One Pastor's Perspective

For those who believe I only work two days a week, and don’t even do those two well, this post is for you!! It is 10:35am on my day off, and here is what I have already done today:

-Got up at 6:30, cooked breakfast for my wife (she had to work today)
-Went to the YMCA. Worked out, visited with some folks
-Got home and found out about a death in a church family (the father of a member).
-Made several calls to track the church member down. Spoke to his mom and then to him for a little while.
-Talked to the chair of a church committee and began to track down another church member needing some info for the chair.
-Answered and forwarded a couple of emails about small group Bible studies and some details about another funeral.
-Ate an apple AND a banana as a post-workout snack.
-Blogged about it.

And they say “David Wike does nothing.” At least I work on my day off!!!

It will eat you from the inside-out . . . Holding a grudge, harboring anger is a dangerous and unhealthy thing. So, why it is to easy to do?? Why so hard to let go??

The first step is to realize why we hold on to anger . . . It IS natural that we get angry for a variety of reasons. When we hold on to it, it is usually an act of our own ego. We feel we have been wronged or someone we love has been wronged and it becomes very difficult to forgive. Sometimes the one wronging us or our loved one never asks for forgiveness, and we feel we shouldn’t have to forgive. I could keep on writing about this, but you get the idea . . .

But, holding a grudge only hurts the one holding it. Most times, the “grudgee” has no idea and does not even care. Yet, we hold on to it and allow it to alter our lives, run our bloodpressure up, put gray hairs on our heads, all in the name of what we think is right.

The difficult thing here is that the person who wronged us might NEVER apologize or give us sufficient reason, in our minds, to let go of the grudge. So we hold on tight and it keeps eating away at US. RESPECT YOURSELF MORE THAN THAT.

The words of Jesus clearly tell us that we cannot worship God if we are harboring bitterness toward others OR if we know a relationship is broken with another. HOW DO WE DO IT?? As we talked about last night at Wednesday Bible Study, this is one of the areas of life where God’s grace will help us if we let it. God can give you what you need to forgive EVEN when human nature tells you not to forgive. And, it IS liberating to allow such burdens to be lifted . . Believe me.

I don’t have it all worked out yet. I don’t have this one licked. But I am trying!!!

Man, what a storm (or SERIES of storms, as it was) last night! We saw marble-sized hail, hard rain and winds, thunder and lightening, and we lost power for a couple of minutes. I do think we have caught up on our rain deficit at this point in the 21st century.

Today will be a day of assessing damage. Is the roof okay? Are the cars okay? Any other type of damage to the house? Ah, the joys of home ownership!

In other news, congrats to Brett Favre for a great career. Personally, I hate to see him hang it up, but why shouldn’t he?? He has accomplished everything he could in the NFL, has plenty of money, why not enjoy it??

I saw one of the rarest of rare stereo components today . . . Ed Self had a bonafide TURNTABLE. Yes, a record player. He had to search and borrow one from a choir member to convert an old album to CD. WOW!!! I wonder how many of our youth would even know what it was if they saw it???

I remember when cassettes first came out and were going to be the ultimate replacement of LPs. Then came the compact disc, the next ULTIMATE. Now, we buy more music online than we ever do in a music store.

I just wonder what’s next?

Okay, we had the vote. It was 369 – 31, which is over 92% positive (which is pretty good in a Baptist church). So, what do we do now?

KEEP PRAYING! Several things will happen in the next few weeks that will put things into motion. There will be some changes on the New Facilities team that the church will vote on. There are contracts to be signed, plans to begin, and several behind-the-scenes things that will happen (even though it will look like NOTHING is being done).

BEWARE . . . The devil will do his best to try to stop this and to divide our church. He has been attacking for several weeks now, and won’t just stop because of a vote.

BE WILLING! This vote does not change the fact that we have an immediate ministry in front of us: There are over 21,000 people within a three-mile radius of Ebenezer. If this SC Baptist Convention numbers hold true, over 15,000 do not have personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Need I write more???

Ebenezer Baptist Church, I am praying for you and me this week that God will break our hearts about this to the point that we will do something about it.

The Battle belongs to the Lord – today’s sermon. By the way, the vote was over 92% YES!!

I woke up a little earlier than usual on a Sunday. I think God woke me up to pray, so that is what I have been doing. My prayer today, on this momentous day for Ebenezer, is that God’s will be what is done . . . That is all! Last night at the discussion someone said: “If God wants this to happen, it cannot be stopped.” WOW!

I think this really will be a reflection of whether or not WE are ready, because I believe God has been ready for a long time now . . .

After the marathon day of Wednesday (and the “smell” of new carpet in the offices), I am one sick man. Yesterday I felt as bad as I have felt in a long time . . . Right now, I cannot hear out of my right ear and my head is stopped up. I have to go to the doctor next week anyway, but I might not make it to the end of the day today without going . . . I HATE BEING SICK!!

I only left the house THREE times yesterday. I would have cabin fever but I couldn’t stay awake long enough for the walls to close in . . .

I am a proud guy tonight . . . I know pride can be a sin, but I gonna have to confess it later. My 12 and under guys just won their league championship tonight. I am thankful to those boys and to Keith Pettigrew and Andrew Parker. We have all muddled through this season and ended up with a 7 – 1 record. A good year!

The boys are Colin Raynor, Justin Lunn, Drake Lowe, Alex Pettigrew, Drew, Zack Humphries, Jake Kohut, Tyler Knox. Dustin Lee, Logan McRae, Matthew Andrews, Cody Watkins, and Kevin Reed. WAY TO GO, GUYS!!!!

God has a plan . . . This is NOT a catch-phrase, IT IS THE TRUTH! God never calls us to something HE has not already planned . . . Think about that.

When I think about the future and what God has in store for Ebenezer, I am drawn back to the idea that there are approximately 15,000 people within three miles of EBC that DO NOT KNOW CHRIST. That is where my heart is right now. And it seems like an IMPOSSIBLE task that we could reach them. That, my friends, is where God comes in.

Did I already write that God has a plan, and He NEVER calls us to something He has not ALREADY PLANNED?? Yeah, I did. AND I STILL BELIEVE IT. HOW DO WE REACH THEM?? We tell them about the difference Jesus makes in our lives and LEAVE THE RESULTS TO GOD.

HOW DO WE DISCIPLE THEM?? Again, we must LISTEN to God and He will call many more of US out to lead in Sunday School, small groups, and by just making a difference in their lives.

WHERE DO WE PUT THEM?? We ARE considering a new facility proposal THIS SUNDAY. HOWEVER, this need is one we must address NOW instead of waiting for whatever is going to happen . . . And, again, this is a God-sized task that would take involvement and dedication from MANY, MANY people. A few years ago when we were worshiping in the FLC while the sanctuary was being rennovated, we had TONS of people helping setup and take-down. Then, by the fourth week, it was Ed, me, and two others. We cannot step into a long-term bandaid without more long-term support.

HOW DO WE DO ALL OF THIS?? Be STILL and KNOW that HE is God. And He will make it known to us, and He will call out the right people to do the right things.