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Installation and Transformation

June 3, 2011 by pastoralex4

On Sunday, May 29th, the people of Calvary Baptist Church in Mount Airy, North Carolina, officially installed me as pastor. Now I’ll have to confess: in one sense all the hoopla seemed a little anticlimactic. After all, everyone in the congregation has received me so warmly—and has made me feel at home so quickly and so completely—that it feels like I’m already part of this church family…and have been for a long time. But in another sense, the day served as a perfect exclamation point on what has been a wonderful beginning. I cannot fully express how grateful I am for the way that people have opened their hearts to me and my family, and I am humbled by the opportunity that now lies in front of us to seek God’s face together and to become agents of His purpose here in our community and across the globe.

All of this, of course, is just another way of saying that now the real work (and the real adventure and the real fun) begin. I am reasonably confident that this congregation did not call me so that we could just “do church” on Sunday morning and then go through the rest of the week unchanged (nor is this why I said, “Yes” to the call). Instead, I believe that God has brought us together so that we can partner in the journey of transformation—transforming ourselves as we open our hearts more completely to Christ and to each other…and transforming our world as we allow ourselves to be used by God’s Spirit.

The challenge, however, is figuring out what transformation will look like for this church in this place at this time. As John Tadlock—my friend and our installation speaker—reminded us, we will need to “interpret our cultures.” We must interpret our congregational culture, so that we can rightly discern the passions God has placed within us. And we must interpret our community culture, so that we can rightly communicate those passions in a way that makes it possible for others to understand them.

With that goal in mind, the leaders of our church (deacons and church council) will be having some “mini-retreats” in the coming weeks. The participants in these gatherings won’t be making decisions or implementing new policies—those are tasks for the church as a whole. But they will be engaging in some unhurried times of prayer, listening and dialogue; through which I believe a clearer picture of our priorities and our “next steps” will begin to emerge.

Now to be completely honest, I wish that I could involve every single member of the church in that kind of “retreat experience.” I think that if we made time to listen intently to each other’s stories—and to share the ‘dreams for Calvary Baptist’ that God has placed in people’s hearts—we’d be moved to a whole new level of love for each other and the Lord. I am practically minded enough, however, to realize that the planning required to pull off a gathering like that would be quite cumbersome – and might short-circuit the process before it even got started.

But having said that, I still want to involve as many as possible. So I’ve asked church members to do two things. First: Pray. Pray for me. Pray for our church leaders, and pray for each other – asking specifically that God will help us “interpret our cultures” by helping us discern how He wants to move (and, in fact, is already moving) in our church and in our community. Second: Join the conversation. Whenever they can…however they feel led…share with me (or a deacon or a committee leader or each other) their sense of what God wants to do through the family of faith that we call Calvary Baptist Church. And if they need a little “push” to jump-start their thinking, I’ve offered a wonderful question that’s borrowed from Thomas Bandy, a leader in church development: Where will Jesus be…five years down the road…in our zip code…and what price is our congregation willing to pay to join him there?

The installation is over. Let the journey toward transformation begin.

 

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Oh, Rapture!

May 21, 2011 by pastoralex4

As I write this, it’s about 4 o’clock in the afternoon on May 21, 2011—the day that some Christian ministries have been proclaiming for months as the guaranteed day that Jesus will return to take His faithful home. Since my latest look at CNN.com shows no indications of sudden theophanies or mass disappearances of believers – departing for heavenly glory, I’m figuring that Jesus has only about 8 more hours to put in an appearance before this latest cadre of End-Times prognosticators is shown to be just as mistaken as all those who have gone before them have been. [Of course, to be fair, there are several others time zones where the end of May 21st will come later than 8 hours from now. So technically, I guess that Jesus may have a little more time than that.]

Now just on the off chance that the Rapture doesn’t take place—and all of us are still here on May 22nd—I can’t say that I’ll be surprised. I suppose that I have to count myself among those Christians who tend to think—that since Jesus himself said “only the Father” knew the day and hour of his return—it doesn’t do much good for us to burn much energy making predictions. Then again, I also can’t say that I’ll be especially pleased. After all, as one song puts it: “If we ever needed the Lord before, we sure do need Him now.” Given the level of violence and hatred and mistrust and unfaithfulness in the world, I actually do long for the day when Christ returns and ”God makes all things new.” However, assuming that we’re all still here tomorrow, I think that what I will feel is hopeful—hopeful that with this little sideshow behind us we can focus once again on being rich in love, faithful in prayer, and dedicated to living in such a way that “God’s kingdom comes and God’s will gets done on earth as it is in heaven.”

So while I do look forward to that day when God completes the “redemption and restoration” mission the He began in Christ (although I have no clue when or how that time of completion will come), perhaps I can pray for now that the Rapture will come a little every day, as faithful followers of Jesus make his presence a little more clear in the world through their words and lives.

Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus.

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The Relentless Rush to Enter Rest

May 16, 2011 by pastoralex4

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29)

I’ve been participating in a lot of church committee meetings lately. All in all, that’s a good thing. In fact, it’s something that I requested, since I’ve been trying to use these gatherings as a learning tool to “get up to speed” on the ministries that are taking place in the Calvary Baptist family. However, I did have an experience the other night that made me wonder…

I was standing out in the church parking lot—waiting for some committee members to arrive for one of those meetings—and all the people who I saw pull in were talking on their cell phones as they arrived. Now I’ve got nothing against cell phones, and sometimes I wonder how we ever got along without them. But the sight off all these good folks heading into yet another meeting while simultaneously attempting to deal with other life issues reminded me: Sometimes the way that we live seems mighty far from the “rest for our souls” that Jesus promised.

Of course, this “hurry sickness” would be problem enough if it was just the result of “the world” or “the culture” pressing us into its mold. But often—too often, perhaps—I find that the church is at least somewhat guilty of adding to the problem rather than easing it. We get focused on all the good things we want to do for the Lord…things like teach the Bible, minister to children and youth, serve those in need, and so on. And so we form committees and recruit volunteers and schedule meetings. And all of this is well and good, until we get to the point—that in the midst of our efforts to “do things for the Lord”—we miss the Lord himself.

I feel this tension quite strongly as a pastor…and perhaps even more as a new pastor. As the leader of an organization that we call the local church, it is natural and appropriate to ask the question: What do we need to do to accomplish our mission? But as the pastor (or “under shepherd”) of God’s flock, it seems equally important to ask: How can I get out of the way so that the Good Shepherd can “make us lie down in green pastures, lead us beside still waters, and restore our souls”?

In the weeks and months ahead, I have little doubt that we’re going to identify lots of good things that we can do to glorify God and to bear witness to His kingdom here in our community. And I hope that we’ll do at least some of those things with whole-hearted commitment and joy. But through it all, I hope that we’ll always keep in view the essential truth that our faith is not built on the things we do. It’s built on what God has done. It really is all a gift of grace…and we as a church are accomplishing the most when we help people rest in that gift.

So thanks for all the things you do, Calvary Baptist. But thanks, too, for those times you stop…and put down the cell phone…and close the inbox…and simply abide in the greatest truth of all: God loves you! (And I love you, too.)

Rest in that…

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Just Thanks

May 14, 2011 by pastoralex4

It’s Friday night here in my new hometown of Mount Airy, NC. Although it’s been a slightly intense week (along with normal tasks of ministry and rich-but-unexpected interactions, I actually had at least one committee meeting every night) tonight has been one of those rare evenings that is extraordinarily rewarding, precisely because it’s so ordinary. After wrapping up a few things at the office this afternoon, I had the opportunity to walk the quiet streets of “Downtown Mayberry.” I made some dinner…talked to my family…did some reading…watched a movie. I realize how unremarkable (and perhaps to some – boring) it all might seem. But given the many hurts and heartaches that I know are out there (both close at hand and far away), the very simplicity of these hours has refreshed my spirit and has made me grateful once again for everything that has brought me to this moment in this place.

So to everyone who has been part of this week—family and friends, co-workers, church members and others—I’m so grateful to have you in my life. And to those who have humbled and honored me by sharing with me parts of your story—you’re in my prayers. And to the Father who gives me a quiet Friday night to sit back and reflect on it all—just thanks.

Posted in General, Ministry, Small Town Life | Leave a Comment »

Lovely Feet or Loose Lips

May 3, 2011 by pastoralex4

“How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.”

The Prophet Isaiah, Ancient Israel

“Loose Lips Sink Ships.”

US Civil Defense Slogan, World War 2

I don’t know how many of you are aware of it, but we recently received word in the church office that Calvary Baptist had been named the recipient of a 2011 “Mountie Award.” This means that our congregation was chosen by readers of the Mount Airy News as the Surry County area’s “Best Church.” Naturally, I’d like to be able to say that this has something to do with the arrival of our handsome and talented new pastor (wink, wink)…but the voting on this year’s Mountie Awards clearly took place before I came on the scene. So I guess the best thing I can say is, “Congratulations, Calvary Baptist! You have been ‘letting your light shine’ in such a way that those around you have seen your good works and are glorifying your Father in heaven”…or at least…“They’ve seen your good works and are giving you an award (which doesn’t sound quite as biblical, but which is nice, all the same).”

Now somewhat ironically, in the very same week that we received news about the Mountie Award, I received a phone call from someone who had a very different impression of our church. This individual apparently had what I’ll describe as an “unpleasant encounter” with someone from our congregation, and—when she combined her impressions of this encounter with some unresolved feelings that she had from a prior experience—this was enough to make her question whether we had any true Christians in our midst at all.

In the end, of course, the truth of our church’s character is probably somewhere in between these two poles. We are likely not as good as our ‘best press’ would suggest…nor are we as bad as our ‘worst detractors’ would insist. Our church—like each of us individually—is a sometimes-frustrating mixture of sinner and saint. And perhaps the best we can pray for is that we’re slowly but surely making some kind of progress toward greater Christ-likeness.

But having these two interactions so close together has reminded me (as I hope it will remind all of us) that we are being watched. Whether we realize it or not…whether we like it or not…people are observing our behavior and listening to our words. And they are drawing conclusions—not only about us but also about the Savior we serve—based on what they see.

So what will we show them? Lovely feet that bring good news? Or loose lips that sink ships?

May we aspire to live in such a way that everything we do—in thought word and deed—is done in the name of the Lord Jesus. And may the warm glow of our fellowship cast such an appealing light that others are drawn to the beauty of Christ, who loves us and gave himself for us.

Posted in Current Events, Ministry, My Church, Small Town Life | Leave a Comment »

Can You “Here” Me Now?

April 23, 2011 by pastoralex4

I’ve recently been reading a new book on spiritual practices or disciplines by Brian McLaren titled “Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words.” I’ve only made it through a handful of chapters at this point, so it’s a little premature to offer any overall assessments. But I’ve already been blessed by the first of McLaren’s “12 Simple Words”—the word “Here.”

As McLaren puts it, “Here is the simple word by which we show up, responding to the One calling our name. Here is the way we name where we are—pleasant or unpleasant, desired or not—and declare ourselves present to God’s presence.” As I read it, McLaren is advocating the same kind of goal that one finds expressed in Brother Lawrence’s Practice of the Presence of God and Frank Laubach’s Game with Minutes: a simple-yet-focused awareness of the reality of God’s abiding nearness. His ‘spiritual exercise’ for cultivating this awareness is tantalizingly simple. At any time and in any place, one can simply bring to mind this thought: “Here I Am. Here you are. Here we are together.”

Of course, McLaren lays the groundwork for this exercise by unpacking several biblical examples of divine-human encounters. And he points out that successfully cultivating an awareness of God’s presence ultimately requires time spent alone with God so that we can still ‘make the connection’ when we’re immersed in the rush of daily life. In this way, his simple word “Here” references what might more traditionally be called the disciplines of solitude and/or centering prayer.

But over the last few days, I’ve found that this single-word approach does have a certain power. Creating just the tiniest space for my heart to say, “Here” focuses me on the reality that I want to live in this moment (and not some other), and on the truth that God is with me in this moment. And for that, I give thanks.

Posted in General | 1 Comment »

A Minor Twist of Faith

April 20, 2011 by pastoralex4

The church in Mount Airy, NC, that I’ve been serving for almost three whole weeks received a letter in the mail the other day. The letter was from a local family whose 5-month son had been taken to Duke Medical Center to receive treatment for a rare and serious heart condition. As you can imagine, the treatment (and the cost of staying near Duke) is expensive, so the family was seeking assistance with meeting the costs. Our church is making members aware of the need, so that they can contribute as they feel led. But in the meantime, I remembered (Duh!) that I have in-laws who live near Duke Medical Center. So I asked them if they might be able to stop by and offer this young family some encouragement.

My in-laws did exactly that, and here’s a snippet of the email they sent me in the wake of that experience…

I just got back from visiting with that young boy and his mom.  He is a precious little 5-month old.  His mother was remarking about how amazing God is to make the connection of you receiving the letter and having family here  that could look in on them.  I”ll be checking back with them again…they are handling a huge load. 

Thank you for letting us know about this child. I love the way God works. Being a part of that just makes it all the more amazing.

Isn’t it neat what a little ‘twist of faith’ will do?

Posted in General, Ministry, My Church, Small Town Life | Leave a Comment »

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