The Other Side

8 Dec

We did something yesterday that we never expected to do. Sure, we know the only certain things for we Americans are death and taxes, and we know the number of our days is already known to God, but seldom are we ready so see someone we love cross over to the other side. And, as morbid as it sounds, I never thought we would see Mom cross over before my dad. Dad has been sick for some time. Elaine and I are sitting at the kitchen table right now at 6:50am, and for us this is all too surreal.

Everyone deals with death. Every family has their own dynamic in dealing with such things, and the Wikes are no exception. As is often true, Mom was the glue that held so much together. We children now have a job to do. As a pastor, I have walked many times through such situations with other families. I know the right things to say. I know the right passages of scripture to use. But I had never been in these shoes before. This situation will forever change my perspective on this ministry.

But this is not about me. This is about Mom. I have tried to be the glue … The middle child in me comes out, just like in mom. But soon I will be able to stop juggling all of the balls and just grieve. That that is natural and okay. And to Latha Janet Hooper Wike, whom I will always love, I take great confidence in knowing that I WILL see you on the other side. Until then, I will miss you terribly, Mom. I love you!!

So, we meet again

21 Nov

December 5, 1987 was a date that changed my life. FOREVER. In a great way. That was the day I married my soulmate, my best friend, my bride. We were CHILDREN!! Two weeks from today, we will celebrate our 27th anniversary. And I couldn’t imagine doing life without her.

Only a month or so after that day in 1987, my mom was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. That is where I met cancer for the first time in a personal way. And cancer was not my friend. Cancer tried to take my mom, but she fought. And fought HARD. Chemo and radiation, as hard as they were, worked well and mom has been cancer-free since then.

Since that time, much has happened in my family. Mom and Dad have seen grandkids, their first great-grand, and many other great milestones. Dad’s health in the past few years has declined as dementia takes over. Mom has given 110% of herself to taking care of him. Many tough days and sleepless nights. This summer, she fractured a couple of ribs and never quite recovered from that pain.

That catches us up to today. In the past two weeks, we have discovered there is more. This unwelcomed visitor that left us many years ago is back. We do not yet know the extent of it. We do not yet know what we are facing. But our doctors are certain it is cancer.

So, we meet again. I have purposefully not posted much on social media and don’t know how much I will be able to do that in the next few weeks. The biggest thing we need is prayer. Lots of big decisions to be made, decisions that will wrench our hearts. But we have to do what is best for both mom and dad.

How does this weight loss thing work??

28 Oct
Had an old friend ask me how I have done this.  I wrote all of this in a message to him on Facebook, and then I thought why not write about it on my blog (again)?  So if you are tired of hearing me wax philosophical on this topic, feel free to stop reading!!
I got to this place where I was sick of being so big.  Probably one of the first steps was I had to be ready for a change.  I was.  So on the advice of a friend, I downloaded an app for my iPhone called MyFitnessPal. If you don’t have a smartphone, their website is myfitnesspal.com. It is FREE. You set up a profile, tell it how much you weigh and set a goal weight and it tells you how many calories you should eat in a day to get there over a healthy period of time.
You then need to log what you eat and be honest about it. I found that tracking what I eat helped show me how unhealthy I was eating. Believe this: Exercise helps tone muscle, but I have lost this weight in how I eat!!
I also had a trainer challenge me to eat a big breakfast, smaller lunch and dinner. I’ve never been a big breakfast eater but he dared me to do it for one month. So I started eating a two egg omelette with sausage and cheese and a bowl of Cheerios with two cups of coffee every day. That first month I lost 20 pounds
No crazy fad diets. No surgery. Just changing the way I eat and stepping up exercise as much as I can.
Let me know if I can help you!!!!

A Life worth Living

20 Oct

Here I sit, doing the Monday morning “preacher thing.” Thinking about all of the things I should’ve said yesterday. Yesterday was a great day of worship at Ebenezer, but that preacher thing always involves evaluating the previous day and thinking ahead to the next Sunday. Fact of life for every pastor: The next Sunday is ALWAYS around the corner.

This morning, there is one thought that invades my heart and mind and I cannot shake it … The question “do my Ebenezerites take it seriously?” What does living for Christ really mean to us on Monday morning? In a Southern Baptist church, we will ALL agree to it’s importance on Sunday morning sitting in corporate worship. But the truth is this: The water hits the wheel on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday … (You get it).

One day, we will all stand before God and He will weigh our lives. Will He find that I lived a life worth living? Will He look at my life and say “Wow, Dave … You really didn’t get it, did you?” I hope for the first answer. But I know He will have to look at all of my life … He will look at how I honored Him when no one else was looking. He will look at how I honored Him with every facet of my life: My time, my thoughts, my finances, my charity, my actions, my feelings …

Not that I am trying to set any of us up to an impossible standard. The question I ask myself every day is this: Are you trying to live for Him today? Subsequent to that question: Are you asking Him for help today (or trying to do this on your own)???

The life worth living is a life that honors Him. And the only way any of us will get there is with His help. And the great news for a Monday morning is that He WILL HELP US IF WE ASK!!!

If you could ONLY see what I saw

25 Sep

Thursday morning … The morning after what I believe to be the most significant set of revival meetings at Ebenezer in the 19 + years of my being here.  To quote Chuck Kelly, the only word for this is that ancient Hebrew expression:  “WOW!”

We are all reminded that revival is NOT a set of meetings, but a state of the heart.  Specifically for us, a time to be revived and reminded of the basics in our relationships with God.  It is ALL ABOUT HIM!!  NOT US!!  And He has called us to be DISCIPLES who make DISCIPLES!!

But, the amazing part of this story begins months ago.  Ed Self told me he had a book he wanted me to read … I picked up this book, “Going Full Circle” by Mark Powers, and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.  It was as if Mark Powers had a direct feed of exactly what was going on at Ebenezer.  And, honestly, it was not good (what was going on).  But reading this book was like drinking from a fire hydrant.  Ed and I talked and prayed, and we wondered if there was any way Mark would consider coming to EBC and leading us in our fall revival.  We contacted Mark … He said “SURE!!”  And the rest is indelibly written on the hearts of our church.

ADD this perspective to all of that:  God knew EXACTLY what would be going on at Ebenezer almost a year ago when Ed gave me that book.  When He ignited this fire about the message Mark was sharing in Ed’s heart, and then in my heart.  And God knew EXACTLY where we, as a church, would be this month when these revival meetings took place.  In His infinite wisdom and sense of timing, He orchestrated it all!!  And it is coming to fruition right before our eyes.

And I cannot WAIT to see what God does next!!  This is an exciting time to be a Child of the King!!

For more info about Mark Powers, go to www.goingfullcircle.org

Need some COURAGE???

22 Sep

Here we are!!  Right smack in the middle of the DAY for which GOD MADE US!!  This is HIS day, and He has created GOOD WORKS for US TO DO to build His Kingdom.  What will YOU do about that today?

There really are TWO choices.  Some might say THREE, but it really is only two:

Choice 1A:  You can ignore this.  You can claim your rights as a Christian, but decide that you really are not into this sort of thing.  After all, this is what WE PAY THE PREACHER to do, right??  This is why we have a church staff!!  We pay THEM to do all the “God-stuff” so we can go about our day living it our way.

Choice 1B:  Okay, I will do this.  At least, to a point.  I will take some Baby Steps towards it, but don’t rush me.  (Remember when you were a kid and it was time to take a bath?  And the water was a little too hot?  And you either had to ease down into it, or take your hands and wet your towel so your mom would THINK you took the bath???)

Truthfully, both of these choices result in this answer:  God, I love you but I AM NOT READY to trust You.  Not completely.  Not yet.  (Those answers are EXACTLY what the devil wants you to think and say.  And he wants you to think those answers are logical and acceptable.  AND THEY ARE NOT.)

Choice 2:  Okay, Lord, I will do WHATEVER You ask.  (This one is frightening, because it forces US to release control and hand it over to God.  And that makes us uncomfortable, because we LOVE control.)  BUT only in Choice 2 will we EVER know the completeness and fulfillment and peace that God intended for our lives since the beginning of time.  PERIOD.  There is NO OTHER answer that will bring us into the presence of God quite like number 2.

SO … if you need some courage to take the step towards Choice 2, here goes:

Jesus promised that He will be with us ALWAYS, until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20)

Jesus promised that ALL POWER in Heaven and on Earth has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18)

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would be with us FOREVER (John 14:16)

Paul promised that WE are God’s handiwork, created to do good works that He Himself created for US to do to build His kingdom (Ephesians 2:10)

YOU were created for PURPOSE.  YOU were created to have a relationship with GOD.  YOU were created to BUILD HIS KINGDOM.

And I am praying for YOU today!!!

Something REALLY GOOD is around the corner

19 Sep

God is doing something … And it is REALLY GOOD.  I can see it in the lives of people around me.  I hear it, in how His church is following Him and really starting to live like we “get it.”  And there is one other piece of evidence that tells me we are headed in the right direction:

THE DEVIL IS TRYING HIS BEST TO STOP IT.

Wednesday evening after bible study, I came to Garden City with my mom and dad.  (That, in itself, has a variety of challenges.)  I am glad to be here because I can give mom a little break and she needs to rest her healing ribs.  However, since I have been here I have faced several situations at Ebenezer where I can see the devil trying to drive a wedge between people at Ebenezer.  Every one of them present logical arguments on both sides of an issue.  I’ve tried to use my “middle-child” skills to be a good pastor and  bring these things to a good conclusion.  And it hits me:  MAN, the devil is working overtime.  ONLY HOURS BEFORE OUR REVIVAL STARTS.

I’m going to go all “Jethro Gibbs” on y’all and tell you this is NO COINCIDENCE.  And, we CANNOT let the devil win!!!!  How do we fight this???  ON OUR KNEES.

So, PRAY, people!!!  Because something really good IS around the corner!!  If not, the devil wouldn’t even mess with us!

I’m praying for YOU today

15 Sep

I’m praying for you today, Ebenezer.  I’m praying as you move out into this world and go about the businesses of your lives … I’m praying that you will be a shining light of God’s love in this dark and for boding world.  I’m praying that the devil will win NO VICTORIES in your lives today.  I’m praying you will look up many times today and clearly see where God is at work, and that you will have the courage to join Him.  I’m praying that the Holy Spirit will empower you to do exactly what God has planned for your life today, and nothing less.  I’m praying that voice that is already telling you “You don’t have time for whatever this revival thing is next week” will NOT succeed in keeping you from hearing Mark Powers and experiencing the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. I’m praying that you can experience and know what your brothers and sisters around you at EBC are knowing:  The Power of Christ is REAL and it DOES CHANGE LIVES.  For the better!!

In return, I ask that you pray for Mark Powers (our revival leader), for Ed Self, Pam Gaddy, Andi Hill, Nathan Neighbors, Omerea Privette, Dusty Kertis, Marcia Watkins, Melinda Miller, Kitty Daniels, Tory Brown, Edwin Blue, Bill Watkins, and for me.  Hope you have a great week!!!

God is moving among us

8 Sep

He really is!!  People are turning their lives over to Him, giving their troubles over to Him, and this is an exciting time at Ebenezer Baptist Church.  I have never seen a time like this in the 19 years I have been on staff at Ebenezer.  It really confirms to me that we are doing the right thing in our new worship center project, because ever since we voted to do this I have seen two things:

1.  People (in large numbers) are taking bold steeps of faith toward God and His will in their lives.

2.  The devil is stepping up his attacks against our church, and specifically with our church staff.

God is walking through this with us, so there is no need to fear number 2.  And the devil wouldn’t be trying so hard to stop this if it wasn’t going to be a HUGE kingdom builder.

As for number 1, KEEP TRUSTING HIM!!  RUN TO HIM!!  THIRST FOR HIM!!! Keep trusting and walking with God hand-in-hand.  HE WON’T LET US DOWN!!!

Exactly WHAT is this Revival thing?

3 Sep

I have heard several questions about the upcoming revival activities at Ebenezer Baptist Church, and thought it wise to share some details about what is planned AND to share from my heart about where we are headed…  So, here goes:

This revival IS NOT the typical revival-type event we remember from years past … Billy Graham is unable to come and preach it (although we would take him in a HEARTBEAT) and George Beverly Shea is unable to lead music because, well, he is no longer living.  The challenge before us it to consider what the word REVIVAL really means…  That is, to TURN OUR HEARTS BACK TO GOD.  We are planning a more evangelistic set of meetings in the early spring.  But this revival is FOR US!!  (If this makes you angry, then I must tell you the that it was Colin Raynor’s idea.  If you want his phone number, email me.)

The story of this particular event begins about a year ago.  Ed Self came to me with a book he’d been reading, written by Mark Powers.  The book is Going Full Circle, and it is about the church returning to WHAT WE WERE INTENDED TO BE.  As I read this book, it was as if Mark was writing ABOUT US!!  I don’t want to let too much of the cat out of the bag, but Ed and I began to pray and think about how we could get the entire church to see and hear this message.  Mark will challenge US to step up and be the church that God has called us to be, and what that REALLY means is WE NEED TO BE THE PEOPLE GOD CALLED US TO BE.  Part of his challenge to us will be to break out of our patterns of habit and how we “understand things SHOULD BE” and step into a real relationship of faith and trust in God, both individually and as a church.

In my heart, there is NOTHING more important for those who call Ebenezer “home” than to hear this message.  SO … We are providing SUPPER FOR FREE each night, and guaranteeing you that we will be done by 7:45.  We will begin Sunday morning, Sept 21, and then each evening (Sunday – Wednesday) that week.  And that is only the START of what God will do with this.  IF you will let Him.

Will you???  The only way you can is to BE HERE.  I am praying for you, EBC!!   Please pray for me and for Mark Powers as he prepares a message from God for us.

(By the way:  I have this BAD habit of throwing interns under the bus.  DON’T blame Colin!!!!!)

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