Camille and I attended an engagement party for our son, Austin, and his fiance, Lauren, last week in the home of Lauren's parents. They are very gracious people and it's easy to enjoy their company. But they live in distant state and, knowing that many of their friends from church, work and neighborhood would not be able to attend the wedding, they wanted to invite them to their home to enjoy food and time to meet Austin. We were invited as well, and enjoyed the time, but our son, and rightly so, was the one everyone wanted to meet. Some 80 people came through their home that night and enjoyed the time. Camille and I did so as well. We met many life-long family friends, neighbors and family members.
But as Camille and I reflected on the evening, we realized how easily we can forget what it's like for people to step into unfamiliar settings. No matter how good the environment or how promising the event, if you have never been in it and don't know the people there, it's somewhat unnerving. Others seem obviously comfortable because they have been there before, know others who are there, or both. Camille and I are not uncomfortable meeting people for the first time. We do it often. We have no trouble taking the initiative in introducing ourselves to people who come across our paths. However, we were reminded by our experience that we are comfortable doing that when we are in our familiar places - in our church or home or in a setting where we are surrounded by people that we know. We're relaxed and confident, in other words, when we have "home field advantage."
Now we found ourselves feeling just a little uncomfortable - even intimidated - at times. Do we introduce ourselves to the group circled together in conversation and laughter? What if they ignore us, or smile and return to their conversation, leaving us looking foolish and alone? Should we just find a corner, try not to appear conspicuous, and hope that people will come to introduce themselves to us? We don't know these people and we're not sure about the expectations they might have regarding social behavior in this setting. What if we do or say something that makes us look foolish?
As you would expect, everyone was warm, friendly and welcoming. We met so many wonderful people and enjoyed learning about them and their relationships with our soon-to-be daughter-in-law. We thoroughly enjoyed the time and suffered no rejection or embarrassment!
But it was a compelling reminder to us that people who walk through the doors of our church or into a home to attend a Bible study for the first time are inevitably thinking and feeling the same things we thought and felt. That's especially true for those who have not yet come to know Christ or who have little evangelical church background.
One of the assessments we often hear from guests at Anderson Mill is that we are a very welcoming fellowship. They sense that people in this church genuinely care about them and are glad that they have come. That's always good to hear. But I need to be reminded at times that every person I meet in my daily path or who walks through the doors of my church is valuable in God's economy. There are no little or unimportant people.
Let me encourage you to ask God to keep your awareness sharp and your heart and attention open to others. Enjoy the relationships we have in God's family at AMBC, but be ready to leave a group conversation to welcome a new face walking through the door. Make a place for them to sit with you or be willing to leave your friends to ask if you might sit with them. A warm smile and some genuine attention can relieve a lot of anxiety for someone new, and may eventually open the door that will make an eternal difference for them.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
Men Who Are Making a Difference
Another Father's Day has come and gone. We had young couples and their children sharing in a time of commitment during a Parent/Baby Dedication in worship. I'm thankful for those young fathers who are committed to living for Christ and to being the men, husbands and fathers God desires for them to be. Included in this group are fathers of adoption - men who have chosen to love a child or children, and who are fathers, in every sense of the word, for their children. And I'm also thankful for so many who have been wonderful fathers through the years who have loved, led and lived for their children as models of God's plan for fathers. We can look around our church family and see the evidence of those lives in the families and children they lead.
But it occurred to me, as Camille and I talked during a Father's Day afternoon walk, that there are two groups of men not always thought of as quickly or included in our wishes for a "Happy Father's Day." But the men in these groups are fathers making a difference in the lives of children because they have stepped up to fill a void left by others.
One group is comprised of, for lack of a better term, "stepfathers." I say that the term is lacking because I include several types of fathers in this group. There are those we would readily think of as stepfathers. In some cases, the biological fathers of these children are very much involved in their lives and have not stepped out of the picture or walked away from their responsibilities as a father. In other cases, the relationship is weak or non-existent, and God has allowed that vacancy to be filled by a stepdad who loves the child or children, loves God, and has become the dad they need and love. We have some men in that place, and I am thankful for their choice to love and serve the children that have been placed into their lives. Others I place in this group are grandfathers or uncles who have lovingly and sacrificially accepted the role of dad for the sake of children in their extended family. We have some in this place, and I thank God for you, and for the difference you are making in those lives. If you are in this group, you may not be "Dad" in the biological sense, but you are "Dad" in a far more significant way.
The last group is one I would refer to as "surrogate fathers." We have so many men who step up to serve as a godly male influence for children who do not have that at home. You give them your attention, time and encouragement. You make sure they are able to attend camps and ministry events that they otherwise could not afford. You have served as a mentor, helping them learn some skills that only a dad could help them acquire. We have so many men in those places, serving children, students and young adults, much like Paul did with Timothy, to whom he referred to as "my dear son (2 Timothy 1:2). You are making a difference. God bless you.
I thank God for the men who fill these roles and pray that God would continue to raise up others who will live for Him and make a difference in the next generation.
But it occurred to me, as Camille and I talked during a Father's Day afternoon walk, that there are two groups of men not always thought of as quickly or included in our wishes for a "Happy Father's Day." But the men in these groups are fathers making a difference in the lives of children because they have stepped up to fill a void left by others.
One group is comprised of, for lack of a better term, "stepfathers." I say that the term is lacking because I include several types of fathers in this group. There are those we would readily think of as stepfathers. In some cases, the biological fathers of these children are very much involved in their lives and have not stepped out of the picture or walked away from their responsibilities as a father. In other cases, the relationship is weak or non-existent, and God has allowed that vacancy to be filled by a stepdad who loves the child or children, loves God, and has become the dad they need and love. We have some men in that place, and I am thankful for their choice to love and serve the children that have been placed into their lives. Others I place in this group are grandfathers or uncles who have lovingly and sacrificially accepted the role of dad for the sake of children in their extended family. We have some in this place, and I thank God for you, and for the difference you are making in those lives. If you are in this group, you may not be "Dad" in the biological sense, but you are "Dad" in a far more significant way.
The last group is one I would refer to as "surrogate fathers." We have so many men who step up to serve as a godly male influence for children who do not have that at home. You give them your attention, time and encouragement. You make sure they are able to attend camps and ministry events that they otherwise could not afford. You have served as a mentor, helping them learn some skills that only a dad could help them acquire. We have so many men in those places, serving children, students and young adults, much like Paul did with Timothy, to whom he referred to as "my dear son (2 Timothy 1:2). You are making a difference. God bless you.
I thank God for the men who fill these roles and pray that God would continue to raise up others who will live for Him and make a difference in the next generation.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
A Grateful Southern Baptist
Camille and I will be in Houston several days this week for the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting. Always scheduled in the month of June, the location is different each year, moving to different parts of the country, enabling messengers from churches across the nation to attend more easily. The location change certainly helps pastors, as many serve churches which are not able to afford to send them across the country each year. We might easily miss or forget that, according to some research, the median weekly attendance in a SBC church in the U.S. is 80 people. Nearly half of our churches have a membership of less than 200. I'm grateful that our church makes it possible for us to attend each year to be refreshed and to participate in the business of our convention.
I'm also grateful to be a part of our Southern Baptist Convention which is comprised of more than 45,000 churches, making it the largest evangelical denomination in the world. Each week, Southern Baptist churches gather in the U.S. to worship in more than two dozen languages. Together, we support 10,000 individuals serving in missions around the world, taking the gospel to 1089 people groups (people who share a common language or dialect, origin, and culture), many of whom would have little or no access to the gospel if not for the missionaries from our International Mission Board.
Southern Baptists provide training and education for more than 16,000 students preparing for ministry in our six theological seminaries located on the east and west coasts and places between. We also have a worldwide presence in serving through disaster relief as the SBC joins the Red Cross and the Salvation Army as the three largest relief agencies in the world.
Like people and churches, there are no perfect denominations. But I'm grateful to share in ministry with a Bible-believing people who have a heart to serve people in the name of Jesus and a passion to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. And I am grateful to share in that ministry with you.
Blessings,
Pastor Rod
I'm also grateful to be a part of our Southern Baptist Convention which is comprised of more than 45,000 churches, making it the largest evangelical denomination in the world. Each week, Southern Baptist churches gather in the U.S. to worship in more than two dozen languages. Together, we support 10,000 individuals serving in missions around the world, taking the gospel to 1089 people groups (people who share a common language or dialect, origin, and culture), many of whom would have little or no access to the gospel if not for the missionaries from our International Mission Board.
Southern Baptists provide training and education for more than 16,000 students preparing for ministry in our six theological seminaries located on the east and west coasts and places between. We also have a worldwide presence in serving through disaster relief as the SBC joins the Red Cross and the Salvation Army as the three largest relief agencies in the world.
Like people and churches, there are no perfect denominations. But I'm grateful to share in ministry with a Bible-believing people who have a heart to serve people in the name of Jesus and a passion to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. And I am grateful to share in that ministry with you.
Blessings,
Pastor Rod
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
The Kids Are Coming!
It happens each year about this time... the halls, rooms, sanctuary, and every available space is filled with 500 or more boys and girls for Vacation Bible School at AMBC. Transformation begins to take place a week or two ahead of time and on the Sunday before Monday's start, I preach in front of an elaborate stage setting of some sort. One year, I preached from the deck of a sailing ship. Another, I was in front of a bamboo curtain with Pandas everywhere. And last year I stood in the clouds filled with kites and a large bi-plane. This Sunday I will be preaching from an elaborate castle - but I'm not sure whether I'll be on the drawbridge or in front. Hopefully, I will not be assigned to the moat!I'm thankful for a church family that is flexible because we care about children and look forward to introducing them to Christ. And, I'm grateful for those who give so much time, energy, and incredible creativity in making VBS an experience that the children, workers, and the families of those children, will not soon forget. Special thanks goes to Chris Simpson for her investment of countless hours giving leadership and direction to this ministry.
I hope you will join me, along with so many others in our church family, in praying that God would bless those 5 days of VBS at AMBC, and that the lives and eternal destination of many of those children would be forever changed.
Pastor Rod
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