One Pastor's Perspective

I think the feeling that Ebenezer does not care about kids is based on things said by, honestly, only two or three people. I have been in meetings before, or heard “water cooler” talk that would make me believe there are people who do not like children around here. But I firmly believe it is only a couple of vocal people.

There are some who do not believe we need to build, or that we are capable, or that I am capable of leading such a task. And, they are RIGHT!! Only GOD is able to do ANY of that anyway. There are some opposed to calling a minister of chidren, because they do not have children that age anymore and this person will not impact them directly.

Remember that God is in control. HE CARES ABOUT KIDS, and because He does, WE DO TO!! We have to be obedient to Him, even if a couple around us are squealing because they don’t like it. They (actually, we all) will answer for things like that one day.

Seems like a ridiculous question after this week . . . Last night our VBS numbers were a little off. We only had 450 total folks there!! Tons of visitors and folks who have no church connection. One of my friends and I were talking about all of this, and honestly, there is a feeling out there that this church does not value children.

That hurts. On one hand, I hope no one would say that I do not place great value on the children of EBC. Because that would be terribly wrong. But on the other hand, what would we do if all of these people showed up this Sunday?? Where would we put them?? What are we doing to prepare for this??

We, as a church, need to answer these questions in our hearts, and we need to do it YESTERDAY. Our new facilities team is working hard on a long-term solution, but that will not come soon enough. We need to do something, and we need to do it NOW. Do we need to add another worship and another Sunday School?? Do we need to immediately build more education space, and add worship space later? Do we need to get over ourselves and move worship to the Family Life Center??

God has given us a great opportunity, and He will hold us accountable for how we respond. And, as for the “Ebenezer does not value children” thought, I will agree there are a few people who do not care for the number of children we host at Ebenezer. There are some who do not care for our Weekday Ministry. There are some who would not care at all if we did not do the CLC this year, or if all of our youth left. Yes, there are a very few people who feel that way. And a couple of them are squeaky wheels.

But I believe there are far more that DO care about youth and children at Ebenezer, and maybe it is time THEY were a little more vocal. It is obvious God has blessed us with youth and children in abundance, and it is so true that He will hold us accountable for how we respond.

A little girl is trying her best to do the right thing . . . Other kids around her pick on her because she does not join their activities, because she knows it is against God’s will. Yet, she goes on. That, my friends, is COURAGE. The frightening part is that she is a THIRD or FOURTH grader at Ebenezer.

Peer pressure is unreal. When you started reading this, you probably thought it was about a high-schooler facing what we know they face everyday. Sadly, it goes much younger than that now days. The question, for us parents, is how do we help our kids in such situations?

BE THERE FOR THEM. Listen to them. Enable them and allow them to succeed, even in this kind of situation. The best thing we can do is encourage them to succeed, remind them of right and wrong, and monitor their progress. The worst thing we can do is lead them to tuck and run . . . They will face situations like this all of their lives. They need ENCOURAGEMENT, because that is an instillation of COURAGE.

And YOU teach courge, not only by TELLING them, but also by SHOWING IT TO THEM in how you live your life. SO DO IT.

In the words of Gunney Ermey, “Semper Fi, Carry on!”

It is because of the PASSION in the hearts of the workers. The hearts with which this VBS (and every one for the past few years) was planned and done MAKES A DIFFERENCE. It filters down into the lives of the kids. THEY CAN TELL IF WE ARE FAKING IT!! And, from what I see, there are over 100 workers who are passionate about what is happening. And that is a good thing.

So, YOU DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

I am not sure . . . REALLY not sure after 11am worship yesterday. But, last night at VBS was incredible. When I saw the rain, I knew we were in for a rough night. Little did I know that the FLC would be FULL at worship rally time. And the youth house, with over 40 on the mission trip, still had 46 youth and adults. Kind of backs up that theory that SPACE is the final frontier for Ebenezer . . . WE NEED MORE OF IT!!

This week will be an awesome week. We will ALL be tired at the end of it, but it will be worth it if just ONE child or adult comes to know Christ as a result of it. All of the “inconvenience” and tolerance will be WORTH IT. Even having to watch a lifeguard on Sunday will be worth it.

And, fyi, one of the remarks I heard yesterday was: “Well, why didn’t he wear a swimsuit??” I DID!!! You can get one, too, at Steve and Barry’s in Sumter.

Last night in Wed. Night Bible Study, we looked at the passage where children were coming to Jesus and the disciples were turning them away. Interestingly enough, our facility is currently being decorated for Vacation Bible School. VBS is THE outreach event for Ebenezer, and we will see HUNDREDS of people we do not know for the first time.

And, some will complain because their Sunday School room is decorated . . . Or the sanctuary is not exactly as it “should” be . . . Or the pastor preached in a lifeguard shirt on Sunday (oops, did I write that??).

And Jesus would say “Let the children come, and don’t worry about the inconvenience. Let ’em decorate, let ’em do what they need to do to get the most important message out to the children of Florence.”

And, some of us would agree . . . HOW ABOUT YOU??

Why are there so many baseball coaches getting tossed lately?? Are umpires getting worse and worse, or are our tempers getting quicker??? I opt for the latter. Yes, in a sense I thought the Mississippi tirade was entertaining, but what example is being set?? EVERYTIME I turn SportsCenter on, I see another manager getting tossed. What has changed?? Watching major league games, and the College World Series (softball and baseball), I am kind of impressed by the bang-bang calls umps make and how accurate they are 99% of the time.

The problem is we want 100%. We have instant replay, and anytime an ump makes a close call, 50% of the crowd disagrees. Because we want to see it go OUR WAY. Being an ump is kind of like being a pastor, but that is another blog for another day.

All I am asking is next time you watch a game, ask yourself: Could I do a better job??? If the answer is yes, grab your blue shirt and GET OUT THERE!!!

What is it?? Major league baseball umpire?? Sports manager?? President of Walt Disney World??

I make an argument for Pastor. Yes, there are times when it gets really rough, but let me tell you about the last week of my life . . . A little guy comes to me and wants to accept Christ as His Savior. An older man, in CCU at a hospital, isn’t even a member at Ebenezer, but his niece calls and asks if I will go by and share the Gospel with him. People call or come by and want to talk about their problems . . . They thank me in the end, not for brilliant solutions to their problems, but for listening. Today, who knows what will happen, and Lord willing I will get to talk to many kids about Christ at VBS. I also got to talk to someone this week about using a tragic event in their life (that they made it through) to help another in the same spot. We don’t always understand what is happening in our lives, but what if we can use it to help someone else??

Yep, mine is the BESTEST, although I might have enjoyed being an umpire in Mississippi this past weekend.

Last night I had a good time at the Family Fun Day. No, I did not ride either slide. No, I did not get into the dunking booth (although I tried to get Mary Todd in it). The fun I had was in sitting around and just talking to friends. Yes, that CAN happen at church and a pastor CAN have friends. And we had some good laughs.

I need to laugh . . . Things can be so serious, so sad at times. When sickness and death seem to prevail, I need a laugh or two. And my friends never disappoint. Those guys know how to laugh, too. Laughter is a good thing.