My Ordination as a Baptist Pastor

This is one of those moments in my life that I will never forget. There's just something about having the whole church leadership visibly entrust the church to my care. The man in the suit is my mentor, Pastor James Frank, a man who stayed with the same church (Galilee Baptist of Saranac) for forty years! Thanks to everyone who participated and to my wife for your continued support.

When Nobody is Looking

In Matthew Chapter twenty-six the chief priests and elders of the people conspired together to find a way to arrest and kill Jesus. Oddly enough, they were afraid to do it publicly, and wanting to avoid the crows of Passover, they concluded that it should be “not during the Feast, or there may be a riot among the people.” (Matt 26:5) Here we have a group of conspirators scheming to put to death a traveling healer/teacher because they feel threatened by him, a bold and vicious move to be sure, but they don’t want anyone to take notice of their move. Do we act the same way? Are we willing to commit sins that we certainly know are wrong as long as nobody in particular is looking our way? It’s certainly a temptation, the notion that when we don’t get “caught” that we’ve actually gotten away with something. Of course God knows all that we do, but we somehow manage to convince ourselves that we’ve managed to keep things quiet. We’d all be better of if we remembered that our behavior in private and our behavior in public should always be Christ-like, even when nobody is looking.

Ecumenical Service is a Big Success

On June 28th we celebrated our 2nd Annual Ecumenical Worship Service along with our brothers and sisters from the Palo United Methodist Church and the King Bee Nines choir from the Cathedral of St. Andrew (Grand Rapids). I’m very glad to report that the service was a success on both a musical and a fellowship front. I was once again proud of how warm the welcome our congregation extended to our guest and would like to pass onto you the positive remarks that Nicole and I have received from members of the St. Andrew’s choir.
The text that I preached on, “being one in spirit and purpose” (Philippians 2:1-2), urges us to set aside the differences that hinder us and unite behind the paramount need to spread the Gospel message to those who don’t know what Christ has done for them. In order to fulfill that Great Commission, we as Christians need to demonstrate our own willingness to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. If those who have never been to a church see us squabbling and fighting, what message does that send? How can we preach the grace and peace of God when our own community is fraught with divisiveness? The step forward that we took this past Sunday is but a beginning, but it was indeed a step in the right direction. All of you who have supported our work in Ecumenism have the heartfelt thanks of both Nicole and I. God bless our many churches as we share in the mission of the Gospel.

When You're Not Having a Good Day

How do you know when you’re not going to have a good day? I had a not so subtle moment that let me know that my day was going to have some rain in the forecast. On my way to work this week, I accelerated my beloved Taurus onto M-66, only to have the engine rev, but the speed decline. I thought to myself, that’s odd, can’t be good. Sure enough, that was the end of the transmission, and the end of the Taurus. Now what? Needless to say, this isn’t what Nicole and I were hoping for this week. But when is it ever our hope to be tested, to have life give you lemons?
The life of Jesus, as always, offers us counsel when things aren’t going our way. As you know, Jesus had to endure difficulties and sorrows far beyond having a car break down on you. What was his response? Hebrews 5:7 tells us, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” The author of Hebrews goes on to explain that Jesus learned obedience through suffering, not exactly the lesson we’re eager to ask for, but a crucial one nonetheless. Is every misfortune in life a lesson sent by God to teach us something? No, but that doesn’t mean we should pass up the opportunity to learn from it. A last thought, Jesus was HEARD by God when he prayed for deliverance from the cross, but the answer was no. Are you in trouble? In need? Offer up a prayer with loud cries and tears; God WILL hear you, regardless of the answer you receive.

2nd Annual Ecumenical Worship Service

On June 28th we will be celebrating our 2nd Annual Ecumenical Worship Service. The King Bee Nines choir from the Cathedral of St. Andrew will be blessing us with their singing, and I will be preaching a message of Christian brotherhood. Which Scriptural passage will I utilize? I haven’t decided yet, but the N.T. is full of passages that emphasize the desire that Christ had that his church would be one in Spirit. It’s been a thousand years since the Church has been anywhere near being one in fact (and five hundred since the Protestant Reformation), but we’re closer now to being one in Spirit than we have been since the invention of the printing press. The massive momentum of mistrust and past sinful hatred has dissipated in much of the world, and small seeds of cooperation have been planted. Why should we care what happens in other denominations? (some might ask) One of the biggest reasons, beyond the fact that the Bible tells us to, is that the loss of a moral compass in the Western world (and with it belief in Truth) threatens us all. Empty churches in Europe, and sparsely filled churches in much of the U.S. are a danger to us all. In order to counter this rising tide of moral relativism (and agnosticism) we need to focus on what unites us rather than what divides us. If Truth is to be defended, we need all the help we can get. The unsaved world around us doesn’t care about the issues that split the Church apart, they only see the in-fighting as evidence that what we have isn’t worth all that much. Why then should we seek brotherhood with Catholics, Orthodox, and the thousands of Protestant groups? The simple truth is that the message of the Gospel finds more fertile soil when we do.