One Pastor's Perspective

Something unsettling happened at my front door today. Around noon a young man with a book in his hand and some type of id around his neck came to knock on my door. Krissy happened to be running back out to her car and opened the door, looked up, and there he was. He told her he was with the homeowners assocation and he needed to know when her parents would be home. She was startled, answered his question, and he left.

Diana and I were both in route to the house to eat lunch. Unlucky for him, Diana beat me home. Found him a few doors down. Asked him exactly why the homeowners assocation sent him to our door. He quickly denied that he said that, and was selling some sort of book. Door to door. In the middle of the day. When very few people are home.

Now, WHAT is wrong with that picture??

I called a friend, code named “Secret Agent Man” and asked if I needed to call the Florence County Sheriffs Office. I know those guys work hard and don’t want to bother them with everything that happens. But, thanks for Facebook, I never got a chance to call!

One of my Facebook friends (and church members) is married to an investigator with the FCSO. She read my status, which told everyone to beware because this is happening, and she called her hubby. He called me and wanted all of the details.

And I really appreciate that. I would never want to crush someone’s chance to earn a living, but I am sorry, it is just sketchy to be selling door-to-door in a subdivision mostly inhabited by families who are at work during the day. Could they be finding out who is NOT at home?? Could they be scoping out cars?

I don’t know. I will leave that to my friends at the FCSO. They WILL figure it out!

So, the Lakers win and the city of Los Angeles falls into destruction . .. Hmmmph. That is a logical repsonse.

WHY does this happen in cities like LA and Detroit?? Team wins, so people feel the need to loot and vandalize THEIR OWN CITY?!?!?!?! Sure, it was just around the Staples Center. Just a few police cars, a gas station, a news van, and some other cars. But what gives?? Why do people do things like this?

In all seriousness, I think it is a sign of the times. The general public has less and less self-respect, and therefore less respect for the property of others and for public safety. The need to outdo the last group that did this will just push it farther and farther. In 30 years, I might read this and think “Wow!! I wish this world were STILL like this!” And that is a frightening thought!

No, this is not a blog about VBS. What I saw last night HAPPENED at VBS, but it really had nothing to do with the Crocodile Dock (which was ROCKIN last night again).

I really cannot go into great detail, but I WATCHED the New Testament church hard at work. I saw a brother with a great need . . . In fact, it would seem to be an impossible mountain that HE HAD TO CLIMB last night or else a life-changing door would’ve been closed. It really looked like a dead-end.

And then a man stepped up. No names here . . . God knows who. And that man worked hard last night. And slowly, step by step, that man helped his brother climb that mountain. And they got to the top. And God’s kingdom will benefit from that climb.

It kind of reminded me about something I watched years ago during one of our mission trips to Parris Island. If you haven’t read about or watched the documentary on the Crucible, you need to!! The Crucible combines every element of a Marine Recruit’s training into a grueling 54-hour exercise. IF YOU MAKE IT BACK, YOU GRADUATE BOOT CAMP!!!

One Thursday, a few of us were allowed to go to the parade deck and watch these men and women return from the Crucible. I don’t know if I was prepared to see what I saw. Strong recruits marching in with great pride. And with even greater pride, there were some recruits CARRYING INJURED BROTHERS ANDS SISTERS in arms. The rules only say you have to make it back!!! How powerful it was to see two recruits carrying their brother, who could not walk due to an injury on this exercise. And, in the end, all three graduated. All three earned the title “Marine.”

I watched one of my Ebenezer brothers carry another across that line last night. And it changed me.

If you ever wanted to see a great cross-section of people hard at work for something, come to the Crocodile Dock (VBS) at Ebenezer one evening this week. And by cross-section I mean a bunch of people that are different ages and come from different backgrounds and walks of life. There are nurses, engineers, IT people, salesmen, bankers, lawyers, stay-at-home moms, grandparents, great-grandparents, newlyweds, artists, federal employees, chefs, cops, retired cops, a Piggly-Wiggly manager (I had to name that one because everytime I see Marty I tell people he is the Bi-Lo or Food Lion Manager to aggravate him), and the list goes on and on. Including all areas, there are close to 150 WORKERS.

And they work. All of them. HARD. And they don’t complain. And we all know the goal we work towards. There are children in our VBS that have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ. And what if THIS were the only opportunity they might have to hear about Him??

Our work is cut out for us. Our goal is clear. Yes, we are tired . . . But that will have to wait for now.

Maybe the pastor needs to buy everyone a cup of coffee???

It is quite an obstacle . . . Like that pothole that we NEVER see, and yet it was large enough to DROP the transmission of my car off onto the road. Pride. From our perspective, it is the hardest thing to see. From the perspective of others, it is all too easy to see, smell, and feel.

What does your pride motivate YOU to do? Does it drive you? Own you?? Cuddle up with you in the still of the night and tell you that YOU are the bomb??? If you are listening to it, you are probably headed down a painful road. Painful for those in your life and painful for you.

I could write for days on this one, but here is the real question each of us has to answer TODAY and EVERY DAY: WHAT is my pride PREVENTING ME from doing for the Kingdom of God? IS MY PRIDE AN OBSTACLE FOR THE KINGDOM??

MAN, I need a Cafe Mocha with a double shot of espresso …

Oh, I have to write more?? What more could be said about the beginning of VBS this year. VBS is AWESOME at Ebenezer! HUNDREDS of kids and adults fill the halls and classrooms for a week of fun and meaningful time together. This year we are doing the Crockodile Dock VBS from Group Publishing. It is a bayou theme and looks pretty good. My only objection is that I NEVER wrestled a croc during my time in the bayou … Crocs are not indigenous to Louisiana. But, WHO CARES!! (For the record, I never wrestled a gator, either)

Today I am praying for the workers that will make this thing happen. VBS is quite a huge undertaking, and although the church staff will work hard to help it happen, it COULD NOT happen without the weeks of planning and prep by VOLUNTEERS. It is a great picture of how volunteers SHOULD be organized!!

Good luck, Ebenezerites!!!

(Courtesy of www.mikeysfunnies.com)

YOU might be a school employee if you want to slap the next person who says, “Must be nice to work 8 to 3:30 and have summers off.”

YOU might be a school employee if it is difficult to name your own child because there’s no name you can come up with that doesn’t bring high blood pressure as it is uttered.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, “Boy, the kids sure are mellow today.”

YOU might be a school employee if you encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling and are willing to donate the U-HAUL boxes should they decided to move out of district.

YOU might be a school employee if you think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe the playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick.

YOU might be a school employee if you can’t imagine how the ACLU could think that covering your students chair with Velcro and then requiring uniforms made out of the corresponding Velcro could ever be misunderstood by the public.

YOU might be a school employee if meeting a child’s parent instantly answers this question, “Why is this kid like this?”

YOU might be a school employee if you would choose a tooth filling over a parent conference.

YOU might be a school employee if you know how many days, minutes, and seconds are left in the school year.

today’sTHOUGHT============================
There’s something wrong if you’re always right.

Why do I care about Baccalaureate? Here is why!

1997 – Ebenezer 5k Graduation & Last Sunday – EBC Bacc. What a difference 12 years makes!

Enough said! Have a good day!

What did DAVID have to say to the Class of 2009?? Here goes:

Seniors, you’ve made it this far!! Six more days and you walk across a stage. You receive your high school diploma. AND LIFE CONTINUES.

One of the greatest mistakes made by a speaker in my position is to assert today that you are the future. That the balance of the entire world will someday be in your hands. Cliches like those make for great subject matter in a Baccalaureate service, but it is just not true.

Yes, the world is a hard place. You are about to step into something that will take you by surprise if you are not careful. You might think you are prepared. We HOPE you are prepared. But taking this step out of high school and into the next realm of life can be shocking for some.

Yes, the world is not fair. Life is not always fair. To this point in your life, you’ve been in a relatively even and fair environment. That ends when you walk across that stage. Sorry to be the one to tell you that, but it is true.

But, I do have some good news . . . The TRUTH of today is, YOU ARE NOT THE FUTURE. YOU ARE THE PRESENT. The decisions you make, TODAY, have an IMMEDIATE impact on this world. You have already begun to assume the reigns of this world, and all of the responsibilities that come with them.

In the Sermon on the Mount, (Matt 7:13) Jesus said: Many people are on the path that leads to DESTRUCTION. Only a few are on the path that leads to LIFE. WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??

Here is the thing: PEOPLE ARE CHOOSING THIS WIDE PATH. Many are building their lives on a lie . . . Many are choosing to build upon a foundation that LOOKS solid, but gives no sound support at all.

Jesus follows up His plea to chose the narrow path by reminding us that there will be many false prophets, who are ferocious wolves in sheep’s clothing. They will offer “TRUTH” but it will really be a LIE.

In I Timothy 4, Paul presents this challenge to Timothy:

Some will JUMP SHIP (1-5)
Some WILL abandon their faith
Let it go
Too binding
Some WILL make up their own faith
God will have a place, but only within the limits they allow

In other words, they will attempt to redefine God so He will operate the way THEY want Him to operate
Some WILL mislead people IN THE NAME OF GOD
They will take advantage of a lack of knowledge in some people
Not FACTUAL knowledge
HEART KNOWLEDGE
They will pose many things in the name of KNOWLEDGE that are not TRUE
They will present God in a package that is
50% less fattening, Takes 50% less time, And, much less money
And people will buy into it because it makes SENSE
GOD WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE SOLD TO YOU IN ANY WAY!!!!
God is NOT a Ronco commercial . . . And I am NOT the SHAMWOW guy

These who jump ship are doing it because THEY WANT THEIR OWN WILL INSTEAD OF GOD’S WILL for their lives
And, there are people who claim Christ who are ALL ABOUT THIS. DON’T BE ONE.

Be a BEACON OF TRUTH (6-10)
The TRUTH will set you free . . .
LIES IMPRISON YOU
If you love someone, tell them the truth
Be TRUE to God . . . True to His word
Share the TRUTH you know about Jesus Christ
Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales
Don’t buy in to the lies about God
Many people will tell you many different things about God
Know the truth by KNOWING HIM, ASKING HIM
Train yourself to be godly
Physical / Spiritual Health
Don’t just assume your relationship with God
ACTIVELY PURSUE IT
Put your hope in Him and Him alone
Draw your strength from HIM

YOUTH is NO EXCUSE (11-16)
Everyone in this room believes he/she is YOUNG
YOUTH IS NO EXCUSE to side-step our responsibility
We have a responsibility to each other in this church, in this WORLD
Set an example in SPEECH, LIFE, LOVE, FAITH, PURITY
We have a responsibility to read and interact with God’s word
We have a responsibility to be diligent about living for HIM

True, Paul wrote this to Timothy, who was preaching and teaching in the church
YOUR LIFE IS A SERMON . . .
It has been said you preach your funeral sermon every day of your life
How you live is how you will be remembered

I say, you tell the story about Jesus Christ and His salvation and peace in HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE
Preaching is telling the story
Your life tells a story to the world EVERY DAY
WHAT is IT saying??
Youth is NO EXCUSE . . .

Everyday, you make a choice . . . Live for God?? Live for myself??
There WILL be a day when we all will face final judgment

Many people are on the path that leads to DESTRUCTION
Only a few are on the path that leads to LIFE

It is before you TODAY and EVERY DAY for the rest of your life
Which will YOU do?? Which will YOU choose??

The wise man will build his house upon the ROCK. The ROCK is JESUS CHRIST.
The foolish man will build his house upon the SAND. Comfortable . . . Easy to work with . . . DESTRUCTIVE when the storms come. Upon WHICH will you build your life?

Yes, here we are. Baccalaureate Sunday. Two Thousand and Nine. Some of you thought this day would NEVER come. Some of us cannot believe how quickly it did.
As you move through the stages of life, you have questions. At age three, you ask MANY, MANY questions: The ultimate of which is WHY?? Sometimes the only answer that will suffice is BECAUSE. At age 8, you ask some questions, but have realized that there are some answers in life you can obtain on your own. THAT is why you took mom’s hairdryer apart.
At age 12, you don’t really ask too many questions. Not because you don’t have questions, but you are afraid to be criticized or laughed-at for asking. At age 15, you don’t care about much of anything but having fun. At age 18, you don’t ask many questions because YOU HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS. You have the world by the tail. You have your entire life in front of you. And you have it all figured out.
At age 25, you again don’t ask too many questions because you are too busy enjoying life. At age 36, you start to understand that you really DON’T know everything there is to know about life. As the years come faster and faster, you realize the answers you THOUGHT you knew are not really true. Everything is not as it seemed.
And the years fly by. And you raise your own children, and some of the realities of life actually start making sense. And you grow older and older. And, towards the end, you ask “Why?” And sometimes the only answer that will suffice is “Because.”

And life is a WONDERFUL journey.

Yeah, okay, half of R&D. R&D = Robbie & Dean. Dean sent me this. The top 100 movie lines of all time in 200 seconds. . . Be warned: There are like 3 not so great words in there, but we are adults, right??

Click on the link IF YOU DARE . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QUT0tweX1M