One Pastor's Perspective

Will those who come behind us find us faithful? Steve Green sang these words decades ago in a song, and those words will never leave me. This morning, my devotional email posed the same question.

Why does it matter? It matters because (unless Christ returns SOON) there will be people who follow behind each one of us. One day, our families will sift through the things we called possessions. They will probably deal with a probate court to close our legal affairs. They will pack up our living spaces and prepare those spaces for the next occupants. This is not a depressing thing, it is just a fact of life. What will they find?

Even more so, when they examine our legacies, what will those legacies teach? My first serious career was early in the days of information technology. I was a computer programmer and hardware developer. And I loved it!! I never guessed that God will call me to ministry and that this call would take me back to school for three additional degrees, a move to New Orleans from Easley, SC, and then a move to Florence, SC from NOLA. I never guessed that my move to Florence would place me here for over 31 years and I would eventually be responsible for Ebenezer Baptist Church.

I had never heard of EBC before they called me in the spring of 1995. But, what a church!! What a history!! Founded in 1778. Found to the be mother church of Baptist work in the state of Mississippi. Hundreds of men and women built this church over almost 250 years, and it is on their foundation that we stand in 2026. God put Ebenezer exactly where He wanted it and generations have been faithful. YES, EBC has had its bumps and problems. But we are still here!! A question that is with me every day now is this: Are we building a stronger foundation for the next generation?? Or are we destroying what God built?

I love and respect the history of this church. And I also know that, unless a church is willing to change and grow, it will shrink back into oblivion. So if you wanted a glimpse into the heart of David Wike, there it is … The tension of what brought us to this day vs moving into the future. I feel it every day. Our church staff feels it too. It is a point of prayer and stress at times. Just please know that we work hard to honor our past AND build a foundation for those who come behind us.

And our prayer is not so much that they will find US faithful, but that they will KNOW that God is faithful!!!

Tags: bible, christianity, Faith, god, jesus

Several years ago, I was standing in the church office and an opinionated person made a statement that stuck with me … “Bloggers are nothing but a bunch of egomaniacs.” Really hit me in the gut …

I have blogged for a couple of decades now and it made me think. It made me ask the question “Why do I do this?” Is it about the BRAG value? It is an ask for pity? It is about ME???? (All of us have egos. All of us should probably ask those questions regularly about the things we post)

From a blogging standpoint, I have searched for the purpose of THIS for years now. I have posted a few times since that day, but not regularly. Because I wanted to KNOW the purpose of this!!! And I think I have found what I am supposed to do with this blog. So, going forward at some regular interval I will be posting things. Things about leadership. Things about being a pastor. Probably more about the mistakes I have made than about the successes. And my purpose and hope is that these will help another. If that happens, AWESOME!!!! If not, then the therapy value of this for me will have to do!!!

CHANGE

Ministry has changed since that Sunday in 1991 that I committed to leave my career in IT and follow Christ where He would lead. People have changed. I don’t think we can only blame COVID for that, either… Technology, of which I am a HUGE fan, accelerated changes in our society. Some are better. Some are worse. And this is CHANGE.

Growing up, I always heard that two things are inevitable: DEATH and TAXES. I would definitely add CHANGE as the third leg of that stool!!! People have changed. Social skills are changing. We are far, far removed from the “Greatest Generation” that Tom Brokaw wrote of, that sacrificed much for the common good of America and ultimately the world! Yes, there are still ,sacrificial people. You find some of them serving in our Armed Forces, some serve communities in political roles, police, fire, EMTs, teachers, nurses and doctors, pastors and church staffs, and any vocation that serves people There are still people that believe in serving for a greater good. But as a society, we are definitely more ME-focused. I see it every day and those who serve in like roles I think would agree.

The result of this is there are fewer and fewer people who are willing to put themselves on the line for a society that doesn’t even seem to care. All of those professions I mentioned above are experiencing shortages and will continue until there is a notable CHANGE.

We have hosted basketball leagues at Ebenezer since before I came to EBC in 1995. A perfect example of this is found in the problems we have finding referees. Increasingly, people are less willing to ref CHURCH BASKETBALL (imagine that), not as much because of how the players act, but because of how brutal the coaches and parents behave. CHURCH BASKETBALL!!!!!!!!!

So how can we help our society turn all of this around??? BE THE PEOPLE WE WANT TO SEE. BE the change. THINK about how the way that we live our lives make an impact on our world!! YOU DO INFLUENCE OTHERS whether you will admit it or not. BE THE CHANGE!!

After all, isn’t that exactly what Christ commanded in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, and 7)???

(In plain terms, when you are coaching or watching a ball game, know that your words tell everyone around you the story of your character)

Tags: bible, christianity, Faith, god, jesus