It is a strange morning. Unlike any Sunday morning in my life. This is the first Sunday of our COVID-19 closure. I am at church expecting no one to come. No classrooms will be filled, the sanctuary will remain silent. I am missing the happy greetings of friends arriving at church together, the purposeful scurry of leaders doing the jobs they have committed to accomplish, and my anticipation that soon I will be preaching to a people who have graciously come to listen.
I know there are many pastors who are having the same experience today. Like me, they have spent the week carefully listening to government proclamations, contacting health agencies, finding the best medical advice, talking to other clergy and church leaders, considering options, and most of all, praying in order to make the difficult decision to suspend services.
It is not an easy decision to ask the church not to gather as the Body of Christ on our chosen day to study, worship, pray, and share the love we have for God and for each other. Coming together is so central to being the church that we cannot imagine not spending the first day of each week with fellow believers. So why take such a dramatic action?
I understand the epidemiological and medical reasons for the large-scale cancellations we are seeing. We are at a critical juncture when this virus becomes a community-spread germ instead of an infection traceable to specific encounters. Public health agencies are asking for social distancing at this point to prevent an explosion of cases severely impacting medical facilities as seen elsewhere in our world.
But there is another layer of consideration that is more significant to our core values as a community of faith. We are cancelling services as an act of love. First, it is a loving act for our fellow believers in our community of faith. We can say, “Don’t come if you feel ill, are over 65, are in a high-risk group, or have been around sick people.” But the desire to see friends, fulfill obligations, a sense it can’t happen to me, or just plain good habits often overrule thoughtful decision making. Sometimes collective wisdom in more important that individual choice. We are loving one another by not exposing vulnerable individuals to the possibility of infection. Our care for sisters and brothers in Christ necessitates that we sacrifice in this significant way.
Secondly, canceling services is an act of love for our world. “Love your neighbor,” we are commanded by Jesus. As governments and medical institutions struggle to deal with the threat of this pandemic virus it is our ministry of loving our neighbors that leads us to step forward and set an example. We are making necessary sacrifices to follow government agency guidelines in slowing the spread of COVID-19 because we love our neighbors, our community, our world.
I don’t know how many Sunday mornings I will spend alone at church, I don’t know the impact this pandemic will have on our community. I don’t know when “normal” will become normal again. But I do know this. There is no greater force at work in our world than the love of God. And we, at First Baptist Church, are going to do everything we can to be a part of expressing that love in our church and to our world.
Category Archives: Church
A Strange Morning
Filed under Church, God, Grace, Love, Making a Difference, Morrow, Pastor, The Future
Praying over Bagels
For ten years I regularly saw a family at the bagel shop I frequented many mornings; a mother, two daughters, and a son, the son being in the middle child with an older and younger sister. I assumed the mother was home-schooling her children given the time of day I saw them and the fact that they often drilled academic subjects together. By the long dresses, lack of makeup or jewelry, and uncut hair of the mother and girls, I also assumed they are a part of a holiness tradition.
I admired this family. They were happy and had fun together, sometimes too much fun for the pastor dosing on caffeine in the next booth. I had at times wanted to pull out my hair on hearing another Latin verb congregated with enthusiasm! They behaved lovingly to each other and polite to everyone in the bagel shop. And they were devout, often discussing biblical subjects and always praying over their bagels.
I also admire their holiness tradition. Courageous willingness to live out radical distinctiveness (to be holy, separate) based on biblical convictions provides an important critique of society’s values that we all should note carefully. Holiness tradition invites all Christian traditions to consider the dynamic balance of being, “in the world but not of the world.”
There came a day, however, when this family changed in a way that saddened me profoundly and still weighs heavy on my heart when I recall the moment I realized what had happened. I had watched two older children reach adolescence. The oldest left behind her childish look and took on the striking appearance of a young teen-aged woman. The middle child, the son, began having a hard time determining what octave would come out when he opened his mouth. But these physical changes were not what caused my sadness. It was this. One morning as I was listening to the son’s awkward falsetto-basso warble I realized he was praying over their bagels. The mother had always led the children in prayer; often times having the children recite some blessing along with her. The son praying alone was a change. After a few mornings of confirming that this was the new pattern I knew that the son had reached some milestone in their religious tradition that required his mother and his sisters to be spiritually subordinate to him. Now he prayed and the three women with him, two of them older, sat in silence. Three female voices were muted before God because a teenaged boy was now over them in their spiritual hierarchy.
This family did get points for consistency. If Paul’s letters are interpreted to demand that a woman be silent and have no authority over a man, even to the point of a mother not praying in front of her son, then one should also interpret those same scriptures as forbidding the women jewelry and haircuts which this family did as well. They faithfully expressed their conviction of how to be separate from an unholy world and for that, even in my sadness, I continued to respect them for their devotion, sincerity, and commitment to live out faithfully their understanding of God’s will for their lives.
But what is the nature of the world that I want to be holier than and to separate from if I want to be faithful in my devotion to God? For me, “worldliness” would include perpetuating by participating in our patriarchal, sexist, society where men hold a vast majority of the power, and in which women are too often victims of that power; where women are more likely than men to be poor and to be kept poor by receiving less pay for the same work; where roles in family and church are assigned according to gender instead of ability, giftedness, or calling. Would not a holy, distinctive, in-the-world-but-not-of-the-world, position be to follow the example of Jesus? Our Lord ignored the gender-determined rules of his patriarchal culture. Jesus drew men and women into his circle of believers, defying the sexist norms of his society. Jesus treated everyone with the same dignity and love. Should not we do the same? I think so. I want the church to be holy, different from this world, by living out the equanimity of the gospel. That is the critique of the unjust, unholy, sexism that I want us to provide by our holiness.
Home Is Where the Espresso Machine Is
Well the official day has arrived for our move to Morrow, Georgia, to pastor First Baptist Church of Morrow. While one truck is already delivered and we will be back in Madison a few more nights to deal with Realtors, this is the moment that I deem to signify the move. Why? Because I just packed up my espresso machine.
When I was a teenager we built a house in Birmingham and moved out of the church’s parsonage. Before construction was finished we started having someone of the family spend the night at the new house for security reasons. We also started a moving process that took a couple of months as rooms were finished and furniture was brought over a pickup truck load at a time. We soon were referring to one place as “home” and the other as “the house” as in,”Are you going to the house before you come home?” As more and more stuff was moved, and more of us were spending the nights at the new house, the terminology shifted to the new house being the “home” and the parsonage being the “house” as in “Are you going by the house to pack the dishes and bring them “home.” The official moment when the shift was made was clearly determined. It was when we moved the TV. (No one had more than one back in the dark ages!) Yes, for us it was, “Home is where the TV is.”
So you may have a glimpse into my soul when I say for this move, “Home is where the espresso machine is.” I take a great deal of pleasure making and drinking very good coffee. Want a Cafe Americano with an extra shot of Tanzanian Peaberry? I’m the guy to see. Espresso Macchiato, latte, cappuccino, can do. So for me home is were the Nuova Simonelli Oscar Professional Espresso Machine is.
Of course all this is a tongue-in-cheek corruption of the proverb, “Home is where the heart is.” That proverb, of course, is as true now as it has ever been. For two an a half decades home was Madison, Alabama, as Melody and I raised our family, and I poured my heart into ministering at First Baptist Church of Madison. Now our nest is empty and we are ready for a new opportunity of investing our lives and ministry. First Baptist Church of Morrow, Georgia, is now home for that if where my heart is. I am thankful to God for the calling that FBC Morrow has expended and am excited that the official day has arrived for my move to Morrow.
And by the way, I now have to disconnect and pack this computer. So, home is where my computer is as well!
New Opportunities
Last Sunday I had the very great privilege to receive a call from the First Baptist Church of Morrow, Georgia, to become their pastor. It is an opportunity that I have been eagerly anticipating. It is a marvelous thing to have confidence in having discovered and be following God’s will in moving to Morrow and beginning this new relationship.
Let me share some things that have impressed me about First Baptist, Morrow. One is a solid commitment to be an agent of change in its neighborhood though sharing the love of God in a variety of ways. This clear vision of God’s calling for the congregation, already articulated through ministries, will continue to be a guiding commitment in the future.
Another is First Baptist, Morrow’s recognition that we are all, both women and men, gifted and called into the ministry of the church. Having ordained ministers and deacons of both genders is an essential aspect of the church’s relevancy to the world in which we live, reliance on a careful reading of God’s word, and respect for the transformational grace of God express in all who believe.
I am also impressed with the church’s ongoing commitment to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship movement while maintaining historic connections with Southern Baptist life. The respectful way that Morrow deals with each members preferences for supporting cooperative relationships with other Baptists reflects a solid understanding the priesthood of the believer and the value Baptist have always found in their diversity.
I could hardly list reasons I am excited about new opportunities at First Baptist, Morrow, without mentioning the great ministerial staff already there. I know that one of my greatest sources of joy will be building new collegiate relationships with each of them as we partner together in leadership at First Baptist.
Filed under Blessing, God, Missional, Morrow, Pastor, The Future, Transformation
Maundy Thursday, 2011
I have never waited longer to share in the Holy Meal. It is April 21, 2011. The last time Maundy Thursday took place this late in the year was April 22, 1943, the latest it is possible for it and surrounding Holy Week events to ever take place. The next year I will wait this long for Maundy Thursday will be 2038 when I will be 83 years old.
We owe this movable observance to the Hebrew lunar calendar by which the date of Passover is determined. Simply put, Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. So Easter and its connected religious observances are constantly wandering around our calendar. The result is that people younger than 68, along with me, have never waited this long for Maundy Thursday before.
The wait this year focuses my attention to another wait always a part of Holy Communion. In the words of institution found in First Corinthians chapter eleven Paul says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” The last three words, “until He comes,” make every Lord’s Supper an anticipation of an other event for which we wait.
Deep in the believer’s heart is a yearning for a more complete experience of the presence of God than it seems possible to know in the midst of this world. There is always a dark edging in on the light when we stand before the table of God. Inexplicable tragedy, the fragility of life, injustice unheeded, and many other troubles are over our shoulders, waiting on us to turn and leave the Presence behind. Today I will not be able to hear, “This is my body broken…” without thinking for the thousands of bodies mangled in the debris of Japan’s tsunami.
“Until I come,” is a promise that this will not always be so. As God was present in the incarnation of Jesus, as Christ is present in the church as we gather in communion, so will the presence of God banish all else in the eternal and complete revelation of God’s redemption through the coming of Jesus Christ for which we wait.
We have had to patiently wait the coming of Maundy Thursday this year, the timing determined by the movements of heavenly bodies we do not, nor will not, control. And we will patiently wait, as people of promise, in faith, for the eternal moment whose timing we can not understand when we will be in God’s presence forever.
Filed under Church, Corinthians, Holy Communion, Holy Week, Hope, Japan, Jesus, Maundy Thursday, Paul, The Future, Waiting
Responding to Haiti
We are still struggling to grasp the enormity of the tragedy engulfing Haiti after a magnitude 7 earthquake hit the Caribbean island capital of Port-au-Prince, just a short plane ride away from our front doors. Remember this as we contemplate the loss of life in Haiti: while the earthquake may have been the immediate cause of the loss of life, most of those who died or will die, die from poverty. It is poverty that drives desperate people into densely populated urban wastelands of inadequate structures and almost no government infrastructure. It is poverty that will kill many injured people who will not have adequate food, water, or medical care. Poverty drives crime that interferes with relief work. Poverty is a condition that robs all of health, wholeness, and hope.
Remember this as well, Christians are called to minister to the poor. “Whatever you do for the least of these you do for me,” Jesus said of the poor, oppressed, sick and imprisoned. To help those who are hurting is one of the most Christ-like thinks we can do. I believe that addressing the dehumanizing curse of poverty needs to be one of the highest priorities of any Christ-honoring people. Haiti provides a dramatic test and a pressing opportunity to see just how much we realize this calling in our lives and our churches.
What can we do? Let me offer three things.
PRAY specifically for the relief workers who are right now on the front line of responding to this disaster. Pray for the churches of Haiti. Pray for people who are searching for loved ones, not knowing if they are alive or dead. Pray for the injured that they might receive adequate treatment.
GIVE. Money, more than anything else, is needed for relief agencies to do their work. Through First Baptist Madison you can designate a gift to “Haiti” and your contribution will go through a network of missionaries and state disaster relief organizations that Baptists coordinate so well. If you do not attend First Baptist see that such an opportunity is available at your church or find ways to give at work or personally to relief organizations.
GO. Yes, you! While it will be weeks or months before any but trained relief workers will be able to go, the plans are being made now for the thousands of volunteers that Christian response to this tragedy will require. At First Baptist we will facilitate our participation in these efforts as you live out our calling and go help “the least of these.”
These things we must do to respond to Haiti in a manner led by the Spirit of Christ. One other thing I would suggest, however. One of the greatest redemptive results of the crisis in Haiti could be an awaking of our responsibility to address the issues of poverty in our own community. While the scale is much different, the results of poverty are just the same. Our call right now is to mobilize for ministry in Haiti but our call always is to minister to “the least of these” wherever they found.
Filed under Church, Haiti, Making a Difference, Poverty, Religion
On 125 Years
Sunday, November 1, we at First Baptist Church of Madison, AL, celebrate our 125th anniversary. In 1860 the Liberty Baptist Association, now the Madison Baptist Association, hired a missionary to be an itinerant preacher and church planter. Madison Station, a small community around a railroad stop was one of the sites where the association planned to start a new church. With the turmoil of the Civil War and the hardships of recovery it is not surprising that it took years of faithful work by the association to see that dream come about. Finally, in 1884, a group of believers began meeting every Sunday two blocks from the railroad station, right were we are today. A new church was born, now called First Baptist Church of Madison, Alabama.
As I reflect I am reminded of some aspects of our history that provide important signposts for the future. The beginning of First Baptist Church was intentional. A group of believers decided on a plan, provided the needed resources, an implemented their plan to start a church in Madison. While here is always room for the serendipitous in the unfolding of God’s will, the church is always at its best when it is intentional. Envisioning an outcome, planning a path to its fruition, provided what is needed, all theese things, an important part of who we must do as we move into our future.
The beginning of First Baptist was also missional. First Baptist was started because the Liberty Baptist Association had a mission and used that understanding to direct what they intended to do. Providing places for believers to worship, for the gospel to be proclaimed, and for ministry to extend the work of the kingdom all were what those early Baptists accepted as their mission. They not only intended to start a church in Madison, they intended to do so because it fulfilled their mission.
The beginning of First Baptist contextual as well. The clustering of settlers around a railroad station, the difficulty of travel to the nearest church, Mt. Zion Baptist, the needs of the small but growing cummunity, all these were a part of the context that framed the beginning of First Baptist Church. The context of ministry is always changing. The church as its best is able to adjust quickly to new circumstance, new challenges, and new opportunities as it constantly response to the context of ministry in which we find ourselves.
Intentional, Missional, Contextual – Three words that describe our beginnings 125 years ago. Intentional, Missional, Contextual – Three words that will serve us well as we move into our future.
Filed under Church, Contextual, History, Intentional, Missional, The Future
Quiet Faith 