Forgot We Had This Blog

From Pastor Greg Chandler: Now that I’m retired and have a little more time for details, I thought I’d revive some posts to our church blog. The last post was January 27, 2018, so I’ve let this slip for a long time. Of course, very few accessed it over the years and I posted very few times. So which came first: no views or no posts? I suppose the answer would be yes. Regardless of results it’s another avenue of information out there from me and the church that may have a view and a read. I also have more things that might be worth reviewing than the Sunday morning lessons I teach at the church.

I have worked for most of my time as the pastor of the Freedom Baptist Church. I retired from one job in 2010 and from my last job with El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s office in June of this year. I will be turning 69 this month, so my feeling was it was time. A lot of people ask “what are you going to do now that you’re retired?” I don’t have a detailed answer for that question as I plan on doing what I’ve always done for the church except I’ll do some more and I won’t have the 8-5 time constraint. I hope to do things like revive this blog, make some videos for the church with Bible teaching and discussion of issues relevant to the church, and do some more music.

I will be singing at the One Voice Mission Word and Worship Conference August 21-23 here in Colorado Springs, at Envoy Church, 2025 N Murray. You can check out onevoicemission.org for more information. It will be a time to hear some truly excellent worship music and teaching and all are invited.

Remember, it wouldn’t kill you to come to church, would it? We have some pretty good music, thought-provoking teaching and discussion, and best of all, no snakes. We’re not the worst church you’ll ever attend.

 Greg

God Bless the Resilient Church!

Don’t forget tomorrow we will have a potluck following the morning service to celebrate our 30^th Anniversary as a church. Following the potluck we will have a meeting to review 2017 and see what’s new for 2018. Do you know what “resilient means?” It means “returning to the original form after being bent; buoyant; rebounding.” So far we have been a resilient church.
Our primary emphasis for 2018 will be to revamp our prayer ministry with new prayer opportunities to present. It is imperative that all those that have requests can get those requests to us and that they know there are people in our little church’s circle of contacts that are praying for them. We have several that are recuperating and are sick so we know we will miss some tomorrow but that is OK. We will see you tomorrow and God bless the resilient church!
Why Prayer? Because it's all we've got in this day and time of societal dysfunction and the stresses this puts on the church's people. Only constant contact with God will allow us to have an impact on this world that is so in need of light and truth. Prayer is what we are about as Jesus called us to be "a house of prayer!" Let this be our calling for this year and always.

By Consent of the Governed: Independence Day 2017

We celebrate our independence as a country this week. For us believers this is a special time as we remember the special truths from the Scriptures that were the basis for our founding as a nation. Truths like “we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.” And, “all men are created equal;” and for certain, “that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men…by the consent of the governed.”

As Christians we know we have been set free from the power and penalty of sin. Sin is the tyranny in our lives that must be rebelled against, just as the colonists rebelled against the “taxation without representation” of their British rulers. We know we are born in sin and that the knowledge that each person in the new country that was America was also born in sin bore a profound impact on our founders. If all men are fallen, then the governments of all men are also fallen, for government is made up of men. Therefore government can only rule by the consent of the governed; that the authority to govern comes from God first because He created all men and gave them their basic human rights. As the people give the government the right to govern them for justice and fairness for all (for all are equal as God’s creation) the government is to remain limited and subject to the people. And when the government gets “too big for its britches” as my Dad used to say about me, then the people rise up through elections, protests (remember that little tea party that was held in Boston harbor?) and yes, if it is necessary, even war to make government subject to the people again. But the people must also remember that they are fallen and that the only way any of the grand experiment that was America will work is that all will be subject to the grace of God. “God shed His grace on thee” means we are none of us capable of ruling one another; only God can rule and we are subject to Him first, then subject to one another in humility and to our governments as they rule under the authority of God and with the humility from knowing that government is limited just as each one of us are limited. Only God is Sovereign.

We also know that the rights given to us by God are for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Note it is the pursuit of happiness, not the guarantee of happiness, which has been granted as one of our unalienable rights. Life came to us by God; liberty came to us by God; and happiness will also come to us as we yield and subject ourselves to God.

When we pursue those things that are not in keeping with God’s will we will never be happy, and yet we have convinced ourselves that happiness is best found outside of God’s will. We think happiness is getting to do what we want when we want the way we want, and then we wonder why we’re not happy. But America is the best place in the world to pursue it when our government remains limited and subject to the will of the people and when people remain limited and subject to the will of God. Any other pursuit is chasing after shadows.

Let freedom ring this holiday: freedom from the power of sin, freedom from the tyranny of our poor choices, and freedom from injustice. Let God govern our great nation through His truth which is surely marching on inexorably to lead us to His great kingdom. If our lives fall apart from our personal sin or from the sin of others as they make choices that affect us, let us remember that we are in the best place in all the world to start over. We “thank our lucky starts to be living here today.” If you find yourself needing to start over, seek God’s grace that has shed upon us “from sea to shining sea,” and you will find that hope and happiness are indeed possible. With God, there is always hope. God bless you all, and God bless America!

For Easter 2017: He is Risen! I am Redeemed!

Our celebration of Christ’s resurrection reminds us of our complete dependence on Him and His work for us on the cross. There is nothing we can offer that will match the sacrifice He made for us. His sacrifice was because of His great love for us and our great need of Him. All that we give to Him in worship and praise on Easter Sunday is based on His grace: we bring it to Him because He first gave it to us. Not only did He die for our sins but He lived for our lives: we are subject to His grace in all things. We worship Him, giving back far less than what He gave to us, but by His grace He completes what we bring. He is Risen!

At some time in our lives we have stood at the bottom of Jesus’ cross, observing His hideous death and the moral and emotional wreck that is our lives. Beneath the cross of Jesus we observe the horror of an innocent man punished and killed because of our guilt and shame; somehow we know He did it on our behalf.

If bad things don’t matter then good things don’t matter either. If our sin doesn’t require justice and judgment then any good thing we do requires nothing good in return. Good and evil are rendered meaningless if our sin is not recognized and judged. Our sin has been judged, once for all, in Jesus receiving our judgment on Himself. It wasn’t fair for Him, but He did not come to die for fairness but for love and grace. Life is often not fair for us, but in the cross of Christ we have come to know we are of all people most favored and most blessed. “Life isn’t fair” in that we have received far more good than we have deserved and have not received the full measure of justice that we so richly deserved.

I am not what I would call a “good and noble man.” I don’t think of myself as holy nor do I “feel” holy most of the time. I have such obvious chinks in my armor (I wear them like a gilded robe) that I could be ridiculed and judged at any moment. The level of perfection that the world demands (how ironic that the people most critical of Christianity are the most legalistic and demanding of absolute perfection from people) is not attainable. The world demands far more of their definition of “righteousness” than God demands of us. (The world seeks to destroy our good with its “perfect” when you think about it.) So I know I have no self-righteousness to offer: but I am redeemed. I have no intrinsic power or discipline to show off like a shiny trophy: but I have His grace and mercy. My only trophy is the cross and His grace. It’s all I’ve got: it’s all I have to lean on. I’m nothing and nobody without Him, and without Him I can do nothing of any value.

But by His grace He asks me to express my love and devotion for Him in the ways He has given me. He is pleased when I offer my mind, heart, soul and strength; even though it’s woefully inadequate. He fills it up with His grace to make it an offering with which He is pleased. And when I give what I am to Him, I know He is pleased.

Reflections on a Church member – my tribute to Ralph Cox

Ralph Cox passed away on Feb 22, 2017 at the age of 87. Ralph was unique in so many ways but one thing about Ralph and his wife Bertha that was so amazing to me was their longevity as church members. Ralph and Bertha joined the old Grace Baptist Church on Swope Ave in 1962. Shortly thereafter he was ordained as a deacon and remained as the church treasurer until 1987. Between membership at Grace and now at our little church they spent over 50 years in church. That’s an admirable record.

The attitudes of people about church membership changed dramatically during their lifespan. For folks like Ralph you just didn’t cast aside your commitment to a church and move on to the next one. The very stability of Ralph was such a constant for our little church that many people just felt better about their church because he was there. Most folks don’t dedicate themselves to a single church like this anymore. Some do, of course, but not as many as used to be.

There can be a variety of reasons why a person attends a certain church for their entire spiritual lives but regardless of the nuances of those reasons one thing is clear: they loved it. They heard what was taught, they heard what was sung, they met the people, and they decided it was home. After making it their home their presence made it a home for others. Such loyalty and stability is a rare character trait for any Christian. This does not mean Ralph was perfect or some sort of saint; he was not. He was just ‘ol Ralph who was ready to help when you needed his expertise. He was always ready to pray (so quietly that only the person standing next to him knew he was done). He kept the church books meticulously; it always balanced as far as I know. He put in the phone lines for the church (he and another member were retired from the phone company). He was just solid: old solid Ralph always in his pew until the day came his mind could not absorb the routine anymore. The best words I can use for Ralph are: solid – stable – consistent.

No one will ever take the place of members like Ralph. We are in a different generation and a different time when it comes to church membership. Change is inevitable within any church but there was something comforting about knowing Ralph was always there. When you look up “church member” in a dictionary there’s a picture of Ralph there.

We’re not the best church you’ll ever attend, nor are we the worst. Good, solid Bible teaching develops guys like Ralph: good, solid men of faith. Thanks Ralph for your years with the church; they were not wasted. You will be missed, Ralph. All churches need guys like Ralph; I’ve had the privilege of knowing several “Ralph’s” in my ministry and I feel so fortunate for having known them.

Good church member. Ralph. We’ll see you again someday sitting in that pew in heaven; when I get there I’ll be ready to preach and sing for you. It will be my privilege.

29 Years of Freedom

Tomorrow we will be celebrating our 29^th anniversary as a church, fitting as it’s on January 29^th. On Jan 31, 1988 3 families along with Greg and Ruth’s family met at Greg’s house to begin this work. We have had many experiences through the years and we should take a moment to rejoice in the Lord’s promise to us and all churches, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.” They have not prevailed as we are still standing to continue worshiping in our own little way to exalt the name of Jesus Christ.

After the morning service we will bust up the auditorium (not literally of course) and have a potluck lunch. We will have a committee meeting to determine how we want to set up the church for the potluck and then conduct a business meeting where it will take a 2/3 majority vote to approve this set-up. We will have lunch at 5pm on Monday! LOL and chuckles: what’s good about us is that it doesn’t take a committee to decide to eat.

Immediately after the potluck (we don’t intend to keep you all day so we’ll keep it as brief as we can) we will have a short discussion on the “State of the Church.” This is to provide the communication we determined 2 years ago as being necessary to keep all informed as to our financial condition and what our needs and desires will be for the year. For the last 2 years several goals have been met and we praise the Lord that upon determined what our needs were we have substantially met our goals. All glory goes to Jesus Christ the Lord of the church!

We will also allow you guys to brainstorm any new practical goals you think we ought to have for the year. We know the spiritual goals are in the hands of the Lord but we always need to revisit the overall health of the church and how we can be healthier. Be thinking about this, but the overall purpose of the meeting is to discuss where we’re at on a practical level and what we think we want to do for the coming year.

We signed a new lease this year that lasts until December 31, 2018. We’re in the Lord’s hands but we’ve been in His hands for 29 years and that is the best possible place we can be.

Think on these things: Worship – Bible knowledge and teaching – Missions and Outreach – Finances – Building, tools and furnishings – these are only some of the items that either enhance or limit the overall health of the church.

And oh by the way, I blogged 7 times in the last year. I hope I can keep up this breakneck pace! I always think of things to blog about during the week but with my old brain I soon forget to do it or just don't get the time. I'll keep trying and thanks for your patience, but I was pleased that I found 7 posts from me for the past year!

Merry Christmas from Greg

I decided not to send out Christmas cards this year mostly due to time and most of the folks I desire to send my special regards at this time of year will be reading this. I wish for all of you to have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This year has been one of great joys and laughter and also many challenges.

This year I sang and danced my way through the Spring and Christmas seasons of the Songspinners, performing more than 50 shows and 2 flash mobs at 2 different DMV locations. I also got to emcee and perform with the Songspinners at a special concert in October with the Velvet Hills Chorus. It was a hoot.

We had our grandchildren from Alaska here for 5 weeks this summer and my grandchildren from Virginia along with my son and daughter in law were here during the same time. We also enjoyed having Mom Sullivan here from HI along with Ruth’s sister Mary and the rest of the Souza’s from the Big Island. All the grandkids got to meet their Hawaiian cousin and that was a special time. We celebrated the 4^th of July at the Rock Ledge Ranch and enjoyed the history lessons.

Ruth taught in VA in Sept-Oct and got to be with our Virginia family; while she was gone I took 4 days off from work to paint the outside of the house and the garage. It was a needed project and I am glad it was accomplished. Ruth then attended the Int’l Quilt Festival and Market in Houston in Oct-Nov for her business and had a very productive time there. My wife is an accomplished artist, businesswoman and author and I am so very proud of her!

Church rolled on and we enjoyed some great music with Lisa throughout the year along with some sweet fellowship. We signed a new 2 year lease and are looking forward to 2017-2018 at our current location as a church. Lisa and I are working with a good friend Ken Pulliam to put together a new CD of music.

For this year the honest truth is that life has been a bumpy road. I’m the type that can pull the dark cloud out of every silver lining; I can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory every time. Don’t forget, I work for the government and on top of that, I work for the DMV! So bumps in the road are a daily occurrence. I understand that as a follower of Christ I always have hope and joy. I instinctively know there is a happy ending to my life no matter the strains and pains. Sometimes all you can do is put your head down and plow through it. I’ve done a lot of plowing this year.

It was 5 years ago on Christmas Day that my mother passed away. It was heartbreaking news because I knew I couldn’t get there on time to see her but I am still rejoicing that she is at peace with the Lord. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t miss her. Her loss on Christmas Day along with the loss of my dearest friend in the ministry Mike Rogers (who passed on Christmas Day in 2010) makes Christmas a bittersweet time, and I do believe it will be like that always. That’s OK; every day is Christmas Day for a Christian and memories are made from the small pleasures of life that I experience every day with Christ as my Lord.

So on this day and every day, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. I am completely dependent on His grace for there is nothing in me that can accomplish anything; He has accomplished all for me and it all belongs to Him. Rest in His grace; even if you fall and it seems like all is dark, though He slay you, yet you can trust in Him. Once eternity has been figured out, the rest is a journey of epic joys and pleasures. My prayer for you is peace and prosperity for you, your families, and for this great nation of ours. God bless 2017!

A special note of thanks and info on our upcoming services at Freedom – I had a great worship time at Heartsong Church last Sunday and I do so appreciate you letting me go sing. I enjoyed seeing the picture of Jess, Lisa, Johnie, Darrel and Ron on FB; that was a nice touch.

Don’t forget tonight we will meet for a Christmas Worship Service at 5pm and then have a potluck following. Bring your usual great culinary creations at which we Baptists excel. We’ll have a Christmas sing-a-long following.

Next Sunday night (Dec 18) at 5pm we invite all back for an early potluck and then the Songspinners will be performing at 6pm. This is a great time to bring friends and family to enjoy our fellowship and friendship as a church as we open our doors for those that are coming to the show. It is the closing show for the Songspinners Christmas season. Bring a lot of potluck goodies; enough for those who attend and for the Spinners to snack on after their show. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you guys doing this.

With Christmas and New Year’s on Sunday this year there will be regular worship services at 10am both Sundays but no Sunday School.

His Ways Past Finding Out

I lost someone recently. Robert Walker was the son of friends that I had for over 40 years. He was adopted by my friends in 1985; my wife and I were there when they brought him home. My son and Robert practically grew up together until about high school when they went to different high schools and their lives took different paths. There was so much history and so much time spent together, though. For the most part every time we got to see our friends it was like no time had passed at all. 2 weeks ago I got a message that Robert had suffered a stroke; I went to see him and my friends in the hospital here and I could tell it was bad. Within a week Robert had passed away at the age of 32. While it is so difficult to make sense of such a tragedy, I took comfort in something my daughter posted that is about as good a thing to think in such times.

I lost a friend I haven't seen in....... I don't know how long

I still lost a friend today

He was a part of all of my growing years. He and his parents were always there. All the truly pivotal moments, somehow, someway, they were there

I lost a friend today

I keep trying to explain away or downplay my grief because of the distance

But the truth is, I lost a friend today

I keep wondering if my sorrow is because he was so young, or because I feel so much for his parents

But the truth is, I lost a friend today

The truth is, people grow, and move, and start over. It doesn't mean they leave their roots behind

They may not visit each other, or talk on the phone, they may not see each other for years

It doesn't mean they don't love each other

I lost a friend today

There are roots in our lives that never rot. Those roots are often our childhood friends that helped shape us into who we are

I lost a friend today

I lost a friend today and have absolutely no idea how to grieve

How do you grieve through the guilt and regret? How do you grieve through the path your lives took

How do you grieve through the window of childhood memories?

All I know is, through distance and memory and love,

I lost a friend today.

Thank you to my daughter for these wonderful thoughts

Sometimes it's hard and there's nothing to say: we'll keep on going but it's just plain hard sometimes

Pray for my friends and for one another

If we have hope only in this life, we are people to be pitied. Our hope is in the future in the hands of our loving God

We're still here but you wouldn't know it from this blog

I haven’t updated for some time; I intend to put some thoughts down but with full-time work and preparing for Sunday I never seem to get to it. I intend to send more posts of wandering thoughts and activities in my life and the life of the church so I hope you're all satisfied with my good intentions. I have brilliant posts and observations in my head so I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!

I want to let our friends know of a project that Lisa and I are working on. Our good friend Ken Pulliam is offering his technical expertise to put together a better music recording than we have ever been capable of doing before. We have been meeting on Thursday nights to record some of our favorite Christmas songs and the results so far have been very satisfying. My thanks to the sacrifice that Lisa is making to play and Ken for his willingness to see this project through. He has been working on me for some time to do this so I am glad we have it going. We don’t know when we’ll be done because recording is a time-consuming procedure but we will let you know. More to come

Don’t forget that next Sunday is the change to regular time so fall back one hour next week

Tonight I will be emceeing and performing at “A Harvest of Harmony” featuring the Velvet Hills Chorus, the Songspinners and Joe and Katie Uveges. Tickets are available at the door for the 7:30pm show ($20); if you want to come for dinner and the show ($35) it starts at 6pm. The show is at The Retired Enlisted Association Hall at 834 Emory Circle. It will be a great show and I’m glad they asked me to be a part of this.

And remember: we're not the worst church you'll ever attend and it wouldn't kill you to attend church once in awhile. The best thing is: no snakes!

For Sunday April 17: where did spring go?

It is said Colorado has 5 seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall and that stretch of 3 days in April in which all 4 happen at once. We’re living that season this weekend for sure. Be safe and we look forward to better days and better health as we move slowly but inexorably toward summer. We will keep an eye on the weather and keep you posted about Sunday services for April 17

What Good Does it Do to Sing?

In a world of so much debauchery and destruction, what good does it do to sing and dance? Aren’t we frittering away valuable time by doing something so unserious?

It’s so important to have something in your life that is based purely on art. Music is not a purely emotional thing: it is sometimes more math than emotion. Each note has a pitch, a tone, a volume and quantity (long or short). Each note is broken down on a staff and fits into a certain category. The voice is a complicated thing and can be trained with exercise, practice and technique to sing certain notes a certain way within a certain range. Like I said, music has a lot of technical engineering to it.

But it is also art; it is an expression of the soul based on those technicalities. Those that listen to music do not listen technically; they listen intellectually (is that note on pitch? What was that word? Do I relate to this song?) and emotionally (what does this song mean to me? I remember what I was doing and where I was when I first heard this song…) It is because of these connections that all are touched by music even if they are not particularly musical themselves. Music is the language of the soul, both intellectually and emotionally.

For those that do sing and dance, music is an expression of the soul of the individual. It is painting a work of art with the voice and body. The motions and the music form a single unit for the artist that causes the forgetting of self and ego and intense concentration on the full expression itself. What could be more fulfilling than to forget about self and be thinking only on the expression itself?

I enjoy singing and dancing with my show choir group. For years all I did was sing in church and stifled the body. I started leading singing as a 14 year old teenager in the little Baptist church I was raised in. I was taken aside by an old tenor that sang in a family quartet who introduced me to southern gospel quartet music, a music I have loved ever since. But we weren’t too expressive in the Baptist church; the idea of tapping feet or clapping hands was usually discouraged. After all, clapping your hands is just one short movement away from speaking in tongues, right? No, it isn’t and such a belief has stifled so much creativity and talent in the Baptist church that it is no wonder we are the farm system for the growth of every large Pentecostal church in the last 50 years.

But remember this: the complete abandonment of the mind from musical expression, disconnecting the mind from the body when singing, denigrates the music. When the body and emotions are given full reign much of the glory and expression of the music is lost. There is no music when the mind is turned off.

So I have discovered that the expression of music with body and voice speaks a language to my soul that I cannot fully explain but that I truly know is from God. He has granted me a gift to praise Him with that I know He is pleased with. Since people are fallen I know not all will appreciate this sort of thing but I’m fallen too and I know I don’t know everything perfectly either. However, the expression of song along with the expression of mind and body forms a whole that He enjoys in me. When I sing and enjoy it and bypass the usual egotistical thoughts (how do I look; who is pleased with me or not pleased with me) He is glorified. This is what we were made for as human beings: to glorify God and be enjoyed by Him forever. A little singing and a little choreography is surely a better thing to do than most of the stuff we engage in.

In a world that hates the truth, telling the truth is seen as hate (unknown source but it’s certainly worth repeating)

New Sunday School Series: Avoiding Intellectual Laziness

For Sunday school we are reprising our study of Thinking Like a Christian that we did last year as a spring and summer mid-week series. Since I never teach the same thing the same way twice even if it is a repeated series it will seem new even to those who heard it before (split personality is my friend). This subject is always relevant for each generation of Christians has new issues and new approaches to the world it must deal with. In my 28 years of preaching and teaching we have seen several of these changes and have had to face each one of them. When I first started preaching in the 1980’s the issues were driven by the baby-boomers with their narcissism and hedonism, and how to approach the church worship and growth movement.
It moved to the technology revolution and facing the challenges of the de-personalization and destruction of the individual the technology brought.
Now we face multiple movements driven by social media that changes so fast we sometimes face attacks on our worldview from Sunday to Sunday. These multiple movements are led by the LGBT attack on Christianity, the redefinition of the family and the continued apostasy of moral relativism.

Because of these constant challenges the development of a Biblical Christian worldview is all-imperative. Although we run the risk of repetition it is pretty clear that intellectual laziness has pervaded the pew and we must respond to the challenges of each generational attack with our minds fully engaged. Have we truly learned everything we need to know about a subject the first time we hear of it? I don’t think so!

The Christian doctrine is the only unifying knowledge between beliefs and actions; the Bible answers the pertinent questions every generation asks and does so with consistency and clarity. We cannot teach enough about what the Christian faith has to say to this people of this time.

Chasing Sermons and Rabbits

As I reach the end of another sermon series (this one 2 Corinthians) it becomes time to start another one. My entire ministerial career (1981 to present) the mantra has always been “expository” or “verse by verse teaching.” It seemed this type of preaching was the only type allowed in truly Biblical churches. Any pastor that did not engage in verse by verse teaching was guilty of heresy (or at least that was implied). I did not grow up in Baptist churches with this type of teaching; for the most part the sermons I heard were topical sermons each week (although every sermon was going to be what we called a “salvation sermon”). So it becomes necessary to reevaluate the priority of what is studied and how it is studied every time a series begins.

Another comment that is frequently heard in “verse by verse” churches is that it takes so long to get through a book or series. This can be a legit criticism if the preacher is deliberately going slow or “chasing rabbits” as we like to call it in order to make the study time stretch out. However, many times the verse by verse teaching is interesting and brings up a lot of different subjects for discussion. Therefore more time is taken to get through a particular verse or portion of a verse because it brings up more subjects that are relevant and timely. Folks need to understand that some verses take longer just because they are “meatier,” much like you should take your time getting through a good quality piece of steak and not just wolf it down unappreciatively.
Topical preaching (or subject preaching) can be effective but since it stays “on topic” many get bored because the subject is mentioned frequently. “What, are we still talking about sin again? Why can’t we study something else?” (Insert your best whiny voice impression here) The balance of keeping a subject interesting but being thorough and practical is a delicate act indeed. The preacher must constantly keep his skills sharp so as not to be boring but he must also be thorough and “plumb the depths” of a subject so that true knowledge can come from it.
I have never heard of a bored student learning anything; but I have also never heard of a shallow preacher being interesting. We all need to understand that it takes time to get through a subject or a series; shallow knowledge is not edifying to anyone. Bored listeners might mean there’s a boring preacher in the house. Keep it in balance, people, and keep it real; your desire for something “interesting” or “practical” can change from Sunday to Sunday and we don’t yet have an app for your smartphone for you to punch in your “subject of the week” prior to Sunday. The key is that the information being presented in the sermon is vital and necessary to spiritual life. If it’s important to knowing Jesus Christ, then you need to know it no matter how often it is repeated. On the other hand, the preacher must learn to say the vital information in an interesting manner and not say the same thing the same way week after week.
The nature of truth is that it’s eternal, and if it’s eternal it’s been around awhile. If it’s been around awhile it’s old and therefore if you’ve been in church more than 30 minutes in your life you’ve probably heard it before. The mantra of “we want something new” can be very unhealthy and in fact could be a sign of the coming apocalypse! (They heap to themselves teachers having itching ears) Be careful what you wish for when you constantly want something new.
I find this subject interesting because I think many preachers are pretty full of themselves and don’t like any criticism of their preaching at all. They’re such strutting peacocks they’re funny: who are you to think you’re the be-all and end-all of preaching and that if you’ve said it there’s nothing left to be said? Get over yourself. And people need to realize the nature of learning the Bible and applying it to your daily walk: repetition, repetition, repetition. Achieving a good balance of this in our churches will lead to spiritual health and edification of all.
So, what am I going to preach when 2 Corinthians is over? Haven’t made up my mind yet but whether it is topical or expository we’ll try to continue to learn and grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the goal of every sermon to result in the edification of the people and what best represents Jesus Christ in whatever we study and learn from a sermon or a Sunday School lesson.

And That's Not Bad!

Tomorrow at Freedom we will be celebrating 28 years as a church. On January 31, 1988 4 families met in my home and we prayed about the possibility of starting a new church. For 28 years now we have met every Sunday and sang, prayed and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. What keeps a small group of people going for so many years? It truly isn’t of our own power or desire for doing the same thing for 28 years expecting different results is the definition of some word that I won’t mention here. Some may view what we have done as being an exercise in futility, especially since the size of the church has remained pretty close to the same for the vast majority of its 28 years. We have watched some of our children grow up in the church, go away, come back, and have children of their own. When you think about it, it’s kind of a neat thing to see that happen with one constant being there for their entire lives, this little church. And that’s not bad.

Have we done fantastic things? Have we changed the world? Has the Day of Pentecost broken out? Is our little church the last vestige of truth and spirituality in this cold, fallen world? No to all of those questions: we know we haven’t changed the world and actually we have passed through this world with little attention paid to us. But you know what? We’re not the worst church you’d ever attend; we’re safe, we’re stable, we love the truth and we let you be free to make your choices to follow the Lord. And that’s not bad. We believe the truth and try to surrender ourselves to following the truth wherever it may lead us, and we praise the Lord for 28 years of faithful, loving service that truly belongs to Him. We are but trophies of His grace; we are nothing as a church other than what He desires to do with us. And that’s not bad.

For most of these 28 years I have worked full time in different jobs so I have truly filled the role as a bi-vocational preacher. Last Sunday in 2 Corinthians 10:8-9 we meditated on the working pastor: “I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you; and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so.”

There are advantages to a church to have a working pastor: he’s more independent and free to lead; he rubs shoulders with non-church people every day in the business world; he hears and sees what is going on in the culture that he could never see in the friendly confines of his local church; you don’t have time to attend “fellowship meetings” and engage in petty ministerial fights; and the church is less burdened in supporting a full-time pastor and can channel its resources in other directions. On the other hand, there are some real pitfalls to the working pastor: not being full-time makes the pastor feel like a 2^nd-class minister (he’s not good enough as a preacher to be full-time); he has to juggle the details of the ministry in half the time that full-time pastors have; he has to make difficult decisions with his time that results in some feeling snubbed, whether his family or his church members; and the sense of isolation he has in not being able to cultivate friends among other pastors is a real problem. So we see that there are pros and cons to being a bi-vocational pastor, and that’s all right too. When I made the decision to go to work back in 1989 I did so because of the cost of medical insurance on our church, and look what that little issue of medical insurance has become today. It is arguably the biggest social, political and financial issue of our time, and it touched my life very early on and continues to do so. So like Paul, we work so as not to “be a burden to you,” and you know what? And that’s not bad, either

So I say God bless the small church, God bless the working pastor, and God bless us one and all as we celebrate 28 years as a church. We will sing, worship, learn, fellowship, eat and reflect on where God is leading us. And that’s not a bad way to spend a few hours on a Sunday (Greg C)

Being Children of Grace and Gratitude

It’s the first Sunday of the new year and we look forward to the coming year with anticipation and hope. Of course we know bad things will happen, which we do not wish on any of our friends and neighbors, but we also know many, many good things will also happen and we must be the children of grace and gratitude for the coming year.
We are continuing our study of 2 Corinthians this Sunday and we are in chapter 9 for this Sunday.
2 Corinthians 9:11-13     You will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all,
The more this principle is understood the more giving is blessed by God (“enriched”) and generosity will spread with more and more giving thanks to God for what His gracious provision
The contagious nature of the giving of thanks will spread to all God’s children; when the bulk of God’s children are filled with the giving of thanks directed to God it will be a wonderful world
Vss 14-15              while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
The teaching of Paul on giving in chapters 8 and 9 ended where it began: with the grace of God. We have nothing other than what God has graced us with, and we are to honor Him in whatever He has given in our spiritual attitudes and conduct
“They” referred to the Jerusalem Christians who would receive the offering and then pray for those that gave, benefitting the givers because they were being mentioned before God in gratitude and prayers
There is a relationship between giving and praying, then: to assist a believer with giving is the same as praying for them and to pray for them is the same as giving them an offering. Placing praying and giving in the hands of God is the best way to go

 

Jesus What a Wonderful Child

Sending a shout-out to all our Freedom folks that Ruth and I will miss you all tomorrow as I sing and give a devotional at Heartsong Church during their Christmas celebration and the Spinners will perform following the service.
The Heartsong celebration is at 10am followed by a potluck and the Spinners at 1145am
I have about a 5 minute devotion to give tomorrow; Doyle Combs asked me if that was a Baptist Preacher 5 minutes which we all know means it could go on and on and on ....... but you all know that already, don't you?
My thanks to Johnie, Darrel, Ron, and our inimitable and intrepid Lisa for handling the service for me tomorrow; all in all I would rather be at home with you but these kind of celebrations are important because it gets me and therefore you out there in the community so they know who we are and I get to do what I do best, show off!
No, seriously this is a great opportunity to release the faith and grace that we have experienced as a church and give it to others; there is nothing wrong with others seeing what the Lord has done for us. We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good and we want others to taste also
Everyone is welcome to come up at 11 for the potluck and watch the Spinners at 1145am, but keep in mind the Spinners will be performing next Sunday night 12-13 at our church at 6pm with a potluck preceding at 5pm
The Lord bless; pray for one another there are more prayer requests out there than you know so as you pray seek out the Lord to heal and help those that so desperately need Him at this time and always; you may not know who they are but the Lord does and we pray to Him
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Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil 2:5)
Christ did not regard the outward expressions of Deity to be something to be held onto as tightly as a thief holds his ill-gotten treasure. He emptied Himself of those outward expressions (keeping fully intact His personhood as God) and became just like us – a servant, made in the likeness of men. He came down to earth as God incarnate and born of the Virgin Mary in humility. He humbly yielded Himself (just as He became a man) to death, the death of the cross.
For this reason (His humble incarnation - God becoming a human) the Father has lifted Him up to an exalted place and given Him a name above all other names. In the exact opposite of His coming to earth, He will be honored and worshiped by all mankind whether they believed in Him or not. The living and the dead will bow the knee before Him and declare that He is God, agreeing with God the Father that He was justified in sending Him to earth and bringing glory to God the Father.
C. S. Lewis put it like this: The Eternal Being, who knew everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but before that a baby, and before that a fetus inside a woman’s body. If you want to get the hang of it, think how you would like to become a slug or a crab.
The right response to the story of Christ coming down to earth is humility. We are most like Christ when we humble ourselves and act the way He acted in being “Emmanuel – God with us.”
Humility is one of the most elusive virtues for us. We either have it or we don’t; if we think we have it we don’t; and if we try to have it, huh-uh, we don’t. If we have to tell people we’re humble, we ain’t humble. Humility needs no advertising or hype.
True humility is not when we think less of ourselves but when we think of ourselves less; when we spend more time looking up to God and Christ and less time looking inward at how we feel or looking outward to see what other people think of us. We find humility and therefore find Christ when we go ahead and do what the passage in Philippians 2 says we will ultimately do, bow the knee before Jesus Christ and declare that He is Lord.
This same Jesus came and died for us, extending mercy and grace. Funny thing about mercy and grace: we’ve got nothing to do with getting it. The very nature of mercy and grace is that one party extends it to another party that in no way earns or deserves it.
Christ came to us as an expression of God’s character of mercy and grace. That is all: we don’t deserve it and we cannot demand it. All we can do is beg for it and then take what He gives. And He gave us mercy and grace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore Christmas gives us the blessing of declaring Jesus is Lord before He assumes the throne. When we bow before Him in that manger, humble, meek and maybe even crying, we find the mind of Christ and find peace. We truly find humility when we learn to worship the baby Jesus, to honor Him as God when He was at His most humble.
Bow the knee before Christ; worship Him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords even as all we see is a baby in a stable and in a feeding trough surrounded by a mom and dad and farm animals. Lift Him up as the God of the universe, singing praises to His name, honoring and glorifying Him as Lord, declaring “what a light He is, what a King He is, what a Lord He is, what a Baby He is.” We declare in humility and glory and in an exclamation of praise that is so selfless and so pure and so wholesome that the demons tremble and the angels weep with joy. Our praise is this: “O my Jesus, what a wonderful Child!”

A Little Story

I want to share a story with you. I have shared this story several times at church as a sermon illustration and it is very meaningful to me.

Growing up in a fundamentalist Baptist church that was very missionary oriented I heard many stories about God’s judgment on those who are reluctant to evangelize, surrender to preach or respond to the call of the mission field. Stories were told of loved ones and family members who became sick or were tragically injured or killed in auto accidents. These stories were told to motivate us to surrender or face tragic consequences.

It was made very clear that if something tragic happened it was caused by disobedience or faithlessness. Time does not permit mentioning the numerous sermons and conversations that made very clear to me that if there is any suffering in our life we caused it. We caused it by our sin, our weak faith or our reluctance to commit ourselves. Even the altar call to rededicate our lives to the Lord contained such warnings. We had to go forward during an altar call because there could be grave and dire consequences to our lives or the lives of our loved ones.

When at the age of 13 my mother informed me of my father’s lung cancer (my father was 64 years old at the time so he had me very late in life) my first thought was, “What did I do to cause this?” I must have done something very wrong for this to have happened. I blamed myself and wracked my brain as to what I could have done to cause God to make my dad sick. And if so, what could I do to convince God to heal my dad? There were people in my life that tried to comfort me and told me it wasn’t my fault (my Dad was a lifetime smoker so lung cancer was always a possibility but I wasn’t mature enough to understand), but I still blamed myself. All I could remember were those stories of how disobedience caused all suffering in our life.

My father passed away in 1969 when I turned 14. I went on with my life but I still thought that I must have done something wrong for this to have happened. A dark cloud seemed to park itself over my head: no matter how good I was or how active in church the mark of darkness was upon me. Suffering had happened in my life and I caused it. Life was dark and tragic and destined for calamity no matter what I did.

We moved to the town I was born in, Arkansas City, shortly after my father’s death. I continued to faithfully attend church and even became a church song leader at the age of 14 but I still had doubts and questions about suffering. The teaching I had received had cemented itself into my brain and even though the church I was attending was not as fundamentalist it did not speak much about suffering. I read Scripture and prayed, asking God to make me better and change me but I still did not understand what had happened. There was no theological teaching or spiritual construct that helped me with the notion that I was the cause of all my suffering. To be fair, I don’t think my mom or my church had any notion of what was going on in my head. Teenagers don’t open up and share what they’re thinking, usually (and probably a good thing in most cases). But I simply did not have an answer to my questions. Why did my dad die? Did I cause him to suffer? What could I do now to make the pain go away? Surely if I just went forward at enough youth meetings and church camps God would miraculously spare me from my faltering, weak faith.

In the town of Arkansas City on West Kansas Ave there was an old cinder block building, very non-descript, where an old couple opened up a Christian bookstore. It wasn’t there but for a couple of years but in hearing the music of the Gaither’s and gospel quartets, all new to me in the 1970’s, I searched out their sheet music. I found great comfort and peace in listening to and singing gospel music. It was one of the great joys of my teenage years. I searched out the music and when I could find it at this little bookstore I would put together my quarters and dimes (one song cost a little more than a dollar then) and buy it. I would get the church pianist to play it for me and would sing it at church.

While listening to a program called “The Elmer Childress Show” which came on from a Wichita, KS station every noon hour (it would come on for 15 minutes and Elmer and his family would sing gospel music) I heard them sing a song that I thought sounded good and the message seemed so different from everything I had ever been taught about suffering. I then heard the song on “The Gospel Singing Jubilee” (I think that’s what it was called) which came out of Oklahoma City on Sunday mornings. My mother would put this program on every Sunday morning while we were getting ready for church and I grew to love the southern gospel quartets and family groups. The song intrigued me even more  so I set out to find this song. One day when perusing the sheet music at the little Christian bookstore I found it. The song was “Through It All” by Andre Crouch.

“I’ve had many tears and sorrows; I’ve had questions ‘bout tomorrow”

“There’ve been times I didn’t know right from wrong”

“But in every situation God gave me blessed consolation that my trials come to only made me strong”

“Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God”

“Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word”

Could this be? Could it be true that I didn’t cause my dad’s suffering and death but part of why it happened was just to make me strong? Could trials be something that make us stronger and test us and not just be a punishment? Could I suffer and still trust God without blaming myself? As I meditated on the song I realized that what I had been taught was wrong. Now to be sure, we can cause our own suffering. Many of the bad things that have happened to us are a result of our own personal sin. I was well aware of this and made plenty of mistakes as a young man (and an old man) that were my own fault. But this does not explain all suffering and it certainly didn’t explain my father’s death, even though I had been convinced it was my fault. But when I heard that song I was comforted and at peace. A gospel song was responsible for one of the seminal events of my life. It made sense of my father’s death and gave me a new resolve to serve God faithfully, go to Bible College, and become a preacher.

There have been many ups and downs in my life, but one thing I do know: suffering makes sense. We may be at fault for our suffering, or it may be random because of the evil in this world, or it may come from the weakness of our bodies, but regardless, God will see us through it all. Trials come to only make us strong so we can trust in God and His Word and He will give us blessed consolation.

This song comforts me. It tells me of the power of gospel music. There is no other music in the world that has this kind of power. Rock music only wishes it could bring the inspiration, influence and power that gospel music brings. I have been empowered by gospel music in my life and I will never forget how a great gospel song forever changed my life and helped a young Christian boy grow up to follow Christ his entire adult life.

Thanks to Dennis A, Hello to Ed P, and a few random thoughts from Pastor G

A great big thank you to Dennis Aleson for stepping in for me while I was gone Sunday Sept 13. The
church folks truly enjoyed him and he enjoyed them. His experiences and wisdom are greatly appreciated and his willingness to help me out is appreciated.
For this Sunday Missionary Ed Potter, missionary to the Madeira Islands, will be with us and he will preach for us. He is in the states for a short visit and this is the only Sunday he can be with us. Please come to hear him and give a love offering if so led. Ed and Abbie have been great friends to us over the years and he is truly loved as a partner in the ministry.
Just a few running thoughts from the pester:
There are just some things you don’t want to constantly hear when you go to church:

•          Don’t want to hear constant litany of bad news

•          Don’t want to hear constant begging for money

•          Don’t want to be guilt manipulated

•          Constant preaching about church membership (goes with giving)

You want to hear the good news of the gospel and hope for life today. The Bible acknowledges that we will suffer in this life but it also gives us reason to hope, to strive and to have joy. The steady drumbeat of “we need more money” is wearying after awhile. Of course there are times when money and giving has to be addressed but it is best to discuss it in the normal course of expository teaching or when there is a dire need that the folks need to know about.

We must also be careful to not “toot our own horn” all the time about how great we are. We are not great. Even Paul was reticent to defend himself against his enemies because it would sound like self-promotion: “are we beginning to commend ourselves again?” (2 Cor 3:1). I really don’t think that a church’s finances are a matter of a lack of teaching or a lack of knowledge. Another “stewardship campaign” is not always the answer: for the most part we present the good news of Jesus Christ, the power of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit and “all these things will be added to you.” This is a part of what we are about at Freedom.

 

 

A Bio for our speaker this Sunday Dennis Aleson

Ruth and I will be gone this Sunday traveling to VA to see Tim, Christa, Neva, Esther and Oliver. My good friend from the Songspinners Dennis Aleson will be speaking in my absence and I appreciate his willingness to come and speak. Here is a bio of Dennis' ministry.

Rev. Dennis Aleson is a retired clergy member of the Dakotas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and also a retired chaplain with the U. S. Air Force (1977-2003).  He was born in 1947 into a parsonage family of the Evangelical United Brethren Church in North Dakota, where his father served as a pastor for 50 years.  Pastor Aleson’s twin brother Darrel, of Bismarck, ND, is also a retired United Methodist clergy, just retired from 26 years as a fulltime hospital chaplain, preceded by church pastorates in ND and MT.

Dennis Aleson graduated from Kindred,  ND High School in 1965, followed by a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Westmar College in LeMars, IA in 1969.  After two years of military service courtesy of his draft board (1969-71) and with duty in Turkey and Spain, he felt his call to ministry and in 1975 received his Master of Divinity from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, with an additional year of post-graduate studies at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA in 1984.   After two years as a civilian pastor in Hettinger, ND,  Rev. Aleson began a 26+-year career as an USAF Chaplain, with 10 duty locations during that time,  His stateside assignments included two in Colorado Springs: the USAF Academy (1986-90) and his final assignment at Peterson AFB / Cheyenne Mountain AF Station (1999-2003).  Other unique assignments included Izmir, Turkey, ancient Smyrna of biblical times (1981-83), and the Greek island of Crete (1990-92).  Following the Air Force Chaplain Service, Pastor Aleson has done a variety of short-term interim pastor locations in CO and ND, as well as supply preaching and other occasional services of the church (weddings, funerals, etc.)
 A defining moment in his life and ministry occurred in 1996 when he was the senior deployed chaplain at Khobar Towers, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, a military housing complex attacked by Islamic terrorists on 25 June 1996.  Nineteen persons were killed, along with 300-400 injuries.
For his leadership of chaplain services in the aftermath of this tragedy, he was named the
1996 USAF Outstanding Chaplain of the Year, and in 2000 was named the Outstanding Alumni of the Year in Specialized Ministries from his Denver seminary.
Dennis Aleson has been married since 1971 to Carol (Arnold) Aleson, a Nebraskan.  They have two adult offspring: 1) son Ryan, living with wife Emily and grandchildren Calvin (2010) and Lucy (2012) in Orlando, FL, and soon to add grandchild #3 in early 2016.----2) daughter Heather Bingham and her husband Dustin living in Colorado Springs……Besides volunteer work and occasional ministries, Pastor Aleson is a longtime member of the Colorado Springs Show Choir, the Songspinners.  Travel is also now high on the priority list for Pastor and Mrs. Aleson.