Family Experiences
October 26, 2009
This next Saturday night, our family (all five of us!), will rendezvous in Eugene, Oregon to attend the Oregon/USC football game. The game is on Halloween night in Autzen Stadium, already one of the loudest venues in college football – much less on Halloween night. Of course, we will be rooting for the Ducks! Since its Halloween and many fans will attend in costume, I suggested I might dress in something really scary. My idea – go to the game dressed as a USC fan. For some reason, my children didn’t think that was such a good idea. One of them said, “Dad, you won’t get out of the stadium alive.” So, I guess discretion is the better part of valor. No USC gear for me.
Why would a normal family (with a mom and daughter who aren’t really into football) travel thousands of miles from three different cities to attend a college football game? Caleb is graduating from Oregon next spring. He is the consummate Duck fan – painted body and everything. We all agreed it would be fun to go to one game with him before he graduates. We will make a great family memory – but the Ducks really need to win so it will be a happy memory!
As our family has matured, now with three adult children, we have decided to spend more money on experiences than things. By that I mean we give simple gifts at Christmas and birthdays and spend our “family money” on having experiences together. The emphasis is on being “together” – not so much on the event itself.
Spending time and money to create family memories is more important to us than buying more stuff we really don’t need. We enjoy being together – teasing each other, telling and retelling stories (especially the Jeff Iorg Dork stories the children love), and the serendipitous moments that double us over with laughter. Women in ugly spandex, really long tube socks for Christmas, and ordering the whole dessert menu at a fancy restaurant are inside jokes (and special memories) among us.
No matter the age of your children, make memories! You will forget the trinket you gave your children for Christmas a lot quicker than the goofy story about the time mom “lost” some of the Christmas dinner (it really happened) somewhere in the kitchen.
Family memories – make them, cherish them, share them. Don’t try to call me Saturday. I’ll be busy having one of my best days ever.
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The "Thank You" Got Me
October 19, 2009
This past weekend was the 20th anniversary celebration of the church we started in Gresham, Oregon. They invited me back to preach in the three weekend services. We also stayed for the commemorative celebration on Sunday night. It was great to visit old friends, see children now grown to adulthood, reminisce about the old days, and view photos and videos of significant moments in the church’s past.
It was a poignant time for me because I still consider church planting my most significant ministry accomplishment. The church in Oregon is the defining work of my life. It expresses my dreams of what a church can be – healthy in every way and making a significant difference in our world. The current pastor, Dr. Keith Evans, is doing a phenomenal job leading the church.
As you might imagine, there were some emotional moments for me. Seeing friends, and photos of past friends (some now in heaven), made me misty-eyed. Even while preaching, some of my stories from the church’s past caught in my throat. Yet, through it all, I was able to remain composed. I delivered my messages and enjoyed the evening program with emotions bubbling, but tears in check.
At the end of the celebration, Pastor Evans asked those present who had been at the first public worship service in 1989 to come forward. He asked us to light candles from a central candle on the platform and then stand across the front of the auditorium. He then instructed people who had come to faith in Jesus through the ministry of the church to come forward and light a candle from the flames of the candles we were holding.
Dozens of people streamed forward. One couple came to me. Steve and Michelle were the last people I baptized as a pastor. Steve lit his candle from mine, looked up and said, “Thank you.” Well, so much for keeping the tears under control! That simple moment summarized all that’s important in my life. We started a church. A man became a Christian. His family was changed forever. My influence was part of the process. When he said, “Thank you,” every sacrifice in starting the church was worth it.
Standing with the other people who helped start the church symbolized our fellowship – the deep bonds formed through the crucible of the struggles of the early years. Some of those people - Rusty, Sheila, Joe, Sueann, Alice and Buff (just to name a few) are still some of my best friends. Christian friends, particularly those who have shouldered the work with you, are a priceless treasure.
My life is richer, far richer, for experiencing God through planting a church more than 20 years ago. It was a great honor to be used by God and to work with some of the finest people He ever created. Thank you God for the privilege of sharing this work and thank you Greater Gresham Baptist Church for the memories!
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The Blessing of Accountability
October 12, 2009
Many ministry leaders operate without appropriate, clearly defined systems of accountability. Churches often have muddled governing structures with pastors (and staff) left without clearly defined expectations, performance standards, and protection from critics who project their expectations on church leaders. It behooves every pastor to do all he can to create, and then submit to, appropriate governing structures in the church. Doing so solves all kinds of potential problems.
Golden Gate Seminary, like all SBC entities, has a clear governing structure. The Board of Trustees holds the seminary in trust for the SBC. They hold the seminary in doctrinal, fiscal, and missional trust. In other words, they make sure our doctrine is right, our finances are in order, and we are focused on our mission. This clearly defined structure gives the executive leadership team and the faculty great freedom – yes, freedom – to do our jobs more effectively.
This is the great paradox of clearly defined authority structures. They free, rather than restrict, persons who work in them. They free us to do our job, with clear performance expectations, while protecting us from critics or other well-meaning people who try to get us off track.
The SBC has created an effective governing process. The churches send messengers to the annual convention, the messengers elect trustees, and the trustees govern the seminary. Did you know, with very rare exception, the seminary cannot receive direct instructions from the messengers to take any specific action? When a messenger makes a motion about a seminary, it is almost always referred (by SBC bylaws) to the seminary’s trustees for response. They can respond “yes” or “no.” Their responsibility is to make the best decision for the good of the seminary, not placate any individual messenger.
This week is Board meeting week at Golden Gate. It is always a draining, but rewarding week. Our trustees are fair-minded and supportive, but they do their job thoroughly. They read a mountain of reports, ask questions, offer suggestions, consider recommendations, and make decisions. They hold us accountable doctrinally, financially, and missionally by measuring our results against the goals they have adopted. We are blessed to have trustees who believe in our mission and genuinely support our executive team and faculty – while at the same time making sure we do our job.
Accountability is a blessing. Every leader makes mistakes. Every organization has blind spots. A good accountability structure corrects us, helps us stay focused, and gives us the freedom to do our job well. If you are working in a church or organization without clear accountability structures, do all you can to improve your situation. If you are resisting appropriate supervision, humble yourself and enjoy the blessing that comes with greater transparency.
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Good Churches
October 5, 2009
One of the best things about my job is visiting many different kinds of churches. The labels we use today are many and varied – contemporary, traditional, emerging, ethnic, multi-cultural, reformed, etc. We also sometimes use negative adjectives like troubled, divided, struggling, or dead to describe churches. One of my favorite positive descriptors of churches isn’t heard much anymore. Some churches are just “good” churches.
A good church is a church that quietly gets the work done. It consistently baptizes new converts, has a variety of disciple-making activities, meets needs in its community, and gives generously (both to its own work and to help other ministries). Good churches are usually multi-generational with little kids climbing the walls and senior adults steadfastly serving like they have for decades. Good churches aren’t flashy. They aren’t often on television, their ministers aren’t usually well-known (outside their community), and their facilities are adequate but will never be confused with the local mall or amusement park. These churches often have a history of long pastoral tenure – not unusual to find a twenty-year pastorate in their recent history.
Good churches just get the job done. They evangelize, disciple, fellowship, minister, and do missions. They aren’t known for being great at any one of these functions but they are adequate at all of them. Good churches have been and are the backbone of our denomination. They are the “wheel horses,” the “plow mules,” and the “bell cows” (if you like down-home, animal metaphors) of the Cooperative Program. Thank God for them!
It was my privilege to be with one of these churches this past weekend – Emmanuel Baptist Church in Farmington, NM. I preached my heart out (five messages in 40 hours). The people came with their Bibles open and an eagerness to learn new insights into the gospel. When the last service was over, they lined up and thanked me for coming. My gratitude equaled theirs. It was good to be in a good church - to sense God’s presence, to feel the stability and permanence of people determined to stand faithfully year after year, and to be encouraged by the common piety of Christian people.
Good churches, good people, good times. Thank God for good churches!
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