The Random Thinker

What is the vision and direction for Ebenezer??  There are many pieces of this puzzle in place.  And for it to be complete, EVERY MEMBER will need to find his/her place to plug in.

When you think about strong ministries at EBC, you cannot help but talk about our children’s ministry.  Our youth ministry.  Our Weekday Early Education Ministry.  Our music ministry.  Our Family Life Center.  The list can go on and on…  Considering all of these things AND the fact that of the 25,000 people within a three-mile-radius of our front door, 17,000 claimed on the latest Census to NOT have an ongoing relationship with a church, one cannot help but understand that God put us here to REACH THE LOST.  And that He has given us many tools to use in this mission.

And here we are…  We started the HOW Campaign to save money for a new sanctuary, new classroom space, and a new Youth Assembly Building.  Then the economy took a downward spiral.  HOWEVER, God allowed us to build the YAB WITHOUT DEBT!!  The next steps have yet to be taken, and for good reason…

We are NOT USING THE SPACE WE HAVE NOW to the best of our abilities.  I believe with all of my heart that until we are good stewards of that which God has entrusted to us, we WILL NOT BE GIVEN MORE.  We will not be allowed to build.  This is where we really need to pray and seek His face.

What to do??  We could consider changing our Sunday morning schedule and doing two Sunday Schools and two Worships.  We could add another service on Sunday evening that mirrors the Sunday morning worship service, and have Sunday School during that time as well.  We could add a service on Saturday night.

What SHOULD we do??  HERE IS THE ANSWER.  HERE IS THE VISION FOR EBENEZER:  We SHOULD … WE MUST … SEEK GOD AND HIS WILL FOR EACH ONE OF US.  AND WE MUST BE THE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE THAT EACH OF US IS, EMBRACE IT, AND MOVE FORWARD AS THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US.  EACH ONE OF US.

Period.

Anyone who knows us knows we (the Wikes) have been through a lot of change this year.  Krissy graduated college.  Drew graduates high school in less than three weeks.  My children are both at major milestones in their lives and it’s all coming so fast!!

I am thankful .. Thankful my mother, father, and little sister were able to be at graduation.  Thankful Krissy has worked so hard and graduated with honors.  Thankful Drew is working hard and preparing for his next step to Francis Marion University.

But it all happens so fast.  Seems like only yesterday I was driving a U-Haul to Florence from New Orleans…  Drew was 1 month old when we walked into EBC’s Sanctuary for the first time as Minister of Youth.  In a little more than a week, Nathan Neighbors and his family will be here and hopefully another family will make Ebenezer their home for a long time.  And, while Nathan’s arrival has been long anticipated, it will be here before you know it!!

It’s funny how changes in life come so fast, and we can do two things with them:  Take them in stride and adapt, or fight them and live with the lack of peace involved in doing that.  Change in life is inevitable … And some of it IS good!!  Praying God will give us all the strength and sensibility to navigate the changes of life in a way that glorifies Him!!

A Safe Place from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

Part time Christian from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

Yesterday I was walking down the hall of our Family Life Center.  One of our Weekday Ministry kindergarten classes created a bulletin board on which bees were present, along with desired traits (ok … I didn’t pay THAT much attention as I hurried down the hall).  And that bulletin board spoke to me just now.

One of the constants in my profession is a flow of negative energy…  That is a sad sentence, but true.  In a church with over 1,300 members, there is ALWAYS someone unhappy about a decision… Or about the state of ________ … or about the color of shoestrings in the pastor’s shoes … I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how negativity, derision, and factions absolutely SMOTHER the vision and mission of any church.  And I realize I am the point of contact for that at Ebenezer.

This morning, I find myself realizing the more energy I put into fending off this stuff, the LESS energy I am able to focus on what God called me here for many years ago … (Well, Tommy Dowling has been telling me that for years.  And Marty Coates reinforces this constantly on his blog http://www.coatesandassociatesinc.com/blog.html).

It all makes sense now … BEEE POSITIVE!!  Tommy and Marty and John Maxwell and a bunch of other solid leadership gurus are right:  FOCUS ON STRENGTHS!!  Now, when there are legitimate problems that need to be addressed, the Holy Spirit WILL make that clear, too!  But I’ve got to stop worrying about the color of my shoestrings … or if John Q. Churchmember is upset about the brand of TP we are now using, or the fact we put a 42″ TV in his Sunday School room instead of a 46″ ….

Yes, in several ways I know I need to trust the Holy Spirit to show me the way.  And I’ve got to do a better job at avoiding the quicksand in which the devil desperately wants me to become swamped.  So, pray for me today!!!  And I’ll pray for you!

And BEEEEE Positive!

This week, God gave me a heavy burden.  SPECIFICALLY for Ebenezer, but it also branches out to all churches in North America.  That is what this sermon is about:

Part-time God from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

A Spirit of Fear from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

These past few months have been tough.  Tough for Ebenezer.  Tough for the staff.  When God called Justin away, a huge void was felt not only in our church but also in our staff family.

We really are like a family.  When one of us hurts, we all hurt.  When one of us celebrates, we all share.  I guess you might say we are more than a team.  Justin was a big part of that team, and he IS loved.  And the lack of his presence was felt for sure.

The process to find a new minister in the Southern Baptist church is difficult.  Unique.  We don’t have a bishop or overseer that could merely assign a new staff person.  We kind of act as independent entities, have to search, evaluate, and find on our own.  That is exactly what Personnel has done since October.  The pool of candidates was whittled down from over 100 eventually to one.  Unlike the business world, if you are trusting God in the search, you approach candidates one at a time.  After an initial interview, that is what we did with Nathan Neighbors.

Nathan was born in Columbia but grew up in Florence.  Graduated from South Florence High School.  After college he married his high school sweetheart, Ashley (Ellis), and they headed to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  And they have been serving God faithfully since…

One of the my favorite things about this part of the process was how Nathan seemed to fit right in with Ebenezer.  With our church staff.  The first time I met him face to face, it was as if I had known him for years.  Honestly, I kept my feelings close to the vest to see where Personnel would land.  Eventually, they felt the same thing!  We all knew that this was the man.  But we had to continue working the process until all of the stars aligned.

I am thankful that everything aligned, and Nathan is already at work (so to speak).  Of course, he will work an appropriate notice at his current church and will then be on the field with us towards the end of May.  I am excited to see all that he brings to this vital ministry at EBC.

And, when I say “Welcome home!!” to he and Ashley, it means more than welcome to Florence!  I am thankful that Ebenezer is their new home!  I am thankful that they are already part of the family!!

If you do not trust God, you WILL NOT trust each other.

One of the biggest obstacles for any church is a lack of faith.  A lack of trust in what God is doing.  A doubt of that to which God has called the church to do.  And when the church does not trust God, it will not trust each other.

I’ll confess this to you:  When I see this at Ebenezer (or in any church), it really breaks my heart.  The basic mistrust.  The conspiracy theories.  Then, when you add in the concept that teams like Personnel has to operate in a somewhat-confidential manner, it makes suspicions abound even more.  For no reason.  (Thanks to the legal climate of our modern society, Personnel HAS to operate in silence for most of their job.  It keeps the church from being sued, so this is a good thing!!)

I could write and write about this topic, but to cut to the chase:  We NEED to trust God.  We NEED to trust each other.  Otherwise, we will never see the full potential God has planned for our church OR for each of us as individuals.  Period.

The Next Step from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.