One Pastor's Perspective

This week one of my friends (Flossip) tweeted that if she wins the lottery, she will be movin to the mountains. I basically answered that, as a hillbilly myself, if I win the lottery (which would be an outright MIRACLE) I will be moving to the BEACH. I love those hills, but they do not compare to the beach!! I guess when you grow up looking at the Blue Ridge Mountains everyday, they just don’t hold the luster of the sand and surf of the Grand Strand. But that is just me …

Yesterday we went to the beach. No evening worship last night at EBC (in honor of Father’s Day) so the Wike clan loaded up and drove to Garden City. Yes, it was hot. But it was worth it!! The beach was packed, and I think a guy that works out at the Y was beside us in the beginning. We spent about 3 hours on the beach and packed up to go to Carrabbas to eat supper.

All in all, it was a great trip!! And that is one of the things I LOVE about living in Florence!! Being close enough to make a day trip like that, and yet far enough away to go on vacation down there and it really feel like a vacation!!!!

And after a brief conversation on Twitter, I am now praying for Flossip to hit the lottery: She promised the Wikes would be some beach time out of the deal if she wins!!!

1. no1 b4 me. srsly.

2. dnt wrshp pix/idols

3. no omg’s

4. no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)

5. pos ok – ur m&d r cool

6. dnt kill ppl

7. :-X only w/ m8

8. dnt steal

9. dnt lie re: bf

10. dnt ogle ur bf’s m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.

M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl.

ttyl, JHWH.

ps. wwjd?

(Today’s entry from http://www.mikeysfunnies.com/)

I am impressed!! Florence is a great city. A growing city. In spite of some opinions, it is not Mayberry or some small Southern town where the sheriff sits behind a sign with a button to change the color of the traffic light on unsuspecting tourists to pull them over and write them HUGE traffic tickets just to generate income. No, Florence reminds me of the Greenville I grew up in before BMW moved in and created a monster.

I am continually impressed with our sheriff’s office and the lengths they are willing to go to fight crime. This incident I’ve blogged about and tweeted about tells the story of how they REALLY ARE fighting crime in the 21st Century. I read an article and a public comment on scnow.com about a man who was “missing” in Florence and was found safe. The comment read “Well, another man is missing. I think I will go out on I-95 and pull drugs off the interstate. That will help!” It was a slap at Kenney Boone and the great work those folks are doing out there. This person failed to read the ENTIRE article before making his political statement: It turned out that the “missing” male, in his mid-20s, had merely gone to North Carolina to visit friends without telling anyone. SCNOW.COM should do a better job of moderating comments, because that person made himself look like an idiot!

True, I know a bunch of folks in our sheriff’s office. I count Kenney Boone, Jason Dore, Wayne Howard, Tony Hannah, and several others down there as my friends. So I guess you could say I am biased.

But you cannot read about what happened over here in Chadwick and deny that these guys and ladies are working hard to protect Florence County. Because I have seen them do the SAME THINGS, many times, for many others they did not know. WHY?? Because that is their job, and THEY DO IT WELL.

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.