Stirred By The Scriptures

We had our August elders meeting last night. It was the last one of our fiscal year and it marked a transition for three men, John Crawford, Dave Silander (aka - the Bishop) and Don Lineberger. I find myself this morning with deep gratitude and love for each of these men. They have served this congregation well. Perhaps the key word is served for that is what each of them are servant leaders. So gentlemen thank you.

We just got back from 48 hours in Jersey. We went for a wedding of a friend from China and it was a wonderful celebration. The wedding was held at a church in the town I grew up in, so Suzi and I got to also stroll down memory lane. Here is the odd thing most of my life there is gone. The house I grew up in, the Bible college we both went to - no longer exist. All of those buildings have been torn down and now are sports fields for the town. The thought of going home is kind of hollow now. In some ways it has helped me again realize that life here is temporal and going home will be when heaven is realized some day.

I don’t like to fail, truth is none of us do.In the last couple of days I have had to look at failure, both my own and also in others.  What also emerged in that picture is the grace of God.  Humanly speaking all of us will fail at times in our lives.  So often we see this as the end of the story.  How wonderful it is to know that we serve a God of redemption who is writing a story in each of our lives that is bigger than any of us can imagine.  He paints with grace, mercy and love and he is a master - painter.  I am so grateful he holds the brush.

I will probably never cease to be amazed by the compassion of our congregation. Sometimes it is clearly visible and other times it happens away from the eyes of those of us who are on campus on any given weekend. My amazement (this time) has to do with people who have been the hands and feet of Christ to the folks attending Joni and Friends Camp (a camp that provides rest and refreshment for families who face the daily challenges of life affected by disability). They are a great example that you don’t have to go overseas to grow the kingdom. Where do I begin to say thanks? Perhaps to the many folks who put together over sixty welcome baskets for each family that arrived and found them in their rooms. Or maybe to the many people, including families and teens who used vacation time to spend a week ministering to the families who are attending. Then there are the individuals who drove up for a day to give a cup of cold water in Jesus name. One lady even went to the effort to provide a salon where folks could get their hair done and be treated in a loving manner. All of this and I haven’t even gotten to the folks who contributed financially to help make the camp a reality. Now you know, one of the many reasons, why I am so proud of this congregation.