The Opportunity of Hurricaine Matthew

Many of you like myself have watched with sadness the havoc that Hurricaine Matthew created a few weeks ago on the east coast.   The television news and newspapers have told us the stories of the flooding, lives lost, and homes damaged.    For those like myself who live in the Carolinas, this storm is not a news story far away.  No, it is up close and personal.  When I hear how the storm affected places like Kinston, Lumberton, Fair Bluff, Charleston, and the like,  I think of people I personally know who live and love  in those areas.

I am reminded of an encounter I had with a person in the congregation that I had the priviledge to serve.  We were talking that day about a gentleman in that congregation who was facing heart bypass surgery.   A matter of fact,  I believe it was the first time I had ever heard of such a surgery.   Since heart bypass surgery was a new procedure and since the man was in critical condition,  there was some question of whether he would even survive the surgery.    As we lamented the health and surgery of our brother in Christ,  I lamented how sad it was that Vernon was in such critical condition.  Alvin startled me when he responded to my comment by saying:   “It is sad, Randy.   However, it is also a wonderful opportunity for us to be the Church in his time of need.”

That comment is surely appropriate as our friends and neighbors seek to rebuild their lives after Hurricaine Matthew.    While it is immensely sad for them, what a wonderful opportunity for us to be the face and hands of Christ right now in the midst of this disaster.   I encourage you to pray for those who are recovering from this vicious storm and for the relief workers now and in the coming months.   Finally,  give as you are able to the church or charity of your choice to help out.  Richly we have been given, and now richly let us give.  Have a joy-filled week.-    Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  Lord,  I pray for those who continue to recover from the damaging effects of  the hurricaine.  Bless them and use my hands and gifts to make a difference in their lives right now;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.  

Maybe More than BBQ, Candy, and Crafts

There are many churches who are having all sorts of events this Fall.   The list of events includes bazaars, craft sales,  barbecue sales,  Fall festivals, trunk and treat events, and Homecomings.   There will be lots of food, fun, and fellowship.   There will also be many people roaming church campuses for these events  who are not there when the church doors open on Sunday morning. 

As a pastor, I know well that it is easy for church leadership to get so consumed by the plans and preparation for these events that they forget that they afford a greater and grander purpose:   such events offer the body of Christ the opportunity to introduce themselves and faith to people who might not be so well acquainted with Christ and His Church.   You see,  there are many people who come to Christ and His Church not through the front door into the sanctuary, but through a back door that leads to a church event in the fellowship hall, the kitchen, or the like.    I am a living testimony to that truth.    My first attendance at my local United Methodist Church was not for Sunday worship, but for events like scout meetings and Vacation Bible School. 

In John 4,  we read about a chance encounter that Jesus had with a Samaritan woman at the well.    Jesus and this woman came to the well for the same reason:   to get water.   As some folks visit a church in these days for candy, games, or barbecue,  this woman at the well did not have faith or God on her mind.  She simply wanted water to drink.     This woman left that well with a taste of something else:  the living water that Christ offered.   Sometimes,  people get more than they bargained for when they come on a church campus.    What they get might not be what they were looking for, but it might be the faith and the Christ that their soul and spirit surely needed.   Remember that,  church folks,  in the events that happen on your campuses in these Fall days.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  Lord and God,  grant that your love might shine through all that we do in our lives and in our churches in these days.  Help us to get out of the way and let Christ Jesus show through us; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

A Fake Fisherman

I was first introduced to fishing on the Carolina coast in the Fall 1974 while I was serving in my first appointment as a pastor when I was invited to fish with some of the men of the congregation at Surf City.  We made the 90 minute trip from Sampson County to Onslow County and fished in the surf.   Though I had fished many times in ponds and lakes as a boy and a young man, that was the first time I recall fishing on the coast.  Even though I don’t believe I caught a single fish all day,  I was “hooked”  (pun intended) with coastal fishing and have been doing the same since then. 

I was thinking the other day about my next door neighbor to the parsonage there who went fishing at the Carolina coast that Fall.    Unfortunately,  his fishing fortunes were not very good as he (like my first coastal fishing trip)  did not catch a single fish that day.  The  poor fishing success of my neighbor  may have been because he had a beer in his hand that day more often than he had a fishing rod.   To soften the blow with his wife that he came home from his fishing trip inebriated, my neighbor stopped at a fish market where he proceeded to buy fish so he could act like he had caught fish.   You might say that he was a fake fisherman.  He was in the right place and he had the right equipment, but he had the wrong result. 

One day along the Sea of Galilee,  Jesus exclaimed to Peter, Andrew, James, and John to “follow me and I will make you fishers of people.”      Like my neighbor long ago, there are many followers of Jesus who  are in the right place to fish for people in their  neighborhoods, their schools, or their work places.  While my neighbor had his fishing poles and fishing tackle, fishers for people have some faith, Bibles, and the love of Christ.  However, there are too many fishers for people who are getting the wrong result.  Wow to any who are fake fishers for men and women.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  Holy God, you have given us the priviledge to share in your kingdom work.  Give us faith and courage  for your work and fruits from our labor;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Thoughts about Election Day

               In just a few weeks, people in our community will enter the voting booth to elect persons to serve  our community, state, and nation.   In these days, we are bombarded with messages from the candidates as we drive down the road,  open our local newspaper, and turn on the television.     In these messages, we often hear about the virtues of the candidates for office and the vices of their opponents. 

            We are in a position unlike the fathers and mothers of our faith that we read about in the scriptures.   While we who live in a democracy choose our leaders, the Israelites and the early Christians did not choose their leaders.  No, their leaders were chosen by God.   Israel did not choose Saul to be its first king;  no,  God chose Saul.   David, often considered to be one of the greatest Kings in the history of Israel, was not chosen by the general populace.  No,  God chose David even as a boy to be king of Israel.   Things did not change when Christ Jesus came. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were not chosen by their communities to be disciples;  no, they were chosen by Christ Jesus.  We read in the early pages of Acts that when the disciples chose a replacement disciple for Judas, they did not vote but cast lots for the replacement believing that the Lord God would guide the process. 

            All of us will hear a lot in the next few weeks  about all the candidates for office and from the candidates.   Some may have heard more than we would like to hear.   As a person of faith, I suggest to you that I need to hear from someone else:  God.   Who would God have us choose to be the leaders of our community, state, and nation?

            Below are some questions I am prayerfully asking myself in these days.  I encourage all people of faith to do the same.  Those questions are as follows:

Which candidates are ones that personify the great commandment of loving God and neighbor?

Which candidates for office espouse an agenda that seeks what is fair and just for the most people?

Which candidates live a life that shows Christ Jesus?

            Let us pray for our community, state, and nation during these election days.  Let us pray for ourselves that God will give us wisdom beyond ourselves.  -Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  Lord and God,  we did not choose you, but you chose us to be your disciples.  Give us grace and wisdom for choosing our leaders in these days; through Christ our Lord. Amen.