think I would say they could get good sermons from me, and that would be partly right.  Truth is though, there are other guys just as good (and some better) preaching in the pulpits a sensible driving distance from their homes.  I think the one thing that I can do is care for their souls.  I'm not saying that no one else, in time, would care for their spiritual well being, what I am saying is I care about it right now.

That leads me to one of the folks on that van.  I really like this person, but I know there is some real spiritual need there.  This brings me full circle to how my perception of the pastoral life has changed over time.  If I really am going to be a pastor to that person I need to be burdened by their problem.  That leads to praying in private and hopefully some personal counseling.

The older I get the more I realize that the pastoral life is about caring for others souls.  It isn't an easy thing, it isn't a public thing, I don't even think it is often an appreciated thing, but that being said it is what I see as the essence of being a good pastor.  I just pray the Lord will grant me opportunity to do more of it in the years ahead.