Thanks, Whoever You Are!

Though it is late June, the memories of  recent high school and college graduations still linger. Congratulations to all the graduates, and to their families.   I got to thinking the other day about when I graduated from high school and prepared to go to college.  Though my Mom got her high school diploma through the GED program and never went to college, she instilled in me the importance of education.   Consequently, I can remember at age 11 going to the local bank and opening a savings account to save money for college.    In August 1971, I was excited as the time for my time to go to college came close and I prepared to attend Methodist College (now Methodist University) in Fayetteville.   A few weeks before I was to head to college, the bill came in the mail for the cost of the first semester.   It was much more than our family had anticipated.  Since I was the first in   my family to head to college, I believe that all of us was not sure that a semester was half a school year instead of the full school year.   Consequently, the amount of monies our family was to have to pay was double what we had anticipated.  I can remember sitting down at the dinner table on the day that bill came in the mail and my Mom crying as she realized that we were $500 short of the money needed for me to go to college. 

I was working that summer at Burlington Industries in Burlington.  I can remember during my lunch break the next day finding a quiet place at work and praying about our financial dilemma.  Despite my anxiety, I believed that if  God wanted me to go to college and become a pastor that a way would be provided for me to go.     I noticed a day or so after that a flyer on one of the bulletin boards at Burlington Industries about a loan program that they had to assist college students.    I inquired about it even though the date had passed for applications.   I spoke to my supervisor about my situation, and was overjoyed when Burlington Industries agreed to loan me $500 to go to college that Fall!  Through the graciousness of folks at Burlington Industries bending the rules after the deadline, God did provide.  

I could not tell you the names of the people at Burlington Industries that made the decisions and broke the rules so I could begin my college career.   What I do know is that my life has been filled with a legion of  un-named, unknown  persons who blessed me through their graciousness and generosity.      In John 6, we hear of a time when an un-named boy shares bread and fish that Jesus uses to feed thousands of people.   While many of us marvel at the miracle of what Jesus does with a few loaves and fish,  let us not forget the anonymous boy who generously shared what he had.     I give thanks for the many anonymous people at Burlington Industries long ago and through the years who  blessed me through their generosity.   I suspect you can say the same.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O God, my life is littered with so many people who have blessed me through their kindnesses.    I cannot thank them all, but I thank you now for them.  As I  have been blessed, grant that I might bless others;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

45 years and Counting!

Randy Wall-  1974

I will make a trip this week west to a place called Lake Junaluska as I attend the Western NC Annual Conference Session.    For those who are not of religious or United Methodist persuasion, Lake Junaluska is located about 30 miles west of Asheville near Waynesville.  United Methodists have a retreat center there by the Lake with the grandeur of the Great Smoky Mountains in the background.    Annual Conference is a unique combination of family reunion, business meeting, and camp meeting all rolled into one.  

This month marks an anniversary for me as I celebrate my 45^th anniversary as a local church pastor.     To give you an idea how long ago I started this journey, when I became a pastor Richard M. Nixon was President… gas was less than one dollar a gallon… and online was the place you placed your clothes to dry after you had washed them in the washing machine.   I was a young man and single when  I first became a pastor.   Now, I am married, semi-retired, and have four grown children and six grandchildren.   It is and has been quite a journey through joys and sorrows that were my own and that I had a chance to witness as I have served people and congregations across the Tar Heel state.     The greatest joy of all is to meet so many wonderful people whose faith and stories that have inspired me.   So often, I have been ministered unto instead of ministering.  

There will be times of reflection for me as I attend the Annual Conference Session this week.   As I see men and women began their journey in ministry, I will reflect and renew my vows to preach, teach, and share the good news of Christ in word and deed.   As I hear the names of those pastors who are retiring and pastors and their wives who have died in the past year,  I will give thanks for how many of them touched my life and mentored me.   As the Bishop reads the names of those appointed as pastor,  I will give thanks for the awesome privilege I have to serve as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ  with the good folk at Ann Street United Methodist Church in Concord.     Thanks be to God!   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

  

Prayer:   O God, thank you for the fact that you have called all of us to share the good news of Jesus Christ.   Thanks to those who serve through Word, Sacrament, and order as pastors.  Use them as your instruments;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

Happy Mother's Day, Dad!

Rory Feek is a singer/songwriter who lives in the Nashville area.   If you are a country music fan, you may have seen him perform or heard one of his songs on the radio.   He is also an author.  I recently listened to the reading of his book Once Upon a Farm.  Rory shares in the book that there was a time in his life when he was a single parent.    As Mother’s Day approached, one of his daughters made him a Mother’s Day card where they said “Happy Mother’s Day, Dad”.   

I can relate to that story as there was a season of my life when I was a single parent to two daughters in the house.    It was a challenging time in many ways.    For example,  I recall taking my daughter, Ginger, to a department store because it had come that time in her life when she needed to be wearing a bra.   I felt about as out of place helping my daughter buy a bra as perhaps a cat would feel at a dog show. 

I share a bit of the story of Rory Feek and my own story to not solicit sympathy for either myself or Rory Feek, but to offer a salute to the many persons who find themselves as mothers or fathers for a season of their life  who did not ask for the job of parenting at all or who are parenting all by themselves.  I think, today, of the Grandparents raising grandchildren… the single parent who lost a spouse through sickness, tragedy, or  divorce… the spouse left behind while their husband or wife is deployed with our nation’s military.     

One of the unsung heroes to me in the gospels is Joseph, the husband to Mary and the step-father of Jesus.   While we hear about Mary nearby when Jesus was crucified, we hear nothing about Joseph.    Biblical scholars believe that Joseph was much older than Mary and that he died between the time Jesus was 12 years old and the time that Jesus began his ministry.    I wonder if perhaps the reason why Jesus waited till his early 30’s to begin his ministry was partly so he could help take care of his mother since Joseph had died. 

 Fathers Day is approaching soon and Mother’s Day is a recent memory.   I know  people approach Father’s Day and Mother’s Day with differing feelings.   Some have fond memories of their parents and good relationships with their children.  Others feel differently.  If you are a parent raising children not your own or you are a parent raising children right now all by yourself, I salute you and give thanks for you.   Perhaps Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph, the stepfather of Jesus, would understand your circumstance.  Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall   

Prayer:   O God, who we call Father:   we give you thanks for your love that never lets us go.   We pray for those in these days who face the challenging job of parenting.   Give them the strength of your Spirit to be fathers and mothers you would have them to be;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

I Wish I Was More Like My Car

Ann and I bought a new car last month.   It is a 2019 Hyundai Tucson.   One of the features the car has is that it helps you stay in your lane of the road.   When the car drifts toward the center line or toward the shoulder, this feature will literally help keep the car in your lane by gently helping the steering wheel go the correct way.   When you drift out of your lane, this feature  will prompt a beeping sound.  

This feature is not one that we chose when we bought the car.   It simply was a part of the package.   To be perfectly honest, I don’t need it when I am driving with Ann by my side because she does a pretty good job of making sure I stay on the road… in my lane… and at a safe speed. 

I wish I was more like my car.   I  wish this feature on our car that keeps you in the right lane without veering left or right was more innate inside me.   Sometimes, I drift off the path that God wants me to travel.    Sometimes, I get distracted and go on another path instead of the path God desires me to follow.     There are times that I can say as Psalm 119:176 puts it:  “I have strayed like a lost sheep.”       

How good it is to know that when I stray like a lost sheep that there is  a “Good Shepherd” who knows my name and seeks me out.       How glad I am that this “Good Shepherd” loves me not because I always stay on the “straight and narrow”, but because I am his child.   Guess what?   That same “Good Shepherd” loves you too.    Give me a call or send me a message and I will take you for a ride in my new car.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O God, whose son Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd:   forgive us for the many times we stray from the life you have given us.   Thank you for your love that seeks us out like a shepherd seeking a wandering sheep;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.  

Church Attendance Could Be Hazardous

I was born and bred in North Carolina.   The North Carolina of my youth was a state where tobacco was a big part of the economy.     I believe that it was in the 1960’s when the United States surgeon general and Congress took the lead to put on all cigarette packages that “smoking could be hazardous to your health”.     I  can recall some pastors using that warning in a positive way to encourage worship attendance claiming that worship attendance was not hazardous to your health and that even infrequent worship-goers did not have to worry about the roof falling in when they walked through the church doors.  

Now, it seems that worship attendance has become hazardous to your health.   In the last few weeks, I have heard of new incidents where shooters have entered places of worship in the United States and beyond killing or  injuring worshippers.    These are in the aftermath of similar events in recent years in places like Charleston, SC and Sutherland Springs, Texas.   I lament the fact that a place that should be a sanctuary in every sense of the word becomes a place of violence.  

I have heard the calls on social media for new gun control measures and increasing mental health assessments.   I have also heard those who argue against such measures.  I appreciate the effort that law enforcement officials are making to assist  church leaders to increase security measures.  I went several months ago to a seminar by our local police department for church leaders seeking to educate them on some inexpensive and expensive ways they can make their houses of worship more secure.

The purpose of this blog entry is to not to advocate for or against such measures though I am sure that there are folks reading this would like for that not be the case.   The purpose of this blog entry is advocate for  this important truth:  when we  truly love, we always make ourselves vulnerable for the potential of hurt or harm.     When we love enough to welcome someone into our place of worship, into our life, or into our heart, there is always the possibility that we might get hurt.    

Therefore, I will continue week after week to face the possibility that attending worship might be hazardous to my health  seeking to follow the One who opened his arms wide in love to hang on a cross.   Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    Loving God, we grieve those who in days present and days past have suffered harm in places of worship.    Give the body of Christ, the Church, the courage to open their arms and hearts wide with your love to all who come their way;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

The Church is Closing

One of the sad developments in the area where I live is that there have been several churches closing in recent months.   While it might be common in your area to see churches close, it is not common where I live here in the Bible belt.   None of these churches are new church starts.   A matter of fact, all of these churches have been around for many years and are United Methodist Churches.      I suspect that there are other churches in our area that have closed that are not United Methodist Churches.  

While I grew up in a time when it appeared that “everybody” went to church (or so I thought), such is not the case anymore.   I read recently that worship attendance in churches is at an all time low.    A recent CNN report states that the majority of Americans label themselves as “irreligious”.    If these reports are true, perhaps we should not be surprised that churches are closing

In Matthew 16: 17-19 we read these words of Jesus about Peter and the church:

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter,^[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^[b] will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[d] loosed in heaven.

Note that these words of Jesus say “my church”.  It does not say “your church”.   I believe that the Church of Christ Jesus will always last and always endure.  I am afraid that the same cannot be said about any church that we seek to make into our own image instead of the image of Christ Jesus.  It is easy for us to point fingers and  blame others that churches are closing.   We can blame that fact on changing demographics or lament the eroding morals of our country.   Some would want to blame religious leaders and the “young people” of our community who choose not to involve themselves in a church.   Before we are quick to point fingers as the reason that churches are closing, perhaps we need to ask ourselves this question:     What have I done or not done that has led to the state of the churches in my community today?

I remember a visit I made to a home when I was new in pastoral ministry.   The man received me into his home and began to give a long list of things that were wrong with the church.   I listened intently to his list of complaints.   Even though that encounter has now been over 40 years ago, I still remember my reply.  It was this:   “Sir, much that you say is true.   Come join us at the church and lets change that together.”    That man did not accept my challenge or invitation.  Will you?   Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O God, I pray for leaders of the churches in my community and  the world.  Help them to be faithful to your calling and be a Light for you;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

They Sure Did Cry

Even though it has been almost 25 years ago since I lived there, I still miss living in the North Carolina mountains. I particularly miss the people that I had the priviledge to know and serve in that beautiful part of the world.  One of those people is Wylene Graybeal.   She was filled with stories of the people and events of those mountain villages and towns.   One day, she told me a story about one of her school teachers who got the idea that she wanted to test the Bible knowledge of her students.  As she called the roll in class that school morning,  she asked the students to not say “here” or “present”, but to recite a Bible verse.   One student recited that passage that begins “God so loved the world…”   Another student recited the first words of Psalm 23 which say “The Lord is my shepherd…”.     When they came to Ernest, he recited John 11:35 which is known as the shortest verse in the Bible.  “Jesus wept.”     As the name of the next student was called,  he apparently had limited knowledge of the Bible for when the teacher called his name he exclaimed “He sure did.”

“Jesus wept.”    He certainly did.   While that verse in John’s gospel is perhaps best known because it is the shortest verse of the Bible,   I believe that there is much that is said in those two words.     The fact that Jesus wept shows the humanity of Jesus.  The fact that Jesus cries shows that truly he was God and man, divine and human.  I recall watching an old western on television many years ago.   Like some of the old westerns in years past, it had this underlying theme from some of the characters that native Americans were “animals” and “savages”.   There was a scene near the end of the episode where one of the native American characters is experiencing the loss of their family members.   As tears stream down the cheeks of this native American character, the hero of the western exclaims,  “You call this man an animal or savage.   No, his tears show that he is as human as you and I.      There is not a human alive who has not cried or shed tears.   The tears of Jesus show that truly he knew the fullness of the human experience.  

Jesus wept.  He sure did.   That passage also shows the truth that God weeps with us and for us.   That passage in John 11 is a part of the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  As God and man, Jesus knew the “rest of the story” that in a matter of minutes Lazarus would be raised from the dead.  Yet, in that moment he cries with his friends, Mary and Martha,  knowing their sorrow over the loss of their beloved brother, Lazarus.  What comfort to know that in the midst of our grief, loss, trouble, trial, and heartache that the God we know in Christ Jesus weeps with us and for us.  May that truth bring hope and comfort for us when sadness comes our way.    Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   Living and loving God, we give you thanks that because Christ Jesus lived among us that you understand the full human experience.   We pray for those this day who know heartache and trouble.   Help them to know the truth that you are with them and that you understand;; through Christ our Lord.   Amen.