One Pastor's Perspective

I really found this interesting . . . Worth a read!

http://www.perrynoble.com/2007/10/30/the-pastors-pain/

Now, it would be out of line for me to endorse candidates (even though I DO have personal feelings and feel that everyone should know their candidates and vote their convictions). But in my PERSONAL BLOG I do feel the need to express disappointment in the fact that the referendum for schools did not pass in Florence yesterday.

There was not a lot of publicity around it. In fact, I had NO IDEA it existed until I got a postcard this weekend. Honestly, as a pastor and as a father I am in our public schools in FSD1 frequently. I see their condition. I really have never felt as if any of the schools were neglected. In fact, I have been impressed at times by how clean and presentable those buildings have looked . . Many of those buildings are as old as me if not older. ALL OF THEM need improvements. All of them need help.

This is all a matter of priority and economy. Are the children of Florence a priority to us?? Yesterday, we said no in our vote. Do we want our economy to be stable and growing in this day and age, even though the national economy is in the dumper?? Yesterday, we voted no to that one, too.

Don’t be fooled . . . One of the first things potential employers look at before they move to our area is our school system . . . What message did we send to THEM yesterday?

Yep, you read it here . . . Pam Gaddy is a grandmother!! Bethany Robinson is a mom!! AWESOME! Little Luke made his entrance a little after 7 pm last night. I wouldn’t dare post any pictures . . . You will have to ask Pam!

I remember, as if it were yesterday . . . (Layered screen dissolve . . . Twilight-zoneish music)

Bethany was an eighth grader when I came to EBC. She and Erica Bedenbaugh always wanted me to come eat lunch with them at Sneed, which I would do occasionally. They were always the life of the party . . . Ted Rainwater would sit there and talk about hunting.

It is great to see Bethany married, doing well, and now a MOM!!! I always told her she would understand some day when she was a mom . . . Now she knows EVERYTHING! (Right??)

The Cost of Salvation

The last line of the first Pirates of the Carribean is Captain Jack Sparrow, assuming the helm of the Black Pearl and commanding his crew to do the very title of this blog. I watched the end of the movie again last night, and really started thinking about it this morning as I met with Kerry Floyd and Lee Freeman.

Granted, I am no Jack Sparrow . . . I have not perfected the Keith Richards impersonation, and I hope none of you will EVER see me out stumbling about the way Jack does. But there are some cool things about to happen at Ebenezer and I am realizing I need to empower those around me to do them. I cannot and should not try to do everything myself . . . That is a symptom of my personality type, but I cannot do this. We need to ALL use our gifts and abilities to glorify God and there are many gifted people at our church already doing this.

Now, honestly, when I sit and talk to Kerry and Lee, I feel like I am in a room full of superballs bouncing around me. And I like it! These guys have a ton of ideas about how we can present ourselves, as a church, to our community. When you add in Dean and Ed and Jumana, it really becomes a nice stew if you will let it simmer and play off each other a little bit.

Between our website, our volunteers that make everything happen, and some of the new ideas being tossed about, I hope we will all see exciting changes and improvements in the next few months. And we will all step back and realize that God is responsible, not us . . .

He is the Reason!

Okay, I find myself having to explain things more and more lately. Diana told me yesterday that she did not get the “twinkie” clip . . . Thing about that clip is that it is just funny! It means nothing to me, not part of my mantra or my strategy of living. I just like the Ghostbusters movies and think Winston (Ernie Hudson) is one of the funniest characters, maybe because he is so deadpan. THAT IS ALL IT MEANS.

Having such an unusual sense of humor can be a curse, and what is even more frightening about this is that of all of my family, Krissy is the one that gets it. I don’t know if that is more scary for ME or for HER.

Check out this clip from the past:

I am sitting here, watching Barry Melrose on ESPN, and I must confess I really don’t get it. For the most part I understand hockey, thanks to the Pee Dee Pride and a guy that sat behind me one night that sounded JUST LIKE Jeff Foxworthy (and to hear THAT accent explaining ICING was a real treat). But, the whole strategic fighting thing to me is just violence.

I guess they would equate it with a pitcher throwing at a guy to send a message . . . But the TRUTH is it keeps people in the seats. As long as guys are willing to do it, and as long as fans WANT it, it will happen.

Seriously, last night we had our Fall Festival and once again there were HUNDREDS and it was great!!!

I must confess that I get my news much more from the internet now than from the television and newspaper . . . With the web, I have instant access to changing news and to details. The newspaper is already dated upon printing, and tv news seems to be a little behind the timeframe when it comes to breaking news. I like reading it over the web, from international to local.

With that said, the past few weeks have reminded me that the press is STILL a powerful force in our world. The press can take a story and make you a hero OR a zero with a few clicks of their keyboards. It seems to be based on what their editors deem necessary for the day . . . What will keep people reading or watching . . . Rather than the truth.

I guess I should not be so disturbed by this because they are human, just like us. Many times I have reminded people that I am imperfect . . . Don’t ever take my word for it. Check it out!! I guess the same principle applies to the press as well.

I wrote all of this to say: Don’t believe everything you read. Always realize that a human being wrote it AND a human being edited it. Even in the best case scenario, you are getting a perspective!

PS – Don’t forget to check out the video sermons to the right of this post and let me know if they are working well. We are about to put them on the church website and I would LOVE some feedback just to know if they are working!

Check this story out. The headline on Foxnews.com is “Scientists find oldest living animal, then kill it”. Check it out:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,306076,00.html