Christmas Message for Local Paper

Merry Christmas….from one small town to another!

Apart from the poetic inklings of popular Christmas carols, we do not know exactly what size a town Bethlehem was the night Jesus was born. We do get the distinct impression that it was not a large place. (This is reinforced by the fact we read very little about Bethlehem outside of Scripture, despite its rich history.) Quite likely, it was a small town.

But when you think about it, when you are the Creator God of a limitless universe….aren’t all towns small? From Beijing to Basile, from New York to Eunice, from Rio to Mamou, they are all tiny spots on the wall map of the cosmos.

But God came there.

From the beginning of time, people have gone to great lengths in an effort to ensure that when they die they will go to heaven. But long ago, Jesus did the unthinkable. He left heaven so He could come and die!

And God comes here.

It is our smallness, coupled with God’s greatness that stands at the heart of the wonder of Christmas. It is incredible to consider that on this Christmas Day, God is aware of your life. Even as you read this newspaper, you are in His heart. Unseen by the masses, you are known by the Master.

The angel informed Mary that her child would be known as Immanuel, that is “God with us”. God could no longer be considered far off, a distant figure from history, an unrelatable force. God had come to the small places and moved in.

This Christmas, through Jesus Christ may you experience God’s nearness, may you celebrate His coming and may you be transformed by His presence.

Because God is still here!

If you like ministry doom and gloom.....

then you will love this story about church attendance in England. According to a report by Christian Research, church attendance will decline by 90% by 2050.

Do you think that is possible? Is this a clarion call for the church to change or evidence the church has changed too much? How does your eschatology fit into this report and how does this report fit into your eschatology?

Personally I find myself living between Romans 1:16 and Matthew 7:13. The unstoppable gospel that is the timeless power of God unto salvation and the truth that more people will walk away from that precious gospel than we care to think about.

The exact narrowness and wideness of those ways will vary from time to time. I don't know what the year 2050 will hold (I have a hard time getting past next Sunday), but I do know the gospel will not expire and the path will never be empty.

And that is really all I need to know about the future.

5 Loaves 2 Fish 5K Update

I am excited to share that we have arranged for 2007 NCAA DI XC National Champ Josh McDougal to be part of our church's 5K.

The race will be held in lovely Eunice, LA on Valentine's Day 2009. All proceeds go to our local Relay for Life (American Cancer Society). Josh will be sharing his story and describing how fits into his life and his running.

For more info go to the race section of our church website.

Merry Christmas Neighbor

Here is a Christmas postcard our church mailed out every residence in our local zipcode (only 6200 addresses). On the day it arrived we had several folks call the church to thank us for the card.

Of course, we could have gone all out and thrown the entire town a Christmas parade! (Great job FBC Osprey! Loved the pictures here.)

Merry Xmas

Merry Xmas!

As Christmas greetings go, none has the ability to make a believer’s blood boil more than this one. But truth be told, it has been a while since I have seen this greeting used. The impression that I get is that was a very badly received experiment that seems to have gone away.

The origins of this experiment are not quite clear. Many have felt that it was yet another attempt to secularize the holiday. Or to put it more plainly, to take Christ out of Christmas. It is important to remember that folks have been very honest when explaining their preference for “Happy Holidays” by saying it speaks to the time of year without affirming the Christian holiday. However, I have never heard an equivalent confession concerning Merry Xmas.

As unpopular as it may be, the X in Xmas has a couple of very significant origins. First it is true that the Greek name of Christ, kristos (meaning Anointed One), was abbreviated to X. You see that in the famous Christian fish symbol which was made by combining the first letters from the Greek words Jesus Christ, God’s Son is Savior. The resulting letters (including X for Christ) spelt the word fish.

The second important faith origin is that the X also represents the cross. Bethlehem doesn’t matter nearly as much without Calvary and its cross. Without the cross, it is an amazing story, but it doesn’t really make a difference in my life today.

This one letter powerfully proclaims not only the person of Christmas but also the purpose of the Christ. Now, I don’t really know the motives of those prefer Merry Xmas, and I don’t plan on making it my greeting of choice….but for reminding me of the cross in this season, I am grateful for it.

May your journey to the manger include a glimpse of the cross this year.

C.S. Lewis' musing about ministry.....

I came across this quote on JD Greers' blog yesterday. It may be my new favorite ministry thought of all time.

C. S. Lewis, called by many to be the most original expounder of Christianity in the 20th, once said something like, "I never really cared a wit about saying anything new or original, just to be as clear as I could on what Christians have always believed. Somehow that sounded original."

Jim Elliot's musings about ministry...

I have recently finished reading Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Elliot. The book is primarily the journals and letters of Elliot's missionary martyr husband, Jim Elliot. Elliot lost his life along with four other missionaries attempting to make contact with an unreached Amazon tribe in 1956.

Out of that context, comes Elliot's best remembered quote

He is no fool who gives that which he cannot keep to gain what he cannot
lost.

The fact that was written several years before his death makes it all the more profound. But in reading the Shadow of Almighty I was moved by several other passages in the book.

In addressing his parent's potential grief over both their sons' call to foreign missions Elliot wrote the following words

Grieve not then, if your sons seem to desert you, but rejoice, rather, seeing
the will of God done gladly. Remember how the Psalmist described children? He said that they were as an heritage from the Lord, and that every man should be happy who had his quiver full of them. And what is a quiver full of but arrows? And what are arrows for but to shoot? So, with the strong arms of prayer, draw the bowstring back and the let arrows fly -- all of them, straight at the Enemy's hosts.

On his struggles with sharing the truth of the gospel in new languages, he states

...the statement of truth is regarded as 'too deep', to difficult to express in Quichua, which is such a simple language. Still, it is better to try to make them understand, in order that they may know what they are rejecting, than it is, by pressing the acceptance more than the understanding, to allow them to accept something they do not understand.

At another point he writes in his journal

How well I see now that He is wanting to do something in me! So many missionaries, intent on doing something, forget that His main work is to make something of them, not just to do a work by their stiff and bungling fingers. Teach me, Lord Jesus, to live simply and love purely, like a child, and to know that You are unchanged in Your attitudes and actions toward me. Give me not to be hungering for the 'strange, rare and peculiar' when the common, ordinary, and regular -- rightly taken -- will suffice to feed and satisfy the soul. Bring struggle when I need it; take away ease at Your pleasure.

May God stir you deeply as you head into a strong weekend of ministry.

Followers Who Lead

Several years ago there was an email forward going around that claimed to contain the questions from a turn of the century 8th grade final examination. To the average person (and even the above average person) the exam was frightening in its level of difficulty. The point of the email is to marvel at how expectations have fallen over the years.

1 Thessalonians 5.14-22 serves a similar role.

14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, [3] encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every
form of evil.

As I ponder those expectations, my response is "what a strong challenge for spiritual leaders." But then I realize that based on vv. 12-13, these are not the expectations for the leaders but for the typical believer. These are things those under leadership should be doing.

The typical believer in our church should be pouring thier lives into others, holding each other accountable and having a stake in the growth of those around them.

Let us be challenged to keep expectations high...for ourselves and for those around us.

Season's Greetings

Season’s Greetings!

As I think about holiday phrases, I don’t know if anyone has ever said “Season’s Greetings” to me in person. I see it on everywhere -- signs, greeting cards, newspaper ads and television announcements. But I don’t remember anyone actually ever saying it.

At some point in the past it was discovered to be a rather safe, nondenominational, multifaith holiday phrase….even if it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.

But did you know that the “original” season’s greetings seemed hardly safe. Notice the following reactions.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him....When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear…

God sent the angel Gabriel...to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph…the virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words…

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby…an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified…

These “season’s greetings” were powerful events. They reveal at least three things, which are still true today.

1. A greeting from God is a big deal.
2. Despite the initial fear, the greetings bring the best news ever.
3. There was an expected response from the hearer of the greeting.

Next time we see (or maybe even hear) “Season’s Greetings”, remember those words are far from harmless. It reminds us that God is up to something!

How is a Pastor to Relate?

Pal? Regular Guy? All Round Go To Person?

Over the years I have noticed many pastoral expectations. Some want their pastor to be their best friend. I remember a pastor from my home church being enthusiastically being introduced as "a guy if you met him in a paint store you wouldn't even know he was a pastor!" Others see their pastor as someone who is on call for whatever need may arise in thier life -- giving them a ride across town, sitting with an elderly family member or putting up storm shutters at the last minute.

These approaches just always seemed a little empty to me. They remind me of the NFL/United Way commercials where football players walk old ladies across the street and read books to a stadium full of children. Nice, but not exactly a calling.

In 1 Thessalonians 2 Paul paints three pictures of a minister's relationship to his flock. Like a nursing mother, they are gentle, taking care of their children. (v. 7) Like a father, they exhort, encourage and charge their children to walk in a manner worthy of God. (vv. 11-12) And like a brother, they share the same journey. (vv. 1, 9, 14)

Now those are things that are worth spending a life on.

One last way Paul relates in chapter 2. He says the church in Thessalonica is his "hope and joy and crown of boasting" They are his glory and joy. (vv. 19-20)

This Sunday take a good look at your congregation....they are your crown of boasting!

Not sure there is much boast there? What they likely need is a nurturing mother, an exhorting father and an understanding brother.

Undampened Spirits -- 1 Thessalonians 2

These were weary days for the ministry team of Paul, Silas and Timothy. They had already suffered much and been severely mistreated in Philippi.

Preaching brought pain. Preaching brought rejection. Preaching brought discouragement. Preaching brought beatings and prison. While Paul had never heard of Pavlov and his puppies, Paul and company were in danger of being negatively conditioned.

One would understand if Paul became slightly less excited about preaching....or at least kept a low profile for a spell.

But as he walked into Thessalonica, Paul remembers they "had boldness in God to declare to you the gospel". As a result the kingdom was expanded and lives were changed.

It is quite possible you are in some weary days yourself. Your ministry efforts have not gone the way you wanted or felt they should. Your words have at times been rejected, ignored and sometimes opposed. To be honest, your passion for your call seems a little damp.

But let me assure, there are some Thessalonians who await your ministry today. May you find boldness in God today. It will not be in vain!

Happy Holidays!

In honor of that great Christmas tradition of complaining about chain store greetings I offer these thoughts from an old news letter article I wrote.


Happy Holidays!

I never knew that such a friendly greeting could be so controversial. I do understand some of the frustration. After all, if someone doesn’t want to celebrate Christmas then they should not worry about it and just get back to work. We are tempted to say celebrate or don’t celebrate, but don’t try to change what Christmas means.

But after further review, it wouldn’t really be such a terrible thing if the chaos of Target, Wal-mart and the mall were separated from this Sacred Season. Maybe these marketers have done for us what we should have done for ourselves long ago.

Instead of taking offense at these Merry Christmas alternatives, I would encourage you to notice that even these alternatives contain unmistakable Christian messages.

Take “happy holidays” for instance. What is really being said here is a recognition that these are Holy Days.

I could not agree more. At Christmas we celebrate that before the beginning of time God selected a specific day for His Son to enter this world, to be born of the virgin Mary. He planned the persons, the time and the place for this great event. To say the least it was a day long circled on heaven’s calendar.

And do not forget that God knows just as much about this day (today) as He did of the day Jesus was born. He knows the persons, the time and the place you are surrounded by right now. And He certainly has a plan for today!

Yes, these certainly are happy holy-days indeed! I hope someone reminds you of that today.