From the Pastor

The other day I was talking to a minister friend over lunch. He began sharing a story about an acquaintance of his who is a minister/writer/church planter. They had done some work together in planting a new church out in Texas. The church began with a handful of people who were committed spiritually, financially, and personally to seeing that the church “made it.” After a few months, the church was doing really well and each week new visitors were coming and joining the church. It was gaining momentum and taking shape and the dream was becoming a reality!

But something else was also happening. One of the original members began complaining about the way things were going and really began working against the process and against the growth of the church. I asked my friend what they did to try and repair the situation. He said that the pastor called this church member into his office and offered an apology. He said, “I want to apologize. At some point I must have communicated to you that this church is all about you. I want to apologize to you for doing that, because it is not.”

I appreciate what this pastor was experiencing. There are moments for all of us when we feel like what happens at church should be all about us. Sometimes we take a myopic view of an issue that we are very passionate about and we see everything through that lens. We make everything about us or about what is only important to us, and we don’t stop to think about others. We do this all the time as individuals toward each other and towards the community of church as a whole, and we also sometimes do this as a church towards God. There is a real danger in making church about us. The story of scripture, from the time of Abraham and Moses through the time of Jesus, is filled with example after example of this happening and the consequences that come from turning a community away from the heart of God towards the heart of humanity.

In every way, we need to practice asking ourselves, “is this about me or is this about God?” “Am I doing this to make me happy and to further my own agenda, or is this about the worship of God?” “Is this helping me to become a better follower of Christ, or is this working against God’s calling in my life to be an active servant in the world?” Staying in step with God’s calling in all of our lives comes through diligent discipleship and prayer and worship.

I hope we can all commit together to placing the desires of God for our community at the top of the list! Come and be a part of worship as we open ourselves to the movement of God’s spirit. Come and be a part of Sunday school and discipleship classes as we learn and grow. Come and give of yourselves in service in the many mission opportunities that we are a part of in our community and our world. Come and be a part of our becoming more like Christ.

Peace and grace in your daily living,

The end of August marks the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I remember reading an interview of a reporter who was on the ground in the hours and days following Katrina’s landfall. This reporter was asked what people needed and his response was, “well, we need clean water to drink, we need shelter from the heat, we need food to eat, and the sanitation problem is pretty bad around here. We need help with all of this stuff. But more than anything, we sure could use a little hope. We’re just running thin.”

This is what we are called as the church to be—vessels of hope. There are massive problems facing our world, and we as the church are called to be vessels of hope. There are struggles that people and families in our nation are experiencing everyday, and we as the church are called to be vessels of hope. Here in our own fellowship, among our families and friends in our communities, there are so many ways that we are called to be vessels of hope. Have you experienced the hope of Christ in your own life? Are you in desperate need of finding some hope for your daily living? Do you want to find out how you can be a part of being the hope of Christ in our world? Come and be present with us in worship and service at FBC Middlesboro as we share the hope of Christ with each other and with our world.

Peace and grace in your daily living,