Eyes

June 7, 2010 in Journal with 3 Comments

The eyes may say more than any audible expression ever could. Yesterday, as I spent my last day with 16th & Pile as their preacher, I looked into a lot of eyes. Some were tearful, others joyful, but the eyes said it all.

I am glad that we aren’t moving far away because there are people here who mean a lot to us. It is hard to forge solid relationships in such a short period of time, but we’ve been able to do that here.

I hate that they seem so defeated, though. I hate that they feel so marginalized.

We all struggled with the words, but the eyes… they didn’t struggle at all. Thank you. Love you.

What Divorce Mediation Has Shown Me

June 3, 2010 in Ministry with 1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a minister’s study, but for the first time I had my Macbook with me. To the group, this seemed odd. I asked if the hosting church had an open wireless signal because I needed internet access. Why? I was in the middle of trying to mediate a divorce for my graduate class, Advanced Mediation: Marital Disputes.

When I apprised the group of what I was doing, they were somewhat shocked. I understand why. After all, we are ministers and we feel like it is our duty to save marriages, not facilitate them coming to an end.

Before the class started, I had serious reservations about it. The class title told me one thing, but the reading titles (Divorce and Family Mediation & Mediating Divorce: A Step-By-Step Manual) suggested something else. I’ve known from the beginning that divorce mediation was a significant part of the curriculum and that I was going to have jump in with both feet, but my feelings from ministry led me to be resistant to it. I want to preserve marriages, if at all possible, not help them amicably come to an end. On the surface, is anything more illogical than a minister trying to mediate a divorce?

But here I am, five weeks into it, and I’m pleasantly surprised. Most, if not all, of my fears are gone and another point is proven: perspective is everything. This class, especially the role-playing, has been as beneficial to me as 10 years worth of hands on ministry experiences. No joke. The mediation process is as valuable as gold because the process, worked in the right way, lends itself to reconciliation. And that is what God cares about most (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). It creates opportunities that, more than likely, would not be had any other way. This may not mean that two people don’t divorce, but it does mean that a process is experienced that can be capitalized in so many ways to revolutionize one’s life. This isn’t hyperbole, either. I’m serious!

The mediation process affords us techniques that can be used just about anywhere, at any time, and at any place. Best of all, when used proactively, it can really change the course of things if people are really pursuing peace. Of course, I learned this week one in Negotiation and Mediation: you have to have two parties who are willing to sit down and discuss things if reconciliation is ever to be possible. It would be nice, across the board, if we had more people who were willing to calmly sit down and be peacemakers. After all, that is what we are called to be (Matthew 5:9; Hebrews 12:14).

Do They Get Along?

June 1, 2010 in Church with 3 Comments

If you are in need of insurance, Clovis NM is the place to come! Insurance agencies are in abundance. Take your pick from any of the big boys: Allstate, Farmers or State Farm. Or you can go with one of a number of independent agents. There’s definitely no shortage of insurance agencies from which to choose.

Consequently, I’ve noticed that when it comes to Farmers and State Farm agencies, in particular, there are more than just a few of each. On my short drive to the office I count four different State Farm agencies and there is at least one more not on my route to the office.  Knowing the insurance business is extremelycompetitive, I wonder if all the State Farm agents get along. Is there enough business to go around, or does the competition create tension? Do these agents, serving the same company, get along? I’ve come to learn something of an answer to the question. After all, I’m a fan of my State Farm agent, Mike Morris, the one not on my route to the office.

Over the years, I haven’t had the best of relationships with other preachers in communities where I’ve lived. My relationship with ministers of other faiths was non-existent, but it wasn’t much better with those of other Churches of Christ.

Especially in the South, Churches of Christ are ubiquitous in communities. Large cities are prone to having tons of congregations. Sadly, though, a lot of small communities are prone to having a significant number of them, as well. I’m no longer certain whether this is good or bad. We are a people who’ve been prone to division. Much of that division is born out of people believing they were doing the right thing, which may or may not have actually been the case. That it looks so terrible that communities of 10,000 or less might have five or more congregations, I wish more would see. All you have to do is ask around and you’ll discover that we’ve marginalized ourselves because we struggle to get along with one another.  

My time in Clovis, though, has been different for me personally. I have a wonderful relationship with Larry Tittle, the preacher for the West 21st Street Church of Christ. He’s become a very dear friend to me. In the year that I’ve been with 16th & Pile, we have done a lot together. We’ve played golf, had coffee, ate lunch, worshiped, studied, and prayed with each other. We’ve done all of these activities, and more, on more than one occasion.

I am proud of the relationship Larry and I have forged. Sadly, I am on my way to the NM Christian Children’s Home and will no longer be preaching at 16th, but that doesn’t mean we will no longer be getting together. After all, Portales, NM is only 20 miles from Clovis.

Here’s what I love most: for the last twelve months, anyone who might have wondered if the preachers from the 16th & Pile Church of Christ and the West 21st St. Church of Christ got along could be answered in the affirmative!

Playing it Safe…

May 28, 2010 in Faith with 7 Comments

Earlier this week I heard a missionary tell of his work in Africa. I loved listening to him and I think he does amazing work. He repeatedly brought up, though, how Americans were being targeted, kidnapped and held hostage in nearby areas, but American churches were paying large sums of money to buy their release. I remember thinking, “Hmmm. Isn’t that just fueling the fire, enabling groups to do more of the same?” But that’s another subject, maybe, for another time.

It got me to thinking, though, about the inherent dangers involved in mission work. Missionaries know that there is serious danger in that kind of work. To a large extent, that is exactly why I appreciate them. But the know the dangers are more than hypothetical, they are real, and yet still they go. But what should happen when the unthinkable actually happens?

If we will think about it, danger lurks around every corner, hides in virtually every crevass, and can happen anywhere. Danger can found on the Mexico border, in the African village, as well as on the suburban street corner. There is no escaping it. You can try, but it will be to no avail!

I don’t believe Jesus launched his mission into world so that we might play it safe. What we refer to as The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) wasn’t a proposition to simply take the gospel to places where we’d be sheltered from harm. There was no caveat which stated: “Go into all the world..except for the high risk places.” After all, there really is no 100% safe place. Evil is everywhere and harm is indiscriminate about where it will emerge. If we only played it safe, we’d go nowhere. But for some reason, I don’t think, in our heart of hearts, we believe that’s the right thing to do.

Think about it…Daniel lived for God in the middle of a Babylonian firestorm of danger. He was in a foreign land, and yet he was open about his faith and devotion to God, even if it meant a front row seat a lion’s den or a fiery furnace. I know he was taken into captivity by force, but that didn’t change how he acted while there. It was in those situations that Daniel’s faith was exhibited, regardless of what would befall him. How comfortable would we feel telling Daniel our stories about how we didn’t go to the risky places because it was dangerous? Not me.

And then there’s Stephen in Acts 7. That guy was nuts to preach that kind of message, to that group of people, in that kind of place. Didn’t he know it might get him killed? Didn’t he know that he might better serve the cause of Christ by going on his way and finding a people to preach to who wouldn’t start chucking rocks at him? After all, he might die of such treatment. Err…he did die. But Stephen was outright foolish to do what he did, wasn’t he? But again, doesn’t it sound odd to suggest such? It does to me. After all, we extol martyrs. He loved the Lord and was willing to die for him.  We are supposed to be “faithful” even if it might cost us our lives (Rev. 2:10). But what does it say about us if we only go where it is advantageous to us?

Something New…

May 26, 2010 in Ministry with 12 Comments

I read a book a while back that noted how the Psalmist seemed fond of new songs. His express desire was to sing “a new song”  to the Lord (Psalm 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1). I must admit, I feel the same way about a lot of things in life.

The longing for something new isn’t abnormal. It’s actually natural, and at times needed. The covenant offered at Sinai was in need of being replaced by something “new” (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:7-13). But something new is generally risky. The “old wine” might be what we are used to, and often, we will only take on something new if we can put it in old wineskins (Luke 5:36-39). After all, we are entrenched in the belief that “the old is better” (v. 39). But the inborn sense of desire for something new must be dealt with. You can only avoid it for so long before it becomes deconstructive.

For a while now, I’ve considered breaking free from local church pulpit work to do something new. I don’t want to quit ministering, but I do want to minister in a way that I sense betters serves people. Yes, that’s exactly what I meant!  “What can better serve people than to preach ‘the good news’ to them?” you might be thinking.  Look,  preaching and teaching doesn’t just take place in church auditoriums. It happens in a number of different environments, in numeous venues. But before one thinks that a Sunday morning assembly is “the” best place to minister, I would suggest such one takes a Sunday, stands behind a pulpit for 30 minutes, and speaks . What you might see might change your mind! Sleeping. Doodling. Texting. Reading the Bible but not following along with the minister. People looking around and watching what others are doing. All of this happens every Sunday all over the country.

So, for the time being, I am transitioning into something new. I will no longer be involved in full-time preaching work. Instead, my wife  and I have chosen to minister together in the lives of children at a nearby children’s home in Portales, NM.

I want something new. I need something new. The New Mexico Christian Children’s Home has stepped in to offer Tisha and I an opportunity to do something new.

It will be tough. We both know that. That is, in part, why we want to do it. We are concerned for the future of the church, and we long for Jesus and his church to be integral to the lives of today’s youth.

I ask that you will pray for us as we begin to transition, as well as keep us in your prayers as jump into this work with both feet!

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