A "God-thing"

Last Sunday I closed a ten-year ministry with Southside Christian Church. I started as a youth minister in 1996 and became the preacher in 1997.

It was a wonderful and joy-filled ministry in which--and through which--I saw God do some amazing things.

There aren't enough words, or blogs, to begin to tell you about all of the incredible things God did in our midst at Southside. We saw God create hope in hopeless situations, life in the face of certain death, peace where conflict reigned, and a way where no way seemed extant.

But God did one of the most amazing things at one of the most unexpected times.

I resigned a month ago and began my final sermon series.

My second to last sermon was on Jacob (Gen. 28) and the transformational experience he had at Bethel. I pointed out that--among other transformations--God transformed Jacob's stone into a pillar of worship and a "certain place" (Gen. 28:11) into an "awesome" place (Gen. 28:17).

On that Sunday, as people arrived, they were given stones.

At the end of the sermon we asked each person to bring his/her stone up to be anointed (Jacob anointed his stone with oil transforming it into a pillar of worship) by the Elders as a symbolic representation of his/her commitment to Southside Christian Church and the Lord. (I know it sounds a little odd, but--trust me--it was an amazing experience.)

Two days later, while I was in Jacksonville for some initial meetings with my new team, the Elders at Southside were looking at 6 acres of a golf-course that had just become available.

They were offered 6.6 acres at a fair price, but . . . here's the "God-thing" . . . as they talked to the realtor they found out that the owner wanted to sell this land to a church and then donate the rest of the golf course to the church. In all, Southside Christian Church, would get 120 acres for the price of 6.6 acres!

I've been a member at Southside for 12 years and for most of those years we've been looking for a place from which we could reach out to the community and for the past 12 years we've not found anything and now--two weeks after my resignation--God provides 120 acres on a major road in the heart of our mission field.

God is so good and so powerful!

In the past couple of weeks it continues to look as if this deal is going to work out.

I imagined that leaving Southside would be very difficult on both me and the congregation--which it was--but, I never dreamed that it would become a time of celebration for both me and the congregation of the power and goodness of God.

Last Saturday the Elders, staff, and I buried those oil-anointed stones in the ground on that golf course and watched--in awe--as a certain place became an awesome place.

Famous Last Words

Yesterday I delivered my final message at Southside Christian Church.

The title of my message was, "Famous Last Words." I found some great "famous last words" on this website: http://www.geocities.com/athens/acropolis/6537/.

Here are a few of the ones I used to start my sermon:

Ethan Allen (1738-1789) when told by his nurse on his death bed that the angels were waiting to welcome him home he replied, "Waiting are they? Waiting are they? Well--let 'em wait."

Nathan Hale (1755-1776)--"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.)--"You too, Brutus?"

General John Sedgwick (1813-1864) was a corps commander in the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. At the battle of the Wilderness, while inspecting his troops, he approached a parapet and peered out over the surrounding countryside. His officers and men urged him to take cover from small arms fire, but Sedgwick scoffed at their concerns, "What! What men! This will never do, dodging from single bullets!" And then he spoke his last words, "They couldn't his an elephant from this dist--."

Last words are important. Last words can tell you a lot about someone.

As I prepared to speak my last words to the congregation at Southside I found myself drawn to the last words of Moses.

Now, I'm not Moses and they are not the Israelites, but there are a lot of similarities between their story and ours.

The Israelites wandered and we've wandered as we've met in over 14 different locations in the past 12 years.

• The Israelites made some poor choices and we've made some poor choice
• The Israelites saw miracles and we've seen miracles.
• The Israelites walked with God and we've walked with God.
• Moses felt unqualified for the job and I've always felt unqualified for this job.
• Moses made mistakes and I've made mistakes.
• Moses got frustrated and I've experienced frustration at times.
• Moses hated cats and I hate cats. (Well, I can't prove this point, but I'm sure it's true!)
• Moses never lost sight of the promised land and I've never lost sight of the Promised Land.
• Moses loved the Israelites and I've loved the people at Southside since the moment I met them, so I found myself drawn to Moses' last words.
  

They are found in Deuteronomy 33:29--

Blessed are you, O Israel!

Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD?

He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword.

Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places. "

Moses blesses them by reminding them that they are saved, protected, and victorious (you will trample down their high places).

After speaking Moses' last words, I spoke mine:

Remember Who You Are.

Remember Why We're Here: Our Purpose is People.

Be Prepared

Be Prepared.

That's the motto of the Boy Scouts.

"Be prepared for what?" someone once asked Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, "Why, for any old thing." said Baden-Powell. Realizing the importance of readiness, scouts train so that they will be prepared when faced with challenging tasks, complicated problems, and even minor medical emergencies. But, the scouts aren’t the only ones who understand the importance of being prepared for “any old thing.”

Residents of Florida understand that the proper response to the news of a hurricane heading our way is to be prepared.

Students who desire to pass an important test must be prepared.

Parents who want to be able to afford to send their kids to a good college must be prepared.

Soldiers heading to war must be prepared.

The married couple who finds out that they are going to be parents for the first time must be prepared.

The husband who forgot his wedding anniversary last year and knows that his anniversary is only a week away and wants to get himself out of the doghouse . . . must be prepared.

This week I was reading Matthew 25:1-13 in preparation for a segment I was filming for a promotional video to be shown at Christ's Church.

With all of the preparations my wife and I are making as we prepare for a move to a new ministry the lessons of this passage resonated with me.

Matthew 25:1-13:
1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'

7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'

9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'

10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'

12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'

13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

This parable is a reminder to be prepared—not for a storm, a test, a war, a move to Jacksonville, or “any old thing”—but for the most important thing of all time: the coming of our bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

Levi's first triathlon . . . and a smile that is exactly where it should be

Last Saturday my son ran his first triathlon.

A triathlon is a race that involves swimming, biking, and running. It's a sport that I've been involved with for the past six years. For the past year my six-year-old son, Levi, has been asking to do a triathlon, but I told him that he had to learn how to ride his bike first. Well, early this summer he finally mastered bike-riding, so we entered him into a local race.

I was so proud of him.

I was proud of how he trained. He worked so hard to learn how to make smooth transitions from the water to the bike and the bike to the run.

I was proud of how he finished. He refused to quit and ran across the finish line even though his little legs were tired.

But, I was most proud of how he raced. He ran the entire race with a smile on his face. Each time he passed us he was grinning from ear to ear and each time I saw his smile--even though he was in a difficult race--three words kept coming to mind.

"For the joy."

Those words are in one of my favorite scriptures, Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Don't those three words "for the joy" seem a little out of place amidst words like "everything that hinders," "sin that so easily entangles," "cross," "shame," "opposition," and "weary"? How can the words, "for the joy" be anywhere close to words that describe how Jesus "endured a cross," scorned its "shame," and "endured such opposition from sinful men"? Because those three words are why he raced.

Jesus endured the cross, the shame, the opposition, and even death itself for the joy that was waiting on the other side of the pain and at the end of the race.

The race was unimaginably difficult, but Jesus didn't run for the pain, but for the joy.

Jesus ran his race for the joy of spending an eternity with us in Heaven.

Jesus ran his race for the joy he knew we'd feel when we truly understood grace.

Jesus ran his race for the joy in the hearts of the forgiven and for the joy of offering forgiveness.

Before the race I told Levi that he would receive a medal when he crossed the finish line, so . . . for the joy waiting for him at the end of the race, Levi raced . . . and smiled . . . all of the way across the line and into my arms.

Levi wore that medal most of the day on Saturday. He was so happy and I felt such joy.

Change on My Mind

I've been thinking about "change" a lot in the past few weeks.

I'm changing ministries.

I'm changing offices.

I'm changing my home address.

I'm even changing my email address.

Accepting God's call to our new ministry is going to bring these--and even more--changes, but we know that this move is a good change because my wife and I know that it's a "God" change. We know that God is definitely leading us through this difficult transition, so we are embracing both God's hand and this opportunity with eager anticipation of what is to come.

In a recent Christian Standard article I wrote entitled, "The Magic Pill" I made the following observation (http://christianstandard.com/articledisplay.asp?id=329):

Change is not always a welcomed visitor in a church that values sameness.

Change is scary to people who cherish sameness, so sometimes they will passively, or aggressively, resist change. They refuse to give up their seat for a first-time guest, their old building for a new building, and their preferences in music styles—so they fight—afraid that if they give an inch on the use of hymnbooks, they’ll be dragged a mile closer to Hell by some pierced teenager with a loud electric guitar, a video projector, and an ungodly agenda.

But God designed this world and everything in it to change. Day to night, winter to spring, and birth to death are all essential cycles in a healthy life. The church is a body . . . and healthy bodies change. Healthy change is embraced and celebrated in healthy churches.

Change is also embraced and celebrated in the lives of healthy Christians.

Last week my wife stumbled upon an article written by a woman named Thelma Brewer. In this article Ms. Brewer makes an interesting observation about "change" and her experience in working with the young people at her church:

It (worship program in the church) is something which needs ones undivided attention for I find it is a problem that must have much investigation, careful planning and consecrated study. Especially is this true when dealing with young people. The program of Bible study and worship must be varied, there must often be something different. The young people demand this or they lose all interest and one by one they find other ways of spending their Sunday mornings. When we know this to be true it is a crime to refrain from changing the old "sot" program simply because "that is the way it has always been done" and therefore it must always be done that exact way. Variety is what we need!!

Amen Thelma!

I like Thelma.

I know Thelma, or I should say, I knew Thelma.

Thelma Brewer was a woman who embraced new challenges.

After graduating from Cincinnati Bible Seminary, Thelma and her husband answered God's call to serve as missionaries in India. Later, Thelma and her husband answered God's call to preach in East Tennessee where she and her husband answered God's call to plant churches start a children's home, open a Christian book store, and raise their four sons.

Each of Thelma's four sons grew up to become well-respected preachers in Christian churches.

One of her sons I know well, because he's my father-in-law, John H. Smith, who has been faithfully preaching in East Tennessee for over 40 years.

I knew Thelma Brewer as "Mamaw Smith."

She was an amazing woman and one of my heroes in the faith.

Thelma--or I should say, "Mamaw"--wrote this article when she was a student at Cincinnati Bible Seminary in the 1920's, but I think it still rings true today--especially as we consider positive life changes that can bring us, and lost young (and older) people, closer to God--"Variety IS what we need!!"