Submitted for inclusion in the Faith Section of the Henderson Daily Dispatch Saturday, August 25, 2011 edition.

First, there were waterspouts along the southeastern coast of North Carolina. Then, there was a surprise earthquake outside Richmond, VA. Now, we await the Lady Irene and her hurricane force that will make her away up the Atlantic using wind, waves, and rain to leave a trail. A native North Carolinian friend said the earthquake helped his bucket list, where is the volcano?

The weather outside has been frightful, leaving some to ask, “Is this it?” While native North Carolinians find hurricanes to be no surprise, the east coast earthquake really had some shaken – not only physically, but also spiritually. Such spiritual rattling can be common when Mother Nature becomes more extreme and chaotic than the norm. The scriptures speak of such things.  Matthew 24 offers Jesus’ own teaching of the end times.  Matthew 24:6, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” Spend five minutes reading the newspaper or watching the news or surfing the net and you will see and hear of war, famine, and earthquakes; yet, is the end near?

Jesus’ teaching of the end times continues in Matthew 24.  Jumping to Matthew 24: 36, “’But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Furthermore, Matthew 24:42, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

I have always found comfort in these ancient words. Growing up on the coast I lived through a dozen plus hurricanes. I had family in California who lived through earthquakes.  My wife was raised in the tornado alleys of the Midwest. She and I were products of the Cold War when the fear of nuclear holocaust was a red phone away. There was, as there is now, famine among various people throughout the earth. I used to live in fear; today, I live with hope. He will come like a thief in the night. We must always be ready. Living for Jesus, living with Jesus – ALL the days of our lives!

Henderson Daily Dispatch submission for July 2, 2011

Freedom. A value celebrated in these United States of America on July 4th, our country’s Independence Day, with fireworks, parades, hamburgers, hot dogs, and gatherings of families and friends. The red, white, and blue will fly high. Patriotism will peak. Freedom will be celebrated.

“With freedom comes responsibility,” said Eleanor Roosevelt.  Freedom offers the opportunity to make choices. It provides a sense of independence; yet, with freedom comes a great weight. What will you do with that freedom? What will do with those choices?

God offered his created beings Adam and Eve free will. With free will they made they choice to disobey eating the forbidden fruit. Their freedom to chose got them kicked out of the Garden of Eden.

God’s gift of freedom is seen no greater than the freedom offered in following Jesus Christ. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross freed humanity from the law. The majority of Christian practice proclaims it is by grace we are saved for we are free from the law. Following Christ provides a new freedom and a new opportunity with new responsibility. THis freedom is opportunity to love one another Paul says. Don’t indulge yourself on selfish impulses. Don’t’ abuse your freedom. (Galatians 2:13)

Christ’s invitation to follow him is an invitation. No pressure. Your choice. Will you follow? If you choose to follow then self desires will be replaced by the way of the Spirit. Paul continues in Galatians 2:

I say be guided by the Spirit and you won’t carry out your selfish desires. A person’s selfish desires are set against the Spirit, and the Spirit is set against one’s selfish desires. They are opposed to each other, so you shouldn’t do whatever you want to do. But if you are being led by the Spirit, you aren’t under the Law. The actions that are produced by selfish motives are obvious, since they include sexual immorality, moral corruption, doing whatever feels good, idolatry, drug use and casting spells, hate, fighting, obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry, jealousy, drunkenness, partying, and other things like that. I warn you as I have already warned you, that those who do these kinds of things won’t inherit God’s kingdom. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  (Galatians 2:16-23a, Common English Bible)

This Independence Day celebrate the freedom offered by Jesus Christ. Moreover, consider how you will live free. Will you do harm or show love? Will you indulge in selfish ways or honor the one who gave you freedom? Give him all your worship and you will be free.

Recently a high school friend, colleague in ministry, and mom of two called to my attention Julia Ward Howe’s 1870 Declaration for a Mother’s Day of Peace. My friend noted, as a mother, how much the Declaration was more about peace and justice than  mothers.

While Howe is more likely remembered as the writer of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, her interests reached beyond poetry calling for peace and the end of war. Her Declaration calls for disarmament, the teaching of charity, the alliance of nations and the “amicable settlement of international questions.” In many ways she was a prophet of her time. Mother’s Day was first recognized in 1907 at a church in West Virginia and later declared in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson as a National observance.

100 years later Mother’s Day has taken on quite a different meaning than first pictured by Howe. Today we send cards, cook breakfast, and carry to lunch the dear mothers of our lives. Today we honor mom and show our thanks for her love. Today we remember mom, but how about peace.

“Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.

Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means

Whereby the great human family can live in peace,

Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,

But of God.”

Howe called upon women to stand and be the leaders of peace at a time when the country was recovering from a bloody war and the world was in the midst of building towards a great war. She called upon women to be the leaders of peace when families were healing from the separation of brother taking arms again brothers. She called for upon women to be the leaders of reconciliation whereby God was “impressed” on the family.

Today let us make plans to honor our mothers and seek ways to bring peace to our homes, communities, nation, and world. Honor mom that she knows she is loved unconditionally as Christ first loved us. Encourage her to seek the face of God that she can reflect God’s light upon her family. Celebrate her for she hears our cries and brings calm that we might see peace.

Furthermore, pray for peace this Mother’s Day. The world is noisy. Turmoil and violence dominate newscasts. Family squabbles make waves when children need stability. Pray for peace and pray for the peacemakers. Heed the call of the Apostle Paul to become an ambassador for Christ seeking reconciliation in light of the resurrection. Pray for peace that we can be the one Body of Christ for the world.

Published in the Saturday, May 6, 2011 edition of the Henderson Daily Dispatch

I offered this prayer in the Henderson, NC, City Council Chambers as part of our community National Day of Prayer observance.

Lord of all the Nations, you have poured out your blessings upon this land and the lands       of all creation.

You have laid down a foundation in your Son Jesus Christ for us to grow and prosper in           your grace.

Thank You, God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you are our creator, redeemer, and sustainer.

Humble us Lord that we seek your face above all others.

Bring us to our knees in prayer that we listen to your voice amidst the noise.

Fill our hearts that we love as you first loved us.

On this day of prayer we pray for this nation that we be the light upon the hill

bearing witness to Christ in our lives to the world.

Let Christ be in us so greatly that all the world see him, not us.

Let Christ be in us so greatly that we extend arms of grace and peace.

Let Christ be in us so greatly that we humbly partner with our neighbors to make

the world a better place that all might know Jesus, the King of Kings.

We pray for our leaders…

… for President Barak Obama, may he seek the use of the power of love in fulfilling

his executive responsibilities

… for the Vice-President and the Cabinet, may they support the President in seeking

just decisions

… for our senators and congress men and women, may they serve Christ as they

serve the people

… for our justice system, may it always hold up the foundations of Godly living of

which the nation was founded

We pray for the people…

… for our differences that they unite us

… for our color that they reflect the fullness of God’s glory

… for our gifts that they come together for the work of Christ

… for our voices that they unite in the tongue of the Holy Spirit

… for our hearts that they continue to spread the love of God at home and abroad

until the day when all bow at the coming of the King, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Lord, continue to bless the people of this land

and the lands of all those who call upon the Lord.

Where we are full of pride, humble us.

Where we are in need, let us see your abundance.

Where we are at fault, rebuke us and reconcile the situation.

Where we are just and right showing mercy and compassion

let us roll like waves of grace.

We pray in the awesome name of Jesus Christ, the hope of the nations. Amen.

Thursday afternoon at Orange we were introduced to Gordon MacDonald. He is a multi-generational pastor and author of several books. I personnally can recommend the two I’ve read: Who Stole My Church? and Ordering Your Private World.

His interview took points from both. I was most moved and intrigued with the conversation around Who Stole My Church? This fictional tale is not about any specific church, and it is. When I read the beginning of this book I first thought “wait I serve this church!” All churches are struggling, and many are struggling to live into God’s mission for His church in the context of the 21st century.

MacDonald made the follwing points in his interview:

• 90% of churches in the United States are in distress
• Current senior church generations were raised in a church with three generations that shared a common language. Today there are FIVE distinctly culturally defined generations under one roof and needing to hear the Gospel!
• any church that fails to connect with young people will disappear {note the word connect; we must connect young and old like Paul & Timothy, Elijah & Elisha}

Commenting about our aging population and making transitions in ministry:

• With life expectancy extending, the best work of persons today will be done between 60-80 years old. This is 25 years senior past generations.
• Some of the best agents of change Biblically were Moses, Joshua, Anna and Simeon - all 80-some years old.
• When asked my senior members why they cannot stay the same MacDonald replies “We will stay the same if you promise me 15 years from now you won’t be in Heaven or Florida.”

I believe it cool and important that MacDonald came across as a humble senior statesman – he’s 72 years young!

When I consider how this plays today I say SO TRUE, SO TRUE, SO TRUE! It’s not so much about change; it’s about transformation as we live our God’s mission for the church. Together, genrations of all ages, we are baptized for Christ’s work today young and older alike!

Today there seems to a BIG wedding to which I was not officially invited. Then again, while I was not officially invited, it seems I can join the festivities via every major news and media outlet in the United States.

For several weeks the coverage has been ramping up. AND I JUST DON’T GET IT! My wife says it is about fairytale and the dream of being a queen/king. I just don’t get it. Why do people in the free world get so crazy about a king and queen who have little to do with their lives?

On the other hand there is a King who awaits his bride, and we are all invited! That King is Jesus Christ, who Christians around the world celebrated recently as risen from the grave. Matthew tells us Jesus is coming again like a groom for his bride and we are all invited.

Oh let me be more specific, our invitation is not simply to be a spectator or wedding guest. We are invited to be Christ’s BRIDE! We get to marry the King! We get to marry the Lord of the Feast and become an heir of Heaven’s prince!

That’s a wedding I look forward to seeing! Hope to see you there!

Recently, I tried tweeting a powerful word from Ron Hall he shared at Orange 2011. I failed to capture the awesomness and power of the statement in 140 characters. Here’s the complete post:

Asked why the city needed ten years to end homelessness the city responded like a government Denver Moore asked,  ”how many homeless persons?” City said, “6000.” Moore asked, “how many churches in your city.” The City responded with something more than 6500. Moore responded, “there’s the answer.”

Hall said Moore continued saying that if every church it the city openned its doors to ONE homeless person the problem of homelessness would be solved.

That sounds like a Jesus solution if I’ve ever heard one!

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Ron Hall and Denver Moore are the authors of Same Kind as Different As Me. Ron was interviewed at The 2011 Orange Conference by Reggie Joiner.