Category Uncategorized

Oct 26 2010

What does love look like?


A couple of weeks ago Carol and I visited with the good folks at the Hemley Road Church of Christ. We are always so encouraged and built up in our faith to just be with them and observe 1st century Christianity up close. One of my experiences was on Thursday morning at the food give away.

I arrived at the Civic Center in Bayou La Batre to find the parking lot full of cars. I drove to the side of the building, found a place and entered through the service entrance. When I entered I saw a long line of people who were waiting to have their ID’s checked and then receive a large box of Hungry Man dinners. The Mobile County Bar Association was present offering pro bono legal work for the citizens. Medical personnel were there checking blood pressure, trying to get a snapshot of the health of those who wanted the service.

Each week a semi trailer of food is distributed. This week about 400 family units received about 1700 meals. They also received tooth brushes, tooth paste, and other essentials most of us take for granted. Perhaps 30 volunteers helped in the effort. The local jail’s trustees, dressed in their horizontal striped black and whites carried cases of food out for people, ladies at a long table checked the necessary paper work so food and other supplies would go to those who most need it.

I studied the faces of those people in line to get food. Most of them entered the line showing no emotion. Their faces were those hardened by days in the sun on shrimp boats, working in ship yards, and a history of fighting for survival in a place where drug abuse and alcoholism is as common as the sun. Their faces did not reflect hope, just a determination to survive. Most would force a faint smile as they said “Thank you” when they received their allotment of food.

A series of storms topped off by Katrina, the Gulf Oil Spill, and stupid government policy has forced this once thriving fishing community to its knees. Will they ever recover seems to be the question of most people I spoke to. It is difficult to be optimistic when you and most of your friends are unemployed and only a fraction are eligible for any benefits.

When the local network affiliates come from Mobile or Pensacola, or CNN, and PBR come calling to find how and why all this is going on in south Mobile County they find that the Hemley Rd Church of Christ is responsible. It is an amazing story of God’s faithfulness to a hand full of people who believe He can do anything.

Only 4 1/2 years ago they were less than a half-dozen common folks who together decided that they would make a difference in hurting people’s lives. They were distributing what ever they could find that the people needed. They started to repair storm damaged houses and people began to come and help. Soon, they decided they would worship together and they met at Hardees, the Odd Fellows Hall, on the beach, and finally in their own building. They have gone from nothing to being the leading church in the area, touching lives both for time and eternity.

Not only have they fed thousands, repaired almost 500 homes, given tons of bedding, furniture, and large appliances, they have also baptized people regularly who have decided to follow Jesus.  In God’s providence, funds, goods, and volunteers have come to help from all across the U.S. Not only church of Christ people but perhaps a dozen or more other groups continue to be staunch supporters both with funds and people on the ground.

Recently a church gave a 28 passenger people mover, another church purchased a 2010 van, and a local denominational church opened its heart and check book to help them help the community they serve well into the next year. The stories are too numerous for this format. Again and again, when the funds are almost completely gone and bills are due God supplies every need and more. I had not seen this kind of faith first hand in a long time. I’ve read about it, but when you see it up close and personal there is no denying that God is faithful to those who are depending only upon Him.

Carol and I spent a week working, worshiping, laughing, watching, and being amazed at these simple and unlikely hero’s of the faith as they feed the hungry, heal the broken-hearted, love the unlovable, and give out of their poverty in Jesus name.

Want to see some first century Christianity at work in 2010? Drive down to south Mobile County, Alabama and ask someone where the Christians are. They are easy to find.

Agape’

Royce

 

Oct 7 2010

Just Say No to the Status Quo!


First, an admission. I am a skeptic. I am one who questions the “Status Quo” in every arena of life. For example, when I receive a forwarded email that makes some claim that doesn’t ring true in my mind, I at once try to find out if my intuition is correct. (It usually is.)

Just because “this is how we have always done it..” does not equate to being right or best. I question public policy, and even contemporary Christianity. I think it is very healthy to read the label before you ingest some substance into your body. And, I think it is profitable to follow the same logic about what you allow into your mind. So, I have questions…

Does it bother anyone but me that not one of the people we read about in the book of Acts would qualify to be a minister in almost all of our churches?

This week I read a want ad from a church seeking a youth minister. One of the first requirements was “a minimum of 5 years experience”. Peter wouldn’t qualify, he only had about 3 years experience in ministry when he preached the powerful sermon where 3,000 were saved. Paul would’t qualify, he had no ministry experience when he began his ministry to the Gentiles.

Most all churches now require a degree from some Bible related school. Paul had about 3 years alone with God. He was schooled in Judaism but wouldn’t qualify on educational grounds. Even Jesus himself wouldn’t pass muster.

Maybe it would be beneficial if we would spend some time thinking about how and why we got so far off track. Could it be that culture has crept into our churches so that we are operating more like business than like a living organism that is solely dependent upon God to exist and function in the world?

Could it be that the reason numbers are shrinking in most evangelical groups is that Jesus is no longer the central message?

Read the book of Acts sometime and you will see a noticeable difference in the message of those early preachers and what comes out of most pulpits today. I am certain that multiplied thousands of regular church goers have never once heard their preacher give a clear presentation of the gospel.

Several months ago I read about a dozen sermons by a fellow whose self description was “Gospel preacher”. Amazingly, not once did this guy explain the gospel. He made reference to the word “gospel” several times but oddly failed to preach the gospel. How can you logically give an invitation to people to become Christians if they haven’t a clue about the gospel?

We would do well to get back to preaching Christ and the good news about what He accomplished for sinners.

Can “Ministry” become an idol?

Think long and hard before you answer. Only each individual can answer from him or her self. I answered the question and was not pleased with the answer… Granted, my feeble ministry pales in comparison to many who will read this post. But, what we do have in common is an ego that keeps fighting for the front of the line. The praise of men too often takes the place the glory of God should occupy in our “ministry”.

Do I first seek God’s approval for what I do? Do you? Or, do I want to hear words of praise from others? Our honesty, or lack of it, about such matters is a measure of who we really are.

Oh that all of our teaching and preaching and ministry models and community activism and charity give Christ glory and honor! If when at the end of the day Jesus is the center of attention, and not us, we will have succeeded.

Manage your ministry well, don’t allow it to manage you.

Dare to be different

Tens of thousands of ministers and other Christians are running about clamoring for attention, rushing to this conference and that one, looking for something new and exciting. We believers are fascinated by new books sometimes at the sacrifice of the Old Book.

Surrender to Jesus is not glamorous. Holiness will not get you invitations to a lot of parties. And, being Christ centered at all costs will not pay off by the world’s standards.

He must increase and I must decrease. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. Only in my brokenness is His wholeness on display to a watching world.

Agape’

Royce


Sep 15 2010

This ‘n That on Wednesday Night


I Felt the Love!

This morning my much better half was carted off to the operating room a bit after 8 a.m. to have a gall bladder removed.

The doctor was a prayin’ man. Dr. Ferguson prayed a simple, humble prayer as he held my wife’s hand and asked for wisdom and healing with thanksgiving.

It was as if God said to me, “OK buddy, relax, I’ve got it covered“. And relax I did, never a worry, just a thankful heart for my God who cares.

Then, a flood of Facebook posts, emails, and texts from all over wishing Carol well and assuring me of their love and prayers. Two of my Wednesday a.m. Bible study guys sent messages, my fishing buddy, and folks who read this blog cared enough to encourage and lighten the day. Thanks all.

Upcoming Posts on Grace Digest.

I’m not positive yet but I’m thinking of a series with the title
“Spiritual Boot Camp” . Or, “Just say no to Christian Humanism“. Or, more likely “Walking in the Spirit or Crawling in the Gutter“.

I’m always thinking about God, what His Word teaches. Most of us are missing His best because we don’t trust Him as much as we trust ourselves. Humanism (Trying to solve personal problems without acknowledging God) only provides a temporary remedy. Christian Humanism (Acknowledging God but operating as if He didn’t exist) is just as bad. Neither offers a cure, only God can cure us and make us whole.

Viva Las Vegas Mr. Grim!

Now Waveland, Mississippi is on the map for something other than being the place the eye of Hurricane Katrina hit. Waveland is so small you can drive through it and not know it.

Michael Grim’s last performance on America’s Got Talent was his rendition of
When a Man Loves a Woman, originally recorded by Percy Sledge. Grim wailed it out in style and now is one million dollars richer and will
headline his own Las Vegas show.

Way to Go Michal Grim!

The Tea Party Express is Building Up Steam!

When will the political insiders get it? American voters who tend conservative have had it with business as usual and they are saying it loud and proud at the polling place.

One more Republican liberal is defeated by a nobody Republican. The establishment Republicans, including Karl Rove, whom I like, were infuriated that their guy was soundly defeated in Delaware.

Maybe it’s time to listen to the common man! Duh Huh!
Unless you are an incumbent who has a record of voting  consistent with conservative values (Low taxes, smaller government, less entitlement programs, strong defense, tight borders, right to life, etc.) you might
start looking for another career now.

The working stiff will only take so much. There is a tipping point contrary to popular beltway wisdom. We have had enough of President Obama’s globalism, socialism, and we aren’t going to take it any more.

I have never attended a Tea Party meeting and likely will not.
But I do vote! I will not vote for a liberal no matter
what party he is aligned with.

That’s all for tonight folks. Time for bed and some good reading for an hour or so if the old peepers will cooperate.

Royce

Sep 13 2010

Can you help raise the dead?


What is your/my church doing in the community, or around the world, that could not be done just as well by a good civic club made up of non-Christians?

I was first challenged by such a question perhaps 30 years ago by the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee, a pastor and radio preacher. The question he asked was something like this. “What is your church doing that could not be done if God was dead?”

Wow! What a question! Questions like those make me a bit uncomfortable, how about you? I believe that for far to many churches the answer would be “Not much”.

For about 14 1/2 years I lived in a small north Texas town. There was one place in town to eat breakfast on Saturday morning, a post office, hardware store, grocery store, police office, and a couple of gas stations. It was one of those little communities where you knew the mayor and the chief of police and most everyone else on a first name basis. Our little town also had Baptist churches, a church of Christ, a Methodist church, a Catholic church, and a Pentecostal church. (There might have been others but I remember those)

We also had an American Legion Post and a VFW club. To be fair, some of the members of those churches were also active in either the VFW or the American Legion. The truth is that those beer guzzling old veterans and their wives did far more benevolent works in our community than all the churches combined. That was true for at least the first 10 years I lived there.

If someone’s house burned it was them, not the church folks who would show up to pitch in and help rebuild and give money for new appliances, furniture and bedding. Those two clubs simply put the churches to shame when it came to actually doing something tangible in the community. Thankfully, because one new pastor came to town who actually loved the people, that changed quickly, first in his church and then it spread to the others.

There is great value in giving a cup of water to a thirsty man in Jesus’ stead. We must do those sorts of things to be right and on track with God. His command is that we remember the down trodden, widows, orphans, and prisoners. Those acts of love are not options.

What then can the church do that a civic club can’t?

Christians, as God’s agents in the world, can offer dead men life!

You see, those men and women who are not Christians have one great need and that need is LIFE! A person who does not have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ does not need better morals, or even to become a regular attender at church on Sunday. No, his needs are far greater than improvement, he a problem only the gospel of Christ can solve.

Non-Christians are spiritually dead.

There is only one remedy for death and that is life. The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians said this of those Christians before they trusted Christ and were saved.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1)

But God, being rich in mercy,because of the great love with which he loved us,even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. (Ephesians 2:4,5)

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him. (Colossians 2:13)

In response to the gospel God makes the dead live.

God’s greatest work is not to make bad men good enough for heaven but to make dead men live. Ephesians 2 above says “God…made us alive together with Christ“. There is no other cure for death. Just as certainly as Jesus called Lazareth from the tomb he calls ungodly men to life today. Jesus said of himself, “I am the resurrection and the life..” and “I am the way, the truth, and the life”.

Jesus himself is eternal life.

Eternal life is not something Jesus gives to repentant sinners outside of himself. There is no spiritual (eternal) life outside of Him. What He gives is Himself. He is LIFE!

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (Romans 5:10)

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27

Feed the poor? YES! Care for the needy? YES! Visit and care for widows, orphans, and prisoners? YES! But we must also be saying to the dead in our communities “LIVE!”.

The gospel of Christ is good news because it announces that Christ has died for you, that God’s righteousness can be yours, and that your body will be changed from mortal to immortality, and you will forever be God’s own dear child. No civic club can do this work. It is reserved for those who by relationship and sonship have become ambassadors for a heavenly kingdom whose orders is to herald the good news “Jesus Saves, Jesus Saves, come and live forever with Him”.

Royce