Fear and Trembling: Church

I had an interesting church experience today

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:03:33 GMT

Tracy and I had to start searching for a new daycare provider a few weeks ago. KinderCare in Louisville was providing excellent care for Eleanor, but at $192.00 a week, it was costing more than our rent! Tracy placed an ad with the Seminary human resource bulletin and girl who took the ad knew a seminary wife who needed some extra income. We called the seminary wife and it was a real no-brainer. Kelly, our new sitter, could watch Eleanor for considerably less and we could help another seminary family in the process.

When Tracy picked up Eleanor for the first time, they started to talk about churches and Kelly started to sing the praises of her church, Baxter Avenue Baptist Church. From her description, the church sounded like a cross between our two previous churches, Bara Baptist and Tolono First Baptist. Baxter Avenue Baptist Church is small church located just down from the artsy strip of boutiques, tattoo parlors, coffee houses, and taverns on Baxter Avenue. The church has been there since 1937 and suffered such a serious decline that they had found a buyer for the building and were going to shut the doors. God intervened and through the faith and perseverance of two older ladies, they stayed open and called a young, bi-vocational pastor. The current pastor, Ben Lairamore, was not that pastor, but after getting involved and the previous pastor left, Ben took over as pastor.

Essentially, Ben was left with a building and a blank slate! No power struggles, no entrenched family interest, no skeletons in the closet or spiritual land mines to navigate, just a brand new start. Praise God! Those people who were left were desperate enough to understand that drastic action needed to be taken. So what was that drastic action? Did Ben lead the church into a shiny new church model?" Did the church "emerge" from the doldrums of entrenched Baptist polity? Did they find their "purpose" in a short 40 days? From what my keenly trained eye saw and my hypersensitive ears heard, The church started has a worship service on Sunday morning that was both holy and upbeat simultaneously, they started to focus on evangelizing the area 1/4 mile around their building, and they get together to disciple one another. Groundbreaking stuff, huh?

From the minute that we drove up, we were met by people who were friendly but not Stepford wife friendly, there seemed to be a variety of people from all walks of life, and we were not overwhelmed by some "intentional" master plan for the church. The pastor, Ben, is 28 years old, not seminary trained and seems to be plugging along by the seat of his pants. Right On. I have been there and it was some of the most fulfilling times of my ministerial life. Ben delivered a solid sermon on Mark 1:1 and it was clear that he was dedicated to biblical preaching. It was also clear that there is a definite Reformed tone to the church without all of the stuffiness that is often accompanied with it. All and all, it was a great day for worship. I am excited about investigating further and trying to discover if I can find a place in this ministry.

To top it all off, the second pew from the front left side was open and available for the Kroencke family! Maybe God was reserving us a spot!By the way..... GO CUBS

No post today, I need to learn 2nd declensions

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:43:07 GMT

I have a Greek test in the morning and I have got to do some studying instead of posting, but I will post something tomorrow about some of the thoughts I have on learning Greek.

I think we might have found a church home!

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:07:29 GMT

I realize that most of my readers would like to hear about some more church horror stories about our search for a church, but this week brings only good news. At the last minute, I decided to forgo the SBC Flagship church, Highview, for a smaller local church named Ninth and O Baptist Church. This church is certainly not small (700 people over two services), but it is smaller than Highview Baptist Church with 6 campuses! Despite the name, Ninth and O is not located on Ninth and O, but rather on Breckenridge, an easy drive from my home.

As we approached the church building, there were parking attendants like the pervious church and they found us a spot near the door (perhaps they sensed that were visitors, is that a spiritual gift?) The building looked fairly new by Baptist standards and when we entered into the generously sized foyer, I noticed....nothing. Nothing? Yes, nothing. There was nothing in the foyer that was screaming what church model affiliation that they ascribe too. This was a good thing in my mind. We were met by a women who was not an official greeter, but she quickly put us at ease with her genuine style and helped us find the classrooms and nursery for the children. As we were signing up Eleanor for the nursery, the Pastor, who obviously has the spiritual gift of visitor identification, greeted us and we had a short conversation about our family. I did not keep the man long since I understand the need for a pastor to get to his post before service starts.

The pastor is Dr. Bill Cook, a senior pastor and a New Testament professor at the Seminary. Dr. Cook is an unassuming man with a understated demeanor. He certainly did not strike me as the kind of preacher "superstar" that are often seen these days in churches of this size. Again, when I met Dr. Cook, I was not overwhelmed by some attempt to educated me on the church's zeal for any particular emphasis. He was just a plain guy who greeted us and seemed genuine.

Tracy and I went into the service and sat near the front as is our custom. The sanctuary was, WELL LIT, and I could even read my bulletin in contrast to last week's experience. The Church has extensive instrumentation for their music and even had a drum kit, but the difference was that the band was in a "pit" and the music was just loud enough to lead the congregation in singing without becoming the main focus of the service. The songs were a mix of hymns and contemporary praise choruses that were arranged in an upbeat, but restrained manner. The words were projected onto the view screens above the platform and I don't think that they even had hymnals in the pews, but I am not sure about that. The worship leader did not try to draw to much attention to himself and did a good job of leading the congregation along with several other singers on the platform. I really enjoyed the worship time and felt myself worshipping for the first time since I left home.

The sermon was delivered by Dr. Cook and I can actually remember, 4 days later, what he preached ! He preached about the persistent widow and her relation to our prayer life. It was a solid exposition of the scripture, the only stories he told were about his personal life, and the only time that SPORTS were mentioned was an announcement about the church's soccer league! Dr. Cook obviously understands that preaching with power does not entail raising your voice, making the sermon relevant with cute anecdotes, or trying to make yourself "hip and cool." Whew, I needed that! I found myself guessing what verse he was going to use next and found that Dr. Cook and I think alike (for this sermon anyway!). My only disappointment was that he seemed to shift gears when he went into the time of invitation. There was a transition from sincere expository sermon to the standard Southern Baptist invitation spoken over several choruses of an invitation song. There was nothing substantially wrong with the invitation, but I was expecting something more than the rubber stamp after hearing his fantastic sermon. It seems as though Dr. Cook grew up Baptist and he probably just went into auto-pilot when the invitation song started.

Here is the main point of out visit to Ninth and O: The Gospel is great and all churches have to do it not mess it up with our own cleverness. Ninth and O is just a church, not a social statement or a church growth experiment. The building was nice and efficient, but not overdone. There was no bookstore, coffeehouse, or food court as is the case in many mega-churches. The people were all at ease and genuine (with a variety of ages and races as well!) The worship service was lively and reverent without being a rock concert or a funeral parlor. Most importantly, the pastor was a plain guy with a Biblical sermon that understood that it is about God and not him. Here is an important lesson about being a church: Get out of the way and let the Holy Spirit do His work! Ninth and O did not do anything to distract us from the workings of God and for that they are to be commended! Young people do not need rock music to be reached, Older people do not need funeral dirges to be reached, and middle age people do not need banking and food services to be reached. People need the Word of God through the Holy Spirit to be reached! It is really that simple!

P.S. They have AWANA, which really kid's happy!

P.S.S. If anyone from Ninth and O reads this, you need to put your service times on your front page of your new website, I had to find them under the "events" tabs. It was kind of awkward.

Out of the frying pan.

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 01:20:09 GMT

I was tormented all day Friday and Saturday about what church I should attend on Sunday. I finally decided upon one of those new Baptist Churches that don't actually tell anyone that they are Baptist and have a fairly typical back-story of a few guys getting together and imagining what it would be like to start a church from a blank piece of paper. I understand this phenomenon, I really do. What Baptist preacher has not imagined starting from scratch? There are dozens of Baptist practices and attitudes that are based on nothing but regional traditions and generational preferences!

This Louisville church has a tag line to the effect of "In the city for the city" and they have recently located in the middle of urban decay, so I was hopeful that this meant that there would be some diversity. As we drove up to the school building that they had remodeled, we were directed by a couple of T-Shirt and sandal wearing 20 somethings into a parking space. I started to worry. As we walked in the main entrance I could see that they had done a nice job to the interior and it was obvious that what I heard about this church was true. "They are really into the arts," I have heard said from many lips and my daughter's first comment was "It looks like a museum." Ok, its all good. I like art, art is good, that's fine.

There were friendly greeters, good signage, hot coffee, a book table and lots of room to mingle. This church was obviously following the church growth playbooks which put great emphasis on such things. Ok, that's fine too. There is nothing wrong with any of those things. People know how to get around, can get some learning materials and see a friendly face. So why was a knot growing in my stomach? There is no biblical reason for me to feel such apprehension so I tell myself to check my preferences at the door and get ready to worship. Was I just suffering from pulpit withdrawal? Perhaps.

After we got Eleanor into the efficient and friendly nursery and were assigned a little pager for emergencies we took a couple of bulletins and made our way into the "sanctuary." I put sanctuary in quotes because it is more like an experimental theatre house than a sanctuary. The ceilings and walls were all painted black and the chairs were arranged in a semi-circle around a band complete with singer, 2 electric guitars, a bass, keyboards and drum kit (with a double kick no less!). It was so dark, I could not even read the bulletin that they took great pains to print in full color. I begin to break out in a sweat.

The congregational singing began as the multimedia projectors prompted us to start worshiping. I say the congregational singing started, but this is just a theory of mine, because I could not actually hear the congregation over the band. There were lips moving and a few hands popped into the air, but I almost expected the lighters to start flashing and someone to yell, "Freeeeee bird!." This went on for about 20 minutes and as they paused for the meet and greet portion of the service, I bolted. I saw the opportunity and left my family for the relative safety of the lobby's coffee cart. I was in full on panic mode. Even the lobby was creeping me out so I went for a walk in the neighborhood until I thought it was safe to come back.

Here are my observations:

1. The church that was IN the city FOR the city did not actually have anybody that remotely looked as thought they were from that neighborhood. A quick survey would reveal 90% white people under the age of thirty. I can respect the intentions, but I do not think that this church was meeting its stated goals.

2. The blank slate approach of this church included nothing that would show some sort of continuity with the previous generation of church goers. Do we have to eject all semblances of what it is to be a Baptist? I like being a Baptist and I am not ashamed to be up front about this fact. Do we have to shun old people in our churches to make room for this radical change? At 36, I was definitely one of the older people in the building! I have been blessed by elderly people in the church and their absence is a glaring problem.

3. Let me preface this next statement with an account of my previous church. I went round and round with several people about a sign that was placed on the front doors of our church that said, "No Food or Drink in the Sanctuary." This was the first message that visitors were greeted with as they entered Tolono First Baptist! I was not fighting for food and drink in the sanctuary, I was fighting against the sign! With that being said, the entire crowd in this Louisville church had coffee cups in their hands! Those who know me well might think that I would enjoy this fact, but I did NOT! I realize that many of my former congregation members wished that they had packed a snack half way through some of my sermons, but this church was way over the top. Does drinking coffee as you worship really draw you closer to the Lord? It is a hard case to make.

4. This church, despite its aesthetic differences with last week's church, suffers from some of that same fundamental problems. Both churches seem like Christian refugee camps for young and zealous Christians devoted to a particular church model. I would be interested to see how much growth comes from conversions and how much comes from the shuffling of members from other churches, fresh waves of seminary students and other non-conversion growth.

To top this off, Tracy, who is used to a steady diet of substantial and challenging sermons (wink), was sorely disappointed with the message that was brought. I cannot speak directly to this observation since I was walking around the neighborhood at this point, but I trust my wife's discernment almost as much as my own. My kids liked the church, but I believe that it was the artwork that K liked and Kaiser was mesmerized by the doughnut table. Danielle liked the youthful nature of the church, but what 17 year old does not like sloughing off the "constraints" of their parent's type of church?

The lessons to be learned here are:

trading in your slacks and dress shoes for sandals and shorts does not draw anyone closer to God and it certainly does not help ones efforts to "reach" someone for Christ.

Coffee, or the lack of coffee, does not enhance worship.

Taking the word Baptist does not guarantee that you escape the same problems that Baptist churches face.

Poor and disenfranchised people are much more interested in food than art.

Most importantly, without the Word preached in power, no amount of zeal for a church model is going to get you where you need to go as a church body!

Next Sunday: An SBC Flagship church...

Before I give an account of my latest church experience...

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:30:54 GMT

This clip was posted on The Thin Edge of the Wedge and I have a hard time deciding whether or not it can be classified as satire since it is such a painfully accurate portrayal of finding a church these days!

Tomorrow I will share my latest adventure in finding a church home! In the meanwhile, enjoy the "satire."

Yeah, yeah, God. I get the message.

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 20:46:57 GMT

Today was our first experience in our search for a new home church. I decided to go to Clifton Baptist Church which is down the street from us on Frankfort Rd. This was our first stop because it was the most overtly reformed church that we have encountered so far and the church sign board advertised a sermon on church discipline on the week that we visited Louisville in April. The church is composed of mostly seminary associated people and has an elder led leadership structure. In fact, it seems as though they really split up the responsibilities since they have a main preaching elder, an elder that is the chairman of the elders and they are currently looking for an elder to take the pastoral responsibilities.

Tracy and I attended a Sunday School class taught by Bruce Ware, a noted theologian, and there was about 50 people in attendance in that class alone. All the classes seemed to have many people in them which surprised me considering that they should have no problem finding qualified people to teach. Maybe it was due to the lack of classroom space (the building very old). Or it might be the fact that they have small group meetings on Sunday evenings, I am not really sure yet. I am of the mind that Sunday school classes should have no more than 12 to 15 people. The lecture was fantastic (there is no real way of having a discussion in a class that size) and Dr. Ware addressed the Biblical covenants and their relation to God's election. For example, God shows preference to Noah, by destroying the rest of the earth and saving Noah. He shows preference to Abraham for no obvious reason (Abram was a pagan before being chosen by God) and the obvious examples of showing preference to Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau. Should it surprise us when God continues this election into the New Covenant? Anyway, I digress.

There were some glaring problems, however, that would make us think twice about joining Clifton. First there seems to be a glaring lack of diversity among the attendees. I did not see many Black, Asian, or even older faces for that matter. I am sure that this is not a deliberate strategy, but churches that have a constant stream of new members from a source like the seminary would have a tendency to be homogenous. The second issue is one that is much harder to verbalize and quantify (My Atheist friend, Kevin likes to demand empirical evidence from me!) but there was a distinct sense that most of the attendees were guarded about their interactions. I am depending solely on my discernment for this analysis, but it was verified by my wife as well. The reasons for this are probably complex, but it probably has to do with the large number of young seminary families who feel as if they need to put on their best face for such a seminary-centric church.

You could also tell that the younger people who are active in ministry have not found their voice as of yet. By this I mean that they all the right words to say but it is clear that they parroting instead of letting their own voice come through in their ministry (this is related to the guarded behavior issue as well). The writers of the Scriptures were fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, but it was always clear who the human component of the writings were. This is a area of preaching and ministry that is not taught, but rather untaught. By nature we mimic those whom we admire and we have to learn to let go and allow ourselves to be used of God, as we are. The number one problem I have seen with young preachers over the years was the tendency to copy sermons from prominent men that they hear on the radio or see in the pulpits. For all you preacher boys out there: God called you , he already has an Al Mohler or John Piper in His arsenal. Despite what people may have thought about my sermons over the years, there is no one that can deny that I put myself out there when I preach. This is one of the great things about a young man, Nate, for whom I just performed a wedding ceremony a few weeks ago. Nate is Nate, warts and all and it is easy to minister to him because he hides nothing about himself.

What does all this mean for the family's search? It means that for all of our problems in Tolono, there was an intimacy about that church that is hard to beat. Give me a good church fight over polite indifference any day of the week! This sounds strange, but in a knock down drag out church fight, people drop all of the charades of the typical day to day life in the local church. As the reader might have suspected, we are trying out our neighbor's church next week that has the potentially embattled pastor and the somewhat divided congregation. Am I drawn to drama? Heavens NO, but I am drawn into situations in which I might have the opportunity to connect with people in a significant way and this means that we will probably have to get a little dirty in the process. Keep us in prayer friends, family and casual readers! This search is going to get really interesting!

For the members of Clifton Baptist Church who reads this post, please take the above comments in the spirit in which they were intended. You seem to have a great church, but there are certainly issues that my objective eye might spot and that you can use for spiritual growth. I will probably be in further contact with the elders of Clifton and get their take on my observations. Perhaps they have noticed these issues themselves. I did get to speak with Dr. Bruce Ware a little bit as I helped him jack up his car with my big floor jack. Dr. Ware got a flat tire on the way to church and his stock jack did not go up far enough to put the new tire back on! I kept that jack when I moved last week with the intention of using it to bless some one in need and that is exactly how it turned out. I just assumed that it would be helping some of the preacher boys that live in my apartment complex. Getting to meet such a prominent theologian as he wrestled a tire onto his SUV is a wonderful metaphor for the essence of this post. We need to get down on the pavement with each other more often; this is when we can really get to know one another outside of our "church faces."

JKK

It is Saturday afternoon

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 19:58:59 GMT

..and I am biking around the east side of Louisville getting the lay of the land and trying to lose more pounds for my third attempt to get into the Illinois National Guard. Tomorrow is going to be our first church experience in Louisville (Clifton Baptist Church) and I am excited to see what is going on in these local churches. We have been invited to a church by our neighbors across the street from us but their church sounds strangely familiar. My neighbor told me that their 32 year old pastor, who is not seminary trained, taught through 1 Timothy with a special mind toward teaching the biblical definition of Elders and Deacons. The congregation agreed with the teaching and the exegesis of text and then promptly balked when steps were taken to move forward with developing an eldership. They were afraid that the committees were going to lose their power and that the pastor was trying to "take over." Sigh... Oh how we love our committees! I think I might write a hymn.

Needless to say the regular Fear and Trembling reader might understand my reservations about joining this church, yet I feel an almost lemming-like compulsion to involve myself. Big sigh. I am going to fight this temptation for now, but I am not ruling it out. I might have a better success if I am "only a church member" and not the pastor, but how long would it be until I am in some sort of position of responsibility? Maybe I will just sit in the pew quietly and worship God with my family. LOL, yeah, that sentence was as difficult to write with a straight face as I am sure it was to read with one. Well as my old Pop is fond of saying, I think I will just "hide and watch" for a spell (I am trying hard to incorporate the local lingo). Regardless of whether I join Clifton Baptist Church or not, I certain intend on picking their brains about the history of their eldership and how it operates. Moving from a single elder w/deacons model to a plurality of elders is a quantum leap of ecclesiastical will on the part of a congregation.

I am also cooking up a post concerning the application and potential abuse of Romans 14:13-24. The family ate at Irish Restaurant/Pub last night (Lamb stuffed cabbage rolls!) and it reminded me of the overly pedantic discussions back home about what constitutes a bar and what is a restaurant. For hours we could argue about what kind of establishment was proper and right for a Christian to frequent and it almost came down to the counting of bar stools versus eating tables! At what ratio does God frown upon us? Is Applebee's and Olive Garden Ok, but the Philo Tavern (which serves a lot of food) off limits? When does the tyranny of the weaker brother overwhelm my freedom in Christ? And of course this debate takes place as we refuse to address more pressing sin issues in our churches like slander, gossip, adultery, obvious heresy, financial disobedience, and hard heartedness towards our neighbors, and yes, real drunkenness. These are interesting questions and I might just wait until I finish the next incarnation of Fear and Trembling so I can have a livelier debate (this site currently requires that you have an MSN passport to leave a name with your comment). This whole debate is reminiscent of first century arguments about what qualifies as "working" on the Sabbath. Religious people just do not change. They Jews had the Lord of Glory in their presence and they were more worried about Jesus and His apostles getting a little something to eat on Saturday.

JKK

On Baptist Associations

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:48:58 GMT

As most Fear and Trembling readers already know, I come from non-Baptist origins. I entered SBC life with no preconceptions about what it is to be a Southern Baptist and although this has been a limiting factor in areas such as mission support, it has also given me fresh eyes when it came to the institutions of Baptist life. One of my first experiences with the larger corpus of the body Baptist was the local association and it was not good. I have been part of two associations and both suffered from the same fundamental problems. I always saw the potential of cooperating with other churches in the area for the purpose of growing the kingdom, I have just never seen it meet that potential in any significant way. What are local associations supposed to be like? I don't know, but I have been told repeatedly that they are part of God's glorious plan. The following observations are from my experience with local associations that I have had first hand experience, your mileage may vary.

From what I have seen there are only two major meetings that the associational churches are present. The first is the annual meetings which are spread out over two days and three sessions. During these sessions there are usually only 3 major motions that are passed by the body. The first is a motion to thank the hosting churches, the second is a motion to accept the budget for the upcoming year and the third is a motion that involves something totally random, like thanking all of the soldiers who fought in World War II (an actual motion from a meeting a few years back). This is a perfectly fine motion I suppose, but it certainly gives you the idea of the average age of annual meeting attendees and it is unclear why this takes 3 sessions. The remainder of the time is spent in reports from the various churches and ministries of the association. To hear these reports, one might think that a third Great Awakening was bursting forth in our midst. Then there is the annual sermon and the doctrinal sermon. The latter is usually lacking in anything close to doctrine. The second meeting is an associational worship meeting in which there is pie and ice cream served afterwards.

This brings me to the next major problem with associations. In an association full of seminary graduates, non-seminary pastors with years of experience, a Director of Missions and scores of able minded rank and file Baptist, there is absolutely no will to address important doctrinal issues facing our local churches. The issues that were addressed at the SBC this year all come from the local level. I understand why it might be difficult to have a productive discussion in a room full of 8,000 messengers, but why can't these issues be discussed on the local associational level? How many of our churches are struggling with the issue of alcohol use? How many are debating Calvinism? How many are wrestling with modern church growth strategies? Yet, there is no forum in which 20 to 25 pastors in an association can come together to hammer out some responses to these debates. Even in the smaller weekly prayer meetings my association would host, I could sense audible groans and sighs when I would seek clarification on things such as church discipline. There was never enough time for such discussion because we were all "very busy." Is there any wonder why many have turned to the blogs for this kind of discussion? I have been absolutely starved for this kind of substantive discussion with peers, but it has not been forthcoming.

Both the state and local associations have become pipelines for the hottest new trends in modern evangelicalism. The state papers are filled with party line stories that are glossed for our consumption and push the latest catch phrase that has been dreamed up in a associational committee. Associations are much better at creating anagrams than they are proclaiming the Gospel. The local association then try to pool their resources to purchase the latest programs from Lifeway (that is an entirely different post!). We are told by our state and local association what our needs are as a local church and how we need new ways to reach people for Christ and then Lifeway comes in to provide this "need" with material that cost 40% more than any other material on the market. The cycle goes on and on and on. Do the associations really listen to the needs of the churches?

One of the professed goals of local associations is to cooperate in the planting of new churches but I have seen very little of this in the last 12 years. I have seen half hearted attempts, but nothing that struck me as worthwhile. Our local churches have become "mother" churches in name only and have little actual involvement with their "daughters." By the time the state association, NAMB, and the local DOM, and the mother church get involved, most plants are smothered to death by supervisors. 90% of all the churches in Central and Southern Illinois were started in the 1940s and 50s when the area saw a massive migration of Southerners to the north. I have even heard this church growth by migration called a "Visitation by God to Central Illinois!". Uh huh. Apparently He visited and and promptly left because there have been precious few churches started after 1960 in our area. How did this happen? I realize I am relatively new to the SBC, but shouldn't the local churches be the spearheads for church plants instead of a DOM picking a location and then searching out a sponsor? It seems a little backwards. My previous church was totally burnt out on this kind of church planting because they have seen generations worth of failed starts. It made it difficult for me to lead the church in the direction of starting a church.

Finally, there is a growing trend in Associational Missionaries to become proactive to the point in which they see themselves in the role of a "Bishop." Hear is a recent article about a similar issue that you should read on the Founder's blog. Too often there is an attitude that the poor little rural church does not know their own best interest. I have heard stories from all over about occurrences just like the one in the linked article above. For associational and convention personnel who put so little emphasis on sound doctrine as a key component of a healthy church, they certainly have some strong opinions at times. They are invited to voice these opinions, but only in the proper forums, not behind the scenes in an effort to undermine local pastors. I have heard from several of these types that "Calvinism" is splitting churches, but the fact is that many of our churches are divided over a whole range of issues and at least Calvinism is something more substantive than the other petty things we fight about. It is hard enough to create real unity in a local church without outside forces tinkering with the inner workings.

Please do not misunderstand me, I want healthy Baptist association among the churches, but we are confusing our associational activities with real ministry. We have the illusion of activity, but it ends up as just more busy work that the single pastor of a rural church does not need in his life. I am not a "lone wolf." To the contrary, I desire real fellowship but was unable to find it among all of the annual reports and meaningless motions. I stated my convictions at an annual meeting a few years ago and received praise, acclamation and agreement from my fellow pastors, but it was all in the privacy of the bathrooms during the break. Attendance for associational events has plummeted in the last 30 years (unless there is a money issue involved!) and we have to ask ourselves, "why?" The answer is simple. You cannot appeal to some sense of Baptist tradition in pastors like myself. You have to show me that associating together is worthwhile and truly advances the Kingdom. I am not going to spend precious time resources to prop up a system that is sick. I will spend my time forging real relationships with local pastors like Steve Diehl of Garden Hills Baptist Church and Mike Jenkins of Farmer City Baptist Church (props to my homies) , who gave me their time, counsel and friendship whenever I needed it and let me drop the polite facade that pastors often use around each other. This is REAL association!

We need to stop talking about how significant these ministries are actually be significant...

JKK

Wow, that was a tough Sunday.

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 08:18:35 GMT

This has got to have been the most gut wrenching three months I have ever experienced. The changes have come fast and furious and show no signs of letting up yet. Just when you are cruising along in a pattern of life, God shakes the ground underneath your feet and forces you to reexamine your entire life. As readers of Fear and Trembling have seen in my post, the examination is often painful. The last Sunday in Tolono was no exception to this process. After the service was over I felt like I was hit by a truck. I will try to explain why this was and give the reader some insight to the inner workings of a pastor.

First, there is simple mathematical fact that has plagued pastors from the beginning: The pastor is one and the flock is many. A pastor is expected to develop a strong bond with the congregation members. This is a reasonable expectation, but how many quality relationships can one man manage? 10? 20? 30? With the understanding that relationships beyond the level of acquaintances take significant amounts of time, a church of 60 to 80 people is a daunting task for any person to manage. How many people have more than five or six intimate friends? Jesus himself only picked twelve and even had three among the twelve that were closer than the rest. All of that emotional investment takes quite a toll on a man. I can certainly understand why a church member would want to have as close a relationship as possible with the pastor, but I have never been able to communicate the above phenomenon to anyone's satisfaction.

Sunday demonstrated to me how many people with whom I have formed this bond. There has been a great outpouring of support for my move to Louisville and it is almost harder than if everyone was mad at me. If I was run out of town on a rail, making those emotional breaks would be much easier, but as it stands I feel like I am losing a family. Glen, my chairman of deacons and a loyal friend, performed a foot washing at the end of the service and it almost did me in emotionally. There are dozens of people in whom I am invested and they in me. This is what being the church is all about. A local church should be a group of believers who have thrown their hats into the same ring and who's fate is intertwined. Those who have made this sort of commitment always get the most out of their spiritual investment, but they are also the ones who hurt the most when those relationships go south or are changed by moves like mine.

My first reaction to all of this is that when I find a church in Louisville, I am just going to keep my distance, worship God, and head to the house. It won't happen this way though. I will put myself out there and I will start the whole process over again because I am compelled by the love of Christ. I will eventually have another congregation and I will hear the same criticism of about favoritism, but I have to be resigned to this fact of pastoral ministry. I will also experience this tremendous loss again, like I have this week, but I will know that it is because I have invested myself as I should and that people have invested themselves in me as they should. I now understand Acts 20 in ways that go beyond the grammatical structure of the passage, the historical context or the the theological significance. I am living Acts 20 right now and whether it is the first century or the twenty-first, parting from beloved brothers and sisters in Christ hurts deeply.

I need a nap....

JKK

My last sermon from the Tolono pulpit

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 11:59:14 GMT

It is 6:00 am on Sunday morning and I am making the final preparations for my final sermon in Tolono as the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Tolono. I am excited about what the future holds for my ministry as I go to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville but I cannot say it is without some considerable anxiety. Any pastor who leaves a church is concerned about what condition he is leaving that church. As a man who is given charge over a group a Christians by God's commission (and this is independent of whether or not all those particular Christians recognize this fact) I must be vigilant right to the end of this commission. As far as the condition of this local church is concerned, I suppose one can get as many different views as there are viewers of the situation. However, I have to act upon and live with the situation as I see it.

With that being said, I am leaving this church being convinced on several points. First, in the time that I spent in Tolono there were a great many people who have received and were made new in Christ. This is not due to any power of persuasion that I might have, but rather is to the Glory of God who moved upon the hearts and minds of men, women, and children through the preaching and teaching of His Word. Christ was offered and some received. How many people received Christ? Again, I think that this point can be argued and it is certainly less than those who professed only with their mouths, but I look around at those in my church who have claimed Christ and I see a depository of God given faith and fruits of the spirit.

Second, I am leaving the church with the confidence that nothing has been left unsaid. This might seem like a trivial matter to some, but for a man who is charged with preaching the Word in season and out of season, it is a matter of integrity. I am confident that I left no stone unturned and I preached, eventually, everything that I was convicted to preach with no regard to the personal consequences. I say eventually since there was often, like Jonah, a delay. This is not to say that I was absolutely correct in my teaching, but it was never for a lack of desperate searching of the Scriptures.

Finally, I can say that I am leaving this congregation with no false sense of unity. A false sense of unity is a situation in which fundamental differences are temporarily ignored for the sake of a temporary peace. This kind of unity is no real unity since it is not in Christ, but rather it is by human agreement and compact. I can confidently say that everyone at our church knows where everyone else stands. All cards have been placed on the table. In the recent past, many hands were being played close to the chest. This is no way to live as a church. If transparency is a virtue, we now have it in spades (to continue the metaphor!) Despite the conflict, I have been compelled to preach and teach until we have reached this point.

So what is my last sermon? The message of the Gospel, of course, and our need to preach it. This is not rocket science...

Eight Day and Ten Hours

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 01:58:39 GMT

In the next three day I have my final sermon at Tolono FBC, a huge wedding to perform (with a rehearsal and dinner the night before, four bookcases and three beds to varnish, and sort/pack all my tools. There are few tomorrows left. This is certainly a time I need to be laser focused on execution of our plan. As I was driving today I tried to imagine what this move would have been like if I had not been so on top of my game for these past four months. The J of years past would not have been able to pull off these life changes.

Despite the timing I am looking forward to this wedding on Saturday. I have invested a considerable amount of time in this couple's pre-marital counseling and I care for them deeply. This is the kind of wedding that I like to perform. If Nate and Katie are reading this post: NO COUPLE THAT I HAVE EVER COUNSELED HAS EVER GOTTEN DIVORCED; DON'T RUIN MY RECORD! Another great thing about this wedding is that for the first time ever, I have been seated with the family at the reception. This may seem like a small thing, but the minister usually ranks right above the wait staff and right below the D.J. in the hierarchy of wedding personnel. This is not usually a direct snub of the clergy, but instead a function of most couple's emphasis on the ceremony instead of the Divine underpinnings the marriage itself. 1. Get flowers 2. Find a D.J. 3. Find someone presentable to stand up front and sign the license.

So now what? Go to the cards, man, go to the cards. Every card I rip up puts me that much closer to the goal....

Three reasons to stay in the ministry

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 02:00:44 GMT

There was a time that I spent a lot of time at a particular diner in Champaign, Illinois. At this diner was a group of about 8 or 9 twenty-somethings that spent a lot of time socializing there at all hours of the night. As is my custom, I wedged my way into their conversations and got to know them all well. It was a way for me to minister and give the Gospel to people in a context outside of my "normal" ministry. Believe me, nothing about ministering to this group of jokers was normal.

Two of the kids that hung out there are sisters, Jordan and Taylor, and they had a younger sister, Garet, who was generally too busy doing productive things to join in on the coffee marathons. The girls all grew up in church, but they are Methodist so I had my work cut out for me! For example, Taylor once asked me what book of the Bible had "Jack in the Beanstalk." Between the angst of being 20, various relationships. internal group dramas, and other crisis associated with the age, I had all kinds of opportunity to give counsel and Biblical guidance. These girls would baby-sit my kids, come to the house to have diner with my family and they included me in the most important decisions that they were making about their lives.

Much like my own children, I often wondered of they were listening to a word that I said to them and I often rued the day that I became so invested in their lives. I love them so much that I was even comfortable being absolutely frank with them concerning their spiritual health. This resulted in no little amount of tears on their part (but if you knew them well, inducing tears is not too difficult) They eventually all moved away to start their lives. Garet to Utah for school, Taylor to Chicago to be an EMT and Jordan got married to a very nice man and also moved to Chicago.

When I contacted them recently about the changes in my life they all wrote back immediately with long specific lists of how I had an influence on them. Their letters were such an encouragement to me and reminded me why I was a pastor and what kind of pastor that I wanted to be. I never want to be that guy with the expensive suit and the pompadour hair (as if I could, I cannot afford to buy suits or hair!) and I never want to be that pastor who spends 30 hours a week in his office waiting for people to wander into a church house looking for the Gospel. The man of God belongs out in the places that people go not cloistered in a Christian ghetto someplace preaching to people who always (more or less!) agree with him. If I did that, I would have never met this group of kids and these three sisters and my life would have been the worse for not knowing them.

A troubling development in the Southern Baptist Convention

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 05:28:53 GMT

I have been reformed in my theology ever since my conversion. For the first part of my Christian life I was unaware that there was a name for this line of thought and I certainly had no idea that there were so many people opposed to this theology. As I have become more articulate in the expression of my faith, better educated in the Holy Scriptures and more aware the placement of Reformation Theology in the continuum of Christian thought, the more I am exposed to those who are rabidly opposed to the idea that God is sovereign over all things, including salvation.

For many years now I have been embattled over these issues in the local church with no intention of being divisive. On the contrary, the more I come to understand about the nature of God the more humbled I am about my own righteousness and certainly laid low concerning my own ability to "win" someone to Christ. In my naivety, I pressed forward with the message that salvation is entirely a work of God and that by His grace He allows us to be instruments of His sovereignty in the preaching of the Gospel to the lost. I was unprepared for the reaction that I would get from preaching such things in the local church. The reactions to the Doctrines of Grace ranged from confusion to anger among many people and others, primarily those who were recent converts, saw these teachings as a natural extension of God's character.

My initial reaction to this resistance was an ungodly defensiveness that even led to me ripping Romans Chapter 9 from my Bible and throwing it to the floor in anger. This was not one of my crowning moments as a pastor, but it led me to consider Paul's instruction to 2 Timothy 4:2, "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction." I began to understand that grace runs contrary to the fleshly nature and that this reaction was bound to come. I also understood that it was my responsibility as a teacher of God's church, to do what I was called to do: teach and to do so with all patience. Most Baptist have not been carefully taught in a deliberate and systematic manner concerning the fundamentals of the faith and I have resigned myself to this fact. With this being said, I have found that I am not alone in this dilemma.

I have never been "in the loop" with the happenings of the Southern Baptist Convention outside of the party line writings of my state convention newspaper. I was not raised Baptist and I did not attend seminary, so I have been fairly insulated, to say the least, from much of what has gone on in the past 12 years. What I have discovered in the last two years is that the exact same issues that I have been struggling with in my local church seems to be happening all over the convention. I read the Founders blog today and was shocked at the actions of the Florida State Convention toward "Calvinist" in the state of Florida. I read, in horror, that my battles here might be just the beginning of what I face after I graduate from seminary. Go read this blog entry entitled Denominational integrity and controversy in the Florida Baptist Convention and the post previous to that posting about the Floridia Baptist Convention's anti-Calvinist mailing and return for some of my thoughts about the Founders Ministries.

In the twelve years I have been a pastor in SBC churches I have been to many State associational training events and rallies. For example, I went to a State Evangelism event that focused several hours on the demographics of Baby Boomers and Gen-X people (of which I am one) and how the church has to alter itself to reach different groups. This is all fine and good, or so I am told, but it was far from inspirational or edifying to my soul. In fact, I was left with the idea that I had to become some sort of marketing guru to be a successful pastor. On the other hand I have been to four Founders Midwest Conferences in St. Peters Missouri. These conferences were like none other that I have ever been too before. At these conferences I was confronted with the great truths of the scriptures presented by men who were both learned and passionate about Jesus. I was amazed at the the Spirit's movement as we worshiped together at St. Peter's Baptist Church and I was even more shocked at the incredible conversations on the lips of the pastors who attended this conference. There was none of the posturing that I have experienced at State events and Annual Meetings. There was no comparing the sizes of our "ministries" and there was none of the superficial chit chat that I have come to avoid. Instead, there were dozens and dozens of men talking about the things of God and his Word. Most importantly, there were no secret plots to overturn the SBC being hatched as is alluded to by many Founders Ministry detractors. The founders do not even have a secret handshake, or at least they have not showed it to me! Founders conferences have been a lifeline to me in times when I felt totally alone in my convictions.

My recommendation for any Southern Baptist who is concerned about the "Calvinist" who are trying to take over the SBC is to attend a regular Baptist conference of some kind and then attend one of the various Founders conference that are offered throughout the year and come to your own conclusion about the direction that our churches need to go. You don't have to look much past the book table at a Founders Conference to understand the depth of their theological underpinnings and the historical Baptist lineage they attempt to represent. Reformed theology is no latter day fad that the SBC is going through, the return to Reformed Theology it is a hard look at how our shallow teaching has lead to unprepared and undisciplined Christians. Ironically, the most common criticism that is leveled against Reformed Theology is that it "kills evangelism" and our own publishing arm, Lifeway Christian Resources, lifted the concept of FAITH evangelism training from Evangelism Explosion. EE was developed by a 5 Point Calvinist: D. James Kennedy! The most evangelistic men that I know hold to the Doctrines of Grace! How can this be? These men understand that it is God who does the saving, not our church growth techniques or our cleverness of speech.

On a personal note, I have began to prepare myself spiritually for the fact that leaving my church and going to Seminary is not going to be the end of this struggle for me. I see many resumes being posted by men who want to preach in churches that hold to the Doctrines of Grace and I cannot help but to think that these churches are few and far between. This action by the State Convention of Florida tells me that this is just the beginning of a widening chasm in the Convention and that being a graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at Louisville (which holds to a reformed position in its Abstract of Principles) will not be an asset to my "career!" But I am most assured that being a graduate of SBTS will be an asset to my soul and integrity as a pastor. If someone like Dr. Tom Nettles or Dr. Albert Mohler is considered a heretic then I am gravely concerned about what the future holds for the Southern Baptist Convention. Will there be a Calvinism litmus test instituted at our mission boards? Can our state conventions distribute anti-Calvinist literature when our flagship seminary is unashamedly Calvinistic and headed up by a 5 point Seminary President? I sense a real conflict looming on the horizon brothers.

This is a Proxy Blog Post for our Youth Team at Ridgecrest

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 20:41:48 GMT

"We weren't expecting this!"

We are here in Ridgecrest on this beautiful morning, June 5, 2007. It is my 30th birthday and our group is having fun with that! Although, yesterday I fell under conviction from the camp pastor's "You're not a third-grader anymore" sermon about not forgetting to bring your Bible. Mine is there in Tolono. So, I guess age is just a matter of perspective.

The trip down was long, but our experience has already been worth the drive. Some of our youth had important "breakthroughs" last night! Since that came after just the opening session of day 1, us leaders are bracing ourselves for what we already feel will be a powerful week.

In general, things are even better than we expected. Here's a top-10 list to illustrate how:
1. We are surrounded by youth who LOVE to WORSHIP GOD!
2. They have towels!
3. The rooms are hotel-like instead of dorm-room like, with linens on the bed.
4. Cheryl said "y'all"
5. Chocolate Gravy is good
6. Florida people are cool (I personally think their contageous zest for life comes from the happiness of living in a warm climate!)
7. All these youth leaders are 'Martin-types'!
8. It's a close drive to the 24-hour Walmart
9. The vending machine has orange pop (Erica's favorite)
10. They have a Starbucks

Authored by Erica Hoagland!

Clichebusters: The Prologue

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 11:42:11 GMT

One of the many benefits of the poetry class that I have taken is the self-examination of the ways that I communicate. As a pastor, my calling is to communicate truth through speech and writing, so this self-examination is critical to any improvements I can make. Looking critically at ones own communication is difficult, but the reward is worth any angst that might be caused. One deficiency that I have identified about myself is the use of cliches.

A cliche is a phrase that has been used so often that it has entered into the public consciousness and is generally accepted as truth. A cliche, because of its familiarity, often escapes critique of its truthfulness and is offered as a premise that leads to a conclusion. When one uses a faulty premise, a faulty conclusion is bound to result. For the Christian, any wisdom that comes from the minds of men must be questioned if we are to ever grow in the knowledge of the Lord.

Another problem with cliches is that they cause miscommunication. People use cliches as a sort of short hand when speaking and writing. Instead of forming their thoughts into their own voice they deploy these phrases that are already filled with meaning and by doing so people commit an act of mental and spiritual laziness. Cliches take no reflection; they come ready to use in times of doubt. The problem lies in that the meaning of these cultural signifiers are often different from person to person so that when a cliche is used, the intended message might not be truly communicated. Both communicator and receiver nod to accept the premise offered by the cliche but they are no closer to agreement than they were before.

Preachers of the Word are especially guilty of this spiritual and mental laziness that I mentioned above. I have heard sermons that are nothing more than a series of cliches strung together. These cliches come from church culture and may or may not be grounded in the the truth of the scriptures. The preacher might be able to provoke many "amens" from the congregation, but this is no way to gauge to the success of a sermon. I believe that cliches are also a sign of unfaithfulness on the part of a preacher. Instead of depending on the Holy Spirit in faith to make the truth known to our listeners, we push emotional buttons in our hearers so that instead of working to preach truth, we settle for the acceptance that comes from familiarity.

As my headline infers, I am going to take a series of cliches and exam them closer through lens of the scriptures. I have several in mind, but would ask that you the reader give me some input through email and comments on this posting. What cliches would you like busted? I will start the list of some of my "favorites" and this might help you to remember.

1. "too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good"

2. "He has book smarts but not common sense"

3. "Judge not lest ye be judged" and the secular equivalent "People in glass houses..."

(scripture can be cliche if it is used incorrectly and out of context, like the above quote)

4. "You need to invite Jesus into your heart"

5. "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life"

6. "Nixon wasn't a crook, he just got caught"

Please give me your favorite cliches to bust. They may be political, religious or otherwise.

I cannot recommend this sermon strongly enough, especially for pastors

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 15:17:39 GMT

It has been a long time since I was so moved by a sermon. God in his sovereignty has done several for me and to me in the past few weeks. I have been tested by God through my circumstances, but he has, according to his word has provided me with what I need to make the most of this testing. Tracy and I took a "spiritual vacation" to Louisville, KY and attended the Seminary chapel service on Tuesday, April Fourth. This was an amazing service in which I was confronted with the desires that I have had to leave ministry and forsake the call that has been given to me. This sermon was delivered by James Macdonald from Harvest Bible church in Chicago, Illinois, which in many ways is irrelevant since I clearly recognize that he, like preachers should be, is an instrument of God's sovereignty. I don't know much about this man's ministry, but I know that he and I were put into that place at that time and I heard from God in a way that I have not for a long time. The sermon reduced me to tears through most of the sermon for two important reasons. The first is that I was given confirmation that I am not the only preacher who rejects endless stories and illustrations as part of sermons and understands that it is not the pastor who draws men unto Christ, but rather Jesus himself who draws all men unto himself. It is the preaching of The Word that God moves upon and only The Word. Secondly, I was confronted with my lack of faithfulness in the face of opposition which laid me low in spirit. The sermon was predicated on the idea of ministers need to finish well and the very next week my friend Andy Rice bought a book for me that was a case study of 6 Christian leaders of different ages who, and this was part of the title, finished well. I pray that I do not ever become so hardened that I cannot recognize when God is telling me something.

Brokenness. Don't get in the pulpit without it....

An Army Chaplain's Blog

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:50:40 GMT

I have added a blog to my blog list on the right from an Army chaplain that is currently in Iraq. This blog has interesting post about the role of a chaplain in the US military and the unique contributions that they make to the war effort and specifically the spiritual health of the soldiers. Marriage counseling seems to be one of the most pressing responsibilities right now with all of the families that have been separated by deployment. As a pastor I understand the challenge of a good marriage even in the best of conditions, much less while on deployment.

Here is the link:

Pro Deo Et Patria

Sabbaticals for Pastors

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 20:06:53 GMT

This article is from one of the best resources for church health, Nine Marks Ministry (You will find the link for this ministry in my right hand column list). This article addresses a radical idea about the care of a pastor by a church. The idea is not new or particularly radical in fields such as academics but in the church's generally narrow conception of what a pastor should be, a sabbatical could seem outlandish. Please read the article and come back to Fear and Trembling for my comments.

Comments:

There is tremendous variety in the typical work week of a pastor. I have broken these areas into three basic categories (in order of importance as well) . These are based on the experience of a small church pastor and each category takes on different levels of need depending on the particular church

1. Prayer and Ministry of the Word

2. Personal Ministry

3. Administration

Each area takes a different mind set and sometimes radically so. I have found that I can perform two out of three moderately well, but the third always suffers. I have learned that I have needed to continually evaluate which two are the most pressing at any one time. Unfortunately, congregations have a tendency to evaluate pastors on those areas which are most readily quantified. Prayer and theological study are incredibly difficult to apply metrics too and for many pastors these areas suffer. To be a minister of the Word is to deal mostly in the area of ideas, concepts and words. Few people who are not in fields such as these understand the need for the massive amounts of time necessary to deal with ideas, concepts and words. Few people understand the process of thoroughly thinking through a particular biblical issue and preparing the sermons and bible studies necessary to communicate these issues. The constant mental interruptions of who is teaching what Sunday School class, who is running the nursery, has the faulty phone line been fixed, etc. can wreak havoc upon the mental and spiritual productivity of a pastor. I know the frustration of having things only half thought out and it is reflected in my teaching and preaching at times.

I believe that sabbaticals can radically enhance a pastor's ability to be a thorough thinker and even the promise of one in the near future can help him deal with the frustration of lesser, but important duties. The question is : "How can you convince a congregation of people who judge productivity by the number of widgets created in a day or the amount of profit on a balance sheet that a sabbatical has value for the pastor and the congregation. " I would also like to add that this is an incredible benefit to enhance the pastor's overall compensation package without adding too much cost to the church budget. The only real affect on the church's budget is the cost of pulpit supply. In fact, if the church is healthy it will have an internal supply of men that would be able to preach Sunday morning sermons in the pastors place. The end result is that men growing toward eldership have the opportunity to spread their wings, a pastor has quality time to prepare himself in the word and the entire congregation benefits by hearing from a reinvigorated pastor.

Blogging for the persecuted Church

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 22:02:44 GMT

You will notice that in the upper left hand corner I have added an icon for the official blog of Voice of the Martyrs. Here is a description of their ministry:

Pastor Richard Wurmbrand founded VOM over 30 years ago. He was in prison in Romania for 14 years for his faith in Christ. In the `60s he and his family were ransomed out of Romania for $10,000 and came to the U.S. where he began traveling, educating the free world of the atrocities committed against Christians in Communist and other restricted countries. VOM's five main purposes are based on Hebrews 13:3. They are:

To encourage and empower Christians to fulfill the Great Commission in areas of the world where they are persecuted for their involvement in propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ. We accomplish this by providing Bibles, literature, radio broadcasts, and other forms of aid.
To give relief to the families of Christian martyrs in these areas of the world.
To equip local Christians to win to Christ their enemies who are opposed to the gospel in countries where believers are actively persecuted for their Christian witness.
To undertake projects of encouragement, helping believers rebuild their lives and Christian witness in countries that have formerly suffered Communist oppression.
To emphasize the fellowship of all believers by informing the world of atrocities committed against Christians and by remembering their courage and faith.

I have agreed to put up at least 2 blog posts per month concerning the persecution of the Church around the world. Those of you who are familiar with my eschatological teachings know that I am highly skeptical of a pre-tribulation rapture and I am sure that the Christians all around the world who are tortured or lose their life every day would tend to agree with this position. For many, the tribulation is now.

I see responsible blogging as a way to disseminate information without depending on the dubious "email forwards." which are, more often than not, filled with half truths and, at time, complete fabrications. I will do my best to verify the post that I make to Fear and Trembling and will place a permanent link to Voice of the Martyrs in my blog list.

Our new lighting

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 12:54:28 GMT

After a long time our church has finally started to illuminate the outside of our building. I was greeted this morning by the sight of our church after the year's first significant snow. The picture that I took is the best of a lot of more blurry ones, so forgive me. The picture does capture much of the sight and I am glad we finally got the light installed. Our corner is usually in total darkness and you could not even see that there was a church there (especially before our other recent addition, the steeple). Hopefully this will not be the last improvement that increases our visibility. The Body of Christ does not grow by worldly means, but surely this does not mean that we are supposed to hide or downplay our presence in the community.

Kaiser was baptized this morning.

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 22:39:28 GMT

About a month ago Kaiser, my son, received Christ and asked his mother to pray with him about salvation. This has been a long time coming and is the fruition of the bible training that he received in AWANA. When it was his Sovereign appointed time all the scripture verses that he had memorized all these years immediately became real to him. It was the same way that my daughter, K, came to the Lord.

The same day that Kaiser came forward at church, a 16 year old boy and a fifty something lady came forward as well. This same morning I was in an absolutely terrible mood, I did not feel like preaching and I had half a mind to preach a sermon that could possibly be viewed as "sheep abuse." As I was grumbling around behind the pulpit before service the 16 year old came up and told me that he was ready to receive Christ. This is an example of God moving on His people despite the best efforts of Christians to thwart His plans. At the invitation the older woman came forward and Tracy received her in prayer. After all of that happened Kaiser popped up and told the church about his decision.