An Unspoken Plea

Saw this in a promo e-mail yesterday and found it a strong and well-communicated message.

Memories of an Old Friend

A little over an hour before I wrote this, I was sitting at my desk with a painful crick in my neck trying to figure out what needs to be done this evening to prepare the Sanctuary Choir and First Light for worship leadership this Sunday and for the next few Sundays to come. The call came from the church office over the intercom letting me know that Buddy had passed away this morning. Automatically we know some things that have to happen in the next few days. The church will come together to love and support Buddy’s children and grandchildren as they work out the final details … and we will share stories of how Buddy’s life impacted our lives.

As a church staff, we called on Buddy often … more often than the average congregation member would know. We had just done so late Yesterday afternoon. The people he knew and the situations he dealt with when he was County Magistrate gave him a wisdom that we relied on to help us decide which benevolence cases were legitimate and which were people just “working the system” to get easy cash. There are a couple of stories there that I can’t tell near as well as Buddy did, so I won’t attempt. There is one story that comes to my mind, though, that gives a picture of my friend that I want to keep for the rest of my life. Buddy told the story again to me just last week.

One of the people mentioned in one of those stories (the ones that I can’t tell like he did) was a local version of the fictional Otis Campbell character from the old Andy Griffith Show. As Magistrate, Buddy knew this person well because of frequent appearances in his court. Because those appearances often resulted in fines and/or jail time, you can imagine that he didn’t like Buddy too well – a fact that one of those stories confirms. When he passed away a few years ago, Buddy sent flowers to the funeral home. Surprised at this, someone who knew both men asked Buddy if they were related. “No,” Buddy replied, with a twinkle in his eye, “We’re just old friends.”

When you watch the old Andy Griffith Show, you know that Otis’s recidivism frustrated Sheriff Taylor. I imagine this guy frustrated Buddy, too. But the twinkle in Buddy’s eye and the tone in his voice as he told that story confirmed the truth. Not condoning his self-destructive and illegal behavior, but respecting his dignity as a human being … a person created in the image of God … Buddy showed the love of Christ.

That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.

Stuff that Makes My Heart Hurt

A few weeks ago I wrested myself away from the desk and the church and (alas) the family in order to go overnight to the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Worship Summit for Church Music Leaders. I needed the time away not so much for the content of the workshops, but just to decompress. A couple of my Music Minister friends were there, and we played hooky from 2 or 3 of the workshops just to catch up and exchange war stories. That part of the experience was really good, but this wasn’t:

The conference was also for volunteers working in Music Ministry, so White Oak’s lodging facilities were all full by the time I figured out how to make the time to get away. I ended up staying in a motel about 25 minutes away, as did a number of others attending the conference. It was close to 11:00pm, maybe even a little after, by the time I got there. Several church vans were already in the parking lot, and the little lobby was full with people standing around outside. I stood in line with the others as a harried desk clerk tried desperately to get everyone checked in. She was competent, but overwhelmed; and there were some problems with reservations that only her night manager (who was 15 minutes late by that time) could correct.

Then the phone rang (again). It had already rung several times while I waited in line -- mostly people needing something for their rooms. It was her son calling this time … and obviously not for the first time that evening. He was apparently in his late teens or early twenties, and in some kind of bad situation and needing help. I watched an anguished mother’s face as she pleaded with him to stay where he was, and not to do anything [stupid], and that she would be there to get him as soon as she could possibly get off, but the night manager wasn’t there yet so she couldn’t leave. When the night manager got there, they had to finish checking everybody in and go through procedures before she could leave. Her son called again before I was checked in, and her anxiety just got worse. I hated to leave with that going on, but I was an outsider.

A few minutes later I went back down to the desk to get the A/C turned on in my room. They were still going through procedures, and the clerk was on the phone having that same fearful conversation with her son yet again. I waited a moment until she was off the phone, called her name and quietly said, “I’m praying for your son.” She thanked me. Her facial expression said that my words had helped some, but I felt about as clueless and powerless as I ever have.

Though I have continued to pray for her and for her son, the whole situation has bothered me ever since. I didn’t know any of the others staying there; but there we were: a bunch of church people – followers of Christ with a definite human need playing out right in front of us – and none of us had a clue what to do … or at least none of us did anything much about it. As far as I can tell, the hands and the feet of the body of Christ did almost nothing ... and I participated.

That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.

What in the World

Our church is only a couple of weeks away from the launch of the 40 Days of Community experience. As I was looking at worship plans for the Sundays during the study, the following song by my friend Kyle Matthews came to my mind.

If we were not loved to love,
if we were not touched to touch,
If we were not led to lead,
if we were not fed to feed,
If You did not sacrifice
so we could have new life
fuller and deeper than before,
Then, Lord, what in the world have You saved us for?

If we were not taught to teach,
if we were not sought to seek,
If we were not helped to help,
if we were not told to tell,
If You’ve not forgiven us
to let mercy live in us,
so You could love through us once more,
Then Lord, what in the world have You saved us for?

There’s a reason we were brought to life.
Lord, You made us for this place and time.
And You showed the way for us to find
Our sacred purpose, our place in Your design.

We have been loved to love.
We have been touched to touch.
We have been led to lead.
We have been fed to feed.
If You did not set us free
so that our songs could lead
prisoners toward the open door,
Then Lord, what in the world have You saved us for?

© 1994 Kyle Matthews Careers – BMG Publishing, Inc./ Final Four
Music, BMI • Used by permission. CCLI No. 1357134

That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.

My church is preparing to go through the 40 Days of Community experience. Some of the flyers and posters have the last 5 letters of the word highlighted. The reason for that is ... or should be … obvious. The purpose of this study is to look at why God put us together so that we need other people and so that other people need us. Our staff is going through the daily devotions (early) right now, and we will be going through them again as we participate in our small group studies. One of the recent readings reminded me of something A. W. Tozer wrote about unity in worship.

Tozer was a pastor in the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination for some forty years. Though he had no formal theological training, his written works have been regarded highly by theologians (with formal training) for decades. Two of his books, The Pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy, are regarded as Christian classics (ref. Wikipedia article on Tozer). This quote is from The Pursuit of God.

Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same [tuning] fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. (The Pursuit of God, 1948, p. 97)

I am indebted to Dr. Carl “Chip” Stam (http://www.wqotw.org/) of SBTS for acquainting me with the quote. But as I contemplated the truth of that message, I could almost hear this interpretation: Since I love Jesus and these are my preferences, then everyone else should do things the way I want them because that’s how Jesus would have us to do them.

Can you hear the arrogance in such a thought? “I love Jesus and I like things this way, so that’s how we should always do them.” OR … “I love Jesus and I don’t like things that way, so that’s how we should never do them.” One thing is for sure … when we hear ourselves (and I say 'ourselves' because we are none of us immune to that tendency) saying stuff like that, we are not “each one looking away to Christ” as Tozer suggested, but we are each one looking at his own preferences and prejudices. Some of the most heated discussions we have in church are over how we worship (as opposed to how they worship). But Jesus said that the thing that will tell people that we really do belong to Him is the love we show toward each other … and toward those who don’t yet know Jesus’ love.

That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.

Teach Me to Love

In my last post I shared a good poem with good theology (“Safe Within Your Arms”). This entry has some very good theology, but I would not hold up John W. Peterson’s text, “Teach Me to Love” as good poetry. To be quite honest, as poems go, it’s borderline awful.

Why am I sharing it, then? I have two answers. The first (and the most uncomfortable) is that I was running out of time on Wednesday and didn’t want my choir to have a blank page where they were used to having something to read. The second answer is that, though the poetry be not so great (the awkward sentence structure alone … forced for the sake of rhyme … makes it difficult to read), the Biblical truths of Christian love still speak very clearly.

1
Teach me to love -- this is my prayer,
May the compassion of Thy heart I share;
Ready a cup of water to give,
May I unselfishly for others live.
To cheerless lives and bleak,
But kindness I would speak,
The good of all I’d seek,
And when I’m wronged by others,
Help me to smile and turn the cheek.

So in my heart Thy goodness prove,
As Thou hast loved, O Lord, teach me to love!

2
Teach me to love – this is my plea,
May all the Spirit’s graces shine through me;
Tear from my heart hate, foolish pride,
Teach me to live like Christ, the Crucified.
Help me to counteract,
With wise restraint and tact,
The thoughtless word or act,
And when I hear dark rumors
Not pass on as truth or fact.

So in my heart Thy goodness prove,
As Thou hast loved, O Lord, teach me to love!

Jesus said that the thing that will show that we belong to Him is how we love one another. This, then, is a worthy prayer. That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.

Safe Within Your Arms

The lovely wife is having some vocal problems that seem to be related to the type of Lupus that she has. Because of that, she needs to limit how much she sings … so for several weeks she will not be coming to choir rehearsal on Wednesday evenings. She has tried coming to choir and not singing much, but it’s too great a temptation and she ends up singing more than she should. Though she gets tons of joy out of playing piano – and she’s extraordinarily gifted at it – singing is really her first love. So we’re trying to make it possible for her to get the kind of rest she needs in order to restore her voice … and we covet your prayers.

One of the things she hopes to sing when she gets healthy again is in a book I just bought her as an anniversary present. “Safe within Your Arms” is the kind of text that helps me to cope whenever the monster climbs up on my back. Not only is it good poetry, it’s good theology:

1
Whether I’m right or whether I’m wrong,
Whether I’m weak or whether I’m strong,
Whether I’m sure or maybe confused,
Feeling loved or feeling used;
I know a place where I can go –
Somewhere that winter winds don’t blow –
There I am warmed by loving arms,
Held with care, next to Your heart.

And I’m safe, within Your arms, Lord.
I’ve become a child again.
I’ve come back to the source of love,
where healing can begin.
Though the world would say I must be strong
and prove my worth by what I do,
I will rest assured in Your embrace
and find my strength in You.

2
Whether I’m walking in the light,
Or whether I’m stumbling through the night,
You are a God whose promise endures;
Though undeserved, Your love is sure.
When I am tempted to pursue
Plans that may lead me far away from You,
Gently You call, “My child, come home.
I will never let go of one of my own.”

And I’m safe, within Your arms, Lord.
I’ve become a child again.
I’ve come back to the source of love,
where healing can begin.
Though the world would say I must be strong
and prove my worth by what I do,
I will rest assured in Your embrace
and find my strength in You.

That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.

A. W. Tozer on Unity in Worship

Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same [tuning] fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become "unity" conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.

~ A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (1948), p. 97

with thanks to Chip Stamm (http://www.wqotw.org/)