A LIving Nativity Not Forgotten

 

During this season of Advent and the days of December,    I find myself enjoying not just the time now with friends and family but also thinking of  Christmases past.    Unlike Ebenezer Scrooge, I am not haunted by the days of Christmas past.   It is perhaps more accurate to say that I savor it like a freshly made cup of hot chocolate that warms my hands and my throat as I take the first sips of it.   I have always enjoyed seeing a living nativity scene whether  it be by young children in a church sanctuary or by youth and/or adults on selected nights near Christmas.

Around 1970, the youth of my home church decided they wanted to do a living nativity scene for church members and community alike.    There was another church in the northern part of the county was  doing the same, and it gave us the idea.    As we discussed it,  some of the parents said they would help us build a stable.    A group of the younger boys quickly volunteered to be shepherds.   Our youth leader began to assign youth to be the main characters:    Mary, Joseph, and the angels.     One of the youth remembered that Mr. Parks had sheep that we probably could use for the event instead of cardboard cut-outs.   Some of the more creative youth said they would create signs to tell the community that could be posted along the side of the road.    Other youth quickly said that they were certain their Moms would prepare some hot chocolate and goodies for the youth to eat.    A plan was made and a date was set.    We just knew it would be a great event.   

And so, it came to pass that the night for our living nativity scene came.    The signs were posted along the side of the road and the make-shift stable was made including a manger where a baby doll impersonated the baby Jesus.      And lo and behold, people came!    Yet, the living nativity did not turn out as well as we would have liked.    Some of the shepherds got restless and wandered off and so did the sheep.     Unfortunately, the novice shepherds were not very good at their job and one of the sheep wandered into the road.     Some of the wise men got cold, and were more interested in partaking of the hot  chocolate and goodies in the warm fellowship hall.      It was a living nativity, but it was not perfect!

As Christmas approaches, perhaps you are beginning to feel like this will not be a perfect Christmas.    Ones you love will not all be there.     Your pile of bills will be higher than the packages under the tree.    A chair is empty where someone sat last Christmas.    Christmas just does not feel right.    And you know what?     The first Christmas was not perfect either.   Joseph failed to make a reservation in Bethlehem for a room.    Mary must have wished that her Mama was there to be with her when she gave birth.     And the shepherds and sheep!    When the shepherds came to see the newborn Messiah, what happened to those sheep?

 Savor this truth, my friends!     The truth that God is with us!     Our God comes into our world of imperfect people who live imperfect lives.    Merry Christmas to each of you.  Have a joy-filled Christmas.-   Pastor Randy Wall

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PRAYER --  O God,  we rejoice in the truth that God is with us and that Christ Jesus came to save us from our sins.    Thank you for your perfect love that touches our imperfect lives.    We praise you;  through Christ our Lord.    Amen.  

The Autumn of the year, The Autumn of my years

 

I love this time of year!   I love Autumn and Fall.    I particularly love the month of October.     As I have said before,   October is the month when I fell in love with Jesus and fell in love with my wife, Ann.   October often brings us cool morning and warm days….the sight of fields being harvested and the feel of a frosty morning… the smell of burning leaves and of freshly cooked barbecue at a church fund-raiser.  Another thing that Autumn brings is the glorious splendor of leaves as they change to colors of red, orange, and yellow.    What a wonderful experience to drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway under a colored canopy of trees above you or to look from a mountain vista this time of year.    

I am now in the autumn of my life.     I think that is fair to say that I have more years in the past than I have in my future.      Since I am on social security and medicare now,   the government has officially declared that I am old.     I wear my age with a badge of honor as I can name you friends who have gone on to the reward God has for them that I still miss.    I sometimes ask at restaurants if they offer a senior citizen discount and am quick to accept them if they are offered.    I have less hair on my head than I used to, and it is not sandy and blond as it once was.    It is not unusual for me to hear on social media or to read in the obituary pages the names of people who are my peers.      

Despite the fact that I am in the autumn of my life,    I can also declare this:    as the autumn of the year is a beautiful time,  so the autumn of my years is also a beautiful time.    It is nice some nights to stay up late if I want to, and some mornings to sleep a little later.     It is nice to look at my bank account and see retirement monies or social security being deposited into my account.     It is flattering when our children or grandchildren ask me about something in the past years ago  that I seem to be able to remember when sometimes I struggle to remember what I had for dinner 3 nights ago.     It is a joy to still be healthy enough to live on my own, and to some days walk for more than an hour.     It is  a real blessing to leave home for a few days and travel to destinations a few hours away by car or a few hours away by plane and see family, friends, or this beautiful world that God has given us.     Most of all, it is a gift to me to be able to have my wife, Ann, by my side and to share these  days and experiences with her and to have children, grandchildren, and other family that we love and that love us.  

I see and hear once in a while someone making critical  or condescending remarks about senior citizens and the elderly.   I am certain I use to make them also, but now I look in the mirror and realize that person looking back at me is an elder.       And despite the critical remarks I sometimes hear,  I can say with gratitude what a blessing God gives me each day to wake up and live this life in the autumn of my years.      What a beautiful time of year is Autumn, and what a beautiful gift is the autumn of my life.    Have a joy-filled day.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer-   God, thank you for the gift of life.    Help me, O God, to live each day with joy and wonder;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.    Amen.

Filled with the Spirit

 

 

About this time of year last year,   Ann and I were in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the International Hot Air Balloon Festival.     There were over 500 balloons flying in the event from over 12 countries.   One of the gifts of the event is that spectators can interact with the balloon pilots.    One of my high school classmates, Ken Draughn, was one of those pilots and he was kind enough to explain the process of  preparing the balloons for flight to Ann and I. 

As a balloon cannot take flight unless it is filled with hot air, so a follower of Christ cannot soar as a follower of Christ unless they are filled with the Spirit.      We serve a mighty God, who not only calls us to follow Him, but who also enables us to serve Him through the precious gift of His Spirit.   Ephesians 5: 18-19 puts it this way:     

¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

Open your hearts, fellow believers, and allow God to fill you to overflowing with His Spirit.   Have a joy-filled day.-  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --  O God,  fill my cup to overflowing with your love and matchless grace.   Fill us with your Spirit, O God, that we might soar to new heights of following you;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen.     

In the Walls of our House

 

One of the things my wife Ann and I did last year is to build an addition onto our home.   Perhaps it is more accurate to say that Ann and I paid for a general contractor and the persons who work with him to build an addition.    We  built a sun room and an addition to our study to create a bedroom.    You can see the early stages of the building process in the picture above.  

One of the things I did in the building process is that before they installed the insulation in the walls and hung the drywall is that I placed scripture passages and prayers in the walls of the new addition.     I do not know if those prayers and scripture passages will be discovered someday by some construction worker or repair person or not;   that remains to be seen.    I spent time thinking of what scriptures say about that addition and about our home.   I also spent time writing a few prayers for not just our addition, but for  our home in general.   It was an interesting  process that I commend to you.   One of the scripture I printed and placed in the walls of our home addition is found in Psalm 84:4 that says:

 

Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.

 

Now, Biblical scholars would say that the  “house”  referred to in this passage was the temple of the Lord.  I understand that;  however, I want those who dwell in my house to be doing the same.     How about you?    What scripture says what you want to say about your home and abode?     What prayers do you have for your house and its occupants?     I encourage you to spend some time thinking about that.   Perhaps there is a way you can let those scriptures and prayers be shared in your home.   Have a joy-filled day!-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER --  O God,  bless my home and members of my family.    Through your grace and the power of your Spirit, help me to dwell in your house forever;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen.  

What Are You Building On?

About a year ago, the family of faith at Franklinville United Methodist Church faced the horror of the walls of its sanctuary to come tumbling down.    In that same place, I am certain that a pastor or Sunday School teacher had shared the story about the walls of Jericho coming  tumbling down.    Yet, on that tragic day the wall of a church sanctuary where people had gathered to worship God in times of joy and sadness left a hole in that house of God and a hole in the heart of people of God.

Foundations of  buildings are important lest walls come tumbling down.   I was reminded of that last year when we added a small addition onto our home.    The general contractor started with digging  down in the ground to the “good dirt” (as he called it.)   Then, he put steel rods into the ground before feeling the  trenches with concrete.    After that, he had concrete blocks laid.     After the block had set up, he put gravel in the middle on the ground re-enforced with steel rods before concrete was poured again.   It was only after that that the building inspector allowed the general contractor to begin building our new addition.   It took weeks for the foundation to be readied for building.    When you are building a church or you are building a home, it is important that you have a good foundation. 

Jesus knew something about building.  He certainly knew more than I  do.     We read in Matthew 7:  24-27 he told one day about building: 

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

It is important to have a good foundation not just in any building, but also in  your life.   What kind of foundation do you have in your life?     Without a good foundation, things might come tumbling down.    The apostle Paul says that there is no other foundation that can be laid for a Christian than Jesus Christ our Lord.    What are you doing in your life daily to make sure your foundation is sure and steady.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER --  O God,   the old hymn declares “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand”.   Help me to take  the time and effort  to build my life and path on you each and every day;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

Pounding, Pastry, and PDA

 

(Below is a piece I wrote a few months ago as an essay for the North Carolina Senior Games literary competition.)

The year 2024 marks a special anniversary for me as I have now  served as a pastor for 50 years.  I find myself thinking  back to 1974 when I was first appointed as a United Methodist  pastor.   I was young and was  a few semester hours shy of my bachelors degree when I got the call that I was being appointed to serve as a pastor of 3 United Methodist Churches  in a rural area of eastern North Carolina.    There was so much that was new to me in those early days of pastoral ministry.   While my grandparents lived in a rural area,   I did not.  I grew up in a small North Carolina town.    Though I was licensed to preach (or was a candidate for ministry as they call it today) and had served on church staff for two years, I was new to the role of pastor.

After I had been there a few weeks, I heard some of the folks in the church talking about doing a “pounding” of  their new pastor.    When I heard the word “pounding”, it brought thoughts of being pommelled or beaten up.    I wondered what I had done so badly  in a short time that they were going to pound me!   I soon discovered that while I thought “pounding” was a bad thing, it really was a good thing because one day they placed before me “pounds” of sugar, flour, and other household goods that made the grocery bill much lighter.   

In the Fall, we prepared for Homecoming and Revival Services at the 3 churches.    We had Revival Services for 3 weeks in a row and 3 straight Sundays of Homecoming Services.  While the congregation might have been revived, this new pastor was pretty tired after those 3 weeks.    As that first Homecoming Day approaches, some of the folks in the church talked about “pastry”.     As a small town city boy, my idea of pastry was doughnuts, chocolate eclairs, and the like.  I soon discovered that what they called pastry was what we called at our house chicken and dumplings.   Sometimes,  we can live in the same state and  do not speak the same language.    I did not understand what words like “pounding”  and “pastry”  meant in my early months of being a pastor.  

Today,  it is also true that you can be in the same family  and you do not speak the same language.  Though my wife Ann and I have been married for decades,  it is not unusual for us to show each other  affection around the house.   I recall a time when some of our daughters were teenagers  and my wife and I exchanged a hug and kiss in their presence.    As she  witnessed the moment,  our daughter erupted,  “No PDA.”     I did not know what PDA was until they instructed me some time later that it was an abbreviation for “public display of affection.”       

I continue to seek to be  proficient in use of social media, the internet, and text messaging even though it is challenging for me.   When I was young, text was the scripture the pastor would read in Sunday worship and  online is where Mom hung the clothes after washing them on Monday morning.   I see quite often that there is a different language in those spaces.    Sometimes, our daughters will text me “TIA”   or  “TY”.      I thought they were texting me about a person named Tia or a fella named Ty.     Sometimes,  it seems that I am living in a different land.   TIA for reading  and listening.    -    Randy L. Wall

    

PRAYER --  O God,   thank you for memories, and  for the ability to serve you.   Use me to glorify your name today and everyday;  through Christ our Lord. Amen.  

Sarah's Sister Has Died

 

Late one afternoon, I received a call at the parsonage that Sarah’s sister had died.   It was a big deal for Sarah because her sister was also her room-mate at the rest home that both of them called home.   It was a big deal for me because it was my first death call as a pastor.   As a new pastor and as a 20 year old young adult, death was not something I was very familiar with.  Oh, yes.  I had attended the funeral of one grandparent and I had known the death of a couple of peers during  high school.   Yet, I was awkward around death  just as I was at the fact that many people in that rural community called me “preacher”.

I knew enough to make my way to see Sarah at the nursing home  as her pastor.   Nursing home staff showed me to where Sarah was in the nursing home.   (She was not in her room as the staff and funeral home folks were doing what they had to do.)   Of course, I offered my sympathy to Sarah on the death of her sister.   Clumsily, I made small talk with her.  After a few minutes, I asked what would be meaningful to her and she asked me if I would  read Psalm 23.   I can still remember when I  got to part in the Psalm that says “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me….” I looked over at Sarah and I saw tears streaming down her face.   After I read Psalm 23, I  offered to have a prayer with Sarah and she gladly consented.     I do not remember the substance  of my prayers, and any words that I prayed.   What I remember most is that I was there with Sarah in her hour of need seeking my best to be a pastor.   

My first death call as a pastor happened almost 50 years ago.    That kind of call as a pastor has been repeated many times since then.   What I learned that day is that the best thing that you can give someone in their hour of need as a disciple of Christ Jesus  is not some “magic words” but your presence.  As Gibran said many years ago:   “You may forget those people you laugh with, but you will never forget those you cry with.”      Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --  O God,   thank you for the truth that you are with us in our good times and our bad times.  As a follower of Christ Jesus,  give me the courage and wisdom to be your  ambassador  to those  I encounter who are in need of  your love;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.

 

What's Wrong with Uncle Charlie?

 

Next month will mark the 50^th anniversary of my service  as a pastor.    In some ways, it does not seem like it has been 50 years;  however, when I look at how the world and I have changed it almost seems like it has been much longer.

One of the people that was a member of the first congregation that I served as a pastor was a man that was affectionately called “Uncle Charlie.”   During the week,  I would often see him wearing his bib overalls in his comings and goings through the community and to the church.   On Sundays, he would wear his seersucker suit, white shirt, and bow tie to church.  What I remember most about Uncle Charlie is not the old Chevrolet he drove or the fact that he still liked to grind his coffee beans in his coffee grinder every morning  before he made his coffee.   What stood out for me about Uncle Charlie is what else he wore to church.   On the lapel of his suit he wore a long line of perfect attendance pins for Sunday School.   I do not remember the specifics, but I know it was certain that Uncle Charlie had over 10 years of perfect attendance in Sunday School.     He wore them as a badge of honor just as does any member of our nation’s military wears their pins and ribbons.

I wonder what was wrong with Uncle Charlie that he was always in Sunday School and worship every Sunday?    Did he not  get sick, or simply want to stay home in his pajamas  and watch worship on a local television station   (there was not cable television in those days)?   Did Charlie never go away for the weekend to the beach or the mountains or some other vacation destination?    

What was wrong with Uncle Charlie that he was always in worship and Sunday School every Sunday for years and years?    Perhaps it was not  so much that something was wrong with Uncle Charlie as that something was right with Uncle Charlie, and what was right is that his actions and attendance said that gathering regularly at church was an important part of his life and a needed part of  the  life for a follower of Christ Jesus.    

How about you?     Is worship and gathering for Bible study with fellow Christians to learn about the Bible   (e.g. Sunday School) an important part of your life?    It is not enough to say so;    it is most important to let your actions and example show the same.    Sunday is coming again in a matter of days.   Perhaps I will see you there.  Have a joy-filled day.-  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --  O God,  I thank for the Church of Jesus Christ, and for Christ Jesus, the foundation of the church.   Help me, God, to show the importance of worship not just in my words but regularly in my actions.  Amen.  

Keep On Whistlin'

 

Back in the early 1970’s,  I went to Duke University for a youth rally in Page Auditorium and heard a man speak named Tex Evans.  In 1969, he founded a program called the Appalachian Service Project which is a program where youth come to rural Appalachia to do home repairs on persons in rural Appalachia.  Even though it was over 50 years ago, I still remember that the title of Evans talk was “get your hands dirty” and that he talked about how it was not enough to tell others about Christ Jesus, but that we also needed to be people that showed our faith in how we reached out to others especially for the “least of these” by getting our hands dirty.   Tex Evans inspired me that day to be in mission and I have lived that out in so many ways.   

Tex Evans started  his ministry in the mountains and tells a story about one day when some of his fellow parishioners asked to go up the road  in a holler above the general store to see a couple that lived there.    Even though Evans was told that the family were Baptist, he did not mind.   When Tex got to their  home, he found the man working outside in the yard and saw a woman sitting on the porch.    As Evans talked to the man in the yard, he noticed that he would do something that seemed a little out of the ordinary.     Every now and then, the man would stop talking and whistle.    Tex thought it seemed a little odd and finally he got up the courage  to ask why he  would stop talking and go to whistling.     The man replied to Tex Evans saying this:   “You see my wife sitting there on the porch?    What you can’t tell from here is that she is blind.   She cannot see.    I stop my talking and let out a whistle every now and then to remind her that though she cannot see me I am near by.”

There are a lot of people that are blind in this world.   Some are blind to be able to see a sunrise or sunset, the faces of family and friends.  Others are spiritually blind to the truth that Christ lives.   They cannot  see him like they can see the material things they possess or maybe even possess them.    If we believe in Christ and are His followers, it is our joyous task to keep whistling.   Let the spiritually blind know the wonderful truth that Christ lives and is near.    Have a joy-filled week.    He is risen.-   Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --  O God,  I  praise you for the good news that Christ Jesus is raised from the dead and that as one of His followers I am one of the Easter people.   Thank you for the joyous task to share the resurrection story with others.    Praise you,  God and Father.   Amen.

 

Striking Out

 

In my last blog, I spoke about major league baseball.       As I write this, major league baseball is in midst of Spring training.   Pre-season baseball games are being held in Florida and Arizona which means that the regular season of major league baseball is not far away.  Not long ago, I reviewed the statistics on what major league baseball player holds the record for most strikeouts in their career.    According to Wilkipedia,  Reggie Jackson holds the distinction of striking out the most times as he  sought to hit the ball.    Why, Reggie Jackson struck out a grand total of 2,597 times.   That is a lot of times striking out in the batters box.    As I reviewed the list of hitters who had the most strikeouts, I noticed something significant:  most, if not all, the baseball players who had lots of strikeouts as batters are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  

Baseball players are not the only ones that mess up.   So does every person.   None of us are perfect and sometimes we fail, make mistakes, or sin.  We miss the mark!  The apostle Paul speaks about that and the hope that we have when we strike out in Romans 3:22-24:

²² God’s righteousness through the faithfulness of Jesus^[a] the Messiah^[b]— for all who believe. For there is no distinction among people,^[c] 23 since all have sinned and continue to fall short of God’s glory. ²⁴ By his grace they are justified freely through the redemption that is in the Messiah^[d] Jesus,

In baseball and life, each of us sometimes falter, fail, mess up, or strike out.   But thanks be to God, we are justified and redeemed through Christ Jesus.     During this season of Lent, that is what the cross and Good Friday is all  about.  While Reggie Jackson and so many others went from striking out  to reaching the Baseball Hall of Fame, followers of  Christ have the resurrection hope of Easter and eternal life.   Thanks be to God.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER --  O God,  I am a sinner.   So many times, I have failed to be the person you have called me to be.    Thank you for the bountiful, amazing grace that is found in the cross of Christ Jesus for  all who humble themselves before you and confess their sins;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

Keeping Your Eyes on the Ball

 

The month of February is the shortest month of the year.   Though it only lasts 28 days most years, it  holds several important events.    For the sports fan,  February is the time when the Super Bowl takes place.    Ash Wednesday is on February 14 this year as Christians begin the journey of Lent.   For the romanctically inclined,  February 14 is also  Valentines Day when persons have license to show their  love for people that are important in life.    There is something else that happens in February that perhaps does get as much attention as these other February events and it is this:   the beginning of Spring training for Major League Baseball.    While I certainly would not say that I am a good baseball player, I always look forward to the beginning of Spring training  knowing  that means that baseball season is not far away.   One of the things that every baseball  player  knows is fundamental in playing  baseball is this:  keep your eye on the ball.    If you take your eye off the ball, you are apt to miss getting a hit or catching a ball.

 There has been a lot going on in the life of Church in recent years.   For several years,   Church leaders have had to  balance health issues and  church life and practice due to COVID.   Should we have worship in person or not?    Should we have other church events in person or only virtually?     Church leaders have had to educate themselves on health issues along with being experts in theology and Biblical studies.    For those of the United Methodist persuasion, recent years have brought  division that has led to questions  of whether each of us and our church will remain a United Methodist Church or disaffiliate.   In the midst of this time,  perhaps we in  church leadership  have  sometimes taken our eye off the ball and been distracted from our main focus which is this:   serving God and our neighbor for the transformation of the world.    

 Baseball players and Christ followers alike, keep your eyes on the ball.   Maintain your focus.  As someone said many years ago, “let us keep the main thing the main thing.”     May God help all of us in His Church to keep our focus on our mission to serve  God and neighbor for the transformation of the world.   Have a joy-filled week-   Pastor Randy Wall 

 PRAYER --  O God,  thank you  for your love for us and your calling to be your followers.  Through the power of your Spirit, help us to keep our focus on loving you and serving others; in Christ’s name I pray.  Amen. 

 

2024: New Year, New Me

 

2024.   I am still not used to saying that.   2024 is a milestone year.    Some of you will remember that 50 years ago (in 1974) Richard Nixon resigned from office as President of the United States.   This year is a milestone year for  me as it is the 50^th anniversary of some things in my life.   Back in 1974   (50 years ago), I graduated from college with a B.A. in religion and also became the pastor of a local church for the first time.

            Life is different now than 50 years ago.  Let me give you a few examples:

1.        In 1974,  the house I lived in had only a telephone that I  spoke on that was attached to a wire that ran to the house and that line was shared by other people in nearby homes (a party line).    Today, I speak to people on a phone I carry in my pocket.

2.        In 1974,  on line was where we hung the clothes after they washed in the washing machine.    Today, online is where you send email, check your bank balance, or order a pizza or  clothing as  you are on the internet.

3.        In 1974,   you could participate in worship only one way and that is by attending in person.   Today, you can attend worship by going on youtube, Facebook live, or some other platform. 

          I find myself in these days thinking of that passage of scripture that says:  “Behold, I make all things new.”   Thanks be to God for giving us a new year and a new day.    While I am grateful for a new year and to be celebrating 50 years as a pastor this year,  I find myself wanting more than to look back to the past.   I want to look to the future, and as I look to the future I  yearn to be different and to be new.   I am reminded of a quote I came across several years ago that says:   “Be the change you want to see.”    I  realize that the place I need to start in seeing the world is different is through being different.    Here are a few things I will pursue in 2024 in my quest to be new and different:

I want to spend  more time looking for the good and potential in others and less time in seeing their faults and weaknesses

I want to tell at least one person a day that “I love them”

If I post anything on social media, I will try everyday to post something that is positive and encouraging

I want to stop more and see the beauty in the world God has created and I want to listen more to God in my prayers

2024.   New year, new me.   What say you?   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall 

PRAYER --  O God,  thank you the gift of this new year and new day. Create a clean heart in me, O God;   through Christ our Lord.  Amen.