Monday, January 11, 2010
How time flies
The second Sunday in January 2009, I stepped up into the pulpit for the first time as your Pastor. At that time I had 2 boys who had left friends and family and were scared to death - I didn’t know you and you didn’t know me. I had excitement because of the possibilities and trepidation because there was so much unknown... and partly because there were some things I knew! There were staff that were talking to other churches well before I came who were led of God to move, and there was a divide among age groups like I had never seen in any church. There was a feeling of being overwhelmed yet, a feeling of being home. It has been right at a year, and now….WELL, I have 2 boys who couldn’t imagine being anywhere else and a family who loves their church family with a deep passion and commitment! I have staff that are not going anywhere (with the exception of Bro. Jeff Phillips, but he and his sweet family will be part of us for a long time as we partner with him in Vancouver) and are deeply committed to Trinity for the long haul. Through God using the enemy in a great way, we experienced a work of God on November 8th like I have never seen in my entire life - that is continuing to grow and shape our Church up to this very day! We have seen more saved this year than we did almost in the previous two years combined, our giving was just shy of $18,000 higher this year, and for the FIRST TIME SINCE 2006 we finished in the BLACK!!! (In 2008 we were in the red by over $20,000 and 2007 we were in the red by over $45,000). In spite of all the changes (and I know there have been a lot), we have averaged only 19 fewer people than last year! This after a change in music, youth, Sunday School, a new Pastor and so on. Now listen - I have said before that we can not necessarily judge God’s blessing by numbers and this is true now as well... As I have watched souls saved, relationships restored, commitment increased, husbands leading their home, an increased accountability, a choir and congregation understanding worship, a hunger for the Word..those are things that are far more important than numbers! If all of our numbers had dropped but we had the afore mentioned things happening, I would still believe that would be a sign of a growing, HEALTHY Church. I ask you to pray this year that God will continue to develop us to be more healthy! I have no desire for a certain number or certain building, but all of us can desire and pray for a healthy church that glorifies God in all we do. This past Sunday morning I preached a sermon on "Pressing On". I shared this sermon with you either the first or second week as your Pastor and am committed to sharing some form of it with you as long as I serve you (that will be a long time). In the next few weeks I will begin preaching a series on The Church. If you want to further understand what God requires us to be, and you desire to see the vision God has laid out for His Body, I encourage you to come each Sunday morning ready for God to move in your life. I love you Trinity and can’t tell you what a joy it has been to be your Pastor over this last year...it will be a great joy to see what God has in store for us in 2010. See you Sunday!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Grace in Grief
This will be our only post this week as we grieve, yet rejoice as well, with the Homegoing of Bro. Danny McCammon
Last night, some time after 10pm I received a phone call on my cell phone…I did not get to it in time to answer it and, by the time I looked at my cell phone, my home phone began ringing…if anyone knows anything about life in the ministry, that is never a good sign. I got the shocking word that my friend, and brother in Christ, Danny McCammon had a heart attack and it didn’t look like he would live. By the time I arrived at the hospital, he had gone to glory.
There is no one in our Church that has spent as much time with my family as Brother Danny - in all truthfulness not because he just liked hanging out with me, but because as we moved a couple of weeks ago into a new house and Bro. Danny was the one who pretty much fixed every single problem we had! He knew I knew very little (in truth absolutely nothing) about “fixing stuff” but he allowed me to stand beside him while he fixed things and, at times even attempted to make me feel useful! On more than one occasion he said, “I need you to hold this, but if you touch those two wires they are going to light your world up.” Needless to say, I held what he asked me to and didn’t touch those two wires! All of this to say, that I love Danny and Peggy McCammon dearly! Not only for the fact that he ministered to me much more than I did him…but also because countless families in our Church have the same testimony of Bro. Danny! He has helped more families through “rough patches” and repairs and quiet support than any of us will ever realize.
Not only was Bro. Danny a silent “fix it” hero, but he encouraged me; he loved our Lord, Trinity, and our family. He was so faithful to the Church and to the Lord! He was steadfast and sure. For that bond in such a short time I will be forever grateful to our Lord. During this grieving process, someone has said to me: “It will be tough walking your church through this.” As I began to think about that statement, and thought about being at the hospital with Bro. Danny’s family last night, I knew that there was not really an opportunity to “walk” the family or our church through this loss on this side of the passing of Bro. Danny... this guidance was given prior to last night (through the Lord’s Sovereign will and wisdom)! You see, I listened to Mrs. Peggy as, through her tears she could proclaim how she knew she would see her husband again, and how she knew where he was. I heard them proclaim the sovereignty of God and their trust in our Lord! As I recounted the natural grief that all of us felt, I also ran to times as we have opened the Word of God and discussed the importance of bringing glory to God – even in our dark days. Last night I witnessed Bro. Danny’s family, in the midst of heartache, live out their theology! I saw their theology, their doctrine, gushing forth. I watched their grief take them to the bear bones of what they believe about our loving Savior.
Today I have pondered John 11:1-44 - when Christ raises Lazarus from the dead. I want to encourage you to read it, but I want you to see just a couple of things about this that will help all of us as we face this hurt in our church and community.
1. Those who loved Lazarus called out to Christ: (v. 3) As Mary and Martha called for Christ’s presence, so did so many of us. We asked that God intervene, that He spare Danny’s life.
2. Jesus didn’t move the way we wanted: (v.5- 6) There is not a believer who knows this family that can say that anyone would want or expected this. In this text, as with Danny, Jesus withheld healing - and the amazing thing, is the reason He did. Did you see the reason in verse 5? Because Christ loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Wow! It was the love of Christ that allowed the death of Lazarus. It was His love that allowed Lazarus to die! This makes no sense to us, does it? Why did Christ work this way?
3. It brought God glory: (v.4) In some way that we see today, but certainly wasn’t seen at this moment, the act of God being glorified was more of an act of love, than preventing the death of Lazarus would have been. I can tell you that Danny McCammon’s death was not in vain, and God will be glorified in ways we can’t even begin to know at this time.
4. It brought Christ pain: (v. 35-36) Even though Christ knew exactly why this was happening, He still wept with those who were weeping. He still hurt with great grief with the family and friends. This is what we will do with the McCammon family - we hurt and grieve and cry with them, all while still knowing we serve a God who is in control and who understands our hurts. A great little poem goes:
Though He giveth or He taketh
Christ His loved ones ne’er forsaketh.
His the loving purpose solely
To preserve them pure and holy.
Now, most of you have to be thinking that this event, this story from Scripture makes no sense to bring up - after all Bro. Danny was not resurrected - he is in glory! How does his passing fit with Lazarus? Well, we know by the Word of God that there is no other place sweeter, no place free of disease and hurt and death than Heaven. For the glory of God, Lazarus was taken from that place and brought back to a place of sin, and disease and hurt only to face the enemy of death a second time! What is worse? Lazarus left Heaven and came back to face death again - in order to show the world that Christ is King over death…The McCammon family, and Trinity Baptist Church, had to lose Danny and be reminded that Christ is King over life. Bro. Danny is rejoicing with those who have gone before us – singing the Redemption Song and praising our Savior! Holy, Holy, Holy is his song and he gets to see the One who is worthy of our worship!
I know this is a VERY long post, but a necessary one. I was going to post this prayer from “The Valley Of Vision” the final day of 2009 but did not… I now know why. As you read this, pray for the McCammon family, Trinity and our Community as Danny will be greatly missed. But pray for Bro. John Miller, our Minister of Senior Adults who was also a very close friend of Danny for many years, as he will be doing the majority of the funeral on Wednesday at 2 pm at Trinity.
O Love Beyond Compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
When thou takest away,
When the sun shines upon me,
When night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
And in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me during another year,
Leading me through a twisting wilderness,
In retreat helping me to advance,
When beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as the blessed Pilot of my future as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes
to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
Thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution
And temptation, I shall not drown;
If I am to die,
I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
Grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort
Or trial,
As a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.
Last night, some time after 10pm I received a phone call on my cell phone…I did not get to it in time to answer it and, by the time I looked at my cell phone, my home phone began ringing…if anyone knows anything about life in the ministry, that is never a good sign. I got the shocking word that my friend, and brother in Christ, Danny McCammon had a heart attack and it didn’t look like he would live. By the time I arrived at the hospital, he had gone to glory.
There is no one in our Church that has spent as much time with my family as Brother Danny - in all truthfulness not because he just liked hanging out with me, but because as we moved a couple of weeks ago into a new house and Bro. Danny was the one who pretty much fixed every single problem we had! He knew I knew very little (in truth absolutely nothing) about “fixing stuff” but he allowed me to stand beside him while he fixed things and, at times even attempted to make me feel useful! On more than one occasion he said, “I need you to hold this, but if you touch those two wires they are going to light your world up.” Needless to say, I held what he asked me to and didn’t touch those two wires! All of this to say, that I love Danny and Peggy McCammon dearly! Not only for the fact that he ministered to me much more than I did him…but also because countless families in our Church have the same testimony of Bro. Danny! He has helped more families through “rough patches” and repairs and quiet support than any of us will ever realize.
Not only was Bro. Danny a silent “fix it” hero, but he encouraged me; he loved our Lord, Trinity, and our family. He was so faithful to the Church and to the Lord! He was steadfast and sure. For that bond in such a short time I will be forever grateful to our Lord. During this grieving process, someone has said to me: “It will be tough walking your church through this.” As I began to think about that statement, and thought about being at the hospital with Bro. Danny’s family last night, I knew that there was not really an opportunity to “walk” the family or our church through this loss on this side of the passing of Bro. Danny... this guidance was given prior to last night (through the Lord’s Sovereign will and wisdom)! You see, I listened to Mrs. Peggy as, through her tears she could proclaim how she knew she would see her husband again, and how she knew where he was. I heard them proclaim the sovereignty of God and their trust in our Lord! As I recounted the natural grief that all of us felt, I also ran to times as we have opened the Word of God and discussed the importance of bringing glory to God – even in our dark days. Last night I witnessed Bro. Danny’s family, in the midst of heartache, live out their theology! I saw their theology, their doctrine, gushing forth. I watched their grief take them to the bear bones of what they believe about our loving Savior.
Today I have pondered John 11:1-44 - when Christ raises Lazarus from the dead. I want to encourage you to read it, but I want you to see just a couple of things about this that will help all of us as we face this hurt in our church and community.
1. Those who loved Lazarus called out to Christ: (v. 3) As Mary and Martha called for Christ’s presence, so did so many of us. We asked that God intervene, that He spare Danny’s life.
2. Jesus didn’t move the way we wanted: (v.5- 6) There is not a believer who knows this family that can say that anyone would want or expected this. In this text, as with Danny, Jesus withheld healing - and the amazing thing, is the reason He did. Did you see the reason in verse 5? Because Christ loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Wow! It was the love of Christ that allowed the death of Lazarus. It was His love that allowed Lazarus to die! This makes no sense to us, does it? Why did Christ work this way?
3. It brought God glory: (v.4) In some way that we see today, but certainly wasn’t seen at this moment, the act of God being glorified was more of an act of love, than preventing the death of Lazarus would have been. I can tell you that Danny McCammon’s death was not in vain, and God will be glorified in ways we can’t even begin to know at this time.
4. It brought Christ pain: (v. 35-36) Even though Christ knew exactly why this was happening, He still wept with those who were weeping. He still hurt with great grief with the family and friends. This is what we will do with the McCammon family - we hurt and grieve and cry with them, all while still knowing we serve a God who is in control and who understands our hurts. A great little poem goes:
Though He giveth or He taketh
Christ His loved ones ne’er forsaketh.
His the loving purpose solely
To preserve them pure and holy.
Now, most of you have to be thinking that this event, this story from Scripture makes no sense to bring up - after all Bro. Danny was not resurrected - he is in glory! How does his passing fit with Lazarus? Well, we know by the Word of God that there is no other place sweeter, no place free of disease and hurt and death than Heaven. For the glory of God, Lazarus was taken from that place and brought back to a place of sin, and disease and hurt only to face the enemy of death a second time! What is worse? Lazarus left Heaven and came back to face death again - in order to show the world that Christ is King over death…The McCammon family, and Trinity Baptist Church, had to lose Danny and be reminded that Christ is King over life. Bro. Danny is rejoicing with those who have gone before us – singing the Redemption Song and praising our Savior! Holy, Holy, Holy is his song and he gets to see the One who is worthy of our worship!
I know this is a VERY long post, but a necessary one. I was going to post this prayer from “The Valley Of Vision” the final day of 2009 but did not… I now know why. As you read this, pray for the McCammon family, Trinity and our Community as Danny will be greatly missed. But pray for Bro. John Miller, our Minister of Senior Adults who was also a very close friend of Danny for many years, as he will be doing the majority of the funeral on Wednesday at 2 pm at Trinity.
O Love Beyond Compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
When thou takest away,
When the sun shines upon me,
When night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
And in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me during another year,
Leading me through a twisting wilderness,
In retreat helping me to advance,
When beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as the blessed Pilot of my future as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes
to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
Thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution
And temptation, I shall not drown;
If I am to die,
I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
Grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort
Or trial,
As a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.
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