Life in the Balance

A Tribute to PaJack

2011-10-17T08:54:00.001-04:00

Today is the second anniversary of the death of my father-in-law, Jack Conner. The following is the funeral message from his service:

Funeral Message

Julius Jackson “Jack” Conner

Died, Saturday, October 17, 2009

Service, Monday, October 19, 2009

Charles Dickens wrote a novel called “A Tale ofTwo Cities.” It begins, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”The book contrasts the cities of London and Paris during the excesses in theearly years of the French revolution. As I reflect on the life of myfather-in-law, Jack Conner, it could be entitled “A Tale of Two Men.” Yes, twomen, but both of them named Jack Conner.

I will not dwell on the first Jack; indeed, Inever met him. Suffice it to say that Jack in many ways had a rough and toughupbringing. He was raised in an environment where he often experiencedharshness and anger. When he grew up, he wanted to break that cycle and triedhard to do so, and there were many good things about him, but like so many whogrow up under harshness and anger, he himself could often be harsh and angry.

He was a good provider and he cared about hisfamily and they had some good times together, but they also had to take thebrunt of his anger when it flared. I have never talked with Paul about it, but Cindysays she also was prone to the characteristics of harshness and anger thatseemed to come down from generation to generation, and since she and Jack wereboth stubborn people, they often locked horns and their relationship was poor.When Jack talked about this time in his life, he would say that he went tochurch but he did not have a real relationship with Jesus Christ.

About 30 years ago, there was a pastor at LogCabin Baptist Church named Rodney Shamblin who took a personal interest in Jack.He took Jack as part of a group to a Bible Conference in Texas. While there,one message in particular touched Jack’s heart and one verse in particularstuck in his mind forever. In John 15, Jesus said, “You did not choose me, butI chose you and appointed you to go out and bear much fruit.” Jack realizedthis was true on several levels. Though a church-goer, he had indeed never trulychosen Jesus. And he realized from the movement of the Spirit of God in hisheart that God was choosing him now. He realized that he needed to choose Godback, giving his life to him, so he could know him and that he could begin toalso bear some of the fruit that Jesus had appointed for him. At that sametime, the Gaithers released a simple little song that profoundly impacted Jack.The chorus said,

I am loved, I am loved, I can risk loving you,
For the one who knows me best loves me most.
I am loved, you are loved, won’t you please take my hand?
We are free to love each other, we are loved.

That song epitomizes the freedom that Jesus givesus. He knows all about us—and loves us anyway. We can therefore love others,too. Jack was changed from that time. We see the new Jack. From then on, we saw“the best of times.” Again, it was not that there were no good times before. Hedidn’t become perfect after. But the focus of his life was changed.

One of my favorite Christian authors is C.S.Lewis, and, strangely enough, I get as much out of his series of children’sbooks, The Chronicles of Narnia, asanything else he has written. And I am reminded about one scene in particularfrom the book called The Voyage of theDawn Treader. In it, a boy named Eustace who had been a real pain turnsinto a dragon, and the great Lion Aslan, who is the picture of Jesus in thesebooks, reaches deep into the dragon skin and restores Eustace to what he should be. Lewis writes these words:

“It would be nice, and fairly near true, to saythat ‘from that time forth Eustace was a different boy.’ To be strictlyaccurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were stillmany days when he could be very tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice.The cure had begun.”

It was the same with Jack at that juncture about30 years ago. The cure had begun! There was a new Jack—and it was this new Jack,this changed man, that I met not long after this when I started dating Cindy. Aman who was committed to Jesus Christ and desired in his life to “bear muchfruit.”

Let me tell you a little bit about the best ofJack. I think that we can define people by their loves. Let me share some ofJack’s loves with you.

First, heloved his country. He spent four years in the Navy that included a tour inKorea. Like so many others, he did his part to defend the freedoms we enjoy.For his first career, he stayed in the military, serving in the 202nd Squadron,Air Force National Guard in Warner Robins for 35 years, achieving the rank ofMaster Sergeant. He was a patriot in every sense of the word.

Jack lovedhis church. As he dedicated himself to the Lord, he naturally dedicatedhimself to the bride of Christ, the church. Both at Log Cabin and later on hereat Lawrence Drive, he served as a deacon and took the service of that taskseriously. He was not looking for prestige; he was seeking to “bear much fruit.”He was so excited to see what God was doing here. Brad, he loved your heart forthe lost, and he was excited to be a part of outreach efforts. He was glad tofollow your lead, and he did it with enthusiasm. Jack was a supporter ofpastors, and that blesses me, because I love people who support their pastorseven when we show ourselves to be most human. He had told us in the past yearhow he loved being part of a Bible study with young men in a way that allowedhim to mentor them.

Jack lovedhis family. Of course, that started with his wife, Vivian. Tomorrow istheir anniversary, and had he lived a few more days they would have celebrated52 years together. Many of you helped us celebrate their fiftieth a couple ofyears ago just down the street.

In the hospital room the other night, one of thegrandchildren asked Vivian what had attracted her to Jack. She smiled and said,“I loved seeing him in his military uniform. He looked good in his navy whites!”Vivian realizes with gratitude how Jack has provided for her for the past 52years. In fact, this past Friday morning while he was in the hospital bed andthey were speaking frankly about going to hospice, I heard her tell him howthankful she was that she had been taken care of in the past and that she hasno worries about the future because he has made sure she would be taken care ofafter his death. She is grateful for his preparation.

Jack and Vivian have enjoyed many wonderful tripstogether in the past few years. They have gone to Alaska, Hawaii, a westerntour that included the Grand Canyon, Canada, and just a few weeks ago they wenton a tour bus to New England.

His love for family also included his children,his grandchildren, his siblings, and his siblings-in-law, if that’s a word.

Paul speaks with fondness of his years growing upwhen his dad taught him a love for the outdoors. He loved the father-son timesthey shared gong fishing and camping together. Jack also was a Little Leaguebaseball coach. He also kept dogs, and he and Paul would go quail hunting andenjoy other kinds of hunting as well. The memories are so special that, onceagain, Paul and Jack were recounting them in the last week.

For Cindy and me, we could not have asked for anymore support in our marriage and in our family. No one could have been a bettergrandfather to our children. If you have internet and became friends with ourchildren, you would see all kinds of tributes they have shared about theirPaJack.

He took them fishing. He and Vivian took them onspecial trips. They would often come over to watch them play sports. They havebeen supported every time they were in a play or any other activity. He wouldeven laugh at their jokes.

Cindy and I have been married for 28 years, and ourfamily has vacationed with PaJack and Memaw at least 25 of those years. We havegone to St. Simons, Panama City, Disney and other places, but most often wehave gone to St. Augustine. Jack always pays the lion’s share of those trips.Now, Jack has also always been careful with money, but he has always been kindand generous to his children and grandchildren. Every time we would go out toeat, he would pick up the tab—well, at least until the last few years whenCindy insisted that I quit being a cheapskate. So I have reluctantly pretendedto be magnanimous a couple of times, though he was willing to pay and I waswilling to let him.

Paul was reminding me last night how specialPaJack considered the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. In his words,“Daddy glowed at Christmas when everyone was together.” And he did. Whetheropening presents, just hanging out, or cooking and eating our traditional PrimeRib, Christmas was extra special with PaJack.

Jack was considered a loving, caring brother andbrother-in-law, and I could go on and on because I witnessed all of this, but Iwill not.

Jesus loved his country, his church, and hisfamily, and I think all of these illustrate the greatest love of his life: Jack loved the Lord.

Let me just make a few final observations that Ihope will illustrate that.

Sometimes we may get skeptical about faith inJesus. What I mean is, we sometimes begin to wonder if it really works. We seeso many people who say they followJesus but we see scant evidence in their lives. But Jack, like so many othershere today, is proof of the power of the gospel. It could be seen in his lifethat “the cure had begun” and that he was a changed man.

About 25 years ago—five years after Jesus choseJack and Jack chose Jesus back—Cindy and I were living out in Texas and werestudents at seminary. Cindy wrote her dad a letter at that vantage point fromhaving observed the changes for several years. She had likely forgotten allabout it until they were looking through some of his papers yesterday. Thisletter must have meant a lot to Jack. He had kept it all these years.

Listen to it… [READ Cindy’s letter to Jack]

I said this would be a tale of two men but reallythe same man. But in this I was mistaken. It is not just the tale of Jack. Itis the tale of Jack and Jesus.

Jesus made a great difference in his life. What didthat mean for Jack’s life?

It meant that people like you better and respectyou more, as illustrated in Cindy’s letter.

It also means you like yourself better. You aremore satisfied with who you are, because you are “bearing much fruit.”

And if that was all there was to it, it would beworth it. But there is so much more!

One of my favorite passages of Scripture in lifeis John 14. Let me read a bit.

Read John 14.1-6

Jesus, the son of a carpenter, has been preparing aplace for us for the past 2000 years! And He wants us to be there with him. AndJack is with him now!

Jesus, who never once lied to us, said, “If itwere not so, I would have told you.” He loved truth, and if all sinners, orsinners of a certain caliber were ineligible for heaven, he would have told us.If God had decided just to let us sink back into the dust, never to rise again,it would have been okay, but He would have told us. But He said, “I am going toprepare a place for you, so that where I am, there you may also be.”

And God the Father put a resounding affirmation oneverything that Jesus said by raising Him from the dead. If Jesus had lied,even once, He would Himself have remained in the grave. God raised Him to giveproof positive to all He said and did.

We miss Jack, but we are not grieving like thosewho don’t know Christ. We really believe that we will see him again. We reallybelieve that heaven is an improvement.

Sometimes I hear people on a birthday, when othersare kidding them about how old they are, how they have had yet anotherbirthday, say something like, “I may be old, but it beats the alternative!” I amalways puzzled when I hear a Christian say that. My Bible teaches me thatheaven is a lot better than anything here on earth. (Rev. 20, 21)

The apostle Paul said it this way: “To live isChrist, and to die is GAIN.”

I saw a cartoon some time ago: A husband and wife in strolling arm in arm in heaven, in awe of thegrandeur and beauty of it. The husband turns to hiswife and says, “If you hadn’t made all those bran muffins, we could have beenhere ten years ago!”

Don’t miss the point. Keep making your branmuffins. Be as healthy as you can. Jack certainly worked on his body to make itas healthy as possible. But don’t fear death—at least, not if you believe inJesus. While we would love for Jack to have been healthy for another 15 years,and while we will miss him and we will cry for him, we affirm a truth that issometimes hard for the world to understand: Death is not that big a deal forthe Christian. It is simply a doorway through which we move from one life toanother life.

Let me close by reading from Romans 14:

"If we live, we live to the Lord; if we die,we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For thisvery reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord ofboth the dead and the living" (Romans 14.8-9 NIV).

Jesus is our Lord, and He is ministering to us andcomforting us in our sadness at Jack’s absence. But Jesus is also Jack’s Lord,and while He is ministering to us in our grief, He is welcoming Jack to hisheavenly home with the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” For hehas indeed fulfilled the desire of Jesus to “bear much fruit.”

Let’s pray.

How I Got Scammed—??

2011-09-30T13:03:00.004-04:00

I would consider myself a poor target for a major scam. While I am trusting of those I know and as a pastor tend to err on the side of being generous with modest amounts to those who come in seeking assistance, I stay aware of scams, particularly those coming through the internet. I have seen the “Nigerian” emails and so many like them that they are dismissed at first glance. I even check out by Snopes and other sites those exaggerated or fanciful emails that aren’t scams but purport to be about illnesses, business smears, and political intrigue sent to me by well meaning friends. I want to know what is legit and what is not.

So it was some surprise to me to find myself being suckered into a scam recently—particularly one that came to me in an email. Here’s how it happened.

I have made six mission trips to Uganda in the past dozen years, mostly giving some training to pastors who live out in the bush and do not have easy access to ongoing educational opportunities. My most trusted colleague in Uganda is a Pastor Moses, through whom I have coordinated my last four trips, the latest being this past January. In this particular Pastors’ Conference were two pastors from western Kenya near the Ugandan border. These two pastors liked what we were doing and asked that we might consider a similar training for pastors in their part of Kenya. We told them we would prayerfully consider it.

Sometime in August, Pastor Moses in Uganda sent an email to me and one of the pastors in Kenya, asking for some details from both of us and starting a new email “thread.” While Pastor Moses has his own email address, he has to go into town and access it at a computer café. Although I don’t know exactly how it happened, I would guess that Pastor Moses either forgot to log out when he left the café or scammers came behind and hacked into his account. Either way, they had access to Pastor Moses’ email account and, of course, all of our previous correspondence.

Barely a week since I had made a quick reply to Pastor Moses’ last legitimate email to me, I received a reply in that same thread. Not only did I have no reason to suspect any scam coming from his email address, but the fact that it was another reply in a legitimate thread make it less likely that I would question his request, which was a bit strange but not completely out of the ordinary—at least at first.

Needing Money Wired
The first email was pretty brief—Pastor Moses said some donors desired to give some money to purchase land for an orphanage and wanted to know if they could send me the checks and if I would in turn send the money to him by Western Union. For many of you, that would raise red flags right off, but I had come to know over the years the time and difficulty of getting money through the banking system in Uganda, especially for those who don’t live in the capital city. The truth is, I had wired money through Western Union in preparation for just about every trip to Uganda, so it was not a big deal. We had found it to be the simplest and easiest way. Still, I didn’t really want to get personally involved in this since it was a project of which I was unaware. I emailed back offering to help the donors know how to send through Western Union if it was the fact they didn’t have any experience and weren’t sure how to go about it. I asked him to have them get in touch with me.

A few days later I got a return email with a FedEx tracking number saying that a package was on the way with the checks from the donors and they should arrive that day. When the envelope came a couple of hours later, I realized it had been sent from Uganda and therefore I realized the donors must be there with him and that’s why they needed my help. Again, this would have been quicker than the time and trouble of trying to get American checks cleared into the Ugandan bank. In my real dealings with Pastor Moses, I had always perceived that Western Union was the preferred and easiest way to send and receive money.

Two checks were enclosed, one for $9,000 and the other for $9,500. The email said they needed to get $7,000 wired back as a down payment. They would have me wire the rest of it later. Even while I did not suspect a scam given my familiarity with Pastor Moses and his desire for using Western Union, I was hesitant to send any money until the checks cleared (from my knowledge of “certified check” scams), so I emailed that it would be at least a week before I could send the money to make sure the checks were good. I asked if the donors were still in the country and if they were available to communicate with me.

Putting on the Pressure
The next email said they were in the country but not with him at the moment, that perhaps they could be made available the next day. Then “Pastor Moses” related how the land they were seeking to purchase for the orphanage was a very prime spot and that a couple of other buyers also wanted it. The owner had originally promised it to them but had become skeptical that they could raise the money and gave them a deadline of Saturday—this was Thursday—to give the down payment before turning to the others. I emailed back that this was impossible, that I could send perhaps $1,000 as a good faith gesture, but “Pastor Moses” displayed panic at the potential loss of the land and assured me that they needed the full $7,000.

At this point I did two things. The two checks that had been FedExed to me had addresses—one in Florida, the other in Massachusetts—as well as telephone numbers. I called both numbers but got no answer at either place, which was consistent with their being in Uganda. I did not leave a message with either, thinking this was a confirmation. Next, I called a couple of people in our church to explain the situation and get their advice. While we all acknowledged the scam “look” because of the time crunch, this was trumped by the fact that this was a trusted friend of mine and that I had wired money to him many times. Plus, a staff member had taken the checks to our bank to deposit them, and they were legitimate checks, on the surface at least, and while our bank could not confirm the signatures, our bank did confirm through a phone call to one of the other banks that they account did have enough money in it to cover the amount. With all this, we decided to proceed.

I sent an email telling Pastor Moses that I would send the money the next day, on Friday, by about noon my time which would be about 8 p.m. in Uganda. I also told him this was the one and only time I would ever do this. I was then asked to send the money to the name of seller of the land rather than to Pastor Moses, the most bothersome detail so far. But I didn’t think too much about it at that time. It was Pastor Moses’ deal and the donors’ money. What we had heard from our bank made me feel safe about the deposits. It wasn’t my business.

Wiring the Money
However, by morning I knew that it was my business; I should at least try to talk him out of this part of the plan. I argued that such a move would be illogical; the seller could take the money without selling the land. Since sent to him, he could take the money and then turn around and sell the land to the other buyers if he wanted to do so. “Pastor Moses” had a ready answer to this. The seller was trustworthy; he wanted to make sure the money came from the U.S. and not from Pastor Moses. He knew that Pastor Moses did not have enough to buy the land. If Pastor Moses gave him the down payment himself, he would doubt that there were truly donors in the U.S. who would pay the balance. He was afraid he would get a partial payment and nothing more—or well delayed. He insisted that he be able to pick up the money himself coming from me from the U.S.

Friday is supposed to be my day off, and I had not only this “extra” project to get done but also one other church errand to do that morning; I was anxious to get them done and take the rest of the day for myself. After we traded these Friday morning (Atlanta time) emails, I went to the bank with the church check made out to cash. After talking to the bankers and once again assuring them I was sending this to someone I knew and trusted, they counted out $7,000 to me and I took it across the street to a grocery store with a Western Union station. Showing my Western Union card, the clerk was happy, thinking this would be a quick transaction. However, the large amount made her jump through a few extra hoops. Still, it wasn’t too long before everything was set. I set up a test question as part of the pickup, knowing Pastor Moses would know the answer, and the money was on its way. I would drop back by the church building to pick up a stack of newsletters to take to the post office. I used my iPhone to send a quick email to “Pastor Moses” with the pick up number and reminded him that there would be the normal test question. Then I drove back to the church building to pick up the newsletters. The money could be picked up at any time.

Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock
As I was heading out the door and getting in the car, I checked my phone and saw another email. What was the answer to the test question? At the moment I was a little irritated. How could he forget? At the moment I was in a hurry to get to the post office and quickly typed the answer, hit “send,” and drove toward the post office. As I pulled onto the street, my mind began putting all the clues together that were starting to overcome the fact that I had been talking to my trusted friend, “Pastor Moses,” all these days. By the time I got to the post office, the pit of my stomach was beginning to doubt the knowledge that I was surely talking to Pastor Moses.

At the post office, a new form had replaced the one that had been filled out by our administrative assistant, so I had to wait fifteen minutes to fill out an almost duplicate form and get everything taken care of. Someone else normally did this task; this was my first time and I was just trying to find the right place. I had no knowledge of the form. All the time I was filling it out and waiting my turn, my thoughts kept going back and forth. I knew the initial email—the one about the possible trip to Kenya—was legit. I had answered it, and the next reply in the thread came just a few days later. On the other hand, I began to realize that I had several clues that something was wrong—the request for the wiring of the money not among them. The urgency was, but my experiences with Pastor Moses and other Ugandans let me know that their ideas of time were much different than my own. It was mostly wait, wait, wait; but sometimes that would result in a need to hurry. Looking back over the thread on my phone, I began to notice subtle differences. Since English is not their first language, it is harder to judge style, and there are frequent misspellings, but I did notice that in the last two or three emails just this morning, Pastor Moses signed off a bit differently than usual—there wasn’t quite his usual closing. Still, that could be explained by his own hurry, perhaps. Larger, though, was the insistence on the money being sent to another name. The more I thought about it, the less it made sense. Again, though, the mindset of a different culture sometimes results in a different logic. Then I began to wonder about the location of the land and the site size, questions I had not asked since the donors were presumably there. While not fully knowledgeable of land prices, it occurred to me that $7,000 could probably buy most places they might want in the bush—and this was supposedly just a down payment. Most troublesome was the fact that he had asked for the answer to the test question—and I called myself an idiot that I had sent it off hurriedly in my irritation and impatience to get the rest of my day back rather than seeing it as the major warning that it was and pulling the plug immediately.

Now what was I going to do? Was I too late to stop the payment? I knew that it could be picked up within minutes from when I had sent it. That was over thirty minutes ago already, and I was another ten minutes from my office. And if I stopped it and it turned out to be legitimate, would I spoil their chance to buy the land they needed? As I drove back toward the church building, I still wasn’t sure what to do. But I knew the clock was ticking. The money may have been picked up already.

Arriving at my office, I opened the file where I had made copies of the checks we had deposited. I still had not made a firm decision yet, so I decided to try to call the numbers again to see if someone answered. Someone did! Caught a bit off guard and being in a hurry, I didn’t have a well-planned conversation. I identified myself and asked if I was speaking to the man who name was on the check. He answered yes, and I asked him if had ever been to Uganda. As I tried to explain that we had received a check from him, he began to accuse me of trying to scam him! I assured him I was trying to save him money, but he would not let me get in a word edgewise. He told me not to ever call again or he was going to sue me. I told him it would be fine if he wanted to, that if he would just listen I would try to explain why I was calling. He hung up on me, but at least I had learned what I needed to know—he, at least, was not in Uganda!

I tried the other number and again got no answer; this time, though, I left a message about the possible scam.

It had now been an hour since I had wired the money. Surely it was too late. I had alerted them much earlier that I was going to be sending the money later that day. They would likely be simply waiting for the confirmation information that I had already sent. Perhaps someone was already at Western Union with a phone to get the information and pick up the money in a hurry. It was just past noon in Atlanta; it was after 8 p.m. in Uganda. Would they be able to pick up the money that late easily? Still a bit unsure even if I was making the right move, I called Western Union and asked to cancel my transfer. Tick-tock-tick-tock. My heart was beating more rapidly than the seconds on the clock as I waited for the agent to check the number. The money had not been picked up! The Western Union agent was helpful in every way, canceling the transfer. I listened patiently as he repeated all the warnings about scams that I had already known. It was my well-deserved punishment. When I got off the phone, I went back to the grocery store, deciding it best to get the $7,000 back immediately and putting it back in our bank. What a relief!

I was meeting my wife for lunch and got to the restaurant before she did. While waiting, my phone rang. It was a number from Uganda. I declined to answer it. It rang again. I let it go. In a few moments an email came on my phone from “Pastor Moses.” This was less than an hour after I had canceled the transfer. It said that the transfer number that I had given him was wrong and to please double-check and send them the correct number. I decided to eat lunch before responding. I sent an email back when I got home, telling him that I had been forced to cancel the transfer; if this was legit (believe it or not, there was still the tiniest bit of doubt in my mind), that he had given far too little time for this to be accomplished and left far too many questions unanswered to my satisfaction. He emailed back, expressing disappointment that they would lose the land for the orphanage and that he had been embarrassed in front of the landowner and the donors at the turn of events. He was still sticking to the story. While I may have still nursed a small doubt, I knew that I had done the right thing in stopping the transfer. I should never have acceded to do this on such short notice.

About an hour or so later I got a call from the lady whose name was on the other check. She got the message I had left and was much nicer than the other supposed “donor” who thought I was trying to scam him. She was flabbergasted as to how a check of hers that had all the right information had made its way to Uganda to be sent back to me in to deposit as part of the ruse. All the numbers on the check were correct. She was very appreciative of the information.

I corresponded with “Pastor Moses” twice more that day, asking him for some information that only the real Pastor Moses would know. He failed in his attempt, and I sent one more message to him—encouraging him to repent!

In retrospect, I realize that I was open to this scam because it came from the email account of a trusted friend, one to whom I had wired money on several occasions. It was initiated as part of a legitimate thread that had been started a week earlier. It was hard for me to recognize the other signs because I knew Pastor Moses so well. That caused me to overlook the first clues. I am simply thankful to God that I was given clue upon clue that finally resulted in my awakening to the possibility of a scam through the hacked email account of a trusted friend rather than through receiving an anonymous email that was so easy to see for what it was. I was especially happy and relieved at not having to face a loss of $7,000 from our church account and figuring out how to make that right. Had the scammers not taken over an hour to get to a Western Union location, it would have been a different and more sorrowful outcome for me. Not only did I dodge a bullet and have major relief, but I took some pleasure in imagining the scene at the Western Union when the scammers’ anticipated payday was lost to them just when it seemed they had it in their grasp. That imagined scene and their subsequent calls and frantic emails trying to get the correct number as well as knowing they had some expenses but no payback in the end when they could almost taste it almost made the whole thing worthwhile. Nah—not even almost. I still had that terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach for hours after it was over!

An Open Letter to Lydia Marie Pitts

2010-06-09T11:35:00.005-04:00

Dear Lydia Marie Pitts,

Most of the time, I call you Lydia (though often it is Hannah or Abigail or Rebekah first!), so I have addressed this with your full name with full knowledge it will be one of the last times I have the opportunity to do so. In less than a month, you will be married; before the summer is over, you will be living in Asia, if the Lord brings to fruition the plans you have made. I remember with joy the early years of your life; you were dedicated in worship on a Mother’s Day just two days after you were born on the way home from the hospital. (I don’t guess I will ever live that one down, letting your mom leave the hospital with her mom and dad and you while I was at the church building, preparing for the service.) I remember reading to you and Hannah after lunch while putting you down for your nap. I recall the “Dewey” stories we would often share at night and the times I would awaken to find you standing next to the bed, wanting to crawl in with us for a while.

As the years went by, there was ballet, softball, soccer, and music. More than anything else, I am excited and blessed to remember your decision early in life to follow Jesus. You always sensed a call toward missions, and we have tried to encourage that in whatever way God would make that more clear over time. He has now done so. You mother especially has faithfully prayed for your husband over the years, and God has faithfully answered. Just as He did so for your older sister before you, He has provided a wonderful, godly—and, yes, LUCKY—young man. We have come to love and appreciate Brooks, and we see in him the things that you have seen. We are excited to have him in our family, and we are grateful that his family has just as excitedly welcomed you into theirs.

God has given us wonderful years together; this last year with your work here as a volunteer intern has been special. I have not only seen first hand more of how well you work with children; I have heard first hand from so many about how others see that as well. (So I know it is more than just father-bias!) The next months will bring so many changes—your upcoming wedding, your move to Asia, your likely absence at Thanksgiving and Christmas, your next birthday being celebrated by Skype. On the upside, there will be a clean room and one less car for insurance. But, as cheap as I am, I would rather have you. Not only as your father but also on behalf of this church you have served so well I say to you, “Congratulations on your marriage!” and “Thanks for sharing your gifts with us this past year as an intern!”

Go with God, Lydia. Oh, yes—and Brooks, too. We love you both.

Dad

Wednesday of Holy Week: The Quiet Before the Storm

2010-03-31T17:05:00.003-04:00

Today is the Wednesday of Holy Week--a quieter day. Jesus once again went to the temple to teach where the crowds awaited Him early in the morning, but there were no deceitful questioners. There was no one trying to trick him, no one trying to discredit Him.

Why? Had the chief priests and scribes given up?

The first reason they did not engage him publicly again was that after Tuesday's fiasco, in which Jesus bested them in every test, making them look foolish rather than the other ways around (as they had planned), no one dared ask Him any more questions. They had had enough. They didn't wanted any more efforts to backfire, as all of them had on Tuesday.

But had they given up? Hardly. They simply took another tactic. Many of the leaders had already determined that Jesus should die. How much easier that would have been to maneuver had Jesus suddenly become unpopular. That was not going to happen--at least, not the way they had envisioned it and planned it.

Another, more ominous strategy came to them, though. They didn't have to think it up. It fell right into their laps. On Tuesday at the evening meal, a woman came in and anointed Jesus using a very expensive perfume. Judas, the keeper of the money for the group, rebuked her, saying that the money could be sold and the money given to the poor. Judas was not concerned about the poor in this case, however. He had started the habit of helping himself to some of the money that he looked after for the group.

"Leave her alone!" said Jesus. This Judas--Judas Iscariot--had already fallen to temptation in the matter of the money. Angry at Jesus' rebuke, he allowed Satan to enter him. He knew what it was the chief priests and scribes wanted--a way to arrest Jesus and deal with Him when He wasn't in front of the adoring crowd. So, either Tuesday night late or on Wednesday, Judas went to the chief priests and offered to hand Him over when no crowd was present. They were delighted to hear this and offered him thirty pieces of silver for his betrayal.

And so, Judas began plotting for a way to turn his master over in a more private setting. This was the Wednesday of Holy Week.

Tuesday of Holy Week: Who Told You that You Could Do That?

2010-03-30T11:57:00.003-04:00

(A message for Tuesday of Holy Week)

It was late February or early March some years ago while we were living in Dublin, Georgia. I was home with the children; Cindy was out for a while. The day was unseasonably warm, but there was still a nip in the air. A child with her friend came up to me in the late afternoon. “Can we put on swimsuits and turn on the hose and get wet?”

I had forgotten to put on my bracelet that morning—my WWMS bracelet. You know, “What would Mom say?” Still, in the back of my mind, I knew what Mom would say: “NO!” And she would have several dozen good reasons for that answer.

My mind was full of deep theological thoughts, though, and try as I might, I could not marshal a single reason to say no. “I guess,” I said, but wanting to prove I was no pushover, I added, “But not one drop of water in the house, and no mud at all. Stay on the driveway or in the grass.” As they ran happily off, I returned to my easy chair in front of a television showing NCAA basketball that I was, of course, ignoring, being caught up thinking deep theological thoughts. But I remember that inwardly I felt a little uneasy and hoped it would be a while before Mom returned. However, it wasn’t long before I heard the van make its way into the driveway and to the rear of the house.

My wife is an excellent musician. She has a beautiful voice. And in that moment I heard her melodious strains wafting through the backyard and on into the house.

“WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU COULD GET WET AND MUDDY?” I froze as I waited to hear the reply, which came rather quickly. “Dad said we could.” And I heard them continue to explain it in such I way that it sounded like I gave them not only permission but that it was my idea!

They were off the hook. They had authority. “Dad said we could.” I reluctantly pushed my deep theological thoughts aside and quietly made my way to the front door. I just remembered some errands I needed to run. And since my cell phone battery was not taking a charge very well at the time, I decided I would conserve the power and just leave it off for a while.

“Who told you that you could?” That’s a popular question, isn’t it? Jesus was asked that question on a busy teaching day during Holy Week. He was asked that by the guardians of Judaism who were threatened by his popularity and his power and his very presence.

It was Tuesday of Holy Week. On Sunday the crowd had gone wild with shouts of “Hosanna!” as Jesus entered Jerusalem for the week of Passover. On Monday, Jesus had cleared the temple in anger at the greed of the people. So on Tuesday, the chief priests wanted to know, “Who told you that you could do all these things?” They were the hierarchy; they were the leaders of the faith. Where did he get off telling the people that they themselves—the chief priests, the teachers of the law, the Pharisees—were hypocrites and worse? Who told him he could receive the praise of the people? What made him think he could disrupt the sacrifices that had been practiced for 1000 years?

Since a crowd of people were around, they were a little more polite than they might have been in private: “‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ they asked. ‘And who gave you the authority to do this?’”

He could have answered them, and perhaps he would have answered them had they been honest inquirers of what could have been, in my mind, a legitimate question. But legitimate questions seek for answers. And they had already decided in their minds that since they had not given him authority, there was no authority. They were not looking for an answer to consider; they were looking for an answer to entrap and condemn.

So Jesus offered them a deal. If they would answer a question about the authority of John the Baptist, He would answer the question about his own authority.

In Mark 11.29-30 (NIV), it says:

Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism—was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!”

The group of questioners realized that Jesus’ question presented a dilemma for them, so they got into a huddle to discuss it. Jesus had presented them with two reasonable choices in making their answer. Which would they choose?

“If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn't you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men’....” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet) (Mark 11.31-32).

Had they been honest, from their own perspective they would have said that John was not a God-sent prophet, but they knew it would have lowered their standing in the minds of the people even more, for the people did see John as a prophet.

So they emerged from their huddle and very humbly and piously stated, “We don’t know.”

“If you are the experts on religious authority and cannot determine the authority of John’s message…” Jesus seemed to be saying as he uttered the words:

“Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things” (Mark 11.33).

To add insult to injury, Jesus told a parable that cast them in the roles of thieves and murderers. This made them angrier than ever. So they regrouped and tried to come up with a way of putting Jesus in a bad light with the people or making Him look foolish.

It was April, so they asked him if it were okay to pay taxes to Caesar. He said, in essence, “Yes, but it is even more important to give God his due.”

And what is God due? What is God’s? We would like to know that this Holy Week, wouldn’t we? Good news! Jesus answers that question for us after a slight detour.

The Sadducees, a group that didn’t believe in life after death, first throw out a riddle trying to show the absurdity of the resurrection. Jesus uses the Scripture to say firmly, “Yes, there is life after death. This is not all there is.” And if they didn’t believe the Scriptures, all they had to do was hang around town just a few more days, and they could see it for themselves!

But then, in the last question anyone dared ask Him publicly, someone asks that day a question that Matthew implies may have started out as kind of a setup, but ends up with the questioner becoming impressed with Jesus, and that, in turn, impresses Jesus.

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important? (Mark 12.28 NIV).

This last question is the most important. Essentially, in my mind, he is asking, “What is the most important thing in life?” “What is life all about?”

Let’s pay close attention to Jesus’ answer…

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12.29-31 NIV).

It’s as if Jesus, hearing the question as it is put, says, “I can’t limit the answer to this vital question to just one, even though there is indeed one that is the MOST important. But there is another that is so closely related that I need to give you the two most important.”

After He shared the two, He said, “There is no commandment greater than these.” Does that statement sound like this is something we need to underline in our lives? Does it sound to you that Jesus is saying we need to order our lives around these words?

The most important thing in life: Love God. But how? How are we to love God?

Look again at verse 30 and note the words given: with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. What would you judge as the key concept in that section? I once did a word study to try to figure out what each of these four words really means. What I found surprised me. The meaning of each word is not as separate and easy to define as I thought. These words overlap in their meaning. The difference is more in nuance. One commentator stated it this way: “The words are semantically concentric.” That’s a fancy way of saying they mean pretty close to the same thing in their center. As I was searching for the key way of loving God from this passage, I found that the key concept here is not heart. It is not soul. Not mind. No, not strength, either.

The key in how to love God? ALL.

If we were honest, some of us might admit that we love God with half our hearts rather than all our hearts. We love Him, yes, but we are half-hearted in that love for God.

Some of us have divided minds … we are too enamored with the entertainment of this world that focuses on the sensual and the decadent rather than the spiritual and the good.

But Jesus says, “Love with all.”

Here’s our last question of the day: Is Jesus right? The questioner thinks so:

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12.32-33 NIV).

And Jesus, after being evaluated by this questioner, evaluates him in turn, subtly showing that He is the one who is the final judge of the situation. Look at Jesus’ answer:

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12.34 NIV).

Which brings us back to the original question:

“By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you authority to do this?”

In other words, “Who told you that you could make such pronouncements?”

Jesus didn’t give these guys the answer, but He gives it to us:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28.18-20 NIV).

Who told you that you could do that, Jesus?

Jesus says, “Daddy told me I could.” And in the way He explained it, He lets us know that it was his Father’s idea all along: “I do only what the Father tells me to do.”

He proved it by going to the cross.

This Holy Week, attending special services and the like are good things to do. But what is most important is to love God with all that you are, and to love one another as you love yourself.

Love on God this week through prayer, praise, the Word, and by your actions.

Remember, Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Love your neighbor today, whether that is your spouse, your child, your parents, your acquaintances—whoever. Remember that Jesus would say to love on somebody, to help somebody who can’t do anything for you in return.

Love God with all you are. Love your neighbor as yourself. And we love, because he first loved us.

The Father has told me to tell you that this is what will make this week—and every week—Holy Week.

Monday of Holy Week: Cleansing the Temple

2010-03-29T13:26:00.003-04:00

[Shared on Monday, March 29, 2010 at Clairmont Crest Holy Week service.]

I have to be careful about referring to a scripture as one of my favorite Scriptures, because I would soon find out that the number in that collection would be far too many to claim the designation of “favorites”. So instead, I will simply say that the following passage from Psalm 103 never fails to touch and move me when I read it or remember it. Of course, Psalm 103 is the one that begins

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”

Many benefits are listed after these first two verses, but the section beginning in verse 8 always seems to make me pause in wonder. It states:

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”

Slow to anger. That’s the part that hits me with such grace. Slow to anger. Perhaps that’s because so many are quick to anger. When James counseled us to be slow to anger, he was simply saying, “Be more like God. Be slow to anger.”

Somehow, growing up I got the idea that God was very quick to be angry at all the terrible things that go on here. Some may get the idea that God is always angry. I remember the name of the puritan sermon of the 1700’s: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

But here it says that God is slow to anger, and that is true. If it were not true, I guess He would have had His fill of you and me by now, wouldn’t He? And of course, the mere fact that the world is still here and Jesus has not yet returned testifies to the truth of Peter’s words that “[God] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.”

Yes, it is certainly true, and I am grateful: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”

That’s why I find the Monday of Holy Week so fascinating.

Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, was such a triumph, it would seem. We call Jesus’ coming into Jerusalem “The Triumphant Entry.” Coming into the city riding on a donkey while the people waved palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna,” surely that would have been an impressive sight for all of us. Yet, Jesus was strangely sad.

Luke 19.41-44 (NIV):

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you.”

But on the Monday of Holy Week—today in our commemoration of the week—we get to see Jesus, the epitome of the God who is slow to anger—we see the anger of Jesus. We see what it is that finally sets Him off. We often call this week Passion Week, referring of course to His death, but on Monday we really get to see his passion. Jesus is passionate on Monday. He is angry on Monday.

And we must ask:

Why was He angry? And
What does that say to us?

Let's read from the Bible the account of today: the Monday of Holy Week.

MARK 11.12-19
12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it. 15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: "'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'" (NIV)

First, we note that the day begins with a peculiar incident with a fig tree. Here is a tree that is really not in season for figs, yet it is in full bloom of its leaves. Jesus was hungry and saw the leaves and wanted to see if there was any fruit. Finding none there, he cursed the tree, and Mark notes that the next day, the tree was completely withered from the roots. (Mark 11.20)

Was this harsh of Jesus? I remember a Greek professor in seminary who found it significant that his first judgment that led to death was not even aimed at a precious human but a tree. I like that thought. In my mind, there is a deeper connection to what follows: this tree was symbolic to Jesus of what He had found among His people Israel in his time on earth: many outward signs of growth, but precious little fruit to back up the claim.

Jesus would see the real thing, not simply the symbol, just a few miles up the street. When Jesus arrived at the temple area that morning, there were outward signs of religious fervor. People packed the area. They were buying and selling sacrificial animals so that they could worship God in the prescribed way. Many, many of the people were on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover. They had left their homes ostensibly so they could worship God.

But when Jesus saw the crowd, the religious activity, the buying and selling in preparation for Passover,he saw the fig tree all over again. Signs of life, signs of growth, but precious little fruit.

We often rail against “moneychangers in the temple,” and Luke gives special attention to those selling in his gospel. What was going on? Many of the pilgrims had decided not to bring sacrificial animals with them from home—too much trouble, for one thing. No guarantee they would pass muster as an acceptable sacrifice, for another. So they elected to bring money and buy the proper sacrifice. After all, these would have the equivalent of our USDA seal of approval. Or, more appropriately, they would have a kosher symbol on them.

But Jesus was outraged by these sellers because they were not interested in the things of God but in padding their pocketbooks by taking an unreasonable profit. How do we know? Jesus said, “You have made [the temple] a den of robbers,” quoting from the O.T. prophet Jeremiah.

These buyers were at the mercy of the sellers. And we are tempted to say, “Yeah, Jesus, get those guys. Give it to them. They are unfair. Their pricing reminds us of the popcorn price at the modern theater. Give it to them, Jesus.”

But before we look too much at “them,” we had better also consider “us.” Note that Mark and Matthew as well point out a fact easy to overlook. Look back to verse 15:

“ . . . Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there.”

It was not just the actions of the sellers that angered the Lord. It was also the attitude of the buyers. He drove out the buyers as well as the sellers. Apparently, their hearts were not where they should have been, either.

The leaves were green, but where was the fruit?

It is so easy for us to come to another Holy Week with good intentions; yet we can end up simply going through the motions. We can treat our relationship with God as just another event on the calendar.

OK . . . it’s Thanksgiving: gather the family, get a turkey and some pumpkin pie, and let’s watch some football together.

OK… it’s Christmas: set up the tree, get out the decorations, buy the presents, go to Candlelight service.

OK . . . it’s Holy Week: a special musical or drama, an egg hunt, new spring fashions, maybe a Holy Week service or two, Sunday worship with the family.

Nothing wrong with any of those things . . . unless they are devoid of real meaning in the heart. Leaves are great … if fruit is likewise on the tree. It’s just not good if it is all for show and the real meaning is missing.

As we consider the anger of Jesus at this scene, we think back to other times He had displayed anger. And you know what it always seems to be? Hypocrisy.

Like you, I normally equate hypocrisy with trying to impress people with something on the outside that is not really there on the inside, in other words, intentional deception, but it seems that Jesus’ definition is far more subtle. To Him, it is not always intentionally being deceptive. Sometimes it is a failure to really seek wisdom. Sometimes it is a failure to really seek understanding.

When he pronounced his “Woes” on the Scribes and Pharisees, He called them hypocrites, but many of them really thought they were following God’s ways. Hypocrisy can come from ignorance of God’s ways, a refusal to seek understanding of God’s ways, as well as intentional deception. Many really though they were serving God when they killed Jesus or His disciples. But they were wrong. They were hypocritical because they failed to really seek God.

“Look at our pretty leaves,” they seem to say, sadly ignorant of the fact that they are supposed to produce fruit and not just go though religious rituals.

Jesus quoted Isaiah about such people:
“Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”

Man-made religion never measures up to a personal relationship with the God who loves you. Yet, we can get caught up in it as well. I’m thinking of a man I have known all my life. A few years ago I was seeking to talk to him about his relationship with God. His answer, “You know, I don’t drink beer anymore on Sundays out of my respect for God.”

My frustration was great! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I am glad he did something out of respect for God. But I don’t think not drinking beer on Sundays was the great desire of God for his life.

But we can also get caught up in the outer trappings—our beautiful church buildings, our Easter lilies, our children and grandchildren and their egg hunts, our new clothes, the wonderful musicals and dramas—and yet miss the centrality of Jesus died to pay the debt of my sin, and He rose from the dead that I might have life everlasting which begins here on earth with a relationship with God.

What shall we do to make sure this doesn’t happen to us?
How do we make sure that God, as slow to anger as He is, does not become angry with us from our refusal to step out of the shallowness of life into more depth?

The answer is given by Jesus this Monday morning of holy Week:

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (v. 17)

For “all nations” is significant. “Red, brown, yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.” I am grateful for services like these open to all followers of Jesus, laying aside our designations of Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and others and coming together as believers in Jesus.

But more significant is the first part:
“My house shall be called a house of prayer.”

The temple was meant to be a house where people would truly seek God by calling out to Him.

Let us spend a few moments in silent prayer, each of us asking God to touch us deeply on the inside so that we may truly worship this holy season, not just with our lips, but with our hearts as well. Let us pray that not only will there be leaves in bloom on the branches of our lives, but that we will bear much fruit as well.

Let’s pray.

Sunday of Holy Week: Voices in the Crowd

2010-03-29T11:21:00.004-04:00

(Palm Sunday message from March 28, 2010)

Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It is a good time to review what we know about Jesus. He entered the city on Palm Sunday in the midst of a huge throng of people. Because of His ministry, Jesus often found Himself in a crowd of people. One way to review some important aspects of His life is to listen to some of the voices in the crowd…

John the Baptist

Before Jesus began His public ministry, and we assume he likely was a hard-working carpenter along with his brothers in Galilee, there was a popular figure who began to attract crowds. It wasn’t because of his good looks or personal habits—he lived in the desert, wore clothes made camel hair, and ate locusts and wild honey. But because of his passion for God and his fiery message, people began to ask the question, “Could this man be the Messiah—the Christ?” He vociferously denied it. No, he said, he was not the Christ but one was preparing the way—the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah who foretold a voice calling in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord.”

Yes, as we listen to voices in the crowd this morning to inform us about Jesus, we start with John the Baptist. He had great crowds coming to hear him speak from all around—from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan River.

And what did this voice say to prepare the people for the Lord? Let me share two important messages from this voice in the crowd:

“Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.” This was the primary message in preparation for the Lord. John was saying, in essence, “The time has come for God to do a special work, to reveal His renewed purposes.” Repentance is not the only step, but the first step: turning away from our own selfishness and sinfulness and turning toward God, seeking Him.

Many responded to the message of John. Confessing their sins, they were baptized, a beautiful portrait of the washing away of sins.

The second message of importance from John was what he told the crowd when Jesus came to see his cousin John at the Jordan River:

“Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

How beautiful the symbolism! The Lamb of God… reminding them of the Passover during the liberation from slavery in Egypt—how during the last plague, the plague of death for the firstborn male, mercy would be shown to those houses who had placed the blood of an unblemished lamb on the doorframes of their houses. The Death Angel would “pass over” that house, leaving the firstborn alive. The death of the lamb substituted for the death of the son. Jesus is the Lamb of God.

No wonder John said, “I am not worthy to untie his sandals.” No wonder there was no jealousy from John as Jesus began to draw larger crowds. “He must increase, I must decrease.”

The first voice in the crowd we hear today was a voice of preparation: “Repent, for the Lamb of God has come to take away the sins of the world.”

God the Father

The second voice is even more impressive. When Jesus came to see John, Jesus asked to be baptized. John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by you, and you come to me to be baptized?” But Jesus said, “Permit it to be so at this time so that we may fulfill all righteousness.”

Finally, John consented to baptize Jesus as a symbol of His total submission to the Father. And the Father in heaven, even prouder of His Son than we are of the accomplishments of our children, could not hold back. As Jesus came up out of the water, the very heavens opened, and the Spirit of God Himself descended like a dove and came upon Jesus. And in a mighty roar in the midst of the crowd, the Father Himself testified about Jesus: “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well-pleased.”

The demon-possessed

Not all of those who recognized Him, though, were well-pleased. Many were unhappy about it. They acknowledged Jesus unwillingly and with dismay. Some in the crowd did not welcome the intrusion of Jesus, for they understood something that many in our world today do not: You cannot ignore the presence of the Son of the God.

I guess it should not be surprising to us that some of the first who recognized Him were the demon-possessed. In actuality, it was the demons themselves who saw, who knew, and who trembled.

There was always a good crowd of people who gathered in the synagogues of the town and villages in Galilee on Sabbath to chant psalms and listen to the Law being read and taught. Jesus, raised in Nazareth, adopted Capernaum as his residence once He began His ministry.

Let’s listen to this voice in the crowd…

READ LUKE 4.31-37

Yes, how amazing! We know from the beginning that there is an evil one. Why should it surprise us to find that this evil one leads a contingent of evil spirits. Yet, Jesus not only had authority in His teaching, but He had authority over the unclean spirits.

But let’s not overlook the voice in the crowd: Two things for us to ponder upon this Palm Sunday as we reflect on the person of Jesus:

“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” This is good question not only for the demon-possessed but for each of us to ponder. “What do you want with us, Jesus?” He does indeed want something with you. What is it that He wants?

That answer comes more clear as we also ponder the testimony of the unholy spirits:

“I know who you are… the Holy One of God.”

The voices from the crowd tell us that Jesus is more than just a man. He is the Lamb. He is the Son. He is the Holy One of God… who comes to invade our lives, whether we bid Him to or not, for He is our Creator, and He has every right to want something from us.

Blind Bartimaeus

Because of this, some believe that God is out to get them. To impose on them. To demand of them. They know a little, but they do not know enough. Their understanding is so small that what little they know turns into misunderstanding. Yes, Jesus wants something with us, but it is not to turn us into slaves or robots. He comes to us with love, demanding from us what we need to give Him so that we might live abundant lives. Like your parents when they wanted you to eat healthy foods and wanted you to study your lessons. You wondered if they were just being mean to you. But, no, they wanted you to eat so that you could grow strong. They wanted you to study so that you could grow intelligent.

God wants something of you… so you can grow holy.

Sometimes the blind see this better than the sighted. We who are sighted often think we see everything. We think that we can be the masters of our own fate. We often think we know better than God and just want Him to leave us alone, just as some of the demons asked.

The blind are not under the illusion of self-sufficiency. At least, not the blind we meet in the New Testament.They know that what Jesus wants from them is not only what they need but what will fill the deepest needs they have.

Jesus was about to leave the city of Jericho. As was so often the case as he traveled, a huge crowd gathered not only to listen to Him but to follow Him. Everyone was nice and well-behaved—well, all except one. One voice was heard above the crowd…

READ MARK 10.46-52

Here is another voice in the crowd we must listen to if we would truly understand Jesus.

“Jesus, have mercy on me!”

The blind man needed mercy, and he heard that Jesus could provide it. He shouted out for it, and the people tried to hush him up.

But another voice was heard in the crowd—the voice of Jesus. “Call him!” And then! “What do you want me to do for you?”

It’s still amazing! He wants to fill the deepest needs in your life.

The Palm Sunday Crowd

To sum up His three year ministry in the understated way of Luke: “Jesus went about doing good.” He healed the sick. He calmed the rowdy sea. He taught with clarity and compassion. He came to free the people from the shackles of their sin as well as the shackles put on them by the religious elite. He showed them what God is really like and how He delights in His people, how God wants to be reconciled to His people and to share a love relationship with them. He does not delight in punishment but delights to forgive and show them the right path.

Because of this, the common people, the salt of the earth kind of people though all Israel and even the Gentiles who lived among them loved Jesus. He freed them from fears. He let them know that God cares. He said he would give them true freedom. He gave them clarity and purpose. It is no wonder that on Palm Sunday the voices in the crowd cried: “Hosanna!” That word means, “Save!” As we sang it today, I hope that it was in recognition that we, too, understand that we need a Savior.

The people also shouted, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Jesus, this prophet from Nazareth, came to give us a message from God and to be a message from God for us!

The Good Friday Crowd

But not everyone was happy about Jesus. Not just the evil spirits who were asking, “What do you want with me?” The religious leaders, those more concerned about national pride and institutional religion, were threatened by the message. On Sunday, they rebuked Jesus for letting the people honor Him in this way. He said, “If they don’t, the very rocks will cry out!” On Monday, he cleansed the temple. Tuesday was likely a day for the leaders plotting against Jesus. For on Wednesday, they set about to trap Him, trying to make Him appear less authoritative and perhaps get him in trouble with either the people or the Romans. But Jesus again turned the tables, not as He had in the temple courts earlier that week, but on these who tried to trap Him by their clever questioning. Jesus made them look foolish, and even a few of their own kind began to see the light of Jesus. This was too much.

The religious leaders still had their own power and their own heavy handed way of dealing with problems. They paid a betrayer, conducted secret and illegal late night, early morning trials, and gathered up an early crowd on Friday to petition the governor, Pontius Pilate, to rule against Jesus.

The cheers of “Hosanna” turned to the jeers of “Crucify Him!” Not content with anything less than eradication, the leaders had determined that Jesus should die. The voices in the crowd that day concurred.

Pilate did not understand a lot, but he understood that there was Jewish religious politics going on. He stated: “I am innocent of this man’s blood.”

To seal their guilt, the crowd shouted, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”

Jesus

As Jesus was stripped, flogged, paraded through the streets, and finally nailed to the cross, a crowd once again gathered around Him. There was a group of courageous women who loved Jesus, gathered together near the foot of the cross. Only the disciple that Jesus loved, John, took his place among them. The rest of them were scattered, afraid that they might be next.

The soldiers were there, too, doing their duty, gambling after the only earthly possession of this Son of God, a seamless garment. One, though, the centurion leading the group, said, “Surely He was the Son of God!”

Other in the crowd mocked Him as did even another who was being crucified. Yet, the voice in this crowd that I want you to hear is the voice of the condemned man Himself, Jesus of Nazareth.

He said several things while hanging on that cross for those hours. Let me remind you of three. One was probably not loud enough to be heard by all. Even on the cross, as He surveyed the crowd, He remembered His mission:

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

As the time drew nearer for His death, Jesus became overwhelmed. Drawing from the despairing words of Psalm 22, Jesus cried out. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Some believe that as Jesus was at the very point of death, He was feeling the loneliness of God the Father turning away from Him while He was accepting Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins, truly becoming the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Whatever the cause of His feeling forsaken, whether the pain and suffering of the cross itself or the anguish of loneliness or both, we know that Jesus kept His faith, for the very last voice in the crowd we note today are the very last words of Jesus, His dying words…

READ LUKE 23.4-46

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

This Holy Week, let us reflect on the person of Jesus: His life, His words, and His sacrificial death. Let us ponder what it is that He has do do with us. Let us clarify our own understanding of who He is. Was He a good man? Of course He was. But He was so much more.

Let us lift our voices so that they become voices in the crowd testifying with so many others the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the Holy One of God, the One who shows mercy and fill our needs, the One who saves, the One whose death we will remember on Friday and whose glorious resurrection we will celebrate next Sunday.

Yes, you must lift your voice in the crowd: The Bible says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Let me be a voice in this crowd this morning. “Jesus is my Lord!” Are there other voices in the crowd to be heard today?

What about you? What do you say about Jesus?

Is He your Lord?

Ramblings--20091215

2009-12-15T21:04:00.000-05:00

CHBC Ramblings
Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The Living Nativity
Our 21st annual Living Nativity Drive Through was a success! For just the third time in its long run, we had to cancel a night—Saturday’s presentation—due to the weather, but both Friday and Sunday saw excellent attendance. On Sunday night, Cindy and I were both at the exit, and I wish everyone had that opportunity. Several people had tears in their eyes, some tried to give us a donation (we refused!), many told us that it was a special part of their Christmas tradition, and almost everyone expressed gratitude for both the presentation and its excellence. One person in particular shared that he was glad that we told the whole story and didn’t end with the nativity. I must confess that I am moved at the last scene: the sign that says, “He is not here…” and then, in order, an empty manger, an empty cross, and an empty grave. Not only do we need to tell the world that He is born but that He is risen!

Last Week—Mary’s Song: Let It Be
This past Sunday was the third Sunday of Advent, and the Parents’ Candle was lit by the Ed Jenkins family. One of the highlights of the service was the painting of Mary by artist Kerry Jackson during the last part of the message, Christmas According to Mary: Let It Be. Kerry is an artist and church planter who is starting a church for the art community in Atlanta. If you would like to see more of his work or even a purchase a print of what he painted for us on Sunday, look at his website, www.drawingtotherock.com.

This Coming Sunday
Can you believe it? This week will be the fourth Sunday of Advent—the final Sunday before Christmas! In our messages this year, we have been looking at Christmas from a variety of perspectives—this week it will be Christmas According to the Shepherds. The shepherds can be models for us in how to truly celebrate Christmas. (If you missed any of the messages in this series, you can listen on our website, www.clairmonthills.org.)

Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions
Have you made a special gift to International Missions this month? If not, I hope you will do so this week as we give this special offering to help support our over 5000 international missionaries. We are about half way to our goal of $15,000.

Open House
Our annual Open House is this Sunday from 4:00-6:00 p.m., and we are at a new location this year, 2236 Chrysler Court. We hope that you can come! To make it easier for some of our people, our minibus will make trips back and forth from the church building about every 30 minutes. You can be dropped off right at the end of our walkway, and it will also help with the traffic flow in our neighborhood, so it will be good from two points of view if you want to take advantage of this. Come enjoy a lot of homemade treats, thanks to Cindy and everyone else in our family—except me!

Christmas Eve...
is always a special time for worship, so I hope that you will plan to attend our Christmas Eve Candlelighting and Communion Service on Thursday, December 24 (no service on Wednesday, December 23). The actual service starts at 6:30 p.m., but a half hour of pre-service music starts at 6:00 p.m. for those who want to arrive early.

Merry Christmas!

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor
Clairmont Hills Baptist Church

Ramblings--20091208

2009-12-08T17:44:00.002-05:00

CHBC Ramblings
Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The Living Nativity
Our 21st annual Living Nativity Drive Through is this weekend! If you haven’t signed up, let me tell you—we can use your help. We have two shifts of characters who rotate throughout the evening, so we need lot of volunteers, and we will provide your costume and the simple directions for your scene. It’s a lot of fun! We will serve you supper and you will have good fellowship with others. Come along and bring someone with you. Hours for The Living Nativity are 7-9 on Friday and Saturday and from 6-9 on Sunday for those who will be inviting others to view it; call the church office to find out what time to report to participate.

Mary’s Song: Let It Be
This coming Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent, and we will be lighting the Parents’ Candle. For my message, I will be repeating my favorite of all my Christmas sermons, Christmas According to Mary: Let It Be. I preached it here during Advent of 2005. Come see why I like it. Also, there will be an added worship attraction this week. Kerry Jackson, an artist and church planter who is starting a church for artists in Atlanta, will create a piece of art during the last minutes of the message that will enhance what God is saying to us this week. Please don’t miss it.

This Past Sunday
Wow! The second Sunday of Advent was a great day of worship in every way. That’s what so many people have told me. It started with the Clay Hunnicutt family lighting the Angels’ Candle for us. Our youth and our adult handbells both blessed us with great music for worship and meditation. The flute accompaniment added so much to our singing of Christmas hymns. The message continued our look at Christmas from a variety of perspectives—this time it was Christmas According to the Angels. (If you missed it, you can listen on our website, www.clairmonthills.org.)

In the evening, over 100 came back to hear His Kids (our children’s choir) present Dr. Newheart’s Christmas Cure. (Over 50 had been present the night before for the opening performance.) Those who were in attendance were amazed as over 20 children worked together to give us an excellent performance. Best of all was the powerful message of how Christmas “things” simply cannot satisfy and what we really need is a “new heart” for Christmas. Thank you, children (and workers!), for leading us in a special time of worship!

Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions
Another part of the special worship this past Sunday was our “March for Missions,” when many brought their special offering to help us support over 5000 international missionaries, including Andrew and Christine Moffatt, who are close to our own hearts. If you didn’t bring your special Christmas offering this past Sunday, you can give through the end of the year.

Next Wednesday night, December 16 (not tomorrow but next week), we will have our annual Christmas Feast for our Wednesday night meal. We have established a tradition the past few years of having special programs that night after the meal. This year’s special feature will be Dr. Allen Hill, a former missionary to the Philippines, who will share with us about all the work being done around the world. Allen is a personal friend and is an engaging speaker. You will be blessed if you come eat with us and then stay to listen to his presentation.

A Personal Note
My daughter Lydia is serving as our volunteer Intern this year, and many have commented so positively on her work as seen in her leadership of His Kids and the Youth Handbells just this past Sunday. Lydia leaves early tomorrow morning for a month-long mission trip out of the country, teaching English in a ministry that is much like that of Carol Woodford. I want to thank many individuals and the Ministry and Missions Team for giving toward the trip. Please pray for Lydia and the team for safety, wisdom, and success. We will miss her while she is gone over Christmas, but we are glad for God’s leadership in her life.

The angels said, “Glory to God!” Let’s glorify Him by worshiping Him together this coming Sunday and by inviting others to do so, too. Have you invited anyone to worship with you this Sunday?

God bless us, every one!

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor
Clairmont Hills Baptist Church

Ramblings--20091110

2009-11-10T15:22:00.001-05:00

CHBC Ramblings
Tuesday, November 10, 2009

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD
Operation Christmas Child sends a message of hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes and Christian literature. This is the week for you to pack your shoe box if you have not already done so. If you need more information about what to pack and what NOT to pack in your shoe box (or boxes), go to http://clairmonthills.org/news/74-operation-christmas-child for information, including a link to the Samaritan’s Purse website. We also have brochures at the church office. Call us at 404-634-6231 for more information.

Need help packing or wrapping your box? Don’t have a shoe box? Know someone else who would like to participate but has some needs like these? We have a solution! This Saturday, November 14, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and this Sunday, from 3-5 p.m., we will have volunteers at our building who will help you pack and/or wrap your shoe box. And we will have shoe boxes for those who may not have one.

Already have yours ready? Bring your shoe box on Sunday! If you forget, you will need to bring it early in the following week so that we can get all the boxes to warehouse. Last year our church collected over 250 boxes from our members and the community. You are an amazing group of people. Let’s do it again! Our goal is 275.

Remembrance: Veterans Day and Communion
It is always a moving experience to remember our veterans, and we were able to do that this past Sunday. Thank you, Veterans, for your sacrificial service. It is also a moving experience to remember the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we were able to do that this past Sunday as well. It was a great day of remembrance. Thanks for being here.

Deacon Ordination Service
It was also a meaningful service of ordination for two new additions to our deacon body, Jeanette Wynn and Rick Rogers. The testimonies were fantastic as each told of the goodness of God, and the laying on of hands and words of encouragement from the congregation were the high point for these two individuals. I wish even more would have returned for this special service.

Thanksgiving is for… Thanksgiving!
Will you be in town on Thanksgiving morning? If so, why don’t you start the day off right? We have a service for giving thanks on Thanksgiving from 8:30-9:30 a.m. The highlight of the service is the spontaneous words of testimony given by any participant who wants to share. We get through in time for most people to make it to their own family traditions. For our family, this IS one of our traditions! Since the crowd has been modest in the services since beginning it here when I first arrived five years ago, I had thought about not holding it this year. But my family told me that even if we are the only ones here, we are going to have the service. And so we will. But if you would like to join us, we’d love to have you. Bring some canned goods of other non-perishable food items either to this service or to any regular service during the month of November, and we will pass them on to a local food bank. Let’s be thankful for our bounty.

This Coming Sunday...
We will talk about the importance of the gospel and what it can mean to a community… and to a nation. As we enter the season of the year in which we take a special offering—the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering—for the purpose of sending missionaries around the world, it is important for us to remember what the gospel accomplishes.

It is also important for us to worship, fellowship, and minister together. Please be present this Sunday morning—and bring someone with you. May God bless you!

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor

Ramblings--20091102

2009-11-02T17:58:00.001-05:00

CHBC Ramblings
Monday, November 2, 2009

You CAN Make a Difference!
This past Sunday, we read some of the saddest words in all the Bible:

The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them” (Genesis 6.5-7 NIV).

Mankind had so grieved God that He was filled with pain. (Isn’t it amazing? We have the power to hurt God!) He decided His creation on earth wasn’t working. He was going to bring it to an end. But you may have noticed that we are still here. Why? Because of what one person did:

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord...Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God (Genesis 6.8-9 NIV).

In the message Sunday, we noted some characteristics of Noah that were characteristic of why it was said that he walked with God. Often, we are overwhelmed when we see all the evil in the world. We wonder if we can make a difference. But like Noah, we too can make a difference when we walk with God. If you missed the message, it will be on our website in the next few days (www.clairmonthills.org—look for “Media” then “Sermons”). Or, you can contact the church office to request a CD of the message.

Many commented on how meaningful the service was yesterday. Part of it, no doubt, was adding some additional instruments (violin, flute, and oboe) for some of our singing and for a time or personal meditation. A variety of music certainly enhances our worship times.

Remembrance: Veterans Day and Communion
This coming Sunday (November 8) will be a time of remembrance. First, we will remember the sacrifice and service of our veterans as we begin our service with a presentation that includes all veterans. If you are veteran, please wear your uniform if you are able. (If you know a veteran who needs to be reminded about it, please tell him or her!) As part of our remembrance, the Men’s Gospel Quartet will sing. Later in the service, as we continue our theme of Remembrance, we will celebrate the sacrifice and service of our Savior, Jesus Christ, as we partake of the bread and the cup. I hope that you will join us for what we expect will be a meaningful time of worship. (Remember that on days of Communion we take a special benevolence offering at the close of the service.)

Ordination of Deacons Sunday Evening
Another special part of our day this coming Sunday will be the ordination of two new members of our Deacon Body. This is a “ministry-only” group that serves all of our members in times of sickness and need. Jeanette Wynn will be ordained as a deaconess, and Rick Rogers will be ordained as a deacon. Both of these will share their testimonies in the service, and ALL of the congregation who desires can take part in the Laying On of Hands and the Words of Encouragement. During that time of the service, our ordained ministers and deacons will lead out with the laying on of hands, and then all others present will be invited to follow after as everyone has the opportunity to share prayerful words of encouragement.

By the way, there has been some question over the years in Baptist churches about who can serve as a deacon. In 2006 I preached a message in an evening service and repeated it this past August to address particularly the sometimes controversial topics of marital status and gender as it relates to the question of who can be a deacon. If you would like to read a copy of this manuscript, you can find it here: http://clairmonthills.org/media/remository?func=fileinfo&id=16.

New Look for Our Website
We have recently redesigned our website, and I invite you to take a look. Feel free to offer any thoughts you have about it and report any “bugs” you note. If your old bookmark doesn’t work with the updated site, manually type in www.clairmonthills.org (or just click on the previous link) and then bookmark that new address. (The old home page had some extra characters after the main address, and your old bookmark may not find the updated site because of that.)

Upcoming...
Operation Christmas Child Shoe boxes (brochures will be in the programs this coming Sunday), Thanksgiving season, and Carol Woodford on November 29 in the evening are all part of November, and Advent is just around the corner!

It is important for us to worship, fellowship, and minister together. Please be present this Sunday morning—and bring someone with you. May God bless you!

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor

Ramblings--20091028

2009-10-28T17:31:00.001-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet
This past Sunday we finished up our seven part DiscipleLIFE Sermon Series. As promised, the message time was different as I distributed a four part self-assessment that helped each person in the Worship Center evaluate where they are in their growth in “head, heart, hands, and feet.” The assessment was kept by the participants as a “baseline.” Each year, a similar assessment can help disciples track their progress. Many have given me encouragement about the entire series, and if you missed any of the messages, they are on our website (www.clairmonthills.org—look for “Media” then “Sermons”). Also, I will be glad to give you a copy of the self-assessment if you missed last Sunday.

I also asked those who attended to fill out the scores only—no names—along with their Life Group (Sunday School class) and age group and return them in the offering plate. This information will help us in our teams to plan opportunities for growth in needed areas as we continue to focus on growing in our heads, hearts, hands, and feet.

Live on 90% for 90 Days
If you missed Sunday, not only did you miss the self-assessment, but you missed the very highlight of our service. Sylvia Gray shared her testimony with us as part of our 90% for 90 Days emphasis, and it was powerful! God has worked greatly in her through both the joys and challenges of life. Sylvia, like so many others, has discovered that closeness to God and growth in Him often comes even more during the most difficult challenges.

Thank you, Sylvia, for your willingness to share with us both your victories and your struggles in your relationship with God.

Time Change!
You get an extra hour of sleep this Saturday night, so don’t forget to set your clock BACK an hour before going to bed. It will be interesting to see if an extra hour translates into more people being on time!

Looking forward to worshiping with you Sunday,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor

Ramblings--20091022

2009-10-22T15:47:00.002-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Thursday, October 22, 2009

A Personal Note
I did not send any Ramblings last week, and I am almost at the end of this week before sending this note out. Most of you are aware that Cindy’s father, Jack, was in the hospital most of last week in ICU, was moved to hospice last Friday, and passed away early last Saturday morning. Jack was just 74 years old and worked out faithfully in an effort to improve his health. However, with a failing heart, failing kidneys, a blood disorder, and the underlying difficulty of diabetes, his body gave out, and the Lord called him to what is truly a better place!

While Jack and his wife Vivian (Cindy’s mom; my mother-in-law) had moved up to Atlanta in May to be near us, they had lived most of their adult lives in Macon. Therefore, a memorial service was held at their church in Macon (Lawrence Drive Baptist Church) on Monday morning, and the people there were so gracious to us all. After lunch, we drove on down to Fitzgerald, Georgia, where we had a brief graveside service with military honors. It was a long day, but it was a good day. We have sensed the strength that God gives in difficult times. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers as well as other acts of kindness during this time. We are glad that you are our church family.

Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet
This Sunday we will conclude our seven part DiscipleLIFE Sermon Series. We have been talking about balanced growth—head, heart, hands, and feet—over three stages of development (infant, growing, and mature), and I hope you will be present as we try to put it all together.

This week’s message time will be somewhat different than usual as I will lead you in a personal time of evaluation of your spiritual health. Each person will receive a handout to keep for himself or herself that will hopefully point out areas of strength as well as areas of need for further growth.

There will also be a way for us to evaluate our strengths and growth needs as a church, not just as individuals, which will help us in the future to offer opportunities for growth in discipleship through our Ministry Teams, Life Groups (Sunday School), and DiscipleLife classes.

Live on 90% for 90 Days
Are you taking the challenge? Our Finance Committee is taking the lead from the Bible to challenge those who do not by habit tithe to try it for the months of September, October, and November. “Test me in this,” says the Lord. (See Malachi 3.6-12). This Sunday, Sylvia Gray will briefly share her stewardship story with us. You won’t want to miss her words of encouragement.

Looking forward to worshiping with you Sunday,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor

Ramblings--20091005

2009-10-05T11:48:00.000-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Monday, October 5, 2009

Life Groups (Sunday School classes) are important!
You have probably heard that we are using the term Life Groups now for our primary small group ministry. Of course, we will continue to use the term Sunday School as well, since it is so familiar and ingrained in most of us. But whatever we call them, small groups are necessary for balanced and continued growth in discipleship. The small group is where we most easily live life together. The small group is the most natural place for person to person love and caring to take place within the larger church. The small group allows discussion of how to apply the Bible’s teaching to life and provides a safe environment for questions to be asked. The small group is generally an ideal size for ministry projects within the community. The small group offers a warm, friendly environment in which to invite others to experience Bible study and Christian fellowship. The small group is able to multiply easily when it begins to turn into a “large” group—a few “missionaries” from the group can embark on the adventure of beginning a new small group! Let me encourage you to actively participate in a Life Group (Sunday School class) or another kind of small group here at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church. You will find that you will be blessed—and you will be a blessing to others. Need to know of a small group to try? Let us know!

Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet
In our seven part DiscipleLIFE Sermon Series, we are seeking to describe what a healthy disciple look like: there is balanced growth—head, heart, hands, and feet. In other words, a disciple LEARNS (head), a disciple LOVES (heart), a disciple SERVES (hands), and a disciple SHARES (feet). There are also stages of development: pre-birth, infant, growing, and mature.

Yesterday, we focused on the HEART: Disciples Love. Each week, a brief drama highlights the problem when a part of our development is missing. Yesterday we discovered that without the heart, we can easily do good things for the wrong reasons, such as promoting ourselves, as Paul alludes to 1 Corinthians 13.1-3.

We looked at the Great Commandments and were reminded that a disciple loves God, others, and self. We highlighted some dangers inherent when we are not balanced in our growth in this area. And we mentioned three habits that will help us grow in our love for God and others: Worshiping publicly, worshiping privately, and belonging to a small group.

Wonder how all these relate? If you missed the message, it will be posted soon on our website: www.clairmonthills.org. (By the way, all the messages for the past couple of years can be listened to or downloaded at our website. If you experience any difficulty, let us know.)

This coming Sunday, our emphasis will be on the HANDS: Disciples Serve.

Live on 90% for 90 Days
Are you taking the challenge? Our Finance Committee is taking the lead from the Bible to challenge those who do not by habit tithe to try it for the months of September, October, and December. “Test me in this,” says the Lord. (See Malachi 3.6-12).

Called Conference this Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m.
This brief conference is for the Leadership Team to present a list of committee nominations for the coming year and for the deacons to share the names of those who have been nominated, who have been interviewed by the deacon body, and who have agreed to serve on our deacon body. The list is available in the church office and will be distributed this Wednesday night and this coming Sunday morning.

“Harvest in the Barn” on October 18
The Fellowship Team is preparing another fun Sunday night fellowship on October 18. At 6:30 p.m. we will enjoy a barbecue dinner followed by a time of entertainment as “Patsy Cline” will be here with us. And it’s all FREE! Our regular classes will meet at 5:30 as usual and conclude just in time for the fellowship. If you are not participating in one of our classes this quarter, simply arrive in the Fellowship Hall at 6:30, ready for the fun!

Have a great week!

Ramblings--20090928

2009-09-28T11:57:00.001-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Monday, September 28, 2009

A Good Day of Worship
I really was blessed by our worship time yesterday, especially when we opened up to the congregation the opportunity to share spontaneous “Words of Praise.” How wonderfully inspiring it was to hear a dozen or more people pop up from their seats (or speak from her wheelchair, in Sylvia’s case) to share a sentence or two of praise for our great God. From time to time we do this, and sometimes I am asked if I ask one or two members to begin the sharing. Though there would be nothing wrong with it, as it would give others a few moments to collect their thoughts—and I might do it if it took several moments to get started—I have never needed to do that. To me, these brief words of testimony were the highlight of our service.

Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet
In our seven part DiscipleLIFE Sermon Series, we are seeking to describe what a healthy disciple look like: there is balanced growth—head, heart, hands, and feet. In other words, a disciple LEARNS (head), a disciple LOVES (heart), a disciple SERVES (hands), and a disciple SHARES (feet). There are also stages of development: pre-birth, infant, growing, and mature.

Yesterday, we focused on the HEAD: Disciples Learn. A brief drama highlighted the problem when a part of our development is missing. We noticed several passages of Scripture that encourage us to know the Word and to use our minds. We looked at three habits that help us grow in the the HEAD: study the Word, receive training in ministry, and learn the disciplines that help us continually grow.

If you missed it, check it out on our website: www.clairmonthills.org.

This coming Sunday, our emphasis will be on the HEART: Disciples Love.

Live on 90% for 90 Days
Are you taking the challenge? Our Finance Committee is taking the lead from the Bible to challenge those who do not by habit tithe to try it for the months of September, October, and December. “Test me in this,” says the Lord. (See Malachi 3.6-12).

Prayer Is Powerful and Effective
That’s what the Bible says. So, why is it that people flock to concerts and other special events but prayer meetings are more often than not poorly attended? Does something have to have a “wow” factor to be important? Do we not “feel” something during our times of prayer? Is it that our prayer times themselves are too mundane and not bold in approaching God for the needs of our land?

I encourage you to take advantage of times for corporate prayer in addition to your own time of private prayer. Each Wednesday night after Church Supper we gather as a church to pray at 6:15 p.m.—most often we are around tables and pray for the needs of each other. Those who would rather pray silently than aloud are never put on the spot, but everyone is offered the opportunity to voice to God the concerns of his or her heart. (Prayer time is followed by a brief Bible study and discussion time; presently we are looking at the parables told by Jesus.)

On Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m., a group meets in the Prayer Room (across from the All Purpose Room) for prayer. We filled the room up with eight people yesterday. We would love to overflow into a larger room as others come. We pretty much limit our prayer to the ministries of the day—our Life Groups (Sunday School Classes) and our Worship.

At the close of each Sunday morning service, our Deacon Ministry leads in a prayer time for any seeking prayer for themselves or others. You are invited to simply come to the front of the Worship Center (near the piano), and there are people who will pray with you about the needs you present.

There is also a Tuesday morning Men’s Prayer Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. in Conference Room 1. On a typical day we have a half dozen men who spend the first little while eating a sausage biscuit and having a time of fellowship, and then we turn our attention to prayer—for our church, for our nation, and for the sick and needy.

Can prayer become repetitive and even tedious at times? Yes, it can. So can eating, but most of us have not stopped. Jesus struggled mightily in prayer at times, which shows it is not always easy. Let me leave with the first verse of Luke 18. You can read the parable yourself if you wish. This verse simply tells the point he was trying to get across: “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

Prayerfully yours,

Fred O. Pitts

Ramblings--20090922

2009-09-22T17:49:00.001-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet
In our seven part DiscipleLIFE Sermon Series, we are seeking to describe what a healthy disciple look like: there is balanced growth—head, heart, hands, and feet. In other words, a disciple LEARNS (head), a disciple LOVES (heart), a disciple SERVES (hands), and a disciple SHARES (feet). There are also stages of development: pre-birth, infant, growing, and mature.

This past week we addressed the question: Are you really a disciple? We examined the challenging words of Jesus in Luke 9.23-27 and noted...

A real disciple understands the value of following Jesus.
A real disciple understands the cost of following Jesus.
A real disciple privately and publicly acknowledges Jesus as Lord.
A real disciple “follows” through daily.

If you missed it, check it out on our website: www.clairmonthills.org.

I hope you “passed the test,” as Paul alluded to in 2 Corinthians 13.5. This Sunday we begin looking at each of the elements of balanced growth. We start with the HEAD: A disciple LEARNS. What should an baby Christian know? What about a growing disciple? One who is mature?

And how do we learn? Come evaluate your own progress in this area with us this Sunday morning.

Live on 90% for 90 Days
Tom Jackson did a wonderful job this past Sunday morning with a testimony of God’s faithfulness. He shared that while he had been a regular giver for years, it was in midlife 35 years ago when he and his wife started to live on 90% of what God had given them—in other words, they began to tithe. He shared that not only did they have enough to live on but that God began to bless them in many other ways. He also shared how God gave him a peace he had lacked because he had known he “ought” to do so before but had not. This was another great testimony of how God blesses as we obey the principles of His word. I encourage you to join others in our fellowship—if it is not already your habit—by giving God His own first fruits and living on 90% for September through November. I hope that you will discover the joy of cheerfully returning to God a small portion of what He has given you, and that for you, like Tom, it will become a life-long habit!

Sunday Night DiscipleLIFE classes continue to grow!
Join the crowd this Sunday afternoon at 5:30. Adults have these choices:

A Life God Rewards, led by Steve Powell, meets in the Chapel.

Praying God's Word: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds, led by Ruth McClain, meets in the Media Library.

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis, led by me, meets in the Living Room. This class also welcomes the youth. This Sunday, come prepared to discuss the best known of the seven books, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Start reading today (turn off the tube!) and you will be read to join the discussion on Sunday.

Don’t forget to check out what we have for the children as I have shared those the past few weeks as well. The short version: Bible Drill and Story Time at 4:30 p.m.; His Kids choir at 5:30. Older children and youth handbells at 6:30. Call us for more information.

A Lot of Rain...
I joked on Facebook yesterday about changing my sermon for Sunday since I had been thinking of Noah so much lately! I was reminded by one of my “friends” to remember God’s promise not to end the world that way again.

God is faithful, and I am thankful that the worst of the storm seems over. Please remember, though, the many who have have been affected by the flood—especially those families who have lost loved ones. We can pray together for those, can’t we? Let’s do. And let’s remember that no matter how long the storm lasts, the sun will shine on us at last.

May God bless us all,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor

Ramblings--20090915

2009-09-15T16:43:00.001-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Thanks!!
This past Sunday, the church recognized our family on the occasion of our fifth anniversary here at Clairmont Hills. I would like to say thanks for your thoughtfulness and generosity. Terry Stephens’ words to Cindy and me were very kind and gracious. (Terry is chairman of our Personnel Committee.) We have been truly blessed in our time here together with you, and we feel very much at home. Our prayer is that God would allow us to continue here together with you for the foreseeable future. We are happy to be here!

Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet
This past Sunday, September 13, we began our DiscipleLIFE Sermon Series with an overview of the discipleship process. What does a healthy disciple look like? He or she has balanced growth—head, heart, hands, and feet. In other words, a disciple LEARNS (head), a disciple LOVES (heart), a disciple SERVES (hands), and a disciple SHARES (feet). There are also stages of development: pre-birth, infant, growing, and mature. We will continue to flesh this out over the next six weeks in an effort to help you measure your progress as a follower of Jesus.

Where are you? Where do you want to be?

This coming week we address the starting point question: Are you really a disciple? Come hear a strong message based on the very words of Jesus.

Live on 90% for 90 Days
Our Finance Committee is challenging all those who have not lately been in the habit of tithing to try it for three months (September, October, November) in accordance with God’s encouragement to test Him in this matter. So far, the response has been great the first two weeks. Let’s continue to honor God with the first fruits of all that He gives us.

Sunday Night DiscipleLIFE classes off to a great start!
We had more than 80 people involved in different classes for children, youth, and adults this past Sunday night. If you weren’t there, you can join up this Sunday! For adults, there are three choices:

A Life God Rewards, led by Steve Powell, meets in the Chapel.

Praying God's Word: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds, led by Ruth McClain, meets in the Media Library.

The Chronicles of Narnia, led by me, meets in the Living Room. This class also welcomes the youth. This Sunday, come prepared to discuss The Magician’s Nephew.

And for Children…
Over twenty children were involved in His Kids, our children’s music time, beginning work on a Christmas musical, “Dr. Newheart’s Christmas Cure.” Our intern Lydia Pitts is leading His Kids this year, which also meets at 5:30 p.m.

Want more Bible for your children? Don’t forget at 4:30 on Sunday afternoons, children in grades 4-6 can come to Bible Drill.

Also at 4:30 on Sunday afternoons, Goodybooks (Mrs. Helen) will have the Media Library open for story time for preschoolers and younger children.

Let me say it again: I am glad to be your pastor. Thanks again for five wonderful years.

God bless,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor

Ramblings--20090907

2009-09-07T10:55:00.002-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Monday, September 7, 2009

Yesterday
Labor Day Weekend is always a good end-of-summer opportunity for some to travel, but it has likewise become a treat for those who stick around. While attendance was somewhat down, as anticipated, our spirit for the day was great. Teresa Royall from the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministries) at Georgia State University shared about her work as part of the annual State Missions Emphasis each September. BCM was an important part of spiritual growth for both Cindy and me--in fact, we met through BCM (called BSU in those days). Both Hannah and Lydia in our family have likewise profited from BCM, and as Teresa shared on Sunday, Lydia will return to GSU each week this semester to teach a Bible study for students. As part of the State Missions emphasis there is the opportunity to make a special offering that helps support not only BCM work on campuses all over our state but also other ministries such as the planting of new churches, etc. We also got to hear from Laura Brown in song, the first time in a while we have had the blessing of her singing.

We completed a short series in the Psalms by looking at David’s Psalm 19, where he reminded us that God’s work in creation reveals His divine power and that God’s word reveals to us His purposes. We ended with the challenge of David’s prayer in conclusion, of which one of our members remarked afterwards, “I was thinking how hard it is to say this and mean it.” If you have never had a similar thought, perhaps you should slow down and read it again: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Yahweh, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Yesterday afternoon we had our second annual Labor Day Picnic at Mason Mill Park, and we had over 80 in attendance. Whether it was the softball, eating, football, eating, bocci ball, eating, walking, eating, or sitting around and talking, I think I am safe in saying we all had a great time. I know I did, and I am sure I will be reminded of it with soreness for a day or two. Thanks to the Fellowship Team for their work in all of this.

Live on 90% for 90 Days
September is here, so don’t forget our “90% for 90 Days” stewardship emphasis, in which our Finance Committee is challenging all those who do not tithe to try it for three months (September, October, November) in accordance with God’s encouragement to test Him in this matter.

Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet
Beginning this coming Sunday, September 13, I be seeking to help all us evaluate where we are in our growth in following Jesus. Jesus says that He came to give us life, and we will find the most joy in that life when we are experiencing balanced, consistent growth. Come see how we will speak of this in terms of Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet. This DiscipleLIFE emphasis is designed to be a simple but useful tool in measuring your progress in your journey with Jesus, both now and in the future. It will not only be used in evaluation of our lives but the ministry of our church as a whole, including our Life Groups (Sunday School classes).

This would be a great opportunity for inviting a friend.

Sunday Night DiscipleLIFE classes begin Sunday Night
Our fall program will resume in earnest this coming Sunday, and we will have three classes from which adults can choose:

A Life God Rewards
Led by Steve Powell, meets in the Chapel

An eight-week interactive Bible Study based on the book by best-selling author and teacher, Dr. Bruce Wilkinson. This in-depth study will explore startling statements Jesus made about our eternal future and students will learn how these surprising truths can dramatically change life for the better, now and forever. Each participant will receive a 64-page study guide, and each session will include a video segment by Bruce Wilkinson and group discussion.

Praying God's Word: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds
Led by Ruth McClain, meets in the Media Library

Based on the book by Beth Moore, Praying God’s Word is the perennial favorite Scripture-prayer resource designed to help us decisively overcome specific strongholds: pride, idolatry, addiction, loss, depression, unbelief, temptation, and more.

The Chronicles of Narnia
led by Pastor Fred Pitts, meets in the Living Room

This is an eight-week discussion of the seven children’s books by C. S. Lewis. Perhaps the best known of these is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Why do I say that this set of books is my favorite of all for spiritual growth outside of the Bible? Come find out and discuss your own thoughts. We will read a book a week, which is easy because of their length. The first week will be an overview. If you need a set of books, let me know, and we can order you a set for $25, but we will have to do so this week! Send me an email to fred@clairmonthills.org by tomorrow (Tuesday). You may also find the series in libraries or at local bookstores in the children’s section.

And for Children…
On Sunday evening at 5:30, His Kids (children’s choir) will begin work on a Christmas musical, “Dr. Newheart’s Christmas Cure.” Many of the children have already previewed it and are already excited about its start. If you want your children involved, it would be good for them to be present the first week if at all possible.

At 4:30 on Sunday afternoons, Sue Rother will once again lead out in Bible Drill. Do you want your children to become more familiar with the BIble as a whole and the main message of the Bible in particular? Talk to Sue for more about this opportunity.

Also at 4:30 on Sunday afternoons, Goodybooks (Mrs. Helen) will have the Media Library open for story time for preschoolers.

I am glad to be your pastor. I look forward to seeing you Sunday. Have your Bible in one hand and the hand of a friend in the other!

God bless,

Fred O. Pitts

Ramblings--20090901

2009-09-02T22:19:00.001-04:00

CHBC Ramblings 
Tuesday, September 1, 2009

This Past Week
Even with my faux pas of announcing last week that my sermon would be entitled “Money Matters,” we had a good crowd of over 180 in worship. I was very encouraged by all of you who told me how inspiring the entire service was. A big part of that was the testimony shared by Philip Karl, the chairman of our Finance Committee. He shared his ups and downs in life and how God has always been with him, never leaving him nor forsaking him. He did know that verse would be part of the passage I would be preaching from, but it was another reminder to me of that very truth: He is always with us. While the message included some explanation of what the Bible teaches about tithing, the scope of the message was far broader—how God wants us to view and handle money in general. He is not just interested in the portion in the offering plate; God wants to show each of us how to be wise in the way we live our entire lives and the key to it all is finding our securing in God, not in money. I hope that all of us will commit, as the Finance Committee has challenged us, to live on 90% for 90 days so that we might observe God’s faithfulness to us as a church.

Sunday night featured “An Evening of Hymns,” and for those who were here, it was a wonderful time of worship. For this particular service, I selected eleven that are among my favorite hymns in four categories: Hymns of Praise, Hymns of the Word, Hymns of Testimony and Faith, and Hymns of the Gospel (Death, Resurrection, Eternal Life). I shared why each was among my favorites and what each hymn has contributed to my own faith. We will do this again; maybe next time you can pick the hymns!

This Coming Sunday
Except for this past Sunday’s message to kick off our “90% for 90 Days” stewardship emphasis, I have been preaching throughout August on some of the psalms. I will conclude that series this Sunday with a look at Psalm 19 as we consider “God’s Work and God’s Word.”
Also Sunday morning, we will welcome Teresa Royall, one of the campus ministers at Georgia State University, who will share a brief testimony of her work. Each September, we take a special offering for State Missions, and the emphasis this year is on Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM). I have known Teresa for many years, and BCM—or BSU, for those of us who knew it by the older Baptist Student Union name—was for me a great catalyst for spiritual growth during my college years. Please consider giving a bit extra sometime in September to this State Missions Offering.

Church Picnic Sunday Afternoon
This weekend is also Labor Day weekend, and we will be enjoying our second annual Church Picnic at Mason Mill Park from 4-8. Come any time and stay as long as you like, but we will eat at 6:00 p.m. The church will provide the burgers and dogs; please bring a side dish or dessert to share. Bring a ball glove or a game if you like; don’t forget a folding chair, either. We will have use of the pavilion as last year. Let’s have a good time of fellowship together.

Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet
Beginning September 13, I be seeking to help all us evaluate where we are in our growth in following Jesus. Jesus says that He came to give us life, and we will find the most joy in that life when we are experiencing balanced, consistent growth. Come see how we will speak of this in terms of Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet. This DiscipleLIFE emphasis is designed to be a simple but useful tool in measuring your progress in your journey with Jesus, both now and in the future. It will not only be used in evaluation of our lives but the ministry of our church as a whole, including our Life Groups (Sunday School classes).

Sunday Night DiscipleLIFE classes begin September 13
Our fall program will resume in earnest the week after Labor Day weekend, and we will have three classes from which adults can choose:

A Life God Rewards 
Led by Steve Powell, meets in the Chapel
An eight-week interactive Bible Study based on the book by best-selling author and teacher, Dr. Bruce Wilkinson. This in-depth study will explore startling statements Jesus made about our eternal future and students will learn how these surprising truths can dramatically change life for the better, now and forever. Each participant will receive a 64-page study guide, and each session will include a video segment by Bruce Wilkinson and group discussion.

Praying God's Word: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds 
Led by Ruth McClain, meets in the Media Library
Based on the book by Beth Moore, Praying God’s Word is the perennial favorite Scripture-prayer resource designed to help us decisively overcome specific strongholds: pride, idolatry, addiction, loss, depression, unbelief, temptation, and more.

The Chronicles of Narnia 
led by Pastor Fred Pitts, meets in the Living Room
This is an eight-week discussion of the seven children’s books by C. S. Lewis. Perhaps the best known of these is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Why do I say that this set of books is my favorite of all for spiritual growth outside of the Bible? Come read and discuss. We will read a book a week, which is easy because of their length. The first week will be an overview. If you need a set of books, let me know, and we can order you a set for $25, but we will have to do so this week!

And for Children…
On Sunday evenings at 5:30, His Kids (children’s choir) will begin work on a Christmas musical, “Dr. Newheart’s Christmas Cure.” Many of the children have already previewed it and are already excited about its start. If you want your child involved, make sure they come on the 13th.
At 4:30 on Sunday afternoons, Sue Rother will once again lead out in Bible Drill. Do you want your children to become more familiar with the BIble as a whole and the main message of the Bible in particular? Talk to Sue for more about this opportunity.

Don’t forget also that we have Wednesday night Children in Action (CiA) at 6:00 p.m. Come on at 5:30 for the Fellowship Meal, but don’t forget to make a reservation.

My daughter Lydia is starting a year as a volunteer Children’s Intern this month, and she will be leading His Kids and CiA.

Whew! That’s a lot of Rambling for one week, and I am sure I could have added more. Congratulations to those of you who made it all the way to the end!

God bless,
Fred O. Pitts

Ramblings--20090425

2009-08-27T20:10:00.000-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Wednesday, August 26, 2009

This Past Week
I loved this past Sunday! First, I got to preach on one of my favorite passages of Scripture, Psalm 139. If you didn’t need the message of encouragement it gave, I did! Admittedly, it is sometimes hard to believe that God cares for us as much as indicated in that psalm, but He does. Let’s not believe the lies that others tell us, that Satan uses to deceive us, and that we hear in our own thoughts. Instead, let’s believe God when He says that He loves us and He thinks of us constantly. Like David, let’s allow the truth of God’s care to motivate us to follow the “way everlasting.”

Last Sunday night was a great time of fellowship. About 175 gathered to have ice cream and share or watch others share their talents. Our “Build Your Own Sundae” and “Talent Show” has become an annual favorite in the past few years. After the day was over, I was “worn out”! (I guess you had to be there.)

This coming Sunday
I will preach this Sunday on the topic, “Money Matters.” We will also hear a testimony of God’s faithfulness from Phil Karl, the chair of our Finance Committee. This committee is taking the lead from God’s word in Malachi to challenge us to live on 90% of our income for 90 days if we have not already learned the blessing of tithing:

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3:10-12 (NIV)

Generally, we are told not to test the Lord. In this passage, He invites us to do so! I hope you will join me in seeing what God will do. This is not an emphasis on money; it is part of our emphasis on discipleship.

Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet
Speaking of discipleship, in the next few weeks I be seeking to help all us evaluate where we are in our growth in following Jesus. Jesus says that He came to give us life, and we will find the most joy in that life when we are experiencing balanced, consistent growth. Come see how we will speak of this in terms of Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet. This DiscipleLIFE emphasis will begin September 13 and is designed to be a simple but useful tool in measuring your progress in your journey with Jesus, both now and in the future.

And there is more...
Our annual church picnic will be on the Sunday night of Labor Day weekend at Mason Mill Park from 4 till 8. We will eat at 6. On September 13, we start Sunday evening classes at 5:30 p.m. Adults will have three choices—look for your Courier for details.

That’s all for now...

God bless,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor
Clairmont Hills Baptist Church
1995 Clairmont Road
Decatur, GA 30033
404.634.6231 Office
404.634.6062 Fax
www.clairmonthills.org

Ramblings--20090818

2009-08-18T16:49:00.003-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Tuesday, August 18, 2009

“I’m Back!!”
Playing “catch up” the last couple of weeks after time away, I haven’t done any “Rambling,” but I am back at it today. A couple of you told me you missed it; I assume the rest of you were just glad for the respite.

The Past Couple of Weeks
For me, the last few Sundays have been special. We had the opportunity to baptize a young lady who has been drawing closer to this decision since the spring, when she and her parents began worshiping with us. In fact, her parents, also joined our church the day Michaela was baptized. This past Sunday, our church planters, Bill and Kitti Murray, also officially joined our fellowship.

His Kids, our music program for children, met on Sunday evening for a preview of a Christmas musical they will undertake this year. About eighteen children were there, the highest we have had in the past few years. My daughter Lydia will be leading His Kids this fall and will be working as an unpaid Children’s Ministry Intern for us this year following her recent college graduation until she enrolls in seminary next fall. (More information on that will be given at church conference tomorrow night.)

By the way, we give a huge thank you to Laura B. who has built a great foundation in the past couple of years in His Kids but needed to step down for this year.

This coming Sunday
I have been preaching from some of my favorite Psalms the past two weeks— Psalm 8 and Psalm 73. This Sunday I will draw from the longest Psalm of all (Psalm 119) but will really concentrate on several passages of Scripture that speak of Light as a metaphor for our faith and our lives. I hope you will be there.

Sunday night will feature an annual fun event in our Community of Faith, Hope, and Love—the “Build Your Own Sundae” and “Talent (?) Show.” It all begins at 5:30 in the Fellowship Hall. Let’s come together to enjoy each other’s company, be amazed at some talent, and laugh together.

This Fall
Beginning September 1, our Finance Committee is taking the lead from God’s word in Malachi to challenge us to live on 90% of our income for 90 days if we have not already learned the blessing of tithing:

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3:10-12 (NIV)

Generally, we are told not to test the Lord. In this passage, He invites us to do so! I hope you will join me in seeing what God will do.

Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet
Also in September, I be seeking to help all us evaluate where we are in our growth in following Jesus. Jesus says that He came to give us life, and we will find the most joy in that life when we are experiencing balanced, consistent growth. Come see how we will speak of this in terms of Head, Heart, Hands, and Feet. This DiscipleLIFE emphasis will begin September 13 and is designed to be a simple but useful tool in measuring your progress in your journey with Jesus, both now and in the future.

More to Come…
There is much more coming. We will announce next week our classes for Sunday evenings beginning on September 13. Also, I will be reminding you about our Church Picnic on the Sunday night of Labor Day weekend. So stay tuned.

Lord willing, I will see you Sunday. Bring someone with you if you can.

God bless,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor

Off to College

2009-08-15T20:30:00.006-04:00

It's raining outside. It matches my mood.

I did really well today helping Rebekah, my fourth child (and fourth daughter), move into her dorm at a school a little over a hundred miles away. We exchanged pleasant words, meaningful hugs, prayers, and some last minute words of wisdom. I wasn't really sad.

Until I left.

Cindy and Lydia and Memaw stayed a couple of hours longer than Fred O and I did, and not long after we pulled out, Lydia sent me a text: "Beks cried when you left. Just to let you know."

It began to hit me right about that point.

I called Bekah a little later and had a brief conversation.

The worst thing, though, was walking into her room at the house. Now, it really wasn't the room itself, because we just moved into another house three months ago. Another thing that made it different: it was clean!

No, it was the symbolism of the room being empty!

It was then that tears began to well up in my eyes. They continue to well up, even as I type. I am glad Rebekah gets to go off to college, and I know that it will be a terrific adventure in life for her--a bend in the road--and I am happy for her. However, tonight I am sad for me. I miss you already, Rebekah. I love you so much.

Both Rebekah and Lydia performed Thursday night at our church fellowship hall. Lydia, who just graduated from Georgia State with a degree in creative writing, read a story she had written for a class. While fiction, it included a lot of true things from our family. It was wonderful.

Rebekah repeated her senior project in drama and music from Artios Academies. It too was wonderful. At the end, I presented to her a diploma from our home school, and I gave her a little booklet I made for her, "Dad's Instruction Book for College." She was excited to receive it. In it, I gave her about 20 statements of "wisdom," some serious, some hoping to be humorous. I ended with a sum up statement: "Obey God. (Out of your love for Him.)"

I think she will. I am proud of her and all of my children.

But tonight, I am especially missing Rebekah.

Ramblings--20090714

2009-07-14T16:17:00.002-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Tuesday, July 14, 2009

This past Sunday
Worship always seems extra special any time we observe communion or celebrate baptism, and this past Sunday was no exception as we had both of these as elements of our service. We baptized Grace Tolentino, who made her profession of faith after this year’s VBS.

The theme of the worship time was love. The baptism and Lord’s Supper reminded us of God’s love for us, and we were led by the Scriptures to remember that in response to God’s love we should love for one another. The message was from 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul reminded the church there that everything else means nothing without love. You can have wonderful spiritual gifts, great faith, and tremendous sacrifice—but none of these spiritual accomplishments profit you a bit if not combined with and motivated by love. In that chapter, Paul also gives us a wonderful descriptive definition of love so that we can recognize if we are truly growing in love. (Are you patient? Are you kind? etc.) While other things will disappear, “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.”

We welcomed several new members also on Sunday! James and Chris Westberry joined our fellowship by letter. They have already become well known to many of us. Their granddaughter, Michaela Rhodenhiser, also made her profession of faith on Sunday. She was another who had expressed interest in becoming a believer during VBS, and I had the pleassure to talk with her recently along with her dad and mom, Joe and Sheranda, about her decision to follow Jesus. Lord willing, we will baptize Michaela on August 2.

Finally, we officially welcomed a couple we have had as “unofficial” members for some time: Bill and Helen Caudle. What a wonderful Christian couple they are, and we are glad to have them with us. As you probably know, Helen has been ill for some time, and after months of receiving care in the hospital and at A. G. Rhodes, she is back home but not yet able to return to church. While we have had many join by “letter” over the years, their joining may be a first—since they were not able to be here in person, they joined by email!

This coming Sunday
About 15 of us will leave on Saturday to return to Hurley, NY, for a mission trip to assist Pastor Pete Shults and Cross Pointe Fellowship for our third and perhaps final year. While most of the team will return to Atlanta the following Saturday, I will remain a few more days, taking a week of my annual study break. Pete and his church are gracious enough to provide me a place to stay without charge, so that is helpful to us all. In my absence, you will have the privilege of hearing Bill Murray on July 19, and Steve Powell, our Minister to Senior Adults, on July 26.

If possible, I will send the Ramblings as an update from NY, but I will have to wait and see.

Sabbatical month continues
Don’t forget—during the month of July, we will have our regular Sunday morning activities of study, fellowship, and worship, but we will take a sabbatical on Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings. In other words, there will be no activities during those evenings. And most monthly meetings “take off” for the month of July. (Of course, the office will be open as usual.)

Blood Drive Report
If you weren’t here Sunday, you also missed Fred Fletcher’s report on the Red Cross Blood Drive last week sponsored by our deacons. This was our first blood drive in several years, and we had about 35 participants! While that is what Fred hoped for, it was well beyond the minimum of 20 hoped for by the Red Cross. Not only did our members participate, but our marquee prompted several to participate from the community. It was great to see our church members welcome and befriend our neighbors as well as the Red Cross workers. And while I may have gotten light-headed, I did NOT pass out—I can’t wait to find out who started that rumor! Jesus gave His blood that we might have eternal life; I think it is great when we can give some of our blood to help with someone’s life here on earth. We hope to have a drive a couple of times a year, so keep your ears and eyes open.

God is doing some wonderful things in our midst.
Don’t miss them!

God bless,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor

Ramblings--20090706

2009-07-06T15:42:00.003-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Monday, July 6, 2009

This past Sunday
Yesterday, July 5, we reflected upon the blessings we have from God by being citizens of the United States. While our crowd was smaller than usual (but “usual” for a July 4th weekend, I guess!), we had a good spirit as we celebrated our blessings and had a time of meditation and prayer for our county. My message, Issues and Ideas, was well received as we considered the question, as we listen to both politicians and to Christian leaders advocate their positions on issues, Who Speaks for God? I shared three principles that I seek to follow as I try to decide where to stand on an issue:

1. Enter with humility and respect, realizing that sometimes Christians have been wrong on stands in the past;
2. Search the Scriptures carefully, both before and then after listening to the discussions and debates on all sides; and
3. Take personal responsibility for the stands you take.
Sorry if you missed the service—you even missed a “once in a blue moon” event: we dismissed right before noon!

This coming Sunday
I hope that we will jump back up in attendance as folks get back from their travels. I anticipate a special service as we celebrate both baptism and communion. (And don’t forget that we give an opportunity for a special benevolence offering after a service featuring communion.) I will be bringing a message entitled, “The Greatest of These Is Love.” Don’t just come—bring someone with you.

Sabbatical Time in July
Don’t forget—during the month of July, we will have our regular Sunday morning activities of study, fellowship, and worship, but we will take a sabbatical on Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings. In other words, there will be no activities during those evenings. And most monthly meetings “take off” for the month of July. (Of course, the office will be open as usual.)

Mission Trip to NY
For the third and perhaps final year, some of our church members will be traveling to Hurley, NY, to assist the Cross Pointe Fellowship under the leadership of Pastor Pete Shults. Our departure day will be Saturday, July 18, with most of the team returning the following Saturday. I will remain a few more days, taking a week of my annual study break. Pete and his church are gracious enough to provide me a place to stay without charge, so that is helpful to us all. In my absence, you will have the privilege of hearing Bill Murray on July 19 and Steve Powell on July 26.

Blood Drive
There is still time to get involved with the Red Cross Blood Drive. It will be held this Thursday, July 9, in the All Purpose Room, and I have signed up along with many others. If you haven’t yet signed up, will you consider it? But hurry! We have spots available from 2:30-7:30 p.m., so call the church office at 404.634.6231.

God bless,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor

Ramblings--20090630

2009-06-30T20:42:00.002-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

This past Sunday
This past Sunday, I concluded a seven-part series entitled, Foundation for Families. If you missed one or more of the messages, go online to our website (www.clairmonthills.org) to listen, or you can call the church office (404.634.6231) to request free CD’s.

We welcomed two new members on Sunday! Grace Tolentino, daughter of Tim and Melissa and sister of Hope, made her profession of faith in Jesus following Vacation Bible School. She talked to her mom, who prayed with her about the decision. They then came up to discuss her decision with me. I am excited that we will baptize Grace on July 12.

Mike Sigmon, husband of our member Sandy, also joined on Sunday. He has been a pastor for many years and has recently come to the end of a pastorate. He is no stranger to us and wants to join us while he prayerfully considers his future ministry opportunities.

Welcome, Grace and Mike. We are glad to have you both in our fellowship.

Coming Up: Celebrating the U.S.A.!
This Sunday, July 5, will be a time for thanking God for the freedoms we enjoy in our country and praying for all of the challenges we face as a nation. It can be a difficult balance at times to be Christians in our country. We highly value our religious liberty (with the separation of church and state), but we don’t want to give up our right to have appropriate influence in helping to shape our society in a democratic-based republic. How do we deal with some of the most difficult questions that seem to lie right in the middle of these sometimes competing values? This Sunday, I will raise more questions than I will answer in a message entitled, Issues and Ideas, but I hope it will help you think more about both the privileges and responsibilities of following Christ in the United States.

The Men’s Quartet will sing a patriotic song for us, and we will all sing some of our favorite hymns of God and country. I know that many use this time of year for travel, so please be here if you are in town.

Sabbatical Time in July
Don’t forget—during the month of July, we will have our regular Sunday morning activities of study, fellowship, and worship, but we will take a sabbatical on Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings. In other words, there will be no activities during those evenings. And most monthly meetings “take off” for the month of July. (Of course, the office will be open as usual.) Since tomorrow (Wednesday) is July 1, remember that we will NOT meet this Wedesday night.

Finances
Even in the midst of a difficult year, we are about parallel to where we were last year at this time, so I thank you for your faithfulness. At this juncture, we have spent more than we have received, as is often the case. (Since December is historically our best month, we normally begin the year, as we did this year, with a surplus, so we are not spending more than we have!) With summer here, though, I want to encourage you to continue your faithfulness in your tithes and offerings and to “catch up” when you return from your travels. As a church, we need to “catch up” our giving with our spending and get ahead as we move into the second half of the year. Our Finance Committee will be bringing us some updates of where we are and where we need to be in August.

Blood Drive
Our Deacon Body is sponsoring a Red Cross Blood Drive for next Thursday, July 9, and I have signed up along with many of you. We still need about a dozen, though, to meet our goal. If you haven’t yet signed up, will you consider it? And since this is designed to be a community project, could you encourage a friend or neighbor to sign up as well? We have spots available from 2:30-7:30 p.m., so sign up Sunday or call the church office at 404.634.6231. Hey, you will not only be helping many in need, but you’ll also get a free t-shirt!

God bless,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor

Ramblings--20090424

2009-06-24T15:53:00.003-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Foundations for Families concludes this Sunday
This will be the last of seven messages in our Foundation for Families series. It has been a challenge for me to teach and to seek to put into practice these principles in my own life, and I hope that it has been helpful for you. If we don’t rebuild the foundations for our families, who knows what the next generation will hold? Here are some questions for you: What one thing will you adopt into your family life because of the messages from God? What attitude have you changed because of being reminded of God’s plan for your life and your family?

This Past Sunday
I enjoyed this past Father’s Day—both the service and the time with my own family. It was special to hear Bobby McGuire share some of the stories of his father as a testimony in our worship. What a blessing to have a great example as he did in his father! And I hope all of us fathers were reminded of the great need to pass on a wealth of wisdom to our children. Know someone who needs to hear that message? It can be downloaded in the next few days from our website (www.clairmonthills.org), or a CD can be requested without charge from the church office.

Sabbatical Time in July
Don’t forget—during the month of July, we will have our regular Sunday morning activities of study, fellowship, and worship, but we will take a sabbatical on Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings. In other words, there will be no activities during those evenings. And most monthly meetings “take off” for the month of July. (Of course, the office will be open as usual.) Tonight (June 24) will be the last Wednesday night for our fellowship meal and weekly activities until August.

A Personal Note
My family and I went to Thomaston, my hometown, last Saturday for my dad’s 80th birthday. It was great to see him, my family, and many old friends. I am grateful that my dad taught me many of the lessons we talked about from Proverbs on Sunday morning. For instance, he really excelled in teaching me about wise financial and business dealings, and he truly taught me the value of hard work. Of the latter, he would say that I have never done any of it myself (and he may be right), but at least I did learn the value of it!

God bless you,

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor
Clairmont Hills Baptist Church

Ramblings--20090617

2009-06-17T16:09:00.002-04:00

CHBC Ramblings 
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Foundations for Families continues
This past Sunday I preached a message entitled Training a Child Through Godly Discipline as part of the current series, Foundations for Family. We emphasized the truth that corrective discipline is only one aspect of the discipline we need for life. While we did focus for a part of the message on corrective discipline, we spoke of the teaching and training aspects as well. If you would like to hear the message, go www.clairmonthills.org and look for “Webcasts” or call the church office for a free CD of the service.

This coming Sunday is Father’s Day, and I will preach to myself (and other fathers) a challenging message entitled A Godly Father. After that, there will be one final message in the series, Training a Child in the Way He Should Go.

Sabbatical Time in July
During the month of July, we will have our regular Sunday morning activities of study, fellowship, and worship, but we will take a sabbatical on Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings. In other words, there will be no activities during those evenings or during the week. (Of course, the office will be open as usual.) Why do we take this break? Several reasons. First, everyone needs a sabbatical from the “busy”-ness of life, and July is a time when a lot of our folks are traveling. Second, this year we are doing some repairs and resealing of our parking lot in July, and it is best to do this work in a down time. Third, many of us will be gone on our mission trip in July, and I will also take my annual study break during the month. Finally, a result will be some modest savings in our utility bill versus what it would have been, and this will be helpful in a year when the economy is struggling.

Please Be Here...
Take your place each and every week. And invite someone to worship with us this week. Everyone needs to be part of a community of faith, hope, and love, and that is what God is building here at Clairmont Hills.

The past few weeks I have closed with the question:
Aren’t you glad you are here?

If your answer is “YES!” (as is mine), there is another natural question: Won’t OTHERS be glad when they are here? And yet they may never find out unless you bring them.

God bless you,
Fred O. Pitts, Pastor 
Clairmont Hills Baptist Church 

Ramblings--20090609

2009-06-09T14:38:00.004-04:00

CHBC Ramblings 
Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Vacation Bible School FOLLOW UP
Our final enrollment in our evening VBS was 139 with an average attendance of 106, including the adults in our classes. We are excited to have met so many new families and their children. As a follow up with children, my daughter Lydia Pitts will start this Wednesday a class from 6:15-8:00 p.m. for those who have completed grades 1-6. The time together will include music, crafts, Bible stories, recreation, and library time. The Bible study will be on the Names of God. Help get the word out!

Foundations for Families continues
This past Sunday I shared the third and last message on marriage in this series based on Genesis 2.24. The first was Marriage: A Leaving, sharing the principle that marriage is to be the primary relationship of life for those who marry. The second was titled Marriage: A Cleaving, and we emphasized that marriage is to be a permant relationship for the husband and wife. Finally, we saw the result God intends from putting these into practice in Marriage: One Flesh – The Sanctity of Sex. In this message, we celebrated the overall unity that God designed for marriage and the gift of sex that symbolizes that total unity.

It’s always interesting to hear the feedback on any message; it is particularly so when you talk about a topic like sex! Many people expressed thanks that I had spoken about this important area of life and approached it from the positive side, emphasizing that it is a gift from God to be experienced in marriage. Others were thankful to hear a clear word from God on the subject since our world gives us so many wrong messages. A young couple passing through from South Carolina said their first anniversary was just a few days ahead and the message acted as a timely reminder for them of the importance of God’s design for marriage unity. A couple of my favorite responses, though, were the following: “Fred, do you realize how old most of us are in this church?” and “I hope you taped that message. You could sell that sermon!” To the latter, I responded that I didn’t think anyone would pay for it but that we do offer free CD’s to anyone who asks, and all of the messages are available free online at www.clairmonthills.org.

This coming Sunday I will continue the Foundations for Family series with a message called Training a Child Through Godly Discipline.

New Members!
This past week we also welcomed Jack and Vivian Conner into our fellowship. Jack and Vivian recently moved from Macon, Georgia, and they have been actively involved in Lawrence Drive Baptist Church there for several years. Besided that, they are Cindy’s parents (and my in-laws)! We are so happy to have them living nearby and so glad that they have joined our church. Thank you for welcoming of them, even as you welcome everyone who comes to our church.

Ramblings--20090602

2009-06-02T17:47:00.002-04:00

CHBC Ramblings 
Wednesday, June 2, 2009

Vacation Bible School
As I write this, we are at the half way point of our VBS “Boomerang Express,” and this year we are experimenting with an evening school. Besides having more workers available in the evening, we can also provide classes for adults. We already have 120 enrolled in the first two days with an average attendance of about 100 – and our adult attendance has been between 25 and 30 the two nights in the two classes we are offering for them. The children are enjoying the Australian theme and the study of the life of Peter. Pray for us during these last two nights, as VBS wraps up on Wednesday night. (By the way, Wednesday night meal for “regulars” will start as usual at 5:30. VBS attendees will eat at six. All classes will start at 6:30 on Wednesday this week.) Many thanks to Sue Rother for her leadership and for the dozens she has enlisted to help in VBS.

This Sunday: Foundations for Families continues
I will continue my series on the family with the third and last message on marriage based on Genesis 2.24. The first was Marriage: A Leaving, sharing the principle that marriage is to be the primary relationship of life for those who choose to marry. Last week, the message was titled Marriage: A Cleaving, and we emphasized that marriage is to be a permant relationship for the husband and wife. This coming Sunday, we will note the result of living out these two principles in Marriage: One Flesh – The Sanctity of Sex. In this message, we will celebrate the overall unity that God designed for marriage and the gift of sex that symbolizes that total unity. Too often we see nothing but the world’s view of sex; as the church, we must also share God’s truth about this powerful gift. While the misuse of the sexual relationship causes all kinds of hurt and problems, we will instead concentrate in this message on the blessing it is intended by God to be for those who are married.

While this will be the last marriage message, we will still have three more messages in our family series – two relating to parenting, and a message especially for dads on Father’s Day, June 21.

The Urban Atlanta Impact Initiative (UAII)...
is a partnership that includes the two local Baptist associations (we are part of the Atlanta Metro Baptist Association), the Georgia Baptist Convention, and the North American Mission Board. The mission of UAII is to start healthy, reproducing congregations inside the perimeter of Atlanta. (For more information on the need for this, go to uaii.info.) Currently, I serve as the team leader for the group. It was through this initiative that I traveled to Singapore last fall to observe church starting in multihousing contexts such as condominiums and apartments. For the past two years, our Ministry and Missions Team, under the leadership of Gene Ray, has been considering how our church might be involved in local church planting efforts. I am excited to be part of what God is doing, not only at Clairmont Hills, but throughout the area inside the perimeter. Let’s all pray that God would send a great awakening that will touch our city and beyond.

Aren’t you glad you are here?

God bless you,
Fred O. Pitts

Ramblings--20090527

2009-05-27T16:01:00.002-04:00

CHBC Ramblings 
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

This Past Week
Many thanks to Steve Powell for preaching in my absence. I understand that the entire service was wonderful, from the Memorial Day Remembrance to the Senior Adult Recognition. Dr. Bill Harris once again led a moving tribute to our veterans who have died since last Memorial Day--this year, the two were J. T. Reeves and Don Grisier, both of them friends to us all. Also, Fred Fletcher, our Chairman of Deacons, was given a special recognition by Steve for his work in ministering to our people in prayer and visitation, and it was recognition well deserved. The term “deacon” means “servant,” and that is a description of our entire body of deacons and deaconesses.

This Sunday: Foundations for Families resumes--and VBS!
I will continue my series on the family with the second message on marriage based on Genesis 2.24. The first was Marriage: A Leaving, sharing the principle that marriage is to be the primary relationship of life for those who choose to marry. This week’s message will be Marriage: A Cleaving, and we will discover a second great principle that helps marriage be the blessing God intends. The following week, we will note the result of these two principles in Marriage: One Flesh--The Sanctity of Sex. In that message, we will celebrate the unity that God envisions in marriage and the gift of sex that symbolizes the total unity. Too often we see nothing but the world’s view of sex; as the church, we must also share God’s truth about this powerful gift. While the misuse of the sexual relationship causes all kinds of hurt and problems, we will instead concentrate in this message on the blessing it is intended by God to be for those who are married.

VBS
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL will have a different look this year, as you have heard, and it starts this Sunday! As an experiment this year, our VBS will be offered on a new schedule with a broader format. The schedule is Sunday through Wednesday EVENING, May 31-June 3. Since it is in the evening, the format has been broadened to include classes for ADULTS as well as CHILDREN. Also, for the convenience of those attending, we will serve a meal each evening.
Here is the schedule:

Sunday, May 31: 4:30-8:30 p.m.  Monday-Wednesday, June 1-3: 6:00-9:00 p.m. (All times include meal times.)

Please don’t forget to pray for the workers and those who will attend, and also take every opportunity to invite others to participate. You can sign up at Sunday School, in the foyer before or after worship, in the church office, or online at www.clairmonthills.org.

A Personal Note...
Our family enjoyed a nice few days in St. Augustine, even though we were there during the recent “rainy season.” Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. We celebrated Rebekah’s 18th birthday while we were gone. We are so proud of her and all she has accomplished in finishing high school. In the fall she will be attending Anderson University in Anderson, SC. Wow! How time truly flies!

God bless you,
Fred O. Pitts

Ramblings--20090519

2009-05-19T10:48:00.002-04:00

CHBC Ramblings 
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

This Past Sunday
It was a great Sunday in so many ways! First, we had an opportunity to honor the High School and College Graduates who were able to be present: Amber Gutliph, Allie Odom, and Rebekah Pitts were our high school grads; Lydia Pitts and Cara Todd were our college grads (Lydia will actually graduate in August). Congrats to all of you and to the other graduates who were not able to be with us.

We continued our Foundations for Families Series with the first of three messages on marriage, looking at the three basic aspects we find in Genesis 2.24: “For this cause a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two will be come one flesh.” The first message was entitled, “Marriage: A Leaving” and addressed the principle that marriage is to be the primary relationship of life to the husband and the wife. We will take a week off from the series for Memorial Day Weekend, and we will continue the series on May 31 with “Marriage: A Cleaving.”

At the end of the Morning Worship time, it was my pleasure to introduce three new members of Clairmont Hills. Warren and Yvonne Roberts are returning to Clairmont Hills after over 25 years of being involved with another fine church in our area. We welcome them back among us; Warren is one of our charter members! Phil Kingston works in our area and has been worshiping with us for several weeks. While he made a decision to follow Christ many years ago while in college, he never had the opportunity to follow the Lord with a believer’s baptism, and it will be my pleasure to baptize Phil on May 31. Phil’s decision to become a part of our fellowship includes a heartfelt rededication of his life to following Jesus. It was a real pleasure to meet with all of these who have come into our fellowship and hear the stories of their walks with God.
In an interesting note, as the three were talking at the end of the service, Phil discovered that his mother had been a classmate with Warren, and the two had talked on the phone last year as Warren was helping to put together a class reunion--another example of “a small world.”

And the Vision Banquet...
Last, but not least, we had our Vision Banquet on Sunday night, and about 75 attended and participated. I was truly blessed to hear one after another of our members share ideas and dreams for our church. While we are still compiling all that was shared, both verbally and through the Response Sheet we distributed in Sunday School and at the banquet, one thing came through loud and clear: we are a people who delight in volunteering so that we can serve others, both within our church and in the community and world beyond. Our Leadership Team met last night to begin work; next month we will look more in depth as we have the full compilation of ideas. By the way, if you have not turned in a Response Sheet or were not here at all Sunday, drop by the office to pick up the sheet. There is still time for us to hear from you!
You will hear much more from the Vision Banquet in coming months as we plan for the future.

Thanks for your input!

This Sunday: Memorial Day Remembrance… and a Change!
Each year on Memorial Day Weekend, Dr. Bill Harris leads in a special time of remembrance for those veterans in our midst who have died since last Memorial Day. All of our veterans are asked to wear their uniforms if able, and they will march in together at the beginning of the service. We are grateful for the sacrificial service of all of our veterans.
There is also a change this Sunday that has been previously alluded to: I am going to postpone the next message in the family series for one week, and as we did last year on Memorial Day Weekend, we are going to focus on our wonderful senior adults during the message time. Steve Powell, our Minister to Senior Adults, will bring a message entitled “Encourage One Another” taken from Hebrews 10.23-25.

Upcoming
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL will have a different look this year: Sunday through Wednesday EVENING, May 31-June 3. And classes will not only be offered for children but for YOUTH and ADULTS as well! We will serve a meal each evening, and here is the schedule:
Sunday, May 31: 4:30-8:30 p.m.  Monday-Wednesday, June 1-3: 6:00-9:00 p.m. (All times include meal times.)

Please don’t forget to pray for the workers and those who will attend, and also take every opportunity to invite others to participate. You can sign up at Sunday School, in the foyer before or after worship, in the church office, or online at www.clairmonthills.org.

A Personal Note...
On the same week we moved into our house, Cindy’s parents, Jack and Vivian Conner, moved from Macon into a condominium near Northlake Mall to be closer to us. What a blessing to have them so near by! Have a great holiday weekend, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

God bless you,
Fred O. Pitts, Pastor 
Clairmont Hills Baptist Church 
1995 Clairmont Road
 Decatur, GA 30033 
404.634.6231 Office 
404.634.6062 Fax 
www.clairmonthills.org

Ramblings--20090512

2009-05-12T15:06:00.001-04:00

CHBC Ramblings 
Tuesday, May 12, 2009

This Past Sunday
It was Mother’s Day, of course, and we had a full service--we worshiped our Heavenly Father and honored our earthly mothers. We also had a Parent/Child Dedication time for Aaron and Kristy Kuglin and their firstborn, Caleb. What a joy it was to pronounce a blessing over this young man! Aaron, of course, is our part time Minister of Arts and Youth, and Kristy has been a leader among our young adults for over four years. It has been a pleasure to watch the Lord work in their lives as He first brought them to the place of marriage and now has blessed them with a child.

I also began a Family Series entitled, “Foundations for Families,” and the first message dealt with the Parent/Child relationship and what God says to each. This coming Sunday we will continue this series as we begin looking at marriage in three messages. The first is called, “Marriage: A Leaving.”

By the way, we often have meaningful and significant spiritual decisions made during our services that are shared with us through the use of the Communication Cards. At the right time, those decisions that need to be made public are shared with you, and you see that through a baptism perhaps or by the introduction of new members at the close of a service. We are grateful that so many of our guests use this method to share a prayer request, ask for more information about following Jesus or joining our church, or share decisions that they have made. Please pray for those who indicate spiritual inquiries or make spiritual decisions known through this manner. You also feel free to share with me in this way.

This Sunday is the Vision Banquet
We have been talking about the VISION BANQUET for several weeks, and here it is! I hope that every one of you will make a special effort to be in attendance as we eat together, “pot luck” style (that means bring some food to eat and share), and then spend some time looking at the “BIG PICTURE” of what God calls our church to be.

In the past few years, we have made some significant strides as we seek to join God in His revitalization of our church. We have added families. We have started new Sunday School classes. We have established new teams and committees. We have updated our facilities. All these things are wonderful! But from time to time we need to ask: Now what? Where do we go from here? What does God have for us in the days ahead? During the Vision Banquest, not only will I share some from my heart, but every person in the church will have an opportunity to share hopes and dreams for the future--and other input--both by briefly sharing an idea during the banquet and/or by completing a response sheet that will be available both during Sunday School this coming Sunday and at the Vision Banquet itself that begins at 5:30 p.m. this coming Sunday evening (May 17). Since we will be eating together and sharing, I expect that we will be together for a total of about an hour and a half or two hours--and I think it will be time well spent. The Leadership Team has been looking at the questions we are seeking to answer for several months, and we are anxious to get some feedback from you to help us in our planning for the months and years ahead. Let’s dream together!

Upcoming
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL will have a different look this year: Sunday through Wednesday EVENING, May 31-June 3. And classes will not only be offered for children but for YOUTH and ADULTS as well! We will serve a meal each evening, and I will have the specific times for you next week. Please don’t forget to pray for the workers and those who will attend, and also take every opportunity to invite others to participate.

This coming Sunday, May 17, we will also recognize the graduates who are among us.

On May 24, it is the Sunday before Memorial Day, and most of you know that on this day we have a special time of remembrance for those veterans in our midst who have died since last Memorial Day. All of our veterans are asked to wear their uniforms if able, and they will march in together at the beginning of the service. We are grateful for the sacrificial service of all of our veterans, and we are thankful for Dr. Bill Harris, who conducts this meaningful ceremony for us each year.

A Word about Finances
The past few months have been difficult ones in our economy on practically every level, and most all the churches of which I am aware have struggled along with the economy. We have been no exception. There have been times when our budget giving has been between $30,000 and $40,000 below what is needed to stay on budget. Two things have been helpful to use in managing this: first, we began this year with a surplus. Second, everyone has been doing their best to spend less than the budget. (Since we are not the government, we don’t get to print extra money!)

I am happy to share with you, though, that in the past three weeks we have had some exceptional offerings. Now, we always expect the first Sunday of each month to be the best, and so May 3 was no surprise, but God has blessed us also with better than normal offerings on April 26 and May 10. I am not sure where that places us in the big picture for the budget year yet, but I share this with you to say again that God is faithful, and I thank you, not only for your sacrificial giving in the past, but for your continued generosity in the weeks and months ahead.

Aren’t you excited...
about what the Lord has been doing in our midst? I surely am. And I look forward to sharing with you on Sunday, both in our morning service and in the Vision Banquet. It will encourage me to see you in your place--and to know that you have spoken to someone this week about the Lord and His church.

God bless you,
Fred O. Pitts, Pastor
 Clairmont Hills Baptist Church
 1995 Clairmont Road
 Decatur, GA 30033
 404.634.6231 Office 
404.634.6062 Fax 
www.clairmonthills.org

Ramblings--20090505

2009-05-06T22:48:00.002-04:00

CHBC Ramblings 
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

First up...
We are in the process of moving this week and had a good start yesterday. Our new address is 2236 Chrysler Court, Atlanta, GA 30345. I will be taking various days or half days of vacation in the next week or two as we transfer our stuff from one house to the other, but the church office can get in touch with me most any time. Because of that, I won’t ramble as much today!
Thanks for all the good wishes on the house!

This Past Sunday
We looked at the story of Job to see what we could learn about assisting others in times of tragedy and loss.

Here’s the outline:

What to do to show sympathy and comfort:
* Weep along with them (Job 2.12)
 * Don't be afraid of silence (Job 2.13) 
* Empathize when you can, sharing God’s comfort (2 Corinthians 1.3-7) (Warning: be careful of saying, “I know how you feel.”) * Sympathize when you can’t empathize (Job 2.11) 
* Deal carefully with questions of “Why?” 
* SUMMARY: Listen, and speak with care

What NOT to do:
* Don’t overreact to mixed emotions expressed 
* Don’t turn general principles into absolutes 
* Don’t absolve clear sin
 * And please be careful in saying, “It was God’s will.”
You may think that some of those points might need further explanation. If you missed hearing the message and would like to hear it all, you can call the office to request a free CD or go to www.clairmonthills.org and listen to the sermon online or download it. (Most sermons of the past year or two are there.)

Also, His Kids presented their spring worship concert for us on Sunday night, and it was wonderful! We are thankful for Laura Brown and her helpers, who include Mary Warren and Melissa Tolentino. It was great to see a dozen children praising God through song.

This Sunday
It’s Mother’s Day! Please come with your whole family as we honor our earthly mothers and worship our Heavenly Father.

We will also have the honor of taking part in a Parent/Child Dedication for Aaron and Kristy Kuglin and their son Caleb. You won’t want to miss this special time of blessing.
I will deliver a FAMILY SERIES starting this Sunday and ending on Father’s Day (June 21). I hope it will be an encouragement to us in this vital part of life.

By the way, no services Sunday evening because of Mother’s Day. Enjoy the day with your families!

Upcoming
The VISION BANQUET is coming soon--Sunday night, May 17, at 5:30. As far as the meal, It will be “pot luck,” so prepare your favorite dishes to bring with you, and I think you will enjoy the time.

What is the VISION BANQUET all about? I have been here for almost five years now, and we have made some significant strides. We have added families. We have started new Sunday School classes. We have established new teams and committees. We have updated our facilities. Where do we go from here? What does God have for us in the days ahead? Not only will I share some from my heart, but every person in the church will have an opportunity to share hopes and dreams for the future--and other input--both by briefly sharing an idea during the banquet and/or by completing a response sheet that will be available both during Sunday School on May 17 and at the Vision Banquet itself that evening. Let’s dream together!

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL will have a different look this year: Sunday through Wednesday EVENING, May 31-June 3. And classes will not only be offered for children but for YOUTH and ADULTS as well! More next week.

That’s it for today...
Let’s remember to pray for those in need. And don’t forget to invite someone to worship with us this week or in the weeks ahead. God bless!

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor 
Clairmont Hills Baptist Church 
1995 Clairmont Road 
Decatur, GA 30033 
404.634.6231 Office 
404.634.6062 Fax 
www.clairmonthills.org

Ramblings--20090428

2009-04-28T19:48:00.002-04:00

CHBC Ramblings 
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
By request, Sunday I repeated the presentation of the Sermon on the Mount. While it is obviously difficult for me to be the judge of any sermon I deliver from my own point of view, I was very gratified by the response. I have always been amazed by the reaction of people to this quoting of the Sermon on the Mount. Judging by the response from the several times I have shared this over the years, there is a huge difference in simply reading the sermon and experiencing it verbally. Matthew concludes the sermon by saying something that should have given us a hint about that: “When He had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority and not as one of their teachers of the law.”

It also gives insight to the words of Romans 10: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Yes, we have all been inspired by the written word, but we miss something powerful when we do not experience the spoken word. That is one reason we read Scripture aloud each week, and hopefully even regular sermons are used by God to build faith. Let’s remember that the answer to a weak faith is never to slack off on hearing the word preached; hearing the word is vital for both faith to be established and for faith to grow. How sad it is when people nurture their doubts by removing themselves from the spoken word!
We had 188 in Worship on Sunday, about the same as last week. Let’s make it our intention each week to love our neighbors and invite them to hear the word of God.

This Sunday
Everyone faces tragedies in their lives. Job faced major tragedies in a short amount of time. His friends gathered to sympathize and comfort. While that was their intent, their performance of that was a mixed bag. Do you feel the same sometimes? You want to comfort others in times of need but aren’t sure you know how? This Sunday we will talk about what to do to minister to others in times of need. In a few weeks, we will come back and look at what NOT to do. I hope you will be in the Worship Center for this message that will help your ministry skills.

This Sunday evening, our children’s choir (His Kids), who sang so well for us a couple of weeks ago on Sunday morning, will lead the evening worship. Please come to support these children and their leaders. We will meet in the chapel.

UPCOMING
I will deliver a FAMILY SERIES starting on Mother’s Day (May 10) and ending on Father’s Day (June 21). I hope it will be an encouragement to us in this vital part of life.

A VISION BANQUET is scheduled for Sunday night, May 17, at 5:30. More details will come next week, but please put it on your calendar now. It will be “pot luck,” so prepare your—I mean my—favorite dishes to bring with you, and I think you will enjoy the time. The May edition of the Courier will have more information. Let me just say now that I ask you to be asking God where we need to go in the days ahead to fulfill our purpose.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL will have a different look this year: Sunday through Wednesday EVENING, May 31-June 3. And classes will not only be offered for children but for YOUTH and ADULTS as well!

LAST CALL for MISSION TRIP!
Our Mission Trip to Hurley, New York is July 18-25 and is all construction-oriented this time. Your cost is $250, and that will be match by the church through our Legacy of Faith, Hope, and Love Missions Fund. Call Howard at 404.634.6231 or email him at howard@clairmonthills.org TODAY. THIS IS YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY!

I’m in Miami…
The North American Mission Board, who receives the Annie Armstrong fund that we have recently taken, invited me to spend Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in Miami as part of a learning experience for church planting and church growth in urban areas. Many of you know that I serve right now as team leader for the Urban Atlanta Impact Initiative (UAII), whose mission is to plant churches inside the perimeter (ITP) of Atlanta. In the past 30 years, the population ITP has grown by 150,000 to 850,000, but in the same time both the number of churches and the number of church members has dropped! I am excited to see what God is doing in our church; I also want us to be active in helping to start other churches ITP.
I spent most of today seeing what is happening in a Haitian community in Miami. How inspiring it was to see the commitment of these people to reach their friends and neighbors for Jesus. I hope to share more about how we might be involved in similar things during the Vision Banquet on May 17.

On a Personal Note
This Thursday, Lord willing, my wife and I will be closing on the purchase of a house along with my son-in-law Rick and my daughter Hannah. When I came as pastor, we were offered the possibility of living in a church-owned house or receiving a housing supplement to help us purchase a house. While we originally chose the latter, several circumstances made it seem the best move to revert to the former. Still, in an agreement with the church, it was stated that we could change that agreement by mutual agreement at some point in such a scenario as we were in position to buy a house some day. For the past three years, actually, the Personnel Committee has discussed several ways we might do something like that. However, in the past few months, Rick Rogers (our son-in-law) and Hannah (our oldest) approached us about buying a house together with them. In much shorter time than we had anticipated, a house that seems practically perfect for our families came to our attention on a Sunday afternoon drive. The end result is that we are purchasing it. It came along so quickly that, while we have talked to both the Personnel Committee and Leadership Team about it, we have not had the time to reach a “mutual agreement” about all the details. We sensed that we should pursue it and so for the time being have simply shared with the Leadership Team that we will be moving out of the house after the closing. Soon, the church will have to make a decision about the current house—whether to rent it, sell it, etc. The Leadership Team is studying that with a sub-team and will bring a recommendation at some point. Any other decisions that may be considered will come later. For now, the church simply needs to look at what to do with the house, at least in the short term.

Here’s the good news about the house: not only is it great for our families, but it is also even closer to the church building than our current house! It’s just two miles away, but I will wait until after the closing to share any more about it. Please pray for us as we make this move. Obviously, we love you and this area for us to pursue this, so you will know that I am being truthful when I once again end my ramblings with this remark:

I love being in Atlanta at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church!
May God bless you all!

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor 
Clairmont Hills Baptist Church 
1995 Clairmont Road 
Decatur, GA 30033 
404.634.6231 Office
 404.634.6062 Fax 
www.clairmonthills.org

Ramblings--20090421

2009-04-23T11:17:00.004-04:00

CHBC Ramblings
Tuesday, April 21, 2009

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Note: I have just started a weekly email called CHBC Ramblings and am posting it to my blog so it will actually have something on it these days! If you get the email, you don't need to read this. If you happen across it and would like to receive it each week in your email inbox, click on my profile, send me an email from there, and I will add you to the list! Since this is a weekly offering, I am sure that there will be some repeated items from one week to the next. Today's is my second email.

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Hi! I received a lot of good feedback from my first CHBC Ramblings. Everyone who responded (about 20 of you out of the 110 that I sent out) liked the idea, and many were very excited about the opportunity to know what is going on, especially when someone misses a week. In fact, some who received it have been out because of health issues for several weeks and said that it gave them a connection with what is going on.

Last week I got this out on Friday, but I hope to get it out most weeks on Monday or Tuesday, while the past Sunday is fresh on my mind.

The Completion of the GOSPEL OF JOHN
We came to the completion of our study of the Gospel of John this past Sunday as we studied one of my favorite passages: when Jesus let Peter know he needed to follow the plan He had for him no matter what others chose to do and no matter if it was a harder mission than others were given. Too many times we compare our lives with that of others instead of comparing our lives to what we could and should be! I can always find someone who makes my life look absolutely wonderful in comparison! But that is not what I am called to do—and it is not what you are called to do. We are called to compare our lives to the mission Jesus gives us. He says to each of us, “You must follow Me.”

If I counted correctly, that was my 45th sermon in the series, and it took (obviously) about a year. I hope the series helped you to know Jesus in a more intimate way. If you don’t have a Bible reading schedule right now, why not take the next month to read through John again on your own?

By the way, we had 187 in Worship this past week. I think by the fall, if we continue to reach out, we can start averaging about 200. How exciting it will be as we continue to see God revitatilize His church here! (And Mickey Carlton tells me that our Sunday School enrollment has crept back over 300. Keep us the good work.)
This Sunday: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
When I was in college, I began to memorize Scripture, and I got in the habit of memorizing passages rather than individual verses. My senior year, I began memorizing the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6, and 7 so I could meditate on it. I remember the first time I considered sharing it as a “message.” I was asked to speak to a youth group, and I wondered how quoting it would come across. I had another Bible study written out in case I chickened out, but at the last minute I took a deep breath and began, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” (No, I wasn’t in biblical garb on that first occasion.) Just as the people were amazed at Jesus’ teaching, I was amazed at the reaction! I discovered from them (and many others over the years) that to read the message is different from hearing it. (And that’s why I ask you NOT to open your Bibles during it. The whole reason for doing it is so that we can experience the sermon the way if was delivered, not to show off a word for word memorization.

This Sunday, April 26, I have been requested to repeat the presentation of the Sermon on the Mount. If you know people who have not experienced this, invite them to come.

On Sunday night, our Atlanta Metro Baptist Association will hold our 101st Annual Meeting, and I will be attending it. Steve Powell, our Minister of Senior Adults, will lead the evening service at 5:30. Last week, we had a really great group on Sunday night for our informal service. I invite you to join Steve this Sunday evening. Of course, there is choir for children and the Men’s Fellowship as well.
UPCOMING
The following week (May 3), I will bring you a message on ministering to others in times of tragedy. Often, we just don’t know what to say or do during those times. Let’s see what we can learn together, because God wants each of us to minister to others in times of trouble.

Also, our children’s choir (His Kids), who sang so well for us last Sunday morning, will lead the evening worship on May 3.

I will deliver a FAMILY SERIES starting on Mother’s Day (May 10) and ending on Father’s Day (June 21).

A VISION BANQUET is scheduled for Sunday night, May 17, at 5:30. More details will come, but please put it on your calendar now. It will be “pot luck,” so prepare your—I mean my—favorite dishes to bring with you, and I think you will enjoy the time. The May edition of the Courier will have more information when it comes out soon.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL will have a different look this year: Sunday through Wednesday EVENING, May 31-June 3. And classes will not only be offered for children but for YOUTH and ADULTS as well!
LAST CALL for MISSION TRIP!
Our Mission Trip to Hurley, New York is July 18-25 and is all construction-oriented this time. Your cost is $250, and that will be match by the church through our Legacy of Faith, Hope, and Love Missions Fund. Call Howard at 404.634.6231 or email him at howard@clairmonthills.org TODAY.

It’s Getting WARMER…
And that means it is time to turn ON the Air Conditioning. This means we cannot turn the heat on again until we change over again in the fall. So if we have another cold day, dress warmly.

That’s enough RAMBLING for today. I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in one hand and with a guest holding the other. As I said last week, I am sure that I will be experiementing with the length and format of this for the next several weeks. Your feedback is welcome. Again, if you don’t want to receive it, simply reply with the word UNSUBSCRIBE.

I am excited to be here and to watch what God is doing. In fact, I went back through and took out most of my exclamation points so I wouldn’t have too many. But the fact I had so many shows me to me how excited I really am.
I love being in Atlanta at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church!
(I left that one in.)

Fred O. Pitts, Pastor
Clairmont Hills Baptist Church
1995 Clairmont Road
Decatur, GA 30033
404.634.6231 Office
404.634.6062 Fax
www.clairmonthills.org

Ramblings--20090417

2009-04-17T18:35:00.002-04:00

I have not proven to be much of a blogger, but I decided today (after thinking about it for three months!) to send out a weekly email blast to members and friends of our church. Since some may not be on the list who stumble across the blog, I thought I would cut and paste it here. After all, my ramblings really will be a blog of sorts...

Here, then, is the first...

Friday, April 17, 2009

Dear Members and Friends of Clairmont Hills Baptist Church,

I have been thinking of a way to keep people informed about what is happening week to week at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church, and I have decided to try an email each week for a while to see how effective it is. To call it an email newsletter would be going too far. It will really be some ramblings I have, and so that’s what I decided to call it—CHBC Ramblings. (For those of you familiar with a certain school with which I have an affinity, it also fits in nicely from that point of view.)

If you have no interest in receiving this each week (and get tired of hitting the delete button), simply reply and tell me to “unsubscribe” you, and it will be done! I have no interest in sending you something you don’t want to receive. On the other hand, if after a few weeks, you like it and know others who might, tell them to let me know and I will add them to the list. Enough of the intro…let’s get to the Ramlings…

HOLY WEEK

What a wonderful time we had during one the most special seasons of the years for those who follow Jesus. Steve Powell started us off by preaching on Palm Sunday, and Pete Shults, the pastor of the church we partner with in Hurley, New York (CrossPoint Fellowship), also gave an update on the ministry there. We went from there with Good Friday Service, the Annual Egg Hunt, and Resurrection Sunday!

GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE

While the tornado watch undoubtedly kept some people away (and I understand!), those who attended once again affirmed the meaning of this special annual service. In fact, the weather reminded me that on the day Jesus was crucified, the sun refused to shine and darkness came over the land. The thunderstorms were a great enhancement to the mood of the day. I was told we had over 50 at the service, and it was moving as we celebrated communion, sang songs, and participated in Scripture. In fact, most of this year’s service was a dramatic reading of the Scripture telling the events of the Passover through the death and burial of Jesus. If you did not attend this year, please make a mental note now for next year!

EGG HUNT

Wow! We had about 200 people at the Egg Hunt, by far the most in my five years at CHBC! We had put out many more yard signs this year, and getting the word out brought the people out! Many of the first time guests were internationals. Besides all the fun of the “bounce house” (provided by Oak Grove Market once again) and the booths with games and activities and the lunch and the hunt itself, we had two incredible opportunities: first, to come face to face with people in our community to meet them and greet them and show them that we love our neighbors, and second, I had the joy of telling the children one of the stories that Jesus told—the one about the loving Father and the runaway son! We will take the information we received from families and follow up by sending a special invitation to our church and to Vacation Bible School.

RESURRECTION SUNDAY

The highlight of my week was the celebration of the risen Lord! Starting the service where the Good Friday service left off always heightens the joy for me. We also had a great baptismal celebration for Kimether Barlow, one of our young adults, and she had many family and friends join us for the day—most of them from out of state! (She shared with me later than some of them voiced their intentions to reconnect with the Lord, the Bible, and a church after spending time with Kimether and worshiping with us!) Taking the message from John 20, I had the opportunity to encourage everyone, with the words of Jesus, to “Stop Doubting…and Believe!” We had 248 in worship attendance! (Our average right now is probably about 170.) Many were new and several expressed on their Communication Cards the desire to learn more about the Lord and/or our church. More than any numbers, though, I think we had a great time of worship, and I base that on comments I received, not by my own biased opinion.

UPCOMING

This Sunday, April 19, I will complete my series of about a year through the gospel of John as we look at John 21. I have entitled the message, “Epilogue: Now What?” Even though Jesus had been raised, we see the disciples out fishing. Were they unsure as to what they were to do? Regardless, Jesus appears and gives some words that were not just applicable to them but also helps us know what we are to do after we meet the risen Christ through faith. In the evening service at 5:30, I will follow up with a message giving some insights as to how we learn to conclude God’s will for our lives.

Next Sunday, April 26, I have been requested to repeat the presentation of the Sermon on the Mount. If you know people who have not experienced this, invite them to come. And don’t open your Bible during it! (That’s about the only time you will EVER hear me say that!) The whole reason for doing it is so that we can experience the sermon the way it was delivered, not to show off any memorization!

I will deliver a FAMILY SERIES starting on Mother’s Day (May 10) and ending on Father’s Day (June 21).

A VISION BANQUET is scheduled for Sunday night, May 17, at 5:30. More details will come, but please put it on your calendar now!

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL will have a different look this year: Sunday through Wednesday EVENING, May 31-June 3. And classes will not only be offered for children but for YOUTH and ADULTS as well!

That’s enough RAMBLING for today. (But we had a busy week!) I hope to see you Sunday! And I am sure that I will be experiementing with the length and format of this for the next several weeks. Your feedback is welcome. Again, if you don’t want to receive it, simply reply with the word UNSUBSCRIBE. Feel free to forward this to someone and ask if they received it already. If not, have them send me an email so I can add their email address to my list.

I love being in Atlanta at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church!

Fred O. Pitts
Pastor, Clairmont Hills Baptist Church
1995 Clairmont Road
Decatur, GA
404.634.6231
www.clairmonthills.org

Baptizing

2008-09-01T19:40:00.002-04:00

Yesterday (on Sunday), I had the pleasure and privilege of baptizing three children from the same family. These three children (there is a younger one I hope to baptize some day in the future) have grown up in a fine Christian family, and each has made the decision to follow Jesus in their lives. For each of them, it was a very natural step. This family recently came into the life of our church. They had worshiped with us for about a year and made a decision after attending our Cornerstone Class (for those exploring the idea of church membership) to become a part of us.

(Membership in a church, by the way, is supposed to be more than a having a name on a roll. It means belonging to one another in a community of faith, hope, and love. The Bible says it this way: Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others (Romans 12.4-5 NIV). We join together as "members" of the body of Christ, giving Him hands and feet to accomplish His mission.)

Although these three children had made a decision to follow Jesus already, none of them had yet had a believer's baptism. A few weeks ago, I was invited to their home to discuss the idea of baptism, with the result of yesterday's baptism as part of our worship service.

As meaningful as that was for the family, those they had invited to share in it, for me, and for our church as a whole, there was an unexpected blessing to come.

That afternoon, my son-in-law Rick, a fine Christian young man (he turned 23 last week), asked me if I would baptize him today (Monday) in our neighborhood pool. Now, you may need a little background.

Churches with different traditions baptize at different times and in different ways. Most of our discussions of baptism in the body of Christ concentrate on the meaning (what it is about) and the mode (how you do it.)

The meaning of baptism has been debated for many centuries: Is it necessary for salvation? Is it a symbol? Is it a promise (so that infants are baptized)? Is it for believers?

There are also a variety of modes used for baptism: sprinkling, pouring, and immersion.

While both of these are important, in my mind, the meaning is the most important.

So, what is baptism? The only place to get the definitive answer, in my mind, is from the Bible. Any other source (church tradition, etc.) can only inform the decision. What do we learn about baptism from the Bible?

Baptism is a symbol—an important symbol—of the Christian faith (rather than a means of grace). In other words, it a sign that someone is a believer, not a magic elixir that confers eternal life. Peter writes, "...this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God" (1 Peter 3.21 NIV, emphasis mine).

Baptism is also for believers. The command that Jesus left his disciples that is the end of Matthew's gospel, says, in part: "Therefore go and make disciples, baptizing them..." (Matthew 28.19 NIV). Note that you make a disciple and then baptize him. That is also the pattern of the New Testament--people believe and then they are baptized. There are no infant baptisms in the Bible, because infants cannot believe.

The Bible also says, "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (Romans 6.4 NIV). It speaks of baptism symbolizing a new life, which shows repentance and faith have already occurred. Baptism, in the Bible, is for believers.

Why, then, do some baptize infants? While I could go into that, let me not make this post any longer than it needs to be. Let me just say that none of the defenses of the practice use the Bible. (Well, some use a creative parallel with circumcision, which is for infants, but note that in this passage, it really doesn't fly to make baptism for infants: "In him you were also circumcized, in the putting off off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead" (Colossians 2.11-12 NIV). Isn't it clear that the circumcision here comes when we believe have our sins forgiven?

The mode is also important and is related to the meaning.

How should we baptize? We do so by immersion, that is, by dipping one totally in the water, as opposed to sprinkling or pouring water on the person. You see, baptism is a wonderful symbol that communicates on three levels. Only baptism of believers by immersion encompasses all three.

First, baptism symbolizes the washing away of sin. As you can see, any mode of baptism can adequately show sins being washed away. However, the other two meanings can only be clearly communicated through immersion. Let's see how...

Second, baptism tells the story of Jesus—specifically his death, burial and resurrection. When one is placed under the water, it is symbolic of burial. When a person is brought out of the water, it proclaims the glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ! No other mode of baptism can convey this beautiful portrait of the gospel of Jesus.

Third, baptism tells the story of the new believer: the Scripture says (as previously quoted), “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6.4 NIV). When one is baptized, he or she is proclaiming, “The old me—who did not yet follow Jesus—is dead. There is a new me! I have been raised with Christ and am now following Him!” Again, the Bible says it best (in 2 Corinthians 5.17): “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” It’s kind of hard to see how others could understand baptism differently when they read the words of the Bible.

Now, back to my son-in-law Rick. He had become serious about being a believer in Jesus when he was a teenager. And he was baptized after that time. However, he was baptized by sprinkling and not by immersion. So, he had the meaning right--a believer's baptism--but the mode wrong--it wasn't by immersion.

As I said earlier, while both are important, the meaning (to me) is the more important.

Some people want others to be baptized just to conform to the teaching of the church they lead. I always want people to be baptized in the correct mode (and meaning, for that matter) because they are convinced that it is biblically correct. I am, therefore, patient, believing that baptism is best when done out of conviction that it is what God has in mind. The Ethiopian in Acts 8 asks to be baptized. Now, baptism is a command--make no mistake about that--but with different ideas, it makes sense to let people study the issue to be sure what it is all about.

I most times end a baptism by saying, "This is but water. What prevents you from being baptized?"

I am not sure how God motivated Rick to request baptism, but I know that it was born of his own decision that he wanted to have the right meaning and the right mode.

I mentioned that he wanted to know if I would baptize him in our neighborhood pool. I would have been privileged to do so. A cloudy and relatively cool Labor Day made us rethink. Knowing that the water from the previous day's baptism would still be in the baptistry at the church building, a group of us convened there. It was a special time.

Some wonder why such a big deal about a symbol. I guess I can ask why some people make such a big deal about a wedding ring. It's only a symbol, too! And as I often tell people when discussion the subject of baptism comes up: "Baptism is the wedding ring of the Christian life--a symbol of the commitment between Jesus and His 'bride,' the church."

Thanks, Rick. To paraphrase God the Father at the baptism of Jesus: You are my son-in-law, whom I love. With you I am well pleased!

What Is the Truth?

2008-07-28T22:48:00.003-04:00

My last post--about a month ago--was entitled, "The Truth Will Set You Free." And it will. But as we asked then, "What is truth?" We also mentioned that truth can be missed on either side of it--to the right OR to the left. We often miss at least a bit of the truth because of our own perspectives, and we must be very careful because of that.

For instance, a few years ago, my favorite team, Georgia Tech, beat our arch rivals (the university of georgia) in one of the most exciting games in history by the outlandish score of 51-48 in overtime. Now, uga was just about to score what would have been the winning touchdown. They were practically on our goal line. Rather than kick an easy field goal to win the game, they decided to run it in. Instead of the winning touchdown (which uga almost always scores at the end of the game to win), the official signaled a fumble and said that Tech recovered. We ran out the clock and won, as I said, in overtime. The fumble, however, was very controversial to some. For me, it was as clear as could be. Just because I was in the stadium in the upper deck on the opposite 40 yard line, and couldn't see underneath the pile, it was obviously a fumble! In fact, just about everyone wearing gold saw it as a fumble. Funny, anyone wearing red saw it as being down and a defender grabbing the ball after the runner was tackled. You get the point. We all are affected to some degree by our own perspectives.

That's why I often say to people, "There are at least two side to every story--and sometimes 5 or 6!" Sometimes it is honest. We say what we see, and we see from where we stand. At other times, hypocrisy or downright deceit enters into our telling selective facts and leaving others untold. We believe we should give our best spin and let someone else bring forth evidence of a different sort.

That's one reason I appreciate the Bible writers so much. The other week, as I continue preaching through the gospel of John, we were dealing with some of the absolutely ultimate claims that Jesus made about Himself and God the Father. I so much appreciate that John does not only give the claims of Jesus, but also states the objections from others to those claims. The example stated was in John 8 where his critics asked Jesus, "Aren't we right in saying you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?"

Don't get me wrong--no one who reads John is unclear about his own opinions about Jesus. He states his purpose in writing is so that people will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing his readers will have life through the name of Jesus. He is not unbiased. Yet, he freely tells what others say about Jesus.

Why does John (and other gospel writers) feel so free to state what others are saying? It's simple: he is not afraid of the truth. Remember, the truth will set you free, and one day (maybe not here) all truth will be set forth and all will be made right. So those who love the truth aren't afraid to speak out what others say, for we believe the truth will be known, and the truth will bring freedom.

It's disappointing at times when some people set themselves up as the only arbiters of truth and spout it out only as they see it and are seemingly afraid for the other side (or sides!) to be given a hearing. I have been involved in, thankfully, only a few major disputes. Because I know that I am not infallible, I tell my side but try to tell people the view of the other side, even if I don't agree with it (obviously) or can't make much sense of it. And sometimes I can indeed understand the other side given their point of view, though I may think they hold the wrong point of view for assessing the situation.

Recently, I have been saddened and bothered by some issues in a disagreement between two Christian families (not in our church) who share similar visions and have worked together for many years. The decision to go in separate directions affects many other people.

I am saddened that sometimes it seems people can see things only from their own perspective and cannot even seem to appreciate the other person's point of view, even if they disagree with it. The real danger there is that we set ourselves up as righteous and the other side becomes the devil. This was often the case with Jesus' opponents. They were so sure they were right that they called Jesus demon-possessed. When we learn to at least see things from the point of view of the other person, though, we may move to a more healthy "Paul and Barnabas" kind of disagreement, where the differences are too real and the division too deep to resolve while staying together but where there can be mutual appreciation and support while going in different directions. Now, it may be that at times it really is a total "good vs. evil" situation, but often our inability to give someone else the benefit of the doubt points to our own lack of humility in assessing the truth. Paul once said that he didn't even judge himself but would leave that to his Lord.

Sometimes I will have a person come in to talk about someone else--whether a spouse or family member or other. This person may tell me all kinds of things about how bad the other person is. Knowing as I do that there are at least two sides to every story (and maybe five or six), I try to realize that it is wrong for me to form an opinion based on only one perspective. Since the person has come alone, however, I have found a way to try to get other perspectives. I may ask, for instance, "If so-and-so was sitting here, with us, what do you think his response would be to what you have said?" or "What would her side of the story be if she came in to tell it?" I feel a bit better when the person can actually tell me what he or she thinks the response would be. I feel an "uh-0h", though, when someone says, "I have no idea what he would say." Although not the only possibility, one possibility for that answer is that the person coming to me has made no attempt to understand the other person's point of view. And when that happens--or fails to happen--there can be no real communication.

Another sad thing in a situation like the one I have described is when self-appointed righteous people take sides and begin to "stir the pot" by calling others with all kinds of information and accusations, trying to get them to take sides. It is amazing that some can be so blind as to think by gossip, innuendo, and even name calling that they are advancing the cause of Christ and are on some kind of holy mission for God. I am reminded of Jesus' words to his disciples that some would kill them, thinking they were doing a service for God. The reputation of many can be murdered because we are so sure of the truth without having some humility.

The most disappointing of all, however, is that some people are so prone to listen to one side of a story and not even ask the other side involved for a response. It is almost beyond comprehension. If I had two really good friends who had a fight and one of them came to me with his side, should I not have the decency to at least call my other friend and say, "I have heard some really disturbing things about you and want to hear your side of it"? Are we so quick to believe bad about people we have loved and trusted that we don't at least give them a word? Forget our country's "innocent until proven guilty" ideal--isn't this just the way of Jesus?

In the situation I am aware of, hearing both sides helps me understand each's perspective. And I understand, I think, both perspectives though I don't agree with both. When disagreements arise between Christians or between Christian groups, it's important to ask, "What is the truth?" And the only way to discover that is to listen to different sides. When that has happened, let people judge which side they believe is closest to the truth. Let them move forward with that. But let us be careful of pitting the sides of Jesus versus the devil when it may be more on the line of Paul and Barnabas.

Yes, I am thankful that the apostle John is not afraid to share what critics of Jesus believe. I am glad that he is not afraid of the truth. I don't want to be afraid of the truth, either, because the truth has set me free.

The Truth WIll Set You Free

2008-06-27T15:09:00.002-04:00

Jesus said it: "The truth will set you free." While He had in mind for the occasion a specific truth for a specific freedom (I will be teaching on that passage from John 8 on July 6), there is a reason that this is a much quoted adage, even by those who don't know it came from Jesus. That reason? Well, because it's--how else can you say it?--TRUE!

For instance, we are often in bondage to our lies. We make up a lie to get out of trouble or simply to avoid embarrassment, and then we end up telling another lie to cover up the first one. We may give slightly different versions to different people, and then we have a problem keeping our stories straight. Besides, we have the inner turmoil of knowing we are not doing the right thing. Being committed to the truth sets us free from such stresses.

We are often in bondage to misconceptions. Someone else may put a guilt trip on us or manipulate us in some way. We fight against feelings of inadequacy, failure, false guilt, etc. When we finally see the truth clearly, what a rush of relief! We are free!

Jesus was committed to truth, and while the truth sets you free, those who don't know the truth or won't see the truth often fight against the truth--and the truth-tellers. Jesus was caught in such positions often. Many people seem to see life from a skewed perspective and interpret everything from that perspective. They think they know the truth--to the detriment of themselves and others.

Jesus often found himself walking what we might think was a middle course between such people. On one hand, we would see Him challenging the hard-heartedness of the Pharisees, who always looked down on those they considered "sinners." He considered them legalistic hypocrites. On the other hand, Jesus was never soft on sin itself. Instead, he preached forgiveness and change (repentance). He never condoned or advocated continuing in sinful behavior. He eschewed both legalism and license.

While Jesus indeed walked a middle ground in such instances, it would be a mistake to simply label Him as a "middle-of-the-roader." Some folks make this mistake. They think since they see Jesus as a moderate--somewhere between legalism and license--that being a moderate is the a philosophy for living life. But Jesus was not committed to a philosophy of moderation. He was committed to TRUTH.

You can miss the truth on either side. That's why the truth almost always seems to be a middle position. It's not. The truth is the truth. You can just miss it on either side. However you decide to label those positions is irrelevant. If you are travelling on a straight and narrow road, you can fall into the ditch on either the right or the left. We must be careful that we are not so afraid of the left ditch that we swerve too far too the right! (Or vice versa.) And that's a mistake too many make, in my opinion. (As an aside, it is interesting that in the Old Testament, it is often said that we should not go "to the left or the right" and good kings are described as "not going to the left or the right.")

Of course, a great question that you have no doubt already thought of in conjuction with this is, "What is truth?" (It's the same question that Pilate asked Jesus at His trial.) Variations are, "How do I know the truth?" and "What makes you think you know the truth?" Just how do we judge what it the truth?

Jesus obviously claimed to know the truth. He even claimed to be the truth--part of His claim to be the unique Son of God. In His prayer not long before Pilate asked the question, He had already answered it. He prayed, just before His arrest, that His Father would "sanctify" (or set apart) His followers by "the truth." Then He defined it for us: "Your word is truth." (See also the quote at the end to learn how to know the truth.)

Some today believe that truth is relative. In other words, something may be true for you but not for me. It may be true for one group but not for another. There may be a sense where that is correct--if we are loose with what we include as "truth." In other words, one product may relieve my headache but not yours. But that's not on the level of what we mean by TRUTH here. Truth, as we are speaking of it, is ultimate reality, what constitutes moral right and wrong, the meaning of life, etc. Jesus said that truth is not something we find through our own opinions; final truth is revealed to us by God. He is the judge of truth.

So don't be misled into thinking that truth comes from a political, theological, economic, or any other kind of philosphy. The question to ask when seeking to form an opinion on an issue, then, is not, "What is the conservative view?" or "What is the liberal view?" or "What is the moderate view?" but "What is God's view?"

On specific issues, His truth may line up with the idea of one "group" on one and another "group" on another. And that may mean you are labeled as part of a group--incorrectly. Or others may disdain you because you don't hold to the "party line" in every instance. But that's okay. You are not going to be judged by the "party" one day. No, you will stand before Jesus.

And that's the truth. So look to Him for His truth, and be prayerful and careful--and also a bit humble--in those areas in which you have to take the principles He gives and discern how best to apply them to a new situation.

Let's allow the truth giver to have the last word. Meditate on the relatively less known first part of this quote, and it will give you more insight into the well-known second part:

Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really by disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Custer's Last Stand

2008-06-23T20:36:00.004-04:00

Last night at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church, we hosted the last service for Custer Avenue Baptist Church of Atlanta. Steve Powell, the last pastor, serves as our part time Minister to Senior Adults. His father was once the full time pastor of Custer Avenue. The church ministered to countless people in her 104 years of ministry. Like so many other churches, especially in urban areas where neighborhoods can change fairly quickly and residents for many years moved from inside the city to the suburbs, the last few decades for Custer Avenue have been marked by decline in membership. Custer Avenue, wanting to continue her legacy, has been generous in sharing remaining resources with several ministries. Among them are a gift for a perpetual scholarship at Truett-McConnel college, funds for an after-school ministry for at-risk kids, and mission funds and the resources for Steve to be on staff at our church.

I was privileged to be one of the speakers at the last service, which was very meaningful to the participants. Steve preached a short message, there was special worship music, and three of us who were recipients of Custer Avenue's kindness each shared briefly.

Here are my remarks...

My grandfather (Papa) was named W. M. Pitts. He was a hardworking farmer who, along with my Granny, raised 9 children. Papa died when I was a freshman in high school. He was 88 years old.

While we were sad that he died, he was not a failure in life because he died. At his funeral, it was a great celebration of his life. We recounted our memories of him and thought about the legacy he left behind.

One of my great memories of my Papa was his taking me into town with him. We would go from store to store, and we would hand out little red booklets that contained Scripture portions. He was my first witnessing example and trainer.

All nine of Papa’s children were trained up in the way of Lord, in the way they should go; even as his children have grown old (and some have passed away), they have not turned from it. Not that being a minister is a greater task in the kingdom than any other calling of God, but one of Papa’s sons was called to be a minister, two of his grandchildren, and at least two of his great-grandchildren and their families are on the mission field today.

Even though my Papa died almost thirty years ago, his life and legacy live on.

And I think about such things when a church holds her final service. Some see it as a sign of failure. I think such people are shortsighted. Just as it was a natural thing for my Papa and every other person to die, so it is with churches. I am not aware of any of the churches in the New Testament that have survived in unbroken line. Each came to the close of their natural ministry, and most churches do the same.

This has been particularly true inside the perimeter of Atlanta in the past twenty to forty years. Almost every traditional, long established Baptist church has experienced decline, and many of them have likewise had a celebration of their ministries in a final service, and Custer Avenue will not be the last.

Churches may come to the end of their life cycles for various reasons: changing neighborhoods, changing demographics, aging membership, rising secularism—we could go on and on. The important thing on a day like today is to celebrate the vibrant and eternal consequences of the ministry over the years and look at the legacy that is left behind. Just as it was not a failure for my Papa to die, it is not a failure for a church to come to an end of a ministry cycle. So while there is to be some sadness, even more there should be celebration—celebration of the life and the legacy.

Even as our church struggles with the decline that every other church has, we are grateful for your legacy, for your generosity will help us as we continue to seek to minister in this place.

Last summer, I was taking an annual prayer and study break, and I began to feel that it would be profitable for our church to have a part time Minister to Senior Adults. A majority of our members are seniors, and it was difficult to minister properly to them while seeking to reach out to the younger people around us.

Not long after that, Steve and I began to talk. Financially, we would not be able to pay a part time Senior Adult minister. Through the legacy of Custer Avenue, though, we are pleased that for two years we can have a monthly stipend so that we can have Steve serve in that position. Already he has proven to be a wonderful asset to our ministry here, and it is possible because of the legacy of Custer Avenue Baptist Church.

We are also a church that not only believes in the Cooperative Program to support missions around the world, we believe in hands-on missions as well. In the past couple of years we have had several experiences. First, there was a trip to NY state last summer to work with a new church. Twenty-five went last year and a similar number is going again this year. Pastor Pete Shults’ ministry has been greatly enhanced by this work. There have been three or four trips to Biloxi, Mississippi, to help with cleanup from Hurricane Katrina. Our members have gone on three trips to Africa—one each to Uganda, Gambia, and Nigeria. We have helped support short term mission opportunities of others as well.

In the next few months, one member will travel to China for ministry during the Olympics, a doctor is returning to Nigeria, and a recent college graduate is going to spend three years in Europe.

Seeing this commitment to missions, Steve wanted part of the legacy of Custer Avenue to be used for this kind of endeavor as we try to supplement the costs of our members so they can participate in such missions ventures. We are grateful for a generous grant of $15,000 from Custer Avenue for this kind of work, another example of the legacy you leave behind.

We can’t begin to tell you how much we appreciate what you are doing for us and others, and we pledge to continue to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel that has been once for all entrusted to the saints, just as you have done for over 100 years. We ask for your prayers for us that, being only a bit over 50, we can continue to reach out to this community for many years to come.

Let me close by reading one verse of Scripture. It is found in Hebrews 6.

God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them. (Hebrews 6.10)

Certainly, this verse aptly applies to Custer Avenue Baptist Church today. May God bless you!

This brings up a topic that goes beyond the final service of one church. Over the past twenty years, many churches (as I said in my remarks) have held final services, and there will be more.

Yet, today the inner city is once again vibrant and growing. How will we meet the challenge of reaching the city again for a new generation? I am part of an initiative, called the Urban Atlanta Impact Initiative, that is seeking the wisdom of God to answer this question. One thing is sure--the churches of the future inside the perimeter of Atlanta will be vastly different from those of the past. As only one example, I believe most will not invest in land and buildings as has been the habit in the past. How could they? The cost of land alone in urban Atlanta will prove prohibitive, at least for the first years, of almost any church. Quite likely, we will see a return to smaller churches (such as can meet in an apartment or condo), much like the house churches of the first century, even while some of the mega churches will continue to thrive. Others will meet in hotel ballrooms or theaters but will have small groups in homes. Even now, some churches are starting in coffee houses or similar venues, while some churches who are declining are opening their facilities to church planters who are planting churches in the same spaces but starting separate churches. It is wonderful to see these unselfish existing churches committing themselves to a legacy of faith, even though the expression of it will "look" different from their traditional practices (while the message of faith in Jesus will be the same--or it will all be for naught.) Certainly, it will be both interesting and exciting to observe the process as once again we will see God declare, "Behold, I do a new thing!"

I pray that through the initiative that I am privileged to be part of, we will see a new day and a revival of faith in God within the perimeter of Atlanta. I am sure I will share more later of what I see and hear in days ahead.

A Trip Back Home

2008-06-20T17:11:00.010-04:00

Today is my dad's birthday. He is 79 years old. (His grandson Andy--my nephew--also shares the birthday and is 30 today.) I drove down to Thomaston this morning to say "Happy Birthday" to my dad. He was at his long time place of business--He still goes in daily and works--as I expected. My brother Stan and sister Debbie and nephew Andy were there when I arrived. Debbie had made some peach ice cream for the occasion, and they were all enjoying it as I came in. Other family members and friends were in and out during the day, and it was a good visit.

Lately, whenever I visit my hometown, I get a bit nostalgic. I think back to all the great memories I had growing up. I realize what I miss by not being around my larger family. (Read a couple of posts back to understand how important my own family is to me.) I am the only one of my siblings who has moved away from home. (Marsha, my other sister who I missed by a few minutes today, did move a couple of years ago--a whole 20 miles away!) I was excited start the adventure of life when high school was over and never regretted moving to Atlanta to attend Georgia Tech. Living in California for a year after graduation doing some mission work was a wonderful experience. Even living in Texas for a few years while in seminary was palatable. (If you ever wonder why Texans think Texas is so great, it's because the state is so large they have never been out of it.)

It was a blessing to be able to move back to Georgia after graduation (we prayerfully considered heading out to California) to start a church. We have lived in three places in Georgia, and we are closest to Thomaston now--90 miles, which is not bad at all, but being a pastor is not conducive to a lot of weekend travel! I actually once had the opportunity to move back to Thomaston as a pastor, but didn't in the end. Even reflecting on that, I believe it was the right decision, and we love where we are--Atlanta feels like home to us--but I am simply reporting that I am at the age when the scent of nostalgia has become a strong and pleasing aroma when I drive into town.

For instance, I worked for several summers for my dad, and going into the back of the building brings back a lot of memories--not all good, since some involved actual labor! Driving around the town square or going into the church where I grew up (my mom works there) or driving by places I attended school or played ball or where I lived, brings back good memories and even a healthy sense of melancholy.

My sister Debbie had compiled a group of stories from my Dad's lifetime--mostly his childhood--and presented him and the rest of us a copy today. She did a great job with it and hopes it encourages some of the rest of us to add to it.

Dad is leaving for Florida tomorrow, going to Daytona, where we always went for vacation when I was young. So in our reminiscing today, we thought back to "The Hacienda," the motel we stayed in all those years (which was torn down for a larger hotel or condos years ago), the Inlet Harbor, and he even brought up the volleyball game with the girls again. (Ask me about that later.)

I even ate a Piggy Park today. It was one of the few times since "the incident" when I was a senior in high school. Piggie Park is a drive-in--kind of like Sonic, but a local affair. I can't tell you how many grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate milks I had there as a youngster. Today I got a hamburger, and how good it was. Their hamburgers are scrambled, and they have a sauce that mixes ketchup and mustard together, and it wasn't just good--it brought back other good memories of years gone by.

"The incident" was a rather humorous affair. I had a CB (Citizen's Band) radio in my car as a teenager, and one day I pulled into Piggy Park with my two good friends, Dennis and Tommy. After we pushed the botton on the speaker and received the familiar, "Take your order, please?" we ordered our food. I was parked near the kitchen, and I began to talk on my CB. We discovered, with our windows down, that our transmission was "bleeding over" to the nearby speakers. In other words, you could hear our voices coming out of some of the drive-in speakers when we talked into the CB. Tommy saw a girl in a car nearby and had an idea. He said, "Hey, Carla!" into the microphone. Sure enough, she could hear him but thought it originated from Piggy Park, not a car nearby. So she started waving. Tommy then took it a step further. "I can't hear you unless you push the button." So she did. And what did she hear? "Take your order, please?"

As other cars drove in, we made mischievous use of our newly discovered powers. As soon as someone pulled up, one of us would say, "Take your order, please?"

After a few minutes, we began to notice people in the kitchen--the walls were glass so they could see out--looking intently at each car. We began to play it cool--and sweat--all at the same time. I began to think it was time to leave, and was about it do so, when the owner's son, a few years older than me who lived right around the corner from us so we knew each other, came out the door and to the car. He kept his cool pretty much but was pretty perturbed at us. It was then that we discovered that the "bleeding over" of our transmissions was not limited to just a few parking spaces--they were going out over the whole system to every car!

David (the owner's son) said, "Fred, you may come here several times a week, but we've got a real problem here. We ask people for their order and they are saying, "I've already given you my order ten times!" (I may have left out a few colorful words in that last sentence.)

Needless to say, we were repentant and thought we had gotten away with a mild consequence. That is, we thought that until we got home. When I dropped off Dennis, his mother had already been contacted. So had my parents. Their consequences were a bit more substantial than just a talking to, though nothing that left permanent scarring.

The ironic thing is that David knew both Dennis and me and called our parents. He didn't know Tommy, who did about 75% of the talking. It was another one of those occasions when I learned that any time I did something wrong, I would get caught! (And I learned that sometimes people who did the most would get away with it!)

See--who wouldn't get nostalgic about home when you have such wonderful memories as these?

Happy Birthday, Dad! The members of the "prodigal" family up in Atlanta all say, "We love you!"

A Good Day with the Normans

2008-06-15T19:45:00.003-04:00

Today is Father's Day. It has been a wonderful day for me. At our Sunday lunch, each of our children (without too much arm twisting from their mom) shared some of their thoughts, feelings, and memories about their dad (that's me, if you are a bit slow), and it was all very encouraging and uplifting.

We also had some very special guests--the Normans, some of our best friends. Where we have five children, there are six in their family, and the first five in each of our families were born within a few months of each other. Of the children, the older two were not with us. Spencer, the oldest, directs a children's Christian camp in Indiana, if I have my facts straight. Catherine, the only girl among the gang, is on a summer mission trip to South Africa.

Those with us today, then, were the mom, Becky, and the four youngest boys: Willis (who just graduated from high school), David, Joel, and Charles. Also missing was the father, Steve, who has been my best friend since college. Steve would have loved to have been here. We would have had a lot of laughs if Steve had been able to join us. He would have regaled us with stories and jokes and commentary on life. Being the brilliant engineer, he might have helped us troubleshoot any problem we might be having. Steve couldn't be with us. He died of a rare brain disorder called Pick's disease three years ago at the age of 52.

I really wish Steve could have been here today, because it was an extra special day, and that started before lunch. I had the incredible privilege of baptizing Steve's four boys who were with us this morning. All of the Norman kids, just like the Norman parents, are followers of Jesus. They grew up in such a way that it has been a very natural step for each of them to make a decision to follow Jesus. Each has made that decision over the years, but for some reason, none of them had been baptized. While baptism is a symbol, it is a very important symbol. In fact, it is a commanded symbol. And the beauty of this symbol is unsurpassed. This simple symbol--lowering someone into the water and raising them back up again--communicates Christian truth on three levels:

1. It symbolizes the washing away of our sins. (My daughter Abigail earlier in life told me that she wanted to be "bath-tized," and I thought how funny that was; then it occured to me how close she really was! As we get cleaned up on the outside in a bath, baptism symbolizes how we get cleaned up on the inside!)

2. It tells the story of Jesus. When a person is lowered into the water, it symbolizes the death and burial of Jesus. The bringing of the person out of the water represents the resurrection of Jesus--how God raised Him from the dead. In baptism, the gospel is preached!

3. It tells the person's story. The Bible says we are "buried with Jesus in baptism" and "raised to walk in newness of life." Baptism tells onlookers that the person being baptized is changed. The old person has "passed away." Everything has "become new." The new person follows Jesus.

Several months ago, Becky began to talk to me about baptizing the boys. We finally decided that Father's Day would be a very appropriate time. When Jesus was baptized, a voice was heard from heaven saying, "This is my Son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased." I know that there was another father in heaven who likewise is well-pleased with the sons that he loves.

At least a dozen family members and friends of the Normans were at the service to share in this special time. Someone said it was a shame that Steve couldn't be there. I told the congregation that I wasn't sure what folks in heaven are and are not able to do regarding earth, but I asked God today to allow Steve to view our proceedings, and I have a sense that would be something the Father would be pleased to do. (I also shared with the folks at lunch that I also prayed that Steve would wait for me until he told everyone else the dog story...)

I am grateful for the time with Normans today, both in the service and at lunch. It made for a great Father's Day for us all.

For those who did not have the pleasure of knowing my friend Steve, I am including a portion of the remarks that I made at his funeral three years ago. I think it will give you a flavor of his uniqueness.

This is from the funeral of March 3, 2005, after his death on March 1:

Steve is the most brilliant person I have ever known. He could figure out and fix anything, whether it was schoolwork, or computers, or cars, or something around the house. How ironic it is that this “beautiful mind” he possessed betrayed him in the last years. I had always thought I was smart until I saw Steve come up with unique ways of looking at problems and finding solutions. He proved himself as brilliant, not only in his schoolwork or in rigging up little inventions around the apartment or the house, but in other areas as well. We both liked puzzles like the Jumble. I would often be working on it and was normally pretty good. But I almost always had to write down the letters to get the answer. It always unnerved me a little when Steve would look at the Jumble over my shoulder. While I was writing combinations of letters down, hoping I would hit something familiar, Steve would in his head get all the words and the puzzle and then say, “That’s pretty cute.” We also have had a good time with the Car Talk puzzlers over the years. Steve had a wonderfully nimble mind.

Steve’s genius was confirmed in his idiosyncrasies. He was, in some ways, the “absent-minded professor.” One day while living on campus at Tech, he drove his old Mustang to the Student Center to pick up his mail. He got distracted talking to some folks and walked back to the dorm. The next morning he got up but couldn’t find his car—and it didn’t occur to him that it was at the Student Center. So, he called the police to report his car missing. He found it himself a few weeks later—happened to walk by it and finally remembered. Jim Haskell wonders why he would think the Mustang was stolen. Who would take it? This is the car that, when Steve would take a sharp left hand turn, the passenger door would fly wide open. Now, why didn’t he fix that? I think it was because it served a dual purpose on dates: if he liked the girl, it gave him an excuse to reach out and grab her. If he didn’t like her, well, it gave him an easy way to get rid of her.

Let me say one more thing about his brilliance. It went beyond mere computing power. Steve was brilliant because he knew his limits. One Saturday a bunch of us were at the old gym here at Second-Ponce, playing basketball. Steve was, as usual, playing in the middle, mixing it up with the other “big guys” while the little guys like me were staying safely outside. Apparently it got rather heated inside—a few elbows flew and words were exchanged. Finally Steve walked off the court and sat on the bench. He said, “I quit,” and nothing more. At first, some of us were thinking, “Come on, you’re a Christian; you can handle it. Without you we don’t have an even number of people.” I know, because those are the kinds of things we began to say to try to get him to come back and play. After a few moments of listening in silence, Steve finally spoke. “If I stay out there, I know I’m going to lose my cool. I don’t want to do that, so it’s better for me to take myself out and calm down over here.” We had thought Steve immature for quitting; his answer showed he was the one being mature. He knew that his limit had been reached. He knew the temptation that lay before him. He knew that God counsels us to get ourselves out of temptation’s way, to flee from it. He reminded me in that moment that many times we should remove ourselves from difficult circumstances instead of staying in them, that the “way of escape” often involves taking just the kind of action that Steve did that day.

Yes, Steve was brilliant, but not everybody knew that. That’s because he often kept it well-hidden behind a unique sense of humor. I know that others would have more colorful descriptions of his humor, but since I shared it in every way, I think unique will suffice.

This sense of humor is well illustrated in one of his famous escapades with Linn Acuff. In college days, they were headed to Florida for a vacation, and they were going to meet up with Cindy—Lin’s wife, who he was dating at the time—and some friends in Cedartown. Steve and Lin plotted an elaborate hoax. Lin was to pull up his car in a parking lot where he was to meet Cindy and her friends. Lin would step away from the car but leave the keys in the ignition. Steve, who would be let off a block early, would disguise himself by putting on an old wig they had found, run to the car, hop in, crank it up, and take off. Lin would give chase in Cindy’s car. The plan called for them to turn off on a county road. Steve would stop the car by the side of the road and flee. Lin would give chase and catch him. They would tumble out of sight. Finally, Lin would emerge alone back to the car filled with frightened girls. When they asked the inevitable, “What happened?” Lin was to raise the wig he had taken from Steve’s head during the fight and say, “I scalped him.” And it would have worked, too—except for one thing. An alert Cedartown citizen witnessed the car theft and notified police. So, instead of two cars in the ensuing chase, there were three—and one of them had lights and sirens.

Steve had a lot of humorous adventures in his life, but I think he went on these adventures, not as much for the adventures themselves as for their story value. Steve loved more than anything else to tell stories. And if they happened to be true, so much the better.

I met Steve 30 years ago. He was 22, and I was 18. He was, of course, already bald on top at that age. One day I made the mistake of asking him why he was bald so early in life. “You’ve never heard this story?” he asked. “Well, I use to smoke cigars, and one day I was reading the newspaper, and my cigar fell out of my mouth and caught the newspaper on fire, and my hair was burned off and never grew back.” I bit: “Why didn’t you throw the newspaper down and run?” Steve said, “Well, I couldn’t get out my crib.”

I wish I had time to explain and tell you the Dog Joke—but Steve never let me tell it. I had to supply the laughter so people would think there was something funny in it and wonder why they couldn’t get the joke. Of course, they would often laugh, pretending they got the joke that wasn’t there. Or to tell you about Steve’s game called, “Name a State” or to tell you the true facts of the time we saved a man from floating off into space that turned into another wonderful story or about the ceramic owl that Bill Hunkin once made me that our families have surreptitiously smuggled to one another over the years. I wanted to put it in the casket, but someone said, “You’d really be surprised to see how Steve would get it back to you, then, wouldn’t you?”

Steve was brilliant, yes. And he certainly possessed a unique sense of humor. But his life is even more defined by the loves of his life.

Steve was a man who loved his family. Becky, Steve had dated many girls before he dated you. But he knew quickly that you were the one with whom he wanted to spend his life. So he pursued you and caught you. And he has always been glad for that. In the last couple of years, as Steve’s behavior changed but we didn’t know why and there was frustration and Steve and I spent extra time together, he told me that he wanted to do anything that would make him the husband you wanted. He loved you so much.

Children, how he loved you! What a great concept he and your mother came up with that he would take a trip with each of you at age 10. I know that those of you who got to take the trip were blessed. Remember and cherish that time forever. For those who did not—just know that your dad wanted so much to share that time with you. And several of us have been inspired to do the same with our families. Getting a late start, I do it at age 13. In Elizabeth Musser’s e-mail in memory of Steve, which many of you have read and all of you should, she mentions how they too have been inspired by the example set by Steve for trips with the children. My, how he loved you. Let me encourage you, as you face life without the physical presence of you father, to draw even closer together as a family. As you have drawn together in his sickness, let that continue in the months and years ahead. Remember the words of the Scripture:
“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.” You will honor your earthly father and your Heavenly Father as you put this into practice.

Steve not only loved his family.
Steve also loved the Lord Jesus and His church.

Yes, Steve loved Jesus, and he was what there are too few of in the world, in my estimation. He was an intellectual Christian. He didn’t just love Jesus with all his heart, all his soul, and all his strength. He loved him with all his mind. He liked to grapple with issues of faith. And he liked to help others grapple with those issues, too, whether it was through leading a Bible study or Sunday School class or simply engaging someone in conversation about the implications of what we say we believe. Steve didn’t want to have a faith that amounted to nothing more than window dressing. He possessed a faith that animated who he was and everything he did. He believed Jesus when He said, “I have come that you might have life, and might have it more abundantly.” Steve loved life. He loved his family. He loved His Lord. He loved this church and has been committed to her ministry through the past 30 years. And he died, by my reckoning, at least 30 years too soon.

When we learned of the Pick’s Disease, we didn’t know much about it. The one thing that we knew frightened us: it makes people less inhibited. Or, disinhibited, as Steve said it. Steve Norman, never possessing much inhibition to start with, was going to be less so? But we saw that happen. And many other things. We saw obsessions with washing and clothing and such things. I took him for a walk in the park near his house a few months back. He got tired and asked me to go get the van. When I got back, I couldn’t find him. I ran around asking people if they had seen a guy with a walker. No one had. I finally found him. In the park, there is a water treatment plant surrounded by a 6 foot iron fence and gate. I noticed Steve up in the air, straddling the top of the gate, with his walker hanging on the gate. He got it in his mind that he need to be on the other side of the gate and tried to climb over, but he couldn’t do it himself. And as I was taking him to a Tech game in the fall, as we were driving down Roswell Road near Buckhead, Steve kept unbuckling his seat belt and opening the car door as we were driving 40 miles an hour. And if I saw these things in my infrequent visits, how much more the family struggled day by day.

We knew that, barring a miracle, death would be the end result of this disease. It has come, and it has taken all of us by surprise at its suddenness. Death remains a great mystery. As Nurse Margaret Houlihan said in a M*A*S*H episode many years ago, “I’ve seen it many times, but I still don’t understand it. One minute you’re alive. The next minute you’re dead.” While all of us are sad and death is frightening to most of us, I think we will be able to say that in this case, death has come as a friend. None of us wanted to see Steve suffer and not be able to live the life he loved so much living. He has been spared that. But death cannot be a friend by removing physical suffering alone. Death can only be a friend when we are confident of what comes after death and that we see that as good. While none of us has been able to die and come back to report what it is like on the other side, we have One who has—our Lord Jesus Christ. And this One, who would never lie to us, even to make us feel better, said,

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He also said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.” [John 14.1-6; 11.25]

Death does not write the final chapter of life. Steve has a strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is there with Him today. And those of us who share that faith in Jesus Christ will see him again. How we look forward to that day.

Let me close by making one last observation. True to God’s promise that He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, I want to point out that there have been some hidden blessings that have come out of Steve’s illness. First, Becky, we have seen the body of Christ unite in a way that has been so encouraging to witness. While the body of Christ is often divided, we have seen the Spirit of God work in such a marvelous way as people have poured out their love to Steve and you, Becky, during this time. Your house is a tangible reminder of the strength and blessing of God. And, as funny as this may seem, there has even been a hidden blessing in the disinhibiting of Steve, at least to me personally. Several times in the past months, Steve has said, “Fred O., you’re my best friend.” And on one of my last times at the house as we sat around the kitchen table and I was rising to leave, Steve said something that I have long known but I had probably never heard. Steve looked up and said, “I love you, Fred O.”

I love you, too, Steve. We all do.

A Father's Reflections

2008-06-13T20:45:00.004-04:00

King David wrote many words that have ministered to the souls of countless people over the centuries--some of my favorites are found in Psalm 1, 19, 23, 32, 51, and 103, to name a few off the top of my head--but one phrase that has come to mean more and more to me in the past few months is a simple verse that resonates deeply in my soul because I have come to realize just how closely I identify with it. It comes from Psalm 16:

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I can imagine David looking out from his palace, knowing that he was king of all that his eyes could survey--and more--and becoming overcome with gratitude as he thought back to how he had been blessed by God as he considered his beginnings as a simple shepherd boy.

While I don't possess silver or gold nor will I ever know what it is like to be the leader of great multitudes, still I share with David the sentiment, when I pause to consider my half century sojourn here: "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places."

I look back over the 27 years Cindy and I have been married and the way she has always been such an enhancement to my life and ministry. I think of the dreams she was willing to put aside to become a pastor's wife and the stay-at-home mother of five children. When I think of all of the volunteer work that she has put in at the churches where I have pastored and the credit I have received for her work, I can only say, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places."

When I think of the five beautiful children God has given us and the life we have lived, I am truly blessed. Making the decision to home school our children helped give our family more time together than we would have otherwise had. Thinking back to Fridays--when I was off from work and we could do projects or go on "field trips"--a multitude of memories flood my mind and warm my heart. Likewise, I can still hear in my memory today the giggles of girls hiding from their father at lunchtime and the plea to "sleep with me for one mo mo minute"; I can recall the delight of reading books at night and saying good night prayers. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.

Just weeks ago we went on our usual trek to St. Augustine for vacation. The whole family was there--the seven of us plus our wonderful son-in-law and Cindy's always generous parents. For some, ten family members together for an entire week is a recipe for disaster; for us, it was a delightful time of rest and relaxation. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.

As Father's Day approaches, I cannot but be moved again by the love and devotion of these five--er, six--Hannah, Lydia, Abigail, Rebekah, Fred O, and son-in-law, Rick. Hannah never lets a Sunday go by without telling me how much she enjoyed my sermon. (So, yes, there are times when a "little white lie" is appreciated, though she is adamant that she is telling the truth.) Just this past week, her husband Rick called me to ask how I might answer someone who asked certain questions about faith in God. He is a serious and growing Christian. Lydia continues to mature and plans to attend seminary when she completes her final year of college. She often engages me, too, in discussions about faith. Abigail still confides in me what is going on in her life and asks for my counsel about many different areas of life. Rebekah has such patience with me even though she is 17 and doesn't have a car of her own to drive. She is very respectful, even when I say no to a request. Fred O still will hang out with me and doesn't mind telling me he loves me even when others are around--and he turned 15 this year. These are just small tidbits of what I could write about my family. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.

Although I may some days wish that I had more to provide for my children, I truly believe that faith in Jesus is the most important thing to give them. As I pastor, I have taught it to others. As a dad, together with Mom, we have let it be more than religious talk. As I have said before, I can say again, for it is still true today--and I hope it will continue--all of my children today are walking with and following Jesus. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.

While I hope that one day I will have something to leave to my children, the truth is, they are already an inheritance to me that I enjoy every day of my life.

Yes, David spoke for me when he praised the Lord. I could not improve on it at all:

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I praise the Lord for His wonderful blessing to me, particularly this wonderful family!

Uganda Update 2

2008-01-19T08:04:00.000-05:00

At this writing, it is just after 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in Uganda. This was the last day of the conference, and we only taught until lunch. After lunch, we helped present certificates of attendance to all those who attended--both pastors and wives--and I think it ended up being about 190. (James and I had to sign each one of them!) Of course, the certificates were the idea of the Executive Committee of the Joint Ministries of Uganda, the group that we have been working with the past three trips. Since most of these pastors have had no formal training, the certificate of attendance means a lot to them.

Many pastors have shared with us how much they have appreciated the ministry--as well as the housing and the food. As stated earlier (I think), we have tried to do a combination of practical and theological messages, and while both are needed, it is the practical which many of these seem so starved for. (Though, again, some of the questions submitted showed that we were absolutely correct to address some basic doctrinal truths.)

The pastors here are very gracious to us, and we only can hope and believe that what they say to us is true. After each trip, I implore the leaders to tell us what is helpful and what is not, and I encourage them to be truthful. Still, I know it would be hard for them, so I say, "Tell me what would be better and more helpful for pastors next time we come." Even so, they always have affirmed what we have done. This year as we planned the conference, I did ask for suggestions of what they felt would be helpful, and upon receiving some, I sent a list of suggested or possible sessions back to them. I think this helped us to hit on a variety of subjects and help these pastors with them.

One of the messages they especially asked for was "A Healthy Church." In it, since the church is called in the Bible both the "body of Christ" and the "bride of Christ," I use those images to paint for them a picture of a healthy church that is (hopefully) simple, easy to remember, and helpful. After sharing that with them near the beginning of our time, it showed that it did indeed hit a chord with them. To help them remember, I would stop often as we went through it, and we would go through the parts of the body we used.

I had also preached this in our own church the Sunday before I left, so the list was the same though the sharing of it was somewhat different. We shared that a healthy church needs the following:

A godly head (and vision)--and that is Jesus, who is the head of the church
A loving heart--love for God and others as the Great Commandments state
Serving hands--ministries to assist those within and without
Proper nutrition--the word of God on a regular basis
Calloused knees--in other words, a praying church
Beautiful feet--evangelism and missions ("how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news")
Healthy children--as the bride of Christ, Jesus and the church will reproduce more churches
Vital relationships--both within and without (in other words, for "within," the members of the body have to be coordinated, going in the same direction, and for "without," every "body" needs to interact with other bodies, so we speak of the need for churches to work together to accomplish what they cannot do alone)

We built on that and spoke much about the individual parts of this. We also spoke of "healthy Christians" and the certificates ended up saying, "Healthy pastors for healthy churches."

But the marriage and family messages hit home as well. Over one third of the questions submitted were on the subject, including divorce. So instead of answering the questions one by one, yesterday I simply did another hour plus session (remember, that includes translation time!) on such issues, letting them know that God had a word for them whether single, married, divorced but not remarried, and divorced and already remarried. I also had to include some of the other questions asked.

Again, many people spoke to me about how this had helped. One man told me today that he had been so busy with the conference that he was too tired for his kids when he got home; the message, he said, "challenged" him. Today, he brought a son to the conference with him!

Most touching of all regarding this subject, though, was was a twenty year old girl named Sarah who came up to me today right before we left. I had not met her previously. Exactly why she was at the conference I wasn't sure--I'm not sure if her father was a pastor or what--but she came to me and just began to thank me. She said her mother was in process of divorcing her father, and she had felt very badly about it, but she didn't really know what the Bible said about it--nor did her parents! She said every question she had was answered, and she had talked to her father (or else he was there--couldn't quite understand), and they had been given new hope and they believed because they had a clear word from God that He would bring the family back together again. She spoke to me several minutes and was so thankful--the whole trip was worth that episode.

Many are asking about our coming back again. It's a bit early to think of that. But we always try to be open to whatever the Father may have for us.

We are looking forward to being home soon!

Uganda Update 1

2008-01-18T00:36:00.000-05:00

Pastor James Sapp and I are in Uganda right now, conducting a conference for pastors and their wives near Jinja, the second largest city. This is my fifth trip to Uganda and the third for James. We arrived late Sunday night Uganda time and began our work the next day.

Last time, we taught through the letter of First Thessalonians to a group that included pastors and lay leaders. Since we only have pastors and wives this time, we are more focused on sharin g with pastors.

The kinds of messages we have delivered have been a mixture of both practical and doctrinal issues:

The Call to Being a Pastor
How to Read and Study the Bible
Developing Leaders in the Church
A Description of a Healthy Church
A Description of a Healthy Christian
The Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
The Great Commission: Multiplying Believers and Churches
Salvation
Marriage
Family
The Tasks of a Pastor
How to Preach a Sermon
How to Comfort in Times of Grief
A Christian Funeral

We have had a great time so far and been well received--181 pastors and wives have signed the attendance sheet so far--but we are not using microphones this year, and with a full tent and rain some afternoons, my voice is beginning to weaken a bit.

We are about to go out for our Friday conference. We will each preach only once today and then answer questions in the afternoon. Today I will be speaking about Stewardship, which is a much needed topic. James will speak about the role of the pastor in the community.

This afternoon's Q and A will be interesting, to say the least. We have already received the questions and they have a lot about marriage and divorce and polygamy and "family planning," so it is going to be a really hard time trying to go through all these kinds of things--even more difficult when you have to have things translated for most of the people. One pastor wants to know if he can divorce his wife because she hasn't provided him any children! There are other questions more concerning pastoring itself, of course.

Tomorrow (Saturday) will be our last day for the conference, and we will speak about how the gospel can change Uganda and close with a message on the pastor's heart.

On Sunday we will preach in some area churches.

It is good to hear the comments of those who are attending. They are very grateful for our presence and our teaching--and for the generosity of the church for sending us and providing food and other things for them while they are here.

Please continue to pray for us. We are scheduled to be back next Wednesdat, January 23.

God bless,

Fred

Hannah's Graduation Day

2007-12-15T10:02:00.000-05:00

Hannah Eve Pitts (now Hannah Pitts Rogers) was born on the day of Georgia Tech's Homecoming in 1985. (We had tickets to the game but oddly enough did not use them.) As a good Yellow Jacket, I had her mother "dress her in white in gold," and she has been on the campus for the past few years. (She moved into her first house with husband Rick just a couple of weeks ago--see "Melancholy Moments" post.)

Today, she graduates with High Honors with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. We are having a brunch for her this morning followed by graduation exercises this afternoon.

How proud we are of you, Hannah! Congratulations! We love you and Rick.

By the way, reality hits quickly. Hannah begins her new job on Monday!

We thank God for His work in the lives of our family.

A Family Funeral

2007-12-03T17:56:00.000-05:00

My dad's brother--my Uncle Cooke--died late last week. Though he lived in Macon, he died while visiting his daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren out in California. Uncle Cooke was 82 years old but had been in good health. He would not have been the next "expected" death in the family. (My dad was the last of nine children; there are now five left--three "boys," including my dad, and the two sisters.)

Uncle Cooke was a fun man and full of life. My dad says he had more "life" than anybody else in the family. He was kind and generous, checking on his sisters every day by phone and bringing some kind of gift to those he visited, even if nothing more than an apple. His three granddaughters spoke at the funeral, and they gave a wonderful glimpse of his life.

Uncle Cooke was in WWII, and he once was hit by a ricochet. The bullet entered through his face and lodged in his brain. Being a ricochet, it went in straight up and down rather than nose first. That likely saved him. They tried on an occasion or two to remove the bullet, but they were unsuccessful. He would not let them try again. That bullet was in his brain for over 60 years!

This interesting story becomes more interesting. My granny was sleeping one night while she had sons serving in the armed forced during the war when she awakened suddenly. She said she knew that Cooke had been shot. My granny was as devout a believer as I have ever known, but she was not given to visions and dreams and the like. Yet, on this occasion, she was sure that Cooke had been shot. And he had been! How or why this occurred is a mystery, but it resulted in many more prayers being sent up in his behalf.

However, I really didn't write this to reminisce about Uncle Cooke. I wrote to think about family. My wife Cindy and I went to my home town for the funeral, and it was nice to see this family reunion. It is amazing how reconizable most people still are, even if you haven't seen them for twenty or thirty years. It is also amazing the way the family resemblances seem to become more pronounced as time goes by. You can see a feature from Granny or Papa in this person or that, and resemblances among cousins, never noted before, stand out in a startling fashion.

The generation ahead--my dad and his siblings and spouses--look so much like they did before, but there is a change. Where there once was great strength, there is now the hint of frailty. Their faces now have added lines and creases. Of course, they range is age from 78 to 90, so you would expect this. But seeing them all together on an occasion like this at once gives a greater appreciation for family and reminds us of the mortality of us all. We all will go the way of Uncle Cooke. More funerals will follow.

Many Christians today focus more on what Jesus can do for us here on earth than what happens after. Part of this is the result of the pendulum swing to the opposite extreme from what use to be a promise to low wage workers of "pie in the sky by and by" for being taken advantage of by unscrupulous and harsh bosses in years gone by; there was a correction to more of an emphasis on the abundant life here. Like many corrections, it has gone too far. No matter how great life in Christ is here, heaven will be better. Another reason, perhaps, we don't focus on heaven anymore: We are afraid of death. Might that be because we aren't as sure in our faith as we ought to be?

Death was once seen as natural and inevitable; medical advances have led us to the illusion that eternal life is nothing more than longer, healthier lives here. But though we may delay it, we cannot prevent it. Death is coming. But we no longer need to fear it. We can, with Paul, mock death: "O Death, where is thy sting?" At least, those who know Jesus can. As Paul goes on: "Thanks be to God! We have the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

I will see Uncle Cooke again. I will see Granny and Papa again. I will be reunited one day with all who share faith in Jesus. This isn't merely wishful thinking. It is an assured hope, proven to those who seek by much evidence, the greatest of which is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Melancholy Moment

2007-11-23T17:47:00.000-05:00

Today we helped move our daughter Hannah and son-in-law Rick into their new house in Marietta. My firstborn and her husband closed on their first house last week. He graduated from Georgia Tech in August 2006; she graduates in December. She is going to be working for the same company where he has been working since graduation. It's in the Marietta/Kennesaw area, and their house is just two miles from their workplace. How proud I am for them, and how excited. The house is only 30 miles from where we live; in this day and age, it would be hard to ask for better. They plan to continue to spend Sundays with us in the short run, both for church and for Sunday lunch and fellowship. The amount of time we see them each week will not appreciably lessen, from all indications.

Still, today was a bit melancholy. Although Hannah left home five years ago to attend Georgia Tech (while the rest of us were living 150 miles away in Dublin, Georgia) and that was definitedly a "new chapter of life," and the wedding 15 months ago was another monumental change, there is something still the same about the family when a child is only "off at college." Their continuing to live at Tech in married housing kept that sense intact, I guess.

But their move to a house (and her in three weeks to a career) somehow solidified in my heart and mind today that we have indeed reached a new epoch, another "bend in the road." This is the end of one aspect of parenting, or more correctly, it is the beginning of the end for a phase of parenting since Cindy and I have four more to go.

So while I am so happy for Hannah and Rick and so excited about the house and so proud for them, I couldn't help but feel a little melancholy as I experienced the emotions today of the changes. This is one of our great goals in parenting, preparing our children for the time when they will truly be "on their own," establishing their own homes and households. That day has come, and we could not be happier for the way Jesus is working in their lives. We realize that the change is not a subtraction but an addition--they will still be part of our household!--but it is still a change. Memories flood back from childhood; she is now "grown and gone."

I can still remember the time in my life when I made the similar transition. Is it possible that I am old enough to be on the other end of it? Wow--time continues to march forward. And for those of you snickering that this is happening to me, a word of warning: it will happen to you MUCH quicker than you think!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T17:18:00.000-05:00

This morning we had our annual Thanksgiving worship service. My family and I love having a service of Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving. After all, that's what the "holy-day" is for, the giving of thanks to God. What better way to celebrate it than with a gathered service?

What makes the service so special is the time given for expressions of thanks by the people who attend. We know that many families cannot attend because of their own family traditions; we schedule it at 8:30 a.m. so that it will be more convenient for many that will be in town or who won't be traveling more than a couple of hours. Today, we had a bit over 40 in attendance, not as many as I would like to see, but much improved over the 25 or 30 from last year.

Still, it is not a high attendance number that makes the service so special. It is the hearfelt expressions of thanks. It amazes us all to note that those who have seemed to have had the most difficult times in the past year are often those who seem to be the most thankful. I would guess that more than 20 of the participants rose to share a few sentences of thanksgiving to God. One read a poem she had written yesterday. Another expressed his praise in Spanish, his native language. Words of thanks were expressed for husbands and wives, for families and friends, for encouragement and support from the church body, for the guidance and providence of God, for the beauty of nature, for those who sacrifice for our freedom, and more. While that seems rather mundane and expected when I write it down, what is unexpected is the spirit and emotion with which the offering is given and the details that are unique to every individual.

Almost everyone who attends such a service is touched by what they see and hear and want to attend the following year. It certainly sets the stage for the rest of the day. Because so many are unable to attend due to travel and traditions, we have discussed trying to do something like it during a regular Wednesday night service and dispensing with it on Thanksgiving Day itself. It is hard to make such a decision after attending the service, and I was glad to see more there this year than last. Still, it is something we will talk about.

For our family, it is a very special tradition that remains a meaningful part of our lives. We are grateful to be able to gather with our larger family to give thanks--on Thanksgiving--to our wonderful God.

The War

2007-10-07T19:25:00.000-04:00

I was able to see most of Ken Burns' new series, The War, the past two weeks. It was a very inspiring reminder of the sacrifices of what has been called "the greatest generation." We still have several veterans from the war who are members of our church. I have the privilege of meeting with a few of them each Tuesday morning for prayer, and every now and then we go out for breakfast. During one such excursion a few weeks before the documentary, they spent most of the time relating stories from their war time experiences. Later, one of them apologized to me for taking all of the time up with stories from the war. I assured him it was neither boring nor a waste of time for me; it fact, it was very interesting to hear first hand from these men stories of their individual pieces of the war. I admire them all.

Ken Burns did a great job, I thought, of weaving the story of the war for us through the eyes and ears of citizens from four cities in the U.S., which I am sure were indicative of every city in the nation. What a blessing we have in the sacrifice of so many. We saw first hand the horrors of the war on every side; the first episode, however, was entitled (I think), A Necessary War.

A Necessary War--what a good way to put it. It was simply that--necessary. It is hard to imagine the rationale of anyone thinking otherwise.

Of course, it is impossible to watch such a documentary without considering the current war we are waging. Is it a necessary war? Many people question the motives of the administration. Others point to the lack of evidence of weapons of mass destruction found. Still others bemoan the slow progress of the Iraqi people in seeking to establish a stable and just government.

I know that I personally always hoped we would wait a bit longer before going into Iraq. Certainly, we needed to be in Afghanistan. I felt that the President had more information at his disposal than I did. Previous administrations had also believed Saddam was seeking to make WMD. At this point, however, questions of whether we should have gone into Iraq when we did are moot. We are there, and the enemy has followed us there. Whether that particular bit of geography could have been avoidable, we are in the midst of a war against international terrorism. There are people who want to destroy and kill everything that doesn't look and think exactly as they do. In fact, they likely want to kill people who may share some of their thoughts if their citizenship is in the wrong country.

In my mind, we are in a necessary war against an ideology of hatred. Wherever the battle is fought, it is a necessary war. I would like to think that we as Americans hold ourselves to a higher standard than do others, of course. I am not ready to give up all civil liberties, nor would I ever condone torture. It pains me to see reports that we at times hide behind technicalities to circumvent rules that we helped write and use methods that we would not want used on our troops. Why not show others that we are as different from them as we claim? I hope these reports are false or are rare aberrations. Unfortunately, it is hard to know what sources of news to trust on every occasion.

In the final analysis, war at times may be necessary, but war is still hell. Let us pray that God would have mercy on us. Let us repent of our sinfulness and selfishness so that God will forgive our sins and heal our land. Let us live up to the highest calling of the American experiment, in times of war and peace.

Just for Fun

2007-09-04T18:45:00.000-04:00

A couple of Sunday nights ago, we had a "talent" show for our church in conjunction with an ice cream fellowship. It was a night just for fun. We do such things from time to time, for we all need times just to hang out with our friends, laughing with and at each other and being inspired by each other. The evening was a good variety show: we had solos, duets, piano playing, a harmonica player, a "magic" act (for laughs)--even Elvis showed up!

Someone took some video and uploaded a few of the acts to YouTube. If you want to get a laugh, click on the title of this blog ("Just for Fun" above), or cut and paste the following into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/user/clairmonthills. (To see me at my best, check out "The Great 'Who Done It'" from the list of videos posted. I might have tried to hide it, but my daughters have already posted it on some of their pages for their friends.)

It was good to have a variety, and I am glad so many people were willing to share their "talents" with others. The truth is, that's what Jesus wants us to do! We have a variety of gifts and talents given to us by God, and He wants us to use them. Sometimes it takes a bit of a risk to get out there and try something new, but when you put your gifts and talents to use, you will find that others usually aren't there to judge and boo you for your failures; they are there to encourage you and cheer you on for trying.

The crowd for our show showed their appreciation for each and every performer; God is also applauding us when we step out on faith to minister to others with the gifts He has given. Let me close this brief post with this encouragement from Scripture: "Each one should use whatever gifts he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms" (1 Peter 4.10).

So get out there and use your gifts. And don't forget to sometimes do things just for fun!

It's My Birthday...It's My Birthday...

2007-08-14T18:38:00.000-04:00

Fifty-one years ago--so long that I can barely remember--I was brought into this world, kicking and screaming! Things have gotten progressively better since that time. I think I am getting the hang of this "living" thing. I have lived through two parents, three siblings, twenty years of schooling (a slow learner, apparently), one marriage (The good news: we've been happily married for 22 years! The bad news: we've been married for 26 years!), four daughters, one son, one son-in-law, and three churches.

Not too bad, all in all.

I have been blessed beyond all measure. Not only do I have a family that tolerates me; they act like they actually love me! They even tell me so every day. Whether they are blind or merely good liars, I don't know, but I like it. It would be hard to have more wholesome pride in a family than I do in mine. Those of you who know me and my family know that this is not bluster--it's the absolute truth.

I am thankful to God for His many blessings. Besides the family, I have a church community who loves me and supports me. They are truly to me a community of faith, hope, and love. I have loads of wonderful friends and family members, many of whom have called or sent cards or emails to me today. A group of elderly gentlemen from our church took me to breakfast; one of my best friends from college days took me to the Varsity for lunch and even bought me a fried apple pie to make up for the lack of cake. My family is going to see the Braves on Thursday night.

Like everyone, I have periods of discouragement from time to time. There are some circumstances of life I would like to see improved. But I truthfully have to laugh at myself when I try to have too long a pity party, for I know deep down in my heart that I have been incredibly blessed.

Thanks, God. Thanks, family. Thanks, friends. Thanks, church. I am so rich because you have given me the treasures of your lives!

Catching Up...

2007-08-13T18:46:00.000-04:00

Wow! It's been about three months since my last entry. Time really flies, especially in the summer. We have had a busy time with a mission trip to New York state, the normal special summer activities in the church, and I also went on a two week study break.

The break was particularly helpful. Some friends offered me the use of a house in the Chattahoochee River in north Georgia, and I had a wonderful time of study and solitude--there was no television there! (I had to drive 15 miles to get internet, so I only did that a couple of times, too.)

It was a time for refocusing, prayer, and study, and I certainly came back refreshed! I even lost a little weight, that having to do mostly with having to prepare my own meals most of the time!

I hope to get back in the habit of sharing a few thoughts now and then; I will try to share a bit more about my study break soon.

God bless!

ConGRADulations, Abigail!

2007-05-16T09:23:00.000-04:00

Well, it is amazing how quickly time flies. That is not only noted by how rarely I seem to get a blog post up, but more so by the fact that our middle of five children just graduated from high school! It seems like just yesterday when we brought her home from the hospital. I have so many memories of her growing up with her four siblings, and it is sobering to think we are "over the hump" as far as high school graduation is concerned.

Since Abigail has been homeschooled most of her life, we had a graduation ceremony at our church facility, just as we did for Lydia two years ago. Also like Lydia, the graduation was combined with a senior recital. Unlike Lydia, Abigail joined with one of her kindred spirit friends, Laura Stewart, to have a combined Senior Recital and Graduation Ceremony. They each did separate presentations and also did a scene from Shakespeare's The Tempest together. (It was during rehearsal for this scene some time ago that they really got to know each other.)

Both also had a video presentation featuring pictures from their lives. While a friend helped put Laura's together, Abigail's sister Lydia did hers, and it was very moving and celebrative. Mrs. Lori Lane of Artios Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, which was attended by both girls, shared words of encouragement. Each parent and each child briefly shared in the graduation ceremony as well.

Each of the others did an exceptional job in what they shared! It was a very meaningful time. While I unfortunately do not have the text of what others said, I do have my brief remarks as well as the blessing I gave to Abigail. Here it is:

Abigail Susan Pitts

Abigail is our third and middle child. The two before her were girls, and I was prepared for another—until the doctor began making predictions in the delivery room. “This one is bigger than your other two”—and, indeed, she was a full pound larger than any of the others at birth—“I think we have your linebacker here, Dad!” He began to feed that hope that there would be a boy one of these times, and so I perhaps had a momentary disappointment when the doctor himself exclaimed in surprise, “No, it’s a girl!”

Any momentary disappointment was soon quelled as Abigail quickly won my heart. The name Abigail means “a father’s joy,” and Abigail has certainly proven to be a joy, not only to me, but to all who know her. When she was very young, she slept on a top bunk, and every night she begged me to sleep with her for “one minute” at bedtime. I would climb and crawl over the railing to lay with her, and that minute would seem to go by very slowly. When I would raise my head to start to get out of the bed, Abigail would put her hand on top of head, push it back down, and say, “Just one mo-mo-minute, Daddy.”

While those minutes might have seemed to pass slowly then, they definitely picked up the pace. Those minutes turned into hours, the hours to days, and the days to weeks, months, and years. And so today Abigail stands here as an adult—a young adult, to be sure—but one who is ready to conquer the world. When I graduated from high school, I remember the excitement I had as I considered the adventure of moving to Atlanta to attend Georgia Tech. My mother once asked, “Aren’t you just a little bit sad about leaving?” Sure, there were things I would miss, but how could I be sad about embarking on a new adventure? Now, I have come full circle. Abigail is graduating, still seeking to know exactly what God has for her, and I find myself wanting to say, “Just one mo-mo-minute, Abigail, just one mo-mo-minute.”

Fortunately for us, like our other children, Abigail will in the short term at least still be in the Atlanta area. She has hopes and dreams, but they are still a little nebulous, not yet fully formed in all their specifics. But while you may not yet know all about it, Abigail, here is what God says to you:

¹¹For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹²Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” [Jeremiah 29]

How can you make sure that you can also hear Him as He reveals His plans? Romans 12.2 says,

²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Yes, God’s plan for you is good. It is pleasing—both to you and others. And it is perfect. Many don’t find it because they are too enthralled by the world, following its deceitful pattern. You will find it, though, Abigail, when you let God’s thoughts become your thoughts so that your life is truly changed into His image. You will seek Him and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart. And I know that is just what you are doing today. We are proud of you, we are thankful for you, and we are praying for you. Come forward today to receive your blessing.

May God bless you, Abigail Susan Pitts!

May you seek Him with all of your heart, and may He reveal His will and direct your paths.

May you continue to live up to your name! May you be a joy not only to your earthly father but, more importantly, to your heavenly Father!

Just as the Abigail mentioned in the Bible is described as a “beautiful and intelligent woman,” one who rescued her family by her quick thinking and gracious manner, may you also be known for your beautiful manner and your godly wisdom. May you beauty come first and foremost from within, as we continue to see Jesus shine through your life; may your wisdom come from close fellowship with the Holy Spirit and by a thorough knowledge of His word.

May God grant you success and prosperity in all that your hands find to do.

May God bless you, Abigail Susan Pitts!

--------------------------------------------------------------

That's it! BTW, if you want to see some pictures of the event, click on the TITLE of this POST and you will be taken to a Snapfish page with some pictures by a good friend, Nelda Coats. (You will have to register as a Snapfish user, just as you do on many other sites.)

Thanks, and God bless!

What About Homosexuality*?

2007-04-27T17:44:00.000-04:00

I guess you noticed the asterisk, huh? To tell you the truth, this particular blog is not about homosexuality. While I may venture to blog about the subject later, this is a more basic blog. It is about the preconceived ideas we bring in our search for meaning and spirituality and—well, God!

You see, often in a conversation about God and the particular community of faith, hope, and love that one enters as part of an authentic discovery of God, there comes a moment when the seeker asks the question, “What do you believe about ____________?” The blank can be filled in with all sorts of words… homosexuality, war, the homeless, riches, abortion, physical healing, the environment, efforts to convert people of other faiths… you name it!

From one perspective, it is quite right to ask such questions about faith. We want to know what God says about different subjects, and we want to know how the community of faith, hope, and love applies that word from God in the day to day of life. So, certainly questions are legitimate, and I welcome all kinds of questions from genuine seekers who want to know more.

However, there is also a sense in which such questions can not only be illegitimate but can thwart the seeker from finding the answer he or she truly seeks. Here’s what I am talking about:

When some folks ask, “What about homosexuality”—or any other subject—they are asking it in a way that it is a “deal-breaker” in the search for God and spirituality. In other words, if the God you are telling them about does not match up with the opinion they already hold, the search ends there.

You may ask, “What’s wrong with that?” If we weren’t talking about ultimate answers—God—it wouldn’t be as important. But think for a moment: if there really is a God, shouldn’t we be looking to Him for the guidance on these controversial questions of life, not judging Him by our little opinion? (I will put a caveat on that later, so stay with me.)

Shouldn’t we be seeking to find out, in the midst of all the different ideas of God or higher powers or cosmic consciousness (or whatever different people might call such things), if one is really true? And if we could somehow come to understand that there is one true God and that He speaks to us, shouldn’t we come to Him without our preconceived ideas of what is right and wrong and start looking to Him to tell us? (By the way, the word “good” comes from the word “God.” What God says, by definition, is what is “good.”) Isn’t it a little absurd to say to the big God of the Universe, if the evidence points to His existence, “I can’t put my trust in you because you have the wrong idea about government”?

Perhaps an illustration would be best. Let’s say that you absolutely love sugary desserts. They are what you live for. You have, however, been having some physical difficulties, so you make an appointment to go to the doctor. He has the reputation as the best doctor in the city. You are waiting for him to come give you the results of some tests, and as he walks into the examination room, you blurt out, “Doctor, I love sugar, and I live for sugar. What do you believe about sugar? I won’t accept any diagnosis that in any way limits my sugar intake.” The doctor says, “I’m sorry to hear that, because you have diabetes, and you absolutely will have to modify and monitor your sugar intake.”

What are you going to do? Are you going to say, “I don’t accept your diagnosis because I have already determined that consuming sugar is right”? Are you going to walk away from the treatment that is going to bring you health?

Well, that’s exactly what you are doing if you say, before you find out if God is real, “Well, if I find, God, that your opinion on homosexuality (or adultery or drunkenness or abortion or anything else) doesn’t line up with what I already believe, I will look for another idea of god who will agree with me and tell me that what I am already thinking or doing is okay.”

If you bring ANY preconceived notion as to what God has to say or do, you are limiting your search for the true God. And if you discover, say, that Jesus is truly God the Son and that God has left for us a book that reveals to us his ideas, we would ask the question we started with (and all others like it), not as a question of judging whether we will proceed down that path in our search, but in a humble attempt to find out what God says so that we can adopt His attitude as our own.

I often say to Bible study students, “We should approach the Scripture today with the attitude, ‘God, if I find today that my opinion is different from yours (after a careful study, of course), I’ll change mine.’” You see, if you would really search for God, you must be open to the fact that you might be wrong in one or two of the 10,000 opinions you currently hold!

I promised a caveat. If your search for God came to the place where, for instance, the one true God ended up being the god of this world (that is, the evil one)— a god who delighted in making us suffer and bringing destruction to our lives rather than loving us and seeking to rescue us from the mess our sins have made of the world—I certainly do not think that I would commit myself to such a god! I would hopefully fight against him tooth and nail.

The Good News for the believer in Jesus Christ is that our God is everything we could hope for and desire—a God of love, a God of justice, but also a God of mercy. And when we discover that, we are ready to put all opinions on the table. We are ready to say, “Teach me, O God, your ways.”

Please don’t let your pet opinion in this slice of history get in the way of your finding out the truth about God. Don’t go the doctor and rule out beforehand the diagnosis that can save your life!

Holy Week

2007-04-09T15:59:00.000-04:00

Holy Week has, over the years, become more and more special to me and my family. One of the reasons is that we practice a Messianic Passover Seder during the week. This meal, which Jesus took with his disciples the night before he was crucified, is a commemoration of God's deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt through the last of the ten plagues--the death of the firstborn in the families who had not slaughtered the Passover lamb. (For the full story, including God's direction for this to be an annual ordinance to both remember the event and pass it on to the following generations, see Exodus 12.)

It also provides the framework for what Christians today celebrate as communion or the Lord's Supper. Jesus was using elements of the Passover meal--matzah (unleavened bread) and wine--to show us an even deeper meaning, that is, that Jesus body and blood would be broken and spilled as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus would become the Passover Lamb for us so that we might escape the judgment. It is amazing--and I don't use that word lightly; read on!--also how many points of the Passover Seder point to Jesus and to his gospel. Eating a Messianic Passover meal each year has given us greater appreciation for all that God has done, including giving us beautiful foreshadowing of his plan of redemption as well as a better understanding of communion and salvation itself.

(By the way, have you noticed how many images of the Lord's Supper, whether in picture or in dramas put on by churches, have leavened bread in them? I got an online offer the other day for PowerPoint images of Holy Week--with leavened bread! Don't people read the Bible? The alternate name for Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread! There are at least two issues here--first, the Israelites were in a hurry and would not have time for the dough to rise, and second, the yeast symbolizes sin in this context, and so the removal of yeast in the yearly commemoration should point believers to a fresh examination of their lives.)

Another part of Holy Week that has become important is the Good Friday service. While not as well attended as I would like, the people who come always seem to be deeply moved as we concentrate on the death of our Lord Jesus. (I can't tell you how many people have come up to me since Friday telling me that it was a truly moving service and the best they had ever been a part of; it was interesting that every year we get similar comments.) While we are not overly fancy on Good Friday, we do try to create a dark mood, emphasize the death of Jesus, and put worshipers in the place of the disciples as we partake of the Lord's Supper and as we walk through the events through Scripture, word, song, and simple drama. In other words, we want worshipers to leave the service sad and confused but convinced of God's love.

One way we try to accomplish this is through mood and lighting. We set a somber tone throughout on most years. We try to show the emotion of Jesus. We don't usually print a program so that people aren't as sure of what is next. We also make an effort to end the service in an abrupt way--at least not like the end of a usual service--so that worshipers are not quite sure if the service is over or not. This uncertainty, it is hoped, will help them feel in some sense like the disciples did after Jesus abrupt from turnaround--from entering Jerusalem to cries of "Hosanna" on Sunday, to delighting the crowd with his teaching on Tuesday, to being mocked, ridiculed, and crucified on Friday. We seek to do this to make Sunday all the more sweet!

In fact, we try to take the first few moments of the Resurrection Sunday service to recreate that mood--to remind worshipers what the disciples were feeling on Sunday before the news came to them and before Jesus appeared to them. Then we can truly experience the joy of the resurrection as we hear God's word and listen to words of triumph and sing with overflowing hearts about God raising his Son from the grave! Someone once told me that the word gospel in its original context does not simply mean good news but good news in the face of bad news. In other words, when a policeman is around, I suppose it is good news; when he shows up just as you are being robbed, that is really good news. It is good news to put to right a bad situation. That's what the gospel of Jesus is--good new of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection in the face of bad news--my sins that need to be forgiven!

Hallelujah! Christ is risen!

Christ is risen indeed!

I should close here, but I want to share the introduction to my message from yesterday, Resurrection Sunday (I know that most of you call it "Easter," but I have a good reason for not, and I may share that some day.) This introduction itself had nothing directly to do with the resurrection, but I used it to share a bit of the difficulty that pastors may have on special days like resurrection because of the way we use words. (Perhaps it might even make you stop and think about the words you use!)

Have you noticed how our world today is so given to hype and hyperbole? We can see it in advertising for TV series: “The most shocking episode ever” will be followed by, “The one episode this year you don’t want to miss.” Of course, that will be followed two weeks later by “The most intense episode ever.”

Did they get it from us—or did we get it from them? Have you noticed how many things in this day and age are “awesome”? I’m not quite sure how that differs from “totally awesome” or “amazing,” but terms like that thrown around today about the most mundane of subject.

“I love your shoes. They’re totally awesome!”
“We went shopping today. It was an awesome experience!”
“Oh, the game today was really amazing!”

One of my best friends has the gift of encouragement. That’s wonderful. But everything I do is “amazing.” It would not surprise me if I sneezed in his presence because we are in pollen season if he said, “Fred, that was an amazing sneeze!”

You may ask, “What’s the big deal? You know what they are talking about. It’s just the way language evolves in its usage. And your friend is just trying to be encouraging.”

Yes, I do understand that. But, since you ask, let me tell you the problem that can come from it. When everything is “totally awesome,” how do we describe something that is totally awesome?
The Bible says, “Our God is an awesome God.” That means, in the original, that he inspires awe. He takes our breath away when we consider him and all of his creation. It gives rise to deep thoughts of life and love and eternity and the nature of all things.

Today, it means he’s like a pair of new shoes.

When the Bible writers said that Jesus’ teaching was amazing, they meant that people were stunned by how this one with little formal education could bring the truths of God down to their level on a practical basis and show them what God was really like, a God not in love with ritual but with people. A God not concerned as much about outer appearances and with the heart.

When John Newton wrote that God’s grace is amazing, he meant he couldn’t believe God would save someone as wretched as himself, someone who had been a slave, got his freedom, and then turned around and traded others as slaves. Today, to say that Jesus’ teaching and God’s grace are amazing just communicates we think they’re cool.

Here’s my specific problem today: it’s my job to tell you the most totally awesome, the most amazing thing that has ever happened in history, and for you to really
understand that it is not hype nor hyperbole.

Well, that's it for now. Remember, he is still risen!

"Who Told You That You Could...?"

2007-04-03T19:22:00.000-04:00

[Today is Tuesday of this year's Holy Week. Here is a message based on the events of that day.]

It was late February or early March. I was home with the children; Cindy was out for a while. The day was unseasonably warm, but there was still a nip in the air. A child with her friend came up to me in the late afternoon. “Can we put on swimsuits and turn on the hose and get wet?”

My wife is an excellent musician. She has a beautiful voice. And in that moment I heard her melodious strains wafting through the backyard and on into the house.

“Who told you that you could get wet and muddy?” I froze as I waited to hear the reply, which came rather quickly. “Dad said we could.” And I heard them continue to explain it in such I way that it sounded like I gave not only permission but that it was my idea.

So Jesus offered them a deal. If they would answer a question about the authority of John the Baptist, he would answer the question about his own authority.

John’s baptism… was it from heaven or men? “Tell me.” (Mark 11.30)

They got together in a holy huddle…

³¹They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn't you believe him?’ ³²But if we say, ‘From men’....” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)

They were caught in just the kind of trap they had been laying for Jesus (and would again with the question about taxes.) Unlike Jesus, they couldn't come up with an answer.

“We don’t know,” they replied. (Mark 11.31)

“If you are the experts on religious authority and cannot determine the authority of John’s message…” Jesus seemed to be saying as he uttered the words:

“Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” (11.33)

To add insult to injury, Jesus told a parable that cast them in the roles of thieves and murderers. This made them more angry than ever. So they regrouped and tried to come up with a way of putting Jesus in a bad light with the people or making him look foolish.

It was April – that’s tax time for everyone, I guess – so they asked him if it were okay to pay taxes to Caesar. He said, in essence, “Yes, but it is even more important to give God his due.”

And what is God due? What is God’s? We would like to know that this Holy Week, wouldn’t we? Good news! Jesus answers that question for us after a slight detour.

But then, in the last question anyone dared ask him publicly, someone asks that day a question that Matthew implies may have started out as kind of a setup, but ends up with the questioner becoming impressed with Jesus, and that, in turn, impresses Jesus.

Mark 12 (NIV)
²⁸One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

This last question is the most important. Essentially, “What is the most important thing in life?” “What is life all about?”

Mark 12 (NIV)
²⁹“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Essentially, Jesus said, “I can’t give you just one, though there is one that is most important. I will give you two that are closely related.” After sharing them, he says, “There is no commandment greater than these.” Does that statement sound like something we need to underline in our lives—that we need to order out lives around these words?

The most important thing in life: Love God. But how must we love God?

Look down at verse 30. There are four words mentioned: heart, soul, mind, strength. I began to wonder if one of the words in the verse was the key to loving God correctly. What would you judge as the key word or concept in that passage? I once did a word study of these concepts mentioned. I understood this was perhaps the most important verse in the Bible (since Jesus said so!). I wanted to understand how to love God . There were secrets here to the meaning of life! I was disappointed, though, as I tried to understand these words in the original language. The meanings were not as concise and unique as I had anticipated. Their meanings overlap. One commentator used this phrase about the four words: he said they are “semantically concentric.” In other words, they pretty much have the same center of meaning and differ in breadth of meaning. I discovered that the key word here for loving God is not heart. It’s not soul. Mind? Nope. Not even strength.

But upon further reflection, I did discover that there was indeed a key word in that passage in teaching us how to love God. It just wasn’t one of the ones I was initially drawn toward.

What is the key in how to love God? It’s the word all.

If we were honest, some of us might admit that we are half-hearted in our love for God.

Some of us are of a divided mind…we are too enamored with the entertainment of this world that focuses on the sensual and decadent rather than the spiritual and the good.

Love with all. Jesus is saying that we are not to approach God with only parts of ourselves. If we want to love God, it must with our total being.

Here’s our last question of the day: Is Jesus right? The questioner thinks so: ³²“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. ³³To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

This man evaluates Jesus. And Jesus, after being evaluated, evaluates this man. He, in essence, wants the man to know that he is not judged by this man, but he himself is the judge. Look at Jesus’ answer:

³⁴When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Which brings us back to the original question:

By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you authority to do this?

“Who told you that you could make such pronouncements?”

What gives you the right to pick out these two as the greatest commandments?

Jesus didn’t give these guys the answer that day, but he gives it to us:

Matthew 28 (NIV)
¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Who told you that you could do that?

Jesus says, “Daddy told me I could.” And in the way he explained it, he lets us know that it was his Father’s idea all along. “I do only what the Father tells me to do.”

He proved it by going to the cross.

This Holy Week, attending worship opportunities is a good thing. But what is most important is to love God with all that you are, and to love one another as you love yourself.

Love on God this week through prayer, praise, the Word…

Love on God by being intentionally obedient to his commands.

Remember, Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Love your neighbor today, whether that is your spouse, your child, your parents, your roommate, your classmate, your co-worker, your acquaintances. Remember that Jesus would say to love on somebody, to help somebody who can’t do anything for you in return.

Love God with all you are. Love your neighbor as yourself. And we love, because he first loved us.

And the Father has told me to remind you that this is what will make this week—and every week—a Holy Week.

Time to Disband the Church?

2007-03-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

It is, if the information presented by James Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici in The Lost Tomb of Jesus is true! This docudrama, presented by the Discovery Channel on Sunday night, March 4, purported to show overwhelming statistical evidence that Jesus, his mother, his siblings, and--shades of the DaVinci Code!--his wife, Mary Magdalene were all buried in Jerusalem. If you watched it, as I did, you were certainly amused by the train of details offered as evidence. It's amazing how facts that argue against the case are turned into facts that help prove it. "True, no one by that name is recorded in the family records of the Bible, but--get this--there is a great, great, great grandfather and a great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather by that name in the family records, so that proves that a person by this name was really all in the family and the fact that he is not mentioned anywhere is inconsequential!" Well, you get the idea.

I am glad that so many archaeologists and other experts who are not even believers have thoroughly called into questions not only the methods but also the conclusions. That means I don't have to waste time debunking another annual (or more often) "Jesus is a fake--or at least the church turned him into one" campaign! I hope you have checked some of them out if you were in any way intrigued by the program.

Actually, what bothers me is more subtle. Have you noticed that some people--so-called believers--tried to downplay the damage that would be done to the faith even if Jesus' bones were found? Some said such things as, "We should expect to find his bones somewhere" or "Some see the resurrection as spiritual, not physical, so this kind of discovery would not affect us at all."

Let's make this clear and make no mistake about it: if Jesus did not physically rise from the dead, as the Bible clearly claims, then our faith in dead. It always amazes me to discover that some people who preach and teach "Christianity" actually believe the story is untrue--or at least, to them it doesn't matter if it is true. All that matters to them is that the story has the power to inspire and to make people feel better psychologically. They may not believe there is really a heaven for people to go to, for instance, but they think the idea of heaven is a nice, sentimental story that may comfort those who are dying, and it is psychologically reassuring to people who have recently lost a family member or a close friend to death. They also may think to help other people believe in Jesus will make them nicer people and inspire them to do better things in life. How noble they are!

But I would not want to be counted among that number. I want to know the truth, even if it not pleasant. I don't want to believe a lie, even if it makes for a more pleasant psychology. And I especially would not give my life to the propagation of a lie. Can you imagine devoting your life to telling people about how the Easter Bunny can change their lives? That's what pastors like me would be doing if Jesus were not still alive. Sorry, I think I could find better (and more honest) things to do. (I might even actually use my degree from Georgia Tech!)

The apostle Paul, among others, would agree with me. (Or, obviously it would be more accurate to say that I agree with him.) Here's what he wrote about the reality of the resurrection and the implications if Jesus was not actually raised bodily and later ascended into heaven (and therefore we could find his bones in a tomb):

1 Corinthians 15.12-32 (NIV)

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.... If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

Without the resurrection of Jesus, Paul says compellingly, there is no faith, and we are are wasting our time. But the resurrection is real. Over 500 eyewitnesses saw him. And how else can you account for the changed lives of the disciples, who hid behind closed doors from fear right after the crucifixion but boldly stood up to the same folks who killed Jesus after the resurrection? How do you account for their willingness to die for their faith--when they knew for sure whether Jesus appeared to them or not? (Would they die for what they knew to be a lie? Or were they willing to die because they knew they would be raised from the dead, too?)

Paul was certain. That's why later in 1 Corinthians 15 he writes:

"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (verses 54-58)

Yes, let us stand firm. Our labor is not in vain. Jesus was really raised from the dead, and he really is alive today. Oh, and we can keep the church together--for now!

Mrs. Irene's World Famous Pecan Pies

2007-03-01T22:13:00.000-05:00

We buried Mrs. Irene Orr in Sugar Hill, Georgia, yesterday, almost four years after the death of her husband, Mr. Joe Orr. Joe and Irene were simple people. They were probably not well known outside of the Buford/Sugar Hill area. But that's okay. They touched deeply those who were blessed enough to know them. I was one of them.

The most wonderful thing I can say about Joe and Irene is that, despite their relative anonymity in the world, they surpassed most everyone in the world by truly living up to the purpose for which they were created. Jesus told us that we all share a two-fold overall purpose in life: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Joe and Irene Orr both accomplished these in a magnificent manner.

And that's not all. They accomplished more on top of that. One of those accomplishments, which both of them participated in, was Mrs. Irene's World Famous Pecan Pies. I had the honor of giving the pies that moniker, and I don't think it is an exaggeration in the least! I wish I could capture for those of you who didn't know them the essence of their lives, but, again, they were simple people. It wouldn't sound very exciting to hear their lives described in a world that is fixated on who gets to bury Anna Nicole Smith and on so-called "reality" shows that are anything but!

But perhaps you can get a small sense of their lives through the words I shared at Mrs. Irene's funeral. Here it is:

Funeral Service for
Mrs. Irene Orr

Died, Sunday, February 25, 2007
Service, Wednesday, February 28, 2007

I remember the first time I met Irene Orr. I had come home to Georgia for Christmas holidays right after graduating from seminary in 1984, and Mickey Mayfield asked me to come preach for the new mission church that was being started by Sugar Hill Baptist. I met Tubby Cronic at the Anitox office, where the mission was meeting. He was showing me around, and he pointed to Mrs. Irene as she entered the room and said, “That’s Irene Orr. She’s the finest Christian woman you’ll ever meet.” I have met a lot of fine Christian women over the course of my life, and I have found that Tubby Cronic was often given to wild exaggeration, but I have yet to be dissuaded from the truth of his statement. Irene Orr certainly was and is the finest Christian woman I have ever met.

I hope that she would approve of me being here today—that is, with a beard. I grew my first beard while I was her pastor. I grew it so that I could play the part of Jesus and recite the Sermon on the Mount. She still didn’t like it. She said, “I don’t like my pastor to have a beard.” Mrs. Irene was always so supportive of anything we did that it surprised me that she would find something like a beard to complain to me about. Struggling to reason with her, I finally blurted out, “But Mrs. Irene, your own son has a beard.” She didn’t miss a beat. “He’s not my pastor.” I am just wondering if she has already asked Jesus when he’s going to get rid of that beard.

In the last chapter of Job, it says, “Job saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so he died, old and full of years.”

Mrs. Irene Orr saw her children and their children—and some of their children. And she died, old and full of years at the age of 91. Not only was she old and full of years; the years she lived were incredibly full years.

I know that there are many ways of expressing her full life. I know that whatever I say will seem empty compared to the reality. I mean, how do you sum up a full 91 years in a matter of moments? But I will try.

Mrs. Irene’s life was full of food.

I’m sorry. I can’t think of Mrs. Irene without thinking of food. In my mind’s eye, I can still see the gardens she and Joe worked there in the yard. I remember how she and Joe offered to share the garden with our family. I can see Joe and Irene and Cindy and our little ones going from row to row, planting corn and other crops, watching them grow, weeding, picking and preparing. I remember the many wonderful meals that she shared with us. I hope that you will forgive me for remember most of all the desserts.

There was always a cake or two—including a pound cake, which is my personal favorite. She made the most wonderful fried apple pies. She got to the place where she would only make them once a year. But when she did, I would get a dozen—because I was her pastor. Above them all were Mrs. Irene’s World Famous Pecan Pies. I can’t tell you how many of those I have eaten. She gave me one just about every time I came over. And I came over a lot. When we would have a dessert auction to raise money for youth trips at church, she would send us a dozen. That’s when the bidding would really get serious. The bidding sometimes reached $50 for one of her pecan pies.

In the early days of starting Bogan Road church, before we had a building, we would meet together at Joe and Irene’s on Tuesday nights for outreach. Irene and Joe would keep the children while the adults would visit people, talking to them about Jesus and inviting them to church. When we returned to Irene and Joe’s, there would be all kinds of snacks, from cheese and crackers to cakes and pies with sweet tea. And we would sit around for a while just talking and laughing and praying and having a great time. Baptists learned a long time ago that good food sets the table for good fellowship. And Irene Orr made it into an art. Life with her was full of food.

More importantly, Irene’s life was full of family. There are many of us that Irene treated so special that she made us feel like family, but, oh, how she loved all of you. Children and grandchildren, I hope you know—and I’m sure you do—just how proud Joe and Irene were of you in life. Every time I visited—and I have already told you that was a lot—there was news of Gordon or Stanley or Glenda or David or an in-law or a grandchild and one of you was going to be visiting soon or had sent something or was doing this at work or that at school. Her love for all you was evident in her countenance and her tone of voice.

You all have your memories of Mrs. Irene. One of you told me yesterday that your mother was the strength of the family and that she taught you to be strong in life. All of you have wonderful memories. I just want to encourage you to treasure them and ponder them and learn from her life. Write some of the stories down and pass them on to the next generations. Her life was too full for the memory of her to stop with you. Remember the story of her and Joe’s courtship? How they met but were interrupted by war? How they married within a week after Joe returning home from England? How they created a loving home environment? How they were hardworking folks? All the crafts and baby items that Mrs. Irene created? How they worked together on quilts in the last season of life? How she fought hard in these last couple of years after the stroke? How many memories you must have!

Family, if there is any one special thing that I would say to you, I would remind you that the number one hope and dream of Irene was that each one of you would have a personal, vital, growing relationship with the Lord, because she had discovered that to be the most important thing of all in life, and she didn’t want anyone—but particularly anyone in the family—to miss it. She would say it this way—she didn’t want the circle to be broken. She wanted everyone to discover the joy of life with Jesus.

And that’s the last thing I want to mention about Irene’s full life. It was full of food, yes. More importantly, it was full of family. But most importantly, it was full of faith.

I saw that illustrated through her commitment to Jesus and his church. Several middle age and older couples came over from Sugar Hill to help us start Bogan Road. Most intended to and did return after we got on our feet. But Joe and Irene felt called to stay. They loved Sugar Hill and everyone there. But they sensed a call to be missionaries with us, and they took that very seriously. Now, I was 28 when Bogan Road was started, and most everyone else was below 45, so Joe and Irene became surrogate parents and grandparents for the rest of us. I mean, my children grew up calling her “Grandma Irene.” And when my firstborn was married this past summer, Irene was there in her wheelchair to bless her. Thank you, Glenda, for bringing her. But it wasn’t just us that felt so loved and blessed by Joe and Irene. It was everyone else, as well.

I also saw her faith illustrated through prayer. She and Joe both believed in the power of prayer. And we saw their prayers in action. Hannah, our oldest child, was struggling with asthma when she only four or five. One day out of the blue, Mr. Joe and Mrs. Irene just showed up at our house and told us they wanted to pray for Hannah. Hannah stood on the coffee table as we gathered around and prayed. The reason this stands out so is because, while all prayers are not answered in such a dramatic fashion, Hannah has never had a significant respiratory problem since that day.

We also saw her belief in prayer during the sickness of the last couple of years. One day a year and a half ago everyone was called to Gwinnett Medical to say goodbye. It looked like it was time for hospice to be brought in. Mrs. Irene asked for prayer, even asking that a church with a television ministry be called to join in the effort. The next day, there was no talk of hospice, only of rehab.

This coming Sunday I am preaching on Philippians 1.21, where Paul said, “To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Many of us don’t fully understand that. Mrs. Irene did, particularly in these last months. She often wondered why God would not allow her to go ahead and die and go to heaven. But she would always know that there was someone to encourage, someone to love. Like Paul, life here was fruitful labor. But death is gain! Mrs. Irene is in heaven right now!

Some think that the idea of life beyond the grave is silly sentimental foolishness—just wishful thinking. But it is true. Jesus said, “Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus is a lover of truth. He said, “If it were not so, I would have told you.

His resurrection from the dead that we will shortly be celebrating is proof of life over death. But Mrs. Irene’s life is also proof of the truth of God. How can you argue with a life that was so full—lived that way absolutely because of the love of God in her heart?

I want to give Mrs. Irene herself the last word about her life and her faith. Listen to her own testimony:

When I was twelve years old, we went to a revival meeting at Mount Tabor Church. I realized after the preacher preached that I needed to give my heart to the Lord. I wasn’t saved right then but asked the Lord to come into my heart later at home when I was almost thirteen.

My sister was sixteen years old and took sick with a headache which ended up that that she had diphtheria. She was buried on my fourteenth birthday.

Alice Neal was saved at a prayer meeting at a house. Back then, they had revival services morning and evening and prayer meetings in the afternoon. Alice Neal was saved and baptized about one month before she died with diphtheria.

This is my testimony that if any of my family doesn’t know the Lord and have not asked Jesus into their life that they won’t put that off because life is so short. Alice Neal passing away at age sixteen is an example of that. I hope and pray that my Family Circle won’t be broken.

I’m looking forward to seeing Joe again and being with him forever. Whether you all know it or not, your Grandma prays for every member of this family.

Gordon and Martha, Stanley and Norma, Glenda and Mac, David and Catherine, grandchildren, other family members: You know how true this is—how she prayed for you. She wanted nothing more than she wanted all of you to walk with Jesus. She wouldn’t just want you to say you believe in Jesus. She wants you to love Jesus. She wants you to live Jesus. That’s what Mrs. Irene did. And that’s why she truly lived a full life. You can live a full life, too, by placing your trust in Jesus and by walking with him day by day.

Irene saw her children and her children’s children. And she died, old and full of years. And those of us who share her faith in Jesus will see her again!

Let’s pray.

Hearing the Word

2007-02-17T19:57:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, as a preview to teaching Paul’s letter to the Philippians over the next few months, I donned a biblical costume (now you know the main reason for growing the beard I am now sporting) and, as Paul, “dictated” the letter to Timothy while chained to a Roman guard. In this way, I was able to orally deliver the entire letter at one time to our congregation.

The response from the congregation was illuminating. While some seemed to marvel simply because I was able to do this from memory—not so hard since I had memorized most of it as a devotional exercise while in college—most went beyond that to sharing the impact it had on their understanding of Paul and his relationship with Christ as well as with the Philippian church. Not only did they receive the immediate context of some of their favorite verses—such as “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” and “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”—but they were able to hear someone give his interpretation of the letter through such things as voice inflection, mood, gestures, and posture.

This response is not new to me. I have also on several occasions presented the Sermon on the Mount (from Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7) in a similar manner. Most times I have dressed as Jesus—I have a nice wig to wear as part of that—although sometimes I have presented it simply dressed in the common garb of today. Either way, I have received comments such as, “I felt like I was there,” or “It seems different—and more powerful—when spoken rather than simply read.”

And it is that last comment that prompts this blog today.

The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We rightly interpret that to include the preaching of the word of God, but I am convinced that there is great power in hearing the word itself from the Bible.

We think of previous generations (when most people could not read) as being uneducated. However, we fail to appreciate the fact that many of them had a different kind of education—an oral education. Consider how important stories were passed from generation to generation not so much by the written word as by the spoken word. Think how many people memorized the words they heard so that they could faithfully pass it on to others. Uneducated people? Hardly! Witness the many people who marvel that I could memorize a few pages of the Bible, saying such things as, “I could never do that!”

And with the memorization and recitation came an oral interpretation of the stories. There are times the word is spoken loudly—and times when it is spoken as a whisper. Some of it goes fast, while other parts are presented more slowly. You get the picture. This is what we often miss from the word of God today. It would be great to have more and more of this going on.

Don’t get me wrong. We are blessed today to be able to have copies of God’s word to read, and we would be foolish to leave it unread! (This year, many of our church members are joining me in another “Read through the Bible in a year” challenge, one that I have done, I guess, over a dozen times over the years.) And reading allows us to make connections—by perusing the text over and over and looking forward and backward—that we might not make otherwise.

But I am now—because of the many comments I have received over the years—convinced of the great power of hearing (and experiencing) the word! I have never listened to the Bible all the way through in a year—I have listened to the New Testament on cassette tapes—but it is an idea that perhaps should be pursued. Some make a big deal of selling Bible tapes with celebrities reading the text. That doesn’t interest me. I would not be impressed with who reads the text but how they read it.

Paul told Timothy to give attention to the “public reading of Scripture.” It doesn’t always have to be an entire letter or sermon. It can be as simple as having a Scripture portion read as part of each week’s service (and not just as part of the sermon, though we need to have the Scripture central to the teaching ministry of the church.) In your family, you can read the Bible to each other as part of the practice of your faith. We have for years done that at a meal time. You can, too.

There are other ways to achieve this as well, I’m sure. We are creative people. So let’s put that to use. Want to grow in your faith? Remember what the word says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God!”

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T20:28:00.000-05:00

Well, after a busy holiday season--Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and New Year's--it is time to settle down to a more normal pace. Perhaps I will even blog a little bit more! Or, if that doesn't become a reality, maybe I will pull the plug on it altogether.

A lot has happened in the last few months that I would have liked to comment upon, but I did not because of the lack of time to do so. It is a little frustrating to have something to say or at least the desire to think more clearly about a subject by writing about it and not find--or make--the time to do so.

Our family had a wonderful time this Christmas sharing gifts and goodwill and seeing family. I hope your Christmas season was joyous also. Several years ago, because of the need to travel early on Christmas morning, causing us to rush too much, we moved our gift-giving in our own family to Christmas Eve morning rather than Christmas morning. While the move was a logistical success in its own right, it had a byproduct that was even more meaningful to our family: it helped us worship Jesus more effectively.

How so? We have a tradition of a special Christmas Eve afternoon meal that is followed a little later by our Christmas Eve Candle Lighting and Communion Worship with our church. Before we instituted our change, there was always the allure of Christmas morning and the gift receiving that would serve to take the minds of especially the children away from the worship experience. When we moved the gifting time to Christmas Eve morning, we had the joy of giving and receiving then, and that resulted in the ability of us all to focus more on the Child of Christmas both in our family traditional meal and then in the worship service.

Our Christmas Eve Worship has always been very special to us. Retelling the story of the darkness and the light always seems fresh and powerful. I hope that you also have learned to understand what a wonderful gift we have from God in His sending Jesus, the Light of the World. We have all walked in darkness, but through Jesus, we now have the light of life, and we can even be light for others. May each of us seek to let our light shine in 2007 in such a way that others may see our good works but be drawn, not to us, but to the Father of light.

God bless you in 2007!

Mary's Song: "Let It Be"

2006-12-06T21:24:00.000-05:00

(This blog entry is taken from a message I originally put together in 1995. I have preached it on several occasions during the Christmas season in years past—and probably will again in the future! Since it is really a sermon, it is designed to be delivered orally rather than on paper—and it is probably more effective that way—but I hope you will get the meaning out of it in this form. Thanks, FOP)

When I was eight years old, my two older sisters brought home an album one day. Now, an album is kind of like a CD, only bigger and black. On the album cover were four young men with what seemed to be long hair at the time—some call them “mop tops”—and the name of the album was “Meet the Beatles.” They were somewhat controversial in some circles, and I can understand why. My, what provocative lyrics their songs had on that album: “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah,” and “I want to hold your hand.” Such radical stuff!

Over the years, the Beatles did get involved in real controversies and strange beliefs, and they were certainly one of the most popular musical groups of modern times, but I don’t think any of us would confuse them with Christian theologians or look to them for insights into our development as Christians. So I find it ironic that the last song the Beatles ever recorded, which was the second to the last song ever released, seemed to me to have Christian overtones. I really liked the music—the simple melody—but I was puzzled by the lyrics.

When a find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me,
Speaking words of wisdom, “Let it be.”

It went on:

“Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be”
Whisper words of wisdom, “Let it be.”

“Let it be?” What did that mean? Leave it alone?

And what did Mother Mary have to do with it?

Since the song came out in 1970, I have always liked it, but I never really understood what it was trying to say.

So let’s fast forward to the mid-1990’s. I was preparing for Christmas, and I was reading from the first chapter of the gospel of Luke out of the New International Version:

²⁶In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” ³⁴“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” ³⁵The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For nothing is impossible with God.” ³⁸“I am the Lord's servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

For some reason, three words in that last verse stood out to me. “May it be…” Could it be… that this “may it be”… was the inspiration for “Let It Be”?

I quickly pulled out my King James Version to check out my theory. However, I was disappointed. This verse in the King James Version reads, “be it unto me according to Thy word.” I thought about looking in the New American Standard Version, but I thought, “No, the Beatles were from England.” What Bible would they use? The Revised Standard Version? I had a copy on my computer Bible: Sure enough, there it was: The RSV has Mary answering, “Let it be to me according to your word.”

I doubt that the Beatles understood the impact of her words, and it’s more likely akin to Caiaphas when he prophesied quite by accident that it was good for Jesus to die for the nation, but the Beatles were right. This Christmas season, Mother Mary does have words of wisdom for us, and these words of wisdom are, “Let it be.”

Just what, though, do the words mean? Let’s pray about it, and then we’ll talk about it.

Lord, some churches go well beyond your word when it comes to Mary. They pray to her, they teach she was always sinless, even that she remained a virgin after her marriage, though your Word tells us clearly that she had children with Joseph later. Lord, while we see they are wrong in their understanding, forgive us for often so overreacting that we have failed to appreciate and honor and bless this special lady that you chose as the mother of your Son. May we learn from her today some keen insights about following Your will. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Four words I want to give you to help us think about Mary and her words.

1. Surprise

Mary “wondered” about the greeting from the angel; she was certainly surprised.

When God comes to us, we like Mary, should have a sense of surprise.
Not surprise that God would have a message for us…we should expect that!
We should instead be surprised at the generous and gracious way God comes to us!

The angel called her“highly favored”— but Mary knew she was not perfect. Was Gabriel joking with her? Putting her on?

I am reminded of King David’s words in Psalm 139 (NIV):

¹O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. ²You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. ³You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. ⁴Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. ⁵You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. ⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

David’s reaction to God knowing all about him? Was he afraid, knowing that his sins would be known? No, his reaction was more like, “WOW! I am amazed that God cares so much about me!”

It is surprising to sense how much God loves us!
It is surprising that God puts so much faith in us!
It is surprising that God is willing to entrust to us His will, especially regarding His Son!
(As Mary was entrusted with His upbringing, we are entrusted with sharing His message)

What put Mary in this position?

It was not because she was perfect, but because she sought to be pure.

I want you to understand one thing: Mary was not pure because she was a virgin. She was a virgin because she was pure! And purity begins in the heart. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

God has a message for you. Without purity, you may miss it. Need purity? Pray like David did after his sin of adultery: “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” and He will restore you. Are you seeking to honor God? Do so, and you will be surprised at the great plans He has for you!

2. Serious

Mary took God’s message to heart. She was serious. In those days, many people claimed to believe in God. They went to the synagogue week after week, they traveled to Jerusalem for the feasts, they went to the temple for sacrifices…but they were really just going through the motions, performing religious rituals that were strangely separated from the rest of the lives. It had little or no impact on how they conducted business or managed their families.

Yes, they would hear God speak—but they would wink and nod and do what was right in their own eyes. Many are like that today.

When Mary heard God speak, she was serious.

Look at Luke 1.34 “How will this be?” This was not a question of doubt but of process. “How? I am engaged? Will it be Joseph’s son after we are married?”

“No, no…it will be God’s Holy Son.”

Mary was serious about God and His word. How about you? Does your belief in God really mean anything in the way you live?

If so, we can learn the most important lesson of all from Mary as we look at the third word. That word is…

3. Submitted

This is the heart of the message, in my mind.

She wondered, “HOW (since I am a virgin)?” He told her how it would be.

Think with me: What did Mary know?

Mary knew…

1) she was engaged
2) the facts of life
3) the possibility of scandal
4) her marriage might be off
5) this would change everything

She could have shaken her fist at God… “Why are you doing this to me?”

Instead, she came to God with an open hand and a trusting heart: “Let it be to me…”

How beautiful her attitude…how simple her trust…how grand her example!

This Christmas, when God says to you,

“Don’t follow the ways of the world…be changed by thinking my thoughts…”
“Keep yourself pure for the one you will marry. From today forward, reject any kind of sex outside marriage…”
“Don’t be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit…

Don’t say, “But they will laugh at me. They will reject me. I will be embarrassed and alone…”

Instead, SAY: “Let it be to me according to Your word.”

This Christmas, when God says to you,

“Love your neighbors, AND love your enemies, too...”
“Help those who are in need...”

Don’t say: “BUT people will take advantage of me…”

Instead, SAY: “Let it be to me according to Your word.”

This Christmas, when God says to you,

“Use your gifts within the body of Christ to minister to others...”
“Spread the message to others; tell them about me and what I have done for you...”

Don’t say, “I don’t have time right now; I’m too busy with work or school or activities…”

Instead, SAY: “Let it be to me according to Your word.”

This Christmas, when God says to you,

“Don’t mistake possessions for prosperity; be generous…”
“It is better to give that to receive...”
“Help support others who take the message to other places...”

Don’t say: “BUT recognition comes to the rich and powerful, and I need to hang on to what I have for security…”

Instead, SAY: “Let it be to me according to Your word.”

Finally, let me give you the word

4. Song

As we read on in Luke 1, beginning in verse 46...

⁴⁶And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, ⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name. ⁵⁰His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. ⁵¹He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. ⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. ⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful ⁵⁵to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers."

Note her excitement about being in the plan of God! “The Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name.”

How could Mary do this?

She really believed what we say we believe: God’s plan is best!

Remember, best is never the easiest.

God’s way is best for you…for others…and for the kingdom

Well, the Christmas season is here. Our challenge: to find Christ in Christmas.

Yes, it is true: Mother Mary has wisdom for us. As she said to the messenger of God, let us say to God this season when He speaks to us, “Let it be to me according your word.”