Considerations on the Church: 2, Baptism

The above video is significant for at least three reasons:

1.  Pioneering

It is my first attempt at publishing something to YouTube.  I don’t have the means to edit the beginning and ending of the video so that it doesn’t show the backs of people in the way, and it isn’t smooth and professional.  If it were ideal, it would have been taken from a boat on the water or a crane over the water pointed back at land; perhaps even scanning the surroundings to zoom in on the party on the land.  Hey, this is home movie making at its simplest!  Last Sunday I went to EagleBrook Church with my nephew and they had a very professional movie clip about their baptisms taken from all sorts of angles, including underwater, which was impressive, I admit.  But, this is a start for me.

2.  Personal

It is a personal event which I witnessed and recorded.  I felt the cold of the late April air.  I heard the jets taking off from Schipol airport nearby.  What’s more, I knew the subjects involved in this event.  That’s my firstborn son, Eric, officiating the baptism along with his wife, Marci.  That’s my grandson, Elliot, being baptized!  I was proud to be there for this special, personal event.  ”No, no, You can’t take that away from me…” (a phrase from an old Kodak commercial for you “youngens”)

3.  Public

The tiny crowd of spectators included church members from the city of Amsterdam who had biked out to this waterway.  (Holland has plenty of water–such as the many Amsterdam canals–but few that are shallow enough for a baptism where spectators can observe.)  Some, like ourselves, were fortunate enough to have a car to ferry us to the site.  But the crowd also included two of Elliot’s classmates whose families accompanied them to witness this event on a Sunday morning.  It took a special effort for them to be there, but they were–because Elliot had invited them, and perhaps because they were curious about the meaning of this spectacle.

This public baptism was significant for the Amsterdam Church, for it not only included a ten year old boy, but two young adult women, as well.  But, even more so, this public baptism is significant for the Church at large.  Just as the birth of a baby is celebrated for its promise of new life, so a baptism is celebrated for its witness of one’s new life as symbolized by the act of being “buried” in Christ and raised to newness of life in Him.  Baptisms are good news that the church is growing, not just from transfer growth (people leaving one church to go to another) but from the addition of another soul into the universal Church.

As long as there are baptisms of new believers–whether in the clean confines of a church baptistry or a beautiful sandy beach or the treacherous rocky waterway under a bridge–there is hope for the Church.

Considerations on the Church: 1, The Context

I’m in Week 2 of my “Upper Midwest Tour” during which I have already visited two of my former churches–one which I pastored, and one where I attended under my Dad’s pastorate.  In addition to attending these churches, I have talked–literally for hours–with people from these churches about these churches.  This has prompted me to begin a series of posts on the church.

To start this series I am moved to include (perhaps it’s the preacher in me) three reminders of the larger context.

First is a passage of Scripture that pops up each day as I open my email account to remind me of the supernatural warfare going on and my need to put on the armor of God.  The second is a quotation from an ancient church father, Gregory of Nazanzius, c AD 329-389, which I use in my Pastor Assist Ministries presentation that addresses the vexing interface of an Supernatural God relating to finite humans through the Church. Finally, I have chosen a song from the Gaither Vocal Band that again reminds us all of the larger context. It is my conviction that a series on the Church needs to start first with these reminders, lest we be taken up in the futility of human problems and thus the wringing of hands.

1.  Ephesians 6:10ff

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then…

2.  Gregory of Nazanzius:

How odd that it is apparently not God’s purpose  to minister day by day to the world by direct revelation.  Rather the surprising fact is that God has chosen to minister to humanity through a scandalously visible community, the church, and to minister to the church through human agency, by calling ordinary, vulnerable, pride-prone persons into the ministry of word and sacrament.  However vulnerable ministry may be to wretched distortion and abuses, curiously enough it seems to be God’s own idea.

3.  Gaither Vocal Band, The Church Triumphant

 

As a Churchman, I am seriously interested in assisting the church to have the impact on the world that God intended.  But this first post on the subject reminds us of the larger context in which we as human agents have a small, albeit important, role to play.  Please stay tuned for further posts on the subject.

 

Catching Up

It’s been a month since my last post.  So, now I have the duty of catching up.  My duty is made easier by the fact that I am stuck in a service station waiting for my car engine to cool down so that they can figure out what it needs.  So I have a couple of hours here in Valparaiso, Indiana.

I was hoping be now to be in Chicago helping a friend get HER car going.  It’s beginning to look like I won’t make that stop (which may be an understatement).  I still hope to make my 5:00 appointment in Wheaton, Illinois.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

This trip is what I refer to as my “Upper Midwest Tour.”  I’ve been working on it for weeks, but particularly more so in the past couple of weeks as an extension of my Ministry Team Development.  In the past month since returning from training I have raised 14% of my budget.  My hopes are to double or triple that amount during this tour.

Here it is on Friday and I just posted about our Amsterdam trip and now I am going to report on the first week of my Upper Midwest Tour.  I was able to connect with Marshall Shelley, my Bethel College football teammate on Monday evening.  On Tuesday I reconnected with Jerry and Cris Fisher in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  Then on Wednesday I drove to Lancaster, Wisconsin where I met with people of Calvary Community Church (which was known as First Baptist Church back when I was pastor there from 1979-1987).  Twenty people attended this meeting–six were people I knew from when we left there 25 years ago (so needless to say, they weren’t young anymore), but that means that the majority of those in attendance were new to the church since I left.  That’s a good thing!

Thursday I visited with a farmer couple friends of ours.  Other than that, I have had some phone calls to make about upcoming visits and a half hour phone conversation with a friend going through a divorce, but also some “good old relaxation.”  As I explained it to Jan, she commented that the extrovert in me finally gave way to the intravert in me.  I’m now an hour away from my sister’s farm where I will be staying for the next week while having meetings with friends, family and fellow classmates.

I still have a lot to learn about this new computer of mine so that I can produce better blog posts–and I have to say kudos to McDonalds for providing me the WiFi to keep up with my internet business while traveling.

Special Times in Amsterdam

I’m writing this from my son Eric’s kitchen in Amsterdam.  We arrived before dawn Saturday, and struggled against jet lag for the day.  I ended up taking a nap, and still slept well that night.

Sunday morning we crammed into a rented mini (and I mean mini) van with Eric, Marci and their three kids, driving back close enough to see planes taking off from the airport to a place called Nieuw Neer (or New Lake), a body of water where the Amsterdam 50 church holds its baptisms–there are lots of canals in Amsterdam, but not in such a place where it’s just waist deep.  There were three people getting baptized–two young adult women, and our 10 year old grandson Elliot.  I took a video of the event, but I haven’t figured out how to upload/download it (which is why it has taken so long to finish this post).  So I’m going to include photos where I can and move on.

Monday was Queen’s Day in the Netherlands in honor of the birthday of Queen Beatrix.  The population of the city doubles for the day as every section of the city erupts into rummage sales that line the thoroughfares packed with people dressed in the national color of orange.  Eric and Marci give each of the three kids an allowance to spend on trinkets they want to buy along the way.

Tuesday started with a neat-sounding thunderstorm, but cleared enough for us to go to Kewkenhof–a celebration of Holland’s beautiful spring flowers surrounded by large fields of tulips in huge swathes of solid colors of the world-famous plants.

Tuesday evening Eric and I met with the Pastors-in-Training who will assume full leadership of the H88 Church upon the departure of Eric’s family.

On Wednesday, Jan and I set out on our own to view the Rijksmuseum where we saw many paintings of the famous Dutch Masters, including Rembrandt.

Thursday Jan and I took a train to Haarlem where we toured the ten Boom museum, made famous (though obviously not too famous based on the number of people who don’t know about it) by the Billy Graham movie, “The Hiding Place.”  I got to stand in the space where Jews being protected by the ten Booms stayed for weeks before they were told it was safe to leave.  The ten Booms were imprisoned for their resistance to the Nazis and all died but Corrie who toured the world–including Bethel College during the time that Jan and I were students there–telling the story of supernatural forgiveness.

This is my third trip to Amsterdam.  The first was in 2004 after a week of teaching at a Bible School in Krivoi Rog, Ukraine.  I spent a week in Amsterdam visiting museums and attending church meetings in the zolder (attic), including the dedication of my then 3 week old granddaughter Olivia.  My second trip here was in 2006 on the occasion of Eric’s ordination.  This is my final trip to Amsterdam while Eric lives here because he and his family are moving back to the States this summer where he will resume campus ministry–this time at Kent State University in Ohio.  So, each of my trips here has been for a special family occasion.  We originally planned this trip before I knew anything about losing my job at Ashland University and funding was already allocated, albet for an extra week of a Rhine River cruise which we curtailed when my job ended.

After a Year of Big Events, New Territory

April 4, 2011 marked my first step into the world of blogging with a post entitled, “Are You a Pastor?”  That was the start of an interesting journey in the past year.  My personal crisis about the legitimacy of being considered a pastor sixteen years after leaving my last pastorate was addressed in my early posts and at the first Epic Fail Pastors Conference in Philadelphia in April 2011.  With the help of that conference, I was able to accept my place as a pastor.  That was, in time, crucial for what was on the horizon.

At the end of April 2011 my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer resulting in three trips to Minnesota to say good bye and to move her from her apartment to the nursing home, and then to perform her funeral in July.  By this time I had already begun plans for a second Epic Fail Pastors Conference in Ohio for which Mom was praying before she died.  I also enlisted the prayers of my inmates in the prison where I worked.  The Ohio Epic Fail conference happened in March 2012 but not before I was surprised to lose my job in prison in November 2011.  Suddenly I was unemployed, not knowing which way to turn.

My first order of business after becoming unemployed was to nurse my wife after her back surgery and subsequent case of shingles two weeks later.  It wasn’t until New Year’s Day that I finally got focused on finding a new job.  I felt God’s supernatural prompting to pursue a ministry position.  Not coincidentally, Son Eric alerted me to a contact he heard about involving Pastor Tim Honeycutt with whom I began telephone and email correspondence, as well as a trip to Texas to meet Tim and to begin to learn firsthand about his ministry, Pastor Assist Ministries to “encourage pastors in crisis and transition.”  So, by the time of the Ohio Epic Fail Pastors Conference, I was able to say, “I am now a part of Pastor Assist.”

All of the above is simply a summary of the past year which has been chronicled in my first 100 posts of “Once a Pastor, Always a Pastor.”  This 101st post is written from my motel room in Cincinnati, Ohio after my second day of on-the-job training with Tim Honeycutt assisting Pastor Larry.  My head is swimming with all of the things that I have observed in the past two days.  Next week I will return home to re-engage in the enterprise of Ministry Team Development (which some call “raising support”) enriched by actual experience at what I will be doing once my support is developed so that I can give full time to Pastor Assist.  Already in the past four weeks  i have raised nearly 10% of my support.  I have a tour of the Upper Midwest (Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota) in the planning stages for the day after Mothers Day in mid-May and through June.  Already I have penciled in a stop at my former church in Lancaster, Wisconsin on Wednesday, May 16, and a Drown family party on Saturday, May 19.  By the time I return home in late June, I obviously hope that I will have reached 100% of my support needed (although I have made my more conservative target for completion in the Fall 2012.  It is in God’s hands if He says that I won’t be done yet then.).

I am definitely embarking on a journey into “fresh territory.”  The panic of possible failure is only offset by the hope of God’s deliverance and the exhilaration of being in God’s will.  So, what will the next year of blogs cover?  I’m sure that there will be ups and downs on the Ministry Team Development trail.  I also know that Jan and I will be taking a last trip to Amsterdam while Eric and Marci and family are living there.  (This trip was initiated before I knew I would lose my job.)  We also anticipate a family reunion in coordination with my turning 60 this summer, as well as adding a baby boy to Sam and Anna’s family of three daughters in September.  Once I start full-time with Pastor Assist, there will likely be travel to wherever our pastor who needs assistance is living.

Hey, my life may not be the most exciting in the world, but it is eventful!!  And for that I praise God Who will guide us through!

Using the Bible as a Weapon, and Other Tales of a Pastors Meeting

I remember going with my dad to a West Central (Minnesota) pastors meeting at the Willmar church.  (I didn’t realize that Dad was babysitting me so Mom could do something else for a change.)  I was thrilled to be among these pastors.  (I don’t remember being bored at all, but how reliable is the memory of a 6 -10 year old!)  Pastors like Dick Wiens and Bill Horn were giants in more ways than one.  First, they were big men.  And they were big talkers.  I recall Dick Wiens regaling the group with his stories accompanied by peals of laughter.  Bill Horn was a bear of a man.  I can still see my tiny hand in his big paw as we prayed in a circle.  And I remember the story Pastor Horn told about visiting a home where a dog attacked him.  His response was to use the only weapon he had–the Bible he took along on every visit.

Some of my fondest memories are those of hanging out with pastors.

March Prayer Letter

As a missionary it is my privilege to send out prayer letters to my Prayer Partner Team.  Here is my first edition of said letter:

Dear Prayer Partner,

I believe in the Power of Prayer.  I believe in the Priority of Prayer.  I wish I were better at the Practice of Prayer.

I suspect that many of you are like me.  We believe that God has the Power to answer prayer.  We believe that Prayer ought to be a high Priority in our lives.  Yet, it is common to hear Christians who feel guilty about their failure to Practice Prayer.  A favorite passage of mine is Ephesians 6:10-20, which reads, in part, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God… and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests….”  There is no doubt that prayer is needed in the spiritual war with Satan.  But how is that practiced?

This is my first prayer letter in connection with my new “job” with Pastor Assist Ministries.  When I tell people about my new ministry, I point out three action words that describe what we do:  First, we ADVISE pastors out of our years of pastoral experience.  But I that is probably the least important thing we do.  Second, we SERVE pastors in practical, pragmatic ways to help get them “over the hump.”  Finally, and most importantly, we PRAY with the discouraged pastor.  So, that is why I have chosen to write my first monthly prayer letter on the subject of Prayer.  (If you want more frequent reports of what I’m doing—not just with Pastor Assist—you may want to check out my blog, www.onceapastor.wordpress.com.)

I realize that this subject may be guilt-inducing, so let me share with you a story in my own life recently to put things in perspective.  I have been attending Berean Baptist Church for almost 17 years.  When I first started attending, I was broken and empty and I went to worship, Sunday School, and Prayer Meetings.  Soon I began ministering on a Worship Team that practiced after Prayer Meeting on Wednesday evenings.  In time I switched over to working with the Youth Group on Wednesday nights, and when I left that ministry, I stopped going to church on Wednesdays at all.  Recently, as I began to contemplate my new ministry, I became convicted that I should be attending Prayer Meeting.  I even doubted my own reasons why I was doing it.  So why did I start going back to Prayer Meeting?  Was it because prayer meetings are so exciting?  No.  It’s because now I have a greater need for prayer.  I’m sorry to say that there have been times when “I didn’t NEED God.”  Now I’m embarking on an adventure for which I don’t have a clue what’s coming next.  If you’re feeling comfortable in your Christian life, you probably don’t feel the need for prayer—and you also probably don’t feel the joy of the Lord either.

The future for Jan and me is full of uncertainties and unanswered questions.  But it has quickened our spirits with a greater awareness of our need for God.

In the service of the King,

DA

Why Pay to Learn How to Raise Money?

I paid a significant amount of money to buy plane tickets to fly to Orlando and another hunk of money for lodging, meals, and training proper for once we got here.  Isn’t that a case of bad stewardship of God’s money?  That question is even more pronounced when you consider the fact that I received a hand-me-down copy of the materials used for this training session–which I, incidentally, did read before coming here.  Added to this, the cost of this venture is not only for me, but we doubled the cost by including Jan, even though she isn’t necessarily going to participate heavily in my money raising effort.  I’m certainly not attempting to claim irresponsibility.  in fact, I advocate that this is the best route to take.  Here’s why.

When I attempted, 16 years ago, to start Aspirations–which is basically the same ministry as Pastor Assist without a few fine points–I tried to be cheap.  I didn’t invest in any training.  Rather, I threw some money into some stationery, some 501c3 paperwork, and began to encourage pastors.  One of the things that I instituted was a weekly Thursday morning basketball game for pastors–a tradition that continues all these years later.  (We’ve added non-pastors over the years, but the same core has been the same.)  I also put on a couple of pastors’ banquet during Pastor Appreciation Month in October.  I consistently prayed for pastors (but I didn’t find pastors to pray with.)  Basically, Aspirations failed because for a couple big reasons:

*  I didn’t have a clear cut business plan of exactly what I was planning to do.  I simply wanted to “encourage pastors.”  I didn’t establish HOW I was going to do it!

*  I didn’t spend any diligent effort to raise funds to pay my grocery bills so that I could quit my poor-paying full-time job.  If I had a better financial base on which to build, I would have had a lot more time to dedicate to my mission of encouraging pastors.

What is different now?  Why do I think that Pastor Assist will be more effective than Aspirations?

First, Pastor Assist has a track record of actually helping pastors.  Tim Honeycutt has been doing this for six years,  One major difference is that Pastor Assist goes wherever the pastor that needs help is.  16 years ago I wasn’t prepared to leave my family to “hit the road.”  Now I am (and Jan is OK with that).  Furthermore, Pastor Assist has a more set plan of how to help pastor–primarily, being on site with the pastor so that we can pray with the pastor every day.

Second, I get back to the subject of paying to learn how to raise money–I am dedicating myself to intentionally working to build a team of prayer and financial support team.  As for being here at training, I have already read the material, but I haven’t forced myself to actually practice with a live person.  I have already practiced  the process more than in the weeks building up to being here, and we’re less than half way through the week.  And, while I’m here, I have advisers to coach me on how to improve my presentation.  And, with Jan here, too, I get to go through the process with her so that we’re on the same page.  Ultimately, I’m convinced, I am being a better steward of God’s resources.  Incidentally, because of the nature of Pastor Assist’s practice of spending time with a pastor on-site, I get an opportunity to actually do the work of Pastor Assist from time to time (not full-time) in order to better represent our ministry during my Ministry Team Development (sometimes referred to as support raising).

I would love to share my ministry story with you and have you join my team.  I’m looking forward to it.

Let the Training Begin

Jan and I are in Orlando–no, not for a vacation, but for MTD training (as in Ministry Team Development).  We arrived yesterday and went out to dinner at Tijuana Flats with a bunch of people, of whom we “knew” Michelle Robinson Witherspoon and Kathy Zellinger and had talked on the phone with a few others.  Last night was mainly getting to know each other.  I’m amazed by how many young people are raising support to work for Mars Hill Church in Seattle.  It’s an interesting model of idealistic young people committing themselves to raise their own support to work for a giant church in order to expand the influence of the Kingdom.  This reminds me of an article I read on Facebook this past week interviewing Rick Warren of Saddleback Church about the need for the church to go to the world.  Warren was very emphatic that he is NOT trying to create “Chrislam” as some have reported, but he adds, “you will never win your enemies to Christ, just your friends.”  Thus, he intentionally befriends non-Christians. It has caused me to consider how radically different I may need to look at ministry.

As soon as I say “I need to consider how radically different I need to look at ministry,” I have to admit that my first thought is:  ”How will this affect my efforts to Ministry Team Development?”  That is a sad, but true, observation.  If I don’t raise support, I can’t carry out my ministry.  But being conservative is not the way to minister.  Jesus was hardly conservative.  Founded on the Word, yes.  (I admit to that kind of conservativeness.)  But finking out and playing it safe is not the way to build the Kingdom.

I’m excited to see what I learn this week and how God moves me out of my comfort zone.  I fully expect that my faith will grow, and with it my satisfaction if not comfort.  May my example be used by God for His honor and glory!!

It’s Official: I’m “Employed”!

Tim Honeycutt of Pastor Assist Ministries called me this morning to say that is all right for me to announce that I am now a part of Pastor Assist!  This culminates a series of things which started on New Year’s Day.

The primary focus of Pastor Assist is helping the pastor FOR FREE.  If a pastor is experiencing difficulties, PAM is available to come along side of him to take the pressure off.  You can read about it at pastorassist.org.  I have boiled what we do down to three things (in ascending order fo importance):  Advise, Serve, and Pray.  Each one is more important than the previous one.  In other words, the most important thing we do is Pray with the pastor (every day WITH the pastor, not just FOR the pastor).

Advise–I have seventeen years of pastoral experience and lots of years of formal education from which to advise pastors how they can get through a crisis.

Serve–Pastors don’t necessarily need lots of advice.  Often the better thing is to pitch in and help where help is needed the most, such as cleaning the church or the pastor’s home.  Another thing may be to preach a sermon in order for the pastor to get a break.

Pray–Ultimately, prayer is the best help to call upon God to orchestrate things so that everything that is done is coordinated by the Holy Spirit.

Some questions are probably still outstanding.  Such as, How can Pastor Assist help a pastor without charging him for the ministry?  The answer to that question is that I will be raising “missionary support”.  That’s what Jan and I are getting training about.  The bottom line is that I will need both prayer supporters and financial supporters. So, even though “I’m employed,” I won’t get paid for a while yet.  You can become part of my Ministry Team.  Just contact me, starting with responding to this blog.

Where will I be going?  I interviewed with Tim Honeycutt in Texas where he was assisting a pastor.  Next Tim is coming to Ohio (near Cincy) to help another pastor.  We will go where we are needed.

I’m sure that there will be other questions–some of which I will have to answer with, “I don’t know!  But I’ll get back to you.”  So, please let me know your questions and I’ll get back to you with an answer.

The last thing that I want to add is that you need to be praying for pastors to recognize that they need help and to reach out for the help that is available to them.