Dealing With Change

The past couple of weeks have been more of the usual within my life.  If it doesn't involve a church or the house where I live, then it's probably not a part of my life.  On the 4th Sunday I installed one of my sons in the ministry into his 3rd charge as a pastor while he was yet celebrating 10 years of being in the gospel preaching ministry.  I enjoyed the installation and pre-installation services.  It seems he has some good people at his church while, at the same time, going to have to deal with some counters to the cordial part of his congregation.  But then too, who of us, as pastors, don't have to deal with such.

After another week of work, Word and worship, another Sunday showed up with swiftness; a 5th Sunday at that.  Fatigue has seemingly overshadowed my body and I just feel tired all the time.  So, this past Sunday, I managed to preach the early worship opportunity at our church and let an unexpected visiting pastor carry the preaching part of the 2nd worship.  Thank God for the 23rd Psalm, but I'm so involved in our worship services, I may as well have preached.  By the time I made it to Marianna to perform yet another Pastoral Anniversary Service for one of my sons in ministry, I felt like I was preaching on fumes.  But thank God for being able to reflect in preaching to be able to reveal and relate in preaching to the people that I preach to.  There are just some things that I'm thankful for and I can always talk about that.

As I sit here and further reflect on my usual routine and rituals in the course of a week, I have completed the first part of my week with another installment in our Tuesday noonday session.  I'll leave this blog and begin preparing for the Wednesday mid-week bible study.  Thank God for a little change in the course of my usual work week with the return of the Korean Levite Choir to our church on Thursday.

But through all in my life that seems redundant and repetitive, I can't help but think about how I'm being forced to change.  Finances don't seem to be my friend these days as I am constantly overwhelmed and overshadowed with yet something else to pay for.  A great bulk of that is because of a change in my preaching schedule.  It's often said by those in my profession that "we don't preach for money but preaching is how we make our money."  All or most of my preaching is, as I've said before, for pastoral anniversary services which, in most cases, involves me giving money rather than getting it.  I've always seemed to be more the giver than the receiver even though I've often had nothing else to really give. 

I use to be the "in demand revivalist."  I guess time has brought about a change for me.  I have really got to figure out something to help me to be able to bear with this adjustment.

Greg Schiano is the new and 9th head coach in the 36 year old life of my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Let's see how this change materializes.  I hope there is a change from a 4-12 season and a 10 game losing skid come August.

I don't know what is wrong with our Orlando Magic.  A 12-5, division leading, record seems to be fastly getting away from us and is gravely beginning to resemble that 10 game losing skid that closed out the Bucs season in Tampa last year. The Magic seems to have no magic in even making baskets!!  I struggle with my choices for sports teams.  I don't know why I can't be a supporter of dynasties.  I guess it's indicative of how I am challenged to face changes in life.

Troubles don't last always and neither does triumph.  We must take all things one test, trial and testimony at a time.

I Get Happy When I Preach... I've Stopped Apologizing

It is absolutely amazing to me how God does things.  Particularly, how He presents His preached Word through His chosen vessels.  Preachers of all sorts of religious practices and racial backgrounds stand in temples and synagogues weekend after weekend doing what they consider to be "preaching."  The remarkable thing is there are so many different styles of presentation. 

As for me, a preacher of nearly 26 years, a pastor of nearly 23, I've always enjoyed and participated in the energetic, "hoop-a-listic" style of preaching.  I hope the presentation has matured over the years (I'll declare, assuredly, that it has) but it has come with its gripes and criticisms.  I recall, very vividly, visiting a church, preaching the sermon at the church and afterwards going to the fellowship hall to have a meal.  Once I arrived to my seat one of the members of the church that was working and assisting in the kitchen asked me what I'd have on my plate.  I was toying with the idea of one particular thing, whether or not I should have it, and she quickly decided for me with the statement "yeah, all that screaming you did up there today, you want some. You Need It!"

I declared that day that I would cease from "screaming," "hooping," "tuning," or "hollering" in my sermon presentations from then on.  Of course, that didn't happen.  As soon as it got good to me in the next sermon I preached..... there I went, "screaming" again!  This morning in worship I got happy in the presentation of preaching, yet again, with a sermon that wasn't "programmed" for exuberance.  As a matter of fact, I had preached it at our early morning service last Sunday and it came out like I'd planned for it to. 

This past Tuesday, it happened again.  Tuesday Noon Sessions at our church aren't geared to be celebratory services, but rather, they were intended to be "quick fixes" of bible study during lunch break that was actually born out of the 9-11 experience 10 years ago.  But it got good to me.  And having an able and willing organist sitting on ready at all times to "warm up the B-3 so I can get my tune on" doesn't help things any. (Thanks Mr. Darius :-) )

Well, I'm not apologizing for it anymore.  It's me; it's what I do.  It's what God does through me.  I love preaching and I love preaching like I do it.  I can't wait 'til the next time I have to do it.  I've decided if ONE is blessed and changed by my preaching presentation then it's worth it all.  It must not be that bad; it's almost 26 years old and has aided in getting me 2 churches to pastor.

What a great day to comment of celebrative preaching as we celebrate a great orator and preacher in his own right, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  As we are living in the age and generation that's becoming more and more unfamiliar with his work and witness, I pray we never forget the trial and struggle of him and all those before and after him that paved a way for black people today.  Our children seemingly have no pride nor appreciation of their blackness in an attempt to declare racism is no more and "people are just people."  Some actually have the mentality of color blindness.  But I pray we never forget nor do we ever get complacent or comfortable in this, still, racially confused country we live in.

Pondering Over the Holy Days

I haven't been big on the holidays for some years now.  I've always prefered to refer to them as "holy days" in an attempt to keep the right perspective about what we are supposedly celebrating.  But in my usual fashion, on this 5th day of January, 2012, I'm glad we're finished and done with another holiday season.

I will admit I was pleasantly pleased to see the overwhelming turnout for the Christmas Day service at our church; it was great to see so many in worship at 9:00 in the morning on the day we set aside to recognize the birth of our Savior.  If anything, I thought that crowd would excel and swell the following Sunday for the 1st day of the new year... not!  But, I'm grateful for great participation overall in all of our services ending the old year and starting the new year.  Our church has so many new people united with it that I've really got to do better in learning who "my people" are.  Every week some one or another family is coming down the aisle; I'm grateful, but it's more work, that I wholeheartedly welcome, to become acquainted with a whole new group.

I've often said that our church is so transient (being in this military town) it's hard to keep up with the active roster's changes.  In the 10 years I've served this church, I've buried one congregation and watched another congregation relocate to locales all over this world; another congregation just decided to start congregating somewhere else.  And with all those changes in our people and participation, God has still maintained a large fellowship of believers.  How great is our God and He is so greatly to be praised!

I've enjoyed my bi-annual season with my collegiate children.  They're very seldom home for weeks at a time.  So I have to enjoy the time when I can get it.  It's also a great change in adjusting from raising children to receiving grown ups as your children.  My, presently, two 21 year olds are undoubtedly grown people, with grown people ways of life, yet not totally or financially independent of me or their mother.   So, it kind of puts you between a rock and a hard place when you have to learn to give them their space as grown collegiates while also realizing they don't quite have it together yet.  One thing is for certain, as I age, I'm changing.  I'm sooooooooooo not a 20 year old anymore and I don't desire the same things I once did.  So I try to relate, but can't LOL.  I have lived long enough to be out of touch with the present 20 somethings.  But I thank God for what I think is a great relationship with my "grown" children; and I really enjoy the time with them.

So now, it's time to get back to the grind.  May will bring the celebration of the conclusion of 11 years as pastor of my beloved Joyous St. John Baptist Church.  It seems so unreal that I've been in Panama City that long.  (But I guess when you look at my children it kind of says "oh yes you have.")  Easter is just a couple more months away; gotta get the Seasoned Sermons Series in place.  The men of our church are ready for another men's conference in February.  We're installing Terrance Bulger into another church in a couple more weeks.  I already have a crowded calendar through August but I'm still hoping to get some calls for revivals and conferences and the such; I love the work of preaching! 

It's going to be another fruitful and fulfilling year, I believe.... so let's get to it!  Let's be blessed in Jesus's name.