Walking Outside the Lines

I have been a member of the Emmaus Community in Abilene for ten years. This group puts on the "Walk to Emmaus" retreats that you may have heard about. I have been appreciated by some for this involvement and nailed to the wall by others for it. A few speaking engagements have fallen through over the years because I have been a part of the Emmaus community. But what a blessing it has been in my life! I have enjoyed meeting people from other corners of the world of Christian faith. I have people who pray for me always who are not members of churches of Christ. I join other members of the churches of Christ who are praying continually for men and women of other fellowships. We are able to love each other even though we are not exactly alike.

At no point in involvement in the Emmaus circle is one asked to give up a doctrinal belief that he or she holds dear. We have great respect for our differences. We have also great respect for the elements of faith that we hold in common. I have had the opportunity to present careful discussion of the basic elements of the restoration plea. I have talked about our desire to be Christians only without claiming to be the only Christians. I have been able to talk about baptism as an act of faith, rather than legalism, that is a part of the response of faith God calls for from those who seek him. I have gotten tremendously positive feedback from people who say they now understand churches of Christ better and respect us more. This positive outcome is the result of sitting down with people. It comes from an atmosphere of mutual respect for God, his word and one another.

The thing that thrills me always after being with the Emmaus folks is that they really do love us and respect our knowledge and love of Scripture. They love the way we can sing. I have learned so much from these others, too. I have learned to be more constant in prayer, more joyful in worship, more aware of the depth of sin in the world and more trusting that God is at work in the world as his kingdom continues to come.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. May the Great Body of Christ in the world respond with joy to the opportunities created by mission of God to seek and save the lost. May churches of Christ love God so completely that they will always be a tool in the hand of God as he does his work.

Back from The Front

Over the weekend Annette and I were involved in a Ministers' Support Network retreat. We got to be a part of the team with Paul and Gladys Faulkner, Charles and Judy Siburt and David and Jeanne Wray. The ministry began in 1997. This October retreat concluded ten years of work with ministers and their spouses. The purpose of the retreats is to rebuild lives, encourage hearts, lift marriages, refocus vision, restore hope, confirm faith and rekindle fire. Some folks who come are pretty beaten up. Some have self-inflicted wounds. Others bear the marks of friendly fire. Some are just tired. All are in need of companionship and clarity.

I want to reflect for just a bit on what we have learned over the years as we have listened to over four hundred of these sweet, committed hearts. Here are seven thoughts:

1. A critical word is much more powerful than an encouraging one. We should pray hard before we criticize and then not do it for a while if at all. Do these words pass the Golden Rule test?

2. The will of God is not always easily discerned. Being persons willing to submit to the word of God and live out the love of God is more important and faithful than sitting immobile waiting to find the "plan of God for our lives." When we cannot find God's will for our life, we should do something — take food to a widow or visit the hospital. Get up!

3. Churches can be dangerous places. Really bad stuff happens in churches sometimes because that's where the Christians are. Christians can be dangerous. They are not finished. We are not finished. We can have really dark, desperate places in our hearts. We can carry weapons of mass destruction concealed in us. But Jesus loves his Body. He loves the Church — and we cannot give up on anything Jesus was willing to die for. Still, be careful in church. It can be dangerous.

4. Ministers like to portray things better than they are. Spouses of ministers are inclined to tell the truth. The only thing harder than being a minister is being married to one of them.

5. Pray for the elders of your church. Pray often for them. Pray intently. Being an elder is scary. Being a good elder is one of the greatest blessings a man can bring into the life of the church. A bad elder can do much damage. A toxic eldership can poison a church. Pray for the elders. Love and encourage them. No church grows past the spiritual capacity of its elders.

6. Ministry as a member of the paid staff of a church is a sacrifice. Just because one is supported financially by the church does not change the fact that ministry is going to cost the minister his or her life. In a broader sense, being a Christian is fatal; it costs us our lives. A great church is one that never forgets to die in Christ. Problems in churches arise when someone decides to save his or her life and not give it to Jesus.

7. Churches changing ministers and ministers changing churches rarely help anything. If the church has problems, it will have problems no matter who the ministers are. If the minister has problems, he or she will have problems no matter which church he or she serves. The first thing to try in a time of church trouble is to get well where you are with the folks you have.

Is seven a perfect number? Surely seven is enough truths for one day. Maybe seven is six too many. It is an honor to serve on this team and meet these servants of the Lord. Think about the ones who serve you in the Lord.

May God bless us all.

The Song in My Head

The song in my head says:

May our hearts always break with the broken.
May our tears always wash the wounded's way.
May hurting ones we love find forever in our hugs
And in our love may the Lord come today.

Last week, two of our sweet ladies lost their babies at about three months in their pregnancies. One was carrying twins. I told folks we had a three angel week. These losses are real losses. We mourn together and believe for the future. I am so sad we lost our babies.

Early Sunday morning three young men flew off the freeway into an immovable tree. Two of them died. One of them was the son of a man I have known and by whom I have been blessed in the Big Country Emmaus community. Zach died. His dad Matt, his mom and brother live on in the shadow of sudden loss. The families of all three boys are striken, and good people who love Jesus with their whole hearts are scrambling to grieve and serve, to offer shoulders and tears. We are so sad the young men died.

We will find no good time to lose a child—not six months before she should be born and not six years before he could be truly an adult. Across the broad sweep of the world, from the lush, autumn, Amish landscape to the deserts of Darfur, we find no good time to lose a child. Our hearts, beating with the pulse of Jesus, fill with sorrow and flow with love. That love is expressed in service that lets the Lord come in our flesh and then into the lives of the sorrowful.

God bless the babies and the boys. God bless those who grieve beyond our knowing. God bless those who come into the circle of sorrow in the name and life of Jesus.

May our hearts always break with the broken.
May our tears always wash the wounded's way.
May hurting ones we love find forever in our hugs,
And in our love may the Lord come today.