One Pastor's Perspective

This was posted by mikeysfunnies.com a couple of days ago … It appears to be a true story:

Yesterday I was buying 2 large bags of dog food at Wal-Mart. I was about to check out when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog. What did she think I had – an elephant?

Since I had little else to do, on impulse, I told her that no I didn’t have a dog, and that I was starting the Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn’t because I ended up in the hospital last time. On the bright side though, I had lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of every hole in my body and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry and that the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to give it a try again. (I have to mention here that everyone in the line was enthralled with my story by now.)

Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food had poisoned me. I told her no; I had stopped in the middle of the parking lot to scratch my fleas and a car hit me.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack, he was laughing so hard.

Wal-Mart won’t let me shop there anymore.

[forwarded by Amelia Lanning]

today’sTHOT============================

Studying economics may not give you the answers to serious economic problems, but at least you’ll learn to avoid being deceived by economists.

I was talking to a friend today, who also happens to attend Ebenezer. He told me an interesting story about something that happened to him last night at his house.

He answered an evening knock on his door last night to find two people. He said he knew what was coming next: “Hi, we are from X church (a local, non-denominational church in Florence) and we would like to visit with you.” He told them he and his wife are happy to attend and be members of Ebenezer. That was not a good answer. The woman asked if this was the home of _____ (his wife’s name) and he said yes, and they attend Ebenezer. The visitor asked “Are you satisfied with Ebenezer?” He was shocked. He said he felt like he was getting a spam call from ATT or Verizon. He answered yes, for the next shocking question: “Are you sure you are going to heaven?”

As a student of evangelism, I have no problem with the second question. The context, and how it was asked, seemed to be a reflection of WHERE he attended church. The first question was very much an impersonal marketing ploy, but it all got me thinking:

Are those folks over there trying to build the Kingdom of God, or THEIR OWN KINGDOM?? Wouldn’t a better question have been “Are you satisfied with your walk with Jesus Christ?” WHY AIM IT AT THE CHURCH??? Not a direct statement, but that was certainly a passive-aggressive way to say “Ebenezer is really not connected to Jesus and how could you be satisfied??”

Oh, the games churches play!! I will go on record as saying I don’t play those games. I don’t think I have ever asked someone where they go to church, and followed their answer up with a slam against their church or their pastor … Regardless of what I really thought. I’ve even had people visit me, tell me all of their church’s dirty laundry and why they feel they should leave, and tell them the best thing they can do is stay and try to help the church work through the problems. We at Ebenezer have our share of problems, and running from it is never a good idea. I write all of this and freely admit that I am not perfect. I make mistakes. I get angry (I almost AM right now). But I could never orchestrate such against another Christ-believing church, a sister church of mine, and stand before God one day with a clear conscience.

Because, the New Testament clearly tells us we are ONE BODY OF CHRIST. ANYONE WHO BELIEVES CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN IS MY BROTHER OR SISTER. End of story. Regardless of where they go to church. Or Sunday School. Regardless of whether or not they believe Adam had a belly-button, or where they stand on the all-important fried chicken vs roast beef Sunday lunch debate, or anything ELSE equally important in the grand scheme of things.

There is ONE GOD. We worship Him at Ebenezer. I happen to know they worship Him at Calvary Baptist, Central United Methodist, First Presbyterian, Effingham Presbyterian, and the list could go on and on.

The ONLY WAY we can make a difference here is to make sure WE ARE BUILDING GOD’S KINGDOM as a church. As churches. Will you join me??

I MUST be the luckiest guy in the world!!! In the past three days, I have ONCE AGAIN won the Internet lottery, been contacted by multiple people: barristers in England, wealthy people from the Ivory Coast, soldiers in Iraq, ALL needing to bring some money to the states and they chose ME (I fell so honored) to help them, and in doing it I will get a fee of several MILLION pounds.

I have HIT THE BIG TIME!! Now, I just don’t know which one to choose …

1. Clemson IS THE RIGHT SCHOOL for Krissy. I’ve been struggling with this, and God has been working it out. Sometimes RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY EYES. He has surrounded this environment with people who already know Krissy and care about her, and will help her make it. All I can do is bow my knee to Him once again!!!

2. Clemson is the RIGHT PRE-MED program for Krissy. Clemson has only had a pre-medical professional degree for a few years now and just brought a professor in from U of Miami to firm things up two years ago. His goal is to build the premier pre-med program in the state. MUSC is already thanking him for what he has done, stating that Clemson grads are their best and most well-prepared students right now, hands down.

3. Krissy is the RIGHT PRE-MED student for Clemson. We found out yesterday that she is one of 40 people accepted into the program this fall out of 700 (yep, seven HUNDRED) applicants. Wow.

4. Clemson wants to see her succeed as much if not MORE than Diana and I do.

5. Whenever I am in Clemson and need a good restaurant recommendation, JOEL FOWLER will NEVER let me down. He has already done this several times. We were walking downtown and it was time to eat, I called Joel, he told me EXACTLY where to go and how awesome it would be. EVERY TIME he does this, IT IS AWESOME. As Diana said, “when it comes to food, Joel DOES NOT FOOL AROUND.”

Well, I sit here in my old bedroom waiting to get a shower. The Princess is in there, so it might be a while … She is getting ready for one of the biggest days of her life to this point. She might not think so, and you might not think so, but I have this feeling by the end of this day she will either be in love with Clemson or hate it … and, I think it will be the FIRST thing!!

From where I sit, things are starting to fall into place. And that is a GOOD thing. God is using some people in the periphery of my life to help me through!! He IS kind of awesome that way!

Tomorrow, my daughter will take her next step. Although it might be considered a small step, it is a HUGE one in her dad’s eyes. This afternoon we will drive to Easley, to my parent’s home. Then, bright and early tomorrow morning, Diana, Krissy, and I will begin her orientation at Clemson.

To be really honest here, there are TWO major concerns about Krissy going to Clemson: How will I pay for it? and How will her car survive?? Honestly, I KNOW Krissy is ready. She has had her moments (as ALL kids do), but all in all, she is ready for this step. I know it. It will be hard for her to be over three hours away, but a lot of other parents have made it, so we will.

So, I AM a proud dad. I might be a little grouchy around the middle of August (when I have to move her up there FOUR DAYS BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY), but just ignore me. I will get better!!!!!

Today I got a call from News13. They wanted me to sit on a panel of pastors and do a spot on what how we are leading our churches through the Governor Sanford controversy. What are we telling our congregants about it??

I refused. For a couple of reasons. First of all, I’ve done things like this before and had my comments taken way out of context. Was not happy about it at all. That was the last time I did anything with this particular group. But that was not what really compelled me to say “no.” The second reason did that!

The second reason is this: I am kind of sick of hearing about it, and I believe a lot of folks are, too! But, if you are curious … If you do not know how I feel about it … Here goes:

ALL HAVE SINNED and fall short of the glory of God

IF WE CONFESS our sins, (God) is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

LOVE GOD with all of your heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and LOVE EACH OTHER more than we love ourselves.

JUDGE NOT, lest YOU be JUDGED.

Yes, I am appalled at what the governor did. I hate the sin because of what it will do to the family. But I do not hate the sinner, and because he is such a high-profile person in our state, I know to pray for his children, for his wife, and yes, even for him.

Not that I am being cavalier in my attitude, but don’t you realize that TEMPTATION seeks to pull us ALL DOWN!! And any of us that think we are above temptation are IN THE MOST DANGER!! How do we overcome temptation? PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD. HE is the only one that can pull us through. And if we ever let go of His hand in the heat of temptation, we are in trouble. Mark Sanford is NOT PERFECT, but NEITHER ARE WE!!!

Where does it go from here? Governor Sanford has a few more questions to answer. I hope we will let go of this at the right time, when all is investigated and understood from a legal aspect, and allow him to do the most important things he can now do: Confess this to God, and make this right with his wife and children. And I believe, and I pray, THIS will be his biggest priority for the rest of his life.

In the current days of WAY TOO MUCH SERIOUSNESS, here is a little something to laugh at. Posted TODAY by www.mikeysfunnies.com

Harry hosted a dinner party. One of his guests was a surgeon.

While deftly carving the roast, Harry kept up a running commentary: “How am I doing, Doc? How do you like that technique? I’d make a pretty good surgeon, don’t you think?”

When Harry had finished and the slices of meat lay neatly on the serving platter, the surgeon spoke up: “Anybody can take them apart, Harry. Now let’s see you put them back together again.”

Thought for the day:
If you think you are too small to make a difference, you’ve never had a mosquito in your bedroom.

Yes, we are stunned today in the great state of South Carolina. It was odd enough that our governor disappeared, and no one knew where he was (or would ADMIT where he was). This became a scandal that drew national attention. Then, the REAL scandal broke: Governor Mark Sanford admitted to an affair. He apologizes to his wife, his children, his pastor, his state. He resigns as the chair of the Republican Governors group. So now what??

Now, he will be judged. Ever so harshly. What he has done is horrible, that I will grant you. But I see it from a different perspective … I’ve sat with families as this type of temptation, this tremendous mistake, TEARS THEM APART. Shredding them as a cat of nine tails, one lash as a time. Words cannot describe the pain.

So I wonder: What will WE say about him?? Will we dismiss him? Will we hate him for what he has done to his family? Will we call for him to resign on moral grounds? Will we throw stones at him because he is of a different political persuasion than we?

What will we do?

I do not condone his sin. I hate it, because I know what it will do to his family. What it does to the Body of Christ. But I also know that he is human. He is not suddenly a THROW-AWAY person, regardless of what you think about his job as governor. Or regardless of how much you hate this sin.

And I also know what we SHOULD do: PRAY FOR HIM. PRAY FOR HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN.

And leave the judgment to GOD.

Never one to complain or be morbid, but … You know how they always say tragedies come in threes?? We’ve had two deaths this week to touch our church family. Both older adults, and both had been sick, but death is death: No matter how much we tell ourselves they are in a better place, its still hard to deal with death. That person that is no longer with us is still someone’s father, mother, brother, sister, spouse, friend, grandparent, etc. Loss is loss.

The only hope in any of this is Jesus Christ. Some throw Him by the wayside … Some refuse to believe because they don’t want to submit to anything or anyone … Each one will make his or her own decision. And they will live with it, and someday die with it.

And, death comes like a thief in the night. We never know when it will come. None of us is guaranteed a tomorrow.

Will you be ready?