Pastor's Corner

Pastor's Corner - May 2012

Pastor Darrell — Thu, 03 May 2012 00:23:54 GMT

On May 20, 2012, we will recognize and honor the graduates of our church. Jessica Hebenstreit, Kyle McReynolds, and Forrest Schultz will graduate from high school. Matt Thompson will graduate from college. If you know of any others, please give their names to Darrell Vandervort. As these young people prepare for the next steps in their lives, let us join together and pray for them and ask God’s guidance and protection into the future.

Last summer I invited people to offer suggestions (topics, Scripture passages, or themes) for the sermons of summer. Once again I am asking for any requests you may have. Please email them to pastor@fcc-wr.org or write them down and give them to me on any Sunday. I would like to have any suggestions in hand by the end of the month so that I can prepare them for sermons in July and August. You had some very good ideas last summer. Can you do it again?

On the last Sunday of May, we will celebrate the holy day of Pentecost. This is the day that the disciples were powerfully visited by the Holy Spirit. It is also considered the birthday of the church. Before this day, the followers of Jesus were mourning and considering going back to their old lives as fishermen, merchants, and other jobs. Suddenly, they dropped any consideration of going back to their old lives and committed themselves to traveling the known world telling everyone about their time with Jesus. Most often they cared for the people they met before they ever told a story about healing some first.

They found the motivation to not be shy and fearful, but confronted all those who wished to silence them and shared hope with all those who were on the outside of the society. Philip met with a eunuch. Paul and Peter met with Gentiles. Thomas traveled all the way to India. These people had traveled less than 100 miles from their homes until this point in their lives.

Pentecost might be a time to consider how much our faith has changed our lives and where we might have been. We have encountered the presence of the Holy Spirit. We have been guided, prodded and occasionally smacked upside the head with the Divine 2X4.

The same word that we translate from Hebrew as "spirit" is also the word as "breath". God breathed the breath of life into each of us, breathed his spirit into us. We have the same potential as the Apostles, the potential to share faith and bring wholeness to the people we meet. We have the potential to take the same risks that they took and thus bring the light of hope to people living in the darkness of despair and hopelessness.

Happy Birthday to the church and Happy Birthday to the power that turned ordinary people into Apostles.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - April 2012

Pastor Darrell — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:01:17 GMT

Since it is Easter, the church season of Easter, not just the day, I thought I would share some small “eggs” with everyone. By the beginning of the month our “Seeds of Hope” gardens will be in place and planted in the back yard of the church. These gardens are 10’ x 6’ and will be planted with beans, greens, black eyed peas, and herbs. This project is the Eagle project of Jesse Moffett with the help of his scout troop and our congregation. The vegetables harvested will be donated to the food pantry so that fresh produce will be available to those in need. It is hoped that these seeds scattered and sown will produce 10 and 20 fold and maybe even 100 fold, or at least provide for those in our community most in need. If you have time during the summer and want to check the garden and pull a weed or two, please feel free to do so. We can all do a little bit to reap, and come harvest time, may we have workers enough.

Disciple’s Men are having their national rally this summer at Bethany College, a really great place that is worth the trip. The name of the event is “Xtreme Faith, Bold Action” and runs from July 13-15, 2012. The speaker for Saturday evening is Derek Maul and Sunday morning Dr. Frank Thomas, the senior pastor of Mississippi Blvd. in Memphis, TN will deliver the sermon. During the event, you will have opportunities to tour Historic Bethany and the sites associated with Alexander and Thomas Campbell. There will also be workshops available. Registration and full information is available at www.gadiscipples.org. The deadline for anyone wishing to go is early May. Check out this opportunity. Wives are also invited to attend.

Registration for summer camp at Camp Christian will be due on Sunday, April 29, 2012. Forms are available at www.gadisciples.org and will be available at the church. Camp is available for children and youth from kindergarten to college ages. Last year we sent 25 to camp as campers, counselors and one director. We already have one director and several who have applied to be counselors. Join the fun. When we have all the applications in and know who will be at which camp, look for the list of names and send a card or a letter to them at camp. The information on those at camp will be shared the week before they go so you can be sure that mail will arrive while they are at camp. Fun things will happen.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - March 2012

Pastor Darrell — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:39:29 GMT

During March we journey through the season of Lent, a time of self-examination and preparation for the wonder of Easter. Usually we talk about giving up something for the period. We try to focus upon walking closer to God and improving our understanding of what it means to live as a Christian. Unfortunately, our focus tends to be directed only upon our inner self. What would happen if we began to look upon how we live our lives in relationship with others? Who might we meet?

Maybe we would meet the man who thought the only way he could have control over others was by taking advantage of them. He needed to climb down out of the tree to find true control. How about the woman so desperate to be loved that she jumped from empty relationship to empty relationship. She needed to offer water to a stranger from another religion to find real love. Or maybe we will find the foreign woman in a foreign land daring to confront national prejudice to ask for justice for her children and because she set aside her fear she found true justice. What about the man rejected by his community and was so disturbed that he lived in a cemetery and found wholeness in the approach of a complete stranger, who spoke to him and touched him.

There may also be the political leader who knows all about wielding power, yet finds he has no power when his daughter dies. The woman who has reached nearly the end of hope fighting a lifelong disease risks one more chance in a leap of faith. Maybe we run into grieving travelers who lost all their hope and then discover that hope never dies.

All of these people can be found in the ministry of Jesus recorded in the gospels. But then we might also run into them in the reflection we encounter in our mirror. They could appear as our family or friends. We might work next to them or even be the stranger standing in line with us at the grocery. Show them the wonder of the Gospel by offering the same love that Jesus offered the same people during his life. This will become a Lenten journey that we will want to make every day of every year, whether it is Lent or not.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - February 2012

Pastor Darrell — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:00:37 GMT

Wow! In 2011 we got a lot done. We finished the Fellowship Hall, sent our largest groups in many years to Camp Christian and to Youth-a-palooza, supported our Christmas family and provided a lot of canned goods for the Salvation Army and the Christian Social Ministries food bank. So what can we do this year?

Here is one thing that began last year that we can put into action this year. During 2011, several people talked about planting a garden to provide fresh vegetables to the food banks that we help. We talked about how big, location, and other details. The board accepted the idea, and we had hoped to put it together this year.

In November I was told about a young man seeking to build a community garden for his Eagle project for the Boy Scouts. We got together and he is drawing up plans for four raised beds for the front yard of the church. The beds would be about 6’ X 12’. Our “Seeds of Hope” gardens would be out front to make it easier to tend as there is a water supply out front. It also makes it more visible for security as well as promotion of the idea of gardening for others. We would plant vegetables that would be tolerant of our dry climate and do well in full sun. Different groups in the church from children to adults could take turns caring for the crops and harvesting them as they ripen.

This would be an outreach ministry of our church. Helping a Boy Scout achieve his Eagle, feeding the hungry in our community and challenging others to do the same.

Another challenge before us began during the early summer and resulted in a program at the November Fellowship Dinner. The organization, Family Promise, came to Warner Robins to guide a desire to minister to the homeless in our county. The way Family Promise would be set up here in Warner Robins is to get churches to agree to host and/or support the care and sheltering of four homeless families with children in this county. Carolyn Schomer reported in November that according to the Houston County Board of Education, there are 315 homeless families with school-aged children in our county.

Family Promise would provide week long housing in a church for overnight, a center where the families could come during the day to bathe, go to school and receive the guidance and support needed to get back into safe and affordable housing. Host churches would supply overnight accommodations in the church for four families. Support churches would be partnered with a host church to provide transportation, preparation of breakfast, participating in evening and overnight fellowship and participating in special activities. This commitment would be for seven consecutive days not more than four times per year. We would make a one year commitment.

If we were to do this, we would need one person to act as coordinator. Others could volunteer as drivers, cooks or spend a night at the host site, volunteer at the Day Center, serve on Network Committees, such as Recruitment, Transportation, Day Center, Finance, Publicity.

This is an opportunity for us to truly practice Hospitality as described in Matthew 25:31-46. Prayerfully consider this and if you would like to be involved, please let me know. We need to make a decision about this soon so that we can start serving those most in need.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - December 2011

Pastor Darrell — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:59:00 GMT

How much do you spend on Christmas each year? Are you afraid to total it up? Does it take most of the next year to pay for it all? Is this a Christian Christmas or a commercial driven Christmas? Now don’t take this wrong, I think that giving special gifts to loved ones is a wonderful expression of our love, just as we received that special gift from God on Christmas Day. But what if we did something different.

Remember those special homemade gifts that you gave your parents when you were in school, or the gifts that your children gave you? Most parents still have those plaster of Paris hand prints, construction paper cards, clay sculptures, and the like. When we see these, our hearts go back to the faces of those tender children watching us for our reactions to the gift they worked so hard to make. We remember the glow of their smile when we gushed with gratitude. We didn’t gush because we held the creation of the next great artist, sculptor, or poet, but rather because we knew the love that was invested in those simple items. That love is why we still have these gifts.

Whether you create your own gift or purchase something, take the time to find a gift that expresses the love you hold for that person, Make sure that when it is opened, that the recipient knows that they are loved and that this is an expression of your love.

It may take some re-education for some of us. We have spent so much of our lives immersed in the commercials that gifts are measured by their financial value rather than by the loving intent of the givers. The worth of the gift is not in how much was spent, but rather by how much love was invested. The grandparents and the aunts and uncles who gave us gifts of clothing (I know that as children it really wasn’t what we wanted or hoped for) may have truly and loving selected these items for our real needs, not our commercially inspired wants.

Maybe give a gift of taking over a chore around the house that someone else has, for a day, for a week, for a month. Make a recording of a song or a book that the person loves, not by some famous reader or singer, but by you! Compile a slide show of photos on DVD of family and memories spanning a life. Do something to pamper the person you love. It does not have to be expensive. It only has to be genuine and loving.

May your Christmas be a blessing and the New Year be rich in the presence of God.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - November 2011

Pastor Darrell — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 23:28:20 GMT

During my first Thanksgiving with Marsha and her family in Maysville, KY in 1979, I ate my first and last of oyster dressing. It is similar to a lot of traditional dressings one has at Thanksgiving, but it was not part of my experience growing up. It was wonderful. It was my last taste because before the next Thanksgiving I had discovered my severe allergy to shellfish. When the whole family gathers, there is still oyster dressing, but I eat the regular dressing.

We all encounter differences in the food that is “traditional” in one family and completely different in another. Change means tasting new dishes, and experiencing new ways to give thanks. It can become a real blessing to allow for our traditions to grow and change.

This November, we will celebrate our church family’s Thanksgiving fellowship dinner in our remodeled Fellowship Hall. This will be our first regularly scheduled fellowship time in the renewed facility, and will be a time of remembering and giving thanks.

This November there will be many families in Warner Robins, who may get little for their Thanksgiving dinners. There are many in Warner Robins who will be hungry on Thanksgiving Day. Hunger is a major problem, not only in places like Africa and Asia, but also in our neighborhoods, in our backyards, or across our streets. We need to give Thanks for our blessings, but we also need to be a blessing to others!

Therefore, this Thanksgiving Fellowship Dinner will be a different ”tradition.” We need to remember to be thankful for all of the gifts God has provided, even the simple gifts. The dinner this November will be a soup and corn bread meal. Beth Bickley and Ann Von Almen will be sharing information on how you can help with the meal and what to bring. But there is something we should all bring, food for others!

During the month of November, bring in canned goods, bring in the fixings for your favorite dish, bring in your “traditional” Thanksgiving foods and we will get it to the food pantries in town. A basket will be in front of the Communion table for the month, and it will be brought down to the Fellowship Hall on the night of the dinner. We can give thanks for all that our church family does to help each other in our church, community and beyond. We can also celebrate the opportunity to make sure that other families will have something for which to give thanks.

It will be different. Rather than stuffing ourselves with turkey and dressing on a Sunday night, we will give thanks for different soups and corn bread and fixings. We will rejoice that we are blessed and that we can be a blessing to others. Make plans to attend the Thanksgiving Fellowship Dinner and start sharing the thankfulness.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - October 2011

Pastor Darrell — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:03:35 GMT

After what seems to have been years, the Fellowship Hall is nearly ready to be used. We sacrificed some storage space for a room large enough to hold everyone for events like our Homecoming, and other large gatherings. Our kitchen can hold more than three people without being crowded and it is possible to wash dishes and still get to the sink for water as there are now two sinks. We have two refrigerators in the kitchen as well as a stove with an oven and a double oven. Food can be kept cold, reheated or cooked all at the same time.

No more trying to find counter space to prepare plates of food, counters run around all four walls, plus the new pass through window to the fellowship hall saves having to run into each other coming and going from the kitchen. There are also two large windows over each sink to let in light and when the kitchen gets too hot, the windows open can be opened.

New flooring in the main room looks fantastic and will be easy to clean. New lighting will allow us to have a brightly lit space for events. Everything looks clean and nice. New chairs and tables will allow us to be creative in seating arrangements so as to provide for greater fellowship and better function for meetings.

We owe a large thanks to the work of the 2010 team for developing the plan for the renovation and overseeing the design and work. Take time to thank David Von Almen, Denny McReynolds, Charlie Hebenstreit, Mike & Gidget Hurlbert and all the people who helped with color selection and design details. They have done very well!!

Now at about this point, most people would anticipate some sort of statement about the need to keep this facility in pristine order for years to come. This is the first renovation done on this building since it ceased to be the sanctuary for this congregation. We should care for it with regular cleaning and service, but I hope that we wear it out from repeated use through our fellowship events, programs, and special gatherings as a congregation. I also hope that we can add to the wear by continuing to allow outside groups to use this space for meetings.

The Fellowship Hall is one of the first places that many people will encounter our church family. We need to treat it as God’s kitchen and dining room, but also remember that according to the Bible, God wants us to welcome ALL into God’s spaces. We have a place to welcome and feel and fellowship and share the unique character of this congregation. We have a space that truly reflects our understanding of identity of “Come and Be Embraced.”

May this space be a place for feeding, for fellowship, for growing families, for service, and for welcoming others in God’s name for decades to come. May this space be a blessing to all who enter and find the love and presence of God.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - September 2011

Pastor Darrell — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:17:53 GMT

This month we will mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks of September 11 on the second Sunday of the month. How can we commemorate this memorial in a manner that reflects our faith as well as our national identity?

Rather than recalling the hate that caused these people to turn commercial airliners into weapons, we need to memorialize the innocent victims of the attack. These men, women and children were from all races, economic levels, social status, and religions. They were the targets merely because they were in the place chosen as sites because the planners decided that these places would devastate our national psyche.

We need to make a determined effort to remember the men and women who gave their lives in the effort to prevent further violence by overpowering the hijackers and preventing their flight from becoming another weapon. We read that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend. The people of the flight that went down in PA gave their lives for people they may never have met, let alone ever be able to call friends. Their love encouraged them to make the ultimate sacrifice of love.

Another group that gave their lives in an effort to save others were the police, fire and rescue crews, and EMTs. They set aside the natural tendency to preserve their lives and entered into the burning towers. They were following their training to bring aid and assistance to all those who were injured and attempting to escape the towers. They were not the targets; they were heroes responding to brothers and sisters in need.

The final group that we should honor and remember are the crews that went into the destruction to seek the dream of survivors and recover bodies so that families could grieve. They did not know that entering the area for extended periods would harm their health. The dust and particles were inhaled and may have caused serious health issues for those who worked to clear and recover. They now are beginning to pay for their sacrifice.

The Hebrew Prayer book offers these words so that we can keep the events of 9/11 in proper perspective. “When God created us, He made us in His own image, in the likeness of the divine. Both male and female He created; He blessed them, and at the same time of their creation He called them Human. Therefore was a single human created to teach you that to destroy a single human soul is the equivalent to destroying an entire world; and to sustain a single human soul is equivalent to sustaining an entire world.”

The hatred that led these men to hijack planes and turn them into weapons did not destroy our world. The sacrifices of the men and women who gave their lives in efforts to save others preserved our world. We claim a faith based upon a single individual sacrificing His life to the power of hatred so that the world of God’s love could survive and grow.

Pray for those whose hatred continue to lead them to destruction. Pray for those who still struggle with the losses of that day. Pray for the workers who are suffering from health problems that may relate to the dust and debris of that day. Then go out and work to save the life of one person and save an entire world.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - August 2011

Pastor Darrell — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:24:21 GMT

On the doors in and out of our house is a small device that holds a scroll with the words from Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It is a mezuzah, a reminder in a Jewish home to remind them of the covenant with God made after the Exodus.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Do we remember to talk about our faith in our home, to our children? Do we remember the promises of God when we depart and when we return? Are they ever before us and with us like our hands and our reflection in the mirror? Probably not. We tend to talk little about what we truly think is important, favoring instead to discuss popular topics such as sports, weather, and politics. What do you talk about with your family?

John Adland is the rabbi at Temple Israel in Canton, OH. He became Marsha’s rabbi and a friend of my family when he was in Lexington, KY. He does a weekly piece which he sends through Google documents to those who know and respect him. His “Shabbat Shalom” column sent out on July 15, 2011 inspired this article. Here is what John said.

“Every Friday morning on NPR at 6:25 AM is a segment called Story Corps. ‘Story Corps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate the lives of everyday Americans by listening to their stories.’ What you get is a snippet of a conversation or interview between two people. It could be a husband and wife, siblings, friends, relatives. This morning a father was telling his daughter about her grandfather. The details aren’t important though it was very emotional for him to speak about this, but what is important is that he didn’t learn an important detail of his father’s life until late in life. His father didn’t talk much or share much.

“I thought about this as I listened to something I have counseled often to parents. ‘Tell your children about your life. Tell them what you do, where you volunteer, what you like and dislike, what is important and what you are passionate about.’ I met a couple this week, who were talking to me about end of life issues and I said the same thing to them so that when the time comes to prepare a eulogy they will know about their mother or father. More often than not our children are not present in our lives. Sure we share vacations with them when they are younger or go to their schools for performances or watch them compete, but do we tell them what meetings we attend in the evening, where we contribute our money, why we vote the way we do, or what is truly important to us? Our children leave and live their own lives and when they do the conversations aren’t about these things. It was different when people grew up and lived their lives surrounded by family, but for the most part this doesn’t happen. Add to this scenario the fact that when the children are able to see, hear, and remember what we are doing when they are at home is when they are teens. Most teens don’t take a huge interest in the lives of their parents.”

How well do you know your parents? DO you know what they felt was important? DO you know why they believed as they did? I do not have a complete knowledge, but I do have a sense from conversations with them and their actions. Most of this knowledge I gained when I was in college. I hope that my children know what I hold important and what I believe. Maybe if we were more willing to discuss our feelings and beliefs with our families, we would not fear as much to share our hopes and dreams with others. We might find a strength in sharing more than superficiality with friends, colleagues, and family. We might even find the strength to follow the words of Deuteronomy and live in closer covenant with God.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - July 2011

Pastor Darrell — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 23:55:07 GMT

With the end of the school year, a lot of the attention to bullying has diminished. While our attention has shifted, the problem has not ended. Bullying is a type of abuse we associate with school children picking on each other, calling names, ostracizing, and fighting. The recent attention was garnered when children and young people killed themselves rather than continue to suffer this abuse.

Bullying has been around for a very long time and almost all of us can tell stories of being a victim of bullying or witnessing bullying taking place. We also pretend that it is limited to school aged people. Because it has been with us, and because we tell ourselves that you outgrow it, we do very little about bullying that takes place around us all of the time.

This behavior is rooted in the idea that in order to be superior to others, I have to demonstrate that superiority in ways of power and force. Anyone who is different or at least different from me is therefore less than me and needs to be shown that they must fall into my framework of being, or at least acknowledge my superiority. As we get older, and as technology has increased the ability to communicate, bullying has grown more sophisticated and sometimes less obvious.

The playground bully can now text and tweet and use the internet to broaden the impact of his/her abuse. What might once have been limited to a single schoolyard is now available globally in minutes. This is very serious and destructive.

What kind of actions can we as a church take to begin to alter this bullying? Be aware of how we talk about other people with whom we disagree. Do we verbally diminish them and categorize them in ways that seem to lessen their right to hold a different opinion or belief? Do we listen to and support media practices that insult any who disagree? Much of what passes for news can give the appearance of bullying and teach children that not only is it acceptable, but also the proper way to deal with those who are outside our framework of normal. The attitude of hostility and attack that is so prevalent in our political society can lead people to believe that bullying is the way to win success in life. Be the best bully, the most powerful bully and you will win.

Jesus taught us to see each other as Children of God. He taught us to avoid passing judgment on the worth of others. He challenged us to love each other as we should love ourselves. If you weigh the number of times Jesus verbally condemned someone as opposed to lovingly guided someone, you will see the proportion we should follow. Those who received the most scathing words from Jesus were those who chose to condemn the behavior of people they were charged with guiding, without an effort to be understanding and treat them with justice and righteousness.

Help teach children to listen and strive to understand why someone might be different from them. Help them to understand that each child is special and important in their own ways. A parent with more than one child may at some point be asked, “Which child do you love more?” We often respond by saying that we love them all the same. This is not exactly accurate. We love each child for themselves and since they are each different, we must love them differently. The child going through the hardest time at that moment needs the greatest amount of love at that moment. Our love for our children is not a calm pool equally doled out, but rather a tap that flows with the amount of love needed for each child at the moment of their lives. We need to teach the children to see that loving others does not diminish the love for family and friends.

We must also demonstrate with our own lives the proper way to show respect to other people. We often say that respect must be earned. This is true, up to a point. As each of us is a child of God, we must begin by offering each other that level of respect that we would show God. We are the visible Image of God in the world, so is everyone else. Therefore, we should begin our dealings with a basic level of respect for every person. From there we can offer greater or even lesser respect as it is merited. Also remember that you too, must begin at that same level when you meet new people. Do not expect to be granted greater respect than you demonstrate.

Finally, we need to remember that while bullying is an act of force, equal force does not defeat it; neither does greater force. Jesus defied the bullying of the Roman Empire, even to the point of his crucifixion. God defeated that bullying in the resurrection. The one who was called names, beaten, and killed became our source of hope and shalom.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - June 2011

Pastor Darrell — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 21:14:57 GMT

Starting on June 5th, the Summer Camp season begins. One of the ways to stay up on what is going at Camp Christian is by going to www.gadisciples.org and checking out the posting of photos and news from each camp. Another way to participate is by sending letters and emails to the campers. The address for the camp and directions for sending emails is also at this site. Here is the list of Campers and the camps they will attend.

CYF will run from June 5-11. Mitchell and Ethan Thompson, Jessica Hebenstreit, and Taylor Hicks will attend this camp.

YADA runs only for the Saturday and Sunday of June 11th and 12th. Due to the brevity of the camp we have little chance to send mail and emails. However they will post news and photos. Melissa Hebenstreit, Shannon Bosarge, Nicole Hicks, Chris Rogers, and Mitchell and Matt Thompson will be there.

Junior 1 runs June 12th-17th. Levi Cook is the only camper from our church at this camp.

Chi Rho follows on the 19th-25th. Dalton and Haley Crofutt, Gavin Edmundson, Savanna Gowin, and Andrea McCleese will be campers.

Chrysalis begins the camps of July, running from the 17th to 20th. Sarah Cook will be there.

Overlapping the Chrysalis Camp will be Junior 11 on July 17th to the 22nd. Levi Cook, Oliva Gowin, Tyler Hurlbert, Mary Martin, and Carter Nolde will be at this camp.

The last camp of the year will be Genesis. This is the camp for kindergarteners and a family member. It is on the weekend of July 22nd to the 24th. Andrew and Sara Hebenstreit, Austin and Mike Hurlbert, and John and Jim Stokes will enjoy the last camp.

Please take advantage of the news and opportunities to communicate with our campers. As I write these words, we have passed the hour designated as the time and date of the end of the world. We as Christians often fall sway to the desire to know when the end will come. We want to make ready in the last part of our time for that heavenly finale to get into heaven. Unfortunately, we will never know when. We are to live in faith, not absolute certainty. We are not to cram for some kind of final exam; rather we are to live daily in the way taught by Jesus.

In Matthew 25:31-46, we find the most concise instructions for living in the way of Jesus. We are to love, and feed, and comfort, and care for people all around us. Not just the people we like or with whom we agree, but even the least worthy, the least important, the least loveable. When we treat people as if they were Jesus, we are fulfilling our calling as disciples. If we live in this manner, we will have no need to fear the end of time, for no matter what, we will be welcomed as sheep by our loving Shepherd.

Whether someone says that the end comes tomorrow or in 2012, or whatever date, live as Disciples of Christ described in this passage of Matthew and celebrate the joy of already living in God’s Kingdom.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - May 2011

Pastor Darrell — Tue, 17 May 2011 01:36:16 GMT

May, already? Easter is over, Mother’s Day, graduations, and Memorial Day lie before us. We will seriously look at plans for summer vacations and trips (probably measured by the price of gasoline). The long break in the church year is over, or we often think so. This year Pentecost is on June 12th. The church’s birthday becomes like the birthday of some of us who try to slide past it without taking notice so we can pretend to be younger or to not make a big deal of getting another year older.

But we are not talking about a birthday that marks the passing years into infirmity and lessening abilities, at least we hope not. The church, while it is a living, functioning Body of Christ in the world, it should be more resilient than you or me. The church should listen to the voices of all generations as they grow in their journeys of faith and thereby resist aging. For the church, the celebration of Pentecost should re-ignite the child-like excitement of an upcoming party, with all the trimmings. Why not fill the sanctuary with red balloons that float in the Divine Ruach (Hebrew for wind and spirit), let the languages of children, often difficult for adults to translate, fill the sanctuary with sound. Celebrate the presence of God and dine at the Table of the Lord. Sing Happy Birthday to the church, and to each of us as we remember the day we were born into the church’s life.

Our world could use a place where there is joy and hope. The news is too often grim and depressing as it is. People struggle with the economy, and struggle to maintain their jobs or finding a job, struggle to see a purpose for their own lives. The Sanctuary needs to be that place of fulfillment and joy-filled hope. This summer our children and youth will be experiencing the camp theme ”Got Spirit.” It is a question to ask ourselves before we get to Pentecost. Do we see the Spirit of God in the world around us? If not, are we even looking for God in the world? Do we listen when that spirit-filled voice inside each of us speaks, or do we drown out the voice with noisiness? Do we rejoice in the Good News that is the gift of God, or do we think this news is for someone else?

Each of us is loved, each of us is given this Gospel of hope and promise. Open up that package. It is not to be saved for that special rainy day need. Open it every day and put it on, and taste it, and share it with other people. IT IS HERE FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!

Now, when Pentecost arrives you can join in the celebration. The concerns about whether to vacation or stay-cation, can be set aside for a time along with all the other worries and concerns that fill your life. The Gospel is an easy burden and its load is light. Rejoice in this gift again, like Paul, I say rejoice.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corder - April 2011

Pastor Darrell — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 22:46:37 GMT

This month is the celebration of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter Sunday. On Thursday, April 21, 2011, the Maundy Thursday Service will begin at 7:00 p.m. During the service we will share a time of recreating the Lord’s Supper and the celebration of Communion. Please come and celebrate this special service.

On Easter Sunday we will hold an Easter Egg hunt and celebration with the children during the Sunday school time. Bring your children and come and play, then join in worship and the celebration of the Empty Tomb and the promise of life.

What are we celebrating at the end of this month? What does it mean for us that God overthrew death and offered us the opportunity to become His heirs and brothers and sisters to Jesus. It means that we are more capable and are fully worthy of God’s love and grace. In the book Common Prayer, a Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, the readings for Easter include the following:

“Clarence Jordan, co-founder of Koinonia Farm, wrote, ‘The resurrection of Jesus was God’s unwillingness to take our “no” for an answer. He raised Jesus, not as an invitation to us to come to Heaven when we die, but as a declaration that he himself has now established permanent, eternal residence here on earth. He is standing beside us, strengthening us in his life. The good news of the resurrection of Jesus is not that we shall die and go home to be with him, but that he has risen and comes home with us, bringing all his hungry, naked, thirsty, sick, prisoner brothers with him.’”

No matter where we have been or what we have gone through, we are to build the community of God in this world to mirror the kingdom in heaven. Easter is the time to celebrate and live as Jesus taught and as God created us to live.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - March 2011

Pastor Darrell — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 01:16:53 GMT

Beginning with Ash Wednesday, on March 9th, we enter the season of Lent. According to Common Prayer; a Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, “Lent is the forty-day season of reflection and preparation for the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is a time of repentance, of considering Christ’s suffering and rethinking how we are called to take up our own crosses. Some of us have given up things like chocolate or television during this season as a sort of fasting, and others try to integrate something new into their lives, like visiting folks in prison, sewing clothes, exercising, or praying. It is a good season to rethink how we live and to let some things go, or maybe even to develop some new holy habits”.

Over the last year, nearing two years, we have all heard stories, known people, or been the ones impacted by the recession. We have been challenged to really examine what is important and necessary for our own lives. Unfortunately, these crises also cause many to “circle the wagons” to take care of their own and forget about those on the outside. We learned the concept of circling wagons from old westerns. It looked good for movies and TV, but in reality it wasn’t as successful, mainly because those attacking refused to ride around in a circle and face the fire from those inside. We circle the wagons and create a siege mentality, the only way to survive is to outlast the threat. We cannot open the circle to let anymore in because we might become more exposed.

Jesus taught the disciples to be aware of the most ignored areas of the community. He taught, healed and ate with people that were not the cream of society. They were thought of more as the dregs of society. During Lent, we, like Jesus, need to be more aware of those in our community who were never in a circle of wagons, because their wagons were taken away. We need to help lift those still suffering because they didn’t have the luck, the connections, the depth of resources, the family, the friends, the whatever to see them through to the other side (assuming we are coming out on the other side). We need to be aware that as we deal with budget challenges around the city, county, state and nation, that many human beings, many of God’s children will be part of what is cut, not just numbers.

Lent is a season of preparation that we may better appreciate and receive the justification with God. It is also a season when we must be aware that we are called to be justified with our neighbors as well. Justified means to be lined up with God; to be brought into balance again with our Creator. We also need to be brought back into balance with our brothers and sisters as well because justification is not a solo experience; it is to be communal. Jesus went to the cross not to justify only you or me, but to justify everyone. Use the 40 days of Lent to start reclaiming balance for yourself and for your neighbors.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - February 2011

Pastor Darrell — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:47:00 GMT

“Sharing brings Joy, to us, to others, to God.” This is the theme for this year’s Week of Compassion special offering. Week of Compassion is the name the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) use as our part of the greater program called “One Great Hour of Sharing” used by other denominations, (AME Zion, American Baptist, Church of the Brethren, Cumberland Presbyterian, Presbyterian USA, Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ) as their designation for a special offering to aid those who experience disasters worldwide.

Week of Compassion has responded to crisis all over the globe, from major natural disasters to the disasters created by war and political strife. Many of you are familiar with special efforts our congregation made specifically for global disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the Tsunami in SE Asia, Haiti’s earthquake and many others. But there are smaller less globally newsworthy events that need the help of Week of Compassion. Week of Compassion has been present to assist people affected by droughts, famines, tornados, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, etc, etc. Anytime a disaster has struck, Week of Compassion assesses the needs and works with our churches to assist those in need.

Naturally, the disasters keep coming whether there are any funds available, therefore, even though our focus on this offering is in February, we can contribute to the work of the Week of Compassion at any time of the year. If you would like to see where Week of Compassion has gone and what they have done, go to www.weekofcompassion.org.

An old Jewish proverb says that when you save the life of one person, you save all of humanity. No single person in the world is outside the love of God. Help those who help others around the world.

It is easy to become discouraged because disaster work can be so slow and seems to take forever. Work still needs to be done on the Gulf Coast to repair the damage from Katrina. A year has passed since the earthquake in Haiti and people still live in tent cities, and suffer from a hurricane and cholera epidemic. Floods have occurred in Australia, winter storms have damaged homes in the US and Europe, and it is only mid January (as I write this). We do not have to fix all the problems that occur but we do have to do our part. There is joy in knowing that we do good by helping others. Help share the Joy around the world.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - December 2010

Pastor Darrell — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 03:40:00 GMT

In the midst of the rush of Christmas, take time for fun. This is a time of celebration but we can get so busy attending parties and dinners and preparing for our own events that in the midst of all this work we fail to enjoy anything. HAVE FUN!!!

Therefore I am going to offer a bit of fun. I am going to list some “canticles from a divine natal celebration” (Christmas Carols). As the title indicted the names will be obscured through the use of stilted synonyms for the familiar names. Try to figure them out.
1. Weather: Cloudless. Arrival Time: 2400 hours
2. Initial Christmas
3. Query regarding identity of descendant
4. Move hitherward the entire assembly of those who are loyal in their belief
5. Listen, celestial messengers produce harmonious sounds
6. Nocturnal time span of unbroken quietness
7. An emotion excited by the acquisition of expectation of good given to the terrestrial sphere
8. Small municipality in Judea southeast of Jerusalem
9. Diminutive masculine master of the skin-covered percussionist cylinders
10. Omnipotent Supreme Being who elicits respite to ecstatic distinguished males
11. In awe of the nocturnal time span characterized by religiosity
12. In a distant location the existence of an improvised unit of newborn children’s slumber furniture

These are all songs that will probably be sung through the month of December and played on the radio and in the stores. These are all old songs that you will know by their proper titles. I will give you the real names, but they will be mixed up, just so you cannot inadvertently seek any edge in solving these names. The answers can be found on the calendar page.

This is the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is a time of great joy, not of great busyness. The angels shared the news of “great joy for all people”. The shepherds sang praises to God in thanksgiving. They didn’t overload themselves with activities in the hope that they might actually truly celebrate this arrival. Gather with family and friends to have fun. Attend services and special events to explore ways of giving thanks for this great gift. Reach out to others and share joy and gladness, especially when they are struggling. It may not solve a problem, but it will help to lift their spirits.

1. Away in a manger
2. It came upon a midnight clear
3. O holy night
4. O come all ye faithful
5. God rest ye merry gentlemen
6. The first noel
7. Little drummer boy
8. What child is this
9. O little town of Bethlehem
10. Hark, the herald angels sing
11. Joy to the World
12. Silent night

I hope that you have a wonderful time sharing these with others. I pray that this season will be a blessing to all in your family and friends. Become the blessing others may seek. Now, Jovial Yuletide desired for the second person singular or plural by us ( We wish you a Merry Christmas and a God filled New Year.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - November 2010

Pastor Darrell — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 22:03:00 GMT

When I was in high school chemistry, a friend and I asked the teacher if we could do an extra credit lab. We wanted to combine nitrogen and glycerin; and make nitroglycerin. Needless to say, the teacher said “no”, with great enthusiasm. As parents we have all been asked by our children for things that they wanted but would not be either good or necessary for them to have. As adults, we realize that sometimes there are more important things to give than merely what someone asks to receive.

For the last several years we have participated in Franklin Graham’s “Shoebox Christmas” program. This ministry provides boxes of gifts to needy children and evangelizes to their communities. This is a worthy program. However, is there a way to provide a longer term witness to the heart of Christianity? Is there a way to give to needy families that would last longer and provide greater hope not just to the children, but also to their entire family?

Heifer International began when its founder, Dan West, was providing cups of milk to hungry children during the Spanish-American War. As he gave out the milk rations, he realized that these children needed more than a small cup of milk; they needed a cow. He went home and arranged for the shipment of cows to hungry people. In 1944, the first shipment of heifers went to Puerto Rico. He decided on sending heifers with the stipulation that the family who received the cow would give someone else in their community the female offspring of that cow. In this way, not only would one family have a source of food and income, but it would extend to others in the community and thus the gift would multiply.

What has this to do with our church? Let me paint a picture. We have sent an average of 25 shoeboxes over the past several years. Assuming that we spend $20 packing and shipping these boxes, we invest $500 in providing a gift that will provide only a short term benefit. For that same $500 our congregation can send a cow to a hungry family and start a chain of gifts that benefit and feed more than just one family.

Anyone who wishes to participate in the Shoebox Christmas may do so; we have shoeboxes at the church for that. I would like to suggest that we attempt to raise enough money to buy a heifer through Heifer International. If you want to investigate this charity go to www.heifer.org. I have a musical box in the shape of a cow, not to promote Mr. Cathy’s business, but it could be a focal point, especially for children to get them involved. After all, how often have you told someone you bought a cow for a Christmas gift?

This Christmas, let’s truly act in the spirit of God by giving gifts that reach out and feed not only an individual, but as a community. Let us feed Jesus’ lambs.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - October 2010

Pastor Darrell — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 01:12:00 GMT

Please forgive me for what I am about to do. There are only 95 days left until Christmas. The only reason I am pointing this out now is to offer a suggestion for celebrating the birth of Jesus in a different manner than Madison Avenue’s version. As we are all aware, everyone’s budget is tight due to the state of the economy. Many are out of work or working for a lot less than they may have done in the last few years. People are forced to make very hard decisions about what they can afford in their lives. As Christians, we should look at our “traditional” manner of celebrating the Christmas holiday and adjust it to reflect the reality of the people around us.

I am not suggesting that family gatherings and decorated homes should be dropped. I am pointing specifically to our tendency to go overboard with presents. Spending more than is comfortable because “it’s Christmas” is not the lesson of the one who’s birth we celebrate. Jesus was the gift to us, and the only other gifts mentioned in the Nativity stories were the gifts of the Magi given to Jesus. Mary and Joseph did not give each other expensive jewelry or gizmos. As a matter of fact, there is no mention of them doing anything for each other.

Start looking around now for special ways to share the spirit of Christmas in ways that reflect the Christian understanding that we give to honor the Christ child, not to impress the recipients of our gifts. Some possible “gifts” that can be given to adults would be gifts in their name to a special charity. A gift made by hand, not in the manner of a child’s gift to a parent, but a gift of time and talent spent for that person.

Family events can focus on giving as well. Contact the local Habitat office and volunteer as a family. Get on the schedule to volunteer at the soup kitchen or food pantry or clothing closet. Obviously, the time immediately around the holidays are prime targets, so be willing to look around outside the holiday time and make it a special family holiday event. Other things that could be done could be directed to the families in the Ronald McDonald House, Children’s Hospital, or a nursing home in the area. For example, as a family bake and decorate cookies and deliver them to shut ins or elderly neighbors who have no local family.

Make a family effort of selecting from an Angel Tree and getting something that involves everyone in the choosing of the gift. Let even the youngest children, even if they need extra guidance, be involved in the act of buying, wrapping and delivering the gift. Connect the giving of gifts to the giving of gifts to baby Jesus.

I was listening to the last program of the radio show “Speaking of Faith” and they were sharing some of the broadcast interviews that have really spoken to the crew and to the listeners. The part that really grabbed my attention was an interview with a man who works with impoverished people following Hurricane Katrina. He was talking about how we respond to people in need and what it teaches our children. If the only response our children see involves opening of the wallet or the checkbook, they may never see or connect with the people we are helping.

Another person was sharing a story about baking a cake for his mother, an RN, as a surprise for her when she got off work. As he started he realized that he had no eggs for the cake mix. He remembered his mother telling stories about how the community would share with each other, especially when times were hard. If you needed a cup of sugar or a couple of eggs, you asked your neighbors and they provided if they could. So he went across the street and borrowed two eggs. His mother’s joy was diminished as he shared his tale. Today, what used to be borrowing from a neighbor to be returned in kind has transferred into begging. We live in our isolated shells called home, and hide from the interactions of the people around us.

How many of you know the real condition of your neighbors? Are they healthy; are they struggling; are they in crisis?

As we approach Advent and Christmas, the community of Christ needs to reclaim a greater sense of community. Give the gifts of community to your family and friends. Embrace a stable born child, visit that infant in the manger and get to know the other people offering their gifts of lambs, frankincense, myrrh and gold.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - September 2010

Pastor Darrell — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:34:00 GMT

Most of us manage to keep our homes looking neat on a day to day basis. Sometimes during stress filled times we let it slide a bit. However, when word arrives that company is coming, the clean genie goes into overdrive. Vacuuming, dusting, tidying, scrubbing, etc., etc., all must be done immediately. After all, we want to make a good impression, more so for guests than we would always do for family. This is normal. I remember Mom going into overdrive when church events were to be held at our house, when my sister and I had graduation open houses, or when she hosted family holiday gatherings. Denise and I pitched in, whenever we couldn’t find a better place to hide or to be.

As a church family, we are seriously looking at a major investment in time and resources to remodel and update our fellowship hall building. We are also looking to do the work and pay for it by taking out a loan, something this congregation has rarely done. Why go to this length? Why not just make do? Why not do what we can as we can?

If this were our family home, I would agree that we do what we can as we can. However, this is God’s home and we are its stewards. This place is for us, but it is also for many others to enter and find God’s presence in a variety of ways. We are to be the hosts for God’s guests. We have to make an extra effort.

We have all seen the rotten soffits, the leaks from the roof, the spots on the carpet from glue leaking through. We have seen how crowded it can get in the main fellowship hall as well as in the kitchen when we host events. Remember how tight it was during the 50th anniversary of the congregation? We also know that we lose a lot of money on energy expenses because of the older, thinner windows.

Pretend that you are new to our church; now look at the condition of the fellowship hall. Does it truly represent the people of our church? Does it show how we really feel about our God? Does it look like a place for on going ministries? Honestly answer these questions.

We already host three different outside groups in that building. We just served a Boy Scout group who were bumped from another church and they filled the place. We already do a lot of ministry in this space. Let’s make it a better space for strangers to enter and become a part of the family.

Some have suggested that we wait until the economy is better. This is reasonable. However, we are a people who act from faith. Yes, we weigh all the factors so we don’t make the mistakes of the poor planners in the Gospels, but we also look with the eyes of faith at what this congregation can do when we choose to do so. We have helped with disaster relief through our gifts. We have sent volunteers to work Miracle Days in Dublin and at Camp Christian. We have even exceeded our pace in Outreach giving to date over 2009. We are the people of God in this place, and we can do great things if we will exercise our faith. We can do this!

We are NOT redoing the fellowship hall for our present congregation. Yes, we will benefit from it, but we do this for the future ministry it can provide. As I said before, three groups already use the fellowship hall. From these groups we have a potential to reach out to these groups in ministry. We can also open the doors to other groups, such as the Scouts who were here in August. We can also serve the greater community. In the 10 years I have been here, Georgia has been fortunate enough to not have a hurricane come ashore. We are at the end of the emergency escape route for people along the GA coast. We can become better suited as an emergency shelter for brothers and sisters escaping nature’s threats. Our women, men, and youth ministries can also be enhanced with a better space to host district and regional events.

We do not approach this work with an idea of what we can do with the fellowship hall today, but rather how God can put it to use tomorrow. Pray about this, talk about this, listen to the leading of God about this. Then, we can step forward in faith to minister as God’s stewards.

Shalom, Darrell

Pastor's Corner - August 2010

Pastor Darrell — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:15:00 GMT

Have you seen the emails that circulate over and over again about things like cell phone companies releasing all of our numbers to telemarketers or Congress passing legislation that would stop all religious broadcasting or passing a tax on all emails? These are all false and have been shown to be false over and over again; yet every few years they resurface with great vigor and are passed by well meaning and concerned people. Sometimes these people are so convinced of the truth of these tales that they fight and resist any attempt to point out the fallacy of the information.

We also get defensive about many issues to the point of escalating anger and discord among former friends and associates. We have forgotten how to converse and discuss without passing judgment upon the person taking a different understanding of whatever issue is being discussed.

In the June 1, 2010 issue of The Christian Century, page 45, Rodney Clapp’s column ”American Soundings” discusses the history of the jeremiad (a lament or tale of woe) as a way of calling people back to their senses during times of great division. He quotes Abraham Lincoln’s second Inaugural Address of March 4, 1865.

“Both read the same Bible to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing the bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The almighty has His own purposes.”

Both sides in the Civil War committed terrible crimes against innocents as well as against soldiers. As Christians, to demand that God be on our side in all matters trends toward childishness. We are instructed over and over in the Bible to love one another and to seek justice and do kindness to each other. Yet we still insist that we know exactly what God wants of us on every topic and that God’s wrath should be poured out upon those who disagree. In fact, the idea that they disagree with us shows how ungodly they truly have become. The North prayed for a defeat of the South and the South prayed for the defeat of the North. Although history declares that the North won, looking at the cost to lives in the entire nation and the ongoing struggle for real freedom and justice for everyone throughout the whole nation, I venture that the victory declared by the Union was bittersweet and still incomplete.

In Lincoln’s words, we find the pattern for discourse among Christians as well as US citizen’s over issues that divide us. Pray to God and ask for guidance while accepting that God’s answer will not always be exactly what we have asked of God. Pray that God’s answer will challenge each side to strive for deeper understanding while still demanding that we love each other as God first loved each of us. Listen to the Grace of God and not the vitriol of the media that we might all be seen as Christians by our love.

Shalom, Darrell