Odell Nolen passed away last week. Some of you may recall her as the mother, grandmother and great-grandmother of good friends of ours, Janice, Denise and Rob. Yesterday her life was celebrated in what we call a funeral, with heart-warming old hymns – Precious Memories and Tell Momma I’ll Be There, a masterful message by her home pastor, and the highlight, a string of “open-mike” eulogies, approaching double digits. Not having any assigned duties was wonderful. I got to sit back and soak it all in. Hopefully some of it soaked into me! Observing eulogies can be quite enlightening!

 

Listening without distraction, both head and heart, I was motivated to join the chorus. Ultimately, I didn’t. (Taking a hint from Peter’s example at the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8Mark 9:2-8
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
The True Glory of Jesus ² . Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him. They went up on a high mountain, where they could be alone. There in front of the disciples, Jesus was completely changed. ³ And his clothes became much whiter than any bleach on earth could make them. ⁴ Then Moses and Elijah were there talking with Jesus. ⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Teacher, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ But Peter and the others were terribly frightened, and he did not know what he was talking about. ⁷ ; ; . The shadow of a cloud passed over and covered them. From the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, and I love him. Listen to what he says!” ⁸ At once the disciples looked around, but they saw only Jesus.

), some moments are just too precious to interrupt!) But I knew exactly what I would’ve said. Based on my own interactions with her, one passage kept flashing its neon sign in my mind:

 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14John 1:14
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
14 The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us.

 

“Full of grace and truth.” What a rich description, the very core of the character of Jesus as depicted by one of his dearest and closest earthly companions. Not a bad eulogy! And Odell was surely “full of grace and truth.” She was old, and the congregation at her funeral was, for the most part, old as well. Her church home was a very traditional Baptist church, much like the church in which I grew up. It’s an organ, piano and choir church, an offering-taking, invitation-giving, pulpit-centered fellowship. When a traditionalist like Odell stepped into Metrocrest Community Church for the occasional family visit, what on earth did she think about guitars, drums, no hymnals and almost no (traditional) hymns, a humble little offering basket that sat on the back wall, and no invitation? She could’ve easily thought “too loud… too irreverent” and maybe even “compromised.” Never, not once, did I ever feel or hear anything but sincere kindness and grace and even affection from this dear old soul. She was truly “full of grace and truth” – just like her Jesus!

 

It’s too late for the late Odell Nolen to change her eulogy. I suspect, if in God’s kindness she got to sneak a peek, she wouldn’t have wanted to. Thank God she doesn’t need to, not even a word! Perhaps I’ll learn a thing or two from a grand lady, one who herself learned a thing or two from her grand Savior. They are joyously celebrating that together right now!

“God created man in His image, and ever since man has been returning the favor.”

 

That comment popped up during a meeting of four pastors yesterday morning at Starbucks (Yes, pastors need caffeine, too!). As we discussed the picture of God painted in Psalm 114, it led us down various rabbit trails. During that visit with my fellow pastors and the psalmist I reflected on a recent wrestling match I’ve been having with the image of God, an image painted in a current best-selling novel, The Shack.

 

Last week I finished reading William Young’s The Shack. (See Jeffrey’s blog post below for more information.) This book, with very little promotion, has ripped up the best-seller lists. In the process it has also caused a wide variety of reactions, both rave endorsements and loud denunciations. I found myself planted squarely in the middle of those reactions. Heaping helpings of Mr. Young’s work are clearly informed and shaped by the Scripture’s observations about God. They are very insightful, putting theological cookies on a shelf we can all reach. That takes a special form of brilliance! For example, The Shack does a winsome and informative job of tackling the delicate theological balance between Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that great mystery we know as the Trinity, the Three who are One. Yet other parts were mildly disturbing to my little mind. Which set me to wondering, who is guilty of “creating God in my own image” – me or the author? Answer: I don’t know! Am I taken aback by the familiar, and affectionate, image of God presented? More pointedly, do I really believe, there in the unseen corners of my soul, that God is “especially fond” of me? Tough question! I prefer my God a little more “other,” or to use the word theologians prefer, “transcendant.” And to be sure, the Lord does at times paint Himself as “other” and “above” or “beyond” us – out there taking the helicopter view of life, doing big “God” things. God’s lecture to Job (Job 38-42) camps out on God’s place being above and beyond anything we can comprehend. To borrow Obama’s recent quip, the Lord is “above my pay grade”! Yet the flip side is that He is near – in point of fact really, really near! As a follower of Christ, Jesus Himself claims to “always” be with me (Matthew 28:20Matthew 28:20
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
20 and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

) and the Holy Spirit is described as living within me (John 14:17John 14:17
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
17 The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don't see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you.

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; 1 Corinthians 6:191 Corinthians 6:19
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
19 . You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own.

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). Can’t get much closer than that! Theologians sometimes refer to God’s “here and now-ness” as imminence. He is near, even standing at my elbow, peering over my shoulder as I type! He is Immanuel, which translated means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23Matthew 1:23
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
23 . “A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

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). Does that make me a little nervous? He was “with me” when I was so bent out of shape just last night, unable to find what I was looking for on a simple, innocuous shopping expedition. Ouch! Maybe that’s what leaves me a little uneasy at The Shack. Maybe I prefer my God “out there” minding His own (very big) business, not “down here” spending time in my business! Yet I am supposed to be comforted by the knowledge that He is with me, bearing with me (I’m the “bear” in that phrase!), forgiving me, challenging me, encouraging me to take those baby steps of living faith. In the words of The Shack’s Papa, He is “especially fond” of me. That really shouldn’t make me nervous, should it?

I just recently finished a book titled The Shack by William P. Young.

If you haven’t read it, I HIGHLY recommend it!  I have, for some time, had many questions about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and how they are in and interact with the world, (or, as I’ve thought at times…the lack thereof).

Anyhow, although a work of fiction, it goes to great lengths to address some of the very questions I’ve had.  There are many more questions that it does raise as well, and I would love to discuss this with anyone here who may have read it, or will read it.  I won’t go into much more detail here, as to not give anything away.

There is even a forum where people who want to discuss are doing so, it can be found here.

If you would like to check out the book, you can get some info on the site, (just click the photo below).

I look forward to discussing this with you all…

Take care

jeffrey

 Wednesday evening’s winds blustered. The heat argued its case against me. The couch called to its comforts. In spite of the many reasons queued up, I pulled on the running shoes and went to the park. As I tried to keep my body from dictating what I could and couldn’t do, my loop around the water led me past many folks who had faced the same excuses, but won today’s debate between mind and body. One face was familiar, a round dark face broken by an easy, bright grin. This young lady typically has an even younger boy riding her piggy-back, always drawing a comment from me about how easy I have it running child-free! Her responses have betrayed her African heritage, and aroused my curiosity about her story. As I passed her on Wednesday I wondered to God if she was a believer, a sister in the faith. Her countenance consistently exudes joy, and on this particular occasion caused me to breathe a prayer for her. I padded onward, continuing my trek, pounding towards its conclusion another half-mile or so away. Our passing lasted no more than a handful of seconds, a simple polite exchange of good humor, and a bit of curiosity filed away in my cluttered mind. When I finished my run I headed up the rolling hill to the parking lot, and there my friend sat on a park bench, waiting with an empty stroller for her human backpack and her sister to join her. I get adrenaline pumping on those odd times when I run, and tonight had an extended conversation with a couple whose daughter is a classmate and one-time soccer teammate of my oldest. Still feeling sociable, I decided to find out a little more about my African friend. And boy did I!

 

With a few strategically-placed comments about the Ugandan Orphans Choir our fellowship hosted last summer, an observation about a friend who works in Sudan, and a sketch of some of the work in Rwanda I recently heard Pastor Rick Warren speak of, my jogging trail friend began to talk about her background. Miranda is a refuge from Zimbabwe. She grew up near genocide, and at one point it reached a crescendo where she and her village could no longer eat the fish in the river that supplies so much of their need. You see, the river had become contaminated with floating corpses. Are you out of your comfort zone yet? I sure was! Yet Miranda remained very matter-of-fact, not dramatic in any way, nor was she crippled by the memories. She explained that the Lord had opened up the opportunity to come to the United States, how she was treated “like a princess” by the immigration staff here in the good old USA, and how she misses her church’s choir back home. She felt completely at ease in His care, how un-American! I left our visit humbled by my ultra-light burdens, amazed by God’s presence flowing through one of His favored children, and grateful for the cards I’ve been dealt. And I came home having been reminded of much, and enriched by a new friend and her journey in Christ. So, if you happen to be circling the ponds at Andy Brown Park Central, and you see a round-faced, smiling young African lady, tell Miranda “Pastor Wayne” says “Hi.” Introduce yourself. You’ll be glad you did. And the next time you eat fish, give thanks and be glad that you can.

 

Always winter and never Christmas; think of that!

Mr. Tumnus the faun

 

A few weeks back I noticed a theme – one which seems to have started back in November, continued into a New Year’s visit at the Galleria, reverberated again with my spiritual father this spring, and culminated at a soccer pitch – where else? The joy of reunion over-and-over again! Several embraces – the full-bodied, robust, enthusiastic, you-can’t-fake-this kind - shouted to your often hard-of-hearing friend about a present need while hinting of something more to come.

 

The here-and-now implication of these reunions is that there is joy to be had, and it is packaged in fellowship. Does that sound blasé? If so, you can blame me for painting glory with dull beige. I hope you can find it within yourself to forgive me! This great truth deserves a song which I can’t adequately sing. It has been a constant source of amazement and consternation over the years that we silly folks regularly fail to attach adequate value to being with one another, to sharing each other’s joys and burdens, to laugh and to cry, to comfort and to cheer one another as we march through the hills and hollows of life. To enjoy one another treats the soul – it heals, it thrills, it energizes, it strengthens, it calms, it refreshes, it fills the spirit with purpose. Even Jesus spoke of longing to spend His last moments sharing a meal with His friends (Luke 22:15Luke 22:15
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
15 he said to them, “I have very much wanted to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer.

) and promised His presence whenever we gather (Matthew 18:20Matthew 18:20
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
20 Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, o in my name: Or “as my followers.” I am there with you.

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). It was the last best thing He could offer us in His physical absence (Matthew 28:20Matthew 28:20
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
20 and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

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). Is it possible this is why we are urged (commanded?!) to “not give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25Hebrews 10:25
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
25 Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord's coming is getting closer.

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)? Get-togethers are good, make that great, for me!

 

Still, a whiff of something even more lingered in the air at these mini-reunions. You mere mortals who fill me so full to the brim are appetizers. The entrée my soul awaits is seasoned with side dishes, the immortals who have pioneered the way before me. Their names are Julie, Dad, Jake, Nick and Rebecca. And this is no wishful thinking! The resurrection of Jesus affirms and anticipates the great Day! And He Himself will be the main course of the feast! The One I have known for so long I will meet for the first time. And He will fill and fulfill all His own. Union and reunion and homecoming, Christmas forever.

 

So, thanks to Em, Ken, Cindi, Karen, Ed, Kathy and Robbie. You bear Christmas on your wings.

 

P.S. Yesterday, after I finished this blog entry, another unplanned, “surprise” reunion occurred. Wow! In the words of the old hymn, “Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the wake of the suffering brought on by the cyclone in Myanmar and the earthquake in China, the devastation is so difficult to imagine.  As I read story after story with the death counts rising, it seems almost unreal.  So, I have been left wondering over the last few days… why is it so “easy” to live our lives, read these stories of tragedy, and then move on to the rest of our day?  

Perhaps it is because my family does not live in these nations and so I am not directly impacted by the suffering. 

Or, perhaps it is that these tragedies are of such a tremendous proportion that it is difficult to fathom the impact it has on the nations as a whole, or the entire villages that were destroyed, or the entire families that were killed because their meager shelters couldn’t withstand the wind and rain, or the ache of parents who search for their children in a school that collapsed from the earthquake, or the heartcry of a now-orphan who lost her parents when the waters separated them during the storm.  

Or, perhaps I accept that it is catastrophic, but, I don’t know how to help.  What can I do?  I live a half a world away.  I don’t have any political influence.  I’m not rich.  I’m not…

Excuses.

Am I too comfortable with the life I lead?  What would God want His people to do in response to these tragedies? 

 

Good afternoon everyone…

I have added some new informational pages on the MCC Mission in India. Soon to follow will be some photo galleries of the wonderful people out there, as well as some photographs of some MCC family that have visited over the past few years.

Additionally, you can find a Q&A page if you have any questions regarding the upcoming MCC Mission trip to India. Stayed tune as more questions/answers are added. If you have any questions that you don’t see up there, please feel free to contact Wayne or Keith Pace directly.

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Without defining the difference between a goose and a gander, the point is pretty much understood. If it’s good for you, it must be good for me, too! That’s something worth remembering as a Bible teacher – or any kind of teacher, coach, Boy Scout/Girl Scout leader, whatever. I have to always remember that whatever is being taught should apply to the teacher as well as to the student. And yes, true confession - there’s always a temptation to apply lessons to “you” but not to “me.” I was reminded of that earlier today, so I decided to take my own suggestion, made in the Mother’s Day message, to read the chapter of Proverbs associated with the day’s date. Monday is (was) the 12^th, so I opened to Proverbs 12 and began to read at verse one. . .

 

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but he who hates correction is stupid.

 

Ouch! And on Mother’s Day we had just talked about this very thing – “wisdom, discipline and understanding” (Proverbs 23:23Proverbs 23:23
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
23 Invest in truth and wisdom, discipline and good sense, and don't part with them.

)! That’s one way to honor dear old mom (and dad). The same Hebrew word is translated “discipline” in both passages. It has at its core the idea of “instruction” or “correction” – even the negative idea of “chastening.” A little bit more searching and the word is found in the very introduction of Proverbs – once in verse two and repeated again in verse three. For those of us who tend to nod off, it’s repeated again in verses seven and eight! All told this word, and the concept it conveys, occurs thirty-one times just in the book of Proverbs! (Hmmmm, once for each chapter! I wonder if there’s a lesson there?!) The bottom line? It is impossible for me to become wise apart from “discipline, correction, chastisement”! Neither can my children (Proverbs 1:8; 4:1; 13:1, 24; 15:5; 22:15; 23:13Proverbs 1:8; 4:1; 13:1, 24; 15:5; 22:15; 23:13
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Warnings against Bad Friends ⁸ My child, obey the teachings of your parents, Advice to Young People ^{4 1} My child, listen closely to my teachings and learn common sense. Wise Friends Make You Wise ^{13 1} Children with good sense accept correction from their parents, but stubborn children ignore it completely. ⁵ Don't be a fool and disobey your parents. Be smart! Accept correction. ¹⁵ All children are foolish, but firm correction will make them change. -¹²- ¹³ Don't fail to correct your children. You won't kill them by being firm,

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– You can look it up!)!

 

Interestingly, we are hard-pressed in our psycho-analytical world to see this concept highlighted. Lots is written and said about affirmation – and that’s good. We all need to be affirmed! (I especially like receiving affirmation, just in case you were wondering!) After all, Jesus Himself nicknamed Simon “Peter”, the Rock (John 1:42John 1:42
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
42 Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, “Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas.” This name can be translated as “Peter.” e Peter: The Aramaic name “Cephas” and the Greek name “Peter” each mean “rock.”

). It would be a while before Peter would live up to the Lord’s hopes, plans and vision for him, but Jesus affirmed what Simon Peter would ultimately become.  A few short verses later Jesus describes the skeptical (critical?) Nathanael as a man “in whom there is nothing false” (John 1:47John 1:47
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn't deceitful.” g Israel ... isn't deceitful: Israel was the name that the Lord gave to Jacob , the famous ancestor of the Jewish people.

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). By all means, we need affirmation! Jesus practiced it, and so should we! However, we also need correction, discipline and even occasionally chastisement. Remember, Jesus ALSO referred to Jesus as “Satan” (Mark 8:33Mark 8:33
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
33 But when Jesus turned and saw the disciples, he corrected Peter. He said to him, “Satan, get away from me! You are thinking like everyone else and not like God.”

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). And the GREAT thing about Simon Peter, perhaps the one thing that ultimately made him great, is he was malleable, teachable, coachable. He could hear it all – the good, the bad and the ugly. You know the rest of the story, don’t you? Peter became what Jesus could see in him, but only because Peter was wise enough to hear correction.

 

So, how does all this apply to me and you? Well, just in the “daily reading” of today’s chapter from Proverbs, chapter 12, I found no less than FOUR personal “corrections” the Lord wants me to work on. You’ll have to guess which ones, ‘cause I’m not telling! What about you?

 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 1:7Proverbs 1:7
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
7 ; ; ; . Respect and obey the Lord! This is the beginning of knowledge. a the beginning of knowledge: Or “what knowledge is all about.” Only a fool rejects wisdom and good advice.

 

 

Good morning everyone,

Keith Pace, during the recent MCC Feeding the Homeless trip, took a bunch of photo’s throughout the day.

I created a Photo Gallery of them for all of you to view. You can find the link on the Galleries Resource page or click here to view them as well.

I just want to tell everyone, Thank you very much for the kudo’s and towel this past Sunday.

All of the people here at Metrocrest have done such an incredible job in welcoming not only Carla and I, but ALL new or visiting church members.  It is a very warm and comforting place to come into every week, not to mention all of the other wonderful (…and I have to say “FILLING”) events! 

Thank you all for your support and encouragement.

Sincerely,

jeffrey