Tomorrow morning, we catch a plane for Los Angeles, the city of angels. Do they still call it that? I heard some time ago that folks who don’t believe in God want the city’s emblem changed. It contained a cross. Maybe the name will be changed, too. Who knows? I’m not surprised by anything anymore.
It’s a quick trip. We’re going to a retreat for pastors and ministry leaders being held at San Juan Capistrano. It begins Monday afternoon and finishes Wednesday morning. By the time you read this, it may be history.
Five regional “focus retreats” are held every year for pastors and ministry leaders associated with Grace Brethren churches. Tom Avey organizes and leads them, but he won’t make it to this one. He had quadruple bypass surgery last week. Whoa! That should slow him down temporarily.
I’m not sure who is in charge at this retreat, but it doesn’t matter. The men who attend always make it a success by their interaction with each other. Loreen fits right in, though she is usually the only female present. She has her own retreat. This year, she is threatening to go her own way. The program 24 is scheduled for Monday evening. She loves it. I hope the Lord doesn’t return Monday evening. She might be . . . never mind.
We love to connect with pastors and their wives. Ten days ago, we drove to Phoenix for dinner with Ed and Debbie Waken. Other ministry leaders were there as well: Larry and Sue Johnson, Henry and Cindy Staggs, Bud and Diana Miller, Joe Ritenour and Don Julien. Ed called us together. We met at Joe’s Crab Shack in Tempe, south of Phoenix. We had a great time getting acquainted.
We’ve had overnight guests at our place in Saddlebrooke, too. John and Martha Schumacher were here the second week of January. Merv and Charlene Bruckhart were here last week. Merv and Charlene left on a road trip last week, but we are getting together for dinner Wednesday night when we return.
We love Tucson. Come visit us sometime. Call first to make sure we are home and the guest room is empty. We do travel a lot.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
The Rear View Mirror is Helpful
I know. Sometimes, looking back is a bad idea.
One of my favorite stories is about a Sunday school class of second grade boys and girls. The teacher had just completed the Bible story of Lot and his family, how they barely escaped from Sodom before it was destroyed. The angel warned them not to look back, but Lot’s wife did, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
Before the teacher could begin her application, a little boy excitedly raised his hand and offered his own. “My mother looked back last week,” he said loudly, “and she turned into a telephone pole!”
I often encourage people to look forward, not backward. Looking back is a bad idea, especially when it involves a selfish refusal to step forward in obedience to God. The Bible is full of examples, and Lot’s wife is only one of them.
However, the Bible is also full of “rear view mirrors,” as I like to call them. They call us to look back, to remember. Jesus used one of them when he spoke to his disciples of a judgment of God yet to come. It’s recorded in Luke 17:32.
Looking back, I can see that God has placed rear view mirrors not only in the Bible, but also in my own life. I understand the present and anticipate the future much better when I pay attention to the past. A recent example came to me when a friend called to discuss the organization of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. He noticed that ministers hold nearly all the elected positions in the Fellowship and wondered aloud whether or not we are actually a fellowship of ministers.
Aha! Someone noticed! I remember my own surprise when I finally put the pieces together about ten years ago. I was reading old documents dating back to the origins of the Progressive Brethren movement. One of the leaders answered a question about the form of church government we would take. “We are still deciding,” he wrote, “whether or not we should be Episcopal in form.” That raised my eyebrows. About the same time, I found a book written by a critic of the newly minted Brethren Church. The writer suggested that Progressives had developed another way to “control the churches.” They would control them through the ministers rather than through a central government.
My eyes were opened and I saw our arrangement of churches in a new light. I see a crazy patchwork of Episcopal, Presbyterian and Congregational forms being used among the separate churches. However, when we gather churches together in district and national forums, the voices of ordained ministers are the ones being heard. That’s an Episcopal form of government. The past has a firm grip on our future.
In the final analysis, I don’t think the form of church government matters a great deal to God. Any form will work, unless leaders misbehave or struggle for power over others. When that happens, followers of Jesus are embarrassed and troubled. They feel what Jesus must feel. I see that in my rear view mirror as well.
Rear view mirrors are helpful.
One of my favorite stories is about a Sunday school class of second grade boys and girls. The teacher had just completed the Bible story of Lot and his family, how they barely escaped from Sodom before it was destroyed. The angel warned them not to look back, but Lot’s wife did, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
Before the teacher could begin her application, a little boy excitedly raised his hand and offered his own. “My mother looked back last week,” he said loudly, “and she turned into a telephone pole!”
I often encourage people to look forward, not backward. Looking back is a bad idea, especially when it involves a selfish refusal to step forward in obedience to God. The Bible is full of examples, and Lot’s wife is only one of them.
However, the Bible is also full of “rear view mirrors,” as I like to call them. They call us to look back, to remember. Jesus used one of them when he spoke to his disciples of a judgment of God yet to come. It’s recorded in Luke 17:32.
Looking back, I can see that God has placed rear view mirrors not only in the Bible, but also in my own life. I understand the present and anticipate the future much better when I pay attention to the past. A recent example came to me when a friend called to discuss the organization of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. He noticed that ministers hold nearly all the elected positions in the Fellowship and wondered aloud whether or not we are actually a fellowship of ministers.
Aha! Someone noticed! I remember my own surprise when I finally put the pieces together about ten years ago. I was reading old documents dating back to the origins of the Progressive Brethren movement. One of the leaders answered a question about the form of church government we would take. “We are still deciding,” he wrote, “whether or not we should be Episcopal in form.” That raised my eyebrows. About the same time, I found a book written by a critic of the newly minted Brethren Church. The writer suggested that Progressives had developed another way to “control the churches.” They would control them through the ministers rather than through a central government.
My eyes were opened and I saw our arrangement of churches in a new light. I see a crazy patchwork of Episcopal, Presbyterian and Congregational forms being used among the separate churches. However, when we gather churches together in district and national forums, the voices of ordained ministers are the ones being heard. That’s an Episcopal form of government. The past has a firm grip on our future.
In the final analysis, I don’t think the form of church government matters a great deal to God. Any form will work, unless leaders misbehave or struggle for power over others. When that happens, followers of Jesus are embarrassed and troubled. They feel what Jesus must feel. I see that in my rear view mirror as well.
Rear view mirrors are helpful.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Turn the Page
My favorite page in the calendar is January. Somehow, just the turning of it arouses new hopes and dreams. Does it work that way for you?
This year was no different. After the hoopla of the holiday season, I found myself at the bottom looking for light at the top.
We took the RV to southern California on December 21. Our daughter Janae and her husband Eric live there. They have been married less than two years, and we were glad to spend time with them. I forgot that it rains a lot in California during the winter. It was cold and damp. I came down with bronchitis on Christmas day. Then it began to rain. Continuously. The roof of the trailer leaked. We came home early.
Happy New Year.
We drove straight home to Arizona on New Year’s Day after attending church. Then we spent another day unpacking the trailer and putting it in storage. On day three of the New Year, I turned the page and began to dream of things to come. Do you dream? In the daytime?
I hope so. Without a dream, a hope of things to come, every New Year becomes a repeat of the old year. A dream runs deeper than resolutions, which are made to be broken. Dorothy Heller wrote a rhyme some years ago, and it really fits here.
I spent a fortune on a trampoline,
A stationary bike, and a rowing machine
Complete with gadgets to read my pulse,
And gadgets to prove my progress results,
And others to show the miles I’ve charted—
But they left off the gadget to get me started!
We need dreams, not gadgets.
Ask God for a dream. The best dreams always start with Him. Ask the One who made you to change your heart and open your eyes. Ask permission to see your life through His eyes. Then, turn the page. You’ll be glad you did.
This year was no different. After the hoopla of the holiday season, I found myself at the bottom looking for light at the top.
We took the RV to southern California on December 21. Our daughter Janae and her husband Eric live there. They have been married less than two years, and we were glad to spend time with them. I forgot that it rains a lot in California during the winter. It was cold and damp. I came down with bronchitis on Christmas day. Then it began to rain. Continuously. The roof of the trailer leaked. We came home early.
Happy New Year.
We drove straight home to Arizona on New Year’s Day after attending church. Then we spent another day unpacking the trailer and putting it in storage. On day three of the New Year, I turned the page and began to dream of things to come. Do you dream? In the daytime?
I hope so. Without a dream, a hope of things to come, every New Year becomes a repeat of the old year. A dream runs deeper than resolutions, which are made to be broken. Dorothy Heller wrote a rhyme some years ago, and it really fits here.
I spent a fortune on a trampoline,
A stationary bike, and a rowing machine
Complete with gadgets to read my pulse,
And gadgets to prove my progress results,
And others to show the miles I’ve charted—
But they left off the gadget to get me started!
We need dreams, not gadgets.
Ask God for a dream. The best dreams always start with Him. Ask the One who made you to change your heart and open your eyes. Ask permission to see your life through His eyes. Then, turn the page. You’ll be glad you did.
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