Christmas

I've been neglecting my blog. Sorry about that, but I have a good excuse...

It is the holiday season and consequently very busy - especially for pastors. But this season was even more busy because my daughter and son-in-law visited us for a week with their two children.

Now, I like blogging, but there is no contest between spending time on my blog and spending time with my children and grandchildren. The blogging I can do anytime, but I only see my grandchildren a few times a year.

Caleb is a smiley five month old. He hardly ever cries! If he isn't smiling at somebody, he is working very seriously at exploring his baby toys.

Emma is a two year old streak of lightning! She is also being potty trained. She enjoyed bossing the dog around, playing with her new dinosaurs, coloring pictures, and hiding in the "cave" under the roll-top desk. She did not enjoy the potty training!

She was not alone in this attitude. She had to be watched constantly. Living room chairs had to be protected from flooding. Timers were set and beeping constantly. Hours were spent sitting on the uncomfortable edge of the bathtub waiting for Emma to be "all done" on the toilet.

We had some successes. We had some failures. Sometimes Emma was pretty unhappy about being put on the toilet. She was mostly pretty agreeable. By the end of the visit she was having quite a bit of success.

So, how was our visit? We laughed and celebrated together! We got on each other's nerves and argued with each other. We went out to eat. We shopped. We babysat. We moved furniture. We used a bale of paper towels. We cuddled. We sang silly songs. We played jokes on each other.

It was a GREAT visit. Praise the Lord for His goodness and mercies. How amazing that sinners like us can get along with anyone half so well as we got along for this crowded and busy week!

Preaching Again!

Think of that old western song - "I'm back in the saddle again..."  Or Willie Nelson - "On the road again."  The sentiment in those songs is pretty much how I feel this week.  I am back in the pulpit again!

During the move I took two weeks off from preaching.  It was, I suppose, necessary.  I had tons of work to do and no time to study, but I sure missed preaching.  The privilege, the challenge, the adrenaline...  Preaching is like breathing to me.  When I am not preaching it is like holding my breath.

Of course, there is a sense in which preaching is terrifying.  The Bible is the word of God. Preaching is a tremendous responsibility and no matter what I do, I always fall short of what I would have liked to do in preparation and presentation.  I live in fear of misrepresenting the truth of the word - or even of giving people a wrong impression.

On Monday I posted my Sunday sermon to my web page.  That adds another level of insecurity.  Preaching - at least for me - is a very personal thing.  I prepare through study and prayer to the best of my ability.  I open myself up to people as I preach.  I preach to the audience before me - and their responses and feedback during the sermon affect my presentation (though hopefully not my message).  To put that sermon on the web where it could be accessed by pretty much anybody in the world hits me in my insecurities.

But, it is what it is.  In twenty-one years of pastoral ministry I have preached thousands of messages.  I try to learn from my mistakes, but I can't allow myself to obsess about them.  I can only pray that God will use them in people's hearts as I turn my attention to the next message.

So, I am back in the pulpit again!  Praise God!!  This is what God made me to do, and I count myself tremendously blessed to be back at it.

God is great and greatly to be praised!

Have a blessed week.

Heavy Traffic

Now that I live in Canton I need to get used to the traffic.  This evening I drove up Whipple Ave. to Everhard Road, then across to South Main Street.  I was awed by the volume of traffic.  Four lanes full - backed up at the red lights - a steady stream of cars.

My first reaction was, "I don't like it."  It is busy, dangerous, frustrating and noisy.  But then, while I waited through four light changes to get my turn at the intersection at Everhard and South Main, I though it over.

I grew up fishing in a deep lake near my house that had many many fish.  I caught Bluegill, Perch, Pickerel and Large Mouth Bass.  It was a rare day that I didn't catch fish.  As an adult, however, I've fished in other deep lakes that didn't have so many fish and where I rarely caught any.  Now where would I rather fish?  You guessed it, no doubt.  I like fishing where there are plenty of fish to catch.

Jesus called His disciples to follow Him and told them they would become "fishers of men."

So I looked at that traffic streaming by and I thought, "Praise God for all these people. Surely God has put us in a place where there will be good fishing for men."

The Need To Rest

We are in the midst of our move to Canton and it is wearing me out!  Yesterday I worked outside all day - first cleaning up things from our outbuilding, then tearing an old utility trailer apart with a sledge and a crowbar.  (I guess I mostly beat it apart.)

After that, I loaded a ton of junk - pieces of wood, old notebooks, broken computers, etc. and took them to the transfer station.  Then I came back and loaded 29 lbs. of aluminum and 460 lbs. of other assorted metal pieces (mostly two really heavy pieces) and took them to the scrap yard. 

Believe it or not, but most of the time pastors don't get to spend much time doing heavy work outdoors in the cold.  I was frozen, chapped, covered in mud, and tired!  (It was like deer hunting - only without looking for deer.)

The point of this story is that I was so tired when I sat down...  My muscles ached.  I just wanted to rest.

And it felt good, too!  It feels good to get really tired.  It makes the rest that much more sweet! It feels good to be tired and to know that you got that way doing something that needed to be done.  It feels great to know that there will be a time for rest as well.

We are moving to Canton.  We are packing up everything.  We are tired and we have many questions that we haven't found answers to yet.  We also worry that we haven't even asked some of the important questions.  But Friday we load the truck and Saturday we go up to our new home.  Hopefully we will find more time to rest after that.

May God grant you both meaningful work and wonderful rest.

Pastor D

OMG

I get tired of hearing people say, "Oh my god!" (OMG)

It is tempting to suggest that OMG is a transgression of the third commandment.

(Ex 20:7) “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

In truth, OMG is worse! In casual conversation - in discussions of the most mundane matters - where the issues of interest are the most pedestrian - OMG begins almost every sentence.

"And I was like, OMG, why would I want to have seconds of broccoli? I mean, MG, it is so green! But, OMG, she was like, 'have some more?' And I was like, 'No,' but she scooped more onto my plate. OMG, how clueless is that?"

What this tells me is that the person isn't so much using God's name in vain - they are just using the word "god" as a filler. As bad as it is to use the name of the One True and Living God in a way that dishonors Him - it is WORSE to not believe in God at all.

"OMG" betrays a diminished awareness of God - a senseless, unseeing, unknowing, blind deadness toward God.

(Rom 11:33-36) Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
“For who has known the mind of the LORD?
Or who has become His counselor?”
“Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

(1Tim 1:17) Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Expository Preaching

I am a fan of expository preaching. The preacher focuses on one particular passage of Scripture and explains in detail what it means. This requires a high view of Scripture, because if it is anything less than the inspired and inerrant word of God, what's the point? It also requires careful study to determine the original intention of the passage. The expositor must look at the text (vocabulary, grammar & syntax), context, historical background, original audience, etc.

Topical preaching is very popular these days, partly on the theory that unchurched people can be attracted by what appear to be self-help messages: "Successful Financial Management," "The Problem Of Suffering," "Raising Well Adjusted Children," etc.

It is theoretically possible to preach an expository message on a topic - if you are preaching a passage of Scripture that deals with a topic - but this is not what most modern topical messages are like. Rather, the topical messages I hear today are built on the preacher's outline of what he wants to say. The Scriptures are usually brought in to support the preacher's points, but they are not usually dealt with in any depth. They are used as "proof texts" and are often presented without any context that would show that they apply to the topic at hand.

I want to be an expository preacher. Most of my sermon series are book studies. I prepare by studying the text to be preached as thoroughly as I can manage. I look for a way to organize the message around the points that are made in the text and in a way that is true to the text.

But I am always nervous. Am I really getting the point of the passage? Am I reading into the passage what I think it should say? Am I guilty of using proof texts when I bring in other passages for support? At the end of the message have I really explained the text at hand or simply promoted my own point of view?

These are serious questions. They need to be asked. They cannot be ignored. But they shouldn't paralyze us - we do our best with the gifts God has given us. And we cannot let them drive us away from expository preaching and into simple topical lectures.

Whatever people may think they need, what they really need is the word of God.

(2Tim 3:16-4:2) ¶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Husband Of The Year

If I ever write a book, it might be about being "Husband Of The Year." I am the reigning champion, having held the title ever since I invented the concept about six years ago.

The idea is that I want to be absolutely the best husband my wife could possibly imagine - a far better husband than anybody else's husband that she hears about at work or in the community. Lola is the only one who gets to vote.

It all started when we moved to a new pastorate in Ohio. After a year or so, Lola returned to college to finish her teaching degree. My office was in the parsonage and a pastor's schedule is flexible, so it seemed reasonable that I would take up some of the responsibilities that had previously been hers - most notably the cooking. When she finished her degree, she got a full time teaching job and started her Master's program. She was busier than ever, so I continued with the cooking and picked up more of the cleaning and laundry duties.

The experience gave me a new perspective on the life of a housewife and a new appreciation for how difficult it is to run a household. At times I felt frustrated and under-appreciated. Sometimes I would plan and cook a meal that would come out perfectly - only to have Lola come home late. Occasionally I would cook something that Lola and David Andrew didn't enjoy like I thought they should.

I often found that I couldn't get it all done. I did have, after all, a full time job to do in addition to the cooking and other housework. It was easy for me to feel sorry for myself and to whine that Lola wasn't always doing her fair share.

Martyrdom might have claimed me, but for the Husband Of The Year Award. I realized that God wants me to love my wife like Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. (Eph. 5:25) That meant that I couldn't justify all my worries about whether or not I was being treated fairly. Love for my wife means I should do everything in my power to ease her way, serve her needs and benefit her in life. It is not just a matter of doing the right thing, it is also important to have the right motive.

My cooking and other household duties meant that she could give more attention to her studies, finish her education more quickly, and do a better job getting established in her profession. This is not a sacrifice on my part, but a service of love that serves me too. As Ephesians five says, you should love your wife as your own body. Lola's success in education and in the workplace makes her a more confident and interesting person. Her salary benefits both of us. Her happiness contributes to my happiness. Her accomplishments are a source of pleasure to me as well.

I think my "Husband Of The Year" idea might have started out as a desire to get Lola to acknowledge my excellence as a husband. It was a way to get a pat on the back. I recall saying something like, "I will take care of doing the laundry you couldn't get to, but remember to vote for me as Husband of the Year." I am sure when Lola was especially pleased with some meal or service I provided, I have said, "Just remember to vote for me for Husband of the Year."

But Husband Of The Year became something far better than a way of fishing for praise.

The irony is that as my perspective became more biblical and my goals became more pure, Husband of the Year became a way of reminding myself that what I was doing was for my OWN benefit. It is a shorthand way of saying, "I am not just doing this for you, dear wife. I am doing this for me - because I love you as I love myself. It is no sacrifice. It is not a burden. I am only nourishing and cherishing you like I do my very own body - and for the same reason. Because I love you as my own flesh."

Beyond that, I do it for the glory of God. Even if I never mention it to Lola and she never says a word of praise - God wants me to be the Husband of the Year. Why should I focus my love and loyalty on my wife? Not just because it pleases her. Not just because it benefits me. But ultimately, because it is the right thing to do, and it pleases God and brings Him glory.

Being the Husband of the Year is a rush. Lola comes home with stories of her colleagues who work all day, then go home to do all the cooking and cleaning and waiting on their husbands who don't do "women's work" and who expect to be waited on by their wives. She delights in being the envy of her friends who know that I send her love notes in the lunches I pack for her everyday. She sparkles with a radiant beauty as I focus my loving attention and affection on her in my thoughts, words and deeds.

Everyone should want to be the Husband of the Year (or Wife of the Year). And everyone CAN be.