A Notoriously Bad Decision

On the final day of the regular baseball season in 1927, Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run, establishing a record that would stand until Roger Maris broke it with 61 in 1961. Ruth was playing at that time with the New York Yankees, but he had previously played with the Boston Red Sox from 1914 through 1919. Although the Yankees shifted Ruth to the outfield, he was an outstanding pitcher with the Red Sox, throwing 29 2/3 scoreless innings in World Series play from 1916 through 1918. The Red Sox fans were dismayed when the team’s owner traded Ruth to the Yankees before the 1920 season to finance a musical production. Ruth went on to hit more home runs in 10 of the next 12 seasons than the entire Red Sox team. With Ruth’s trade to the Yankees, the Red Sox endured an 85-year drought without winning another World Series. It wasn’t until 2004 that the so-called “Curse of the Bambino” (Ruth’s nickname) was broken.

Have you ever made a decision that you were roundly criticized for making—whether justifiably or not? I doubt that most of our decisions are as monumental and as notorious as the one by the Red Sox owner to trade Ruth to the Yankees, but I suspect that in our own private worlds, they are equally painful at times. The question is, “What do we do when we’ve blown it?” If others have been negatively impacted by our decision, we can seek to right the wrong done to them—asking forgiveness and making restitution where possible. We also must learn to pick up the pieces and move on with our lives. Paul’s testimony to the Philippians is instructive at this point when he says that he forgets what lies behind and reaches forward to what lies ahead (Phil. 3:13). We cannot undo past mistakes, but we certainly can resolve not to live enslaved to the memory of them. Let’s press on together.

What Ever Happened to Responsibility?

I read this morning on the CNN website a report about a father who brought in his nine children and left them at the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The children ranged in ages from 1 to 17. The report stated that it is the fourth time that children who were 11, 13, and 15 years old had been left at the hospital since a “safe haven” law was passed in July, allowing children to be left at a hospital if they were in immediate danger. In the wake of the unexpected response of parents dumping teenaged children, Nebraska officials have scheduled a meeting for today to seek to clarify the provisions of the law.

I understand the original intent of the framers of the law as being that of providing emergency protection for newborn infants whose parents (or frequently one would suspect whose single, unwed mother) face the daunting task of being a parent with little or no preparation for raising a child and perhaps with extremely limited resources to do so. I’m not excusing such conduct even in these cases that the law is obviously designed to address, but when parents decide to opt out of their responsibilities after many years of raising a child, I can’t help but wonder where we are heading as a nation and a culture.

I am in no way advocating that there shouldn’t be protection afforded to children who might be at risk of physical, sexual, and other forms of abuse from unloving parents. Innocent children shouldn’t have to be subjected to such treatments under any circumstances and there ought to be safe havens where they can be cared for and protected. I suppose that I’m just utterly baffled and bewildered that in at least four cases, parents of teenagers would take advantage of the good intentions of lawmakers to protect newborns and would abuse that law by seeking to shirk their responsibilities of raising their children.

I’ll confess that I don’t know what the solution to this parenting crisis is and wouldn’t want to be sitting in the seats of those Nebraska officials who must wrestle today with the unexpected outcomes of the safe haven law passed in July. I fear that the growing economic crisis in our nation will only exacerbate these kinds of problems. Of course I’m firmly convinced that a right relationship with Christ is the fundamental need of these parents, together with meaningful membership in a nurturing and supportive local church. This disturbing trend should serve as a wake-up call for our churches to redouble our efforts to help families as they struggle with the pressures of everyday living.

Weathering Life's Storms

Those living along the Gulf Coast have certainly been pummeled in recent years by some severe hurricanes. Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, and others have wreaked havoc with people’s lives and property, forcing many to make difficult decisions about rebuilding or moving on to what is hopefully a safer location. For those who are lifelong residents of an area, the decision to pull up stakes and relocate elsewhere can be an emotionally devastating one. Those who have lived for many years in a place that has become home to them put down some rather deep roots, and the uprooting process is painful.

Several thoughts occurred to me as I pondered the plight of those most recently affected by Ike, including a cousin who was still without power more than a week after the storm. One is that these storms bring out the best in those whose hearts are bent toward serving their fellow man. Baptists from many states are volunteering their time—spending long hours in feeding the hungry, helping clean up the mess left behind, and counseling and consoling those who are hurting and grieving. It also occurred to me that those who do choose to settle elsewhere are going to face the unsettling task of finding a new house, perhaps looking for a new job and school for the children, making new friends, and hopefully finding a new church home.

I also considered the sobering truth that there really are no places that are absolutely safe to live. Sure, folks can leave the Gulf Coast and eliminate the risk of facing the full force of a hurricane, but where can you move where storm winds don’t blow, where lightning doesn’t strike, where car accidents don’t occur, and where the possibility of being the victim of a violent crime is non-existent? That utopia isn’t to be found on Earth. What we can do is to resolve to live each day without fear, remembering the words of Jesus that He will never leave us nor forsake us—even in the midst of life’s most severe storms. We can live with the knowledge that nothing in this universe can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Those truths will equip us to deal with the unexpected adversities of life, and hopefully will enable us to help others as they weather their own storms.

Senior Adult Ministry

I enjoyed the opportunity of preaching this morning at both of our services—probably a total crowd of 650-700 people I suspect. Our senior pastor has been doing a series on “Listening to James” and asked me to continue that by preaching from the text of James 2:1-13. I entitled the message “The Perils of Partiality.” I shared as an introduction the account of Rev. Derek Rigby, a Methodist minister in Northern Wales, who decided to conduct an experiment with his congregation to teach them about acceptance of others. The story about his disguising himself as an indigent person and the results of that experiment are told here. The photos of Rev. Rigby as an indigent person and in his normal clerical garb also appear.

We looked at James’ teaching about the need to not show partiality or favoritism in judging others, especially based on their appearance, wealth, etc. I mentioned that God isn’t one who plays favorites, citing the lesson that Peter learned in his encounter with Cornelius in Acts 10, especially his statements in vv. 34-35.

The other thing that I shared that really impacted me as I was preparing the message was a story that appeared in World magazine by Tony Woodlief, entitled “Missing Christ.” It’s a powerful piece and very convicting. It’s definitely worth reading. Here’s the link to the article.

As much as I enjoyed preaching in both morning services today, I was equally thrilled or perhaps even more so this afternoon when I went to one of the local nursing homes that I visit regularly and where I lead services on the third Sunday of each month. The crowd was obviously much smaller—about 20 or 25 I suspect, including one lady who will turn 102 next month if the Lord allows her to live until then. We always sing their favorite hymns from a large-print edition collection of hymns and then I share a brief message—usually not more than 15 minutes as at 3:00 in the afternoon, they tend to drift off to sleep if I speak longer than that. Some do so anyway, but that’s okay. I really love these folks and have become something of a pastor to many of them, including dropping by to visit them in the rooms and have prayer together at other times as well. Senior adult ministry is certainly a rewarding ministry for me—not just the 200 or so who regularly attend our services, but the homebound and those in nursing homes like the one I shared at today. Their kind words, encouragement, and appreciation for the visits and Bible studies means a lot.

A Whirlwind Week and a Half

Last week was pretty much a blur for me and this one has been almost equally busy. I flew to Dallas Love Field a week ago Sunday evening to attend a 2-day board meeting of WorldconneX. It was a difficult meeting in some respects, as the BGCT's financial situation has prompted the finance committee to propose a deeper cut in WorldconneX's budget. I think the organization is doing some wonderful, innovative things and is filling a niche in Baptist life as a missions networking organization that practically no one else is addressing. Their plight though in some respects is like the individual in the Civil War who wished to show his sympathies for both sides so he donned the gray jacket of the Confederacy and the blue trousers of the Union. The result was that he was shot at by both sides.

WorldconneX was born out of controversy at a time when some Texas Baptists were upset with the general direction of the SBC and specifically the decision of the IMB to require missionaries to sign the BF&M 2000 when they had been told they would not have to do so. Many also resisted the changes introduced in the document, preferring the language and spirit of the 1963 BF&M. Some in this camp evidently anticipated that WorldconneX would become a missionary sending agency and were disappointed when it did not. On the other hand, those who continued to strongly support the SBC and the IMB feared that WorldconneX would indeed become a sending agency and interpreted steps taken to enable local churches to send and support their own missionaries through the Front-Line Sending focus of WorldconneX as confirmation that the organization was trying to supplant the IMB.

The truth is that WorldconneX isn't a sending agency but does facilitate helping local churches to engage the world with a strategic missions focus. That in some cases has included these churches choosing to send out missionaries from their own congregations with WorldconneX's assistance, but not in the traditional sense of a sending agency that directly interviews, appoints, supports, and directs the activities of these missionaries. WorldconneX's task is to help churches with things like logistics, training, and assisting with money transfers, etc.

WorldconneX will continue to operate with a reduced budget, drawing upon reserves that it has and carrying on its ministry for the time being. My hope and prayer is that Texas Baptists will recognize the unique contribution WorldconneX is making to global missions and will take concrete steps to ensure its future vitality, or at the very least, to preserve the focus and emphasis of the organization.

Following the board meeting, I rented a car and drove to Granbury where I spent the rest of Tuesday through Thursday afternoon visiting with my mother in a rehab center where she is recovering from a fall that produced 3 fractures of her pelvis. She's making some slow progress but has had a few setbacks along the way also. I flew home on Thursday evening, arriving home about 11:00 p.m.

Friday morning early it was off to Columbia, MO for a quarterly meeting of the BGCM board of directors. We had a very positive meeting and I was able to give an update on our partnership work in Guatemala that was well-received. It appears that we will have a larger group of pastors participating in the next leadership training trip in January and I'm extremely grateful for that. I've been hoping that more would participate so that they in turn will lead their churches to engage in some church-to-church partnerships and trips.

I arrived home about 5:30 and since I hadn't seen the family in a week, we went out to eat Mexican food and catch up a bit. Afterwards, it was off to meet with a family in preparation for a funeral message on Saturday morning. The man was an outstanding Christian who had been a member of our church for almost 40 years and had served as a deacon, Sunday School superintendent, teacher, etc. I visited with them as they reminisced about his life, jotting down notes to help prepare a fitting eulogy. His favorite Bible verse was Romans 6:23 so I used this as the basis for the message. The funeral was a wonderful celebration of a life lived well.

On Monday and Tuesday our senior pastor and I traveled together to Windermere Baptist Encampment for the annual CBF pastors' retreat. It was a wonderful gathering with excellent fellowship, and some quality teaching from Dr. Mike Graves, a homiletics professor, and Bo Prosser, coordinator for Congregational Life with CBF National. Danny Chisolm has shared some reflections about the gathering over on his blog.

With Scott, our senior pastor, heading for Denver to visit his daughter in her new apartment this weekend, I also get the chance to preach this Sunday. That has kept me busy with sermon preparation the last couple of days. A phone call this morning means that I'll be presiding over my second Saturday funeral in a row also.

I'm looking forward to next week when, the good Lord willing, life returns to more of a normal pace. I apologize for the lack of posting in these days, but things have been a bit hectic.

Texas Trip

I'm in the big state of Texas for a few days this week. I flew down Sunday evening to Dallas for a 2-day meeting of the WorldconneX board that begins this morning (Monday) and wraps up early tomorrow afternoon. Afterwards, I'm going to spend a couple of days with my mom in Granbury, TX. She had headed to South Texas a few weeks back to attend the funeral of a 106-year old aunt and had been at the home of her younger sister in George West (my hometown) for about an hour when she slipped and fell off of a three-legged stool.

My brother, who was acting as chauffeur, took her back to Granbury without staying to attend the funeral as she was experiencing some numbness and pain in her leg. The attending physician at the ER said she had evidence of an old fracture of the pelvis and sent her home with some pain meds. This was on a Friday. On Monday, her primary physician informed her that it was a new break and advised her to stay off of it for about 3-4 weeks and then be rechecked. She saw an orthopedic specialist a week ago Friday who discovered 3 fractures actually of the pelvis and sent her to a rehab center without even allowing her to go home. I'm going to take advantage of the trip to Texas to spend some time with her as she is recovering.

I hope to be able to post a bit later about the WorldconneX board meeting. It's the one of the three each year that is a 2-day meeting and there are some major things to look at in light of the BGCT's restructuring of their financial support.

It seems that I also left town just ahead of McCain and Palin's visit to our own Lee's Summit this morning. They'll be speaking at John Knox Village pavilion. John Knox is a senior adult community with several thousand residents, a number of whom are members of our church.

Accidental or Intentional Growth?

The following is another article that I shared in our monthly Senior Adult newsletter, "Joyful Tidings."

The dictionary defines the word accident as follows: "an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss." Clearly none of us wakes up in the morning planning on experiencing an accident, or looking forward to having one. That’s why the dictionary defines them as undesirable and unintentional. We don’t want to have an accident—-whether it’s a collision with another vehicle or a fall we take while walking-—because we know there can be painful and costly consequences. While there is no guaranteed way to prevent all accidents, paying careful attention to our surroundings and using good judgment will help us avoid them. Engaging in risky behaviors, whether behind the wheel of an automobile or elsewhere, will certainly increase the odds of suffering an accident.

In thinking about accidents, I was reflecting on the tendency of children to offer the excuse that “it was an accident” when they have been caught doing something they shouldn’t have and something winds up being broken or damaged. They didn’t intend for the item to be damaged, but perhaps they didn’t exercise good judgment and the “accident” occurred.

In seeking to relate the idea of accidents to our spiritual lives, it struck me that many Christians somehow seem to expect or hope that they will mature in their walk with Christ “accidentally.” That is, they do little purposefully or consciously to grow in their faith and seem mystified when they fail to mature spiritually. Our growth as Christians is rarely the result of an accident. It comes as we discipline ourselves to engage in activities that will create a climate for growth—-prayer, Bible study, fellowship with others, service, and worship. Let’s purpose to be intentional rather than accidental Christians.

Extreme Uses of the Superlative "Greatest"

I’ve observed a growing tendency among some Christians to utilize the superlative “greatest” to drive home their point when making an argument. More often than not, it seems to be used in a negative sense. Let me share a couple of illustrations that come to mind. The former Executive Director of the Missouri Baptist Convention wrote a series of four articles in The Pathway in which he made the bold claim that the greatest obstacle to evangelism in America comes from the political activism of the homosexual movement. Just on a quick reflection, I think I could easily come up with a list of many other factors that would rank far higher on the scale of obstacles to evangelism in America—-spiritual apathy of believers, fear of witnessing, lack of filling of the Holy Spirit, etc.-—than the clamor of those promoting a homosexual agenda.

As a second example, this weekend I happened to be driving my mother-in-law’s van and turned on the radio. It was tuned to a Christian talk station and I listened for about 2-3 minutes. The preacher (whose name I didn’t linger long enough to hear) was lambasting those who deny a pre-tribulation, premillenial rapture and he accused those who would undermine this belief of having committed the greatest heresy in the history of Christianity. Once again, it occurs to me that there are many beliefs far more heretical in nature than the issue of questioning a given interpretation of the Second Coming. The denial of the deity of Jesus Christ, the rejection of the Scriptures as the Word of God, and the denial of the Trinity come to mind as heretical views far more egregious than the questioning of the rapture.

My take on this is that certain Christians become fixated on issues that they elevate to a place of importance far beyond all merit and reason. The issue, whatever it may be, assumes the role of a hobby horse that the individual rides into the ground. Anyone who seeks to introduce a bit of balance into the picture and fails to appreciate the overarching role that this issue plays in the life of its proponent is swiftly accused of heresy, or at the least, of being a theological liberal. It’s a shame that well-meaning Christians should be guilty of questioning the legitimacy of another’s faith just because that person opts not to mount the hobby horse of the former. Jesus’ new commandment to love one another as He loved us too quickly gets lost in the use of such extreme superlatives and the corresponding rejection of those who take issue with the proponent’s favorite topic.

Five Year Anniversary

On the occasion of my fifth anniversary here on staff, I will be sharing the following expression of thanks to the congregation in our church newsletter next week.

This past Sunday marked my fifth anniversary on the staff here at First Baptist Church Lee's Summit and I cannot let the occasion pass without expressing my heartfelt thanks to the members and staff of this wonderful congregation for the tremendous blessing it is to serve as your associate pastor. When my family and I resigned and came home from the mission field six years ago, we could perhaps best be described as wounded warriors. We were hurting over the decision to leave an organization where we felt God had led us, and we returned stateside with no place to live and no immediate prospects for a place to serve in ministry. You graciously made the mission residence across the street available to us and welcomed us into the life of the church. You provided a supportive and loving environment in which we could experience healing. I was given opportunities to teach and to preach even before the church decided to create a new staff position for an associate pastor and to extend me an invitation to fill that role. I am so grateful to God for the friendships I have made here, for the wonderful opportunities of service that exist, for the overall health of our church, and for the many special expressions of love and kindness from each of you on the occasion of my fifth anniversary on staff. My prayer is that God will continue to bless our journey together in the years ahead as we seek to grow in Christ-likeness and to share the good news with those around us.

Rodney Hammer new DOM for BR-KC

Rodney Hammer, former regional leader with the International Mission Board of the SBC, has accepted a position as the new Executive Director (DOM) for the Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association. The former DOM, Nodell Dennis, retired at the end of 2007 to return to his native state of Texas.

Hammer's resignation from the IMB was precipitated by two controversial policies of the IMB's Board of Trustees in recent years. It was opposition to those same policies which eventually led to Wade Burleson's resignation from that body. Hammer detailed his reasons for resigning in an open letter to Southern Baptists that was published in the North Carolina Biblical Recorder. I'm very sympathetic with his position and fully understand the struggles of leaving the IMB over doctrinal and philosophical differences.

Information about Hammer's selection to serve as the DOM of the Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association (which our church is a part of) appears in the most recent associational newsletter. I trust and pray that Rodney will have a fruitful ministry in directing the efforts of the BR-KC Association.

A Great Sunday Night Experience

For the past several years, our church has hosted a summer concert series during the month of August. We've had a wide diversity of musical styles--including among others bluegrass, Southern Gospel, jazz, a harpist, contemporary Christian music, handbells, and much more. Last night we had the privilege of hosting an awesome drama group called "One Time Blind." Their skits and dramatic interpretations were powerful and challenging. They really articulated some of the issues Christians struggle with in terms of yielding our all to God, being jealous of others' gifts, etc., and they did so with excellence through the medium of drama. They only sang a couple of numbers, but their voices were beautiful and their close harmonies were extremely well done. They are based out of Detroit and I was impressed with how God is using their gifts and lives to speak words of truth to the church. If you're interested in more information about them, you can visit their website.

Albert Reyes on Immigration

I received an email this morning from Albert Reyes, President of Buckner Children and Family Services in Dallas. Albert was president for many years of the Baptist University of the Americas in San Antonio, where he led the institution to take some significant strides in equipping primarily Hispanic students for cross-cultural ministry. I've been able to keep in touch with Albert somewhat through our serving together on the board of WorldconneX.

Albert's email alerted me to a new journal issue on the topic of immigration that was recently published by the Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University. Albert has an article included in the journal that describes a bit of his own spiritual and ethnic heritage as well as addressing the issue of the Christian's responsibility toward the stranger in our midst.

I wanted to share a couple of quotes to perhaps whet your appetite to read the entire article.

"Jesus spoke to the experience of the stranger in his parable of the Judgment
of the Nations in Matthew 25:31-46. When the Son of Man judges the nations,
separating “people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from
the goats,” the criteria for whether a person’s identity in Christ can be authenticated is whether or not that person has demonstrated the agenda of Jesus with regard to the poor, the stranger, the sick, and the prisoner. These criteria are strikingly similar to the five-point agenda in Jesus’ inaugural speech in Luke 4:16-30. Jesus said he came to proclaim good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and release for the oppressed, and to announce the year of the Lord’s favor. I like to call this the Jesus Agenda, Jesus’ plan for his thousand-day ministry."

"What does it mean for redemptive history that the Lord of history has allowed us to have over fourteen million undocumented immigrants, primarily from Latin American countries, inside our borders? Think with me from a Kingdom perspective for a moment. Let me remind you of a picture and a vision that we will all see. When John the Revelator glimpsed eternity he saw “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne…. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb’” (Revelation 7:9-10). Will it matter on that day if people had legal documents authorizing them to be in our country? I guess it depends on who you ask. If you ask the Master who separates goats from sheep, I think he will say what mattered, in light of eternity, is whether or not we gave food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, ministry to the prisoner, and caring to the sick. He will say, if you did it to the least of these, you did it unto me."

Children's Music Camp

We had about 25 children from first to sixth graders who participated in a music camp at church this past week. They were allowed to choose among some electives that included guitar, drama, movement, rhythm, set design, as well as spending time learning about worship. Tonight they led us in worship in the evening service, sharing some of the things that they had learned in the individual classes and then presenting a brief musical entitled ‘We Can Praise” that they learned in just 5 days this week. They did an outstanding job and we had a good Sunday night crowd to hear them. We finished up with an ice cream extravaganza downstairs in the fellowship hall for a very blessed and enjoyable evening.

I’m impressed by how quickly children can pick up and learn new music. They had about 2.5 hrs. each morning to do everything—take the elective classes, have a devotional time, and learn the music for the musical. Music is such a great tool for helping memorize different texts and I wonder if we wouldn’t do better at things like scripture memorization if we set more passages to melodies and musical arrangements. A lot of the early praise choruses I learned back in the dark ages (college years) were virtually taken word for word from the Scriptures. The fact that I can still remember many of those today probably reinforces the idea that music is a great aid in memorization.

Bible Preaching Week

One of the activities that the Missouri Baptist Convention formerly sponsored was known as Bible Preaching Week. It has been several years since they ceased to do so and this past year the Baptist General Convention of Missouri decided to offer this ministry to pastors and their families. Once again this year, the BGCM is sponsoring Bible Preaching Week at the beautiful Windermere Baptist Conference Center on Lake of the Ozarks. We’re grateful that the Baptist General Convention of Texas is helping again this year by providing scholarship assistance to pastors whose congregations average less than 150 in worship. Charles Wade, retired executive director of the BGCT will be the featured preacher for the week and David May, NT professor at Central Baptist Theological Seminary will be the Bible teacher and will lead in a study of the parables of Jesus. The theme for the week is “Worship: An Encounter with God” and is based on Isaiah 6:1-8.

There will be a number of breakout sessions offered each day as well, and I have the privilege of leading one on preparing for cross-cultural missions. I hope that more BGCM churches will accept the challenge of becoming involved in our partnership with Guatemala. The week’s activities are scheduled for August 11-15. Additional information is available at the BGCM’s website.

Lessons from the Volkswagen Beetle

My folks purchased a VW Beetle while I was still high school back in the late 60s and early 70s. They were making daily round trip commute of 80 miles to and from work at the time and needed something that gave good gas mileage. Sounds a bit like what folks are talking about today. It was painted orange (a good color for a UT grad like myself) and the factory name for the color was Clementine Orange, hence the name Clementine stuck for the little car. Along about my sophomore year at UT, I inherited Clementine and drove it for a couple of more years. It was a delight to park as it was small and fit in to some pretty tight spots. I don't remember exactly why Clementine left the family, but she eventually did.

Five years ago today on July 30, 2003, the last “classic” Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the assembly line at the production plant in Puebla, Mexico. It was shipped to a museum in Wolfsburg, Germany where the Volkswagen headquarters is located. The car that inspired Disney’s Herbie the Love Bug series was actually originally the result of an initiative by Adolf Hitler to make an affordable, efficient “people’s car.” The Beetle was popular in the 60s and early 70s in the U.S. until it was banned in 1977 for failing to meet safety and emissions standards. Until 2003, it continued to be produced in Mexico where one can still see to this day thousands of green Beetles being used as city taxis.

The Beetle finally found itself unable to compete with other inexpensive compact cars. Its failure to adapt to change marked its demise. One of the challenges we all face is adapting to change. You may have heard the refrain, “The only constant is change.” Change is unsettling and uncomfortable, but it’s a given in this world. I think that as we age, we tend to long more and with greater nostalgia for the good old days. We probably remember those days as better than they actually were, but in our memory they represent better times, less marked by rapid upheaval.

Reacting positively to change is difficult, but if we’ll make the effort to do so, it will help us to stay young at heart—-no matter what our biological age might be. The new redesigned Beetle that Volkswagen introduced in 1998 has done fairly well in sales, a testament to the virtue of adapting to change. One thing that will help us to cope with change is to remember that the Lord who promises to never leave us nor forsake us is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

(I shared the gist of this post in our monthly senior adult newsletter).

The Tabitha Ministry

I’d like to introduce you to a special person and a wonderful ministry she has in Guatemala City. Carol Bercian is the partnership liaison for the Guatemala Baptist Convention and handles the logistics for volunteer teams coming into the country to work on various projects. As you are aware if you’ve read my previous posts, the Baptist General Convention of Missouri has an ongoing partnership with the Guatemala Baptist Convention and thus we have worked closely with Carol on each of our trips. Alabama Baptists also have a partnership with Guatemala, and being much larger than our convention, they keep Carol busy with trip arrangements for many mission groups that they send.

Carol has also directed the children’s work of the Guatemala Convention and has a wonderful heart for ministry. One of the projects she has assisted with is a daycare center that is located near the city dump in Guatemala City. Around 70 children are receiving an education and two meals a day through this important ministry.

In the process of working with the children there, Carol became aware of the desperate plight of many of these children’s mothers. Most earn a living by scrounging through the refuse at the dump, looking for items they can resell or even scavenging for food among what is discarded there. Many come from a background of drugs, glue sniffing, and prostitution. Carol began a ministry among these women and many have come to Christ as Savior and have received discipleship training from Carol. Though their life situation is still very difficult and tenuous, a real transformation is occurring among many of them. Carol has acquired sewing machines and the ladies are making colorful bags with some of the bright fabrics that Guatemala is noted for producing. This has provided them with a source of income and given them an escape from their former life of prostitution.

I’ve been able to visit the daycare center on a couple of trips to Guatemala City, including going there with a team from our church back in February. As a result of seeing Carol’s ministry there, our children’s minister proposed that this year’s VBS offering go to assist the Tabitha Ministry that Carol has among these women. I’m delighted to share that the boys and girls raised a little more than $700 with their penny offerings to help with this ministry on the edges of the city dump in Guatemala City. As the Lord prompts you to do so, please say a prayer for Carol and her vital work with these ladies and their children.

Reading Yancey

One of the things I enjoyed this past week on my trip to Guatemala in addition to the fellowship and teaching time with the pastors and lay leaders there was the opportunity to catch up on some reading. Airport layovers are good for that. One of my favorite authors is Phillip Yancey and I took the time to re-read Where is God When it Hurts?, as well as reading one of his bestsellers—-The Jesus I Never Knew. If you’re not familiar with Yancey’s writings, I highly encourage you to grab one of his books. I think you’ll have a hard time putting it down. His writing is at times brutally honest about our struggles as Christians, and that’s something I respect about him. I wanted to share a couple of quotes from the latter book, hopefully to spark your interest in reading it.

“Killing Jesus, says Walter Wink, was like trying to destroy a dandelion seed-head by blowing on it.”

Commenting on Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25 and God’s apparent absence from the world at times, Yancey writes, “God has not absconded at all. Rather, he has taken on a disguise, a most unlikely disguise of the stranger, the poor, the hungry, the prisoner, the sick, the ragged ones of the earth. 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.' If we cannot detect God’s presence in the world, it may be that we have been looking in the wrong places.”

Home from Guatemala

I arrived home from Guatemala at about 11:00 p.m. on Friday night. I probably could have caught an earlier flight out of Houston on Continental Airlines as we arrived there in time to do so, but I didn't want to take my chances when I was scheduling the flights with a tight connecting flight time. I've had several late flights in the past from Guatemala City and didn't want to push my luck too far.

The pastors' and lay leaders' training conferences went very well. Rather than the Guatemala Convention handling the invitations and enrollment this time, they left those tasks up to the leaders of the newly established pastors' association in that region. One of the results of that was the presence of some new folks this time who hadn't participated in the three previous training sessions. At the same time, the majority were still those who have attended all 4 sessions. The Guatemala Baptist Convention tends to be pretty conservative theologically so I wasn't 100% certain how they would react to a woman pastor as the main conference speaker, but any doubts or concerns I might have had were quickly erased. Jeanie did an outstanding job of leading the conferences and planned in a good deal of small group interaction and dialogue time that allowed the group to arrive at their own conclusions and embrace the contents that she shared as their own. The comments afterwards were unanimously positive in terms of evaluating her participation.

I had been asked to preach at the First Baptist Church of Quetzaltenango for the worship service on Tuesday night that marked the formal inauguration of the new pastors' association for that region. It was a packed house, with folks even sitting in chairs outside on the patio area outside the main auditorium and listening through open windows. I would guess there were close to 300 present. I preached a message from Phil. 2:1-11, focusing on Paul's call to unity and humility with the supreme example of humility being that of Jesus Himself.

Another highlight of the trip for me was the chance to do some reading while traveling as well as in the evening times. I had purposed to re-read Yancey's "Where is God When it Hurts" before passing it along to a church member who has been struggling with some very frustrating medical issues lately. After finishing that, I also had time to read another Yancey book, "The Jesus I Never Knew." It was an outstanding book, one of my favorites by him, and gave me a lot of food for thought as he challenged some commonly-held assumptions about Jesus and forced me to re-think some of those issues. I would highly recommend the book if you have not yet read it.

Thanks to those who prayed for our trip. The Lord richly blessed our time there.

Upcoming trip to Guatemala

Well, it's been 5 months since my last trip to Guatemala with our church and 6 months since the last leadership training conferences with the BGCM. That must mean it's time to head south again. I'll be doing just that this coming Monday. In this latest round of workshops for pastors and leaders, I'll be joined by Jeanie McGowan, associate pastor of the FBC of Jefferson City. Jeanie joined the staff of the BGCM at the start of this year and is heading up our leadership development team. Her duties at FBC Jefferson City include singles ministry and equipping ministry. As our previous conferences focused on evangelism and church planting, in a logical progression, this time we're going to address the issue of assimilating new members into the life of the congregation. Jeanie will be leading in the conferences and I'll be her translator.

Another blessing of this trip will be the opportunity to preach at the inauguration of a new pastors' association for those living and serving in the western region of Guatemala. Our partnership liaison informed me that the formation of this association is the direct result of the BGCM's ongoing relationship with the pastors in this area and our leadership training conferences. They've experienced much greater unity and are networking with one another in ways they have not previously done. That is really an exciting development and I rejoice in what the Lord is doing in their midst.

This will be a quick trip this time, departing on Monday and returning on Friday. We'll conduct the workshops on Tuesday and Wednesday, do some sightseeing on Thursday, and fly home on Friday. I'd certainly appreciate the prayers of any who happen to stumble across my blog and read this post. Thanks.

Temple's Definition of Worship

This week I happened upon a definition of worship by Archbishop William Temple. Temple served as the Archbishop of Canterbury during World War II. He defines worship as follows: “Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose—all this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable.”

I hope you’ll take a moment to re-read that definition and ponder the significance of the individual phrases. Worship involves the complete submission of our nature to God. It’s recognizing His supremacy and our unworthiness. In worship we allow His holiness to direct our moral compasses and instruct our conscience about matters of right and wrong. The spiritual food we need for nourishment we find as we reverently allow God to speak His truth into our hearts and minds in worship. The contemplation of the beauty of God’s creation certainly stirs up our imaginations as we seek words capable of expressing His grandeur and majesty. As we open our hearts to His love in worship, we find John’s words to be true—“We love Him because He first loved us.” In worship we come to recognize that God’s will for our lives is always better than any alternative that we could devise and we surrender our wills to His.

Finally, the quote identifies adoration as the most selfless emotion our nature is capable of producing. When we adore God in spirit and in truth as Jesus urged (Jn. 4:23-24), we empty ourselves of self and are filled with His Holy Spirit, enabling us to render to God the worship of which He alone is worthy.