Gratitude

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October 25

Friday, October 25th, 2024

“CELEBRATE!” (cue up Rare Earth from the 60s or if you prefer Kool and the Gang)

I normally don’t post on Friday, or the weekend for that matter. But this is big! Huge in fact! I know you are waiting with baited breath to hear what is so important that Bill would break protocol to post on a Friday.

OVCF, the church I have had the honor and pleasure of pastoring for 19 years (I start #20 next month) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this Sunday. 20 YEARS!!! No matter how you look at it that is quite an accomplishment. From starting out with a meeting in a hardware-type building with just a few folks and meeting at several different places in its beginning, the church found a “home” at the Owen Valley Sports Complex, where it was meeting when Jo and I moved here in November of 2005. We temporarily moved to the middle school for a few months until someone got a wild hair to get us out so we went back to the complex. We went back to the middle school when the flood of 2008 displaced us from the complex for about 4 months. In 2010 we bought an unused Mormon church building. We had our first worship in the new facility in September and were excited about the future. In January of 2011 it came to light that over $200k had been embezzled from us. But God was good. I missed one paycheck during that time and it was made up at the next pay period. In 2012 we remodeled our building to accommodate our growth. We knew when we bought the building it was too small and would require an expansion.  In 2014 we hired Ryan East to be our youth pastor. He had been working at IU Credit Union and teaching our youth group. It was a perfect fit! In 2018 we sacrificed expanding the adult worship area for a youth wing. It was a very wise decision. Along with that we became debt free thanks to someone’s inheritance. When COVID hit the generosity of the people never quit. We didn’t miss a beat. In fact, we expanded to offer live stream during that time! We also increased our mission giving.  After finishing the youth addition, we began saving for an expansion on our adult worship area. We have been in two services since 2013 and there is a strong desire for a unified body in one service. Holidays like Christmas and Resurrection Sunday will often find us at the Abram Event Venue to hold all of us at once. But that comes with a ton of inconvenience and limited ministry to the kids (like none).  We have continued saving to be able to build debt free. Along the way we have taken our Easter offering and given it away to missions, giving all of  away unless designated otherwise. We have taken our anniversary offering and put it in the building fund or given away all or part of it to missions as well. God has been more than faithful to us.

So we celebrate Him this Sunday. We celebrate His faithfulness and goodness to us this Sunday. And yes, we celebrate the people of OVCF. They are, after all, the church. Not the building. People have come and gone-some through death, some through moving, and yes, some through discontent. But along the way, God has also brought some exciting people that I’m proud to call friends and ministry colleagues. One of them reads and comments on this blog almost daily-Ryan and his wife, Amanda. Jo and I still see them and go out to eat with them (Chili’s here we come!). People like Ryan have impacted my life in ways they do not know and words fail when I try to express them. Over my 19 years I have seen a lot happen at OVCF and in Spencer. My prayer is that the influence and legacy has been a positive one.

I’ll close this post for now and give an update on our celebration on Monday (Lord willing, of course). Until then, may I ask you to pray for us for Sunday? My deepest prayer, my most fervent prayer, is that in our celebration we will never lose sight of Who is behind it all and to Whom we give all the praise. One of the songs we will be singing, along with Good  Good Father and No Longer Slaves is  Firm Foundation (I prefer the Disciple/Honor and Glory version): “Christ is my firm foundation/The Rock on which I stand/when everything around me is shaken/I’ve never been more glad/I put my faith in Jesus/Cause He’s never let down.”

Amen!

{Note : if you so desire, we are unable to live stream from AEV due to a lack of good internet connection. My message has been prerecorded and downloaded and will be shown at 10:00 Sunday morning on our YouTube channel. It is a shortened version of the live experience but will give you a little bit of a taste of being there}.

One more thing: I did this from home on my iPhone so if you find typing mistakes, blame the phone. 😂

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July 3

Wednesday, July 3rd, 2024

“Freedom isn’t free.”  “Never forget.”

Tomorrow, July 4th, is the day that has been set aside for us to celebrate the birth of our great nation. It will not be unusual for us to see those phrases (or others like them) on T-shirts, message boards, billboards, banners, and a whole host of other means.

THE STATEMENT IS TRUE.

I know our country is not perfect; none are. But when I think of the countries to live in-China, Russia, North Korea, and others come to mind-there is still no better place to live. While I get frustrated with things as I watch them deteriorate, I also am grateful for the freedom we have. The very freedom that so many rail against is the very freedom they have that allows them to demonstrate, spew vitriolic rhetoric, and other junk like that. It is not uncommon to hear people, especially celebrities complain and scream against America and threaten to leave if they don’t get their way. I want to say to them, “Bye. And oh yeah, try to speak out against that country and its leaders like you do hear and are now doing. See how far that gets you.” Can you say, “MIA and never to be seen or heard from again?”  You get my drift.

Do I wish things were better? Do I wish we weren’t so divisive and divided? Do I wish we could put a muzzle on certain people and rhetoric? That answer to all is Yes, a thousand times Yes. But, again, its the very freedom we enjoy, that we celebrate tomorrow, that allows us the spout that vitriol and rhetoric and demonstrate.

One verse of Scripture stands out to me because as a follower of Jesus I am more concerned about the direction we are going morally and spiritually than politically. Proverbs 28:2 says, “Where there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.” (NLT)

That is not a political statement.

Freedom isn’t free. We need to celebrate the freedom we have. We need to preserve the freedom we have. We must never forget the men and women who fought so hard to get us that freedom and preserve it.  As a follower of Jesus, I must never forget and always be grateful for the ultimate freedom: “The one set free by the Son is free indeed.” In that truth, is true freedom.

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November 6

Monday, November 6th, 2023

I started a new sermon series yesterday which is planned for the months of November and December. I’m calling it More Than a Holiday. My original plan was just to use that idea in November but once I really started thinking about it my rationale became clear and simple: those two months carry two of the “Big 3” holidays (the other obviously Easter). Tragically, those two special days have also become “taken-for-granted” holidays. Possibly none more than Thanksgiving.

I think a quick quiz will show that. One question. Word association. “Thanksgiving.”

Answers: Turkey. Family. Football. Time off work (for some). Holiday.

How many in our culture today would say, “Gratitude”? Or something like, “It is stopping the wheel in the mouse cage for a time of slow down and thankfulness”?

Not very many, if any, I’m afraid. That includes those of us who follow Jesus. we often get just as caught up in the rat race as our non-following counterparts.

Thanksgiving should not be a forgotten part of our lives. It changes us. It transforms us. It makes a difference in how we act; how we perceive life; and how others perceive us.  Here is something I wrote for my sermon and used it as part of my conclusion before reading Psalm 75:1 and Psalm 67. 

Gratitude changes our perspective. It changes our altitude (how we look at things). It changes our whole outlook. We go from pouting to praise. We go from grumbling to gratitude. We go from pessimism to optimism. We go from looking down to looking up. We go from griping to grinning. Gratitude helps us hold on to hope. We see from the past that God was good; we can see into the future with hope, knowing God is good.

Start this month determined to make gratitude more than a holiday event but a daily practice.

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September 12

Tuesday, September 12th, 2023

A further recollection of 9/11…only this one comes later…one year later.

I was still the pastor of a church in Sandusky, OH. As 9/11 approached, I knew the memory was still very real. I had befriended several other pastors and met with them on a monthly basis for laughter and mutual encouragement and prayer. I lived in a small town outside of Sandusky and had become acquainted with a law enforcement officer or two (not from disobeying the law). 🙂 Some of the other pastors had communication with LEOs and firefighters. So we decided to have a memorial service, which included some singing, short recollections, and honoring the men and women in attendance who were, what are now called “front line workers.” Standing on the stage with me were pastors of various churches, various colors, various races, and various nationalities. There was no distinction based on race, color, or creed.

There is a reason for that. When tragedy or hardship strikes, it knows no boundaries. It doesn’t say, “I’m just going to bother white people this time.” As a matter of fact, did AIDS just visit one class of people? COVID? Does discrimination? The answer, of course, is a big resounding NO.

We used a school auditorium for that one year anniversary of 9/11. It was packed! Year #2 not so. Much of the cooperation was also gone. Not because of animosity, but because life moves on. It happens. The pastors still met for prayer, laughter and mutual encouragement. But, in some way, the collective remembrance stopped. For me, 9/11 always brings a time of silence, of gratitude for others, and a renewed sense of living in a flawed, but still-the-best-country to live in.

I still sing “God Bless America” when I hear it (mostly under my breath because my singing acumen has much to be desired). 🙂 🙂 But I pray more that America will bless God, that we will repent and return to the ONE who controls all things and heal our land.

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July 20

Thursday, July 20th, 2023

A blogging friend of mine, Pam Williams, is an insightful and engaging writer, as well as a pastor’s wife. She and her husband, Dick, “retired” from full-time ministry. Dick and Pam are close to my age and several years ago he decided to retire from being a full-time pastor in the Methodist church. So he thought. He has recently been asked to serve as the interim pastor of First United Methodist Church in Mercersburg, PA. You can read all about it here.  Pam is a long-time blogger…longer than me (my first blog was 2/08). Her most recent post (you can read it here) is called “Examples to Follow” and it really made me travel back through time. Please take a moment and read her short post then come back here to see my  time travel thoughts.

In my comment to her I wrote about 3 specific people:

My mother. She was primarily the one who told me and taught me about Jesus. I’m sure-although I can’t remember 🙂 – that she sang to me as she fed me and rocked me. She strived to live out her favorite song “Make Me a Blessing” from the hymn book. It was her faith that helped her survive my dad walking out after 25 years of marriage. She wasn’t perfect, just perfectly forgiven (to borrow a line from a Petra song).  It was her faith that kept her going when both her parents passed away and it was her faith that was real during her battle with a rare form of cancer that brought her to see Jesus in 2004.

My grandfather. Many were the walks to church on a Sunday, Wednesday or a Friday night (prayer meeting) when i was young. Those 3 miles were “open mic” nights when I would ask and he would listen and then answer.

Pastor Ralph White. Pastor White was a Timothy of the church I grew up in and at the retirement of our pastor after 35 years, he came to the church in Duquesne, PA, He was the pastor for about 3 1/2 years when he moved on to more fruitful and accepting territory (Johnstown, PA). He brought a renewed faith in my young heart and put a spark there to consider full-time ministry. I’m in the ministry largely because of his influence on my life.

There are more people…too numerous to mention. When one is 70 years old he has a lot of years and people to consider. I’m forever grateful for the people God brought into my life-past, present, and future.

Who has influenced you and your walk with Jesus? If they are still alive, have you thanked them?

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June 22

Monday, June 22nd, 2020

Yesterday was Father’s Day. It turned out to be a right fine day. There was the worship that started it off right. It was good to see some more folks venture out. Each week a new group of people is venturing out.  I came home to a home-grilled meal of salmon, asparagus, baked potatoes, and corn-on-the-cob. Some friends stopped by with ice cream (I am their surrogate father/grandfather). I went to the Y then came home and read a novel the rest of the evening. A nice relaxing day. I am grateful.

Gratitude seems to be a dying art these days. We run around so much trying to meet our own agenda that to take the time to be thankful is lost on us. With inspiration from Chuck Swindoll, I’d like to take a few moments to consider how we often take things for granted.

  • There is a light over my head. Thanks Tom
  • There is electricity pulsing through my house. Thanks again Tom.
  • There is an instrument that allows me to talk to someone miles away. Thanks Alexander.
  • I will soon get in my truck to drive to work. Thanks Henry.
  • On my face are glasses which help me to read. Thanks Ben.
  • We will soon celebrate the 4th of July with a waving flag. Thanks Betsy.
  • My life is given over to Jesus. Thanks mom and grandad.
  • I come home each day to a place of warmth, welcome and love. Thanks Jo.
  • I am called father by two beautiful and special young ladies. Thanks Tami and Janna.
  • I am called “grandpa.” Thanks Braden.
  • I serve a group of people who love me, call me pastor and friend. Thanks OVCF.

I could go on but it would take pages and still not be exhausted. Instead of complaining, let’s be thankful.

“Father, thank you for so much, for so many gifts. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude to You for it all.”

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