Sheerah or She-Ra?

Do you remember She-Ra? She was a fictional cartoon character created in the 1980s to counterbalance another character called He-Man. (They are related very similarly to how Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa are related, if that helps.) She-Ra was known for her immense strength and for her incredible intelligence; often she defeated her enemies with quick wits rather than aggressive action. She-Ra was known as the “Princess of Power” and “The Most Powerful Woman in the Universe.” Not bad, right?

He had a daughter named Sheerah. She built the towns of Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah. (1 Chronicles 7:24 NLT)

Today’s Chronological Bible reading includes this one verse which, like many others, is easy to glance over and ignore. But perhaps we should pause to reflect on it! Continue reading →

August Youth Update

The TIME is NOW! This has been an unusual summer for my wife and me, as we have been to the mountaintop and we have wandered through the valley with our experiences and our life’s journey. We were blessed and motivated as we listened to David Beam as he shared about one of our passions, the people of Guatemala and their beautiful love for the Lord. Then, Connie’s mom, a 90-year old sweet lady, began to decline in her health as she struggled with pain each and every day. Leaving her in prayer, we traveled to Oklahoma City to the North American Convention of the Church of God where we were inspired with the boldness of the message “Jesus is the Subject,” and heard that in our culture, we must be bold in our walk with Christ and be consumed by his fire and message, despite what is happening in our world. Christ is alive, doing well, and no matter what comes, His Kingdom is in great shape and He reigns in our world.

Then, as we returned, Mom was still declining, not coming out of it and requiring more daily care. Leaving her safely in the care of Connie’s brothers, we ventured to the “Leadership Summit” at Warner University in Florida where we spent the week with almost 200 of the most God-loving, fired-up and ready to serve teenagers in our country, ready to love God, love people and live it out not only today, but with their future. We heard great speakers, had wonderful family times with our groups, spent a day in missionary training at Warner’s Heart Ministry, served in the community, laughed, worshiped, prayed, cried, exploded in joy with the blessings of God and even taught a couple of sessions to students exploring the fruits of the Spirit. Wow, we had an experience of a lifetime!

Connie’s mom was not getting better. As we returned, her pain and suffering was increasing, but we saw how God’s love is always redeeming. Provisions were being made to have three people on 8 hour shifts coming into her home (where she wanted to be) to care for her, with hospice making periodic visits to try and help alleviate her pain. It looked like perhaps she would be able to cope, but then hospice advised that she be moved to another place. She knew, she agreed, but on that Saturday there were no beds and she would need to wait until Monday for a place to be. On a beautiful Sunday morning, as we were driving to church, Connie received the call that her mom had passed. She was FREE, she was with her husband, she was without pain, she was refreshed, and she was with Jesus. There was no hurry, we went on to church, I taught our Sunday School class, I chaired the service, Connie played the piano, we served the Lord as we always did, but we knew that a celebration of life was happening in the next week and we would rejoice in knowing that our place in heaven is secured and we would once again join with family members. As Connie continued to tie all the loose ends together, I visited my 81-year old Mother and just her enjoyed our time together in God’s Kingdom.

The TIME is NOW! We live in His Kingdom, which is alive and now. My task in life has been to help Christ in leading youth to a life-long relationship with Jesus and witnessing to people of His love and care. We are family and we should together be serving and bringing glory to God. My challenge to you: come to church, be part of the family, grow in your love and relationship with Jesus, bring others, serve others, be consumed in your daily walk with Christ. As September comes, come to church and be an active participant in the life of Mt. Haley, the youth ministry, the community outreach, the family of God. Love God, Love People, Live It!

As you can see, it has been a pensive, emotional, exhilarating, inspirational, exhausting and a summer of a lifetime in my walk with Christ. Thanks for listening. But remember and dwell on this: God is good, He is real, He is our strength, He is faithful, He is our shield, He is love, and most importantly, He is ALIVE!

What more could we want?

Meanwhile, we are going to Michigan Adventure on August 5th, see Pastor Jerry ASAP if you would like to go, there will be St. Louis Camp Meeting (with ice cream one night) a concert in Ithaca, and perhaps another quick activity. Labor Day is the latest it can be this year, so school doesn’t begin until September 8th and our first youth ministry isn’t until later. New permission slips for the 2015-16 year will be mailed sometime this month. Summer is still in full swing, however, the church is still opened and will always be waiting for you where we want to help you grow in your discipleship of Christ. COME!

Leadership Transition

Our congregation is associated with the Christian group formally known as the Church of God Reformation Movement.  We balk at calling ourselves a denomination, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s what we are.  And for the past several years, this denomination has been guided along its course by our current General Director, a man named Dr. Ron Duncan.

Dr. Duncan is an excellent leader with a pastor’s heart and a servant’s attitude.  I have had a few conversations with him over the past few years, and I have always walked away grateful that he is providing such good leadership for this movement.  Yet his retirement is just around the corner, and the necessary questions are being asked now:  what kind of person do we want as our next General Director?

This is extremely significant for us as a movement, because the General Director gives voice to our collective vision.  He or she works with other leaders in our movement to strengthen congregations and to help us move forward in our mission, which is to spread the message of Jesus Christ throughout the world in a way that resonates with our theological emphases on personal holiness and the unity of all believers.  The next General Director will shape the course of this movement for years to come.

I was privileged to participate in a focus group yesterday regarding this very issue.  Several friends and colleagues of mine – we were called “young theologians” by the organizers of this group – had a 90-minute conference call with the team that will eventually search for a new General Director.  We were asked to give our thoughts on the current state of the Church of God, the challenges facing the next General Director, and the opportunities facing the next General Director.

This was an incredibly encouraging phone conversation for me!  I appreciated being reminded that there are many leaders in the Church of God who are concerned that this movement actually move somewhere, that we clearly express our vision for ministry in the present-day world.  Many individuals commented on the importance of understanding and articulating our identity in a way that drives us to service and ministry in our local communities in the name of social holiness.  Several mentioned the need for Christians to partner with other believers across denominational lines to do the work of the kingdom of God in our local communities in the name of Christian unity.

The Church of God won’t have a new General Director for another eighteen months or so.  The search process is very involved!  But rest assured that the Church of God currently has many young leaders who are committed to seeing this movement fulfill God’s purposes in the present generation.

–Pastor David

Discipleship Goals
photo by Brian Hathcock

Recently, I spoke briefly about five criteria for church leadership that Pastor Dave Perry (from Edgewood Church of God in Ithaca) shared with several area pastors at our last monthly meeting.  I would like to summarize and explain those points here in writing for you to consider.  Remember that these are not rules that must be followed dogmatically, nor do they form a perfect and complete list of expectations.  But I agree with the other Pastor David that these form a good basis for how Christian church leaders should orient their spiritual lives.

These ideas are, I believe, also applicable to anyone who would choose to follow Jesus, to anyone who calls himself or herself a Christian.  No one is expected to be perfect in the church, but all of us should be expected to grow and mature into full disciples of Christ.

So consider these five criteria as goals for our spiritual lives.  Take a few minutes to do a self-examination:  where do you stand on these five goals?  How can you improve?  What is God asking to change in your life?

  1. A personal testimony:  Having a story of how Christ has transformed your life is crucial.  This has to do with being connected to Christ and, therefore, to other Christians.  First Peter 3:15-16 encourages us to be ready to explain what we believe at all times.  Are you able to tell (or share in any other form) your testimony of how you became a Christian?
  2. A regular worshiper:  Setting Christ first in your life includes making regular worship a top priority.  Hebrews 10:24-25 speaks about our need to meet regularly, and John 15 uses the imagery of a vine (Jesus) and its branches (believers) to illustrate our need to remain connected.  Is regularly attending Sunday morning worship a priority for you?
  3. A positive supporter:  As taught in Philippians 2:1-4, the unity and progress of the church are more important than personal control or personal preferences.  You are not asked to say “yes” to everything that the pastor or other church leaders propose.  However, once a decision is made that is the opposite of what you prefer, are you first in line to support and help in that direction?
  4. A person of growing character:  Desiring to be Christ-like and being willing to grow are incredibly important characteristics.  Colossians 2:6-7 implores us to continue always in our pursuit of growth in Christ.  Are you an example to others of a believer who has not yet arrived but is pressing on toward the goal?
  5. A tither:  Giving to God ten percent of all we earn helps us remember that everything we have belongs to the Lord.  This spiritual discipline helps us keep our material lives in perspective and helps orient our spiritual lives correctly.  Malachi 3:10 challenges us to bring the full tithe into God’s house.  Are you trusting God to provide for all of your physical and spiritual needs?

Let’s all continue to grow on the path of discipleship together!

–Pastor David