What a day!!

I was thinking this afternoon and I have probably been privileged to baptize over 100 people in my lifetime.  The first person I baptized was in 1990 at Waimanalo Beach Park on the windward side of Oahu.  Since that time, I have baptized in the Pacific Ocean, swimming pools, in the ocean near the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and even in baptistries.  I have baptized children as young as four years old and adults as old as 81 years old, and most every age in between.  I have baptized people who were brand new in their faith and others who have been Christians for a while, but never had been baptized.  Each one has been a moving experience for me because each one represented someone close to me personally and someone who now has their name written in the Lambs Book of Life.  The location has never mattered (Although it's tough to beat the Ednie's Pauko beach house).  The only thing that has mattered is the heart of the person who is now following Jesus.  Some of you reading this blog may even have been ones I have been privileged to baptize.  My heart has been touched by each one.

But on Sunday, I was able to perform a baptism that touched me on a deeper level than any other.  I had the incredible privilege of baptizing my seven year old son, Thaddeus.  He gave his life to Christ when he was four but wasn't ready to be baptized until now.  In the same breath, I was able to call him my "brother" in Christ and my "son".  Even now, my eyes begin to tear up when I think about today.  My Mom was able to be here from North Carolina to witness this great event.  My mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, her family and two friends from New Zealand.  I took a moment to look at the congregation when I came into the baptistry and was overwhelmed by the love and support the Hillcrest church family, our family and friends have given in our walk of faith.  Leah and her sister even sang a beautiful duet during the service and we had a cake afterwards to celebrate.  What a glorious day today was.

Romans 6:4 tells us that we have been buried with Christ through baptism so that we too may live a new life.  We baptize by immersion because that is how Jesus was baptized.  We also dunk because that is the only way new Believers were baptized in the New Testament because the Greek word for baptism really means "to immerse in water".  We also dunk because it is a beautiful picture of death, burial and resurrection, which is what happens when we come to Christ.  I praise God that my son is now living for Jesus and has made public his faith in Jesus.

If you have given your life to Christ and not been baptized,  this Sunday you may want to approach your pastor and tell him you are ready to take that step of faith.  If you've not given your life to Christ, why not make that decision right now and invite Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.  Your life will never be the same because He will give you eternal and abundant life.  If you have given your life to Christ and been baptized, take a moment to reflect on the significance of that day.  Maybe even take a moment to send a note of thanks to whoever was instrumental in you coming to Christ or being baptized.  Just like we should always remember the day we were married, we should always cherish the day we were baptized.  I thank God that I was not only there, but was the one who baptized my son.  I think I'll end this blog because I want to sit back and soak in the beauty of this day!

Riches

Thank you, Hillcrest Family, for an incredibly memorable and meaningful celebration of ten years as your pastor.  I was overwhelmed by the love and gratitude expressed by you towards me and my family.  The time and preparation which went into just the food was so valuable and remarkable.  I am still stunned by how much of your time and energy went into that meal and celebration.  The cards you gave and the words you shared were very humbling and I am grateful that God could utilize someone like me to make a difference in anyone's life.  Not just on this one occasion, but often, you make me feel encouraged, love and competent.  It's easy to serve with you because of the loving way you have treated me for the past ten years.  Most folks in ministry only hear these kinds of affirmations when they are leaving, retired or at their funeral.  We have several letters Paul sent to churches (Like Galatians, Ephesians, etc.), but we have no record of letters sent to Paul by any of these churches or individuals in those churches.  I think those letters would sound a lot like the cards and letters you have given me this week.  I feel so honored to be your pastor.

Some may think ministry is a lonely profession, but as I reflect on thirty years in ministry, that is not the case.  I remember my last of three Summer at Mount Olive Baptist Church in King, North Carolina.  I had graduated from college and was heading off to Louisville for Summer.  The church had a going-away party with the obligatory rolling of my car in toilet paper.  Though there were tears, the embraces and loving words still make me smile.  Over the years, these folks have stayed in touch with me and continued to love and support me.  I even have the privilege of being involved in the lives of the kids of some of those "youth".  Whenever I am able to make it back to King, I get a wonderful Martha Duggins home-cooked meal and a house full of friends laughing and loving.  Three years later, I was graduating from Southern Seminary in Louisville and was saying good-bye to my friends at Ridgewood Baptist Church.  I had served as Youth Minister during my three years in seminary.  The largest number of kids in that youth group were all graduating from high school the same year.  I remember how deeply I had been touched by that church and especially those seniors.  They had allowed me to become a part of their lives and I am still honored to be involved.  I thank God for Facebook because this has allowed me to reconnect with them.  I have only been back to Louisville one time since graduation, but these wonderful people continue to pray for me, love me and even harass me.  A week after leaving Louisville, I was ordained at my home church, Lawndale Baptist Church in Greensboro.  My family came and supported me and my Dad even gave the charge to me as a minister.  Quite a few folks from King came to this event and my home church turned out in a big way.  I remember thinking how blessed I was to grow up in a church that supported those who went into ministry.  Over the years, Lawndale has sent work teams to help with a construction project at the church I served on the Big Island.  Several me from Lawndale are my daily prayer partners.  I try to go to Lawndale whenever I am back in Greensboro and always get lots of hugs and love from the "older-timers".  Going to Lawndale is like going to a place of comfort and safety.  Two weeks after I was ordained, I began to work at Hawaii Baptist Academy in Honolulu.  I went to a place where I knew absolutely no one, but within a few months, I had made life long friends.  The students and staff at HBA made such an impact on my life.  Over half of my friends on FB are from HBA.  It is such an honor to still be involved in their lives.  Whenever I travel to an area with an HBA student, I have a place to stay or friends to meet to eat.  Many of them have shared wisdom and comfort with me over the years.  While on Oahu, I joined the First Baptist Church of Pearl City.  The depth of friendships from my five years at this church cannot be explained on any blog.  This church taught me how a church should show the love of Jesus in tangible ways.  They took me in and adopted me, trying to help acculturate me.  Hey, I'll always be a haole from the mainland, but they taught me local ways and introduced me to local foods.  I remember in 1991 when I was waiting at the interisland terminal for my flight that would take me from Honolulu to the Kamuela where I was to begin pastoring the First Baptist Church of Waimea.  I can still close my eyes and look around that airport at so many friends who were there to see me off.  I was covered in so many leis, I had enough for every person on my flight, so I shared those leis.  I remember thinking, "why am I leaving this place?", but I knew I was following God's direction.  When I landed on the Big Island, I was greeted at the airport by one of the members of the First Baptist Church of Waimea.  He said that he would take me to the parsonage, but that there would be nothing planned until the next night when I was to meet with the Pastor Search Committee.  I was a little relieved because saying "aloha" to all of my friends on Oahu had been a bittersweet experience.  I didn't want to be around people.  Imagine my surprise when I walked into a parsonage full of people.  It was an incredible welcome and I still remember some of those conversations.  Ten years later, God would lead my, along with my wife of seven years, to California.  I remember the send off at the Kona airport and seeing the faces of those wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ.  For ten years, we had laughed, love and served together.  It really was like leaving family.  In each of these places where God has taken me to minister, I have enjoyed building true friendships.  Many of these friendships have stretched over thirty years and some over thousands of miles.  When I see their faces, I can't help but smile.  Some even make me laugh (You know who you are).

I have seen the old, grainy video of Lou Gherig's retirement speech when he says the immortal words, "Today I feel like the luckiest man alive".  I don't feel like a lucky man.  I feel like a rich man.  Being obedient to Jesus has allowed me to meet some of the most wonderful people in the world.  I have the privilege of calling them "Friend".  They pray for me, love me even though they know how flawed I am and would be willing to help in an instant if I ever asked.  Many people go through their entire lives and may not even make on true friend.  How blessed am I to have some many true friends?  Riches cannot be measured by a bank account.  Riches can't be measured by popularity or how easy your name is to google.  In God's economy, riches have to do with eternity, with things that last.  I am rich because I have friendships that will stretch through eternity.  Even if I don't see these friends again in this life, we will party with Jesus in the next life.  I am so blessed by God!

I apologize for rambling in this Sip, but Sunday night was overwhelming for me.  I really don't know how to express my gratitude to Hillcrest Baptist Church for this affirmation.  It simply brought to mind what an honor it is as a minister of the Gospel to be allowed into the private world of so many people.  For those of you who have allowed me that privilege, please know how honored I am by that and how blessed you have made my life.  I hope this Sip will be an encouragement to you because if you have invested eternity into others, you also have riches which your bank account cannot contain.  Enjoy being rich, but pass on the key to these riches to others:  Jesus.  For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believers in Him would not perish but have eternal life.

An example for us to follow

This past week, we had a wonderful Vacation Bible School.  Our highest attendance of children was 37 and those kids learned how to put their faith into action.  Of the kids in grades 3-6, all but two of them had made commitments to Christ in their lives and those two have heard the Gospel numerous times at Hillcrest.  We had around 35 workers every single night serving, teaching, assisting, loving and being involved in the lives of the children.  Our summer missionaries were surprised to see how many adults were involved in our VBS because most churches struggle to have enough workers.

Without trying to offend anyone, I would like to make mention of one worker who is one of the many examples of service at our VBS.  The Hurst's daughter, Cindy, is visiting from Texas.  She is here to see her parents and went up to visit her grandmother in Oregon.  However, each night she was in town, she worked at the registration table.  She spent the evening at VBS serving wherever she was needed.  Cindy grew up in Hillcrest, gave her life to Christ and was baptized here, so it's not like she is a stranger.  However, she was here on vacation.  If I were on vacation and my home church was having VBS while I was there, I doubt I would go an help.  I would be too busy with others things to help.  Yet, here was Cindy setting an example for me.  She could have done a multitude of things while in the Bay Area, but she chose to minister to children and adults.  Of course, we could say the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree because Ken & Doris are such incredible servants.  Do you remember Sunday morning how many people raised their hands when I asked if they, their children or grandchildren had received a note from Doris Hurst?  It seemed like everyone who has every been to Hillcrest more than once has received a letter or card from her.  She even sends the most wonderful and affirming notes to my Mom who lives in North Carolina.  Yet, Cindy didn't have to come to church and help out at VBS.  She didn't do it because of her parents' reputation.  She did it because she loves Jesus.  

A lot of wonderful things happened at our VBS.  But I wanted to stop and focus on this wonderful example.  Cindy has encouraged me in such a deep way because of the passionate love she has for our Savior and our church.  With examples like that, how can I shortchange Jesus or Hillcrest?  Aren't you glad God has given us such wonderful examples?  I also want to thank you for being an example and encouragement to me.  As we look towards the Fall and opportunities to minister, let's continue to reach out and touch our community with Jesus' love!  My this Sip refresh you so that you might refresh others.

Can we let it die?

This week, July 25-29, Hillcrest will be having our Vacation Bible School.  VBS is one of the major outreaches of most churches towards trying to reach children and their families.  Most churches at some point in the Summer will have VBS, even though it may not be reaching anyone or even effective.  When I first came to Hillcrest, we had VBS.  I watched the first Summer and saw a lot of energy, time and money spent on an outreach that wasn't much of an outreach.  I'm not trying to find fault, but we were doing VBS because we always did VBS.  Not a great reason to have VBS, but it was our motivating factor.  We did one more year of VBS before our Ministry Council decided to put an end to the ministry.  We asked the question, "Why are we having VBS?".  We all agreed we were doing it because we always did it.  However, we were spending all of this energy and only have 10-15 children attend - Not of whom were actual prospects for our church.  It was a bold move because most churches are never able to let a ministry die.  We start something and think we now must always do it.  If we don't do that particular ministry, then we just aren't being faithful to God.  We did get some criticism for that decision, but most of the VBS workers were relieved because of the stress it would cause.

In Acts 16:6-8, we see a precedence for this allowing a ministry to end.  Paul and his companions are wanting to go to Bithynia to share the Gospel.  Great idea because these folks had never heard the Gospel.  It was logical and was simply a continuation of what they had already been doing.  However, Paul and his companions were kept from going, but rather than getting frustrated they followed the Spirit to something new.  I wonder how many ministries in the church are Spirit-led and how many are human-led.  I wonder how many churches are having a VBS this Summer just because they have been having VBS for the past 10, 20, 50 years.  I wonder how many leaders go to conferences, hear about a ministry and then think this would be perfect for their church.  So they go back, pumped up and get their folks involved in this ministry.  Are they being led of the Spirit or led by their own decisions and what worked in the 1960's or worked in another church.  I wonder how many churches would have the courage to let a human-driven ministry die, taking heat because they weren't like the church down the street.  It always takes courage to follow the Spirit.  I wonder how many churches stay busy doing things they think they should do rather than joining God in the work He is already doing.  I wonder how often this happens at Hillcrest.

Since you already know Hillcrest is having VBS, I should explain what happened.  Four year ago after we had gone without VBS for four years, several leaders asked if we could have VBS.  We shared the ineffectiveness of VBS and the reasons we decided to end it.  We took the next month to pray and seek God's direction.  From this time of prayer and sharing, God led us to make a few changes:  (1)  We started to have an outreach event BEFORE VBS to reach out and draw people in to the church.  This has turned into the Hillcrest Community Fair, an outreach event that usually adds 2 to 4 families each year.  (2)  We changed the time to later in the Summer, moving from June to July.  We needed more time to prepare rather than having it in June when we were rushed an unable to adequately prepare.  (3)  We changed the time to the evening so we could have enough workers and children.  Most of the kids and adults are busy during the day.  

The results have been tangible.  We now average over 50 students at VBS and around 40 workers.  It becomes a tremendous follow-up to the Fair and a transition to our Sunday evening TeamKid ministry.  VBS had also become a great time to disciple our own students and get them sharing their testimonies.  The adults also get to know each other much better since there are so many workers.  We get to see them serving and utilizing their gifts to work in the Kingdom.  All of this is possible because we were willing to let something die.  

Is there something you are doing "for the Lord" that really is your own effort and now a Spirit-led endeavor?  Do you have the courage to let it die and not allow Satan to send you on a guilt-trip?  Maybe if we simplified our lives and waited on the Spirit to lead we would be more effective.  May this Sip from the Well refresh you and allow you freedom to serve Jesus with joy.

The Silent Servant

I always enjoy reading the beginning and the end of Paul's epistles to the different churches.  I always glean so much insight from those names which are listed in the opening and closing statements.  Rarely do we hear more than a sentence or two about any of them.  Some are praised and commended for their service, while others are chastised for their carnal ways.  I read those passages and try to imagine what would be written about me, then adjust my life so that the author would be able to say things about me which would encourage others to follow my example of faithfulness.  What would Paul write about your life and your faith?

One of my favorites is Tychicus because of the comments made about him and because I enjoy saying his name.  But today, I want to share with you about another:  Onesiphorus.  You can read about him in 2 Timothy 1:16-18, which you should do now.  Paul says that Onesiphorus sought Paul out while Paul was in prison.  He brought encouragement and strength to Paul when Paul needed it the most.  Yet, there are very few verses about the life on Onesiphorus.  He is what I call the "Silent Servant" - A servant of the Lord and the church who gets no pay and very little praise.  He doesn't do something we would consider "great" or would get him invited to speak at a church conference.  He would be the one cleaning up after that conference or praying for that conference or driving the "famous" speakers around or greeting people as they entered the conference.  He would need to wear a name badge because his face and name would almost be anonymous.  Yet, no event would be successful and make an impact without the myriad of Onesiphoruses doing the Silent Servant work.

This past Friday, our church attempted a huge outreach event for us called the Hillcrest Community Fair.  It is an event in which we offer a meal, treats, games, prizes, activities, crafts, live music and much more to the community all free of charge.  It is a fun, safe and free evening where families can relax and play together.  We had over 170 guests come to Hillcrest who enjoyed the barbecued chicken dinner and the variety of activities available.  There were lots of smiling faces and full stomachs.  All of this made possible by the many Silent Servants at Hillcrest.  Those who served at the Fair were stuck in their one place of ministry for the entire evening.  They didn't get to see everything else going on at the Fair.  They didn't even get to eat the chicken dinner and had to eat before they came.  They greeted people with a smile and spent time getting to know the visitors.  

I would not even begin to try to name the Silent Servants and the work they did because I would miss a lot of them.  I would miss them because so many of them served in ways I did not see nor even hear about.  They did what needed to be done.  They had a heart for Jesus and the community, then put action to their hearts.  I always look at an event our church hosts and asks myself this question:  "If I came to this event, what would I honestly think?"  So many times, we are afraid to be honest about how the community probably views an event.  I don't know if I would have been overly impressed by the activities, even though there were quite a few.  There weren't many activities that I could not experience in other places.  But what would affect me would the two things:  (1) The cost - It was all free with no hidden hook.  That would really cause me to wonder what was happening at this church.  (2) The smile on the workers' faces - It seemed like the workers were having as much fun and the participants.  Those two things would make me want to come back.  Those two things are the result of Silent Servants doing their thing.

Rarely are we ever involved in ministries where we don't run into some servants who only want to serve in a particular place or fashion.  You know, the ones who will help but only if they can help in their particular way.  They certainly won't stick around to clean up or come during the week to sweep the parking lot or stuff envelopes or bring lunch to a group that is working.  We all know of the servants who only want to serve if they are in front of the crowd and in the spotlight.  These kind of servants give servants a bad name and there are too many of them in the church.  I praise God that such servants were not a part of the Fair.  The Silent Servants were out in force and made an impact on our community.

The next time your church is planning a ministry, ask the leaders how you can serve in ways that no one else wants to serve.  What can you do to make their job smoother that is the dirty job?  Examine your life today and determine to be a Silent Servant, doing what needs to be done to impact the world with the love of Jesus through your Church.  If you do this, you will take a Sip from God's Well of peace and satisfaction, which is eternal!

Having better vision

I have had to wear corrective lens since I was sixteen years old.  Maybe I should have eaten more carrots as a youngster.  Maybe it is something genetic.  The irony is that I am the only one of my siblings who has needed corrective lens (Besides reading glasses).  I'm not sure why I am the one who was blessed with nearsightedness, but I can distinctly remember when I knew I needed glasses.  I was a junior in high school and sitting in my normal seat (The back row of the class).  I had to ask a friend what the teacher was writing on board.  I just figured the teacher had bad had writing, but this started to happen in every class.  The unthinkable was to actually move a seat closer to the front of class, so I went to have my eyes examined.  There was some nearsightedness - Just enough to make objects far away blurry.  Over the years, my vision has slipped a little at a time.  I could actually go without glasses, but I wouldn't be allowed to drive and most things would be blurry.  I would have trouble recognizing people and would have to get very close to signs to read them.  My glasses and contact lens allow me to see things with clarity.

Ephesians 6:12 reminds the follower of Christ that we also need spiritual corrective lens.  Too often we go through life and see what we see.  However, there is much going on in the spiritual realm that we miss because we just go on our own vision.  This vision is limited and keeps us seeing blurry visions.  Often, circumstances only make sense in retrospect because we do not have spiritually clear vision.  This passage is applicable to everything we encounter during the day, if we take the time to see as the Spirit leads.  However, I am usually too busy to stop and look at life from God's perspective.  Most of life is viewed from my perspective and what I can see.  So I guess I actually do have an "I" problem.

Yesterday was a great example:  After church, we planned to pass out flyers to every home on the hill.  This is one of the few times during the year that our church will knock on doors and go out actively in the community.  That process of being in the community is the one thing Satan does not want the church to do.  He doesn't mind if we have great events at our church or plan huge musical events in the church.  He does mind when we go out to share the love of Christ with the community.  We initiate a turf war with him.  So it should not have surprised me when this past Sunday we had the smallest attendance we have had in months.  I looked at the lack of cars in the parking lot and got very discouraged.  There was no way we would have enough people to knock on every door.  As I preached the sermon which I have been working on for months, I got to the final point:  "Trust God's hand".  In front of the congregation, the Holy Spirit reminded me that I had not trusted God's hand, but was only looking at what I could see.  I needed to confess that to the congregation and allow the Lord to give me renewed energy for the day.  I was surprised by the number of people who stayed to pass out flyers and how many homes we were able to visit.  No, we only visited nine of eleven zones, but we ran out of flyers not out of homes or people visiting.  Once again, I had the wrong vision! 

So this week, as we prepare for our Hillcrest Community Fair, I am going to try to have better vision.  Not just with this outreach but in every aspect of my life:  My marriage, my children, my family, my neighbors, my free time, etc.  How about you?  Are you willing to see things from God's perspective and put on His vision so you can see more clearly?  Don't spend this week in blurry vision, but let His Word guide you to see more clearly.  May this Sip From the Well refresh you to have eyes that are open!

Meant to Last

My brothers and I were hard on toys when we were growing up.  Many of them didn't survive Christmas day or a birthday before they were already broken.  I have always tried to blame the craftsmanship of the toymaker in saying they just were made to last.  Of course today, most things are not made to last.  We have disposable dishes, silverware, cups, diapers, contact lenses, lighters and even disposable underwear (I've seen them in the stores of Hong Kong).  Very few things are built to last these days.  Think about it:  How many cell phones have you already owned in the short time they have been on the market?  They have gone from the size of a small walkie talkie to being so small we misplace them and have to call our number and listen for the ring to find them. How many computers have your owned in the past ten years?  Things just aren't made to last anymore.

How about this for lasting:  66 years, which equals 792 months, which equals 3432 weeks, which equals 289080 days.  I could go on, but you get the point.  Man, that's a long time...longer than I have been alive.  This is how long Marshall and Marlene Denny have been married.  This wonderful couple lives in King, North Carolina and I had the privilege of living in their home for three summers when I was in college.  They took me in as one of their own children (Of which they have 4 children).  I had the opportunity to learn from them and observe what it meant to be married in a marriage that was made to last.  They certainly weren't and aren't perfect, but they have stayed married.  In a disposable society, they have honored the vow they made to the Lord when they married each other.  They have taught their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren numerous lessons over the years - But none greater than that of honoring your commitment!  Use any argument you want to justify how impossible this is today, but the truth is that they have done something which God expects each one of us who gets married to do - He expects us to stay married until death separates us.   Our culture says marriage vows can be broken if there are "irreconcilable differences" or if one person is not satisfied and having his/her needs met.  Yet, Marshall and Marlene are living examples that a marriage which is entrusted into the Lord's care can last a long time because God made marriage to last.

Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will prosper."  Ask the Denny's if God has prospered them and I'm sure they will answer in the affirmative.  They have been prospered in so many ways because they have committed their marriage to the Lord.  I don't know if Leah and I will make it 66 years because I will be 99 by then, but I'm willing to give it a try.  I want to be radical and go against the flow, seeking to have a thriving marriage for my whole life.

Though my thoughts for this blog arose from the Denny's marriage, this truth about commitment applies to every aspect of our lives:  At our jobs, in caring for our homes, in raising our children, in studying for a difficult class and a multitude of other areas.  Are your ways committed to the Lord?  Are you following through with those commitments?  I pray that this Sip will give you the strength to do that very thing!