This past Wednesday I attended the funeral of the Reverend Jim Hammock, founding pastor of Compass Community Church in Apopka. I had known Jim for years, but had not seen him in more than two years. He preached a revival for me in 2002. We were in a Peer Learning Group together for three years. Jim was a kind, thoughtful man who loved his church and family. While scuba diving in the Keys, he died of a heart attack. His funeral was a celebration of his life, but it also was a reminder of how short life is. Jim was only 57 years old.
I came back from the funeral thanking God for my wife and family, my friends, and my church. It focuses the mind to have such a vivid reminder that life on this earth can come to an end at any moment.
Life is gift. God decided to share the joy of being alive with us. I did nothing to deserve my time on this earth. God simply gave me this chance at life.
I want to thank God in words and in deeds. I want to live with an underlying awareness that this time is all I get, and I don’t want to waste it. Thank God for the holidays when we get to be with those we love most. Maybe you know Edgar Guest’s poem, “Thanksgiving.” Here is a piece of it.
Bowed are our heads for a moment in prayer;
Oh, but we’re grateful an’ glad to be there.
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin’ with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An’ I’ll put soul in my Thanksgivin’ prayers.
May you be with people you love this Thanksgiving and Christmas. May you put soul in your Thanksgiving prayers. Reach out to those who are lonely. Do some work of love for those who are in grief. Life is gift – God’s good gift.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Seeking the Kingdom First
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.” For an individual, “all these things” means clothes, food, and shelter. For a church, “all these things” means buildings, grounds, staff, and money to pay bills. To seek the kingdom first is to focus our time and energy on what God wants from us – love God, love each other, and make disciples – while we trust God to provide buildings, staff, and money.
As I look at New Hope, I see us seeking first the kingdom of God. Jesus told us to make disciples and baptize them. We have baptized Lindsey Rodriguez, Bobbi Frederick, Tim Fisher, Gabi Abdenabbi, Sam Senatro, and Annie Roberts. Jesus told us to teach disciples to obey his commandments: “Wash on another’s feet” (serve one another); “Love one another as I have loved you.” We love each other and are growing in receiving and giving Real Love, unconditional love.
I like the way Eugene Peterson puts Matthew 6:33-34 in The Message; “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.”
As we focus on “God-reality” and “God provisions,” we don’t have to worry about missing out. God is taking care of our “everyday human concerns.” Our grounds look better every day. John Rising and Jim McCroskey have given good leadership to getting our lights and our sign in place. Meanwhile, we have called Cheryl Secunda to be Director of Children and Youth Ministries and Vernon Buchanan to be Caretaker of Buildings and Grounds. Cheryl will continue to lead Kid’s Connection and Youth Connection and serve as a resource person to all who teach Children and Youth in Sunday School and Children’s Church. Vernon will take care of the cleaning and upkeep of our buildings and grounds.
Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and the kingdom of God. We won’t have to worry about missing out. God will take care of our needs. Think about these things. Give “your attention to what God is doing right now” as you make your commitment to give to New Hope Baptist Church in 2009.
As I look at New Hope, I see us seeking first the kingdom of God. Jesus told us to make disciples and baptize them. We have baptized Lindsey Rodriguez, Bobbi Frederick, Tim Fisher, Gabi Abdenabbi, Sam Senatro, and Annie Roberts. Jesus told us to teach disciples to obey his commandments: “Wash on another’s feet” (serve one another); “Love one another as I have loved you.” We love each other and are growing in receiving and giving Real Love, unconditional love.
I like the way Eugene Peterson puts Matthew 6:33-34 in The Message; “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.”
As we focus on “God-reality” and “God provisions,” we don’t have to worry about missing out. God is taking care of our “everyday human concerns.” Our grounds look better every day. John Rising and Jim McCroskey have given good leadership to getting our lights and our sign in place. Meanwhile, we have called Cheryl Secunda to be Director of Children and Youth Ministries and Vernon Buchanan to be Caretaker of Buildings and Grounds. Cheryl will continue to lead Kid’s Connection and Youth Connection and serve as a resource person to all who teach Children and Youth in Sunday School and Children’s Church. Vernon will take care of the cleaning and upkeep of our buildings and grounds.
Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and the kingdom of God. We won’t have to worry about missing out. God will take care of our needs. Think about these things. Give “your attention to what God is doing right now” as you make your commitment to give to New Hope Baptist Church in 2009.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
God Healing Racism
The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States caused John McCain to say in his warmly gracious concession speech, “A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on earth. Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country.”
At the age of six, I saw a “Whites Only” sign on the water fountain at the Sears and Roebuck store in Greenville, South Carolina. During the summers of my college years, I worked in a textile mill in my hometown and saw the first African-Americans being hired for jobs other than cleaning restrooms and sweeping floors. Until my junior year in college, I never went to school with a black person. Furman University admitted its first African-American undergraduate student in 1965. Joseph Vaughn, a freshman, was in my biology class in the fall of 65.
During my two years at Furman, I lived at home and drove to school each day. On that 15-mile trip each morning, I listened to Bob Jones University radio, which carried extremist commentators Carl McIntire and Billy James Hargis. They argued that Martin Luther King, Jr. was part of a communist conspiracy to destroy America by forcing integration. That stirred my interest in the Civil Rights Movement, and Dr. King became my hero.
When Dr. King was assassinated, I wept. I was sick at heart that people I knew and loved in the South were saying, “They ought to reward the man that shot him.” Ignorance and hatred were still in control of many minds just 40 years ago.
I thank God for working in American history to heal us of our racism. A good friend told me this morning that his grandchildren can’t see why electing a black man president is such a big deal. They don’t see race. Look how far we’ve come! My dad was sad just eighteen years ago when his small South Georgia church refused to allow a young black student to sing in a worship service. I wish I could talk to him about the election of an African-American President. I’m sure that he is looking down from heaven and celebrating that America is “a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry” he saw in his lifetime.
At the age of six, I saw a “Whites Only” sign on the water fountain at the Sears and Roebuck store in Greenville, South Carolina. During the summers of my college years, I worked in a textile mill in my hometown and saw the first African-Americans being hired for jobs other than cleaning restrooms and sweeping floors. Until my junior year in college, I never went to school with a black person. Furman University admitted its first African-American undergraduate student in 1965. Joseph Vaughn, a freshman, was in my biology class in the fall of 65.
During my two years at Furman, I lived at home and drove to school each day. On that 15-mile trip each morning, I listened to Bob Jones University radio, which carried extremist commentators Carl McIntire and Billy James Hargis. They argued that Martin Luther King, Jr. was part of a communist conspiracy to destroy America by forcing integration. That stirred my interest in the Civil Rights Movement, and Dr. King became my hero.
When Dr. King was assassinated, I wept. I was sick at heart that people I knew and loved in the South were saying, “They ought to reward the man that shot him.” Ignorance and hatred were still in control of many minds just 40 years ago.
I thank God for working in American history to heal us of our racism. A good friend told me this morning that his grandchildren can’t see why electing a black man president is such a big deal. They don’t see race. Look how far we’ve come! My dad was sad just eighteen years ago when his small South Georgia church refused to allow a young black student to sing in a worship service. I wish I could talk to him about the election of an African-American President. I’m sure that he is looking down from heaven and celebrating that America is “a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry” he saw in his lifetime.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Forgiveness Preparedness
On October 2, 2006, Charles Carl Roberts IV carried his guns and his rage into an Amish schoolhouse near Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. Five schoolgirls died that day, and five others were seriously wounded. These facts are stated in the preface to Amish Grace, an inspiring attempt to explain the Amish response to the killings. Within hours after Carl Roberts shot the girls and turned his gun on himself, Amish community leaders were visiting his widow, his father, and his grandfather to tell them, “We want you to know that we will not hold a grudge against you.” Then parents of two of the little girls who were killed invited Roberts’s family to attend their funerals, and many Amish people attended the funeral of Carl Roberts. Out of their compassion for Roberts’s wife and children, the Amish brought meals to them and gave them funds to help with their expenses.
The media began to focus on Amish forgiveness more than on the horror of the event. Donald Kraybill, one of the authors of Amish Grace writes, “When forgiveness arrived at the killer’s home within hours of his crime, it did not appear out of nowhere. Rather, forgiveness is woven into the very fabric of Amish life, its sturdy threads having been spun from faith in God, scriptural mandates, and a history of persecution.”
If we members of New Hope Baptist Church are going to be found faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ when the worst happens to us, we must develop a process that promotes spiritual growth. We are going to have to become fully devoted followers of Christ who are radically different from the nobody-tells-me-what-to-do, pleasure-seeking world that surrounds us. We are going to have to become a community with traditions, rituals, discipline, and ways of teaching that will produce more than casual, unconcerned Christians.
The grace extended by the Amish was in their hearts and minds before this terrible event ever happened. Their way of life did not make much of emergency preparedness, says Kraybill. It gave them “forgiveness preparedness.” Their story raises questions for us. Are we members of New Hope being shaped by our faith in God, by what the Bible demands of us, and by our life together? Are we preparing for the uncertainties of tomorrow? Are we allowing the Spirit and teachings of Jesus to be so woven into the fabric of our life together that we are being prepared to forgive and show compassion when our time of suffering comes? How do we promote forgiveness preparedness in our church like that of our Amish bothers and sisters in Christ?
The media began to focus on Amish forgiveness more than on the horror of the event. Donald Kraybill, one of the authors of Amish Grace writes, “When forgiveness arrived at the killer’s home within hours of his crime, it did not appear out of nowhere. Rather, forgiveness is woven into the very fabric of Amish life, its sturdy threads having been spun from faith in God, scriptural mandates, and a history of persecution.”
If we members of New Hope Baptist Church are going to be found faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ when the worst happens to us, we must develop a process that promotes spiritual growth. We are going to have to become fully devoted followers of Christ who are radically different from the nobody-tells-me-what-to-do, pleasure-seeking world that surrounds us. We are going to have to become a community with traditions, rituals, discipline, and ways of teaching that will produce more than casual, unconcerned Christians.
The grace extended by the Amish was in their hearts and minds before this terrible event ever happened. Their way of life did not make much of emergency preparedness, says Kraybill. It gave them “forgiveness preparedness.” Their story raises questions for us. Are we members of New Hope being shaped by our faith in God, by what the Bible demands of us, and by our life together? Are we preparing for the uncertainties of tomorrow? Are we allowing the Spirit and teachings of Jesus to be so woven into the fabric of our life together that we are being prepared to forgive and show compassion when our time of suffering comes? How do we promote forgiveness preparedness in our church like that of our Amish bothers and sisters in Christ?
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