One Pastor's Perspective

Yesterday, we at Ebenezer Baptist Church voted to proceed with plans to build a new worship center and some additional enhancements to our current facilities. It was a big day for us, and a bold move for our church. But this vote is simply a vote.

We can listen to rhetoric all day long. We can get excited about a new project and look forward to the day it is completed. We will enjoy the fruit of this labor, and hope and pray that God enjoys it, too!! But the PROOF will be in the PUDDING: WILL WE HAVE FAITH AND TRUST GOD WITH THIS?

Our fund raising team will soon approach the church to pray about our financial support of this project. Contrary to popular folklore, Ebenezer does not have a money tree out back or a cache of Confederate treasure from which we pull our riches!! (You would be surprised at how many people in our community believe those things) We each will be asked to pray and make a personal commitment to this project. Diana and I have already begun to pray about this. I hope you have, too!

But we realize this commitment must be over and above our regular tithes. There is something very important that we all must realize here: The ministry of Ebenezer GOES ON!! We cannot halt ministry to complete this project. There are so many ways in which God is at work at Ebenezer, and we do not want to do anything that would hinder this work.

So, the proof really will be in the pudding. Will we trust God to provide?? The proof will be in how Ebenezer continues to serve our community, our world, and our LORD. Pray for our church, and pray for your role in this most important project.

I love the picture of Moses and the Children of Israel, painted by Marty Massey last night in our church business meeting.  Twelve spies were sent in to the Promised Land to give a report.  TEN of them came back and said “NO WAY!!  There are GIANTS in this land and we cannot take it!”  And Joshua and Caleb came back and said “GOD GIVES US THIS LAND!!”  And Moses was there with a tremendously difficult choice to make…

If you play the odds, you go with the 10.  If 10 of 12 men say NO WAY, then it makes the most sense to keep on walking.  All logic and understanding dictate that you follow the ten.  It makes sense.  It would keep the people happy, right??

HOWEVER … There is a variable present in life that we often overlook.  GOD was at work!!  God had already promised this land to Israel.  He was in the details and the Children of Israel were in a place where BIG FAITH would be required.  And had they not had big faith, they might still be wandering in the wilderness.

We are very much like the Children of Israel in a lot of ways.  In fact, when I look at what Moses faced, I’d like to think I can relate to him probably better than most people.  Moses would’ve been a great Baptist pastor.  He had people on his right and people on his left second-guessing decisions, direction, and every move the Children of Israel made.  Moses did make mistakes, but for the most part he followed God’s leadership.  He dealt with unhappy people and had to fight human logic with a call to faith in God (and he had to do that WITHOUT Proverbs 3:5-6 to quote constantly in his heart).  He constantly lived in a place and time when BIG FAITH was REQUIRED.

Now we Ebenezerites find ourselves in that same place.  Plans are being made and discussed.  And I wonder how much faith we will exercise??  How much will we lean on our own understanding?  How much will we follow HIS lead in such a big decision?

God is at work all around us … Our job is to find where He is at work at JOIN HIM!!!  That principle from Experiencing God (a GREAT discipleship study written by Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, and Claude King) is one of the TRUEST things I have ever read.  (Is THAT possible???  TRUEST??)

I have watched that consistent principle play out over and over again in my life and in the world around me.  EVEN when I was running from Him.  EVEN when I did not want it to be true.  GOD is at work, and if (and when) we open our eyes and LOOK AROUND, we will see Him.

I see it in a huge way every time I look at Ebenezer.  I see people He is moving to accomplish His purposes.  I see grace, mercy, and love in the lives of Ebenezer.  I see God growing all of us to do what seems impossible and moving us beyond the limits to new heights.  And all of that THRILLS me.  And challenges me as well.

A week of vacation and reflection will give you a fresh “bite” on life … And I am reminded how exciting it is to be a part of this great family of faith.  And challenged to make the right moves in leading this flock on God’s path for us!!

Yes, I am on a VBS high right now … Pray for me and I will pray for you.  And even if you are not a member of Ebenezer, still pray for me and I WILL pray for you too!!  Have a great week!

I looked up the definition of “theocracy” today.  It is a nation that is ruled by a religious leader.  But today I make an argument for ANOTHER definition, one that is more fitting and that should be true of EVERY Christian church.  The TRUE Theocracy that I see is a church, ruled by GOD.

We Baptists are a funny lot.  We have a rich history of priesthood of the believer, of resisting government oversight and tyranny, of not being a “credal” people … The list can go on.  Baptist churches are also known for each church being responsible for it’s own direction.  Every Baptist church is a little different from each other.  We each have our quirks and we each govern and operate a little differently.  If you are an old school Dr. Pepper fan, we are PEPPERS to the core!!

Ebenezer is a committee-led church, and this is written into our constitution.  We rely on different teams to accomplish different tasks and each team is accountable to the church body as a whole for doing their jobs.  When it comes to church government, every member has a vote and a say in every decision.  Through ALL of this, we operate in a very American way!!  But it is time we move to more of a theocratic way…

What I am trying to write here is this:  Any church in this situation should work hard, NOT to make decisions based on our personal preferences, but on what God desires for us!!  EVERY VOTE we cast should be one in which we have sought HIS face about the particular issue, and are willing to vote what HE says is best!!  NOT WHAT WE LIKE OR WANT!  NOT OUR AGENDA, but HIS!!!  If every Baptist church would approach things this way, there would be NO SPLITS … There would be NO UNDERCURRENTS … There would be NO DERISION or DIVISION … And there would be NO FIGHTS over the color of the carpet, or the toilet paper, etc …

So in every decision, big or small, we really should commit to vote GOD’S will and NOT OURS!!  Last night at Ebenezer, I saw this come together in a way that makes me think “God REALLY DOES KNOW WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT!!”  More to come on that later, but it is awesome to just take your hand off of the wheel and watch God steer the ship EXACTLY WHERE HE WANTS IT!!

I hope we at Ebenezer are ALWAYS a TRUE THEOCRACY.  Because when we all allow God to work, He accomplishes far more than we ever could!!!

This morning, I’ve been thinking.  That might be the smoke that some of you smell ….  Thinking about the past two decades of my life.  In a little over a month, I will make the 19th year milestone on the staff of Ebenezer.  And Ebenezer is what I am thinking about.

The 1990s were a tough decade for Ebenezer.  Without going into detail, we had some spots that brought us down to low places.  I was there for half of that decade and I remember.  And now, I look at where we are going, and while some people see an imperfect church, I see something totally different.  I look at Ebenezer today and see and church that God has brought FAR (and NOT just over the past 15 years or so, but since 1778).  I see a church that God is healing.  We are still imperfect.  But God is working among us, and that is a WONDERFUL thing.  And I will not take that for granted.

Perhaps it is time for all of us to look back and see what God has done!!  Maybe that will change many of our perspectives on our own lives!!  Give it a try!!!!

I was talking to a friend yesterday about an upcoming decision our church will make concerning the usage of our present facilities.  If you know anything about Ebenezer, you know that we have space problems… WE NEED MORE!!  When you add in the idea that we need to seek God’s answer to this, it is not as simple as some might think .. and He is leading us to use what we have to the fullest!!

People have prayed for this for YEARS.  And prayed that we will do EXACTLY what God wants in His timing.  This has been a hard wait for the Ebenezerites.  When I read back on the stories of Moses and the Children of Israel on the exodus from Egypt, I can relate.  There have been some that feel they have clear-cut answers to do THIS … and just as many that feel they have clear-cut answers to do THAT.  As a leader, the only way I maintain sanity is to focus on God and seek answers from Him.  And I have found that people don’t always like His answers.

One of the biggest mistakes churches and church people can make is to watch at what God is doing in other churches, possibly even in other cities, and assume that the same formulas and programs would work for their church.  This is dangerous, because of several factors:

• No two churches are alike.  There have never been two completely identical churches EVER.  Rick Warren speaks much of this in his books, and especially in The Purpose Driven Church.  We are in danger when we think we can copy what another church is doing and expect it to work identically in our church.
• The context of every church is different.  Even when you look at the churches in Florence, SC, each of us is a little different.  We reach different people groups.  We are each unique in our way.
• God has called each of us to a different mission.  Ultimately, we are all called to be Great Commission churches, but God uses each of us in different ways to reach this city.

With those thoughts in mind, don’t you believe God has a better plan for us than we could possibly hatch??  Don’t you think He wants what is best for us in every decision made??  I do.  That is why as we approach yet another important decision, I am looking to Him for all of the answers.

Why should we trust Him??  WHY SHOULDN’T WE?

I am praying that all of the Ebenezerites are asking Him for answers, too.  And, for all of you who go to other churches, I am praying that you seek God’s answers for your church.

Join me?

Several people have asked me to post of the story of how this particular Ebenezer that we dedicated this past Sunday came to be … First, a little background:

The word “Ebenezer” is derived from two Hebrew words put together to name a location.  It is usually transliterated as a proper name by dropping the definite article (Ha) from the Hebrew word for “help” (Ezer) and putting it together with the Hebrew word for “stone” (Even) to create: “Ebenezer.” The etymological roots of the word, thus defined, should demonstrate that an “Ebenezer” is, literally, a “Stone of Help.”

On February 17, 2008, Ebenezer Baptist Church gathered for a combined worship service to celebrate 230 years of ministry.  At the end of that service, each worshiper was challenged to place a stone on a pile of stones to mark the fact that God has helped us, individually and as a church, to this place.  Afterwards I wondered aloud “What will we do with all of these stones??  If God gives you a vision for this, please let me know.”  Shortly after that, Haley Wightman told me she had a vision for what we could do.  What if we made a monument to God from these??  Jim Stamp had a similar idea.  These two talked and the current iron heart you see was a result of that (and of YEARS of work by Jim, who probably has THOUSANDS of hours in this project.)  Through the efforts of many church members (and a lot of extra effort by our Church Administrator, Dusty Kertis, and Tory Brown), the concept of our own Ebenezer was fabricated and placed.  The monument you see before us IS OUR EBENEZER.  The stones in this monument are the very stones that we placed on that pile 6 years ago.

However … let it be known to the entire world that THIS IS NOT AN IDOL.  WE DO NOT WORSHIP THIS EBENEZER.  But we love and revere the One True God, and this monument serves as a reminder of His hand in our lives, as individuals AND as a body of believers known as Ebenezer Baptist Church.  May He and He alone receive all of the glory in this stone of help!!

One of the greatest compliments someone can ever pay me on a Sunday morning is “Were you preaching directly to me??”  Not that I do that.  The number of times I write a sermon and then something happens in the life of the church that is a perfect match for it is MORE than coincidence.  Often people think “David is just preaching to address this.. or that ..”  And they give me far too much credit.

When someone says “You were speaking directly to me” they need to realize that God engineered that!!  I really pray and seek His face for everything that I bring to the pulpit at EBC.  And there are even times when He leads me in a direction and, like Jeremiah, I say “Do we REALLY want to say that, Lord?”

S0 every time someone says something like that to me, it serves to confirm that HE is at work at Ebenezer.  And His people are listening to Him.  And I really like that!