One Pastor's Perspective

This week, God has put a difficult message on my heart.  I still don’t quite know how to build this out into a sermon.  But, here goes .. This is what is on my heart:

This is something Ed and I were talking about last week.  One of the greatest challenges that faces The Church (not just Ebenezer) in the 21st Century is the realization that the world around us has changed so drastically in the last 10-20 years.  It’s going to take change in the church to reach them, and those churches that REFUSE to change will end up as abandoned buildings.  By the way, THAT is already happening around the US.

The big mistake that many will make when they hear this message is they will assume that I am talking about STYLE.  About music, about how we dress, about what our worship area looks like.  And that will offend them.

And now, the massive curve ball:  THOSE THINGS are NOT what this is about.  It is about a CHANGE OF OUR HEARTS.

Pray for me.  Pray for churches across the globe as we struggle with this.  And, Ebenezerites, I hope to see YOU on Sunday!!

First, the Riddle:  Why did God send Jonah to Nineveh??  Have you ever thought about it?  WHY Nineveh?  Before you go diving into the Book of Jonah, here are the first two verses of that book:

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:  “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

Ok, THERE is the answer: Because God noticed their wickedness.  But, don’t you think there were THOUSANDS of other cities that were wicked in that day??  So WHY did God send Jonah to Nineveh??

I’ll get to the answer in just a minute.  Now, the Popular Question (at least lately)…  Several people have asked me, “WHY HONDURAS?  There must be millions of orphanages on this earth that are as bad or worse than that one.  WHY THAT ONE??  Why the one in Limon??”

Have you figured out the answers yet??  God called Jonah to Nineveh BECAUSE HE DID.  We have NO IDEA why God chose Nineveh for Jonah to visit … We do know that in the end, because Jonah finally obeyed, Nineveh was SAVED!!  They turned to God!!

Why this orphanage in Limon, Honduras??  I DON’T KNOW.  I DON’T KNOW WHY GOD PUT IT IN OUR LAPS THE WAY HE DID.  But He is DEFINITELY at work in this.  And that excites ME!!  All I want to do is JOIN HIM and SEE WHAT HE DOES!!!  AND HOPE TO BE A PART OF IT!!

WHY HONDURAS?  BECAUSE GOD CHOSE THIS ONE FOR US.  And if He hasn’t chosen this one for you, that’s okay … But you need to get busy asking Him which one He choses for YOU!!

That is what I’ve been dealing with today … on a couple of levels.  White noise.

While in Honduras, Dr. John Bingham used his massive video skills to film a video telling the story of Sister Leonarda’s Home of Hope, the orphanage all of the Honduras Mission team talks about.  The goal of this video is to show and tell what it is really like.  He got some great shots.  Paul and I now have the task of editing and producing a final product.  I hope you all will see it soon!!

By virtue of the equipment used, background noise is a fact of life.  One of the things I’ve been trying to do this morning is filter out background noise and bring the voices of those videos out in better quality.  It is a tedious process.

While talking to Ed Self about some other things around the office today, it hit both of us:  There IS a spiritual white noise that we experience.  And it is trying to drown out the voice and call of God!!  It comes in a variety of sounds:

• Complaints
• Busywork
• Pride
• Gossip
• Worry
• This list could go on, but you get the point …

I realized today that the reason we saw and heard God at work so strongly 1,400 miles from here was the lack of white noise!!  I am hoping if we all realize this, we can focus on what is really important and ALL make an effort to turn down the white noise in our lives.

Because, the truth of all of this is:  God is working just as hard and He is doing things in Florence, SC, that are just as incredible and miraculous as I saw Him do in Honduras.  My problem is filtering out the white noise so I can see Him and hear Him clearly!!

I received the following email today. Don’t know the source of the story, but the email was from my friend Teresa Suddreth!!

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YOU TOOK MY PARKING SPACE AT CHURCH

This should wake us up.

One day, a man went to visit a church. He got there early, parked his car and got out. Another car pulled up near the driver got out and said, “I always park there! You took my place!”

The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, “That’s my seat! You took my place!” The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.

After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, “That’s where I always sit! You took my place!” The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still said nothing.

Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, “What happened to you?”
The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of thorns, and a tear fell from his eye,

“I took your place!”

I walked into a house yesterday.  A house into which I have walked many times in my 17 + years at Ebenezer.  But this time, it was different.  It might be the last time I walk into that house …  This time it was to plan a funeral.

Funerals are never easy, whether attending or conducting.  Funerals are a fact of life, and in the South we do them better than anywhere else.  They become more difficult when they are for a friend.  Someone who invested in me and my family.  And, long story short, Mrs. Genevieve Pettigrew did just that.  And she will be missed!!

We are never really prepared for death.  When someone we love lives a full life, it does make it a little easier.  But once again, we are reminded that life is precious and every day is a gift from God.  What are you going to do with your gift today??