By the Way, I’m on Facebook

Well, I’ve been on Facebook for a while now and have really enjoyed it.  It is easier and more efficient than Myspace (in my humble opinion).  If you haven’t joined in–you should.  It’s pretty fun.

Anyway, here is my address:  www.facebook.com/seekingpastor.

My Head Hurts

My family and I are now living in a large, seven bedroom rental house.  We have enjoyed it so far, but my head has not.  Since we have moved in, I have subjected my cranium to abuse at least every other day. 

It’s not funny.

The main reason for this regular occurence of cranial embarrassment has to do with my height compared with the lowness of the two ceiling fans in our den.

I am 6′7” tall, or as my diminutive wife likes to declare, “freakishly big.”  The ceiling in the den is an adequate 6′11″, but the blades of the fans are at a height of 6′4” and the bottom of the globes attached to the bottom of the fans is at 5′9″. 

The first few days were a nightmare for me. 

Every time I went into the den, I hit my head.  If I was lucky, I would barely tap one of the globes.  Most of the time, I was getting whacked rapid-fire style by the blades of the ceiling fan. Pow-pow-pow.

I thought I had the problem taken care of after a few days of it not happening.  This caused me to become so careless that I travelled through the den toward the kitchen in such a hurry that I shattered one of the globes into approximately 2,785 pieces.

I didn’t lose too much blood.

To be truthful,  I can’t really blame our new abode for my proclivity for cranial injury.  I’ve been damaging the uppermost part of my body all of my life.

My first head injury occurred when I was a baby.  After a rainy Sunday evening, my dad was carrying me down the steps of the old Stoney Point Baptist Church building.  The steps were steep and the rain had caused them to become slick.  About half-way down, my dad began to fall.

It is strange what a person can think of in the span of a second or two; especially when he and someone he loves is in imminent danger.  In the moment that it takes a person who is falling to realize that he is falling, my dad decided it would be a good idea to toss me into the air.

He was trying to pitch me into to the grass to save me from being crushed beneath him on the hard steps.  He didn’t put quite enough “umph” into it and I landed head-first on the concrete sidewalk.

Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt too badly.  In fact, I’m pretty sure that Dad suffered more from my mom’s wrath than I did from my first and last circus act.

Unfortunately, it was only a preview of injuries to come.

There was the time that I was riding my bicycle down my driveway and tried to jump over a mud puddle.  The puddle was cleared, but my landing left a little to be desired.  My head hit the ground with such force that I worried I might have amnesia.  It turned out that I had just watched too many episodes that summer of Days of Our Lives.  Amnesia is far more common in Salem than in Knoxville. (For the record, my brother liked “his stories” far more than I did–I completely quit watching after Jack and Jennifer started having so many problems.)

There was also the time when I was in college that I was shooting basketball with my pastor’s young son.  The goal had been lowered to about two inches above my head.  As we were goofing around, I thought it would be cool to reach up and goal-tend his next shot.  Apparently he figured out my plan and shot it extremely high, causing me to jump to swat the ball away.  This would not have been a problem, except for the fact that I was standing directly beneath the rim.

My head hit the rim in such a way that both sides of my head were sliced by the metal pieces that hold the net in place.  As my pastor was checking out my wounds and applying pressure where necessary, his son came up to me and asked, “Do you gots bwain damage?”  The answer all depends on who you ask.

None of my head injuries, though, compare in embarrassment or pain to what happened a few months after I began my after-college career at a finance company that specializes in manufactured housing loans. 

Normally at trip to the restroom does not result in a subsequent trip to the emergency room.  This was not a normal trip to the restroom.

I had gone in there during my afternoon break to take care of some “personal business” and finish reading the newspaper.  After entering the stall and turning to shut the door, my badge inexplicably fell to the floor.  Naturally, I reacted by bending down to pick it up.

You know that metal hook that is attached to the inside of a bathroom stall door?  The one that normal-sized people never have to worry about?

When I bent down to retrieve my badge, my head and that metal hook became intimately acquainted as the hook sliced into the top of my skull right where I normally part my hair.  The sound of it digging deep into my skin and the pain caused me clutch me head in agony and fall back onto the toilet seat.

Immediately, the blood began to pour out of the wound and drip onto the floor.  The combination of my agonizing moans and the sight of the blood covering the floor probably caused the guy in the stall beside me to wonder what I had eaten for lunch. 

I did the best I could to clean up the mess I had made while holding a few paper towels to the wound.  Then I made my way out of the restroom and down the hallway to my desk.  I showed my supervisor my head and told him what had happened.  He hurriedly discussed it with his supervisor, a woman who apparently had never learned the art of keeping a secret, and decided that he should take me to the emergency room.  So I loaded up in Larry’s little-bitty pick-up truck and headed to the hospital with my knees implanted firmly into the dashboard. 

When I arrived at the hospital, the first thing that they wanted me to do was to pee in a cup to make sure that I wasn’t intoxicated in any way when the accident occurred.  I wasn’t too thrilled about going into another restroom so soon after my last excursion ended up with me almost being decapitated by a 2 inch hook, but I complied. 

A little while later the doctor  took a look at my head and determined that 5 staples would be required to mend what the dastardly hook had done.  When I arrived back at work about an hour and a half after the incident, just about everyone knew about what had transpired on my ill-fated trip to the potty. 

As I think back on all of these instances and the hundreds more that I didn’t mention, I am struck with an aggravating thought.  Even though I have hit my head more times than I want to remember, I know that I will more than likely keep hitting my head on various and sundry items the rest of my life.  Being the size that I am and living in a world constructed for normal sized people makes this a real possibility.

So, what should I do about this?  Should I spend the rest of my days crawling around on the floor or curled up in bed?  Should I wear a helmet 24/7 or attach a pillow to my head with duct tape?  Should I undergo surgery to make myself shorter?

None of these things are appropriate, so I will keep doing what I have been doing and hope for the best.  I will try not to hit my head.  I will keep my eyes open and myself alert. 

And occasionally I will hit my head.  When this happens, I will be thankful that God loves me in spite of my stupidity and has promised to sustain me by His grace.

I think this strategy can work with my sins as well.

Just like my history of head-hitting, I began being disobedient at an early age as well.  In fact, the Bible tells me that I was born with a sin-nature. 

All throughout my life and in various ways, my proclivity to sin has been there.  Some of my sins have caused me greater embarrassment and pain than others, but all of my sins have been my own fault. 

Even now, after being a follower of Jesus for over 20 years, I still sin and fall far short of the glory of God.  Being human and living in a sin-cursed world, I know that I will continue to fail the rest of my life.

What should I do about this problem of sin?  Should I spend the rest of my days beating myself up because I just can’t get it right all of the time no matter how hard I try?  Should I give in to my sin-nature completely and just do whatever I feel like doing?  Should I allow myself to be of no use to Jesus, the one who died on the cross to atone for my sins?

None of these things are appropriate, so I will keep doing what I have been doing and hope for the best.  I will try not to fail.  I will keep my eyes open and myself alert. 

And occasionally I will sin.  When this happens, I will be thankful that God loves me in spite of my stupidity and has promised to sustain me by His grace.

This is made possible because I have put my faith in Jesus.  When I fail, His love prevails. 

And I couldn’t be happier, even on those days when my head takes a beating from a ceiling fan.

Ramblings of Praise, Part 2

After temporary pleasure, disobedience produced in my soul such despair that I longed to be cut off from all that I hold dear.

Unworthy and ashamed, I found no hiding place from the fierceness of your wrath.

Cowering in a corner,  your light shown into my darkness; my sins were revealed to be so putrid that I feared that I would be suffocated by the stench.

The voices of those who should know better declare that there is good hidden within me; that if I look closely enough I will discover a champion.

Oh, how wrong they are! 

There is nothing good within my flesh; there is nothing worthy of your blinding Holiness.

I was altogether undone.  Hopeless, weary, alone.

Then you called me.  You spoke my name.  From the depths of the grave I heard your voice.  Only by your power did I hear it.  Only because you declared me as one of your own.

Undeserving of your love, yet grateful.  Unable to repay your kindness, yet joyful.  Unable to give to you what you gave to me, yet accepting of your free gift.

Now I walk as one who once was dead, yet made alive.  Free from the past, made alive by your grace.

Even now, though, I falter: even now I wander.

Thankfully, mercifully, sweetly your grace continues to sustain me; your love is still my great joy.

Lord, let me still praise you.  Master, allow me to worship you.  King, let me serve your great name.

By your love, I am yours.

Adultery

I am convinced that the only thing that is keeping many men from committing adultery is the lack of opportunity. 

I have no statistics to back this idea up.  I haven’t seen any big university studies about this.  I only have observations. 

There is an enormous amount of pornography available.  Anyone with a desire for such trash can find it, even without leaving the comfort of their homes.  With all that is available, there has to be plenty of folks who view it.  Many of these are married men, some are Christian men.  With all of the lusting (which is considered adultery by Jesus) that is going on in the hearts and minds of many, is it a stretch to believe that many men are just one step away from partaking in the ultimate betrayal?

I don’t think so.

I have two main thoughts in regard to this. 

1.  Don’t be so arrogant to think that you are immune to moral failures.  It can happen to anyone in any marriage. 

2.  Don’t throw people who have failed in this way into the trash bin.  God still loves them and can redeem them. 

Just a few thoughts.

God Bless.

“Christian Rock”–the Early Years

Check this video out-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-NOZU2iPA8 .  I can’t help help but love this.  It makes me smile.

Many thanks to www.dankimball.com for “discovering” this.

2nd Day of Prayer Revival

The Bible is a book that challenges its readers on almost every page.  Unfortunately, many sermons from God’s word are not as challenging due to well-meaning yet misguieded preachers who shy away from the more difficult material.  Don Pierson is not one of those type of preachers.

Tonight he focused on 2 main topics.  One is that to be heard by God when we pray, we must be righteous.  While those who have accepted Jesus have been declared righteous, we must strive to remain right before God.  If we do not, God does not hear us when we pray.  As James declares “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  Being in right standing causes us to be heard.

The second main thing is that we need to have more focus when we are earnestly praying.  The main “it,” if you will.  Prayer lists are good and we need to remember all of the needs, however we must be burdened by particular things to pray for if we are to pray with all of our hearts.

I pray that all in attendance (including me) will take this message seriously and strive for holiness.

FreeCreditReport.com (The best commercials out there)

Here are some links to the FreeCreditReport.com commercials.  They are awesome.

 http://youtube.com/watch?v=FspHU8hOxhY&feature=related;  http://youtube.com/watch?v=zMXv0__CYSU; 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HksXMVhxdxY.

Check them out–hilarious.

(If you would like to help the church that I pastor, please click on “To Help a Church” at the top of this page)

Pro-life Consistency

Here is a link to my latest column in the Knoxville News-Sentinel:  http://knoxnews.com/news/2008/feb/03/consistency/.  It is about the need for those of us who are pro-life to be consistent.  I will probably get some e-mails about this one–both positive and negative.  It is a touchy subject, but one that needs to be addressed.

Basically, I feel that it is not enough to say that babies should not be aborted.  Pro-lifers also must consider what to do with the children once they are born and how to help people who are in all stages of life. 

One thing that I did not address in the column is how often we are manipulated by one politician or another by pro-life rhetoric only to see later that the politician did not back up his/her promises.  It seemingly happens all of the time. 

Please feel free to comment.

A Bad Christmas Tradition

Matthew (our youngest 3 year-old) is back in the hospital again with breathing problems.  It seems like he gets admitted every Christmas, but thankfully gets out before Christmas Day.  Please pray that this happens again.

Resigning

Today I resigned as Pastor of Cardiff Baptist Church in Rockwood in order to become Pastor of Stoney Point Baptist Church in Knoxville.  It was a decision that I prayed about for some time and feel that it is truly what God wants me to do.  As I’ve written before, following God is a simple proposition that is rarely easy to do.  Resigning was no exception to that.

I have come to deeply love the members of Cardiff Church.  They are among the most loving people that I have ever been around.  They love God and people and try to express that love in tangible, authentic ways.  Telling them about my resignation ranks way up there on the list of most difficult things that I have ever done. 

I knew that it was coming.  Stoney Point voted to call me as their Pastor last Sunday.  Even though I had time to prepare myself and what I would say, it was still heart-wrenching.  Because I believe in the sovereignty of God, I know that Cardiff will be fine and that they will continue to make a difference for God in this world.  Still, looking out at their faces and hearing their surprised gasps of sadness broke my heart a little. 

My first Sunday at Stoney Point will be January 6th.  The church is located at 1980 Stony Point Road, Knoxville, TN 37914.  I will be posting directions on this site in the near future, but if you need directions before then, please ask.

I’m looking forward to ministering at Stoney Point, but will definately miss the people of Cardiff Baptist Church.  If you are in/around Roane County and are looking for a church home, check out Cardiff–the people are caring and love God.  If you are in/around East Knox County, please visit Stoney Point–I would love to meet you.