One Pastor's Perspective

I don’t like rollercoasters. Funny that a rollercoaster is such a great analogy of life, because I LOVE life.

Have you ever really thought about it? Life is kind of like a rollercoaster. You start out on this big hill . . . Education. Slowly and methodically it pulls you up . . . CLICK CLICK CLICK . . . You get to the peak on seem to be on top of the world. Have the entire Earth beneath you. There is nothing you cannot do.

WHOOOOSH! Down a sharp hill and around a corner. Life hits you so fast it makes your head spin. Up a small hill . . . Suddenly, it all drops out beneath you. Another sharp turn, flipped upside down, and then a big, steep curve.

You get the idea, right?? Life is full of so many dramatic turns. Some of them you see coming down the track . . . Some of them hit you and you never even knew they were there. Many of them alter your course in ways you never anticipated.

And before you know it, the ride is over.

I don’t like rollercoasters, but I want this one to run for a LOOOOOOOONG time.

This is today’s funny from Mikey:

After dinner, the children turned to Jacob and asked if he would tell them a story. “A story about what?” asked Jacob.”About a giant,” squealed the children.

Jacob smiled, leaned against the warm stones at the side of the fireplace, and his voice turned softly inward.”Once there was a boy who asked his father to take him to see the great parade that passed through the village. The father, remembering the parade from when he was a boy, quickly agreed, and the next morning the boy and his father set out together.”As they approached the parade route, people started to push in from all sides, and the crowd grew thick.

When the people along the way became almost a wall; the father lifted his son and placed him on his shoulders.” Soon the parade began and as it passed, the boy kept telling his father how wonderful it was and how spectacular were the colors and images. The boy, in fact, grew so prideful of what he saw that he mocked those who saw less saying, even to his father, ‘If only you could see what I see.'”

“But,” said Jacob staring straight in the faces of the children, “what the boy did not look at was why he could see. What the boy forgot was that once his father, too, could see.

“Then as if he had finished the story, Jacob stopped speaking. “Is that it?” said a disappointed girl. “We thought you were going to tell us a story about a giant.”

“But I did,” said Jacob. “I told you a story about a boy who could have been a giant.”

“How?” squealed the children.”

A giant,” said Jacob, “is anyone who remembers we are all sitting on someone else’s shoulders.”

“And what does it make us if we don’t remember?” asked the boy.

“A burden,” answered Jacob.

today’sTHOT============================
Give so much time to the improvement of yourself you have no time to criticize others.

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As I was on my daily journey on the elliptical machine at the Y, (or maybe it was on the exercise bike) I saw a commercial for a new video game . . . A footbal game. Lawrence Taylor was speaking (almost preaching) as he made statements like “when everyone else goes to church, we go to work” and “while they pray for salvation, we play for survival.” Okay, no problems so far. Then, he went down the road . . . THIS IS OUR RELIGION . . .THIS IS OUR CATHEDRAL . . . JUDGMENT DAY IS COMING. (And on and on)

Just reminds me there is a cultural element in our world today that will equate whatever their passion might be . . . INTO THEIR god. A new age principle that states “you are your own god” would lead us to believe that whatever captures our heart IS our god. Sounds all nice, neat, and politically correct. The major problem here is that OUR HEARTS ARE IMPERFECT. Our nature is to want OUR WAY. So, if everyone is their own god, WHO IS RIGHT?? Because we can’t seem to agree on ANYTHING lately here on the 3rd rock from the Sun.

And, NONE OF THIS HOLDS ANY WATER. There is ONE GOD, and He commands that we have no other gods. PERIOD. We cannot serve both God and the world.

Who will YOU serve today?

Is that why God is part of our lives? Is that why Jesus Christ died a horrible death on a cross over 2000 years ago? So we could have our convenience? So we could be COMFORTABLE?

There are some who DO NOT feel that way. They do NOT take forgranted the sacrifice of Christ. They handle His Word with the utmost respect and care. They revere His house and truly love His people. They even love those who do not know Him.

Then, there are some who DO feel this way. Being part of the Body of Christ is a matter of convenience. They quote His holy scripture when it suits their purposes, many times twisting its meaning to fit their stance. They speak with a holy language as if to prove they know what the words mean and know how to use them, but their talk is merely the sounding gong Paul spoke of in I Corinthians 13. The truth is, they have NO RELATIONSHIP with Christ, other than one “on paper” as a listed member of a local congregation.

And, BOTH types of people will stand before a Holy God one day. Jesus told us He will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep will be those who OBEYED. The goats will be those who DID NOT. As simple as that.

Which will YOU be?

It sets in and slows us down. It causes teams to lose momentum. It causes churches to fall into disrepair. It is real, and we CANNOT let it set in (and I am not just talking about Ebenezer).

But, Ebenezer NEEDS to wake up and listen. This is a most difficult time in our nation’s history and a vital time in the history of our church. Satan is giving us every reason NOT to open our hearts and our wallets to what God is doing. And some are taking the bait. I can see it in their eyes (or their lack of eye contact). I can see it in how they lack enthusiasm. As if they are waiting for this thing to pass over and things to get back to normal. News for all of us: THINGS WILL NEVER BE NORMAL AGAIN.

The cat is out of the bag: NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, GOD HAS THROWN DOWN A CHALLENGE TO US TO GET BUSY AND REACH THE LOST. And if we do not, He WILL raise up another to do it. And we will pass into the shadows . . .

Whether we build or not, we HAVE TO MEET THIS CHALLENGE. If not, we become nothing more than a social club.

Is that what you REALLY want to happen to Ebenezer?

Is the pressure easing up?? Yes, a little. As surely as I write this, someone somewhere is developing something that will absolutely blow my mind, so I will regret writing this. But this week has been a little easier.

I went out to the Kenney Boone for Sheriff party last night at ESAB. Kenney is a good man, a friend, and the best sheriff Florence County could possibly have. One of the things I most respect about Kenney is that he has brought county law enforcement into the 21st century. Those guys are pulling tons of drugs off I-95, so much that he is not only making Florence County a safer place, he is impacting our nation. I love it.

I also love it that he has a Facebook page and a powerful video on Youtube. He is willing to use technology in the fight, too. In my book, that’s pretty cool.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we are still moving forward. Still trusting with faith. Some are weary and some are WARY of the economy. TRUST GOD. He has a plan that will build His kingdom and glorify Him.

I am sitting here, extra early, trying to review Drew for two exams and he sits over on the couch asleep. I can’t blame him . . . He runs cross country every day. But I had to wake up EXTRA EARLY and he ought to WAKE UP and actually help me here.

Drew and Krissy study so differently. She is self-contained and studies hard. Makes As. Drew is a different story. I don’t know how, but he didn’t get the study gene. Still makes good grades, but we have to drag it out of every class.

So, if anyone questions my education, I can honestly say that I have been through school twice, cuz I AM THE ONE dragging him along!

I could tell ten stories like this one, but check this out: A few weeks ago, our campaign consultant asked me to write a letter asking for stories of sacrifice. They are supposed to be powerful illustrations to use in sermon delivery. Okay, I did that and got about seven (out of 100) back.

ONE of the stories I received is from a lady in our church that I will not identify. She told this story of how as a little girl, her parents didn’t go to church. But a church was there and a big part of her life. How as a teenager, her family had to move a couple of times due to her father’s job. Once again, the church was there to make an unmistakable mark on her life. Then, as a young married adult, the church once again was there to make a difference that no one else could make. Why?? You will have to come on Sunday to really hear this story, but I promise it will make you think!!

God has this way of providing EXACTLY what I need at the right time in this thing. There is NO MISTAKING IT in my book . . . If it all ended tomorrow, I would walk away from here KNOWING that I’ve seen God at work UP CLOSE and it is AWESOME!!!!

As you guessed, I hate that Tommy Bowden is no longer a Tiger. True, the guys have NOT been motivated this year. True, I had stopped defending him. I’ve never been real crazy about the way we South Carolinians treat our football coaches. But life is life and football is football. Forget about the fact that he is a Christian in MORE than name, he has great integrity, and has been criticized for suggesting to his players that a real relationship with God could make a difference in their lives.

So, in honor of Tommy, here is my list of the top ten things a pastor and an SC college football coach have in common:

10. Everything that happens is HIS FAULT.
9. If the players are not doing their job, it is HIS FAULT.
8. He has to be nice to EVERYONE no matter how many knives they might put into his back.
7. He is expected to know EVERYONE who is ANYONE at his school, no matter how infrequently they might come to see him!!!
6. His family is expected to live up to the same impossible expectations imposed on him.
5. Everything that happens is HIS FAULT.
4. His results are not measured by the difference he made in the life of the school or his players . . . His results all come down to numbers.
3. He is expected to be the perfect coach, the perfect recruiter, the perfect fundraiser, and just plain PERFECT.
2. If a player makes the big gamewinning play, he is the hero. If not, the coach is the goat.
1. Did I mention that everything that happens is HIS FAULT??

As I looked out at the congregation at 11am yesterday, I wondered why the crowd was so small. Did people decide not to come because we ran so far over at 8:30? Are people already tired of hearing about the capital campaign?? (IT IS JUST WEEK TWO!) Was it just a coincidence?? Did I leave the iron on?? (Oops, I am drifting)

I DO know that Satan will do anything to distract us, to anger us, to cause problems for us because GOD IS DOING SOMETHING HERE. I also know that people love their money, and anytime we talk about something that involves great sacrifice, they don’t like it. They didn’t like it when the stock market was above 13,000 and they don’t like it now. But God is still on His throne and we still have a calling.

Time rolls on, and God is in control.