Archive for the ‘Ministry’ Category

Unity From Diversity

Monday, January 5th, 2009

I was pleased to see Harriet in church yesterday. A faithful supporter of our church for over thirty years, Harriet has grown increasingly dissatisfied. . . “If I hear one more ‘Amen’ I’ll remove my letter,” she said not long ago. . . why don’t those “people” go to their own church?” Harriet was speaking about Margaret . . .

Margaret is black and widowed, the mother of four children and six grandchildren. . . Margaret appreciated our church when her husband, Gideon, died last year. One grandson, Larry, had taken it especially hard; his father abandoned the family before he was born and Gideon was the only dad he’d known. After Gideon died, Larry would return to Gideon’s hospital room and cry, hold the curtains, and touch the bed, all trying to resurrect his granddaddy.

Margaret hasn’t forgotten the day her white pastor brought Larry home. “We’re going to see Granddaddy again,” I promised. “He’s in heaven, and we’re going to see him again.” Larry believed me and stopped visiting that empty hospital room. . . We are white and black, young and old, charismatics and fundamentalists and liberals. Yet from our frightening diversity a new unity has begun to emerge.

Hindering the Work of the Lord

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

Last week, during Vacation Bible School, one of our children misbehavied. Instead of disciplining in our normal way, Karen said something that really made me think: “Do you really want to hinder the work of the Lord with your bad behavior and bad choices?”

Of course, most of us would not. But, how often to we allow ourelves too much slack in our personal choices? How often do we take seriously our witness to the community in which God has called us to serve?

The most immature statement in Christianity today is: “I come to church to be fed.” This statement, ipso facto, implies an egocentricism which is the antithesis of the cross. In fact, this statement is frankly pagan. A Wheaton College professor writes: “. . . for the pagan, worship is an experience, a noun, while for the man or woman of the Bible, worship is action, a verb.” Presumably the Christian life is in fact worship (see Romans 12:1 and my sermon on July 25, 1993). Yes, we can worship God, serve God, in a pagan manner. The pagan performs acts in order to fulfill selfish ends . . .

But that is not God’s objective–what we want is secondary always to what He wants. Responsibility. This is a key word to the growing Christian. We have responsibilities to our God and to one another and to outsiders. We are not here merely to feel good.

As a matter of fact, in Colossians 4:5-6, Paul gives us a few responsibilities to outsiders, or non-believers. First of all, we must conduct ourselves with wisdom. That has to do with our way of life and life-style. We have a responsibility to make sure that our walk in life is in line with Scripture. Remember, outsiders, nonbelievers, are observing us. We are on display! Remember when we cheat on our income taxes our children are watching! Remember, when we steal things from our employer, our non-Christian friends are looking! Are we prepared to hinder the work of the Lord by our selfish bad choices?

The second responsibility that growing Christians have toward outsiders is to make the most of the opportunity. That does not mean manipulation! Situations will present themselves in which we shall have an opportunity to share Him. We do not have to slip tracts and little Bibles lunch boxes! Remember! We must be patient. . . but opportunities cannot be recaptured once they are missed.

But, in verse 6, we are given a third and most important responsibility toward outsiders. So far, most of my examples have referred to work or home opportunities. What about the chance we have corporately and individually to share the love of Jesus Christ in our Sunday morning church service? What will they see? Are we assuming our responsibilities? I’m sure that you will agree that, at a minimum, we should be positive in everything we say. Studies show that nothing causes visitors to flee from a church faste r than public negative complaining about this or that by regular members. Our talk must be gracious, salty, and perceptive. Gracious talk is talk that is courteous, cordial, cheerful, controlled, compassionate, and Christlike. Gracious talk has no axe to grind and is free from bitterness.

I wonder if we think enough about our responsibilities as Christians . . . if we consider our responsibilities to our neighbors and, especially, to those whom we meet in worship service every Sunday morning. Think about it . . . and . . . Come let us worship and glorify the Lord with our lives!

Remember

Thursday, January 1st, 2009

Moses walked along across the plain to the foot of Mount Pisgah. Slowly he climbed up the steep rocky mass, higher and higher, until he finally reached the summit.

Looking back, he could see his people camped far below him on the plain. The sun had begun to set, and the evening fires flickered among the tents. His eyes finally rested on the sacred encampment. Smoke was rising in black clouds from the altar, where the priests were sacrificing a lamb.

Reluctantly he turned away and looked westward, out over the far side of the mountain. There in the light of the setting sun lay the land of Canaan. Directly below he could see the fertile green valley of the Jordan River and, just beyond the Canaanite town of Jericho. To the south he saw the waters of the Dead Sea, glimmering red and gold in the sunset, and the purple Judean hills rising steeply westward toward Jerusalem (not yet so named). His eyes followed the winding course over the rough, rocky hills of central Canaan. This was the land that was soon to belong to the young nation of Israel…but not Moses.

Except from distant Mt. Pisgah and later Mt. Nebo, Moses was not to enjoy the Promised Land. Even after Moses pleaded with God whom he had loved so long and served so well, God responded “That is enough–do not speak to me anymore about this matter.” (Deu. 3:26).

This text ( grows out of Moses’ profound and sad realization that he could not go with his people to their destination. So what could he leave with them? What could he tell them that would summarize his own life?

Obey. “Follow these commands so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God or your fathers is giving you.” (4:1)

Remember. Remember what the Lord did at Baal Peor. In case you’ve forgotten, God killed 24,000 Israelites whom had been seduced by the Moabite god Baal Peor in Numbers 25. Remember. Remember God’s faithfulness day by day.

Remember and obey are two key elements of the Christian faith too.

Twenty-five years ago I preached my first sermon. The essence of my sermon was remembering and obeying. After suggesting that every believer must daily assess his/her commitment to the calling we all share, I said “Brothers and sisters, this is a sacred moment, a moment we should remember for the rest of our lives…the degree to which we are able to obey God will determine our success in the next few years.”

We are on the edge of the greatest days the Church has ever known. Our generation, I believe, will see a revival the likes of which has never been seen before. Say what? Look at what is happening in your church! The best days are still ahead of us!

Remember and obey. The key.

“The land is not ours. We are still camped on the edge. But the Land is ours someday…we will endeavor to obey God whatever the cost …Remember. If Jericho is ahead of us, the Red Sea is behind.
Come let us glorify the Lord and praise His name forever!

Fellowship of the Unashamed

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

The following is a letter found in the office of a young African pastor in Zimbabwe after he had been murdered by terrorists. When the Lord returns may we all be found so committed!

“I’m a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is sure. I’m=2 0finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions are few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adver-sary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me, and when He comes for His own He will have no problem recognizing me—my banner will be clear.”

Let us glorify the Lord and praise His name forever.

McGehee, Arkansas

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

As I write this newsletter article I am thinking of my old hometown, McGehee, Arkansas . . .This coming Wednesday (October 14, 1992) I will visit my ailing 80 year old Grandmother at the Green Glen Nursing Home (probably for the last time).

I grew up in McGehee, Arkansas, circa 1953-1977. The U.S. Census recently designated Desha County, Arkansas–whose major “city” of 4500 people is McGehee–as one of the poorest counties in America (as reported in U.S. Today newspaper). McGehee (one hours’ drive east of Clinton’s hometown Hope, Arkansas) is an anamoly–it should not exist. Created out of the Mississippi flood plain, thanks to the grace of God, and a 40 foot levee, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad, it has existed for over 100 years.
McGehee, Arkansas, in the middle of the twentieth century, is unprepared to face the present, much less the future. The Civil War (or, as we Southerners call it “The War for Independence”) han gs like a heavy shroud on this declining railroad town. Slightly more than one hundred years ago Federal soldiers unceremoniously marched through our swamps on their way to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi. To our shame, no significant resistance was offered, except a brief skirmish at Boggy Bayou.

Perhaps this was the genesis of the unspoken gult, or perhaps it was earlier when Zulu warriors were chained and transported up the Mississippi River from New Orleans and forced to chop our cotton. But, whenever and however the guilt arose, it still permeates my hometown.

No doubt guilt is the cause of so much fear. And then fear is the cause of so much prejudice. And, like a deadly fever, prejudice still grips the hearts of many of my friends and relatives. But I am not longer angry at them . . . no, I feel sorry for prejudiced people. For, you see, I understand now why they hate. . . because they are afraid . . . racists are essentially cowards . . . and I feel sorry for them.

But, I love McGehee, Arkansas. I thank God for gentle folk who loved me, who taught me to respect my elders, who gave me such an appreciation for history. For Mrs. Strout, my fourth grade Sunday School teacher, who taught me that all persons are equally valuable to God and should be to all of us. For Mrs. Emerson, my fifth grade public school teacher, who recognized my academic gifts and did not let my learning disability hinder my development. And I gave my whole life=2 0to Jesus Christ in McGehee First United Methodist Church (during a Lay Witness Mission–stay tuned! We will have one in Sept., 1993!).

So, with great joy I return to my grandmother . . . the same woman whose grandfather was a founding member of the old Methodist Church. And, while the Stobaughs are not trying to make a social statement, our presence next Sunday in First United Methodist Church, McGehee, Arkansas, while it will shock some, perhaps will give others hope too. Because, you see, the same church that produced the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan for the state of Arkansas also produced a man, whose family includes three interracial children . . . I really think old Sam Parris (my great-great-grandfather)–while refusing to sit with us–would still be proud . . .

Come, let us worship the Lord and praise His name forever!

Two Kinds of People

Monday, December 29th, 2008

“There are two kinds of people,” Mr. Merrill Lynch announced at lunch in the Harvard Club on my last day as a Harvard University Merrill Fellow in 1990, “Those who went to Harvard and those who did not.”
At these words, I nearly choked on my overpriced, overdone filet mignon (that many ordinary Hollsopple beef farmer eat every other day!) and wiped my mouth with my embroidered, starched white linen napkin. I was certainly glad to hear that–especially since I was wearing my best suit–and my worse suit–both at the same time. By mistake I had put on the jacket from one and the pants from another. They looked good to me in the pre-dawn morning. But by lunch the crystal chandeliers in the Harvard Faculty Club painfully accentuated my error! Everything about this place reeked of pretention and I was glad to get my crimson crows feet and to fly home!

Ari Goldman, a New York Times journalist wrote a book called Searching for God at Harvard. What becomes abundantly clear, after reading the book, is that he obviously did not find what he was looking for. One professor, the great Christian writer Fred Buechner resigned from Harvard Divinity School because he felt embarrassed to mention God in his classes. “The mere mention of God–an omniscient God, God as a transcendent being–when I was there . . . would be guaranteed to produce snickers,” Ari Goldman wrote (Atlantic Monthly, Dec., 1990).

It is not he purpose of this newsletter article to bash my old alma mater. No, I thank God that I went to Harvard. I had no trouble finding God there–and I found my wife Karen to boot! But I knew where to look. The problem with Goldman, and with Lynch, and with many of us is that we do not look in the right places. Or, in other words, we do not read our Bible and pray often enough.

The Catholic scholar Sean Caufield says, “I’ve come to know that God is not a ‘thing’. He is not of the things and bits of his own creation, one more objecting thing out there, something amongst other things. he is not even th e supreme thing, the first or best or greatest in a series. He is not relative to anything. He is the altogether Other., the Mystery that cannot be contained or boxed in by any symbol or concept.” I have found that mystery. We must reach beyond ourselves and our troubles and find a God who is in control.

Many of us don’t pray and mean it until we are in anguish. We don’t pray until we are driven to our knees by the circumstances of life. Fair enough. But reach that point soon.

Simple Encouragement

Friday, December 26th, 2008

Everything was going so well. Paul, his friend Barnabas, and his companion John Mark (John was his Jewish name, Mark his gentile name) were leading so many people to the Lord. This was the beginning of their missionary journey and things couldn’t be going better.

Acts 13:13 is a tribute to Barnabas–even though his name is not mentioned. It was Barnabas who had set out as the leader of this expedition. But now it is Paul and Barnabas. Paul has assumed the leadership of the expediton, and, there is no evidence, that Barnabas complains. Remember, Barnabas had first sponsored Paul in the Jerusalem Church–and now Barnabas is playing second fiddle to Paul!
But Barnabas really shines later–when we read Acts 15–because he was willing to give John Mark a second chance.

Paul and Barnabas invited John Mark to join them on a new missionary journey–a great privilege. But, suddenly, for no apparent reason, John Mark abandons his friends and returns home.

We do not know why. Perhaps Mark resented the deposition of Barnabas from the leadership; perhaps he was afraid of the proposed journey up into the platear where Antioch in Pisidia stood, for it was a dangerous roads; perhaps he was homesick. In any event, he was a man who failed his God and his fellow Christians.

Whatever the reason or combination of reasons for John Mark’s failure, Paul thought Mark’s failure was serious enough to disqualify him from accompanying them on the next missionary trip (15:38). Barnabas, though, wanted to take John Mark and Paul and Barnabas went their separate over this issue.

Then Mark vanishes from history, although tradition says he went to Alexandria, Egypt, and founded the church there. When he re-emerges 20 years later he is the man who has redeemed himself. Paul, wriitng to the Colossians from prison in Rome, tells them to recieve Mark if he comes to them. “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful in serving me” (2 Timothy 4:11). So, the man who was once a deserter became the writer of a Gospel and the person Paul wanted with him at the end of his life.

First Church today has great need for individuals who will serve as encouragers of those who fail. John Mark needed to repent–confess his sin and change his direction–but then he needed to be forgiven and encouraged.

Simple encouragement is not a difficult job. It is kindness shown at the right time when someone is in the grip of depression; it is talking with a friend who has marital problems. It is taking time to care. It is being Jesus Christ to someone in need. In Shakespeare’s tragedies–like Hamlet–at the critical moment, the characters do not express self-giving, sacrificial, forgiving love. In the comedies–like The Tempest–love and forgivenss are present. Can you take a tragedy in our church and give it a happy ending? I leave that challenge to you, First Church.

Come, let us glorify the Lord and praise His name forever . . .

God is Always With Us!

Thursday, December 25th, 2008

I want to suggest something so obvious, but so radical, that it seems silly for me to say it: God is always with us: God is everywhere: God can do all things. And if I can convince you that this is true, I want to show you through the Christmas Story that this omniscient, omnipresent God loves us too.
We wonder, I fear, that it is true–that God is real. That He is here among us. I mean, we can believe in the stock market, in the Johnstown Chiefs (although that might be stretching it a bit!), in post-Christmas sales. But . . . can we believe that God is right here, right now, in our midst, right next to you . . . I hope, even, in our hearts . . . Can we believe this?

Statisticians tell us that almost 75% of us believe in miracles and more that that believe that there is a God. But how many of us live our lives as though God knew everything that we were doing, thinking, saying? I bet if we felt this way our actions and words would probably change!

I know that the generation of which Joseph and Mary were a part no doubt wondered if there was a God at all. That is, I fear, a perennial question. As he watched his people being persecuted by enemy armies, Gideon wondered where God had gone. David, as he grieved over the death of his son Absalom, wondered if God really cared. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, sincerely held that God was no longer present or concerned about the world that He had created; that He had placed the world in the universe as a clock and backed off to let things happen according to natural law. The great Colonial Awakening preacher Jonathan Edward shared genuine concern that God was still active in his world. Or, at least, he lamented that no one seemed to act like it!

The great English Christian apologist, C.S. Lewis, when his cherished wife Joy Davidman died, wished that God was not so present! Listen to Lewis–remember this is a man who loved Jesus Christ with all his heart.

. . . where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims on you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is in vain and what do you find? . . . Silence. . . There are no lights in the window.

Are there no lights in the window? Have you given up on God?

Surely the generation in our Gospel lesson had reason to give up, to lose hope. I mean, why not? When is the last time God had done anything for them? From their perspective, the hated Romans had subjected God’s people to unthinkable indignities . . . and no end in sight. Where was God? Where was the light?

This generation, as our own, echoing the words of C.S. Lewis, “Not that I am thinking that there is no God . . . the real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him.” How is God doing in your book? Do you still believe in Him?

How near is God? As near as one born as we were born, albeit in a stable among most primitive conditions. As near as one who drinks a cup of wine and announces a new Way, a new Life, a new Hope. As near as one who died a horrible death on the cross–because He loved me. And then arose from the grave . . . He is here.

He came with singing angels, dirty shepherds, glowing Wise Men. He came to Mary and Joseph–hardly older than many of the children in this place. He came. He is. He lives. Perhaps tonight, my friends, you can discover again, for yourself, God’s inescapable nearness . . . As we light our candles together, rededicate yourself to His purposes. Amen

Loss Gain?

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

Paul understands that theology cannot just be reduced to the sociology of knowledge. We can use the sociology of knowledge as a critical tool for helping us understand truth. But biblical truth is always transcendent.

When is loss gain? When we surrender our control and our search for security in tangible things, and we discover that trusting in God and God’s design is ultimately more satisfying.

As a historian I understand and firmly believe that human history is always reconstructed, it is never created. When someone gives me a theory of history–including his own– I ask what evidence does the person marshall to build his case. History is always reconstructed from evidence.

But what Paul is telling us that Salvation is out of history. That it is really something new. Something is created that was not here. A New Birth. And that is worth more than all the knowledge, money, or prestige in the whole world.

As I consider, and my past, I understand now why Gals. 2:20 has been such a strong theme of my life: for it is at the cross where I will find my essence of being. “I am crucified with Christ and yet I live . . .” I am forever captured in this paradox . . .

These hard days, then, are ok. Because long ago–thirty-seven years ago–I made a decision to make Christ Lord of my life. And, from that time until now, I have turned my eyes to glory! He is faithful, and so very good, this God we serve! I thank God for these last five years that I have served you as pastor. I would not change a thing; and even if I knew all this would happen, I would still come. I would come for all the people whose lives were touched by my ministry. I would come for all the good things that have happened in my life and my family’s life. We all have grown so much!

Come, let us glorify our Lord together!

The Triumph of Love and Goodness

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

One of my favorite books is called War and Peace by Leo Tolstoi. I like it so much because it celebrates the triumph of love and goodness.

Pierre, “shy, observant and natural looking,” was distinguished by no particular gift of intelligence, good looks, or moral courage. And, while his physical appearance never changed, his character did. And he became a hero of epic proportions. He selfishly put himself in harms way numerous times and eventually married the beautiful and equally heroic Natasha. Somehow the love between Natasha and Pierre mitigated all the horrible pain that the Napoleonic invasion of Russia had wrought on their generation.
Everything–face, gait, eyes, voice–everything was at once transformed in her. To her own surprise, the force of life and hopes of happiness floated to the surface and demanded satisfaction. From that first evening Natasha seemed to have forgotten all that had happened to her. From that time she never once complained of her position; she said not one word about the past, and was not afraid of already making lighthearted plans for the future. . .(p. 503 in Edmund Fuller’s version).

Natasha and Pierre looked back on their past, noted its impact, and then went boldly into the future.
Likewise, while in prison, Paul is assessing all the reasons he has to boast–great education, privileged birth, and advantageous citizenship (but apparently not good looks!) and decides it is all meaningless when compared to the value that salvation has brought to his live. It is difficult to communicate to persons with twentieth-century understanding that establishing a relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important thing that can happen to them in their lives. The empirical mind-set of many twentieth-century people looks for facts that can be measured, seen, and touched.

Paul is speaking of ultimate things. What really matters. What are the abiding qualities of biblical Christianity that transcend time, place, and culture? And this is a critical question for Paul’s community–who were undergoing persecution and other threats–and ourselves–who are constantly fighting against assimilation and compromise with the world. Collapsing culture can only be rebuilt on the framework of biblical Christianity. This is my personal testimony and the heart of New Evangelicalism.

Nothing I am or have compares with knowing Christ. Wow! Do you see how incredibly threatening this statement is? Because if Paul really means it, his jailers, his accusers, his world has no control over him. Only God. And Paul is privileged to live under the wing of Romans 8: nothing can separate me from the love of Christ Jesus. This knowledge takes Paul to where he wants to go: to a new understanding of his value as a person to God and to others.