Reporting For Duty

Another Veterans Day has come and gone here in the United States.   While we share some of our  holidays  with people around the world,  Veterans Day is a distinctively American holiday.   On that day, we honor those who have served our nation’s call to arms in times of war and peace.   While it is related to Memorial Day, it is different in that Memorial Day focuses on those who died in military service while Veterans Day focuses on those who served and returned.  Like many of you, I have relatives who  served in the military in days past and currently have a son-in-law who serves in the United States Army.  In recent days,  I have been thinking of an old hymn that includes these words:

Am I am soldier of the cross- A follower of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own His cause, Or blush to speak His name?/  In the name, the precious name, Of Him who died for me, Through grace I’ll win the promised crown, Whate’er my cross may be.  

One of the things that is critical for those in military service is following orders of their commanding officer.  Failure to follow orders can result not only in the charge of insubordination at a minimum but also  the loss of life at the worse.   As Jesus faced his own crucifixion, he put it this way as he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane:  “not my will, but thine be done.”.     Are we faithful soldiers of the cross or do we face the charge of insubordination to God our Father?    

The Salvation Army was founded by a British lay preacher named William Booth.   He used the metaphor of being a soldier of the cross in his work for the Kingdom of God.    One of the things that the  Salvation Army has always focused on is working with the least and the lost among us.    William Booth put the cause of being a solder of the cross this way:

"While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight; while little children go hungry, as they do now, I'll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I'll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight-I'll fight to the very end!" 

Can Christ Jesus count on you in the fight to touch the least and the lost?   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

            Prayer: Holy God, there are so many people that need to know the touch of your love.  I am reporting for duty.  Use me, Lord;  in Christ’s name.  Amen.  

Little Things, Big Results

Our clothes dryer at our home  was not working correctly.  The dryer door would not stay shut.  While I recall days in my life  when we did not have a clothes dryer at our house, today there are no clothes lines at our house or in our neighborhood.  The problem with the dryer was a small, but important one:  the small door latch had broken off.   After discovering that the dryer was no longer under warranty, we discovered on the internet not only a company that sold a dryer latch kit for under $5 but also a video that showed how to fix the problem.  In a couple of days, the dryer latch kit arrived at our home and the problem was fixed in a matter of minutes

That experience has had me thinking in recent days about the importance of little things.  The performance of that clothes dryer was dependent on a dryer latch that cost  a retail price of less than $5 and took less than 5 minutes to install.   I believe that the effectiveness of our Christian witness as a church and individuals is also dependent on little things.  It costs no money to share a smile, a warm welcome, or to make a phone call.  It costs little money to send a card to a friend or stranger who is sick and needs encouragement, or to prepare a plate of cookies for a new neighbor.  Yet, what a big effect those little things can have on the friend or stranger at our church, in our neighborhood, or in our workplace.

The apostle Paul uses the human body as a metaphor to make a point about the importance of little things in the body of Christ, the Church.   If you have ever had a toothache or a splinter in a finger, you know well that little things can have a big effect.   In I Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul puts it this way:

¹⁴ For the body does not consist of only one part, but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot says, “Since I’m not a hand, I’m not part of the body,” that does not make it any less a part of the body, does it? ¹⁶ And if the ear says, “Since I’m not an eye, I’m not part of the body,” that does not make it any less a part of the body, does it? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body^[e] were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But now God has arranged the parts, every one of them, in the body according to his plan.^[f] 19 Now if all of it were one part, there wouldn’t be a body, would there? ²⁰ So there are many parts, but one body.

 There are many people who lament the money or the talents they do not have to make a difference.  Perhaps we need to look not so much at the big things we do not have, but at little things we have and can do to make a difference.  Have a joy-filled week.- Pastor Randy Wall

            Prayer:  Lord and God, thank you  for the grace and goodness you have given me every day of my life.  Help me take action today to touch somebody in your name;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

A Communion of Saints

It is a new month we call November.   A general election is only days away and candidates of many different persuasions are making their  final case of why you should vote for them.  The month of October just ended with Halloween and the fun that offers for the young and old.  Amid all that is going on, it is easy to forget the importance of November 1 on the Christian calendar.   November 1 is All Saints Day.  Protestant traditions don’t have a path to sainthood like our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters.  Those that associate sainthood with living a life without blemish perhaps shudder at the mention of the very possibility that someone could be a saint.   Despite such objections,  All Saints Day has become more important in my journey as a Christian in recent years. 

We say we believe in the “communion of saints” in the creed we call “The Apostles Creed”, one of the oldest affirmations of faith in our Christian tradition.  What do we believe about that communion of saints?    Here is what I believe about the communion of saints.    I am grateful for the lives of followers of Christ that have gone before me who now know their final rest in the Lord.  None of us is without blemish, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.   Yet, I am grateful for the saints  for the  memory of their  words and example are a source of inspiration for me as I seek to follow Christ now. The faith that I have in Christ has been formed and shaped by their lives. Their lives made a difference in my life.    I give thanks to God for them.  I am reminded of the words of Hebrews 12:1-2   which says:

Therefore, having so vast a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, and throwing off everything that hinders us and especially the sin that so easily entangles^[a] us, let us keep running with endurance the race set before us, ² fixing our attention on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of the faith, who, in view of^[b] the joy set before him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

            Do you believe in the communion of saints?   What do you believe about them?   Amid the busyness of these days,   I encourage you and myself to take time to ponder that.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

            Prayer:  Lord,  I  give you thanks for the lives of the saints who now know eternal rest in you. May their lives inspire me to greater heights of serving you;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

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.