I found this video both interesting and convicting. I pray that pastor will take heed to this word regarding the very important work of doing theology. Continue reading “The Pastor as Theologian”
Tag: Christianity
A “WebMD” Church Cannot Help the Hurting
I have written about this before in other places, however, it is a topic I find myself coming back to and thinking about regularly. It could be due to my love for talent shows. I could also be because of the longing I feel for validation myself.
I do not think that this longing is something far from the thoughts of many people. There is something within each of us hoping, yearning even, for others to receive us with open arms. I do not find this odd or even inappropriate. What I have discovered through my own introspection is that we may have turned our angst and decided to be satisfied by lesser forms of authority. When you are a singer and you want your voice measured you subject yourself to the judges on one of the many talent shows. When you want your cakes/cupcakes tasted or your tattoos showcased you put yourself out there and are literally under a microscope with the hope that someone will say, “Yeah, that is pretty amazing”. Those who make it to that stage are few. I often wonder about the countless droves who do not even risk the scrutiny and yet desire the evaluation.
Continue reading “A “WebMD” Church Cannot Help the Hurting”
Happy Father’s Day | A Tribute to My Dad
While I am hardly at a loss for words, talking about how powerful an impact my father has had in my life is one of the things that I can’t aptly describe.
When this happens I tend to look for songs that help. That being the case here you go!
Happy Father’s Day, Pai!
In Memory of Pastor Ray Burnette | A Shepherd has Fallen
The Reverend
Ray Burnette
1953 – 2015
Yesterday I learned that Pastor Ray passed from this life into eternity. I served in the same community as he did for four years and interacted with him on a several occasions. I am grateful for his service to his family, the Crisp County community, and to the great family of faith at Penia Baptist Church.
Continue reading “In Memory of Pastor Ray Burnette | A Shepherd has Fallen”
The Anchor of Truth amidst the Storms of Tragedy
As I was perusing my Facebook feed one of the ministers I know asked, what I believe, is an important question. He was wondering if any of his pastor friends would be saying/addressing the tragedy in Charleston in some way, if at all this coming up Sunday. This is an ongoing conversation so, there is not consensus yet, but it is worth noting that there is no right answer here. At least in my mind.
Each pastor and, by extension, each person who hears about and considers the events at the Emanuel AME Church will respond according to how the news affected them. The range of human emotions is as varied as the faces upon each persons head. The reality is that how we respond is the cumulative product of our experiences and our beliefs. If there is anything I have learned in life is how true this is.
The key to navigating the waters of life is having a means of charting your course. For sailors it was the stars. They learned to identify the formations above them and then correct their direction. The same is also true for us. When we are adrift and in search of our bearings we have to look up and set our minds on things above. We have to take our eyes off what is front of us and around us to catch our breath and regain our composure.
Tragedy has a way of throwing our lives off-kilter. The only way to regain our balance is to put our hands on something solid, something sure. For me that is the Word of God. The word of God is the anchor of truth I rely on when the storms begin to rage. Turning to the truth of who God is and what he has done in and through Jesus is what provides the ballast and stability required to weather the storm.
Tragedy has a way of bringing issues and problems into greater relief. We all have an opportunity to grow wiser, become more loving, and extend greater grace when we turn to God rather than our own wisdom. My prayer is that I do not miss the chance to increase my sensitivity to what God is saying about himself and his word. The promise we have is that every storm will pass. The question is this: Will we learn from the present one to better prepare and handle the next?
The Darkness is Deepening… but the Light of the World still Shines
A Reflection on the Shooting in Charleston, South Carolina
Last night a terrible act of violence was committed against the pastor and members of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. There are no words to describe the dastardly nature of this crime. To enter a place of worship and without any apparent provocation proceed to killing defenseless congregants points to an evil that is beyond comprehension.
What make this tragedy even more infuriating than it already is, is how quickly the conversation moves away from the victims to the “issues.” I am not saying that there are not problems that need to be addressed. What bothers me is that rarely do events like this lead to a conversation about what is really wrong with our world. We keep putting band-aids on the problem, never really stopping to think about the source of the poison that seems to be seeping into the bloodstream of our nation.
Several years ago I attended a missions conference and one of the speakers gave this analogy regarding justice ministry. He described a man standing on the bank of a river. As he stood there he heard the cries for help of another man in the river. He could not fight the current to get to the riverbank. The first man threw a rope to the man and offered him a life line to safety, which was gladly taken. A short time later, another person came floating down the river, this one in the same predicament as the first. Again the rope was offered and again another life was saved. The man stood on the river bank and helped the people as they came. After several people had been rescued in this way, the good Samaritan decided to walk up-stream to see why all these people were falling into the river.
As a Christian and pastor I feel that too many within the Church have become satisfied with lending a hand and throwing a rope to help those who are floating down the river, but we have not done a good job of finding the source of the problem. Throwing a rope to help is an act of mercy for the individual helped. But, walking upstream on the river and fixing the reason people are falling into the river is an act of justice. We have to speak to the true issue if we are going to see lasting change.
Is racism a problem? Yes. Is human trafficking and slavery a problem? Yes. Are there social issues that have to be confronted and addressed? Yes. However, these are not the primary, rudimentary issues the human soul must be rescued from. What humanity needs to be rescued from is its sinful nature. We are all sinners and because of this sin we all are at risk of falling into the river of death. Sin is not just one problem, it is a billion problems described by one simple reality. We all are incapable of avoiding the hole that sends us floating down the river.
As I have read the news reports regarding the shooting of those nine souls I felt this overwhelming sense that the darkness of sin has been deepening in our world. There seems to be no bottom to the depths of human cruelty and depravity. I am saddened by all of this. And yet, I hold onto the hope that the Light of World still shines.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had it right when he said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” [Source] What light was he talking about? What love was he pointing to? It was the light of Christ in the Gospel of the Cross. This is the only light and the only love that will dispel the darkness that threatens to envelop our heart, mind and soul.
For the church the only transformative power give to us is the Gospel of Jesus. If we turn to anything else we jeopardize any chance we have been given to see the heart soften, the soul saved, and the mind renewed. Not everyone will agree with me but, that is alright. I have live according to what I believe.
Six Strings and a Pick: How Playing Guitar Helped Me See The Risk of Plateau
Over the last year I have been playing regularly with the worship team of my church. This has been less out of some burning desire and more because of a need for a guitarist on the team. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy playing, however, I am not a big fan of playing (or singing for that matter) in front of people.
I have always wanted to play the guitar. My grandfather used to make guitars until he became ill and was unable to do so any longer. There were a couple of samples of guitars that he made in his home and I remember admiring them every time we went to Puerto Rico to visit. There is something about the sound a guitar makes that I just love.
Over the years I have played with moderate measures of satisfaction. I would pick it up for a few months and then quit. Then the urge would hit me again and I would work on developing those calluses again. That is always the toughest part, getting your fingers used to the strings. But, after about a week the focus shifts to playing rather than surviving each practice session.
This last go round I have been playing consistently three to four days a week for about an hour or two each time. That is a lot of playing. The reason I share this brief history is due to a conversation I had with the worship pastor of our church. We were talking, and as most good conversations go, we touched on a variety of subjects. As we talked we were discussing the reasons why people do things in life and the catalysts for growth in our individual journeys.
Then, it hit me. The reason I was getting better was not because I was playing more. This does contribute, but that was not a sufficient explanation. I realized that the longer we do something the easier it gets to do. However, to limit any improvement to time served, as it were, would be somewhat shorted sighted. There were two fundamental reasons I was getting better. First, I had to. Second, I wanted to.
Why did I have to? The needs of the worship team required a better guitarist. In order for that to happen, I had to play more and practice more. I had to learn Solfège, songs in two languages and work with two different worship teams because I was it. I had to get better otherwise the worship experience would have been more distracting than uplifting. This is as well and good.
The second reason that I was getting better was because I wanted to. This was the realization I had not considered or recognized until that conversation the other night. Now, this may sound silly, but I hope you understand why this was surprising to me, and should be to you as well. The better we get at something, the greater the desire to be challenged. I did not realize how valuable it was to be confronted with my own growth and realize that there is more to do, more areas where I can experience growth, more opportunities waiting to be explored. I am not going to be a recording artist or impress anyone. I am just trying to push myself a little further. I did not realize that the greatest motivation comes from within us, when we see that there is still untapped potential to be discovered.
What I have realized is that the better I get at anything I practice, the more I am confronted with the risk of plateau. We have to decide if we are satisfied with where we are. We may not even be satisfied with it, but we may be more afraid of changing what we have for something we do not fully know.
The bottom line is this, if you are satisfied with where you are, then stay there. No one is going to get you to move if you don’t want to. No one was pushing me to get better, they were just glad I was doing something. That just wasn’t enough for me anymore. If was fine at the beginning. But the more I played and the more things made sense, the more I began to understand. The more I wanted to improve. I wanted to become a better steward of my time and more effective in my practice. The more I played the more I wanted the play. And the more I wanted to play the better I wanted to be.
There are two question we all have to ask ourselves. They are these: 1.) How long is it going to take for me to realize there is more to learn? And 2.) How intently will I strive to learn it when I do?
Disappointed with God
Over the last several years I have seen a change in the world and the church. No one can deny that the current state of both is nothing like it was ten years ago. It really doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you live one or what you pet social issue is, the world has changed. Some people see it “moving in the right direction” others as not. The bottom line as that line has moved.
Some of the assumptions that at one time served as the basis for our decision-making have changed. And in some cases have even been erased, never to be found again. The world has truly changed.
I talk about the change because I find myself wondering if people truly understand the consequences of their actions. Have they considered the potential unintended consequences of their actions? Or do they not care. That is not something they want to think about because it is not right in front of them. I will admit that I can take a short-sighted view as well, but that is not a sign of progress, but of immaturity.
In the end, this is what I feel. I feel that we have become a nation of children rather than mature adults. We have become petulant rather than penitent. We have become whiners rather than winsome. We have become self-centered and selfish rather than sacrificial in our living.
Over the last several weeks I have been wondering how many people who claim to be Christians will be disappointed with God when they stand in his presence? How will we feel when we find out how wrong we were about some things? Will we still want to spend the rest of eternity with a God who is so disappointing?
Do you see what has happened in our world? We have become so confused about God’s character that we have made him the scapegoat. We say to ourselves and to others, “God wouldn’t do this or that,” never really understanding that what God decides to do or not do was never really for me to know. I feel that the Church has tried too hard to speak for God rather than allowing God to speak for himself. I am glad God wrote down what he wanted us to know.
My problem is deciding whether or not I am willing to conform my life and thoughts to what he said.
I may come to the end of my days, stand before God and be disappointed. But, I pray it is not because he failed me, but because I failed to live into and up to what He desired for my life.
Video spotlight | “Good, Good Father”
I have heard this song before but, this time I found myself really listening. Have you ever done that? Something just hits you differently than it had before. When this happens to me, I realize that there is truth unheard that I am now ready to receive.
It can be so easy to forget who HE is and who that, in turn, makes us. I need as many reminders of who I am as I can get.
I hope you find it as much a blessing as I did.
God does not work at Burger King
As I was driving home from a revival service last night a thought crossed my mind. It was connected to this verse found in 1 Corinthians 10:13.
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
I have often heard people pray and ask God to make a way for them. “Lord, make a way.” As I thought about this I realized that many times we are not asking God to provide for us HIS way. We are asking God to provide a way to suites OUR desires. The gulf between these two points of view is staggering.
As I was driving home I was astonished at how easily we are seduced into thinking that God’s favor and love and grace gives us permission to ask anything we want from God. We come to him as spoiled children, rather than grateful debtors. Our adoption into the family does not mean we now become prideful regarding our new position. We should remain humbled and appreciative of God’s kindness toward us.
When we ask God to make a way we need to be ready to take the way HE provides. When we ask God to make a way we must understand that we are surrendering our “right” to complain about the path to freedom. God will provide a way that leads to him. He is not interested in leading you to any other destination. My relationship with God is more important to him than my bank account, my health, my status, my titles, my accomplishments. The way of escape will always lead to Him.
Asking God for a way of escape is a dangerous request. If we are unwilling to take the avenue provided, then we are praying in vain. If we are unwilling to accept the road to God’s deliverance, then we are not really interested in getting out of where we are. If what we want is have it our way, then go to Burger King because God does not and will do anything to accommodate our whims and worldly aspirations.