There are the occasional days in ministry when great things happen.  Just writing that sentence sounds odd as doing church work is to be a God thing.  One of my professors once said that such a career is hard because people expect a miracle per day.  Over thirty years of doing this job serves as testimony such greatness does not always happen.  Most days are spent cleaning the dust off your feet.  You get so wrapped up in the nasty now and near that you cannot see much hope for the awesome.  But there are the days when you do get a glimpse of God's greatness.  Here is when you want to be sure you are grateful for being even a small part of it.

We are praying as a church for one of our own who faced quadruple bypass surgery.  The odds for even survival sounded about a billion to one.  My usual reaction is to be really honest to admit such a situation is beyond me.  One does not begin to manipulate God to do something in these settings.  All of the religious theatrics will not dent the heavens when faced with the impossible.  My choice was to lead us to pray boldly yet with as much humility as we could muster.  Arrogance is not an option when science tells you there is little hope.  So yesterday was the procedure.  Not only did our patient make it off the table but he is up and walking today.  I know we are not out of the woods due to all of the damage involved prior to the operation.  But even this answer to prayer is beyond amazing.  Without making it a long story just know it is a gift of grace.  I hope we still respond with humility but with that awesome awareness that God was good to us.

We also had guests for prayer meeting.  Let's just say that most people do not wander into a Baptist prayer meeting for no reason.  I do not know if others will be able to appreciate what transpired afterward.  Those who were here stepped forward to try and meet a stated need.  It may very well be something that is less than truthful but we did our part.  We did show overwhelming grace to others.  Now this does not make us perfect.  God knows we are a long way from even approaching perfection.  But at least for one night we did what we are called to do.  If we conducted ourselves towards all people this way then we would see a breakthrough beyond imagination. 

You cannot spend time waiting for such days to happen.  Just sitting around looking for the marvelous is no excuse for not being involved.  Our part of such events may be in praying or it may be in giving.  Scripture tells us time after time that God chooses to involve people in His work.  How are you doing with that?

Bro. Trey

I wanted to write on the tornado that wiped out that part of Oklahoma last week.  My words wouldn't add much to the volume but it did seem appropriate.  Most of us watched on the cable news as it tore through that part of the state.  It was broadcast live in the same way you would see a news conference.  This was reality television at its most terrifying.  We would later sit glued as people literally climbed from beneath the rubble.  Then our hearts broke as news of fatalities began trickling in.  Hearing of those who died in their elementary school made it even worse.  Most of us know what it is to survive in a storm of some level.  What we saw Monday was devastation beyond measure.

But there was still an inner resistance to writing any blog piece about the tornado.  So my best bet was to watch and wait to see what happened next.  Why is it that critics begin to set in about two days after a disaster?  Even the most balanced of media tends to discuss issues that are secondary to the crisis.  What amazes me is how people with no real background about a place or a problem seem to have all of the answers to it.  There is plenty to write about in times like those.  But still I didn't.

Everyone seems to want answers before we even get to the questions.  Our 24 hour news cycle means anyone can be an expert.  But this is not a piece about how awful our media can be at times.  Expectations like these happen even in our daily life.  I do believe there are occasions when the cut and dried works.  We move past the gray areas and just stake a claim in our world.  But could it be there are times when life is not so simple?  Perhaps we push for black and white because we cannot stand living in the gray?  Gray is uncomfortable because we cannot predict the ultimate direction.  We cannot control all of the variables. 

Scripture says there are times God uses a process.  We may not like it but it is true.  The tornado was only beginning of a long, tortuous process.  It was indeed a horrific sight to behold for all of us.  Debris blew across Oklahoma with no regard to where it landed.  Rebuilding began the very day of the storm.  It will not be completed until homes and families move back to their new houses.  It actually will be ongoing long after that.  Even one blog piece cannot summarize this event.  Retreat is not an option here.  We just keep moving forward.

Bro. Trey

Baptists talk a lot about grace but find it hard to practice.  We like grace when it suits us but fear what it means at other times.  Real grace is dangerous.  Real grace is risky.  It mean leaving control of the universe to God.  It means accepting the bad behavior of others while not depending on our good works.  Such a paradox is really difficult for us to accept.  We learn about grace all of the way through scripture.  Even during the time of the law you will discover a God who acts in grace.  Then you look at how Jesus behaves in the gospels to get a clearer view of such grace.  Our struggle with grace shows up in our relationships.  It reveals itself in how we deal with God.  People who really get grace are often misunderstood in how they relate to God and those around them.  They are often seen as weak on sin even if the opposite is true.  What we often fail to see is how much of our thinking is more law than grace.  We are going to have to come to grips with this should we want to see God work more in our world.

How do we engage a world with its immorality and its resistance to God?  Just believing or even quoting the truth is not going to be enough.  Doing the business of the Kingdom means also exhibiting grace in our behavior.  People who are lost today may not view behavior as we did even thirty years ago.  We lost that battle years ago.  Does this mean we stop talking about sin?  We cannot ever fail to point out sin in our world.  Grace does not ever mean not recognizing failures.  It very well may be that having a stand on sin will increase our grasp of grace.  Paul will write in his letters of how the law or our view of sin will shine a greater light on grace.  But what we often do is say we can accept the sinner but not the sin.  Grace may force us to not make that choice.  People behave for better or worse from their humanity.  What we will learn is how to accept people along with bad behavior as we nudge them toward God. 

So what would I do if a gay person or any other sinner talked about life or faith with me?  You can be sure of my pointing out conduct that goes against scripture.  But you can also know my emphasis would move far past behavior.  People are lost not just because of how they behave but of how they believe or don't.  That is a matter of a heart relationship with God.  We often cannot see past how people act to offer them the hope they need.  That hope is in the grace of God who can change lives far beyond my approval or disapproval.  Imagine how shocked the early believers were to hear that Saul was converted after he tried to wipe the church out?  It could be we would have the same doubts about Paul as they did.  Our prayers are often for sinners who don't sin too bad rather than imagining grace can change who we consider to be really lost.  Those who are gay, had abortions, or live a lifestyle of addiction we do honestly tend to write off.  Those who gave birth before marriage we tend to leave some scarlet letter on them.  We could go on with the list but you get the idea.

Grace is radical.  It has to be to change a radical sinner.  That is something only God can do.  But will God get to transform sinners if we fail to live or practice grace?  That decision is up to us.

Bro. Trey

Life moves fast if you don't pay attention.  So says Ferris Beuller in his movie.  You may miss it if you aren't careful.  That sums up my last few weeks.  It's mostly been good but there are always speed bumps in the road.  If you learn that lesson then it is much easier to get through unscathed.  Some people keep expecting the world to slow down so they can catch up.  Odds are good that won't happen.  Life gives every person the same amount of time in a day or a week.  We know the decision we have to make is what to do with that time.  Perhaps all of us can stand to improve in that area. 

It is great having my daughter home again.  Her trip to Europe was a growing experience for her and her dad.  Parents may need time to grow up as much as their children.  Neither is an easy experience.  There is something to be said about being independent.  I also know there is a fine balance between that and over dependence.  Being human wouldn't be so hard if it weren't for relationships.  People never seem to understand how much relationships matter in our journey.  We either take them for granted or treat them with disdain.  Fortunate is the person who can appreciate and cultivate them. 

We will return to our normal routine this week.  Trying to blog may not help anyone but me but that's fine.  I want to go back to our topic of dealing with our current culture as believers.  One good thing today was finding a writer who echoes my ideas on some of the topics facing us.  My great concern is our stance on sin doesn't keep up with the times.  Sin is still sin no matter the calendar date.  But we absolutely have to find better ways of engaging our lost world.  Jesus very seldom condemns or is critical of those wayward people who cross His path.  He holds them accountable yet offers them a way out through grace.  My opinion is we cannot just isolate our lives from those who need saving grace the most.  So we will revisit that idea this week. 

At least you know that I remember where this site resides.  Maybe we can think through these and other issues together.  That is one desire of mine for this blog.  It is not about me having all of the answers but us working through the questions together.  We do not have to arrive at the same conclusion.  Let's at least try to expand our heart and mind in grace.

Bro. Trey