One Pastor's Perspective

A little girl is trying her best to do the right thing . . . Other kids around her pick on her because she does not join their activities, because she knows it is against God’s will. Yet, she goes on. That, my friends, is COURAGE. The frightening part is that she is a THIRD or FOURTH grader at Ebenezer.

Peer pressure is unreal. When you started reading this, you probably thought it was about a high-schooler facing what we know they face everyday. Sadly, it goes much younger than that now days. The question, for us parents, is how do we help our kids in such situations?

BE THERE FOR THEM. Listen to them. Enable them and allow them to succeed, even in this kind of situation. The best thing we can do is encourage them to succeed, remind them of right and wrong, and monitor their progress. The worst thing we can do is lead them to tuck and run . . . They will face situations like this all of their lives. They need ENCOURAGEMENT, because that is an instillation of COURAGE.

And YOU teach courge, not only by TELLING them, but also by SHOWING IT TO THEM in how you live your life. SO DO IT.

In the words of Gunney Ermey, “Semper Fi, Carry on!”

It is because of the PASSION in the hearts of the workers. The hearts with which this VBS (and every one for the past few years) was planned and done MAKES A DIFFERENCE. It filters down into the lives of the kids. THEY CAN TELL IF WE ARE FAKING IT!! And, from what I see, there are over 100 workers who are passionate about what is happening. And that is a good thing.

So, YOU DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

I am not sure . . . REALLY not sure after 11am worship yesterday. But, last night at VBS was incredible. When I saw the rain, I knew we were in for a rough night. Little did I know that the FLC would be FULL at worship rally time. And the youth house, with over 40 on the mission trip, still had 46 youth and adults. Kind of backs up that theory that SPACE is the final frontier for Ebenezer . . . WE NEED MORE OF IT!!

This week will be an awesome week. We will ALL be tired at the end of it, but it will be worth it if just ONE child or adult comes to know Christ as a result of it. All of the “inconvenience” and tolerance will be WORTH IT. Even having to watch a lifeguard on Sunday will be worth it.

And, fyi, one of the remarks I heard yesterday was: “Well, why didn’t he wear a swimsuit??” I DID!!! You can get one, too, at Steve and Barry’s in Sumter.

Last night in Wed. Night Bible Study, we looked at the passage where children were coming to Jesus and the disciples were turning them away. Interestingly enough, our facility is currently being decorated for Vacation Bible School. VBS is THE outreach event for Ebenezer, and we will see HUNDREDS of people we do not know for the first time.

And, some will complain because their Sunday School room is decorated . . . Or the sanctuary is not exactly as it “should” be . . . Or the pastor preached in a lifeguard shirt on Sunday (oops, did I write that??).

And Jesus would say “Let the children come, and don’t worry about the inconvenience. Let ’em decorate, let ’em do what they need to do to get the most important message out to the children of Florence.”

And, some of us would agree . . . HOW ABOUT YOU??

Why are there so many baseball coaches getting tossed lately?? Are umpires getting worse and worse, or are our tempers getting quicker??? I opt for the latter. Yes, in a sense I thought the Mississippi tirade was entertaining, but what example is being set?? EVERYTIME I turn SportsCenter on, I see another manager getting tossed. What has changed?? Watching major league games, and the College World Series (softball and baseball), I am kind of impressed by the bang-bang calls umps make and how accurate they are 99% of the time.

The problem is we want 100%. We have instant replay, and anytime an ump makes a close call, 50% of the crowd disagrees. Because we want to see it go OUR WAY. Being an ump is kind of like being a pastor, but that is another blog for another day.

All I am asking is next time you watch a game, ask yourself: Could I do a better job??? If the answer is yes, grab your blue shirt and GET OUT THERE!!!

What is it?? Major league baseball umpire?? Sports manager?? President of Walt Disney World??

I make an argument for Pastor. Yes, there are times when it gets really rough, but let me tell you about the last week of my life . . . A little guy comes to me and wants to accept Christ as His Savior. An older man, in CCU at a hospital, isn’t even a member at Ebenezer, but his niece calls and asks if I will go by and share the Gospel with him. People call or come by and want to talk about their problems . . . They thank me in the end, not for brilliant solutions to their problems, but for listening. Today, who knows what will happen, and Lord willing I will get to talk to many kids about Christ at VBS. I also got to talk to someone this week about using a tragic event in their life (that they made it through) to help another in the same spot. We don’t always understand what is happening in our lives, but what if we can use it to help someone else??

Yep, mine is the BESTEST, although I might have enjoyed being an umpire in Mississippi this past weekend.

Last night I had a good time at the Family Fun Day. No, I did not ride either slide. No, I did not get into the dunking booth (although I tried to get Mary Todd in it). The fun I had was in sitting around and just talking to friends. Yes, that CAN happen at church and a pastor CAN have friends. And we had some good laughs.

I need to laugh . . . Things can be so serious, so sad at times. When sickness and death seem to prevail, I need a laugh or two. And my friends never disappoint. Those guys know how to laugh, too. Laughter is a good thing.

That is our job. To prepare the way for those coming behind us. This includes the next generation, as well as those to come after them. Everything YOU do, everything WE do (as a family, community, church, nation) will either prepare the path OR do harm to the path. EVERYTHING WE DO has an impact on those coming behind us.

I hope that really makes us all THINK.

The Bible has an answer for that . . .Evil WILL reign all around when good men and women REMAIN SILENT. When we get so caught up in our love of peace that we do not want to say anything, hoping a controversy will pass. When the good remain silent, evil does ALL the talking. And walking. And doing.

I read an e-mail this morning about Nazi Germany, specifically about a man who was NOT a Nazi, just a peace-loving German who awoke one day to realize the Nazis that he thought would fizzle and go away OWNED HIM. Sent him to a concentration camp. He lost EVERYTHING because he remained silent, because he thought they would go away. This e-mail was a call to “peace-loving Muslims” to speak up, before they fall into the same fate as this German.

I see several parallels around my world today. In fact, I have seen this truth lived out for years all around. I am not talking about the church, but in other areas of Florence in which I am involved. A few VOCAL people develop an agenda (usually a selfish one) and it somehow happens because NO ONE WILL SPEAK UP. NO ONE WILL STAND UP.

It is the old “squeaky wheel” philosophy. I have two answers to this issue . . . 1. SPEAK OUT WHEN YOU SEE IT, because we will all be held accountable one day. 2. Those who work their own agendas in life WILL be held accountable one day, too. God is a God of justice . . . He will have the final word in all of this!

Last week was one of those amazing weeks to be down there . . . There were only a few people on the beach until Friday. Wednesday and Thursday were very windy. All of the days were cool. It was really great.

However, sometimes I find it hard to forget about things going on in Florence. One of the blessings and curses of the current electronic age is that I am way too easy to get, even on vacation. I always check my e-mail and have my cell phone. Most folks, if they know I am on vacation, are thoughtful enough to ONLY call in emergency. I wonder sometime if I REALLY want a vacation if I need to go far away. But, anyway . . .

Lots on the agenda for the next few weeks at Ebenezer. Vacation Bible School is coming up in a couple of weeks and the remainder of the summer is pretty busy. And I am thankful to be busy!! The alternative could be depressing . . .