My thirty year journey away from Rush Limbaugh

 

As a public persona, Rush Limbaugh changed very little in the last thirty years, his philosophy regarding government, animosity toward political opponents, and bombastic style was rather constant despite the significant changes that occurred in America from the early 1990's until the present.  Rush Limbaugh didn't change very much, but I did.

Picture it: 1991, a high school sophomore, 16, listens to Rush Limbaugh on the radio, lives in a small rural town that is almost entirely white, attends church three times a week at an independent Baptist church, and begins to be involved in a weekly student led bible study at a teacher's home that will continue through high school when he begins to lead the group while in college.  That skinny kid, smart but arrogant, quick with a retort as a defense mechanism, steeped in bible knowledge, but light on biblical wisdom, loved Limbaugh's passion and humor.  He laughed at the feminists (he didn't know any), had high hopes for the power of politics to change things for the better, and flirted with the idea of majoring in political science and making a career out of his own hopes for America's future.

Icing my knees in 92 or 93 after a run at the Sanford home where our bible study was held

What changed?  First of all, I didn't major in political science, I realized that two major things would stand in the way of a career in politics: I hated asking for money, and I had no penchant for dissembling.  The other factor was the bible study that I mentioned previously.  Beginning my sophomore year, myself and a group of fellow students that grew to over twenty met weekly at the home of Mrs. Sanford, our Advanced English teacher, to do a verse by verse study of the bible.  We didn't use prepared materials, we simply read a verse and people commented upon it.  Because of my background in Sunday school, junior church, youth group, 5 day clubs, and especially AWANA, I had more bible knowledge than most, and became one of the regular commentators in our group.  I probably talked more than anyone else during our hour each week, that's sounds like me.  It was through that group that my eyes began to open to the possibility of ministry as a career, a calling.  Eventually, I called my pastor, James Frank, and told him that I felt called to be a pastor.  At this point, I was very conservative in my politics, although I had suffered my first disillusionment about the whole business when I voted for the losing candidate in the 1992 presidential election (on my 18th birthday), and I still listened to and enjoyed Rush Limbaugh, I even had both of his books.

One incident that happened at Bible study sticks with me, although at the time it didn't have much of an impact upon my thinking.  We were reading Galatians 1:8, But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!  and like normal, I shared my viewpoint on the meaning of the text.  Unbeknownst to me, there was a Catholic student in our group, and after I proceeded to excoriate the Catholic Church for perverting the Gospel (a very typical independent Baptist viewpoint: see John MacArthur, James White, or Steven Anderson) Mrs. Sanford took me aside and informed me that my words could have hurt that other student.  But I was 18, and I knew everything, I brushed it off, my mind was firm.  Looking back on it, I wish I had listened to her, but I'm not surprised that I didn't.  I really only knew one family that was Catholic, who had a daughter in my grade who was one of my friends, and almost every Christian I knew belonged to an independent church because they were the only ones that our church 'fellowshipped' with.  My horizons were narrow, indeed.

Things began to change, although I was still listening to Limbaugh regularly, when I arrived at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Not because the school was liberal by any means, all of its faculty were Baptists, and when I first arrived it was still against school policy for students to go the movies (something I had enjoyed since my mom took me to see the Dark Crystal when I was 6, fortunately those scars healed).  It was only years later that I found out that Cornerstone was pesona non grata to many from the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARB) or the Independent Fundamental Churches of America (IFCA).  How did my education at Cornerstone begin to change my attitude toward Rush Limbaugh?  The first thing that it did was expose me to the reality of diversity within Christian history, theology, and the Church today.  New books, new authors, new arguments and viewpoints, even when you yourself don't change what you believe very much, your eyes begin to open to the possibility that God could be working with/through Christians whose backgrounds and attitudes differ significantly.  At Cornerstone I had amazing professors, they were all conservative by any broad definition regarding theology, culture, and politics, but they were committed to teaching their students HOW to think, not WHAT to think.  It was a profound attitude, and a gift from God.

So there I was at Cornerstone, working toward a degree in religion, with a minor in philosophy, more interested in the kingdom of God than the kingdoms of men, and inching away from the certainty and antagonism of Rush Limbaugh.  I listened less, I was annoyed more often, but the space between his certainty and my budding realization that other perspectives could honor and please God was not yet very wide.

Two things happened during my senior year in college that moved me further down the path to where I am today.  The first was a month spent in Guatemala on a cross-cultural missions trip, and it was indeed an eye opening experience on many levels.  The second was the ending of a year and a half's relationship with my college girlfriend, Elizabeth.  She and I had similar backgrounds, being raised in Baptist Churches and attending conservative Christian schools (she went to Cedarville in Ohio).  Whatever path the two of us might have trod together, it was not the same one I'm on now.

The kids who came to our program at Dios Es Amor Church in Chichicastenango, Guatemala

While at Cornerstone, I also saw a glimpse of ministry being done in a way that transcended politics in the person of Ed Dobson.  Not the Focus on the Family Ed Dobson, but the Blinded by Might Ed Dobson, the pastor of Calvary Church whose mega church (before mega churches were everywhere) neighbored the campus of Cornerstone.  Pastor Dobson, who went home to glory in 2015 after a courageous battle with ALS, impacted me, although the closest we came to meeting was me sitting in his congregation listening to him preach a couple times.  {I highly recommend his The Year of Living Like Jesus, it is very powerful and touches on some of the themes I'm trying to elucidate here}

After graduating from Cornerstone, I made the momentous decision to seek real-world experience for my resume before continuing on with Seminary training; it was choosing the hard road, though I didn't know it.  It did have an impact on my journey away from the politics-centric certainty of Limbaugh because it eventually brought me to both Caledonia United Methodist Church and Oakview Reformed Church, where I worked as a youth pastor/leader for about a year and six months, respectively.  It was another step away from a narrowly defined Church toward one that more faithfully encompasses the breadth of God's grace in our world

While working at Caledonia UMC and living in Grand Rapids, I met a soon-to-be Calvin College graduate and future teacher, Suzanne, who ended up moving back home to Minneapolis, MN after we had dated a few times.  She found work at a school there, and I considered moving to MN to see if the relationship had long-term potential, but I was stymied by the MN director of GARB because he was unwilling to help a graduate of Cornerstone find work at one of their churches because of how 'liberal' the school was.  Flabbergasted at this, and without means of finding work in MN, I remained in MI and continued working as a substitute teacher while trying to secure a more than part-time ministry position.

During this time of transition in 1999, I met the woman who would truly bend the direction that my life was heading, my future wife, Nicole Brzezinski.  Nicole, in addition to being a free spirit, was (and is) a devout Catholic.  At first, neither of us considered our relationship to be anything more than a friendship, because we couldn't see how any romantic relationship would have a future.  As friendships among 20 somethings sometimes go, we found ourselves together, wondering what to do next.

How could I hope to find work at a Baptist church as a pastor if I brought along with me a Catholic wife?  How could we get married if I didn't have a full-time job?  Life's questions were paramount at the time, politics was far from my mind, and I no longer listened to Rush Limbaugh.  Eventually, Nicole and I made our commitment to each other, and were married at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church on June 30th, 2001.  

My future as a pastor seemed unlikely, work was not to be found, so I took the few classes I needed to obtain a teaching certification in Social Studies and English, and found work at an unlikely place: Portland Adult and Community Education.  This began a ten year stint there that was as much of an eye opening experience for me as my month in Guatemala.  Guatemala had shown me the reality of Third World poverty and a church operating faithfully in a significantly different culture from my own; working at P.A.C.E introduced me to students with backgrounds and experiences that had been all around me growing up in rural Ionia County, but outside of my limited church/nerd/runners social circle.  It had always been taken as a given by the philosophy of Rush Limbaugh (inspired by Ayn Rand: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand: Hatred of the authority of God) that America's greatness was due in large part to 'rugged individualism' and those who had 'pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps'.  At P.A.C.E. I saw generational poverty firsthand, learned what it was like for my students to have none of the support system that I was blessed with growing up, but instead to need to overcome the presence of drugs and violence in their lives in order to reach for a high school diploma.  Life was not as simple and people were not as easily categorized, as the pundits would have us believe.  People, experience was teaching me, are not wholly responsible for their own 'success' or 'failure' in life; individualism is not the panacea.

Five years into my teaching tenure at P.A.C.E. I was invited to preach at the First Baptist Church of Palo, MI.  The next Sunday I was offered the position of pastor to this small, very rural, congregation.  I was there for five years, learning on the job.  It was at Palo that I was ordained, although one of the local ministers that I asked to sit on my ordination council abstained from voting in favor because he was unaware when the process began that I had a Catholic wife.  I was happy at P.A.C.E. and at Palo, but I needed full-time ministry, and additionally neither position had benefits like health insurance.

Nicole and I struggled during the ten years that I worked at P.A.C.E (five of which I was also at 1st Baptist of Palo), we couldn't keep our heads above water financially, even though our home was a modest one, and when Nicole's health necessitated the end of her 10 years of teaching high school English, we lost our health insurance as well.  The school board at Portland didn't consider the P.A.C.E teachers to be worthy of the same pay as other teachers (we made only 1/2 as much), and didn't provide any benefits.  My dad worked for Amway for 44 years and that company had treated him well, he was never out of work, and even though we were far from rich, we didn't struggle nearly as much as many others.  If not for the kindness of my parents in offering us assistance, we would have lost our house during those hard years after Nicole quit teaching.  I was working three jobs, but we barely could pay our monthly bills.  If this could happen to the guy voted 'most likely to succeed' who graduated Summa Cum Laude from college, it was further proof that 'rugged individualism' wasn't the whole answer.  Our personal struggles opened my eyes further to the needs of those around us, to the structural causes of poverty, and questions about how the Church should respond.

Nicole's Catholicism prevented us from receiving offers from a number of churches, one in Indiana and one in New York both in the fall of 2011.  It was heartbreaking, and tearful questions of 'why?' abounded.  Thankfully, not every church felt that way.  When I told the search committee of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA that my wife was Catholic, they were unfazed.  We moved here at the start of 2012 with a new 'lease on life', it was a much needed turn for the better.

Western PA is very similar to western MI, but with one significant difference: Baptists and independent bible churches are a small minority (and there are few Reformed Churches), and those churches that are here have a much more ecumenical attitude toward each other.  Here in Venango County we joke that you can't throw a stick without hitting a Methodist Church (mostly UMC, but Free Methodist too).  In fact, across the corner from our church is First UMC, and halfway down the block is Christ UMC.  In response to my choice to move forward with Nicole I had researched and written a 'book' about the ecumenism of 1 John {Christianity's Big Tent: The Ecumenism of 1 John} while we lived in MI, but here in Franklin I saw the reality of that thesis in practice.  What was the thesis?  According to the Apostle John, there are three tests of faith/fellowship that determine if someone is a genuine Christian: (1) Do they acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? (2) Do they have genuine love for fellow Christians? And (3), do they 'Walk in the light', that is, live righteously?  That's it.  That's the whole list.  Nothing about baptism or communion, nothing about church polity, and absolutely nothing about politics.  Here in Franklin I began working with committed and God-honoring Christians who were Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists, Christian Missionary Alliance, Church of God, and on and on.  The narrow, us vs. them mentality of my youth, and the certainty with which I responded to Mrs. Sanford's attempt to pour cold water on my self-righteous zeal, were long gone.  Here was a community that did not agree on many minor things, but were able to work together because they agree on one very important thing: Jesus.

Somewhere along this journey, between college and moving to Franklin in 2012, my attitude toward Rush Limbaugh soured more than just no longer listening to him or others like him, hyper-partisan punditry began to show itself to me to be a part of the problem, not the solution.  In the fall of 2012, having been in Franklin mere months, I became involved in the effort that would lead shortly to the creation of Mustard Seed Missions of Venango County, an ecumenical para-church charity focused on helping the 'least of these' in our community in partnership with our county's Human Services Department.  I've been the President of Mustad Seed Missions since its inception, and we've helped over 1,500 families without a drop of partisanship, replacing it entirely by building relationships within the organization, with the partners we work with, and the clients we help.  The Culture Wars didn't create MSM, ecumenism and compassion for those in need did.  In other words, it was the Church being the Church, serving the Kingdom of God, not fighting for control of the kingdoms of men.

In the years since the founding of MSM, we also began in our community a homeless shelter, Emmaus Haven, also built upon ecumenism, community support, and partnerships with the local government.  This was yet another step away from the philosophy of Rush Limbaugh, as both of these organizations have demonstrated in concrete terms that the government need not be the enemy, and that poverty isn't simply a matter of people not working hard enough.

Thirty years ago Rush Limbaugh was much the same as he was in 2021, the year of his death.  I was a lot like him in attitude and philosophy back then, but see very little that we might have had in common anymore.  He didn't change much, but I did.  How?  Why?  It was a journey of education, maturity, and discipleship, but mostly it was the 'school of life' teaching me humility and compassion through my own struggles, teaching me ecumenism and cooperation through my marriage and my ministry.  It was, I believe, in the end, the journey that God wanted me to take, the person he wanted me to become, it was like so much else, God's grace.

See Also: "You do you, I'll do me" - Quintessentially American, but incompatible with the Judeo-Christian worldview which touches upon both Rush Limbaugh and Ayn Rand.

And, Pope Francis' views on capitalism and Rush Limbaugh which was the proverbial 'straw that broke the camel's back'.

Sermon Video: How Much do we care about the Gospel? 1 Corinthians 9:1-18

Beginning with the remarkable story of Adoniram and Ann Judson who served in the 19th century as missionaries to Burma, this message utilizes the Apostle Paul's willingness to forego compensation as a minister of the Gospel, while at the same time advocating for the command to the Church that those who serve the Gospel be supported, to look at how we (as both a local church and an American Baptist Church) are doing in following this command.  After a look at my own experience of the ordeal of being a "free agent" trying to find full-time ministry, the message concludes with a call for each Christian to do more than support those serving as pastors and missionaries, as we all must be willing to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Systematic expository preaching: What 7 years worth has wrought

I was raised under exceptional expository preaching.  From my earliest years until well into my adult years, Pastor James Frank preached systematically through portions of Scripture using an expository style.  Given that, I was predisposed to prefer that style when I sought to enter into the ministry.  Now, having been at First Baptist Church of Palo, MI for five years, and here at First Baptist of Franklin, PA for seven years, I can step back and see what choosing to work verse by verse through books of the Bible has accomplished.  And while I could go through my old sermons to figure out what I preached at Palo in five years (and that would take a while), I don't have to do that here at Franklin because I began keeping records when I started here.  Thus I can report that in seven years I have:

Preached the entirety of 10 books of the Bible: Ruth, Jonah, Malachi, Luke, Acts, Philippians, Titus, Philemon, Colossians, and James.

In addition, I've done substantial portions, but not yet finished with: Genesis (chapters 37-46), Joshua (chapters 1-7), 2 Chronicles (chapters 10-36),1 Corinthians (chapter 1-8), as well as individual passage here and there chosen for Christmas, Easter, and other special occasions.

That, in a nutshell, is what you get from about 350 systematic expository sermons over 7 years.  I don't expect anyone to remember what I said, after all half the people of the church we're here when I started anyway, but there is a method to my madness.

Why systematic?  So I don't/can't skip the hard or uncomfortable passages. {Acts 20:27  (NIV) For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.}  I prefer to keep the focus on one thought from the author (that's how I decide how long the text needs to be for a sermon; typically it will be one thought in length which could be half a sentence or a whole paragraph) and not allow other passages, however relevant they might be, to distract us from what this particular text is trying to say to God's people.

Why expository?  So it is more likely to be the Word of God speaking than me.  While I know there are some phenomenal topical preachers who each week decide the topic and then search for a corresponding text(s) (and some lousy expository ones; preaching style doesn't equate to quality), for my own ministry it just makes sense to take the weekly topical choice out of my hands and let the text decide.  Yes, I know that one can shape Scripture, bending and twisting it, to suit a variety of ends, that danger remains no matter what style of preaching one adheres to.

So, here I sit, at my computer, with this week's sermon ready to go, the last for the book of Acts, considering where we will turn next.  Back to one of the series that have been begun but not yet finished, or somewhere else?  Wherever we end up, it'll be one verse, one thought, at a time until we've finished.

** Update**  I've figured it out: 2 messages for Obadiah, and 3 for Haggai (minus one week for being in MI for Alumni basketball) brings us to Palm Sunday.

Sermon Video: Remain where you are? 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

As a Christian, should you stay where and what you are, assuming it is God's will, or should you seek to change the life you're living to go along with the spiritual change God is working out in each of us?  While acknowledging that every situation is unique, in general Christians are called to be useful to the kingdom of God, where they are now, regardless if change is coming in the future.  God called us to salvation, where and what we were, no matter our background or abilities, teaching us that God saw value in us then, ensuring that we can be useful to God's kingdom right away.  How do I know this?  It took me twelve years to get to the place that I thought God's will was leading me when I graduated from Cornerstone University, through numerous setbacks and much heartache (for my wife Nicole as well), but God had a use for me, even then, teaching alternative education and then after a long wait, being the pastor of the small rural church, the First Baptist of Palo.  In the end, God brought us to Franklin, PA, not at all what I had expected, but clearly the right place for us.

What is God's exact will for your life?  Don't ask me, other than the answer that is the same for us all, making you Christ-like, I don't know.  But I do know this, God wants you to be useful to his kingdom, to serve, here and now.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Five years of preaching, how far have I gotten?

While planning out my sermons up through Easter (I normally only plan that far ahead in advance of Christmas and Easter, so as to ensure that my sermon focus lines up with those holidays), I took the time to look back on the past five years here at First Baptist of Franklin to see how much of the text of the Bible I have preached, verse by verse.  This tally doesn't include the five years prior at First Baptist of Palo, as that was a different audience, thus any repeated texts from then don't enter into it.

The results were interesting, to me at least.  I've completed preaching through six books of the Bible, verse by verse, start to finish: Ruth, Jonah, the Gospel of Luke, Philippians, Titus, and James.  I've also completed chapters 1-18 of Acts, and chapters 10-32 of II Chronicles.  Throw in five messages out of Isaiah (one of the Lenten series), and a couple out of Matthew (an Advent series), plus a half dozen Psalms, the sections of 1 Samuel covering Hannah and Samuel, and the first three chapters of 1 Corinthians (my current sermon thread), and that about covers it.  The stack of yellow legal paper I write my sermons upon is now impressively high.

Which makes me wonder: If, Lord willing, I continue on here at 1st Baptist of Franklin for, say 20 more years, to pick a round number, how close to preaching through the whole Bible will I be able to come?  The Bible contains sixty-six books, of varying length, Luke is the only one of substantial length I've finished thus far, but Acts and II Chronicles will be finished in a year or two.  In theory, after 25 years, I might be halfway to preaching through the whole Bible.  What would it take to get the whole way through, and has anyone really accomplished that goal while still doing justice to each phrase, sentence, and verse?  I don't think I have the additional 50 years of preaching in me that it might take for me to finish, but who knows, after all, I am training for the Oil Creek 50k again this year.

The Temptation to be a Culture Warrior as a Pastor, and why I'm not interested.

I've been a pastor for ten years, five at my first church in Palo, MI and five here at Franklin, PA.  During that time I've received many expressions of thanks and many heart-felt signs of appreciation for things that I've done in my capacity as a pastor such as funerals, hospital visitations, my class on the history of the Bible, and various sermons.  These are the kinds of things that keep a pastor going when his desk is covered in post-it notes, like mine usually is, of things to do.  This job is a calling, and the person who first said that you shouldn't be doing it if you can envision yourself doing anything else, was right.  It is uniquely demanding in many ways, but also uniquely rewarding.  I can't see myself doing anything else, and the only task that compares is one that I do as part of this profession anyway: teaching.

A couple weeks ago here in Franklin a controversy started brewing.  An anonymous letter writer threatened to sue the city of Franklin if the nativity scene that had long been placed in the downtown park's bandstand wasn't removed.  I was asked by the religion reporter of our excellent local paper if I would comment on the impending decision by the city council as to whether they would acquise to the threat of a lawsuit and remove the nativity, leave it as is and risk the cost of a lawsuit, or seek some sort of compromise.

Those of you who have followed this blog for some time, and/or know me in person, know that I've chosen to avoid politics in my public life.  I don't talk about politicians, elections, or the latest culture war issue raging on Facebook.  It is a choice I've made for reasons that I believe are extremely compelling.  They include: (1) That ministering to the Gospel is far more important than whatever political decision is currently being made, (2) that the marriage between the Church and politics has always been a one-sided affair that tarnishes the Church's reputation, and (3) that the last thing I want to happen is for somebody to avoid coming to my church to hear the Gospel, or choosing to leave it, because of a position that I might take on a political issue.  During the 2016 presidential election in the U.S. my patience was sorely tested, there were a great many things crying out for comment, but I refrained.

There are exceptions to this self-imposed rule, when the issue being discussed is primarily one of morality and not politics, and when the issue is of local concern.  My comments about the nativity fit that restriction.  I spoke to the reporter about why I'm troubled by the threat of a lawsuit being a reason to make a decision, whether it is a church, school, local government, or business that is being bullied by the threat.  I also spoke about how this was the type of issue that could easily have been dealt with locally by a compromise that works for all concerned rather than bringing outside organizations into it, thus making any equitable conclusion more difficult.  Those were carefully considered comments, and pretty much the limit of what I was willing to say about this topic.

Long story short, the city council voted unanimously to compromise by placing some secular items in the bandstand along with the nativity and thus hopefully negating the threat of the lawsuit without removing the nativity.  The crowd that had gathered at the council meeting cheered this outcome when the vote was taken.

What has happened since the article quoting me appeared in the paper is another reason why I remain committed to NOT being a culture warrior as a pastor: I've been congratulated, a lot.  I've received phone calls, personal remarks, even an old fashioned letter in the mail, cheering on my stand on this issue.  Are these appreciated and appropriate?  Sure, but they illustrate a very solid fourth reason why I should avoid politics and make only very rare exceptions to my own rule.  A pastor could easily grow to love the adulation and let it influence how he does his job.  It feels good to have so many people express confidence in you and say they're proud of you, it really does.  The never ending culture wars in America are a ready-made source of cheers for any pastor who wants to be their champion.  But that's not why I was called to be a pastor by God, and that's not the mission I'm responsible for.  If all I wanted was the cheers of men, I could easily have it by shouting about the latest battle in the culture wars, but Jesus warned us of this temptation, "when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full." (Matthew 6:5)

I don't need to tempt myself by doing things that will allow me to be "seen by men", I don't need to find out if my pride can be kept under control, if my preaching can be kept focused on what the Word of God is saying, not what I think people want it to say.  These are temptations that have ruined the ministry and reputation of far too many pastors.  If you want to be a culture warrior, that's your business, I've already got a job, and my boss' kingdom has higher priorities. 

When God's "No" is a lot smarter than your "yes"

I'm working on part 2 of the Hannah 3 part sermon series that started last week and I just asked the question, "Could God have answered Hannah's prayer even if the answer was 'no'?"  The question came to me in the writing process, so I went with it, and came up with a clear yes to my own question.  God often times answers our prayers by not answering them.  That may seem like a paradox, but it isn't.  The truth is that we often times have very little perspective about our own lives; we can't see the future, we don't know the consequences of our decisions.  As such, how could a loving God who does know these things, give us what we pray for when the result would make things worse? 
That may not make your heartache our worry go away as you continue to pray about something that seems like a no-brainer, but perhaps it will comfort you a little to know that God does indeed hear your prayer, even if the answer is "no" or "not now".
This principle has proven itself numerous times in my life.  It was God's answer that I needed to wait during several rough years of hoping for the help-mate that I wanted in life; it wasn't until several years later that I met my Nicole.  It was God's answer that I needed to wait, again for several years, as I hoped for a ministry opportunity.  He first answered that prayer with the people of Palo, and then, in good time, moved us here to Franklin.  In both cases, I would have wanted to move faster, God wanted me to be useful when I got where I was going.  If I had gotten my way in either case, where would I be now?  I don't know, but I'm here now, doing the will of God and continuing to rely upon the power of prayer.
So why did God answer Hannah's prayer?  For the same reason that he closed her womb in the first place: to bring glory to him name and to bless his people.  You see, Hannah's son, who by her own desperate vow, would spend his life in service to the LORD, would go on to become one of the nation's most important prophets/judges.  How did Samuel end up as a hero of the faith?  God told his mother "not yet".
The next time you feel like giving up on your prayers, like God isn't listening or just doesn't care, consider this: God knows the end from the beginning, he loves the whole world, and he is answering your prayer even if the answer isn't what you want to hear.

Memorial Day in PA

For the past five years I had led the service for Memorial Day at the little cemetery across the street from my church in Palo.  It was a privilege and an honor to do so each time.  This year, I wasn't there (as you know from our move to PA); I missed being there and seeing more than 100 people show up in that tiny town to pay their respects.  This past Memorial Day I was in Franklin, watching the parade with its thousands lining the streets, an impressive sight to be sure.  Then Nicole and I walked over and sat down at the bandstand to await the service expecting the whole park to be full of people (if only 1/2 those who had watched the parade came over, it would have been full of people).  I was saddened to see that only about 100 people stayed for the extra hour to listen to Mother Holly's prayers, watch the wreaths being laid, hear the list of those veterans who had died this past year, and the always moving 21 gun salute with taps.  I've been impressed with Franklin thus far; the town has great civic pride and does so much together, perhaps that was why I was disappointed to see so few linger to pay their respects.  I know that different towns had different traditions, but my hometown of Saranac always filled the cemetery at the end of the parade route for the service, the people of Palo more than represented their town by having more people at the cemetery than lived in the town; I guess I just expected more.  One thing I know, I'll be there next year.

"Where a people prays, there is the church"

That's part of a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who was executed for his part in the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler (the same one in Tom Cruise's movie, Valkyrie)  The whole quote is: "Where a people prays, there is the church; and where the church is; there is never lonliness."  Dietrich wrote those words before moving away from his family and friends in Berlin in 1928 to spend a year as the vicar (pastor) of a German church in Barcelona, Spain.  To me, those words ring particularly true in light of the past few months.  Nicole and I moved 450 miles away from home, leaving family and friends behind.  What we have found here in Franklin is a new group of people, not brought together out of common interest, but out of a common bond far more strong; our love of Jesus.  In our prayers for each other, for the work of this church, and for this town, we find a new community.  I won't claim to have not felt any homesickness, nor could Nicole say that, but I understand Dietrich's point.  Here, in this place, is the church.  We left a loving community of believers behind in Palo, as well as our friends at the Cathedral of St. Andrew, and before that Galilee Baptist in Saranac, but we have found another loving family of believers here.  Why do they accept me and follow my leadership?  Because they see the hand of God in it; not that there's all that much special about me in particular, but God prepared this path long in advance.
When you feal disconnected, lonely, or sad, do yourself a favor, pray with God's people.

FYI, the quote is from the book, Bonhoeffer: pastor, martyr, prophet, spy by Eric Metaxas; it has been fascinating thus far to read about Dietrich's childhood and the influences in his life that lead him to stand up against the Nazis when so many other German pastor did not.

Franklin PA, Day 1

Today was my first official day as the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Franklin.  Nicole and I arrived here on Wednesday night and began the laborious task of unpacking, we were joined by my parents who came down for the weekend and helped out.  Today's message, the Year of Jubilee from Leviticus, was the same message that I preached as a farewell to Palo.  The Scripture works for both an end to something and a beginning to something because it teaches us that we need to have second chances in life and start thing afresh from time to time.  The people at Palo began life without me today, the people here at Franklin begin it with me...On a lighter note: I was "recognized" on the street yesterday by the owner of the antique mall; he had seen the article in The News Herald on Saturday that detailed who the new pastor of the 1st Baptist Church was and included the photo of myself and Nicole at the Stanley Cup Finals (where they beat the Penguins by the way!) with my Red Wings jersey on; as they say in hockey, "game on".

The end of an era, the beginning of a new adventure...

Today was my last service preaching at the First Baptist Church of Palo.  It was my first pastorate as a senior pastor and ended up lasting five years.  Today's service was bittersweet as some tears were shed and hugs shared.  I was glad to have the opportunity to share in Communion one last time with my congregation and hear one last story in the middle of the service from Wilma.  I know that in the future we will both be praying for each other.  Help me pray that the church at Palo finds a new pastor whose passion, knowledge, and wisdom (all good things from above) are what the flock there needs to continue in their worship of God.  Help them pray, along with many who already are, that I will be up to the task of my new ministry in Franklin, PA.  It is a new chapter in my ministry and my marriage, one that, Lord willing, will continue to glorify his name through the work that he is able to do through me.  That may seem a bit much to some, but it is actually something that I've prayed for many years, "Lord, make your name great through me".  It's the kind of thing a man can pray when he doesn't really know where the Lord is leading him but he's willing to live with the uncertainty if meaningful ministry results in the end.  When I accepted the call to Franklin, it felt like that prayer had received a new answer.  For the past five years the place where I have ministered has been the beautiful stone church in Palo (and an alternative education building in Portland), in two days Nicole and I will leave for PA.  It will be a new adventure, but one that begins with equal parts excitement and sadness.  We'll miss you guys, God bless you for giving me a chance to minister to you.

Sermon Video: "The Year of Jubilee - Leviticus 25

What do Jewish regulations about the Sabbath, land ownership, and workers' rights have to do with the Church today? The answer, it turns out, is plenty. The principles of justice and second chances that underpin the celebration of the Year of Jubilee are certainly needed in our world today. In addition, the return of land during the Jubilee to its original owners helped to balance wealth and poverty in Israel as well as allow those who fallen on hard times to redeem their families land and start over...


This sermon is the last to be given to the people of the First Baptist Church of Palo, my first pastorate, and as such ends with a personal message of thanks and prayer for the future ministry at Palo.
 
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Praise to God, gratitude to many others.

As he would have even if the answer from Franklin has been "no", God deserves my praise.  Job knew that the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away; in my years of waiting the same lesson has been learned.  Not that my situation compares in any way to the suffering of Job.  I've had two jobs during this waiting period and a loving, if weary of waiting, wife at my side (instead of Job's less than helpful grief stricken wife).  In the end, God deserves praise because the will of the Lord is that we prosper and grow in our spiritual transformation process of becoming Christ-like.  For some, God blesses them to cause growth, for others, he sends trials and tribulations, and for a few, he simply tells them to wait.
Now that our prayers for direction have been answered (and a new avenue of prayer for this new ministry begins), Nicole and I have a mountain of thanks to spread out to our supporters that begins with our families, extends to our friends and my former church family at Galilee, and ends with my church family at Palo.  All have been what we needed from time to time.  Some have offered regular prayer, even on days that I found it hard to pray.  Some have offered words of encouragement, even on days when I felt stuck in a rut. 
From the beginning, the wonderful people at Palo have been understanding of my search process.  I came to them out of the blue, as it were, five years ago and grew to love the people, the old stone building, and the chance to preach God's Word each week.  I'll take with me my fond memories of Sunday school with Marjorie, Joy, Linda, and Jimmie; I'll chuckle at memories of Tony telling me whether or not a new iworship song was a keeper, and Wilma interrupting the service anytime she needed to let everyone know about the news from Camp Lake Louise.  I'll remember the quiet way in which Bruce was the board chairman, and the diligent way in which Sue kept the bulletin and newsletter in shape.  I'll miss Marion telling me thank you for helping her up off of the chair lift, and Sue's infectious enthusiasm for the school at Palo.  That's the tip of the iceberg.
Lastly, I need to thank my wife.  I promised her before we were married ten and a half years ago that I would support her and ease the burden she was lifting when I was able to secure a full-time job.  I imagined as a worse case scenario that it would take two years.  When I began teaching at Portland I thought it would only add a year to her wait, it ended up being nine.  There were plenty of times that all the words I had to offer her rang hollow, times that all I could do was hold her as she wept and express my regret.  What can a husband say when he sees his wife's health deteriorate through over-work and he is powerless to work more because the job offers aren't coming?  The one thing that I could say, the same thing I've told her every day of our marriage, I love you Nicole; always and forever.
Thank you Lord for answering our prayers, thank you all for helping lift them up to his throne, thank you Nicole for believing in me.

A long distance call from Franklin.

"They're singing now, what does that mean?"  Nicole and I were wondering that same thing as we waited in the hallway outside of the sanctuary of First Baptist Church of Franklin yesterday.  About ten minutes earlier the church had begun a business meeting to vote upon my candidacy; a simple yes/no vote (in which 70% was needed) to determine if the search committee's recommendation would be adopted by the congregation as a whole.  How long would it take?  We had no idea, these things can be over quickly or they can go on for a long time if there is much debate before the vote.
And now they were singing; the song was "Joy to the World", but that didn't really tell us anything; afterall, it's only three weeks until Christmas.  A few moments later the search committee chairperson came out into the hall to tell us that the vote was over; the church was officially calling me (and because of our marriage bond, my wife Nicole) to become their next pastor.
After dealing with searches and looking at job postings for the past couple of years, the news was a relief.  For the first time, I will be able to focus full-time on ministry.  No longer will other interests compete for my time and energy.  I was asked on Saturday what a bi-vocational pastor was (as that is what I've been the past five years); my answer was that a bi-vocational pastor is someone whose life is divided.  The time/energy required of the M-F job are always at war with the job God has called you to.  At last, I can move past that tug of war.
There will be exciting new ministry opportunities, a new town and new people to get to know, and a chance for Nicole to decide what she wants to do instead of what she has to do.  There will also be some tears as we say goodbye to the only home we've lived in as man and wife, to the town that I grew up in, to friends I've hung out with since I was a kid, and to family that I've always lived close to.  There will also be an end to my ministry at Palo; a church that has allowed me to be their minister for five years where I've added experience to the knowledge I've had before, and built some friendships that will last far beyond the present.  For that opportunity, they will always have a piece of me, as will this my hometown, family, and friends. 

A new ministry, a new beginning

On December 4th of this year, Nicole and I will be in Franlin PA where I will be preaching at the First Baptist Church of Franklin.  After the service the members of the church will be voting on whether or not to call me as their next pastor.  As many of you know, Nicole and I have been looking for a full-time ministry position for several years.  I love my church at Palo, and have had a wonderful ministry experience there, but in the end, I need to be a full-time minister.  For the past nine years I've been teaching alternative education in Porltand, but it is time to move on.  Earlier this year it was hoped that I could become a reserve chaplain in the U.S. Army and stay with my current ministry.  When that fell through, another path was needed.  We've had several churches that I've talked to that seemed to be the proper fit, only to have them choose someone else.  Finally, after speaking with members of the search committee in Franklin, and going down there to preach at a nearby church last weekend, it appears that our prayers (and those of many others to whom I owe a debt of gratitude) have been answered.
It is not a move without its challenges.  It will pain us to leave the family and friends that we've found at First Baptist of Palo, the Cathedral of St. Andrew, and here in Saranac as well.  It will be difficult to be a sizeable distance away from our families, and I will certainly miss the weekly basketball game that has been a part of my life for the past twenty years (that leaves you, Russ, as the only one of us left from those youthful days).  I will be accepting a major responsibility and a significant task in the ministry in Franklin, but for the first time in my life, I will be able to concentrate all of my working time and effort in one place.  For that reason, and many others as well, it is time for me to move on to a new challenge in my calling as a minister of the Word of God.
This blog will continue, as will Nicole's, and we'll continue to return to Michigan on a regular basis for holidays and vacations.  Our hearts will remain here, at least in part.
God bless you all for your support, it has meant so much to me when disappointments have wrecked so many of the plans I had hoped to lay out.  In the end, God is good, he had a plan for us, and we will continue to serve him who saved us from darkness and brought us into his wonderful light.

The 4th Annual Ecumenical Sunday: Music from the choir

The King B9's choir from the Cathedral of St. Andrew (Grand Rapids)
Performing at the First Baptist Church of Palo under the direction of Tom Good

"Jesus Met the Woman at the Well"
"Here I am Lord"
and a duet by Nicole Powell and Tom Good
"And all these things will be added"

to watch the video, click on the link below:
Music Video

Ecumenical Sunday

We've just completed another of our annual Ecumenical Sunday services at the First Baptist Church of Palo.  What this service entails is primarily a visit from the King B9's choir (that Nicole and I sing with on Sunday night) from the Cathedral of St. Andrew (in Grand Rapids, under Tom Good's direction).  The choir sings several songs of course, but the purpose of the service is to foster fellowship between these two groups that might not otherwise have any interaction.  It may be a small step in the direction of inter-church cooperation and worship, but it is one we're glad to be part of.
There are many churches, but there is only one Church.  All those who follow Jesus Christ belong to his Church; we're just keeping the pews warm, he owns the place.

Memorial Day observance Video

This is the video of our Memorial Day observance at the Palo cemetery, including my message honoring the eight Medal of Honor recipients from Iraq and Afghanistan.

To watch the video, click the links below:
Memorial Day Video
Memorial Day Video - Part 2

A new direction, the same ministry

I've decided to make a change in direction with my ministry that will allow me to better support my family and maintain my ministry at the First Baptist Church of Palo...I will be joining the Army Reserves as a Chaplain Candidate and re-enrolling at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary for the spring Semester. After I finish there, about 3 years, I will begin serving as either an active duty or reserve Chaplain for the Army. I've always held tremendous respect for the men and women of our nation's military and I know the toll that their service can take on them and on their families. As my friend Zach (Capt. 101st) seeks to heal their bodies through medicine, I will seek to heal their souls through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't claim any particular talents, just simply a desire to give something back in the process of moving my ministry forward. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me in the past, I continue to count upon the support of the faithful in this transition period (I will be doing the one weekend a month thing throughout working alongside a chaplain). Whatever God has in store for Nicole and I, he will provide the way to serve Him.

Standing behind the Pulpit

An unexpected thing happened to me this past Sunday.  I was sitting up in the front of the church, during the opening prayer, scripture, and songs, when I began to feel the need to say something.  I knew that my sermon was approaching soon, and I didn't feel that I could go forward with preaching the Word of God until I had cleared something up.  There was a problem between myself and one of my congregation, something that I had apologized for in person earlier, but something that was known to others as well.  Rather than allow some to wonder how I felt, or to hear about my actions secondhand, I decided to step in front of the alter and talk to my congregation directly.  Now before anyone gets any ideas; the problem revolved around a careless comment made on an earlier date, the kind of thing we all do from time to time, but a problem because of my unique role in shepherding this church. 
In the end, the short comment that I was intending to deliver evolved into about a ten minute rambling discussion of the ups and downs that we've seen as a church in my years there, as well as my hopes and fears for our future.  At one point, one of my senior saints decided to chime in with, "stop beating yourself up and start preaching".
It was a different sort of experience; I've known for years that my conscience becomes more keen when I'm going to be serving Communion, anything that has been lingering between myself and God gets cleared up, but this was the first time that I've felt the need to wait before giving my Sunday sermon.  It's a powerful thing to stand in front of others and tell them what the Word of God says, certainly not something to be taken lightly...