CLARK'S CORNER

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2011-02-01T06:54:00.004-05:00

Tuesday February 1, 2011

Recently in my Quiet Time Devotions I ran across a saying by Max Lucado; “Faith is a desperate dive out of the sinking boat of human effort and a prayer that Jesus will be there to pull you out of the water.” Of course it fit in pretty neatly with where I was reading, Matthew chapter 14. I was thinking about being afraid or embarrassed about doing something and failing...actually worried about what people would think of me...imagine that or maybe you have.

People often get embarrassed when they don’t know much about a specific subject. As soon as you start hanging out with people who are knowledgeable in an area you’re not, there are many opportunities for embarrassment. Sometimes that fear of embarrassment keeps us from going deeper. It’s easier to pretend that we’re not interested in something instead of admitting that we are new, untrained and unlearned.

There are several stories in the Bible that cause me to believe the apostle Peter can completely relate to that kind of embarrassment. The passage that I was reading from, Matthew 14, tells us about the time when Peter thought walking on water sounded like a great idea. A few moments later, he was gurgling Jesus’ name and crying out for help. Just several hours before this, Jesus had instructed the disciples to take their boat and go out to sea, but He didn’t go with them at the time. Later, when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water towards them, they grew afraid thinking that He was a ghost. When Jesus identified Himself and told them not to be afraid, Peter said, “Jesus, if it’s really You, then tell me to come to You on the water.” What Peter was really asking is, “Jesus, does Your power work through me? Can I do what You do?” And if you think about it, the fact that Jesus told Peter to come didn’t really prove anything to Peter and the disciples. Anyone could have told Peter to try walking on water. It was only when Peter stepped out of the boat onto the water and did not sink that they knew—this is the Son of God. And while stepping out in faith and saying you need help is never easy and can sometimes be a little embarrassing, it’s always worth it. Peter was the only disciple who actually walked on water.

When Jesus was on earth, He did something incredible that I’ve recently begun to fully understand. Although He impacted thousands of lives directly through His preaching, teaching and healing, He chose only 12 men to disciple. There is a world of difference between teaching someone and discipling someone. Discipling is so much more. It involves teaching by example, leading through life circumstances and, in the end, helping to completely transform someone’s life.

The writer in Hebrews tells us all that we need to grow in our faith and addresses it this way in chapter 5 verses 12–14: “You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.” As followers of Jesus, it’s not enough to simply attend church on a weekly basis and assume that you’re experiencing everything God has in store for you. While experiencing church with the Body of Christ is absolutely a part of a healthy Christian life, God wants to disciple you through study of the Word, prayer and godly relationships. In turn, you will find that your influence in the lives of others will begin to grow. God’s influence on you will start to have an impact that runs deep and leads not only you but others to spiritual maturity.

Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus told His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19–20). Jesus was explaining to the disciples that because of the baptism of the Holy Spirit they would soon receive, He would always be there for them. He would be there to continue training them, He would be there to continue guiding them, and He would be there to continue loving them. And because of His Holy Spirit within them, they were qualified to go and make other disciples. Here is a nugget for you that I have learned:. Jesus is still here to train us, guide us and to love us. That is what qualifies us to learn and grow in our walk with Christ, and then to go and make disciples.

Books Currently Reading: The Forgotten Ways … by Alan Hirsch

Current Bible Readings / Studies: Genesis 1 -11 with my small group

Devotions: Reading through the Book of Ezra and Matthew

2011-01-14T09:09:00.000-05:00

Friday, January 14, 2011

Recently in my devotional time with God I read in Matthew that we are to be a light unto the world. In other wards we are to let our light that God has put in us to shine so others will be attracted to it. Some of my thoughts are included below but the inspiration was taken from a devotional I am following online. I modified it some but the theme is the same. Enjoy.

Jesus says in Matthew, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:14–16). In this passage, Jesus gives believers a wonderful challenge. He exhorts us not to hide (which we may be inclined to do in this dark world) but to live as light. We are to shine, to illuminate … to glow. And how do we glow? By our good deeds. Jesus tells us that what we do and the way we live is a bridge to helping others praise, glorify and worship our heavenly Father. Our actions and lifestyle are significant catalysts in moving others towards salvation.

I have heard that in Bioluminescent Bay, Puerto Rico people travel from all over the world to see the mystical waters that shine like stars in the sea. Usually a tour guide will guide you on a kayak journey through a canal into the middle of the bay where as night begins to fall your paddle propelling you through the water will cause it to exude a beautiful blue-green light. In that moment you begin to realize how awesome our God is.

Once in the middle of the bay, the tour guide gathers the group together and begins to explain the bioluminescence. His story tells of thousands of dinoflagellates (microscopic plankton) per gallon of water in the bay that, when touched, emit a flash of blue light that creates this wonderful radiance. In essence, a touch triggers the glow.

I wonder if that isn’t God’s intention for us as well. Could it be that part of the reason why God has so graciously touched our life is so that we would glow? Is it possible you and I were saved, healed and set free so that people from all over the world living in darkness would see His light in our lives and be drawn to Him?

Peter and Paul thought so. Peter suggested that a believing wife could win an unbelieving husband to the Lord through her actions (1 Peter 3:1–2), and Paul told Titus to teach slaves (who functioned in that culture much like our modern-day employees do) the importance of being a shining light so they would make the gospel attractive (Titus 2:9–10). May we then, as a response to His saving touch, glow for the glory of God at home, at work, at school and wherever else our travels take us. Now go and be a "Glowbug"

Books Currently Reading: The Fire Within, by Thomas Dubai

Current Bible Readings / Studies: Genesis 1 -11

Devotions: Reading through the Book of Ezra and Matthew

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2011-01-05T10:17:00.001-05:00

Wednesday January 5, 2011

It’s hard to believe that 2010 has ended and 2011 has started. Happy New Year to everyone! I trust and pray that 2011 will be even better than 2010 and that you prosper in all the things that God has for you to do, just be sure to listen for His voice. This year our small group will begin the year by studying the first 11 chapters of Genesis. In the very first verse in the book of Genesis, we are told that the world began as an undistinguishable wasteland of voided emptiness. There was chaos and so much happening, yet nothing. There was so much movement, yet no benefit, no profit, no purpose. Have you ever had a day like that? So much going on, yet nothing coming from it? Maybe you’re going through the motions and still feeling dead. That wasteful and lacking feeling is something God does not like. God was not content with "nothing" he was only satisfied and though of something as "good" when it was producing, and this principle echoes all throughout the New Testament. Do you ever have those days in which you keep yourself busy just to escape from everything? Nothing was thrown together here; the scriptures use the word, “divided” for God separating the light and dark, etc. The word divided comes from the Hebrew word, badal which means to distinguish with a purposeful intent. When God began to shape and create the world, he started to assign, separate and distinguish this chaotic expanse that existed. In this we see the first glimpse of the personality and attributes of God. I heard somewhere this quote:
“The simplicity of your destiny is that the starting line begins wherever you decide, and the finish line ends wherever you can make it to.” The boundaries and confides of life are stretched between our wants and cans. God finished his creating acts by handing us the baton, telling us to create and shape our lives and our world. This is a charge echoed by Jesus to us in some of his final days on the earth.

So let us create! Let us dream! Using the principles found in the Creation week will lead to an amazing impact on our community but also in our own life. Let's strive together, to be tactful and create, assign and lead the way God did and don't forget to pass it on to someone else. I am looking forward to studying with my group the beginning of things as we start a new year together.

Books Currently Reading: The Fire Within, by Thomas Dubay

Current Bible Readings / Studies: Genesis 1 -11

Devotions: Reading through the Book of Ezra

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-12-01T07:43:00.000-05:00

Wednesday December 1, 2010

It’s hard to believe that the last month of the year starts today. Remember the phrase “time flys”, well it seems to go faster as you get older. There is still much work to do for our Lord. Recently in a bible study I was leading, I read again the passage in John 9: 35 where Jesus asks “do you believe in the Son of Man?” Of course everyone in the room raised their hand but when I followed up with this statement “not a superficial belief like “most Christians” but a belief that causes you to trust Him with every circumstance in your life…every word that He speaks to you, you do, without question. That kind of belief”…only a few hands started to go up before I said answer that deep in your heart. Each of us has to answer that question…myself and you. I trust you answer it correctly.

Well my alarm clock is back on track and trying to wake me each morning. Some mornings I try to ignore her and sleep more but she is persistent, thus causing me to get up and begin my day. I have noticed that sometimes she likes to sleep in as well…I guess old age creeps up on each of us…she is over 40 in dog years and starting to slow down…like me.

We are in our last month of reading through the bible. Hope you have enjoyed your reading. Here is a link to some Christmas readings that you can use each week. We call it Advent as we look forward to the coming birth of our savior. http://www.cfellowshipc.org/preparation Enjoy the readings and the songs as we move toward the day we have chosen to celebrate His birth. The Jewish season of Hanukkah began today, December 1st. This starts the 8 day festival of Lights where the Jewish people celebrate the re-dedication of the temple. Only enough oil for one day was found but it burned for 8 days thus giving the priest enough time to make more oil.

Books Currently Reading: The Fire Within, by Thomas Dubay

Current Bible Readings / Studies: Just finished Guilty by James and Patty Hutchens

Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred also following the Advent readings leading up to Christmas.

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-11-29T07:50:00.000-05:00

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor
Monday November 29, 2010

Well I am back to writing some for my blog. Sorry to those who have been following and have “gently” reminded me to be a little more consistent. For some who have been reading along daily in the bible we are close to finishing for the year…one more month. Hope you have enjoyed your reading. Here is a link to some Christmas readings that you can use each week. We call it Advent as we look forward to the coming birth of our savior. http://www.cfellowshipc.org/preparation. Enjoy the readings and the songs as we move toward the day we have chosen to celebrate His birth. The Jewish season of Hanukkah begins this coming Wednesday. This starts the 8 day festival of Lights where the Jewish people celebrate the re-dedication of the temple. Only enough oil for one day was found but it burned for 8 days thus giving the priest enough time to make more oil. I find an interesting correlation between advent and Hanukkah.

On my last blog entry I mentioned that a close friend's grandson was quite ill and needed an emergency heart operation. I am pleased to report that the baby is doing just fine. He is still in the Dallas Texas area as the doctors want to observe him for another month. Thanks for your prayers. During this last month several people have committed or re-committed their lives to Christ in my office and I would like to share with you one interesting story. One gentleman came into the church on a Tuesday and wanted to know if he could see a pastor right away. I took him into my office and he started confessing that he was on his way to commit a crime and saw our sign on the main road and he really felt that God was telling him to go and talk to a pastor before he did something he would regret. After talking with him for a little while he wanted God to forgive him and wanted to have a personal relationship with Jesus so that Jesus could direct his life, as he had already messed it up. We prayed, he asked Jesus to forgive him and to come in and lead his life from this time forward. I gave him a bible and some passages to read and he went his way. You might be wondering why I picked this story to tell you about…well remember I said he saw our sign on the main road…we do not have a sign on any road and we are “tucked away” in a business park and you really have to know where we are to find us…sign on the main road…not a chance…can God put signs in our life? Yes and in this case put a sign in this man’s path and he followed it so he could have an encounter with the living God, a God who cares about us and wants us to do the right thing. Be blessed from this story!

Also this morning I received an email with this link, follow it and be blessed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE

I finished reading the book, Radical, and gave one to my granddaughter for her 15th birthday. I finished a couple of others and have started reading a book entitled, “The Fire Within.” Very deep and very interesting readings on deeper prayer…more about it later in future blogs.

Books Currently Reading: The Fire Within, by Thomas Dubay

Current Bible Readings / Studies: Just finished Guilty by James and Patty Hutchens

Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred also following the Advent readings leading up to Christmas.

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-10-17T20:38:00.000-04:00

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor
Sunday October 17, 2010
I am sitting at home getting ready to watch my favorite professional sports team play in a Sunday night game on national TV. Go Skins!

This afternoon learned that a close friend had been staying with his grandson at a hospital in Dallas, TX. I knew his little grandson had been sick but not to the extent he needed to travel from Baton Rouge to Dallas and stay with him. My best friend and his wife live in the Dallas suburbs so I placed a call and they show up to show support. The body of Christ in action. We are praying that little Lane pulls through as he certainly is covered in prayer, especially those of a grandpa.
I am still reading from the book, Radical, that I mentioned in my last blog entry. I have read most of it but find myself going back several pages and re-reading. I don’t normally do that…maybe go back and read the book again but not like this time. Consider this statement “Do you know why God created you?” David lays out a two fold purpose…”we were created by God to enjoy His grace. Apart from everything else God created, we were made in his image. We alone have the capacity to enjoy God in intimate relationship with Him.” Also, “He not only created humankind to enjoy His grace in relationship to him, but also to extend his glory to the ends of the earth.” So, if I understand what he is saying we are to enjoy God’s grace and in doing so extend God’s glory to the uttermost parts of the world, after all we are created in His image. The author goes on to say that we live in a church culture that has a dangerous tendency to disconnect the grace of God from the Glory of God. In my next blog entry I will further delve into the disconnect that we have.

Books Currently Reading: Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt

Current Bible Readings / Studies: Just finished studying about the Fall Feasts of Israel.

Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred.

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-09-16T07:07:00.000-04:00

Thursday September 16, 2010
Awoken this morning by the voice of my alarm clock saying “daddy I have to go out please get up”….at first I thought I was dreaming but no I finally came into reality and it was my little Silky Terrier, as usual waking me up so she could go outside to take care of some business. Since my last entry this same scenario has played out pretty much the same each day. She is my faithful alarm clock.
This past Sunday my wife and I got a phone call that no one wants to get…our son had a heart attack. They were flying him from the local hospital at his home to Lynchburg for an emergency operation. We alerted some friends who we knew would be praying and left immediately. Now the end of the story…God healed him on the medical flight. When he arrived in Lynchburg they did a small procedure where they could look inside at the heart…the doctor’s words were…sorry don’t see any evidence of a heart attack and your heart is doing fine. They kept him overnight and sent him home…our God is wonderful and merciful. We decided to come back home instead of staying…after all nothing was wrong. On the way home Pastor Kent called and when he heard the news rejoiced with us that God did a wonderful thing. Thank you Father for you healing touch!
I am reading a book recommend by a close friend and wanted to share a small portion that touched me and reminded me of what Jesus has done for us.
From the book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt. Published by Multnomah.
Our understanding of who God is and who we are drastically affects our understanding of who Christ is and why we need him. For example, if God is only a loving father who wants to help his people, then we will see Christ as a mere example of that love. We will view the cross as just a demonstration of God's love in which he allowed Roman soldiers to crucify his son so that sinful man would know how much he loves us.
But this picture of Christ and the cross is woefully inadequate, missing the entire point of the gospel. We are not saved from our sins because Jesus was falsely tried by Jewish and Roman officials and sentence by Pilate to die. Neither are we saved because Roman persecutors thrust nails into the hands and feet of Christ and hung him on the cross.
Do we really think that the false judgment of men heaped upon Christ to pay for the debt for all of humankind's sin? Do we really think that a crown of thorns and whips and nails and a wooden cross and all the other facets of the crucifixion that we glamorize are powerful enough to save us?
Picture Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. As he kneels before his father, drops of sweat and blood fall together from his head. Why is he in such agony and pain? The answer is not because he is afraid of crucifixion. He is not trembling because of what the Roman soldiers are about to do to him.
Since that day countless men and women in the history of Christianity have died for their faith. Some of them were not just on crosses; they were burned there. Many of them went to their crosses singing.
One Christian in India, while being skinned alive, look at his persecutors and said, "I thank you for this. Tear off my old garment, for I will soon put on Christ's garment of righteousness."
As he prepared to head to his execution, Christopher Love wrote a note to his wife, saying, "today they will sever me from my physical head, but they cannot sever me from my spiritual head, Christ." As he walked to his death, his wife applauded while he sang of glory.
Did these men and women in Christian history have more courage than Christ himself? Why was he trembling in that garden, weeping and full of anguish? We can rest assured that he was not a coward about to face Roman soldiers. Instead he was a Savior about to endure divine wrath.
Listen to his words: "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me." The "cup" is not a reference to a wooden cross; it is a reference to divine judgment. It is the cup of God's wrath.
This is what Jesus is recoiling from in the garden. All God's holy wrath and hatred toward sin and sinners, stored up since the beginning of the world, is about to be poured out on him, and he is sweating blood at the thought of it.
What happened at the cross was not primarily about nails being thrust into Jesus hands and feet, but about the wrath due your sin and my sin being thrust upon his soul. In that holy moment, all the righteous wrath and justice of God due us came rushing down like a torrent on Christ himself. Some say, "God looked down and could not bear to see the suffering that the soldiers were inflicting on Jesus, so he turned away." But this is not true. God turned away because he could not bear to see your sin and my sin on his Son.
One preacher described it as if you and I were standing a short hundred yards away from a dam of water 10,000 miles high and 10,000 miles wide. All of a sudden that dam was breached, and a torrential flood of water came crashing toward us. Right before it reached our feet, the ground in front of us opened up and swallowed it all. At the cross, Christ drank the full cup of the wrath of God, and when he had downed the last drop, he turned the cup over and cried out, "It is finished."
This is the gospel. The just and loving Creator of the universe has looked upon hopelessly sinful people and sent his son, God in the flesh, to bear his wrath against sin on the cross and to show his power over sin in the resurrection so that all who trust in him will be reconciled to God forever.

Books Currently Reading: Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt

Current Bible Readings / Studies: Currently studying more about the Fall Feasts’ of Israel.

Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred.

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-08-04T08:17:00.000-04:00

Wednesday August 4, 2010
This morning, after being awakened by my alarm clock (as usual) and needing to go outside, I found myself wondering and thinking of what heaven would be like as we walked along the path so she could take care of business. I was also yearning to go there and be with Jesus. I prayed for Him to come quickly and sort out all this “good and evil” that we seem to struggle within our own selves. Yes, you read correctly, the good we struggle with as well as the evil. We as Christians, after being saved by grace, want to constantly add “works”, good works of course, to make us feel better about our walk with Jesus our Lord. In my position as pastor I see so much of this among our people and not enough falling “head over heels” in love with Him. If we could only remember that Satan’s job description is to “kill, steal and destroy” and our battle is not against each other (being against flesh and blood) it is with him and his little demons I truly believe we would do much better. Awhile back I started reading a book listing the 100 most important events in Christian history and before I opened the book I assumed the very first one would be Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. But it wasn’t and it was over half way through that it dawned on me that “Christian” is something we as humans “dreamed up” and was never the intent of our Lord to come and start another “religion.” He came to show us how to get into the Kingdom of God. He actually destroyed the “religion” of His day and pointed us to the correct way to God without religion. Amazing isn’t it how our “good works” always leads us away from God instead of towards Him.
On another more personal note I have been very busy these last few weeks since my last entry. I have had weddings each weekend with two funerals as well since the second weekend of July. Weddings are always nice and I really enjoy being a part of uniting the couple and starting them on their journey of becoming joined together as one. A couple of weekends ago I conducted one outside a few feet from the water’s edge in 110 degree heat plus the heat index. I thought my bible was going to melt, but even the heat couldn’t dampen the joy witnessed in the faces of the couple uniting their lives together and starting this journey with God’s blessings’. I still have the month of August filled with journeys just like this and even some into October. What a joy it is to serve God this way.
Finished reading a book by Dr. David Reagan titled, Eternity. I highly recommend it too each of you reading this blog entry. It is just off the presses in July and you can find in at his web address of www.lamblion.com You will not be disappointed.

Books Currently Reading: Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro; The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History

Current Bible Readings / Studies: I am currently reading and doing some studying in Amos. This minor prophet was a vigorous spokesman for God’s justice and righteousness.

Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred.

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-07-20T07:18:00.000-04:00

Tuesday July 20, 2010
This morning, after being awakened by my alarm clock needing to go outside, I found myself wondering about the knowledge we as human beings have acquired in such a short time. I have heard that knowledge will increase very fast as we approach the end of this age. God inspired His prophet Daniel to give two indicators of the close of the age and the coming establishment of His Kingdom to supersede all other kingdoms of man. It is found in Daniel 12: 4 – “But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book [so no one could understand its meaning], even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro [world travel], and KNOWLEDGE shall be increased.”
In my life time we have developed TV, put a man on the moon and many other things that I can’t even start to name. I remember when the interstate highway system was developed and worked as a policeman on that highway keeping it safe so we could move quickly across the US.
I have witnessed skyscraper buildings that were built to withstand earthquakes. The computer and electronics industry seemingly is always coming up with something new and faster. Recently I was reading in my Popular Science magazine of a new development in the speed of computers…atom catching. The catching of atoms and blasting them with electricity makes computers run 1,000’s of times faster than the fastest computer we have now. The first computer I bought was a 286 and I thought that was really fast. When I purchased a faster, more advanced computer, it was nearly obsolete when I un-package it and proudly set it up for use. Truly, Solomon was correct when he wrote “and there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1: 9).
Archeology has proven there was a “golden age” of understanding that dwarfs our modern achievements. For instance, on a tremendously high and nearly straight up mountain in the Andes Mountains of Peru, South America, a city was discovered. It had many terraces that ran a distance down the mountainside. The city is perched on a very narrow peak hidden by the clouds. Massive stones were taken from quarries, some 250 miles away, and somehow transported straight up to the top of the mountain. These huge stones weighed tons each. Each massive stone was placed in the exact location to build an earthquake-proof city! Other cities are being found in these dense jungles in South America that are just as surprising as this one described.
Truly, there is nothing new under the sun. Just when we thought we are the most advanced civilization that has ever lived, we find buildings and mysteries that dwarf our abilities. Surely, God had at one time revealed certain principles upon which those before and shortly after the great Deluge in Noah’s day built upon – hidden knowledge of which modern scientists know nothing.
According to archeological finds, the ancients learned the technique of softening the hardest of rock formations to a “putty” like substance, put hand or feet prints or whatever they chose and harden the rock again to its original hardness. Modern scientists have never even entertained such technology.
Can you and I imagine the beauty and splendor of “New Jerusalem” that the Father will bring down out of heaven when His plan of salvation is finished? What energy source will He use to levitate a city as huge as New Jerusalem? We have no idea as yet! We will have 1,000 years under Christ’s rule to learn. The “golden age” of the past will pale into insignificance by comparison!!!

Books Currently Reading: Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro; just started reading The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History

Current Bible Readings / Studies: I am currently reading and doing some studying in Isaiah chapter 53.

Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred.

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-06-28T20:31:00.000-04:00

Monday June 28
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:16 ESV)
I recently purchased a DVD titled Furious Love. I didn’t quite know what I was buying as I bought it on a recommendation of a relative on Facebook, which by the way, I have not ever met, except via Facebook so this was a leap of faith on my part. I have had the movie for 7 days and watched it twice and each time I realize that you cannot minister to people that you don’t love. I have come to know much deeper that Jesus’ love is what overwhelmed the people of His day. Each of you can recall several incidents where one of the disciples would make a jester to take something by force…even Peter cutting off the ear of a soldier coming to arrest Jesus on the night of His betrayal. Jesus destroyed every ones arguments with Love. He told us to love one another, as Christians, so that the “world” would recognize us as followers of Him. Everything must be rooted in love, even those we can’t stand to be around. How should we respond, you might be thinking as you read this? We must remain in the mode of drawing closer and closer to Christ, becoming more and more like Him. Our obedience to our Lord is foremost. We are to reflect to all the love of God that has become manifest in us.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:7-12 ESV)
The film touched me deeply and I have had to learn, especially as I minister to God’s people (meaning all of God’s created) that I must minister with an attitude of love or the Holy Spirit will not even show up and I really need Him to show up because I may not have the correct advice needed for this situation. As you can gather the film has worked on my attitude and caused me to be more yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit. So, it’s been a good week and I regret not having written before now and will endeavor to be more diligent. I may write more about love in my next entry and I have so much to say but this is quite long as it is…see you soon.
Books Currently Reading: I am currently reading, 2012 The Bible and the End of the World by Mark Hitchcock (almost finished); Sheep in Wolves Clothing by Valerie J. McIntyre and just started Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro
Current Bible Readings / Studies: I am currently reading and doing some studying in Ephesians.
Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred. Almost half way through…

Tidbits from the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-06-21T21:54:00.000-04:00

June 21, 2010, – Monday: It has been an interesting week since my last entry. I have been busy in a good way. Had the chance to pray with several people in my office over issues concerning family issues. Seems we are allowing the devil to get a foothold in our lives and he wrecks havoc everywhere he goes. On Wednesday evening during our weekly prayer class we had some great ministry time after the meeting ended. Actually didn’t get home until almost 11…meeting ended at 9. The Holy Spirit is working to set our people free of some past issues and sins. He is an excellent surgeon and always a kind and gentle person. Played some golf on Friday at the new 1757 course just up from the church and it was very hard…had to hit the ball straight and stay in the fairways…but of course yours truly played all over the course and suffered the penalty. But a bad day on the course is always better than work…I think. I had a great Fathers Day… got calls from my two children and had a very nice day with my biggest supporter, Jeanette. She cooked me my favorite meal…ahh it was good.

Books Currently Reading: I am currently reading, 2012 The Bible and the End of the World by Mark Hitchcock; Sheep in Wolves Clothing by Valerie J. McIntyre

Current Bible Readings / Studies: I am currently reading and doing some studying in the 1st and 2nd Timothy. Paul is encouraging his young protégé to stay focused on what God has called you and live out the calling placed upon you with the laying on of hands.

Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-06-16T07:51:00.000-04:00

June 15, 2010, – Tuesday: Today started out with my little alarm clock getting me up right on schedule…her schedule of course. After arriving at my office this morning I was again met with two benevolence cases. This morning I happened to be reading in Matthew and read a passage in chapter 6 which I comment on below. It was so fitting to the beginning of my day. After these two incidents I had a regular appointment to counsel a lady whose husband has walked out on her and her 4 children. This is the second case like this in the last several weeks. It saddens your heart that the father has said I can’t deal with the pressure any longer and walked away. Pastor Paul and I have been in contact with the first case and Paul will be following up on the second one later tonight or tomorrow. Our new Admin started Monday and agreed to come back today, which is wonderful news. She even said she would come back all week…that’s great news. After lunch I had several appointments leading me to the late afternoon and then home. Relaxed some with my wife over dinner read some and decided to turn in a little early.

Books Currently Reading: I am currently reading, 2012 The Bible and the End of the World by Mark Hitchcock; Sheep in Wolves Clothing by Valerie J. McIntyre; and just finished Lucifer Exposed by Derek Prince.

Current Bible Readings / Studies: I am currently reading and doing some studying in the 1st and 2nd Timothy. Paul is encouraging his young protégé to stay focused on what God has called you and live out the calling placed upon you with the laying on of hands.

Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred. Also in my devotions today I read this passage: Matthew 6:1-4 1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. It spoke to me about our need to closely examine our own stewardship of what God has given to us. There is no argument from me that we are in severe economic times. Today so many of our folks are out of work due to the recession, that’s reality. In these times of growing needs and lessening incomes, God’s people (the church) are called to closely examine how we use the resources God has given us and we all should be praying and even seeking opportunities to help our brothers and sisters who have fallen on hard times. I am receiving more and more calls asking for help with food, gas and utilities as well as help with mortgage or rent payments. This passage of scripture teaches all of us to be careful and for us who are good stewards to be careful that we don’t sprain or dislocate our shoulders from patting ourselves on the back for doing a good job…thus robbing ourselves of the blessings God has given us. So, today I Pray Lord that when it comes to helping others all our motives would be pure and grant us wisdom and righteous godly logic in our stewardship…both in our own and those you have given to the church.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-06-14T20:34:00.000-04:00

Day in the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor
June 14, 2010, – Monday: It has been almost a week since my last entry and it felt strange not writing something. Worked the first three days and took two days of vacation. I played golf two days last week which hopefully will help improve my scores. Had several interviews to conduct for a position of Admin as my current admin is moving to another department. Starting today she will have to start training for new position. We finished the interviews on Monday afternoon late and laid them before the Lord for direction and it was not until late Thursday before we felt we had an answer. So, she starts her adventure today. I also sat on a panel for our monthly men’s breakfast meeting and allowed the men to ask any question they wanted. It was fun as the process was allotted 30 minutes but it took almost 45 and all the men stayed and seemed engaged in the process. Good solid questions and my overall take on the questions was; How do we live the Christian life, How do we hear from God, and we are alone in our walk. All were good questions and I had several questions after the meeting had finished. On Sunday we had our small group meeting at our house and before they arrived my daughter and her husband and our youngest granddaughter came for a visit. So, the day was wonderful. Today I arrived at the office a little early for a meeting with someone who needed some benevolence help. Had a chance to share some with her and help get her started on the right path. I had a scheduled 10 AM with a young man who was in total confusion spiritually. Someone from our church told him to come see me and I would be able to point him in the right direction…so, guess where I pointed him….correcto!…to the cross and he really embraced his new found relationship with Jesus. I gave him a new bible and gave him some places to read and encouraged him to find a good church. I had a scheduled appointment at 3:30 with a lady who has been having some difficulties with her life. She said that she has been having panic attacks with fear coming at her during odd times. She is a Christian as I led her to the cross 5 months ago. Had some prayer with her and discussed some scriptures and suggested she have some sessions with my prayer director Betty, so I will set that up with her soon. I then came home, cooked some hotdogs on the grill and set on the deck watching it rain and eating with my wife.

Books Currently Reading: I am currently reading, 2012 The Bible and the End of the World by Mark Hitchcock; Sheep in Wolves Clothing by Valerie J. McIntyre; and just finished Lucifer Exposed by Derek Prince.

Current Bible Readings / Studies: I am currently reading and doing some studying in 1st and 2nd Timothy. Paul is encouraging his young protégé to stay focused on what God has called you and live out the calling placed upon you with the laying on of hands.

Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred. It has many footnotes and is a very intense program designed by a member of my church and my golfing buddy.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-06-06T07:35:00.000-04:00

June 4 & 5, 2010, –Friday & Saturday: I was up a little early on Friday as this was my golfing day and did not get the chance the previous Friday because of an out of town wedding so I was ready to play. I had to wait for the men to come that would be installing our new front door before I could leave for the course. I wanted to get there early so I could hit some balls and get warmed up before the serious golf started. My day was going great until the final two holes…I had a six shot lead going into those holes and lost the match by 1 stroke…lost all my steam…I must be getting old…but overall had a good round and will do much better next Friday. On Saturday I had a garage sale so I was up earlier than normal putting things out. Before 11 AM I had $149 and closed up to wait for another day. My junk is someone else’s treasure. Still have some lawn equipment and books to pass on. Had lunch and a shower before heading to Tyson’s Corner to take my lovely wife to a movie and dinner.

Books Currently Reading: I have added 2012 The Bible and the End of the World by Mark Hitchcock; Sheep in Wolves Clothing by Valerie J. McIntyre; Lucifer Exposed by Derek Prince.
Almost finished with Lucifer Exposed and was reading some this morning as I waited for “customers” to come to my garage sale…it spurred me to read the book of Galatians once again. I think I will blog about what I have learned or re-learned in a few days.

Current Bible Readings / Studies: This morning in my devotions I read the book of Galatians again. The Holy Spirit prompted me to read it again after reading some of Derek Princes book, see above.

Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred. It has many footnotes and is a very intense program designed by a member of my church and my golfing buddy.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-06-04T06:41:00.000-04:00

June 3, 2010, –Thursday: Today started with my alarm clock having a mistake during the night…she had a bowl movement and was afraid to wake me up…but I got up at my normal time and wondered why she hadn’t got me up…in the master bathroom floor I found out the reason. Since I just got her home it was kinda hard to be mad at her but I did show my dissatisfaction with her before taking her outside. I am on vacation this week but had to go into the office to interview two candidates for my admin position. Have already interviewed one lady and she is certainly the frontrunner at this point but we are praying for God to tell us the right person. Interviewed two ladies for the open position and both did a good job in the interview. I will be interviewing two more on Monday and make a decision on Monday evening or Tuesday morning. Jeanette and I had the couple over for our normal meeting to discuss pre-marital issues. Had a good last session and they will be coming back in two weeks for dinner to discuss any wrap-up issues. Had a new front door delivered this morning and it is scheduled to be installed Friday…my normal golf day…install door…play golf…install door….play golf and the saga continues…will let you know of my decision tomorrow.

Books Currently Reading: I have added 2012 The Bible and the End of the World by Mark Hitchcock; Sheep in Wolves Clothing by Valerie J. McIntyre; Lucifer Exposed by Derek Prince.
I just finished Lasting Impressions by Mark Waltz. Mark wrote a very good book that offers many insights into how we should be treating our “guests” as they arrive on Sunday mornings to attend church. We should all be so concerned for the souls which God brings to us that we want nothing to hinder them from hearing the Gospel and letting the Holy Spirit have a chance to convict them and maybe today will be the day of salvation for them. Good book and I recommend it to everyone. I added 2012 End of the World because there is much talk about when will the world end…will it be December 12, 2012 as the Mayan calendar says. It’s always nice to be reminded what the bible has to say about the end times. On the horizon is a book I have already read earlier this year entitled As America Has Done To Israel by John P. McTernan. He lays out the disasters which we (America) have endured because we turned our back on Israel. It’s was amazing the first time I read it and I am looking forward to re-reading and refreshing my mind on these matters.

Current Bible Readings / Studies: This morning in my devotions I ran across this message from Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman a famous evangelist who died in 1918. I studied from some of his works in one of my bible classes and remember he wrote a hymn entitled Jesus’ What a Friend of Sinners. He also penned the words of two others but what drew me to him as I was searching was his statement from one of his many papers entitled: Friends of Jesus’ Patients. In this he said “that the New Testament records tell of forty people, each suffering from the same diseases, which were healed by Jesus. Of this number, thirty-four were either brought to Jesus by friends, or He was taken to them. In only six cases out of forty did the sufferers find the way to Jesus without any assistance other than the Holy Spirit. Of the vast number of people who find their way to Jesus today, most of them reach Him because the friends of Jesus are concerned about the welfare of their souls.” This caused me to think of my own salvation and the folks who prayed for me and I remember they are “friends of Jesus” and were concerned for my soul. We need to also bring as many people as we can to Jesus the great healer of our souls.

Devotions: Still currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred. It has many footnotes and is a very intense program designed by a member of my church and my golfing buddy.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-06-01T19:28:00.001-04:00

Day in the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor
June 1 & 2, 2010, – Monday & Tuesday: Today started with no alarm clock to wake me because she spent the weekend with my daughter as Jeanette and I were in Buffalo for a wedding. Darryl Walter’s son got married and since it was near Niagara Falls we extended it a few days so we could view the falls. Took some great shots, must visit my Facebook site to view them. www.cfcpastoralcare.blogspot.com . Traveled back home via United…52 minute flight…verse 12 hours on the train going up. Before you say anything…we took the train for the experience as neither of us had ever been on a train ride. It brought back memories of me selling newspapers on the trains at the Portsmouth train station. Used to buy papers for 3 cents and sell them for 5 and I used to sneak on the train when the conductor wasn’t looking and sell as many as I could before the train started moving and he ran me off…ah the “good ole days” so it brought back some memories but it was a long trip. So, the 53 minute flight makes much better sense and besides we used airline miles so it cost us nothing, which is always good. Tuesday, vacation day so I relaxed most of the day before meeting my daughter in Centreville to pick up our little Penny…my alarm clock. Cooked some chicken on the grill and the young lady we are helping came over so we spent several hours in the evening ministering to her. She is expecting a baby and her finances were in a mess so we have been helping her get back on track…this was our 8th meeting and she is catching on very well. She is starting to get focused and with the baby coming along she not only needs prayer support but will need to have her finances in good shape. Things will be fixed with God’s help.

Books Currently Reading: Sheep in Wolves Clothing by Valerie J. McIntyre; Lucifer Exposed by Derek Prince; Lasting Impressions by Mark Waltz
I have a few more pages in Lasting Impressions to go. Have read Sheep in Wolves Clothing many years ago and have picked it up to refresh my mind and because it was recently recommended to me by my Altar Director. Lucifer Exposed is written by one of my favorite bible teachers. Although he has passed away I still have many of his books that I refer to quite often.

Current Bible Readings / Studies: Not studying any particular topic at the moment just reading recreationally. Read Revelation recently as our Pastor was preaching through this book. I am also reading some of the Pauline Epistles about duties of Elders and Deacons.

Devotions: Currently reading through the bible with a program that chronologically lays out the scriptures in the sequence they occurred or more likely to have occurred. It has many footnotes and is a very intense program designed by a member of my church and my golfing buddy.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-30T23:06:00.001-04:00

May30, 2010, – Sunday: Today started in a more relaxed mode as the wedding and the reception was now behind us and we decided to “do” the falls today…Memorial Day. Our party was 8, so we took 2 cars and headed out to Niagara Falls to see the infamous water falling over a high cliff. If was, I must say, awesome. We stood in line to ride the Misty Mist boat for a close up look at the falls. We stood in line for 1 and ½ hours before actually getting onto the boat … but it was worth the wait. Wow, such power from the water and I got some great shots from all directions. We also stood in line to get something to eat and then in line again to get some ice cream. There must have been a zillion people, wow, everywhere people. We spent the whole day touring around the park and seeing the falls from different angles before returning to our room to fresh up before dinner. We all went to the famous Anchor Bar, the Original Wings beginning place and had a very delightful meal. The restaurant was decorated with some old motorcycles and license plates from every state in the union and a lot of countries. Bought a tee shirt so we could say we had been there…it was a wonderful time with some friends and the food was good as well. We all head our own ways tomorrow, Brian and Denise leave early to drive back to New Jersey, Martha and Darryl will be staying around some to vacation. We will be flying home via United at 2 so we have some time to sleep in tomorrow. Great time this weekend.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-30T22:47:00.001-04:00

May29, 2010, – Saturday: Today started very well. Jeanette and I had breakfast with Brian and Denise, our friends from New Jersey and then we went into the city of Buffalo to look around and do some site seeing. We decided to take pictures of the Peace Bridge linking Buffalo with Canada and got stuck and had to go into Canada. None of us had our passports so it was a complete hassle on the Canadian side but worst on the US side. Had to get out of the car and be escorted, by armed guard, to the immigration station to be processed back into the US…seemed very un-necessary but I guess our people were only doing their jobs and they did them very well. Later, once back on US soil we rode around the downtown section and went to the waterfront before having lunch at a nice Greek Restaurant not far from the hotel. We arrived back at the hotel to rest before getting dressed for the wedding. Wow a great wedding that the beautiful couple put together. They had a wonderful ceremony and a great reception. We did some fellowshipping and some dancing before returning to our room for a good night’s sleep.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-29T13:16:00.001-04:00

May27 & 28, 2010, – Thursday - Friday: Thursday started early as we had to be at Union Station in DC to catch the train taking us to Buffalo, NY. We are going to be part of a wedding of Pastor Darryl’s son. It was a long train ride but nice as we had the chance to get up and move around. This was our first train ride and it was long…I think we stopped in every town between here and Buffalo…left DC at 8:30 A.M. and arrived in Buffalo at 9:30 P.M. Long trip and we had to take a taxi to the hotel so we arrived around 10:20. On Friday we slept in some and then helped Martha and Darryl with decorating for the rehearsal party. It was an Hawaiian theme we had a very nice time. Our friends from New Jersey arrived so we rode with them to the rehearsal and dinner and then back to the hotel. This is part of my vacation but had to help two people out with benevolence cases with traveling…very nice to have a great admin who can get things done.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-25T08:33:00.001-04:00

May 23 & 24, 2010, – Sunday - Monday: Sunday services were very powerful as Pastor Kent finished up his series on Revelation with an awesome call to all who believe and had never been baptized…116 came just as they were and were baptized. This was the Sunday right after Pentecost and many came forward confessing Jesus as their savior and wanted to be baptized. Pastor Kent led them right to the baptismal pool and as he climbed in fully clothed so did those who responded. It was an awesome service. The whole series had been powerful each week and today the Holy Spirit moved in a marvelous way. Revelation chapter 22 was clearly preached and the Gospel was proclaimed and then the words from Revelation 22: verses 14 & 17 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city....The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" and let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." Then Acts 22:16 "Now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name." The worship team lead is in the old hymn “Just As I AM”. After the baptizing was finished the new song “Revelation” was loudly sang by all. Great service. After church I had several meetings with some of my altar prayer team members as we will begin teaching a new series on Prayer during the summer. On Monday I started my vacation…Wahoo!! But, my alarm clock did not care if it was my vacation or not she wanted to get up and continue on with her normal routine…so up I was at the “normal” time. Had an early doctor’s appointment and had to get a prescription filled…which by the way took longer than the doctor’s visit. Had a scheduled lunch meeting with a man from church to discuss some spiritual issues he as dealing with and had some “deep” questions about how the Spirit moved and how to discern how to read what God was saying. It was a very nice time and we ended with an intense time of prayer. I relaxed the remainder of the afternoon except for one project of cleaning out the gutter on the front porch which didn’t take very long. Cooked dinner for my wife and had some down time during the evening.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-22T22:16:00.001-04:00

May 18 - 22, 2010, – Tuesday - Saturday: Tuesday was my birthday and I got several special gifts from some of the staff. One was a large German Chocolate cup cake which was very good. The other was a nice coffee cup with Golf pictures from my Admin. I also got about 150 happy birthday wishes from my facebook friends which really surprised me. Thanks very much to everyone who sent me greetings. Jeanette took me out to eat and bought me a golf club, Cleveland wedge 52 degree so I bought one, a 56 degree. Played on Friday with John and had the chance to use both and they really helped. Anyway, had a great day. Wednesday started early as I had a breakfast meeting with several guys from church. We talked and planned how we could implement some lay counseling into our church to help married couples who are struggling in their marriage. I was a good meeting. After returning to the office had two benevolence appointments and one meeting with a couple wanting to go through our pre-marital program. Had lunch with our senior pastor…wanted to treat me to lunch for my birthday…very nice as he is very busy. Thursday was a day I was taking off but had to go into the office in the morning to do a walk through on some new baptisms we will be doing this coming Sunday. Then in the afternoon Jeanette and I went to a dinner theater with our senior group from church. Had a nice lunch and watch a production of Shenandoah. Arrived home just in time to meet with a couple we are mentoring through the pre-marital process. Finally to bed and some rest later than usual. Friday I was up early as I had a golf game with John. My game is improving each week as I am getting in some playing time. I then had a wedding rehearsal to attend in preparation of a Saturday wedding. On Saturday I relaxed some during the morning and then arrived at the church around noon to make sure things were in place for the 2 PM ceremony. I have some very good wedding coordinators and everything was perfect. This was a very special wedding as I have been involved in the lives of this couple for several years. I was instrumental in their salvation experience and baptized both of them and now…performing a very special and beautiful wedding. I then had a dinner meeting with some other Financial Peace University teachers to discuss how we can make the program better. Decided on changing several things and hopefully make the program much better. Now I am at home updating my blog and watching my New York Yankees play the Mets…good game but the Yanks are losing at the present.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-18T08:15:00.001-04:00

May 15 & 16, 2010, – Sunday & Monday: Sunday was a great day and a busy day. Pastor is finishing up his series on Revelation, one more to go and this last one will be very good. Was there for both services as usual and we served full communion without a hitch…great job done by the team. We had our monthly prayer and praise meeting that evening with about 20 showing. We had great praise and worship by Michael and very good teaching by Betty. On Monday the day started out as normal, had one meeting first thing and then one other walk-in crisis I had to help with and they both ended very good. I had to have my Admin help me correct some marriage mentor teaching notes I put together and she is currently working on them. My afternoon was uneventful and I left for home on time. Jeanette and I have been mentoring a young lady at church with her finances and normally meet on Tuesday evenings but we moved it to Monday evening as tomorrow is my birthday and Jeanette is treating me to dinner and taking me to Dicks Sporting Goods. I think she is going to buy me a golf club…I can only hope…more to come.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-16T08:52:00.001-04:00

May 14, 2010, – Saturday: My alarm clock is off a little as she was trying to get me up at the normal time…I hit the snooze button as I wanted to sleep until at least 7. But, at 6:45 she was back at trying to get me up, 15 extra minutes is better than none. I had to take care of her normal routine. Jeanette went to have her hair cut and do some woman things so I worked some in the garage as I am “downsizing” and getting rid of some junk, actually wanting to put my car inside so by the end of the month I will have that accomplished…hopefully. Later in the evening had potluck with my SWAT group. They are a group of volunteers who help people move from one place to another. I just wanted to thank them for such compassionate and giving hearts. Then back home to get some sleep and start all over once again on Sunday…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-15T08:58:00.001-04:00

May 14, 2010, – Friday: Try to play golf on Friday’s and today was just right as two friends from church and I played 18 holes at Brambleton Golf Club. Weather was great and I shot very good, had a few bad holes but overall shot very well. Had to take several phone calls from church but nothing I couldn’t handle over the phone. Our youngest granddaughter was coming home from Space Camp and we wanted to meet her at the airport and the plane kept getting delayed so we had dinner and I bought some communion juice as we are having full communion this Sunday. After delivering it to the church we came back home and waited until the plane arrived. It was nice seeing her and hearing some stories of her adventure…the plane arrived late but it was worth it to see her once again…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-14T08:03:00.001-04:00

May 12 & 13, 2010, – Wednesday & Thursday: Both days have been full days at the office. On Wednesday I had several meeting in the morning before heading out to a lunch meeting with my altar prayer team where we discussed several upcoming issues. We are plotting out the direction that we see God taking us through the summer as we gear up for the Fall kick-off in September. Had a chance to slip home after the lunch and take care of my little alarm clock, i.e. feed her and take her for a walk before heading back to church to teach the FPU class that evening. On Thursday I made several hospital visits in the morning before arriving back at the church for an 11 AM meeting with my Health Director. She is an RN and has volunteered to help set up a health care ministry. She is recovering from breast cancer and wants to serve the church in this way so we are planning how it should look. We are purchasing 3 AED’s and re-stocking the first-aid kits that the various ministries have in their areas. All afternoon, until 4 was involved in our church budget process as I am on the Leadership Team. We had our first look at the total overall budget and processed through several big budget items. How much do we project our church growth to be and how much to we project our tithes and offerings for the coming year. We need lots of prayer to discern the right path to take. As soon as that meeting was over had a scheduled meeting with a young man who needed some advice about his upcoming wedding but shortly before he arrived another young man came in asking for me. We talked some about some issues he was having at home with his mom and I gave him some “fatherly” advice about how to treat his mother and appreciate her as she has raised him as a single mom. Then my scheduled appointment came in that needed some advice on his upcoming wedding but as we talked I discerned that was not the issue so as I listened and asked questions that God gave me to ask, it turned out he felt this black cloud hanging over him and just could not seemed to connect with God. As he talked about how religious he was I knew that he did not have a personal experience with Jesus….he just knew about Him…like a lot of people. I shared with him the gospel and he prayed and asked Jesus to forgive him and come into his life and lead him from now on…it was a great experience watching his new birth. His whole countenance changed as relief came to him and he immediately wanted to know how to learn and serve this Jesus, the savior of his soul. We rejoiced some afterwards and as we were leaving I introduced him to Lynn and she will get him connected into the GUSH ministry. Afterwards headed home for supper and a meeting with a couple Jeanette and I are mentoring through the pre-marital process. Overall it was a good day…now I am looking forward to playing some golf tomorrow with John, my golf partner on Friday’s.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-11T22:46:00.001-04:00

May 10 & 11, 2010, –Monday & Tuesday: Both days have been busy at the office with several benevolence cases and some marriage problems. I have two ladies from our prayer team working with the lady going through a separation with her husband of 24 years. She thinks she wants a divorce so the spiritual battle is very intense. These two ladies have met with her and she has agreed that it is very intense spiritually. It seems like she is backing off the separation for a time. More prayer is needed. On another front I have a very nice lady helping me with making my offices look better and helping me with some purging and re-filing of some files. It is a very nice jester on her part as she is volunteering her time. Had several meetings on Monday afternoon before heading home to take care of my little dog. Jeanette had to work late as payroll so supper was later than normal. Tuesday morning my alarm clock was a little surprised once again as I was up early as I had an early meeting at church. Had a young couple come in for some pre-marital counseling then had back to back staff meeting for the remainder of the day. Our mission director shared where the mission budget was headed for the coming budget cycle. His budget is the largest on in the church as we allot ten percent to missions of our tithes and offerings. It was a rather long meeting but very necessary. Arrived home a little later than normal and rushed to prepare for our mentoring of a young lady from church in financial trouble. We have agreed to meet with her on Tuesday evenings until we get her back on her feet. We have met with her several times and she is struggling somewhat with getting the hang of the budget process. We have her enrolled in the FPU class at church and we are working with her along those guidelines. Now getting ready for a long day tomorrow…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-10T07:00:00.001-04:00

May 8 & 9, 2010, – Saturday and Sunday: My alarm clock is back to normal and woke me at the appointed time on both days. Saturday was a day to relax but had to involve the church SWAT team to help move some items for Pastor Paul and myself in the morning. Worked in the garage the remainder of the day as I am downsizing and re-arraigning so I can get my car in the space allotted for it…good luck with that…got invited out to my daughters house in Warrenton for dinner to celebrate Mother’s Day. She cooked fish on the grill and it was delicious. Sunday was a great day…we dedicated 35 or 36 babies in our two services. Five of us pastors had our hands full but it is one of the better things I get to do in the ministry. Took my wife out to eat and then we returned home to relax and I watched the end of the golf match on TV. Jeanette and I rented a movie…2012 and watched it before turning in for the night. I though it interesting that Hollywood would plan for the end of the world to be a giant flood so they built giant arks…wow seems like if the really read the bible the flood has already occurred and God has said never again with water…next time it will be with fire…they will get the picture right next time…maybe.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-08T09:29:00.000-04:00

May 7, 2010, – Friday: I surprised my alarm clock today by getting up before her…threw her whole routine out of wack…My golfing buddy and I were leaving quite early to travel to a new golf course to play golf today. It was about a 2 hour drive but if was great and challenging. We played 36 holes and I did better on the second 18 than the first 18. Maybe it was because I had to handle some calls from the church…emergency type as the receptionist knows I only handle that type on my day off. Anyway was able to return some phone calls and get those taken care of as we played along…I am happy to blame that on the way I played so poorly the first 18…but it probably was not the only reason dah… Anyway had a great relaxing day.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-06T22:06:00.001-04:00

May 6, 2010, – Thursday: My happy alarm clock seems back to normal and is now very hungry so she had to eat first thing…that’s a good sign. So, my day started as normal and after taking care of her and breakfast it was off to the office. I had an appointment for budgeting and benevolence at 9:30 so my day started early. Sandy, the volunteer, is still coming in and helping me organize several offices and helping with purging of files in between my appointments. I had a lunch appointment that lasted for 2 hours – some prayer as today was national day of prayer but mostly counseling. I then had to teach the teachers of our school for an hour. My last appointment for the day was at 4:30 and she was a little late making my day stretched past 5:30. The one to home where Jeanette and I had a quick dinner of leftovers before our session would start with a couple thinking of marriage. We are taking them through the pre-marital process and tonight was our first session. It lasted until 9:30…now off to bed and will be dreaming of golf tomorrow…visions of holes in one dancing in my head….

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-06T08:44:00.001-04:00

May 5, 2010, – Wednesday: My alarm clock is back to normal, PTL. She was up at the normal time wanting to do her normal routine once again. I am keeping her on the boiled chicken and rice for the remainder of the day and maybe the first part of Thursday morning. I got to church and immediately had a benevolence case waiting for me. She came from the community of Sterling, single mom with three kids and just had her electricity cut off. She was un-churched but hoped that God would help her…which He did and I had the pleasure of introducing her to Him…she did commit her life and now the work begins. My volunteer arrived right on schedule to help with purging and re-organizing the offices I have under Pastoral Care. I put the final touches on the proposed budget and passed it on to the Executive Pastors office. Did some studying for my class tomorrow; this is a class for the school teachers who need to keep up with their CEU credits…have about 15 in the class. Then I did some studying for the evening class I lead on Financial Peace. Had a noon appointment for counseling and some benevolence issues which I was able to help. After eating about 1:30 had one other appointment for the afternoon and left to see how my little dog was doing and then returned to church for my class in the evening.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-04T23:11:00.001-04:00

May 4, 2010, – Tuesday: My alarm clock is very sick and threw up during the night. Must decide soon to take her to the vet or try to let it run its course. We are getting a new front door installed and the door was delivered yesterday. The installers came early to install the door and before taking out the old door and frame they decided to measure the new door to see if it would fit…I am very grateful they did as it was the wrong door…PTL they measure it before starting. I arrived at the office around 9 and talked to my prayer director almost all the way to the church and then sat in the parking lot continuing our conversation…she has some wonderful ideas the Lord has given her and it is up to the Lord to make them come to pass…I want them too but it is in God’s hands. Anyway I had a 10 AM appointment on a couple needing some marriage counseling. God showed up and He gave them some good advice and some homework to do before our next meeting. I am leaning on having a mentor couple from our church walk along side them to see if they can sow into their life and get them back on the right track. This will be my first hand off and much prayer is going with the mentor couple. We will see how it works out. I have had the luxury of a volunteer coming in all week to help me with file purging and organization of books and some other materials. She has been a huge help and much progress has been accomplished already. She has agreed to serve from 10 to 2 each day as long as needed…can you say PTL. I had a budget meeting with my staff as we needed to put the final touches on the proposed budget before submitting it to the ELT. Started around 11:30 and finally finished around 4, of course we had several interruptions, one being someone who needed some benevolence help with gas which I was able to meet. Then had on other appointment with someone who needed some spiritual guidance as they figured everyone was a fake. I must say this meeting was quite interesting as we dialoged back and forth until we both decided to meet again at a later time. Then on to home to check on my alarm clock that was sick…she has accidents in the dining room and living room and as I cleaned it my wife took her to the vet. She had a temperature and was dehydrated. Vet gave her a shot to hydrate her and some medicine to bring her fever down. Jeanette and I are helping a young lady from our Spanish church with her budget so she came over for our normal Tuesday evening session. Wow now on to bed.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-04T07:19:00.000-04:00

May32, 2010, – Monday: Trying to get back to normal after a great weekend but my alarm clock is sick. Not something you want to wake up to; seems she got overheated while at my daughters and now we are trying to work through this with her. I’ll wait one more day before deciding on a doctor visit for her. Got to the office around 9 and had one appointment starting at 9:15 which lasted about 20 minutes then got a call from the delivery service that is delivering my new front door. Yes I am getting a brand new front door with side lights and new storm door, should make the place look like a million dollars. Anyway, had to leave and come back home in order to show them where to put the door because it will not be installed until Tuesday. I had two appointments starting at 10 which my admin met and had them wait until I returned so this started my day a little in a rush. But everything went very well as one of the ladies missed the baby dedication class so I met with her and the other lady I had scheduled to come in and start volunteering. She is going to help me organized some book shelves and do some purging of files for a few days this week. Had a 1 PM appointment with a lady who is having trouble with her mom. Her mom is suffering from Alzheimer’s and is at her wits end. I also found out she is having marital problems as well and her husband is coming in later today to see me. This lady made an appointment for Tuesday at 10 to discuss her marriage as well. After this meeting I went to our school and arraigned for two more classes that I need to teach for the teachers later this month. Then at 4 the husband came in to discuss his marriage problems. At 5:10 I was on my way home for dinner with my wife which we were eating on our deck. At 9, watched 24, one of my favorite TV programs then on to bed, see ya tomorrow.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-05-02T21:36:00.000-04:00

May 2, 2010, – Sunday: Home after a very nice weekend in New York celebrating my grandbabies 16th birthday. We (Jeanette, Amber, myself and Kelsey the birthday girl) left Friday morning early on the Mega Bus from DC. Did some sightseeing and then took a cab to a great restaurant where the locals eat…Named Vincent’s the Original. The sauce is out of this world good and the service was great. We took the train back to Times Square before turning in for some sleep before a busy Saturday. On Saturday the girls did some shopping and looking at all the sights before returning to the room so we could freshen up before the Broadway play Mamma Mia. It was great and when we left the theater we found out that Times Square was closed because of a bomb scare…it was a little scary looking at an empty Times Square…betcha never seen that before….then back to the room for some sleep before returning to good old Virginia. We took the Mega Bus from Penn Station and just as we entered Maryland if broke down. We had to wait for almost 2 hours for a bus to arrive to continue us on our journey. Our daughter and son-n-law picked us up and had some food waiting for us…very nice. Now back home relaxing and getting ready for Monday…see everyone then.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-29T21:47:00.001-04:00

April 29, 2010 – Thursday: Vacation day at last…I think. Alarm clock went off and she does not know I am on vacation. It is a normal day for her except I stayed home and did not leave which always messes up her routine…haha. On Wednesday I went to a ladies home and anointed her with oil and prayed for her to be healed…well the reason I went was because her neighbor is a friend and they are getting ready to move to Florida. Well they are downsizing and had a nice electronic piano, looked brand new, so I offered to buy it…and they accepted. Anyway went over this afternoon and paid for it and several other items…not sure why. But now I will have to start taking piano lessons…can you say :”teach an old dog new tricks”? After returning I power washed my deck and cleaned up all the furniture getting it ready for some activity as the weather is getting better each day. Cooked some BBQ chicken on the grill and added some shaved ham and a pineapple ring to mine and thought I was in Hawaii, having Hawaiian chicken on a bun…it turned out to be good. Rest of the evening I relaxed and watched the movie Apocalypse from the Bible Collection. It is about Jesus’ revelation given to the Apostle John. It was very good. Our Pastor is preaching from the book of Revelation for several more weeks and this movie played along the same lines as he is teaching from. I would recommend it to you. Now we are awaiting on the grandbabies to arrive as we will be starting out early tomorrow morning for our trip to New York, NY…it’s her 16th birthday and we are going to “do the town”. Should be fun…so, for the next couple of days will be out of range of the computer so the blog will have to await my return. See everyone then!

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-29T09:59:00.001-04:00

April 28, 2010 – Wednesday: Back to normal with my little alarm clock. I guess she is happy. Went to the office this morning to help a lady with benevolence and then had a couple with marital problems right after that meeting. Had some time with them and God showed up in a big way and some relief came into this relationship. Will have several more meetings with them but communication seemed to be the real key. Pastor Paul was seeing a man also with marriage difficulties and they wanted me to sit in on some of the discussion. Afterwards Paul and I went to visit a lady who is suffering from cancer and needs an operation this Friday. Her neighbor, who comes to our church, volunteered me to come and anoint her with oil and pray the prayer of faith over her. So, Paul and I went and had a good meeting with the family before we prayed. I traveled back home and picked up my lovely wife so we could return to church and teach our Wednesday evening class. Had dinner on the way and the class went great. Arrived back home near 9. I was supposed to be on vacation today…guess I will have to take it another time…PTL.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-27T22:07:00.001-04:00

April 27, 2010 – Tuesday: This morning I was up before my alarm clock which threw her clock completely out of wack…but, she had to go outside and do her thing anyway. I was up early because I was going to meet a young man whom I am mentoring. We met close to his job site for about an hour before he started to work. The Lord led me to tell him some of my personal testimony on how I was first called into the ministry and then years later experienced the sending. He is starting to feel the call so it was a beneficial meeting. I then went on to the office and got settled in for my appointment at 10. This lady is suffering from several diseases and her husband has left her. I have been meeting with her several weeks and today I told her she needed to get out and get back into the work force. I offered for her to some into the office for a few hours every day next week and help me with some purging of files and doing some filing, just to get her used to getting out of the house. After this meeting we had our monthly all staff meeting and heard about the finances of the church from the Executive Pastor. Things are actually not so bad but summer is coming and when the people go on vacation the tithes and offerings go down so we need to preserve cash…so, we still need to be very careful which is not a bad thing. I couldn’t stay for the afternoon Leadership Team meeting as I needed to take Jeanette to the doctor to have her legs checked as they were really hurting. We are going to New York this weekend with our grandbabies and it will be a lot of walking. We pray she will be able to make it as I know she and the girls are very excited about the trip. After the doctor’s visit we headed to a Gideon banquet but on the way received two phone calls about two couples having marital difficulties and it seemed to come to a head just as we were entering the banquet. Prayed with them on the phone and they agreed to wait until the next day so I could try to meet with them face to face. The banquet was very uplifting and lifted my spirits. On the way home got a call from the young man I mentor – he and his wife were at the hospital as their little girl of one year had a seizure and almost died…she was ok now and stable in the hospital. I had some prayer with him and his wife before arriving home to drop off Jeanette. Looking forward to getting some sleep before the next day starts, which I am scheduled for a vacation day but do need to minister to those families and that will take up most of the day…oh ya, almost forgot – got a text message from a family who wanted me to come tomorrow and pray for their neighbor who is dying of cancer. She is a young mom with three small kids so this lady and her husband said her pastor (me) would be glad to come and pray for her and anoint her with oil…and I will, day of vacation or not…be glad too and will expect God to minister to this young family…PTL!! Another busy day with the Lord…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-27T06:15:00.000-04:00

April 26, 2010 – Monday: Today I took a day of vacation. Had a few things I needed to address early today at the office (did it via phone) and then got my haircut. On the way home I stopped at Homedepot and picked up some filters for the furnace as it has been several months, more than I want to count since the last change. Started cleaning out my garage and got ready for a garage sale coming up soon. I am starting to downsize…really going to make my life simple. Had a relaxing afternoon. I am suffering from “dry skin” on my finger tips…someone suggested I get some gloves and put them on with the hand lotion and leave them on for at least 2 hours…did that and it helped during the night but now Tuesday morning is here and the dryness has returned…imagine that. I might have to go to the doctor soon.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-25T22:26:00.001-04:00

April 25, 2010 – Sunday: This morning when I woke I said to Jeanette that she was late for work as I thought it was Monday…I was really tired the night before and slept very hard, if you know what I mean. Of course she didn’t have to go to work – I did, it was Sunday and I was the one who needed to go to work…so, that is how my day got started. My little alarm clock was up by then and of course needed to go outside and take care of business. That’s how my day started and from then on I was pretty busy. When I got to church I had to set up for my last class on the truth project and also set up for my marriage class as I was going to train some new mentors to help with my pre- marriage ministry. I attended the first service and had a chance to pray with a lady whose husband, after going on a mission trip, told her he had lost interest in her. She was of course devastated and I told her I would meet with her and her husband as soon as possible so I am now waiting for a call. Something happened to him and the devil is wrecking havoc in his life and trying to ruin his marriage. Went to my truth project class and got it started then moved next door and taught the baby dedication class for couples getting their babies dedicated on Mother’s Day. It looks like we will be having 20 or more families with at least two sets of twins. It should be a very interesting day and this is one of the better things I get to do in the ministry. After this slipped back into my truth project class just in time to close out the dvd and have some discussion with the class. Soon after this class ended I started with the training of 7 couples who will be helping me in the pre-marital ministry of which I am very happy to have them on board. This class ended at 3 then I headed home to rest for a couple of hours. My daughter came by to say hello and we spent some time with her before leaving for our small group meeting. Our small group all went to the GUSH fellowship at church for our time of fellowship. We had our bible study at the beginning of our small group time and pushed the fellowship to the end. Got home around 8:30 after stopping and picking up some milk at the store…wow…that seemed like a busy day, hope I don’t have too many of those in the future. As I write this blog entry it has begun storming and rain has started coming down…I like sleeping when it is raining, seems peaceful. Looking forward to a good nights sleep.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-25T07:42:00.000-04:00

April 24, 2010 – Saturday: Relaxing start to the day, at least for my alarm clock as she was wide awake at her normal hour and wanted to be taken out. So, up I came and did my daily chores to make her happy. Then had some coffee while sitting on my deck and reviewed my message for the funeral today. Around 10 started getting ready as I needed to be at the church for an appointment with a lady who is struggling with her faith in the Catholic Church verses her new knowledge of Jesus. One of her friends invited her to church last Sunday and the Holy Spirit was very direct and quick with her but she was afraid to respond. Short story she called my office and needed to speak to someone about what was going on inside of her. Of course God directed her to me so I shared about his love on the phone and I do believe she was ready to commit right then but her husband came home and she became afraid of what he would say or do so she hung up rather quickly…she did call back but would not make the commitment right then. So, she agreed to come in Saturday and meet me…again her husband entered into the equation and she backed away…BTW, he knows nothing of what’s going on or that she even visited our church…she is just scared. Satan has her and he does not want to let go…but he has already lost and she will commit to becoming a follower of Christ. So, she called and said she couldn’t come but I got her email and will send her something for her to study and read. Now back to the funeral…it was a good thing we changed it to the main worship center…at least 400 if not more showed for the service. It flowed very well and the Special Olympians showed how much they loved the deceased by bringing their medals to the front and placing them on the table beside his remains. This was a very moving time in the service as about 50 came forward. Overall the service was very good and the reception was well attended by over 250. Many of the Special Olympians came to me during the reception and told me how much they appreciated how well I spoke of their friend and they all loved the service. That meant a lot as I know it came directly from their heart. Several told me they were going to start back to church because of the message and some said they wanted me to come and visit their church. It was very touching. I must say God brought many of our volunteers out to help with ushering and with serving. Several stayed to help with clean up and Lynn and Nancy were wonderful!! I really don’t know how we could have pulled this off without the tireless efforts of these two…this is two weekends in a row we have had a funeral. Then two members of our church had invited Jeanette and I out to a Blue Collar Comedy show. We went and had a wonderful time…never laughed so hard…I really needed the release and once home…wow I crashed hard a be woken to the tune of my alarm clock shaking herself and her tags rattling…indicating she was up and it was now time for me to get out of bed and start my Sunday…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-24T06:32:00.000-04:00

April 23, 2010 – Friday: This is my normal day off, today and Saturday. It was a beautiful morning and my alarm clock went off, as usual, at the normal time so I was up early. Today Jeanette is driving my car to work so I can get the oil changed in hers. Had an appointment for 8:15 and I took my little doggy with me so she could get in some different smells…I also met a lady who was getting her oil changed who works for Orbital. She said they are hiring and have just posted several pages of jobs. Got her contact info and invited her to church. After making a stop at the post office I headed back home so finish the preparations for the funeral message. After lunch I went to the office to get a notebook that my admin was finishing for the marriage class I am teaching this coming Sunday. Took care of a few things while waiting and then headed home. Had a nice dinner with my wife, relaxed some, watched some TV and went to bed for a nice relaxing sleep. I have been feeling a little run down lately, little sluggish so I need the rest. I am looking forward to next weekend when Jeanette and I will be taking our grandbabies to New York City to celebrate Kelsey’s 16th birthday.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-23T07:36:00.000-04:00

April 22, 2010 – Thursday: Again today….I am on vacation or at least I am suppose to be. My alarm clock went off a little later this morning…maybe she was afraid to wake me as she dreamed all night of the “beauty parlor” experience. Early in the morning I finished putting final touches on my message and practicing it a few times. Later in the afternoon I had planned to finish with some other parts of the service, such as the opening remarks. The family would like to come forward and light a series of candles in memory of their son’s life so I had to make sure I could fit that into an appropriate spot in the order of worship, which I did. Their son was very involved in the Special Olympics as he himself was slightly handicapped, so about 100 Special Olympians will take part in the service as they will bring their medals and place them on a table next to Lance. He was a special person to them and to a lot of people. I had to make the call to move it into the main worship center as over 500 are expected. Two people from our body needed some help from our benevolence fund and asked me to meet with them so I did. I had a meeting I needed to be at, so I scheduled them around that meeting. One of the families I was able to help with some bills, not enough I am afraid and the single mom I had to put off until next week as our funds are quite low. The meeting I was telling you about was our annual Ministerial Counsel. I am one of 5 Elders of the church and we give oversight to those within the church, and some outside, that have a minister’s license or are ordained that fall under our church’s umbrella of authority. It was a short meeting as those we give oversight too had turned in the proper forms that we ask for and there seems to be no trouble. After that meeting and some discussion with my Admin I left for the remainder of the day. I spent the remainder with my wife and our little puppy.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-21T22:20:00.001-04:00

April 21, 2010 – Wednesday: Today….I am on vacation or at least I am suppose to be. I knew I had to make a visit to the office for a little while…notice I said little while. My alarm clock was on time but she was in for a surprise as today she goes to the “beauty parlor”…gets a bath, smelly stuff, nails cut, pretty scarf around her neck and comes home all prissy…man the life of a dog…must be good. When I picked her up she was very glad to see me and immediately forgave me for leaving her in this place…For me I had to start on my funeral sermon then go to the office to take care of some quick items. The quick items turned into more hours than I wanted but necessary. Had a meeting with our volunteer SWAT team leader and ask for some help in a move coming up in May. Said he thought they could handle. He is also a softball coach for a church team and I had to ask him to move a team member to another team. Could not give a reason at this time but he understood and made the change right away. Thanks for an obedient leader…then had one benevolent case I needed to deal with and one left over from the previous day…then back home to relax. Got several calls from the church as the family I am dealing with needed to make some changes to the order of worship so I set a meeting for 6:15. The funeral is turning out to be larger than our chapel will hold so had to make a decision to move it into the main worship center. The family appreciated us being flexible as I could see stress leave their faces as they are very appreciative of all the church family is doing to make this a memorable memorial service for their son. Then it was on to teach my FPU class and got into the class just in the nick of time. Now have arrived home and all seems well. Tomorrow I will put the finishing touches on the message and then will probably need to go back to the church…I am on vacation…I think -:)

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-20T22:40:00.000-04:00

April 20, 2010 – Tuesday; Again the day started pretty normal, alarm clock woke me pretty much at the normal time and needed to go outside to relieve herself and then eat and then back out again. After devotions I left for the office early as I had many things on my mind. My first appointment was scheduled with the family of the 39 year old man who was found in a local pond several days ago. We planned the memorial service…it was sad as their son was a little handicapped and very active in the Virginia Special Olympics. He was a good person who had many friends and the service will be well attended. The family had their best friends included in the discussions and it was nice to see friends and family working together. I am sure it will be an uplifting service…only thing…I am not sure of his salvation as well as his sister and mother and dad. It will be a challenge for me to share the gospel in such a fashion they will understand and receive it from God. Soon after this meeting Pastor Paul and I headed to another family in our church who are going through some rough financial times…seems like the whole house had water problems and it has been discouraging to the family. They are now looking at several thousand dollars in repairs and no income…they will have to trust that God will pull them through. After meeting with them had to return to the office and attend our weekly Leadership Team meeting. Got in late and got called out early to handle a lady who came in and needed some pastoral help…she was crying because her husband left her without saying goodbye or why he left. She needed some reassurance that God loved her and would see her through this time…she used up almost a whole box of tissues as she was able to get the emotions out and then let the Holy Spirit in to minister to her. Just as she left one of the pastors who served with me until about a year ago came by to say hello but could only spend a few minutes with him as another appointment walked in the door. This couple is long time members of the church and he has been unemployed for over a year. Have used up all their savings and 401 money to pay bills and needed some help with two overdue utility bills. Had a chance to minister to them that God is faithful and will see them through this rough time…she has a job and with her income and some savings and family they have been able to survive…I was very happy to be able to help with these bills in order to relieve some stress from them…temporary but good for the moment. Left the office a little after 5 and headed home. Jeanette and I were meeting with daughter of our close friends who is in trouble and needed some help. We had dinner with her and discuss how we could help. After taking her home we finally had a short down time and then off to bed…but not before we had to give our little dog her nightly treat. She has a funny way of asking…almost every night she gets in my lap and just stares at me…she is telling me look into my eyes…now get me my treat. I let her stare for awhile and then give in…she then is happy and ready to turn in for the evening. All is well in her life….ahhhh the life of a dog…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-19T21:48:00.000-04:00

April 19, 2010 – Monday; The day started pretty normal, alarm clock woke me pretty much at the normal time and needed to go outside to relieve herself and then eat and then back out again…pretty much normal. After devotions I checked my email and noticed an email from the HOA about one of our previous neighbors who lost his son. Further developments revealed that he and his wife moved away about 3 years ago to Gainesville and their son, 39 years old, was living with them and left home and did not return. Several days later the police found him in a pond near their home. I am saying this to further say…they went to our church many years ago and still considered CFC their home church…my phone started ringing and almost immediately I was planning another memorial service for this coming Saturday. Two Saturdays in a row. When I got to the office I had several meetings for benevolence scheduled but before they came in Chris Cole, a local counselor, came in to see me. He was a staff member when I first joined the staff…anyway he is easy to talk with so I just started talking and about an hour later I had to stop as my first appointment came in…guess I needed to unload some things…glad he stopped by. After the last meeting of the morning I had lunch with our associate pastor just to get caught up on ministry and some personal things, then back to church for two afternoon meetings. Ended my last meeting at 5 and went home to eat dinner with my wife before returning to church for a school board meeting. Meeting lasted to 9. The school is doing great, we talked budget and were able to give teachers a small raise plus give them their tenor pay. Enrollment is ahead of schedule and the hardest decision we had to make was how many foreign students we wanted to allow in our school next year. We left it to the teachers to come back with a number they could deal with without slowing down the other students. Overall it was a great meeting. Now some relaxing and then on to bed…PTL!!

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-19T07:14:00.000-04:00

April 18, 2010 – Sunday; This was a long day…church in the morning, meeting for visitors right after church and then Sunday night service…finally got home around 9:30 PM and shortly after that it was bed time. My day started pretty normal with my alarm clock waking me up and needing to go outside…I guess each day is the same for her…no difference, same routine, same food, same walking distance. She has her day planned out for her..she even knows when it is time for her evening snack…7PM. But she gets so excited when Jeanette or I come home…it’s like we were gone for a long time and we came home. Yes, she is part of the family and we love her as one of us. Pastor had a great message this morning as he continues to teach us from the book of Revelation. He was so caught up in the ending of the message he forgot we were going to serve full communion and invited everyone to the tables like it was a normal Sunday. The GUSH team stepped up and got the elements into the correct place and hardly anyone recognized the mistake…great team effort. Had a good number of guests for our welcome luncheon, one couple shared they needed a Japanese translator as the wife was having a hard time following the message. This is an opportunity for us to meet her need and I am sure God will provide. Later at our evening service we had some great worship and a good word from God. It resulted in almost everyone coming forward for prayer. As I said earlier got home a little after 9:30 and shortly afterwards headed for bed and some sleep. I think I need to do some adjusting of my time schedule…plate is full.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-17T20:16:00.000-04:00

April 17, 2010 – Saturday; Today started as normal with my alarm clock waking me at the normal hour of 6:30. Today I had to conduct a funeral for a young 8 year old twin girl who died from cancer in February. We put off the service so people could come and because her dad is also suffering from cancer and had to have some treatments and surgery so they wanted to have it in between so he would be strong enough to come. Our chapel holds 200 and it was full…standing room only. It was a great service and very upbeat and very alive with memories and life. The parents and kids shared during the service and it was very uplifting to our Lord. I think everyone stayed for the reception and I begin to wonder if we had enough food…shame on me…God provided just enough…had about 12 sandwiches left over…does this remind you of the loaves and fishes parable??? Everyone had a great time and one young man sang a song for the family and another read some poems and shared some about how their daughter touched their lives. Lynn and Nancy were very valuable as they made sure the flow of the pre-service and the post-service flowed smoothly. Lord please bless them as they worked very hard. Got home around 2:30 and was drained emotionally and crashed on the couch with my little dog sleeping beside me…for about an hour. Just enough to refresh my batteries. Jeanette went to my grandson’s birthday party and represented us both. She took our granddaughter with her and they had a great time. Now time to relax and wait for her to come home…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-16T23:55:00.001-04:00

April 16, 2010 – Friday; Last night I slept in my bed…good nights sleep. Of course my alarm clock went off at 6:30, I patted her on the head and said just one more minute…about a minute she was back so up I got up and helped her take care of business. Later in the morning had to go to church in order to meet some with the family as we put the final touches on the funeral service for Saturday and I was serving communion to the pre-school and school teachers and staff. Pastor Paul and Pastor Tony helped as we served them some communion juice grown and bottled in Cana of Galilee. Had lunch with them before returning home to take care of little Penny and relax before returning to help decorate the worship center and the reception area for the funeral and reception tomorrow. The family brought about 15 people with them to decorate and set up for the service so it didn’t take as long as I thought. Lynn Eisele was there guiding all the activity…she has a great servant heart and loves doing ministry. Not sure I could have accomplished all that needed to be done without her…then on to home, dinner and a walk in the rain with my dog as she needed to have some outside time. Did some finishing touches on my message for the funeral and now off too bed…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-16T06:55:00.001-04:00

April 15, 2010 – Thursday; Today I start back home after a short visit with some close friends. As I prayed today the Lord said that the purpose of the visit was twofold…First for Carl and the team at the satellite church and second for Pastor Bud the senior pastor. Words God gave me like patience and trust and relationship all resonated in both groups; patience that God was really doing a great work for the people at the satellite location and trust in Him to accomplish the work in His time not theirs. As He builds relationships among the leaders His Will can be worked out better for the people He wants to reach. Carl and I talked as we ate breakfast and drove to the airport. It was a very good flight home…Southwest is a good airline and on time or early. I love the way they allow you on the plane…no assigned seating but done in a very orderly way. Yes I will fly Southwest Airlines again.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-15T00:09:00.000-04:00

April 14, 2010 – Wednesday; this morning I slept in as my alarm clock was not at my location. I slept until 7 AM Louisiana time, which is 8 AM at home. Had a relaxing day as Carl showed me his church which is in a great location right on a main road where 100,000 plus cars come by each day. They are still working on the inside but are holding services each Sunday. They are getting ready for the growth explosion that God will be bringing to them in the near future. I played a round of golf with Carl’s senior pastor. He is young man who has a vision to reach the lost and is moving toward opening a nice church in a great location. We talked about many things throughout the day as he asked plenty of questions about what we do at our church and I spoke into him about trust and relationships among many other things. All in all we had a wonderful day and he appreciated my visit. BTW I shot very good and hit the ball very solid all day. Later when Kenna got home we went to dinner and had some seafood. Returned home and looked at some photos as we got caught up in each other’s lives. Tired and looking forward to some sleep…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-14T08:47:00.001-04:00

April 13, 2010 – Tuesday; this morning started early like the previous morning but this time it was because of an early appointment to get my car oil changed. I took Penny with me and while the car was getting serviced I took her for a walk so she could take care of her morning routine…which she did and enjoyed all the new smells which she had never smelled before. Arrived at church around 9 and got material ready for the Wednesday night FPU which Jeanette will have to handle as I will be out of town. Speaking of being out of town, I am in Baton Rouge as I write this blog. This will be a short trip as a close friend invited me to come and minister to his pastor. Not exactly sure what will happen but will allow God to use me if He would like. Had a great flight on Southwest airline…service was excellent and the departure and arrival was right on time or a little ahead of schedule. Carl picked me up in New Orleans and as we drove back to his home he filled me in on some things concerning his church and told me one of the pastors would be at his home and wanted to talk over dinner. We had a very nice time talking over dinner and talked well into the night and ended our time in travailing prayer for the church and for the leaders of the both campuses. Once my head hit the pillow God gave me much needed rest. Looking forward to the meeting on Wednesday and a time of sharing…hopefully will get in some golf as well…matter of fact I will.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-13T06:48:00.000-04:00

April 12, 2010 – Monday; The start of the morning was much earlier than usual. I was awake at 6 AM and my little alarm clock was a little confused. She looked at me and titled her little head to the right and then the left as to say…”did you just take 30 minutes of sleep away from me” and of course my answer was yup your little internal clock is going to be messed up today. Today was going to be an emotional day…starting with two early hospital visits for ladies having breast surgery to take care of cancer, then meeting with the mom of an 8 year old to put the final touches on her memorial service. I spoke about her in a previous blog….she was one half of a twin and contracted cancer and lost the battle. She passed in February but because of her father having cancer in the liver they wanted to wait until he was better to have the memorial service. So, after the morning hospital visits I spent a couple of hours with her putting the final touches on the service. I then met with a man who was struggling with some internal issues and assigned him a Stephen Minister then back to the hospital for the third lady having breast surgery. After that one I stopped at home and rested for about an hour. Took Penny for a walk which she was happy about and then back to church to get ready for the FPU free intro class we ran in conjunction with Dave Ramsey. Had 20 people from the community show and they loved the class. Randy and Suzanne Vel handled most of the program…I opened and closed it. Got home around 9 and went to bed a little early…full day. BTW…while Randy and Suzanne was teaching a lady came into the church needing to speak to a pastor…so, I guess I was supposed to be there last night. Good timing by the Lord…Amen.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-12T07:19:00.001-04:00

April 11, 2010 – Sunday; Great start of the day…as usual my alarm clock went off at exactly 6:30 so I reached over and patted her on the head for a few seconds before drifting off to sleep once again and then, much to my surprise it went off again…I thought I had hit the snooze behind the ears but no…no…no, she had to go outside and begin her normal routine once again. It was a beautiful morning…just right with the temperature. We walked and she did her morning “constitution” and back to the house. So, my Sunday started in the usually manner just like every other day of the week. We had a great service at church today as Pastor has started a new series on the Book of Revelation. Our first service was very full and we had some room left in the second one…not much but some. During the 11 AM hour I had to teach our baptism class and The Truth Project class at the same time…hum how was I going to do that…ahh, Pastor Paul stepped up and taught the baptism class which allowed me to teach the main class on the truth project. On the way to my office I had several people stop me to share different things but this one lady shared something that was a miracle from God. She only had 30 dollars on Friday and that evening she sowed 10 of it into the China Outreach Ministries and on Saturday morning she sowed 10 more into another ministry she visited. Well on Sunday she felt God prompting her to take a class which had a study book that cost 15 dollars and then told her to buy a book for another lady who could not afford to take the class because of funds…she didn’t know where she would get the money but took the books to the cashier at our bookstore at church and when she opened her wallet, instead of a 10 dollar bill it was a 100. Wow…she said she just knew that God had told her to purchase the book but did not know how He was going to pull it off…she was blessed beyond measure and so was I. Then on to the young man waiting for me at my office door when I got there and wanted to talk…he is having marital problems and wondering what he was going to do. After listening for awhile the Holy Spirit prompted me to share the love that Jesus has for him. He admitted that he did not have a personal relationship with Jesus so we prayed and he accepted Christ and the work He did for him…another one stolen from the snares of Satan. He is now embarking on a journey of hearing from God as to what he should do next. I will be following up with him as the weeks pass to see if he is keeping up with the things I gave him to study. Stopped on the way home to pick up some lunch and get ready for our home group meeting later…and also to watch some golf. Hope Tiger puts on a good show. He tried but Phil came through in the clutch and won his 3rd Masters title. Way to go Phil!! Had out small group meeting at our home so we had a great time of sharing in His Word and had some great fellowship.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-10T22:30:00.001-04:00

April 10, 2010 – Saturday; It was my normal scheduled day off but went to a Stephen Ministry Regional Network group to get familiar with other church running SM. All of my leaders went and we really gleaned some valuable information from the roundtable discussions. Things I hope we can bring back to our ministry and put into practice. Later had a scheduled meeting with a coach who is gathering information on our leadership practices so he can help us as a church leadership team better function. This was a short session and afterwards Jeanette and I went to Warrenton to help celebrate our daughter’s 40th surprise birthday party. It was great as she was totally surprised. She has some great friends who love her very much and that touches’ my heart. She is a great girl…the host put together a slide show with music of her early childhood that actually brought tears to her eyes and mine as well. It was very good.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-10T06:39:00.001-04:00

April 9, 2010 – Friday; My normal day off but not today, as I said yesterday I scheduled an appointment with someone who desperately needs some benevolence help. My day started as usual as my little dog (Penny) woke me at 6:30. After taking care of her “normal” routine I got dressed and headed to the church. I had a 10 AM appointment and then needed to get my hair cut. Please pray with me about this benevolent need. A lady with three children is now separated from her husband and he sold the home so they had to move. She has found a place in Leesburg and of course they want a deposit plus the first month’s rent and now her vehicle transmission is going bad and she needs that the be replaced. Plus the start up cost of having your utilities turned…she needs God to provide 6,000 dollars and she has none. I do not have that much in the benevolence fund…not even close, to help with the need. This is one of those moments where God must show up in order for the need to be met. I also learned of another family in our church in a more desperate way…their water line under their home is leaking and running up huge water bills and now both have medical issues pretty bad plus both cars are in really bad shape. He has been out of work for several years and the only income is from disability money from the government and that barely meets the necessary items for living…my cry is Help!! After leaving the office I went and had my haircut. My barber said I looked like I was in deep thought as she cut my hair. Life for some is very hard which makes me thankful for the things God has provided for me. Later my wife and I went to a fund raising banquet for the China Outreach Mission. It was very good – 180 people showed and during the evening they brought 18 Chinese students to the front and they all shared they had accepted Jesus as their savior and had been baptized…all by me at church. God always has a way of lifting your spirit just when you need it…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-09T07:13:00.000-04:00

April 8, 2010 – Thursday; My day started pretty well…normal things like getting woken by my little dog wanting to go outside and then eat. She is on a strict routine…up at 6:20, get me up and downstairs and outside by 6:30 and then back inside to eat…then rest for 40 minutes and then back outside for her morning walk…so, my day started normal. Arrived at church close to 9 and had one appointment for benevolence for a lady in the community which we were not able to meet all of her need. Did some preparing for a training class I will be teaching on April 25. I had lunch with the Spanish Pastor which is a regular thing with us as we need to have some time to talk about our own cares. After lunch I had two benevolence meetings and was able to meet both. Both were from our church family and I am always glad when we can help. Today was not too stressful but I did make an appointment for my day off, which I normally do not do….but this lady is desperate and I am not sure how God is going to meet her need…guess we will see. Had a nice evening at home with dinner and relaxing with my wife…did check the internet for the Masters’ scores…had to see how Tiger did…and he did very well…2 strokes off the lead. Should be an interesting few days in Augusta, GA.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

April 7, 2010 – Wednesday; It was another great sunrise this morning. Watching the airplanes leaving contrails high in the sky tells me we are still at peace. Not long ago 9/11 happened and for many days we did not see any planes in the sky and it was an eerie feeling. I will be taking the early part of the day off and playing some golf with our youth pastor. Our tee time was for 8:30 and we had a great time…the weather was just beginning to get hot as we finished…I out drove him on several holes…or was he letting me feel like I was hitting the ball better…hummmm. Anyway his strategy worked I felt like I was striking the ball really good. Arrived at church for my first appointment around 11:30 and we went to lunch. This man is struggling with some family issues so I have been meeting with him for several weeks. Today we talked about tithing…he sent me his budget later in the day “proving” to me that it just wouldn’t work. I have heard this so many times from so many people that my response now is “how do you know it won’t if you have not trusted God and just done it”, which was my response to him and it caused him to send me a copy of his budget “showing” me it would not work. I think I will let him mull it over some before responding back because I have learned that when truth is presented and you understand it then you have a responsibility to then act on that truth. Later had two other appointments that dealt with benevolence issues and was able to help one single mom with gas and food. We have some generous people in our CFC family and they give gas and food cards which helps me minister to those in real need and it also always gives me the chance to share the gospel. Some receive it and act on it immediately and some try to tell me they are already believers and just need some help. Received a phone call from a member of our church who wanted some prayer and advice to give a single lady who is going to have an abortion…he and his wife were trying to help her make the correct decision. She agreed to wait one more day so we prayed and I passed this on to our prayer network to intercede on her babies behalf…hopefully I will find out today that she has made the correct decision…I learned she is a member of our church body and has made a terrible mistake. If you are reading this pray for her. Later had a chance to minister to a man who is having some marital problems. His wife came to see me a couple of weeks ago and she insisted he come to see me…after 5 minutes of talking with him the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said he thinks he is a believer but he has never crossed the line and given his life to God. They have been married 15 years and he is the son of a minister and grew up in the church…as I spoke the gospel to him he realized for the first time he did not have that personal relationship with Jesus…so we took care of that which in turned changed to whole conversation. I pray that when he got home that night he would be able to share with his wife what has happened to him and she will begin to see a real change. So, he came in a non-believer and thought he “was right and his wife was wrong” and left with a much deeper humble attitude and in love with our Lord…another one stolen from the devil. Then taught my Wednesday evening bible class with a spiritual “high”.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-06T21:52:00.001-04:00

April 6, 2010 – Tuesday; It was another great sunrise this morning…while walking our dog…a Silky Terrier who is very protective and loves to chase squirrels I needed some real advice from God on how to handle a situation with a volunteer and He showed me exactly what to say. It was received very well and things were resolved. God always knows how to handle things and when we ask He seems to always come through. Was able to finalize some marriage mentor letters and get them in the email system…ya fastly moving into another level of communication. My admin is way ahead of me in getting things done…very proficient. Just before lunch Pastor Paul and I made a visit to one of our elderly ladies in a rehab center. We had a nice time sharing and served her communion as she has been out of church since the first part of January. On the way back to the office had to make several stops in order to purchase some gas and food cards for the benevolence ministry. Once back had a surprise meeting with a young lady who has gotten herself in some personal trouble. It happens when we separate ourselves from God. I shared with her that God loves her and had never stopped. She really felt unworthy for His forgiveness and of His love. Sin does that to us…causes a breach in our relationship…but God is always right there and ready to forgive if we confess…His love is so deep…and so wide…and so high. Agape is the word I shared with her…she still is His child and nothing can separate her or us from His love. Arrived home a little later than normal but had a nice dinner with my wife as we dined on the deck and had some time sharing. After eating we had to make a quick run to the store so she could pick up some food for a lunch her office is having tomorrow…now on to bed as last night was late…watched a great basketball game with Duke coming out on top in the final seconds…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-05T21:44:00.000-04:00

April 5, 2010 – Monday; It was a great sunrise this morning…just cool enough to be really enjoyable. My daily reading took me to Psalm 52. When I read verse 8 – “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love forever and ever”. Last Wednesday if you remember I spoke to the Prison Fellowship Staff and part of my message had to do with opening our spiritual eyes. In the bible men are very often referred to as trees and I shared several points of scripture but not this one…anyway it just spoke again to me about us having 2 sets of eyes and ears. Well after arriving at the office had one scheduled meeting and had to handle several walk-ins. Pastor Paul came in and we went to make a hospital visit to a lady having gall bladder surgery. After returning to the office I had a meeting with a family who lost their twin girl two weeks ago and we are in the midst of planning her memorial service. Spent over an hour discussing details for the April 17th service for the 10 year old girl. Shortly after she left I went to our school and conducted an hour long bible study for the pre-school teachers. This helps meet their CEU requirements for certification and it gives me a chance to stay in touch with the teaching staff of our school. Finally left the office shortly before 5 and stopped on the way home and bought some hamburger as the weather was so nice Jeanette and I wanted to cookout. Had a great meal and now relaxing watching 24 on TV waiting for the NCAA men’s basketball championship…unknown Butler against a power house called Duke…should be a good game.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-04T21:58:00.000-04:00

April 4, 2010 – Sunday; Great service today. We had 3 services and I baptized 18 people today. It was a great day for the Lord. Pastor Kent preached a wonderful message and presented the gospel very clearly. All of the volunteers were great today, everyone really shined. Lynn did a wonderful job, she has a real spirit of caring for the people coming to visit our church as well as the volunteers. It really worked very well today. Communion was served to the whole church during our 3 services and it was amazing to see well it went. God got the victory today…Amen!! After church had Easter dinner with my daughter, son-n-law and my two wonderful grandbabies. Had a very relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. Jeanette and I took everyone to Friendly’s for ice cream to top off the day. Now, to bed as I get ready to start my week on Monday…need to make an early hospital visit as one of our ladies is having surgery in the morning. See ya tomorrow.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-03T21:19:00.000-04:00

April 3, 2010 – Saturday; I received two phone calls during the night which is unusual. Had to make two hospital visits -- One of the ladies in our church passed out and was taken to the hospital and immediately taken to the heart ICU for observation…learned this morning that she will need a pace maker installed and they plan on doing it on Easter morning. The other call was about a man who really felt he was having a heart attack. His wife started taking him to the hospital but had to stop and let the ambulance come and get him as the pain was very bad. He is doing fine and the doctors could not find where he had a heart attack so they are adjusting some medicine and he will be released later today. One “funny” story regarding this is the EMT personnel tilted the gurney and he fell off…certainly glad it was not a heart attack. Spent the remainder of my day with my wife relaxing at home…we will be celebrating the resurrection in a little while…tomorrow we celebrate!!

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-02T23:40:00.000-04:00

April 2, 2010 – Friday; Wife is now home. Thank you Lord for brining her home safely. My daughter and grandbabies came over and we all went to the airport to pick her up…really surprised her. Well my golf game went as planned except I didn’t get a hole in one…but had a great time…very relaxing. The weather was great…what a day to be outside. After golf my daughter and grandbabies came over and we did some shopping for Easter dinner. Hung out at the mall while they did some shopping and just had a very relaxing day. After picking up Jeanette we had a light meal at Bob Evans before they headed home and Jeanette and I headed back to our place...she needed to get in her own bed...

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-01T23:07:00.001-04:00

April 1, 2010 – Thursday; one more wake-up before my wife gets back. Today was a full day but relaxing. I had one early appointment at the office with a lady who is suffering through an ex-husband who is fighting her for child support…some things I find hard to swallow like a judge taking a mom’s kids from her and then make her pay child support. It is breaking her and soon she will be on the street or living in a shelter…I paid her rent for April and ministered to her through prayer. Soon after this meeting I left with our seniors for lunch. About 12 of us traveled to Charles Town West Virginia to the Mountain View restaurant for lunch and fellowship. Great day for a ride through the country, sun was shining and everything looked very alive. The lunch was more than you should have to eat and the fellowship was outstanding. Stopped on the way back in Berryville and had some ice cream. Arrived back at the church around 3:30…day was great and very relaxing. After getting back to church had a meeting with a single mom who needed some help with rent and food. I was able to help with this need…I see a lot of this as the economy seems not to be getting better. All our trust needs to be placed in God as He and He alone will be able to sustain us in the tough times. So, today was relaxing, especially after such a full day yesterday. Arrived home around 6 and fed the dog and walked her for her nightly walk. Later I had to make one phone call to help with a slight mis-understanding between two of our ushers who are in leadership positions. It seemed to go well and I trust God will make things right between the two…now for some sleep as tomorrow is my day off and I have a 8:15 tee time. Let you know how I did in tomorrows update.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-04-01T07:36:00.001-04:00

March 31, 2010 – Wednesday; two more wake-ups before my wife gets back. Today was a full day…awoke early for extra prayer as I was conducting devotions at the International Headquarters of Prison Fellowship this morning and I needed some extra prayer time. Prayed for the volunteers that serve in my ministry at church and thanked God for bringing them to us and for their service to God. Devotions went very well this morning. Had several comment how good it was and that they had not thought of Mark chapter 8 in that light…their praise team was very good…all in all morning went well. God showed up and touched some people and that really is the bottom line. Thank you Lord for coming and ministering to your people. Arrived back at the office to handle a couple of benevolence requests before lunch and helped one lady in our church get her car repaired and watched as her whole countenance changed as God met her need. I see this so many times as I watch how God meets people at their neediest point and proves He is faithful even when we are not. The remainder of the day was taking care of last minute details for the Jewish Passover Seder I would be conducting that evening. 45 people came to experience Passover Jewish style…it was great. The program went well the room was set just right and as the people came and went through the traditional hand washing you could almost see in their eyes the change taking place as they were experiencing for the first time something real that God had put together for the people to remember what He did for them. At times it was an emotional evening…12 readers took part, plus the youngest male there asked the 4 questions. We learned and enjoyed the evening as we tried the items on the Seder plate and later enjoyed Matzo Ball Soup…all in all the evening went very good. Many of the people took pictures and I am sure they will appear on Facebook…if I could learn how to post some in this blog I would…maybe that should be a project for me…got home late and crashed….body was tired but my spirit was overly refreshed…sleep came easy..

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-03-30T21:32:00.000-04:00

March 29, 2010 – Tuesday; Another wakeup without my wife…she will be home this coming Friday evening. Had a nice beginning…breakfast at Mimi’s and left the restaurant without my phone…got to church for a counseling meeting and had to go back. Interesting the lady at the restaurant wanted me to describe the phone and all I could remember was it was a flip phone - Anyway she let me have it PTL! Had several chances today with counseling meetings to share God’s love for his people. One lady came in during the afternoon that had a live in boyfriend and told me they were both Christian. She needed help with her rent…I ask if she thought God was pleased with the living arraignments and she said no and He had been convicting her…I agreed to help with the need and then spoke directly to her situation…she ask for forgiveness and promised to get things straight…not sure she will but at least she has heard confirmation from several sources..Another lady came in for help and when she was telling me her story shared she was scared that when she died she did not know where she would go…Gospel shared and she crossed the line of salvation and assurance of where she would go…seemed like God gave me several chances today to share His love. I was also trying to put the finishing touches on my talk to the Prison Fellowship headquarters in Lansdowne and set up for the Jewish Seder I am conducting on Wednesday evening. So I had a busy day and very full filling. Thanks Lord…It’s now about 9:30 and I just finished cooking the lamb’s shank bone for the Seder…house smells…might have to sleep with the door to the deck opened…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-03-30T21:31:00.001-04:00

March 28, 2010 Monday; Started out with some good devotions from Mark chapter 8. I am speaking at the Prison Fellowships monthly devotion time and I am pretty sure I will be speaking form this chapter. God is good. Had a light day today…Spring Break so not many people were around. Met with one lady who wanted to be baptized and share with her about what is going to take place…looks like we will have at least 20 to baptize on Easter. Later took a young man out to dinner and bought him a pair of baseball shoes…he is 10 years old and is excited about playing. Ahhhh to be 10 again….I thinkkkkk, sorrrrrry what am I thinkingggg WOW…that was a slip…anyway had a great time. My wife is on a business trip so it was nice to have someone to eat dinner with…he’s a good kid.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-03-29T06:59:00.001-04:00

March 28, 2010 Sunday – Today, 40 years ago my daughter was born. As I did my devotions I thought back on her birth and how wonderful it was to have her in our life. She has been a great joy and I have loved watching her grow into a young woman and then into married life and motherhood. She has done a great job raising her two daughters and my two grandbabies. Today was very good at church, Pastor Phil preached from John 15 about staying connected to the vine. My Sunday school class was better than usual this morning…we studied about who is in charge…the state or God…also in our lives…Had a relaxing afternoon before going to our home fellowship group. We are looking at a very good series called Conversations with Fathers of the Faith. Watched some basketball as the final games were played selecting the final 4 to play for the NCAA Championship. The lone ACC team, Duke is favored. Hope they win.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-03-27T22:06:00.000-04:00

March 27, 2010 Saturday – As part of my devotions this morning I read some about a modern day hero that most do not know about. Colonel Bob Howard. Colonel Howard was nominated three times for the Medal of Honor. Since you can only receive one the other nominations were reduced to awards of honor just below that of the MOH. For us old soldiers who served in the Army during that time period and remember hearing stories about this man have a deep appreciation for his gallantry. Hopefully God was waiting at the doorway to escort him into eternity. It inspired me to remember my love for this country in spite of what we may perceive going on within her borders at the moment…she still is the greatest country in all of human history and that somehow makes me very proud. It also encouraged me to pray more for our country and its leaders that they would make Godly decisions. If you would like to see a brief mention in the media click this wave file.
Later in the day I went to several stores locating Passover material for the Seder I will be conducting on Wednesday evening the 31st. Had lunch at a new restaurant in the Wegman’s Shopping Center called Brooklyn Pizza…I was able to share some with the owner, David, and invited him to church. He wanted to treat our staff to a lunch…told him I would think on it and get back to him. He wanted to serve our church staff which I thought was very good…by the way…the food was very good and the hospitality was outstanding. I am taking my granddaughter to New York in a few weeks and David recommended an excellent Italian restaurant where the locals go for good food…let you know how that works out.

Series on a day in the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

2010-03-26T15:17:00.000-04:00

This is the beginning of a blog that I hope will document the things that God is doing through me personally and through the church I am serving as its pastoral care director. I am not sure who will be reading this or if anyone will read and try to follow but I will be as faithful to the postings as I can. So, if you are following or are interested please pray that I will be able to record some of the things that go on during a day in the life of a Pastoral Care Pastor.
Today, Friday March 26, 2010 is the beginning and today is my “normal” day off. My wife will be going out of town on a business trip and she leaves tonight. This morning after walking my dog…little terrier…for her “morning constitution” I begin looking over a message I will be sharing with the staff at the national headquarters of Prison Fellowship. My message is about whether God makes mistakes and as I was thinking and praying about this I thought I should at least share something regarding Easter, since we are entering into a season whereby we remember the last week of Jesus’ life. That’s still in the process. Finished doing my daughter and granddaughters taxes and got them filed. After lunch I took my weed blower to Sterling Mower. Had to replace the fuel filter and the plastic tubing…Chris who works behind the counter got me the necessary material and then actually did the work for me…great customer service!! I recommend them for all small engine repairs. Since I “really needed” a haircut I then proceeded to the barber and got my “ears lowered” as we sometime say.
Since this is the end of my work week, so to speak, let me summarize the week quickly…
Sunday – great message by Pastor Kent, I taught a class on the Truth Project. Later in the evening had a scheduled counseling session before our monthly prayer and praise meeting
Monday – very busy with one appointment right after the other all morning…one lady wanted to know how to listen to God…she asked Jesus into her life and now she will be able to more clearly hear what the Master has to say.
Tuesday – again several appointments, one gentleman asked Jesus into his life; made one hospital visit and bought grape juice for communion…25 bottles…that’s a lot of juice…
Wednesday – made a home visit in the early morning before going to the office, had several appointments in the afternoon leading up to our evening bible classes…I am teaching Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace class…people are really are getting set free.
Thursday – many meeting…another young lady asked Jesus into her life and had a session with another person who works way too much…shared how they should be taking some Sabbath rest for their sake…
So, there you go…sorry for it being a little long this time but as I write each day they will not be that long…blessings to all of you and “keep your eyes on the cross”

Blizzard and church cancellation

2010-02-06T14:03:00.001-05:00

Well the “Blizzard of 2010” is upon us and the snow has fallen very heavy. This is early Saturday morning and I was hoping it would bypass us a little as I knew church would be affected by the deepness of the snow. Well the call came for us to activate the phone tree for our ministries…no church. The decision came early today and it was a hard one to make. I am a little conflicted….I actually do love the snow but I love church more. To me, church is not an organization but the gathering of God’s people to worship and share life together. It’s God giving us community. Church is the touch of heaven. Church is people. Church is relational. No wonder, we’re commanded in Scripture not to forsake gathering together (Hebrews 10:25). As a pastor, I hate missing church or even having a significant number of our church family miss. So when we get a winter like this, I am conflicted. We’re already had a snow or ice effect on four or five of our Sundays. This is our second cancellation of the season. When we can’t all come together, it affects our forward momentum and for that, I am conflicted.
But I know who controls the universe and its weather elements. And that Person is not me thank goodness. God is in control and so I must submit my conflicted soul into the care of the only true WEATHERMAN! God controls the weather and He and only He knows what is best. So don’t let stress over take us on these weekend snows? Instead lets embrace the moment and pause to watch the snow, be with our family. Looking always for the sun…Son

Remembering

2009-12-15T07:44:00.000-05:00

Jeanette and I had a great trip to Williamsburg this past weekend. In October we took several days off and spent some time touring the Historic Triangle area, Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown and while there we upgraded our entrance passes to last all year knowing we would be coming back. It is interesting to see how our world has changed, even the mindset of the people of that period versus our time period. It struck me odd that the actors or players in the different scenes did not fail to invoke God’s name and even His blessings on events. While amongst the crowds I could hear chuckles and phrases like “well you certainly can’t say that now-a-days” my how things change. We recently heard a series from our pastor on remembrance, remembering what God has done for us. I remember he said our past can keep us on track when we stray if we will just remember what God has done for us. Our trip this time was also to enjoy the company of many of my friends from the Virginia State Police who had retired and moved on to different stages in their lives. We had our usual memorial service to remember those of us whom had passed away during this past year and while listening to the Alumni Chaplain read from the 23rd Psalm I could see guys around me with tears swelling up in their eyes…the Holy Spirit was ministering and helping all of us remember what Jesus had done for us as he kept us safe during the many years we served. We prayed for those now serving, that they would be kept safe and would remember what good things God has done for them as well. It’s interesting to see when we get into those moments of remembrance that “political correctness” doesn’t seem to matter. Anyway, our time away was good and refreshing. This will help us as we approach the Christmas season…a time to remember what God did for us by sending His only Son to pay the penalty for our transgressions, yes, once again a time to remember. As we remember what He has done for us John 3: 16 comes to my mind…”for God so loved the world, He gave...” Lord, help us to always remember what you did for us…

The Turns in the Game of Life

2009-12-09T08:37:00.001-05:00

Well the winter season is hitting us hard…snow a few days ago…8 inches here and now today it is forecasting icy and freezing rain. The Redskins lost another close game Sunday and yesterday we found out the place kicker Shaun Suisham was let go. Shawn attends out church and is a very nice man, so it was sad to hear the news. But, such is the game. We have lost a few close games this year and most feel we should have won each one…again, such is the nature of the game we call football. Speaking of the game…how about the game of life and the curves and hardballs it brings into our life. Lately things have been really busy “pastorally” trying to help people during this time of year. You hear hard luck stories about how life has thrown them a curve but every now and then one comes along that really touches not only your heart but your spirit as well. Our church did something a few weeks ago that was unusual…we gave everyone who entered our worship center a dollar bill. At least one of those dollars we will never get back as it has a rather neat story attached to it. When the “game of life” throws us a curve or a hardball we often turn back to God or turn and push into Him really hard, trying to hide or get comfort or maybe even asking if he is real. This man showed up in my office needing some guidenance, as the “game of life” had thrown him and his family a hardball and a curve at the same time. He related how he had lost his job and had used up all his savings and was broke. He came to church and instead of asking for money we gave some away. He got a dollar and heard God say I will take care of you…shortly his job back and as he shared this testimony with me I knew many would need to hear how God had taken care of him and be encouraged through his testimony. Here is a link to the sermon if you care to hear how Pastor used it in his message and how God used it to touch many that came that day. www.cfellowshipc.org then search for podcast. Then be prepared the Holy Spirit touched many people with just a short 2 minute testimony. The game of life does from time to time throw us curves and hardballs and how we deal with them determines the end result in more ways than we care to imagine. Don’t let the “game of life” get you down…turn and look into the face of God and He will always give you peace and answers.

A Walk in the Forrest

2009-12-03T07:12:00.000-05:00

Well leaves have been raked and the grass cut for the last time this season. Recently my grandsons came to visit and Zakri the youngest and I took a walk along the path behind my home and in my subdivision…it is the “forest” according to little Zak. I took my camera along and took some pictures of him enjoying our walk with the dog and then he wanted to take some pictures. I told him to look around and tell me what you see…of course he said pretty quickly “just trees and leaves”. As we walked along I kept saying to him use your imagination and tell me what you see. It was pretty neat seeing how God suddenly opened his eyes and his mind to see other things…like the colors and the small water fall with leaves floating along and the beauty of the trees as they “let their leaves fall”. Some were falling on us as we walked. I was reminded of how God always brings out His glory even in death. Everything around us was dying and yet beauty was everywhere. I am attaching a couple of neat photos Zak took, using his imagination.

There is always something God has done for us if we will just pause and look. This past Thanksgiving was a time of fellowship (actually one of the core values of our church) with family, friends and with God. It is a time of remembering what He has done for us. One of our recent Sunday morning sermons was about being restored by God and a silent cardboard testimony was had…very impactful but again allowing us to see how God is able to snatch victory from apparent defeat and death…yes we serve a God who really cares and loves each of us. Ok, now back to my yard…now the leaves are gone I see that plants needs pruning…aah back to the reality of yard work…even in the mist of death…no beauty! Decorating for Christmas….it’s here already???

Observations

2009-11-06T16:18:00.000-05:00

Recently I went to serve at Walter Reed Hospital with our local outreach efforts. It was amazing and very uplifting. My granddaughter turned 15 that day and went and served all day. She was fantastic and even took part in the “Strong Women” contest and actually won her heat. Even though she didn’t win overall she was, to me, the strongest person there…Seeing the wounded soldiers and their families was a real blessing. Hearing their stories made your heart warm. I served during the Vietnam era and it was entirely different than it is today and I am very happy to see the nation rally around the men and women who serve to protect our freedom. One of the ladies at church who does face painting mentioned to me that one of the soldiers brought his son and wanted his face painted but the little one didn’t. She just began to sing softly in his ear and he just became so calm and the face was painted, much to his delight later. The soldier thanked her and she said back to him, because of your sacrifice I can paint faces, it’s my privilege. He was overwhelmed and very thankful for the words and the thoughts about his service. It sometimes is just the little things that make a difference in others and gives great encouragement.
I my position as pastor I seem to be on the front lines of seeing what God is doing as He positions things in order to meet the needs of His children. Recently a dad who has three children lost his job and could not pay his electric bill. He was very sad that his children had to do homework by candle light and take cold showers…he told me he fasted and prayed for three days asking God to help him. During day two God had him call his church, which just happens to be CFC and he left a message on my phone asking if we could help. I was unable to call him back that day, but knew we didn’t have the funds in our benevolence account. I receive 3-4 calls each day asking for help but this one stuck in my mind and I couldn’t let it go. The next day when I checked our account we had money…strange???...so, I called him and he came in to explain his dilemma. I had just enough to help pay the electric bill and get his lights and heat turned back on…he told me that all night the night before he prayed and walked around his apartment complex asking God what to do…when the call came from me he knew God had answered his prayer and was faithful to him. Things like that not only build my faith but can you imagine what it does for him and for his three daughters. Its things like this that makes a long week worth all the effort (meager as it is) put into serving a wonderful God who cares for us in every way. I was blessed later in the week to receive a nice phone call from some close friends who had come back to the area to visit some family and they wanted to have some fellowship with Jeanette and me. It was a blessing to renew friendships and get caught up on things in our lives together. They said they miss us…but truthfully I think I missed them more…Ok, enough for now got to take out the trash and rake some leaves…ugh!

Serving

2009-10-30T20:27:00.000-04:00

Today I was relaxing at home, something I have needed for a few weeks. Getting work done on our bathrooms. Trying to upgrade to newer fixtures and going from wallpaper to tile…wow. The work is slow but it is beginning to take shape and is now looking like a bath once again. This has brought the scripture to mind to we often ask God for…patience. From my perspective trying to see the work being done from the workers position has been “trying my patience” as the design I picked out required that almost every tile be cut…wow if I had just thought beforehand. This week at church we, as a staff, we put our words into action by serving at three different facilities we have been working with on our local outreach journey. I was serving with several other staff members at the Sterling Thrift Shop located next to the Regal Cinema. We straightened clothes, shoes, records…BTW, saw some “old” 8 track music tapes; made my mind wander back to my work as a narcotics officer with the state police. Dusty, the youth pastor, and I found some old golf clubs and started hitting a waffle ball around the facility…even swung the club and vacuumed some…that’s the truth, got caught on film - Anyway it was very uplifting to serve and do things small that meant a lot. We got thanked almost at every turn for doing, what we thought were small things but meant allot to the regular workers. We all were blessed, made things that we think are huge to us seem rather out of place. For instance, I had a couple in my office this week struggling with a minor conflict in their marriage but was big to them. As I spoke to them it became evident this was a little minor thing (to me) and when they left they like the workers at the thrift shop thanked me several times. God showed me neither had a relationship personally with His Son. I was able to get them to do some homework and prayed the Holy Spirit would accomplish His work; they needed a little vacuuming like the floor at the thrift shop. They also needed a little patience with one another. It does get quite interesting sometimes in my office…one of the ladies often reminds me that I have a front row seat to what God is doing in people’s lives. That very day after she had said that, I received a call of someone struggling with alcohol and was calling on God for help. I was able to get him connected, then a call for help paying their electric bill, then a drop in with a person struggling with his grown kids doing things not pleasing to God and wondering where he had gone wrong…yes, at times I do have a front row seat and I may just share a few of those experiences in future blogs…stay tuned…an if you need a little vacuuming then serve someone who needs a gentle touch…

Jewish Festival of Yom Kippur

2009-09-25T15:59:00.000-04:00

The Day of Atonement: Yom Kippur

OVERVIEW OF YOM KIPPUR

Yom Kippur means Day of Atonement according to the Bible. It is one of the Yamim Noraim (Hebrew, "Days of Awe"). The Yamim Noraim consists of Rosh Hashanah, which is the first two days of the Ten Days of Repentance, and Yom Kippur, which is the last of the ten days. In the Hebrew calendar Yom Kippur begins at nightfall starting the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishri (which falls in September/October), and continues until the next nightfall.

HISTORY OF YOM KIPPUR

Yom Kippur is the Jewish day of repentance, considered to be the holiest and most solemn day of the year. Its central theme is atonement and reconciliation. Eating, drinking, bathing, cosmetics, wearing leather (including shoes), and conjugal relations are prohibited. Fasting - total abstention from all food and drink - begins a bit before sundown (called 'tosephet' Yom Kippur, the 'addition' of fasting a bit of the previous day is required by Jewish law), and ends after nightfall the following day.

Yom Kippur completes the penitential period of ten days ("the season of repentance and prayer") that begins with Rosh Hashanah (New Year's Day); for though prayerful humiliation be acceptable at all times, it is thought to be peculiarly potent at that time.

Penitent confession was a requisite for expiation through capital or corporal punishment. "The Day of Atonement absolves from sins against God, but not from sins against a fellow man unless the pardon of the offended person be secured." Hence the custom of terminating on the eve of the fast day all feuds and disputes. Even the souls of the dead are included in the community of those pardoned on the Day of Atonement. It is customary for children to have public mention made in the synagogue of their departed parents, and to make charitable gifts on behalf of their souls.

Yom Kippur is mentioned biblically in Leviticus 23: 26-32.
There is a tradition to wear white on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, though today you will find many only adhering to the tradition on Yom Kippur. The tradition stems from several concepts.

1. White signifies the color of mercy, and on Yom Kippur we pray for mercy.
2. The angels "wear white" figuratively, and on Yom Kippur the congregation of Israel fasts and prays like the angels.
3. White is the color of purity, and the Day of Atonement itself brings spiritual purification.

It is also a custom at the end of Yom Kippur to begin construction of the Sukkah immediately for the holiday of Sukkot / Sukkos, the Festival of Booths, which is another story all together. As Christians we have a rich heritage and God put these festivals in place to show, not only the Jews but us as Christians something special. I believe God does nothing without a reason and it will always point us to His Son…Jesus. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem…come quickly Lord Jesus!

Rice & Beans

2009-09-22T07:59:00.000-04:00

Pastor Kent has challenged us to identify with the people whom we will be helping in the months and years to come. They do not have much to eat and mostly eat rice mixed with some beans. So, we have been challenged to see how that feels, thus helping us understand just a little bit about how they live each day. It also is a challege for us to get closer to God, to gaze upone His face and maybe somehow see through His eyes the world around us. It is bringing me closer to the cross at calvary. Just this morning during my devotion time I listened to a sermon on Hope, from the Passion series by Louie Giglio. He also pointed me to the cross, the place where we find hope, where we come to realize that God loves us. Going through these few days and for the next three weeks God will ultimately bring us all to the cross, even the people of Nicargua, because that is the place we all must come...

Part 1 – The Jewish Tradition (Rosh Hashanah)

2009-09-15T21:30:00.000-04:00

This starts the year 5770 on the Jewish calendar. At 5:02 PM, Jerusalem time this Friday, a candle is lit starting the weeklong festival. The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) was celebrated at the beginning of the month Tishri, the first month of the civil year. It was one of the seven days of holy convocation. Tishri is the seventh month of the Biblical calendar, and as such parallels the Sabbath as a special and holy time to seek God. The previous month of Elul is the time of preparation just as Friday is the Day of Preparation for Shabbat. This season is a time of reflection, contemplation, and putting things in order and getting right our relationship with God.

So, this Friday evening begins the celebration of the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year) as it is traditionally called by the Jewish people.
On the day of the Feast of Trumpets (except when it coincides with a Sabbath) the blowing of the Shofar (ram's horn) is the high point of the service. Before the shofar is sounded, the Ba'al Tokea (the shofar blower) prepares himself for his task of blowing the shofar for the congregation and says: "I am prepared to fulfill God's commandment to blow the shofar, as it is prescribed in the Torah, a day of blowing unto you."

The sound of the shofar is broken, a series of staccato blasts. The broken sound is said to remind the people that they need to break their evil inclinations. The shape of the shofar is not straight like a trumpet. The end is curved and bent as a reminder to bend in respect to God.

The sound is meant to be a rousing call to repentance on the part of each individual. It is meant to awaken everyone to remember the Creator and forsake evil ways and return to God. The sound is also meant to inspire. It is a reminder that man should strive to break the impulses of his heart which are evil with the sinful cravings of the world.

The sounds have been established in detail by centuries of tradition. There are four different sounds associated with the service. These sounds are explained as follows:

Tekiah - A pure unbroken sound that calls man to search his heart, abandon his evil ways and seek forgiveness through repentance.

Shevarim - A broken, staccato, trembling sound. It typifies the sorrow that comes to a man when he realizes his wrong and desires to change his ways.

Teruah - A wave-like sound of alarm calling upon man to stand by the banner of God.

Tekia Gedolah - The prolonged, unbroken sound typifying a final invitation to sincere repentance and atonement.

TEN REASONS FOR THE RAM'S HORN

Saadiah Gaon, a leading rabbi and scholar of the ninth century says there are ten reasons the Creator, blessed is He, commanded us to blow the ram's horn on Rosh Hashannah.

1. The first is because Rosh Hashannah marks the beginning of creation, on which the Holy One, blessed is He, created the world and reigned over it. Kings do the same, who have trumpets and horns blown to let it be known and heard everywhere when the anniversary of the beginning of their reigns fall. So we, on Rosh Hashannah, accept the kingship of the Creator, blessed is He, Thus says David: "With trumpets and sound of cornet (shofar) make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King" (Ps. 98:6).

2. The second reason is that, since Rosh Hashannah is the first of the ten days of Teshuvah (repentance), the ram's horn is blown to announce their beginning, as though to warn: Let all who desire to turn in Teshuvah, turn now; and if you do not, you will have no reason to cry injustice. Kings do the same: first they warn the populace in their decree, and whoever violates the decrees after the warning complains unheeded.

3. The third reason is to remind of of our stand at the foot of Mount Sinai, as it is said: "And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder..." (Ex. 19:19), in order that we may take upon ourselves that which our forefathers took upon themselves when they said, "we will do and be obedient" (Ex. 24:7).

4. The fourth reason is to remind us of the words of the prophets, which were compared to a ram's horn, as it is said: "Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head...But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul" (Ez. 33:45).

5. The fifth reason is to remind us of the destruction of the Temple and the battle alarms of the foe, as it is said: "...because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war" (Jer. 4:19). When we hear the sound of the ram's horn, we beseech God to rebuild the Temple.

6. The sixth reason is to remind us of the binding of Isaac, who offered himself to heaven. So we ought to be ready at all times to offer our lives for the sanctification of His Name. And may our remembrance rise before Him for our benefit.

7. The seventh reason is that when we hear the blowing of the ram's horn, we fear and tremble and bend our wills to the will of the Creator for such is the effect of the ram's horn which causes shaking and trembling, as it is written: "Shall a trumpet be blown in the city and the people not be afraid" (Amos 3:6).

8. The eight reason is to remind us of the great Day of Judgment, that we may all fear it, as it is said: "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and hasteth greatly...a day of the trumpet and alarm..." (Zeph. 1:14-16).

9. The ninth reason is to remind us of the gathering of the dispersed of Israel, that we may passionately long for it, as it is said: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown; and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria" (Isaiah 27:13).

10. The tenth reason is to remind us of the revival of the dead, that we may believe in it, as it is said: "All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye" (Isa. 18:3).

WISHING ONE ANOTHER A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Before leaving the synagogue on the night of Rosh Hashannah, it is customary to bless one another with the benediction, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." Then it is customary to go home joyfully and to keep away from all grief and sighing, so as not to give the Accuser an opening, for the Accuser's only place is where there is grief and sighing. One ought to trust in God, as it is written: "For the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Neh. 8:10).

Some of this information was taken from an article from a close Jewish friend living in Israel now with his family…keep him and them lifted in prayer…Dennis Karp family. Also from the info listed below.

So, I say to you "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!”

"A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays" by Robin Scarleat and Linda Pierce was also used for this letter.

Great Ready for a Great Movement

2009-09-10T21:05:00.000-04:00

Missions are coming to the forefront of many lives. As God moves toward the day of His Son’s second coming many people have the urgency to share the gospel with co-workers, friends and especially family members. The Gospels give account of Jesus calling His disciples and telling them to follow Him. They dropped whatever they were doing and answered the call. Pastor Kent shared a series of messages on fishing…teaching that God really loved us and has prepared a wonderful place…we call Heaven…for all of us who know His Son and have a personal relationship with Him. I encourage you to visit our web site, www.cfellowshipc.org and download his messages…they have caused quite a stir in our own church body. This series will encourage you to be bold in your witness. In the coming weeks you will hear, see and experience a call which God has placed on us as the leadership of the church. We all are excited about what God is going to do in our own lives and the family here at CFC. Be sure and attend and be prepared to be challenged beyond your wildest dreams or imagination. God is moving and stirring up His church…are you ready?

A Month Later...

2009-09-07T20:04:00.000-04:00

Ok as I look back it has been exactly one month…It is not that I am short on words to say it’s just feeling comfortable enough to write them down…lazy. My grandbabies were over this weekend and one said she was just lazy…talking about keeping their rooms clean. Is laziness a sin??? I hope not because most of us suffer a little bit from it, from time to time. Since I last posted I have been to Chile to see our missionaries and explain our new direction and vision concerning missions. Our church leadership team is excited about the direction and look forward to seeing it come to pass. At one of the meeting this past month we devoted some time to discuss how we could lay out the challenge to our members. We committed to pray for several weeks and when we returned it was settled that we would challenge in five areas. Pastor Kent will be sharing during the next several weeks. I don’t want to “steal” his message but eating beans and rice sounds good…until you do it every day for _____ and you fill in the blanks. Feeling the way most of the world “has to eat” will be a real challenge to us as Americans. But God will show us all something very cool about His heart for the hurting. Check out the series he will be preaching at www.cfellowshipc.org I also attended a conference on The Truth Project and am very excited about the material. We will be offering it during our winter session of our Transformation University (TU). You can check it out at www.thetruthproject.org , view the long trailer and I believe it will excite you as well. I couldn’t wait for the winter session to begin so my daughter and son-in-law (the parents of my two beautiful grandbabies) are hosting a small group in their home. We are hopeful that God will use this material to really challenge our young people, thus helping them become more “grounded” in their faith. Pray for the project as a whole and for this small group in particular…more later…

Starting out on the new adventure

2009-08-07T07:55:00.000-04:00

Blogging for me has taken some getting used to as my generation is still wanting that personal touch. Twittering and blogging seems non-personal. Last night I was watching an old TV program with my wife called “Touched by an Angel”. The program started out with the busyness of the lives, cell phones, gameboys, and now computers (the character using the cell phone was using an antique, even by my standards…made me laugh although it did remind me of the first one I had.) Tess, the head Angel if you recalled the program, made a comment that people are so removed from personal touch they lose touch with the things that matter. Sometimes they don’t know what to say when they actually are in each other’s presence. I chuckled as I had to agree. So I start out this journey of learning to “blog” and “twitter” and yes even “facebooking” in order to stay current and in contact with the “now” generation. I find myself going to those sites and just staring at the page not knowing what to do next so I leave or as on my facebook just look around at what others are doing. But today I am venturing out to the world of getting a new phone…I think they call it the IPHONE…they tell me it will actually tell me where I am…I can’t wait for that. Maybe it will tell me where God is…or, lead me too Him. Whatda think…nah.. I have heard it does have the whole bible you can download and have it ready at your finger tips anytime. I’ll be certainly looking for that feature. So here I go and as I go I will do my best to journal…no I think it’s called blogging, so you will be able to track my progress. Any encouragement you would like to give me along the way would be appreciated…pray for me…I am feeling “touched by an angle”….

Monthly Staff Meeting - July 2009

2009-07-29T08:14:00.001-04:00

Every last Tuesday of the month we gather all of our staff together for lunch and to make sure we have communicated to them everything that needs to be distributed to our church body. Yesterday was such an event...only we played volleyball before eating and discussing a new program we are launching. Three teams among the staff competed and the winning team won movie tickets. Everyone had fun and as far as I am aware we came through the games without any serious injuries...PTL!!

Summer Celebration 2009

2009-07-29T07:18:00.000-04:00

It's Monday morning and I am reflecting back on the week leading up to our 2nd summer celebration at Camp Highroad. Almost 1,000 people came (more than double 2008) and we baptized 239, 108 more than last years celebration. The week leading up to the event showed us first hand that Satan was not happy with what was about to happen. Many frustrating moments throughout the week, drove us more to our knees as we realized. Not sure how many people crossed over the line of faith these last three weeks leading up to the celebration but 8 crossed over in my office just this past week. PTL for His victory.

2009-07-20T07:30:00.000-04:00

My devotions this morning from The Christians Secret to a Holy Life included, in part, some of the following. It was taken from a letter to a friend. I was also reading from John 14 and found that several verses (mainly 16, 21 & 23) enhanced my readings this morning. Enjoy…

Don’t be discouraged at any form of temptation which threatens you, but always look to Jesus, and ask Him to meet and overcome it by His own wisdom and power. I think I am learning more and more of what utter trust means. Having naturally some feeling of personal ability and good sense, it has always been a temptation for me to rely on these and to feel that I wouldn’t be likely to lose my balance whatever happened. But I have seen recently that even my natural abilities must be laid aside in this life of death to self, and that I must really and practically have all my resources in the Lord only.
I do not know whether I am making myself clear, but in my experience this has been very real. It has cost me something to lay aside my old dependence upon my own judgment and good sense, and to let myself be a helpless in the Lord’s hands. But it is unspeakably sweet when it is done. And I believe it is to me the opening up of a life of conscious union with my Lord such as I have never known before. I seem to have sunk into unfathomed depths of littleness and nothingness, and to have found the Lord there in a more real and actual consciousness than ever before.

I am almost finished with Joel’s Rosenberg’s book…Epic Center. I finished a book given to me by Betty Ringeisen entitled Sheep in Wolves Clothing by Valerie McIntyre. Anyone in Care Giving should read and take to heart the testimony of Valerie. Very well written and very informative. Blessings to you today…

Welcome To Pastor Fred's Corner

2009-07-01T17:16:00.000-04:00

I am at present time setting up my blog with Crystal - a new adventure starts today!
Meet me on the corner tomorrow!