My Boss

27 Oct

Being the pastor of a Southern Baptist church is no piece of cake … And, being a MIDDLE CHILD while serving in that role only COMPLICATES things!  I work in what is statistically one of the most unstable professions in America.  Statistics report the average tenure of a Southern Baptist minister to be somewhere in the area of 18 MONTHS.  And that is NOT because there is a bishop or higher power reassigning them:  They just get fired!!

However … I ultimately answer to a Boss that is a little higher up the ladder than the 1,300 members of Ebenezer Baptist Church.  I answer to GOD ALMIGHTY, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Sustainer of all that exists.  HE is in control.  HE beckons for His people to STOP FEARING the future and JUST OBEY HIM.  HE has a plan for each of our lives that is so much greater than anything I could conceive, a PERFECT PLAN for MY LIFE and for yours!!

Actually, if Jesus Christ is your Savior, He is YOUR BOSS TOO!!  If we will ALL slow down enough to listen to Him and then OBEY Him life will IMMEDIATELY become much less stressful and more rewarding.

So, come on … Listen to THE BOSS!!!  HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING!!

From a different perspective …

26 Oct

This morning I rode to Raleigh with Dean and Robbie.  The target??  The Church Information Technology Round Table for North and South Carolina.  Very interesting to hear what different churches are doing to enable kingdom growth.  Never overlook the role IT plays in this today!!

Through all of the details, nuts, bolts, ICs and LEDs, this is a MINISTRY and a crucial part of modern ministry in the year 2010.  And it will only grow to play more and more of a role in the church of tomorrow!!  I’m thankful for these guys and what they do to make a difference!!  It’s another of those unseen and seldom-known roles that keeps things clicking!!

If you really slowed down enough to notice, there is so much that goes on behind the scenes to help a church like Ebenezer (and, really, EVERY OTHER CHURCH) do the things we do.  Ed and I are very visible in the pulpit on Sundays … Andi is visible in Children’s Church … Justin is very visible in Youth Ministry … and PAM is highly visible in this unseen world of infrastructure!!  Mary, Lisa, Dusty, Bill, Edwin, Jerry, and Kitty are the hands and feet from the staff that make it happen!!  From the congregational side, MANY OF YOU are the ones that make this happen as well!!

And when I look at all of this from this different perspective, it makes me even more thankful!!!

God and His timing

22 Oct

The sermon writing process for me is … well … different.  It’s hard to define.  I seek God and He leads me in different ways, almost every week.  This Sunday I am preaching a sermon about how our judging is different from God’s. And, as always when I preach about judging, I am now praying we will ALL see this as a chance for God to guide us.  Judging is a difficult topic for any pastor, especially when there might be some out there thinking a sermon is being “aimed” at them.  Let me tell you the unique way this sermon came to be:

Ten days ago I was actually working on LAST Sunday’s sermon and preparing for Wednesday night’s prayer meeting, and I suddenly KNEW exactly what I would be preaching this Sunday.  No events leading to it or anything, it was one of those times of God giving me His plan … His SPECIFIC plan for this coming Sunday.  I emailed the info on this Sermon to Mary and Ed at that moment, and it surprised them so they asked if I’d changed my mind for this past Sunday … No, this is for next week!!

I love it when God does that!!  So I ask you to pray with me as we excitedly await what God will do this week at Ebenezer!!!

Just sayin’

21 Oct

When I look over all that God is doing at Ebenezer, I am just TOTALLY THANKFUL for the ministerial staff at our church.  Ed, Pam, Justin, and Andi work VERY HARD every week.  Some of it is out in the open.  Some of it is completely behind the scenes.  I wish all of you could see what I see!!  This week began with an awesome staff retreat to talk about vision … since that meeting, we’ve had two months’ worth of trouble.  But they’re THE BEST!!  HANDS DOWN!

Update on Dad

19 Oct

In the middle of the minefield I’ve been in lately, I talked to Mom last night.  Not so good news from outpatient rehab:  Dad is not making progress, not meeting his goals.  They cannot justify his continuing in rehab.  He has a few more weeks and will have to stop.  We can see small blessings and results, but he is just not meeting the requirements to continue.  What a downer.

Mom is so close to the situation that it’s hard for her to see these things.  He really is not making vast improvement.  Plus, I KNOW she feels she holds the glimmer of hope as much for her as for him.  Please pray for my dad, Don Wike, and for my mom, Janet Wike, in this rough time.

Minister’s Retreat and other events

19 Oct

Yesterday, the ministers of Ebenezer did something we don’t often do … We took some time to sit down and just talk about vision and what we see God doing around each of us.  It was a really good time and I think brought encouragement to all of us.

And we would need it.  We’d originally planned to go out of town for a couple of days, but the sad events of this weekend were reason enough to change those plans.  Ironically, since that great time there have been several mine fields.  And I really don’t know what to say about them …

And that, my friends, is life … And the one thing I hold tight to is the fact that Jesus Christ died for us.  I try every day to live for Him and that is really all I CAN do. Yes, I make mistakes as we all do.  And one day we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and answer for our OWN lives.

 

Pastor Appreciation

18 Oct

This weekend we made a quick run to the Upstate.  Spent some time with Dad and with Krissy.  It was a good trip but a hard one … But imagine my surprise when we pulled back into our yard at 9:30 Saturday night and found that a gang of rabid yard elves had come, CUT MY GRASS, WEEDED THE FLOWER BED, EDGED, and made my yard look REALLY GOOD!!!!

I found out it was the EBC College Class.  They wanted to do this for Pastor Appreciation Month.  It is definitely the most unique act of Pastor Appreciation I’ve ever received, and they did a REALLY GOOD JOB!!  And it humbles me to know their gift was given by sweat and hard work!  I’m not sure who all was over here, but I’ve heard rumors:  Allison Triplett, Hunter Gregg, Matthew McCabe, David Daniel, Stephanie McCabe, and of course, Phillip the Frog.  I might’ve left someone out, and if so, LET ME KNOW SO I CAN ADD NAMES!!!

That one was really thoughtful and the timing was JUST RIGHT!!  THANKS COLLEGE CRASH!!!!

Caution: Objects are just what they appear to be

13 Oct

Yeah, unusual title.  I know.  Tonight I heard a rumor.  About me.  About trouble.  My blog was mentioned.

I hope that any reader of my blog would not read too much into what I write.  YES, I DO write about me.  My thoughts.  How I feel about things.  Sometimes I reflect on things.  Sometimes I learn lessons.  Sometimes I just make mistakes.

AND THAT IS OKAY.  (Looks into mirror a la Stuart Smiley).  AND PEOPLE LIKE ME.

Please don’t read anything into my blog that is not there.  I promise my mental health is relatively stable.  And I am not paranoid.  And nothing more than the usual challenges that face any pastor are staring me down right now.

AND I AM OKAY.

Sometimes objects in the mirror are EXACTLY what they appear to be.  And nothing more!

One of the flip-sides to Facebook

13 Oct

I love Facebook and use it as a ministry tool.  It helps me keep up with what’s going on in the lives of my peeps, and that is a good thing.  But there is a fascinating flip-side, which is a perfect example of an internet danger we overlook:  Bending the truth.

Of course, people can bend the truth and slant it any way they wish with their posts and statuses.  But that isn’t what I’m writing about … Today I stumbled onto a group (which anyone can create at anytime about anything).  The particular group was dedicated, NOT to a political candidate or party, but SPECIFICALLY to NOT re-elect a friend of mine in his next local election.  As far as I know, there isn’t even anyone running against him.  But that is not why these folks joined and wrote in this area:  They just don’t like this man.

I know this man pretty well.  I’ve known him for over 15 years now.  I read the things they wrote, and quite frankly, they are NOT true.  But that doesn’t matter to Joe Facebook … Most people who read that stuff might possibly believe it.

I guess what I’m writing today is this:  Don’t EVER believe everything you read just because it’s in print, or on the internet!!  GET TO KNOW THE TRUTH!!  And, as Aunt Esther (and God’s word) says, “THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE!!”

One of those things they never told me in seminary

11 Oct

In my theological education, I’ve attended two fine institutions: The New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Erskine Theological Seminary.  I will always appreciate those institutions, their faculties, and the students with which I attended.  They prepared me for many of the challenges I would face in ministry.  But there are a few things for which they didn’t prepare me … I chalk these up to the “human element” of church membership.  But there is ONE thing I wish they’d been able to better communicate:  The principle of “The Excuse.”

The principle of “The Excuse” is there are some people in this world, no matter what happens in their lives, that will blame their minister / pastor for their own problems.  That will openly state they are sitting back and waiting for him to fall, fail, or to just leave.  These are the folks that sit back and say “How dare he stand in the pulpit every Sunday and preach when he is so ________________  (you can fill in the blank with your favorite complaint or shortcoming)”.

I wish this principle didn’t get under my skin … but it does.  Maybe it is pride, or maybe just the middle child coming out in me, but I want everyone to be at peace.  And I know I make mistakes.  And I know I am imperfect.  And my family is imperfect.

I guess I never really understood the lengths that some people will go to excuse away their relationship with God and His church.  And now, many years later, I am amazed.  And greatly saddened.

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