Cover to Cover

Whew!  The Holidays are almost over and I’m still trying to catch my breath.  What a time of year it it… the hustling… the bustling… the gift giving… the gift receiving… and the gift returning!  Ha ha.  I hope you got just what you wanted for Christmas this year and, more importantly, I hope you were able to give just what you wanted this year.  What’s the greatest gift you received?  I’ll tell you that one of the greatest gifts we have ever received has been the gift of God’s Word.  As I sit this morning and stare at the Bible on my desk I think about how I so often take it for granted.  Here I have the complete revelation of God before me… his introduction of himself to me… his love letter to me telling of his undying love for me… his strategy guidebook to playing the game of life… his instruction manual and map for my life… I am again awestruck to have received such an incredible and awesome gift!!

 

I am beginning a new challenge THIS week… and I am asking every member at Washington Street to join me in reading through the Bible from “cover to cover” in 2009.  I’ve been talking about it a little bit from the pulpit and this Sunday I will explain a bit more.  I will be preaching in January a short “mini-series” designed to be an encouraging “primer” for our study together through the rest of the year, but January 1^st is Thursday, so let’s get started!  Here’s what we are encouraging everyone to do:

·        Pick up a “From Cover to Cover” Reading Schedule from the bulletin board in the church auditorium, from the church office, or from the church website

·        Sign up on the bulletin board or from the website & commit to read thru it with me

·        Sit down with your favorite Bible in the translation of your choice & start reading!

 

Most days will cover between three and four chapters.  We are beginning in Genesis and reading straight through to Revelation.  Won’t you join us?  What a super blessing this will be to the whole church all year long!

 

New Year’s blessings,

Jim

Merry Christmas from the Blacks!

The annual taking of the Christmas card picture is usually nothing short of torture at our house... but this year it went really well.  As we wish all of you a very Merry Christmas here are a few Christmas memories we share with you.  And YES... I didn't say Happy Holidays!  Merry Christmas!

[gallery link="file"]

A Grown Up Christmas List

A Christmas Note from Our Family to Yours…

I cannot believe that it is time once again for the annual "Christmas Letter."  It has been something of a tradition in our church for those of us who serve as ministers to pause and reflect on the year and to write a “Christmas note” to everyone.  I cannot believe the year has already passed… it has gone by so quickly.  What a year it has been!

 

My family still counts it a tremendous blessing to be a part of this wonderful church family.  You have blessed us FAR beyond any way we have served you.  Your friendships have held us up, your encouragement has lifted us up and your commitment to the Lord and his work has spurred us on.  It has been a great year for our family.  God has blessed in so many ways.  Andy is in third grade and played football for Riverside this year.  While I wasn’t’ so sure I wanted to encourage football so young, I found that I couldn’t hold him back… he thoroughly enjoyed it and after his first touchdown has decided to go pro when he is old enough for the draft.  David, likewise, has become quite the football fanatic despite being too young to play “officially”.  He is loving first grade, becoming quite the prolific reader and can tell you all the stats & scores for the College and pro football season so far.  Michael, our youngest and loudest, loves running… throwing… diving… falling… tumbling and crashing, though not necessarily in that order.  He started school this year and absolutely loves “Pre-Kindergarten”!  With all of the boys in school now, Celeste has gone back to full time work as Riverside’s PE teacher.  Most every day you’ll find her keeping the kids at school active, playing fair and running out some of their energy around the gym!  The teachers love her… and most of the kids!  It has been a busy year for us and now looking back, I’m not sure where all the time has gone… but it has been a great one!  Thank you for being one of the special people in our lives who have made it so!

 

A “Grown-up” Christmas List

If you’re looking for the ‘perfect’ Christmas gift to give that special preacher in your life this year,  (Hint Hint!)… this is what would REALLY make him happy! 

• Buy Christmas gifts for a family in need this year… I have enough ties and really don’t like them anyway.


• Donate some food to our food pantry… I’m really fat enough.


• Donate some money to our Honduras Fund to help us make another trip next summer


• Purchase a table & chairs for the church in Honduras ($65) by sending the money in to the church office with a note for that purpose


• Make a donation to a local charity… Hands of Mercy Outreach Center, Children’s Advocacy Center, The Child Development Center, Riverside Christian Academy or to our Benevolence ministry here.


• Donate to our building fund

RCA Bible Class

I talk a whole lot from the pulpit and in my Bible classes about my RCA class and how special the kids are to me.  For those of you who don't know, I have been teaching a Bible class down at Riverside Christian Academy in the mornings for the last 3 1/2 years.  I can't believe the time has just flown by!  It's really a lot of fun!  For the last couple of years I have been teaching Seniors... about to graduate... about to set off on their own.  It's a great time to talk with them about important things that really matter to them and we have a great time doing it.

If you've ever wondered what I do down there... I just thought I'd let you know that I have been posting this semester's curriculum on this blog.  You can look at all of the handouts/ study guides and the syllabus by clicking on the "RCA Class" tab above.  I try to keep this site updated for my students so that they can access the study guides if (and WHEN) they lose the copy I give them in class.  For now, I'm keeping the exams to myself... but if anyone would like a copy of one to take at home, let me know.  I might be able to hook you up... but you'll have to let me grade you on it!

First semester has been a re-cap of the new testament from somewhat of a theological standpoint.  We've looked at Jesus' parables, his miracles, his major teachings and at how he described himself to the people.  We've focused on the church these last few weeks... looking at images of the church, conversion stories in Acts and at the practices that define God's people- baptism & Lord's Supper.  Maybe you'll find it interesting... its been a great semester!  Next semester we're going to turn and focus on "Finding Our Way"... and at the unique way God is preparing each one of us for service in his Kingdom.  I'll be posting that info in the coming weeks!

How to Play the Game of LIFE

Jesus told his followers that he came to bring LIFE... LIFE abundant, LIFE complete, LIFE full and LIFE eternal!  Check out John 10:10 this week... one of my favorite verses in all the Bible.  Life can also, however, be a real bear!  The stuff that this world has to throw at us can really get us down.  It can complicate life.  It can confuse life.  And it can make life hard to bare at times.  Have you ever been knocked down in the "game of life"?  Have other players lapped you around the board?  Have they built more hotels than you and sent you to jail 'without passing go'?  LIFE is the game we are all in and the hard-knocks of life affect every one of us.  Beginning this Sunday we are going to be taking a look at LIFE... at the life the world has to throw at us AND the LIFE that God has come to restore unto us.  It will be a series of lessons in simple and practical Christian living.  How does God call us out of the "rat-race" of living in this world and in to the eternal LIFE of Kingdom living?  That is the question for all of us who call ourselves Christians and struggle to balance the priorities of LIFE in this game we all must play.

religious right RIP??

This is from a friend's blog that I think gets this just right!  Having finished our "Faith & Politics" series, I think this article says what I have been trying to.

Religious Right R.I.P.

Cal Thomas gets it right...

When Barack Obama takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2009, he will do so in the 30th anniversary year of the founding of the so-called Religious Right. Born in 1979 and midwifed by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, the Religious Right was a reincarnation of previous religious-social movements that sought moral improvement through legislation and court rulings. Those earlier movements — from abolition (successful) to Prohibition (unsuccessful) — had mixed results.

Social movements that relied mainly on political power to enforce a conservative moral code weren’t anywhere near as successful as those that focused on changing hearts. The four religious revivals, from the First Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s to the Fourth Great Awakening in the late 1960s and early ’70s, which touched America and instantly transformed millions of Americans (and American culture as a result), are testimony to that.Thirty years of trying to use government to stop abortion, preserve opposite-sex marriage, improve television and movie content and transform culture into the conservative Evangelical image has failed. The question now becomes: should conservative Christians redouble their efforts, contributing more millions to radio and TV preachers and activists, or would they be wise to try something else?

 

I opt for trying something else.

Too many conservative Evangelicals have put too much faith in the power of government to transform culture. The futility inherent in such misplaced faith can be demonstrated by asking these activists a simple question: Does the secular left, when it holds power, persuade conservatives to live by their standards? Of course they do not. Why, then, would conservative Evangelicals expect people who do not share their worldview and view of God to accept their beliefs when they control government?

Too many conservative Evangelicals mistake political power for influence. Politicians who struggle with imposing a moral code on themselves are unlikely to succeed in their attempts to impose it on others. What is the answer, then, for conservative Evangelicals who are rightly concerned about the corrosion of culture, the indifference to the value of human life and the living arrangements of same- and opposite-sex couples?

The answer depends on the response to another question: do conservative Evangelicals want to feel good, or do they want to adopt a strategy that actually produces results? Clearly partisan politics have not achieved their objectives. Do they think they can succeed by committing themselves to 30 more years of the same?

If results are what conservative Evangelicals want, they already have a model. It is contained in the life and commands of Jesus of Nazareth. Suppose millions of conservative Evangelicals engaged in an old and proven type of radical behavior. Suppose they followed the admonition of Jesus to “love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison and care for widows and orphans,” not as ends, as so many liberals do by using government, but as a means of demonstrating God’s love for the whole person in order that people might seek Him?

Such a strategy could be more “transformational” than electing a new president, even the first president of color. But in order to succeed, such a strategy would not be led by charismatic figures, who would raise lots of money, be interviewed on Sunday talk shows, author books and make gobs of money.

Scripture teaches that God’s power (if that is what conservative Evangelicals want and not their puny attempts at grabbing earthly power) is made perfect in weakness. He speaks of the tiny mustard seed, the seemingly worthless widow’s mite, of taking the last place at the table and the humbling of one’s self, the washing of feet and similar acts and attitudes; the still, small voice. How did conservative Evangelicals miss this and instead settle for a lesser power, which in reality is no power at all? When did they settle for an inferior “kingdom”?

Evangelicals are at a junction. They can take the path that will lead them to more futility and ineffective attempts to reform culture through government, or they can embrace the far more powerful methods outlined by the One they claim to follow. By following His example, they will decrease, but He will increase. They will get no credit, but they will see results. If conservative Evangelicals choose obscurity and seek to glorify God, they will get much of what they hope for, but can never achieve, in and through politics.

a post-election funny

Just thought I'd share a good funny on this post-election day. 

My middle son, David, who is six, has been very interested in the campaign and election yesterday.  I made them go to bed last night before many of the returns had started coming in... much to their disappointment.  They all wanted to know who was going to be the next President.  So, when I went in to wake them up this morning the first words out of David's mouth (even before peaking out from under the covers) was, "Who won the election?"  I told him, "Well, son, like I told you last night it looks like its going to be Obama."  He immediately responded... "What was the score?"

"Let us pray..." -Abraham Lincoln

As the civil war loomed and the nation was divided... what did President Lincoln do?  Pass a bailout package?  Blame his political opponents?  Ban the press from interviews?  Use the words "change" and "hope" a lot more?  No... he called the country to get down on its knees and PRAY. 

 

In fact he said, "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."

 

This is Lincoln's Presidential Proclamation he signed into law in April of 1830.  If only we had leaders with the strength of his convictions today.

 

President Abraham Lincoln's Proclamation:

 

A Day Of National Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer

in the The United States Of America on April 30, 1863

 

  

WHEREAS, the senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and Just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has by a resolution, required the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation:

 

And whereas, it is the duty of nations as as well as of men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord:

 

And, in so much as we know that, by His divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

 

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request , and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

 

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

 

In witness whereof, I have here unto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

 

Done at the city of Washington this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventy.

 

By the President:

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

 

William H. Seward, Secretary of State

the issue isn't the issue

I'm just about tired of all the campaign commercials and political advertising.  Okay, I've been tired of it since about MARCH... but alas now we can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.  With only two weeks left till the general election, the candidates are ratcheting up their rhetoric... but its ALMOST OVER! 

I keep hearing that the candidates should be talking about the issues.  THAT'S what the American people want to hear about.  I'm not sure about everyone else, but I'm kinda sick of hearing about the "issues" myself, because I'm pretty sure that the issues aren't the issue.  Everybody is talking about the problems that face the country... there's the economic crisis, the war in Iraq, the global war on terror, the need for better & more affordable healthcare for every American, overwhelming poverty, abortion, same-sex marriage, etc.  The list is endless, really.  But I wonder... what's the #1, fundamental problem facing EVERY American?  Sin, isn't it?  Aren't we (as a people) in the shape we're in because of SIN... not just sin in a personal sense, but SIN in an institutional sense.  The truth is, its not just individuals who have "sinned and fallen short" but our entire world is fallen as a result.  SIN has so wreaked havoc in our world that we speak not only of lost souls, but we can speak of a fallen world.  And isn't that why we have the problems that we have... from abortion to the war to the economic failure?

Isn't the fundamental, bottom-line ultimately a spiritual problem?  If so, can we really "fix it" with a political solution?  I don't think so.  So, what is the "fix"?  This Sunday I'm going to pose this question... as we just have two more weeks left till the election, it may be a good time to stop and think... "Just what DO we expect a new President to do?"  Can either one of them really address "the issue" with a viable solution?  Can we?

a prayer for our nation...

Okay, Lord... You Have Our Attention

Our friends lost their house
The co-worker lost her job
The couple next door lost their retirement
It seems that everyone is losing their footing

This scares us. This bailout with billions.
These rumblings of depression.
These headlines: ominous, thunderous-
“Going Broke!” “Going Down!” “Going Under!” “What Next?”

What is next?

We’re listening. And we’re admitting: You were right.

You told us this would happen.
You shot straight about loving stuff and worshipping money.
Greed will break your heart, you warned.
Money will love you and leave you.
Don’t put your hope in riches that are so uncertain.

You were right. Money is a fickle lover and we just got dumped.

We were wrong to spend what we didn’t have,
Wrong to neglect prayer and ignore the poor,
Wrong to think we ever earned a dime. We didn’t. You gave it. And now, tell us Father, are you taking it?

We’re listening. And we’re praying.
Could you make something good out of this mess?

Of course you can. You always have.
You led slaves out of slavery,
Built temples out of ruins,
Turned stormy waves into a glassy pond and water into sweet wine.
This disorder awaits your order. So do we.

Through Christ,
Amen

God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day,
and he will not be slow to answer them. (Lk. 18:7 NCV)

The problem of dual citizenship

Politically Incorrect

I want to thank everyone for the positive response to last Sunday’s introduction to my latest sermon series, “Politically Incorrect.”  I have always wondered why we are so hesitant to talk about politics at church?  If our faith helps us in the major aspects of life (how to worship, how to serve God, how to love our family members) then shouldn’t it also inform our political thought as well?  Whether we realize it or not, our faith plays a huge role in our politics… in how we view the world and in what we consider to be important.  If the church doesn’t speak to the significant moral and ethical issues of our time, who will?  Are we prepared to leave it up the world to decide our nation’s “politics”?  Or do we have a responsibility to the world?  As we discussed last week, we DON'T have a responsibility to be “salt” and “light” to the world around us.  That’s “politics” isn’t it?

 

Another reason why we need to focus on this “intersection of faith & politics” is because of the upcoming election.  Elections are exciting!  They are full of twists and turns (at least this one has been).  They are also an opportunity for a renewed or fresh start every four years.  Regardless of where you are “politically” on this election cycle, we can ALL agree that we need to be in prayer over the election.  We can all agree that we as a nation want God to bless America and for God to guide our nation’s leaders.  Of course, our hope is ultimately not in either this country, its economy or its leaders… but in God and HIS kingdom.  That’s the thought behind next Sunday’s lesson, “The Problem of Dual Citizenship.”  While we, as Christians, are called to be salt and light to the world (cf. Matt. 5:13-16) we must also remember that we are first and foremost citizens of a much greater kingdom!  And OUR king is much greater than any candidate that we’ll consider on November 4^th!  This week read Mark 12:13-17 and ask yourself what Jesus was saying about our relationship to the 'kingdoms' of the world.

Some comments I've gotten...

I can't believe all of the comments I have recieved after announcing that I was going to tackle the subject of "Faith & Politics" for the next four Sundays!  I've never recieved as many comments (good, bad or indifferent) from ANY sermon I've ever preached... especially BEFORE it has even been delivered.  I wonder what people are afraid I will say?  I wonder what people expect me to say?  Below are just a sampling of e-mails I've gotten from my Facebook page as well as e-mail... the names are left off to protect the innocent & the guilty!  Remember, the question was "Can you talk about politics at church?"

"I remember someone who tried to talk about politics in synagogue...I don't think it went very well for him."

 

"I guess it depends if anyone from the IRS attends there."

 

"just remind everyone that we (BOTH sides) need to stop expecting the government to do what Christ designated as the church's responsibility." 

 

"The fact that I've typed and re-typed my reply about six times is a sure sign we shouldn't." 

 

"You do have freedom of speech, but depending on what you would say...  Your family could crash at our place if it ended badly.  Or...  you could just blame Brad!" 

 

"NOT from the pulpit! We have had problems with this at our church recently! I think it is a bad idea!" 

 

"and make everyone happy! sticky one!" 

 

"Can discuss current events and political issues of moral significance--but advocate for a candidate and it will threaten your tax exempt status.  And also half the congregation will disagree with you and get mad. :)"

 

"take a lesson from an old man... Its not a good idea..."

 

   Your lesson topic on "Faith & Politics" is interesting.  You are a brave soul!  Would love to be there to hear them.  I have been "forbidden" by a couple of my elders to even mention it.  I am really struggling with that, in a time when I feel I NEED to be vocal.

   Let's keep praying. 

 

"If you figure that out, let us all know!"

 

"Poor Jim - Everyone expects you to back a candidate!  Show them the true way!  Point to "that one" who died on the cross for us.  Following Christ is politics - it smashes the Republicans and Democrats by reminding them they they are part of a fallen world that offers no true hope to their followers."

 

"You can talk about politics as long as you don't talk about Republicans, Democrats, Politicians, Issues, Mistakes, or Solutions.  Everything else is fair game."

 

 

Can you talk about politics at church?

I can remember one of the first things said to me when I began preaching was, "Just stay out of politics... it'll only get you into trouble."  I laughed about it then, but considered it sound advice.  Yet here I am, some years later, facing one of the biggest "political" decisions I've ever faced... coming Nov. 4th and another Presidential election.  While this decision may not rank up there with the all time greatest decisions ever, it is still rather significant.  Who am I to vote for... if I vote at all?  I have conflicting opinions.  Neither of the candidates fully represent the platform I would wish that they would.  There are things about both of the candidates that I like... and certainly things about both of them that I don't like.  I find myself in a quandary.  I've even been tempted to follow the way of David Lipscomb and abstain from voting at all... but I'm not sure that's the best approach.

This has not only already been one of the longest campaigns in history, it has been one of the most interesting.  I can't think of an election in modern times where religion has played such a dominant role.  Beginning in the primary season when one of the major candidates was an ordained Baptist minister, through the controversies surrounding Barak Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, right up until today as Sarah Palin has faced questions about her roots in a Pentecostal church... the question of faith has been a recurring theme. 

So, I've decided that since this is such a major issue in our nation and community today... I can't ignore it from the pulpit.  Beginning this Sunday I am inviting the congregation to explore with me the intersection of faith and politics.  What is the relationship of our faith to our politics?  What should it be?  I have already recieved more comments than I have ever gotten about a sermon that I haven't even preached yet... so let me hear from you!  What do you think?

on second thought... baptism IS important

As I stated before we ever began this last month's study on baptism, it is important!  In fact, it may be even more important than we ever thought it was.  Having concluded the series now, here is a short list of reasons why I believe baptism is more important than we may have ever thought...

1. Jesus did it


2. Jesus told his disciples to go and do it


3. it boldly proclaims the gospel in the picture of death, burial & resurrection


4. it is an outward sign of our inward repentance proclaiming our own death to sin & resurrection to new life


5. it is a promise to be faithful to God and recognition of his faithfulness to us


6. it is where we are united/ joined to Christ


7. it is a common experience we share with other believers in the church


8. it is where our sins are washed away and forgiven forever!


9. it is where we are promised that we will recieve the gift of the Holy Spirit which empowers us to face the temptations that tomorrow hold

Was your baptism an important event in your life?  Can you remember it?  How does that memory encourage and strengthen you to this day?

Concluding "Of Water & the Spirit"

I hope that our month-long congregational study on New Testament baptism has been as much a blessing to you as it has to me.  If you learned just one tenth as much as I did, then it was a tremendous success!  As I said, and I hope you found it to be true, no matter how much we thought we knew about the subject, there is always more to glean from the Scriptures. Churches of Christ have long emphasized the importance and necessity of baptism, but I think it may be even more important than we have ever thought.  I hope you have been convinced as well.

 

I appreciate Brad filling in for me last weekend and for the excellent lesson he brought.  If there is one thing that we sometimes neglect about baptism, it is how it was meant to draw all Christians together in unity.  As we unite with Christ in baptism, he adds us to his church and that is something we all share in common.  How sad that this unifying act of baptism has been used through the centuries to divide.  It just goes to show you how people can really mess up a good thing.

 

We will be wrapping up the study this Sunday from the pulpit with one final lesson, "the promise of baptism" where we will be looking at another often overlooked aspect of baptism and that is the promise of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:38).  What is the Spirit's role in baptism?  To get ready for the lesson I suggest you go back to Acts 2 and re-read Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost and then look at the crowd's reaction.  Make special note of what Peter told them to do in response to hearing the good news.  Then go back and re-read Luke 3:21-22 and ask yourself, "Why was Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, the sinless Son of God, baptized?  Did he 'have to'?"

  On Sunday evening, we will be having a panel discussion to conclude the series, "Down in the River."  No, we won't be going to the river, but I do hope and pray that we may need to put our baptistry to good use!  A panel of Sunday school teachers, Elders and maybe a deacon or two will be addressing any "loose end" questions which may have come up in our discussion.  I'll be serving as moderator.  It will not be a debate, but rather an open discussion on the meaning and importance for us today.  Come prepared with any questions you may still have!  You can drop me a line anytime this week with questions that you would like to see us address.

the covenant of baptism

This past Sunday I latched on a metaphor I got from F. LaGard Smith's book, Baptism: the believer's wedding ceremony and tried to explore how baptism functions as that event which forever unites the penitent believer to Jesus.  He of course drew the analogy from the numerous texts in the New Testament which liken our relationship with Christ to that of a marriage.  We are "united to Christ" in baptism (cf. Rom 6) and we are called the "bride of Christ." 

Its an analogy that works really well, I think, for a number of reasons.  One, it emphasizes the covenental aspect of baptism.  It is the "pledge of a good conscience towards God"... a promise to be faithful to him because of what he has done for us.  Two, it emphasizes that baptism is about relationship over ritual.  While some have viewed baptism simply as a command to be obeyed that God put out there just to see if we would do it.  It is more about being united to God.  Its not some hoop to jump through, a rung to be climbed or a box to be checked.  Its about entering into a joyous union with your best friend!  Third, it reveals baptism as an expression of love... not duty.  The question shouldn't be, "Do I HAVE to be baptized in order to be saved?"  It ought to be, "You mean I GET TO be baptized?"  The Ethiopian eunuch didn't respond to the gospel by asking, "Do I HAVE to?" but rather he saw water and said, "What is keeping me from it?"  Finally, thinking about baptism in these terms emphasizes that it is just the beginning of our Christian walk... not the goal.  Too often we forget that the newly baptized aren't yet "full grown" and they will need help along the way... help from older brothers and sisters in the faith.  Let's not leave them as infants to care for themselves!

Ocassionally I get a response from people to my lessons.  One response that I heard was from a lady who shared that her marriage wasn't a good one at all and so the analogy didn't really work for her.  I think that is so sad, but I think that it does emphasize the importance of being faithful to our baptisms.  Just as unfaithfulness in marriage can destroy those relationships, unfaithfulness to our baptism covenant with God can destroy our relationship with him.  Of course, he is never unfaithful... but sometimes we are.  In so many ways we fail to live up to that promise to always love him, always cherish, and always obey.  That may be the most powerful lesson from this metaphor that I can think of... and something that didn't even occur to me until I heard this response.  Isn't that the very problem that Paul was addressing in Romans 6?  The Roman Christians were continuing in their sin EVEN after their baptism and Paul scolds them by telling them that to continue in sin is contrary to the meaning of their baptism.  Thoughts?  In what ways can we demonstrate faithfulness to the covenant of baptism?

cookies & coke for communion.... and flag-burning?

Okay, I am sure that the word has already gotten out... they're talking about cookies and coca cola for communion over at Washington Street.  AND the preacher's a flag-burner!  Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I just know how rumors get out.  Well, this one actually has some truth to it...

One of the things I hear about baptism from some of our religious friends is that baptism is "just a symbol"... that it is an "outward sign of an inward grace."  I agree with them up to a point.  The outward act of baptism is meaningless unless it includes a genuine penitent heart.  What God cares about is the surrender of our hearts to him, not just our bodies to the water.  And yet... I don't think that negates the importance and even the necessity of that visual, symbolic act of baptism.  The truth is that symbols mean something.  Take for example our nation's flag, as I did this morning.  It isn't particularly creative in design.  the material is like hundreds of other fabrics and it isn't that expensive to purchase one.  it is "just a symbol."  So, what would cause men and women to give their lives to protect it?  What would prompt Francis Scott Key to write his ode to it which would become our national anthem?  What would happen if I lit it on fire before our church this morning?  I got out a match and acted like I might just to get a reaction.  One gentleman told me afterwards that he would have thrown ME in the baptistry if I had done it... and I wouldn't be coming up!  Yikes! 

What about the Lord's Supper?  We know, don't we, that the bread and the fruit of the vine (i.e. Welch's) are "just symbols".  They aren't ACTUALLY the body and blood of Jesus.  They only symbolically represent the body and blood.  So, what if I substituted cookies and coke next week?  Maybe the point is overstated, but I think you get it... I hope everyone did at church this morning.  Symbols mean something!  We wouldn't desecrate the symbol of the flag and we wouldn't substitute the symbols of the Lord's Supper.

Why, then, do some want to do that with baptism?  Replacing the mode of baptism with sprinkling or pouring for convenience sake misses the whole point.  The visual symbol of the water burial is important.  It publicly proclaims the gospel (the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus) AND it publicly proclaims our own death to sin, desire to leave it behind and resurrection to new life.  A powerful symbol, indeed.

one way to do it!

We're talking about baptism this month... here's ONE way to do it!

the "work" of baptism

 

I believe that a lot of churches have not recognized the importance of baptism to our Christian walk because they have viewed it as a “work.”  The Bible is clear that we are saved by grace, thru faith and NOT by works (cf. Eph 2:8-9).  I think I understand where they are coming from.  If baptism is a “work” it cannot effect our salvation.  Yet I challenged us Sunday to rethink that definition of baptism.  The Bible never defines it as a work nor does it present it as something that WE do at all.  Baptism is something that is done TO us.  If it is a “work” it is a “work of God.”  He is the worker, we are the passive recipients.  He does the baptizing and the forgiving.  We do the receiving of that forgiveness in baptism.  So, baptism is not to be seen as a “work” but rather as a submissive response to the incredible good news that God has acted to save us through Jesus Christ.  And it is through that submissive response to the gospel that God WORKS to save us from our sins. 

Colossians 2:11-13

11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.  13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins… NIV

 

Notice again what is said in vs. 13 of Col. 2.  We were dead.  God made us alive.  We didn’t bring ourselves to life.  God did.  We didn’t do a thing other than to receive the mark of baptism which, like circumcision was the identifying mark of a child of God in the Old Testament, is the mark which identifies us a children of God today.  And God did it!  He baptized us!

 

So, can I affirm that I am saved by grace through faith and not by works?  Absolutely.  Can I also affirm that baptism is an important AND necessary part of that salvation process?  Absolutely.  Next week we’re going to take a look at the symbolism behind baptism and why that is so very important.  Baptism isn’t just some requirement that God has asked us to do just to see if we will do it.  The act itself is so full of meaning for us!  Join in on the discussion this week…

your story

So, I'm beginning a series this Sunday on baptism.  It sounds like a very traditional thing to do for an old church of Christ boy like myself... but I've got to tell you... I'm pretty excited about it!  Baptism is one of those subjects that churches of Christ have been well-known for hammering from our pulpits pretty regularly.  I realize we may have had a few extreme folks out there who may have left erroneous impressions of what baptism is, but I think by and large this reputation has been a good thing for us.  Baptism is important.  I've always been convinced of that... but I'm becoming more and more convinced that it is even more important than we may have ever thought!  This is ironic to me since I have been criticized by not mentioning it in my preaching enough.  I hope to remedy this by taking an entire month and encouraging all of us to study together and explore the full meaning of baptism as it is presented in the New Testament.

As I begin this series... by exploring the "mystery" of baptism... I am interested in hearing YOUR stories.  When were you baptized into Christ?  What prompted your decision?  Was it a gospel meeting or revival?  Was it a particular preacher or sermon?  Where were you baptized... in a creek or river or church building?  Does anything stand out to you about your baptism?

I was talking with Sis. Margaret Jennings the other day at her 100th birthday party celebration.  She told me that one of her fondest memories was being baptized in our old church building here at Washington Street in 1931.  Wow!  She remembered it like it was yesterday!  What's your story?

Set of Beliefs or Way of Life?

I recently came across this comment by Brian McLaren in the latest issue of New Wineskins magazine and found it extremely thought-provoking.  Here is what McLaren said:

 I was interviewing Dr. Peter Senge, who does not portray himself as a Christian. . . . I was interviewing him by satellite. “Dr Senge, what would you like to say to Christian pastors to a group of Christian pastors?”

“Well, I was in a bookstore the other day and I asked the bookstore manager what the most popular books were. He said the most popular books right now were books on eastern religions. So, I want to know why that is the case in America?”

 

I (McLaren) turned the question back on him and said, “Dr. Senge, why do you think this is the case?”

“I think it’s because Christianity currently presents itself as a system of beliefs and Buddhism presents itself as a way of life.” Now, that one sentence was the one sentence we’d all come to hear. It was a powerful moment. For many of us, we can’t imagine Christianity as anything other than a system of beliefs. We use phrases like a “Christian worldview”—we’ve never questioned what we mean. And what we mean is a kind of intellectual system that has an answer to every question and a solution to every issue. Well, if you believe that is what the Christian faith is, then it shouldn’t surprise you when Christians are viewed as arrogant, narrow-minded and judgmental. We’ve set up the whole system to give us the ability to give quick answers. But this idea of a “way of life” has to do with how we are formed as human beings and how we live our daily lives, and how we see our very being transformed and changed. That, to me, is what Dr. Senge was doing, in a Restorationist sense, was calling us back to Jesus because Jesus, that’s what his followers were first called, followers of “The Way.” This to me is a very important rethinking of the way we need to be engaged in.

 

 

 



 Its a good question I think... are we portraying Christianity as a way of life or just a set of beliefs?  Which is it?  What's the difference?  Food for thought along "the way"....

It's Football time in Tennessee!

Okay, so everything we tried to teach Andy the first eight years of his life is now being undone by the football coaching staff at RCA.  "Sit down and be quiet."  "Don't hit."  "Stop screaming."  "Don't run in to people."  "Let everybody have a turn with the ball."  Nothing we told him these first eight years seems relevant anymore.  Now he's out there running into folks, hitting them... "HARDER" as the coaches are telling him... and screaming like he's having the time of his life the whole time!  I'm not sure what we were thinking.  Anyway, I thought I would share a pic of my boy in his intimidating (and snazzy) RCA Knight uniform... and one shot of his brothers with their game face on as well.  And it begins...

[caption id="attachment_157" align="alignright" width="300" caption="intimidating, huh?"][/caption]

Attack of the Clones

I took the fellows to see the new Star Wars movie over the weekend... only to be stopped and interrogated by some Clones at the door.  Not to worry... David had the situation well in hand!

First days of school!

Well, you couldn't tell it by the temperature outside, but our Summer came to a screeeeching halt this week as school started!    Andy started 3rd grade... David 1st and Michael has started "pre-Kindergarten".  I can't believe it.  I'm still teaching my High School Bible class of seniors and this year Celeste joined us at Riverside as the new PE Instructor.  We're looking forward to a great year!  How did your first week of school go?  [gallery]

Grieving with Hope... Steven Curtis Chapman

Little Big Man

The following is an article that came across my desk last week and I thought it should be shared with everyone.  Last month I preached a lesson where I challenged us to consider what we could  all do for the kingdom with “what we’ve got.”  Too often we view challenges such as world hunger as “just too big” to do anything about… but oh, if we could just have the attitude of a child…

Little Big Man

    Catch this idea.  Little five year old Jackson Watson sees a TV program that is trying to raise awareness and money to feed starving West Africans.  There are flies on these young children, they don’t have enough food to eat, the food they have is not that good for them.  Jackson hits the sheets for sleep but when he awakes the next morning he decides he is going to do something about what he saw.  He grabs an empty peanut butter jar, puts big stickers on the jar and writes a note so the children will know he wants them to eat good food like broccoli and carrots.  (The stickers and jar are to put the flies in so they won’t be buzzing around the kids’ eyes.)  He doesn’t want them to be hungry anymore.  He takes the jar to Darryl who is the minister at his congregation so Darryl can get the jar to Africa to help these children.

  Darryl sits and looks at the jar, decides to preach a lesson about it, puts the jar down on the Lord’s table, notices after services that there is $100 bucks in the jar, decides to bring little Jackson to the podium that evening, puts him on a chair and “little big man” explains to the congregation what he saw on TV.  Enter another $509 bucks to the “bug jar.”  The next Sunday another plea is made.  The total is now $1000.  Darryl tells the congregation about a worthy work in West Africa that is digging wells, and the farmers are raising crops.  So the money is sent to help the children and this worthy work.

   Now I don’t know what you think about Jackson.  I don’t even know what you think about helping people that don’t have enough food to eat or have flies on their faces, but I do know this:  If a five year old boy can spark an idea from “just doing the next right thing,” then people like you and me that have resources, have abilities and capabilities far greater than a five year old can do anything they set their minds to.  We ought to have our minds set on preaching the gospel to the world.

   What a lesson in just lifting where you stand with what you have in your hand.  I hope Jackson never ever stops believing that he CAN do something about and for others.

-Lesley Brumfield—Safari for Souls 2008 Campaigner

I “amen” what Mr. Brumfield suggests.  By the way… little Jackson is the grandson of our own Charles and Suzanne Higgins.  What if we ALL had his same optimistic and determined spirit as Jaskson?  What could we accomplish for the kingdom of God?

 

A Crazy Summer

It’s not that it isn’t true… I’m sure it is.  For years now people have been telling us that “these are the best years” referring to these years with our small children, Andy -8, David- 6, and Michael- 4.  I have not doubt that this sage wisdom from those parents who are just trying to encourage us is absolutely true… its just that sometimes it doesn’t FEEL like it.  I do have the sense, however, that these years are slipping away very quickly.  It seems to me that Andy should be, oh… about three… maybe four, but not eight!  Where has the time gone? 

So, I have really tried this summer to kick back, relax and spend more time at home or doing things with them.  Last Spring was so busy with baseball and school activities that I hardly felt like I had time to sit down.  So, I decided that my more flexible schedule this summer should allow me more time with them.  We’ve been to Chattanooga twice (quick trips really just to see the grandparents and spend time with them.)  That’s four hours in the car… per trip… by far the most difficult part of our journey!  (Actually one of those trips involved about seven hours in the car… as we spent 2 ½ on the side of the Interstate waiting on a tractor trailer accident to get cleaned out of the way.)  Their cousins have all come out to visit for a few days at a time.  One week John Paul, Amy, Karen, Charity and Sarah were with us… they’re great fun as they entertain our boys and help out around the house!  But, yes, that’s eight children at the house for those of you counting.  Our boys spent a week at their house a few weeks later (turnabout is fair play!)  Another week their cousins, Noah and Micah, were with us.  We all went out to a Huntsville Stars game… that never ended!  (We couldn’t stay up late enough to catch the fireworks after the game so we were a bit disappointed.  The Stars lost, too, by the way.)  This past week my sister’s girls, Reagan and Riley were with us.  We went down to Huntsville and spent a day at the Early Works Museum.  Great fun, but the talking tree sort of freaked little Reagan out.  Come to think of it… talking trees sort of freak me out, too.  Who thought that was a good idea for a children’s museum?  Haven’t they seen the Wizard of Oz?  This week we’re planning another quick trip to Nashville and the Grassmere Zoo with the girls.  I’m not sure why we’re going to the zoo… other than the fact its David’s birthday and that’s what he wanted to do???  I live in a zoo!

With all of this kicking back and relaxing with the children… I’m exhausted!  Anybody ready for school to start?

A Time of Refreshing

After preaching the good news to a group of folks who had gathered around Solomon’s Colonnade in Acts 3, the apostle Peter saw that they were convicted by the message. Seeing their desire to make things right, he told them, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord…” He then goes on to tell them about the Lord’s return, but pause there for a moment. What better way to describe the Christian life than as a “time of refreshing”? Let’s be honest. Our situation before Christ was dire. There was no hope. We had sinned and fallen short. But the hope of the gospel is that in Christ, we are forgiven, redeemed, restored… refreshed! Everybody could use this kind of refreshment, couldn’t they?

One of the problems of the Christian life, however, is that we can easily forget just how refreshing it is supposed to be. We can still allow the pressures and burdens of this life to get us down. We can even allow the activity of the church and the various works with which we are involved to take up so much of our energy that we get down… or sometimes even burned out. How tragic this is! Of course this ‘burn out’ as the world calls it is caused because we have failed to stay plugged in to the ultimate power source… Jesus Christ. We have failed to connect with him in a way that continually sustains and continually refreshes.

I always try to make Summer time a time of refreshing for me. It is a time when I try to sit back after a busy Spring and reflect, dream and think about my own faith and the faith of those with whom I minister. Last week the family and I went up to Nashville for a conference at Lipscomb University and for a time of refreshing. What a blessing it was to hear great messages from some terrific preachers who challenged me and spurred me to greater spiritual growth. Next week, we are going to try to get away for a few days just for some fun and relaxation. We all need these periods of “down time.” If you haven’t sought any spiritual refreshing this Summer, let me challenge you to do so. With school starting so early these days, most of us only have a few weeks left! Here’s a few ideas…

• Read a book that will challenge you spiritually.
• Go to a conference or lecture series.
• Read through a Biblical book that you haven’t read in a while.
• Listen to a sermon from someone other than me on the internet (check below for some suggestions...)
• Get away for a few days of retreat and reflect on what God is doing in your life.
• Do something different to challenge yourself spiritually.

Summer will grind to a halt soon enough and we will all be back in the groove of work, school, and activity… take advantage of every opportunity to be refreshed by God’s Word!

Listen online to great messages from preachers I have listened to...

Russ Adcox
Maury Hills Church of Christ, Columbia, TN
http://www.mauryhills.com/podcasts.htm

Shon Smith
University Church of Christ, Tuscaloosa
http://www.universitycofc.org/podcasts.html

Jeff Walling
Providence Road Church of Christ, Charlotte, N.C.
http://www.prcoc.org/Default.asp?page=239

Mike Cope
Highland Church of Christ, Abilene, TX
http://www.highlandchurch.org/resource/podcasts

Rick Atchley
Richland Hills Church of Christ, Dallas, TX
http://www.rhchurch.org/index.cfm?pg=doc&id=99

Patrick Mead
Rochester Church of Christ, Rochester, MI
http://www.rochestercoc.org/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=FaithHighway/10000/4000/974RO/sermons

David Salisbury
Lomax Church of Christ, Hohenwald, TN
http://www.lomaxchurch.com/

The Center

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus” (cf. Heb. 12:1) which, when you think about it, is a remarkable statement. It is well known that Paul suffered from some sort of “thorn in the flesh” which impaired him in his ministry somewhat. Many scholars agree that it probably had something to do with his eyesight, which would make sense since he was literally blinded on his way to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him and convinced him to change course. Even though he was healed from the blindness, perhaps he suffered some sort of residual effects from it the rest of his life… perhaps as a reminder of his spiritual blindness prior to conversion? That’s why it is interesting that Paul would say, “Let us fix our EYES on Jesus.” Did Paul have a problem keeping his eyes focused? Did he have a problem seeing clearly? Do we?

As I said on Sunday, there are all sorts of things that distract us in our world and cause us to take our focus off of Jesus. There are all sorts of things which cause spiritual blindness. If you are like me, then you are easily distracted. I’m distracted by a beautiful sunset when I’m driving down the road or by my children when I’m trying to write a bulletin article or any number of things! It’s a natural reflex even… my eyes automatically go to what is new, colorful or interesting… regardless of what I am trying to focus on. Is that how it is with our spiritual lives? Did the Apostle Paul lock onto something here? Staying focused requires… well… focus! It requires effort. It requires a deliberate, willful and intentional effort to stay focused.

As we began our study of Mark’s gospel this past Sunday morning, I reminded us of Paul’s words in Hebrews 12:1. Our goal as we read through Mark together is to “fix our eyes on Jesus.” He is the center of our faith… he is the author and perfecter of our faith… and he ought to be at the center of EVERYTHING we do! Is he? Join in on the discussion of the gospel, the man Jesus Christ risen from the dead and how we can help each other stay focused and centered on Him!

Sharing the simple gospel...

Over the last few weeks I’ve been trying to explore some different thoughts along the theme of the “gospel.”  I’ve heard the term gospel all of my life as have most of us and I’m afraid that we just kind of take it for granted what we mean by it.  The word itself just means “good news” but what is this “good news”?  Some have tended to see it primarily as a list of principles to believe… tenets of faith, if you will.  Thus when Paul talks about the gospel in 1 Cor. 15 and says that “it is by this gospel you are saved” he would be meaning that by believing these certain articles of faith you are saved.  Others have viewed the gospel more in terms of obedience and see it as a list of commands or instructions that must be obeyed.  I certainly respect their emphasis on the fact that just believing isn’t enough, we must also act on those beliefs… I’m just now sure that gets at it either.  By that Paul would be saying that by obeying a certain list of commands we are saved… but wouldn’t that be salvation by works?

To me, the answer is so simple.  Paul is pretty clear in that 1 Cor. 15 passage and even clearer in 2 Tim. 2:8 when he says, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.  This is my gospel.”  Paul didn’t understand “the gospel” to be a list of principles or commands!  He understood the “good news” to be Jesus Christ risen from the dead!  So the “gospel” is a man!  Jesus Christ!

What implications does this view have towards evangelism, then?  As we are commanded by Jesus himself to go out and preach this “gospel” (cf. Mark 16:15-ff) how does this change our attitudes, our mind-set and even our methodologies?  Any thoughts?  This is what I want to explore next Sunday.

Our First Woman President!

Yes folks, that's right... I've joined the bandwagon. I've changed my mind after all these many months and now I have brought myself to the position where I would be willing to vote for America's first woman president! Now, I'm not necessarily going to go out there and start trying to persuade all of my friends and family to vote along with me... but I think (for me at least) that I'm going to do it! I'm going to pull that lever and cast that vote for...

Simple Christianity 2.0

This Sunday we are returning to a sermon series that I began last November… “Simple Christianity.”  This time, however, we are stepping it up a notch.  This is what I wrote in the bulletin back then…

Preachers and theologians like to throw out big, twenty dollar religious words like “propitiation,” “soteriology,” and (my favorite) “dispensational eschatology.”  I suppose we like for folks to think that we are smarter than we really are or that our education was just as hard as theirs, I don’t know?  For whatever reason, I believe that many of us have created a religion that is much more complicated than God ever intended “the faith” to be!  As you look at the Bible, as we have over the last few weeks, I think you’ll find that it is not nearly as complicated or complex as some of us have made it.  God’s Word, even given all of the factors that make it difficult to understand, is remarkably simple.  God’s intention for man is remarkably simple.  God’s plan of salvation is remarkably simple.  We do not need to muddy the waters by complicating God’s simple gospel with our “learned” opinions or religious systems. 

This Sunday I want to continue our thinking along this very premise… the simplicity of the gospel.  While we acknowledge its simplicity, I also want to challenge us to delve deeper into our theology and understanding of the gospel.  What is it and how does it really change and shape our lives?  Let me encourage you to use this opportunity, not only to reexamine your faith and practice, but also to invite your friends and family to be a part of our worship services. 

Dakota's story...

Here’s a bit more of the story that I shared with our church on Sunday.  April is my amazing cousin and Gene is her wonderful husband.  The story of their experience is heart-wrenching, but uplifting.

 

Gene's Story: I want to thank the MOD for everything that they are doing! I have a story that I feel compelled to share although it is not a happy one. You never know how perspective can change and how much the MOD means! After a couple of years of trying to conceive on our own, my wife and I went to a fertility specialist and went through in-vitro fertilization. My wife carried the first 2 embryos for about 8 weeks, at which time she miscarried. We waited a few months and tried again. My wife was implanted with 2 more embryos, and our son was conceived in December of 2006. All of the ultrasounds were amazing. Since he was an in-vitro baby, we got to see him every week via ultrasound, watching him grow every step of the way. Everything was running smoothly until April, 2007, when her OB/GYN noticed a little funneling in her cervix. She was referred to a high risk OB to check her out. Once the OB saw her, he immediately admitted her to the high risk pregnancy unit in the hospital. She was at 22 weeks. Her cervix was totally effaced and they tried an emergency circlage, which failed. She was put on strict bed rest while in the hospital. The doctors were not hopeful that her cervix would hold our little boy in until it was a viable pregnancy. We were devastated, but as each day passed, we gained hope little by little. We knew that 24 weeks was the first benchmark, viability. We knew that the chances were slim, but we still had hope. As 24 weeks passed, we counted each and every day to 25 weeks. At 26 weeks, they injected surfactin, a steroid, to help his little lungs develop. We were amazed that he had held on inside for as long as he had. We knew that he was now viable, and with each passing day it increased his chance at survival. We had become accustomed to the routine at the hospital, and were treated amazingly by every staff member there! Then, on the day he turned 27 weeks, my wife’s water broke. He was breach and she was on blood thinners. She would have to have our child naturally. She was rushed to the delivery room, and at 4:50 AM on May 18, 2007, our son, Dakota Shea Taylor, was born. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. He weighed 1 lb. and 15 oz. We knew that he had an uphill struggle since he was born so early, but we held out hope that everything would be ok. The initial reports were that they had injected some additional surfactin to help his lungs develop, and he was responding nicely. I visited Dakota about 10 times that day. Both of our families came to see our new bundle of joy. My wife, still reeling from the pregnancy, and all of the complications that occurred, was unable to really see him. Each time I went to see him though, things were not improving. His lungs were not responding. They constantly had to increase his oxygen level, which is not good in the early stages of a young child’s life. At 6PM, the neonatologist came into my wife’s room and informed us that there wasn’t anything else that they could do and wanted to know if we would agree to a do not resuscitate order. We didn’t want our son to suffer, so we reluctantly agreed. At 6:30 PM, they told us they were taking him off life support and wanted to know if we wanted to hold him. We wanted to, but we couldn’t!! We couldn’t watch our son die in our arms, so we declined. At 7:10 PM on May 18, 2007, our son, Dakota Shea Taylor, went to his Father! After he passed, I did get to finally hold him in my arms. I told him how proud I was of him, and how proud I was that he fought for every minute of his life. His poor little lungs just weren’t developed enough to handle it, but I know that he fought with every ounce of energy he had! It was the happiest and saddest day of my life. At the funeral, we asked that everyone either donate to the March of Dimes, or the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the hospital where Dakota spent his life. Never being a parent before, I didn’t understand how much you could love someone as much as you love your kids until now! I will always cherish the short time I had with my son! On his birthday this year, and every year after, we will send out invitations inviting everyone to send a donation to the March of Dimes. We want to win this fight with prematurity! All battles won’t be won, but if the war can be won, it makes Dakota’s story an exception, rather than the rule. I want to personally thank the MOD for everything that they do with premature babies and birth defects.---Gene Taylor April's Story: Well, I don't know how to describe 2007, but it was the worst year of our life. We owe so much thanks to EVERYONE including Erlanger NICU and high risk nurses, fertility center of chattanooga, family, friends, and even strangers from churches and other organizations. As my husband described, our first attempt at IVF was unsuccessful. But the 2nd attempt was a great success. We were so excited after my husband who is scared of needles injected me daily with multiple shots and stood by me through mood swings due to all the hormones injected into my body. Anyways, the 2nd attempt was 2 embryos and we were disappointed that we lost 1; however, the 2nd stayed. We went multiple times per week for ultrasounds and checkups. It was amazing to watch a heartbeat turn into fingers, toes, arms, legs, face, etc. Since I was a little girl I had always said I was going to name my baby Cody. Since we didn't know the sex yet, we both agreed easily on Dakota for either sex. So, Dakota was named at the embryo stage. We were so excited! Started buying maternity clothes, baby clothes, etc. My mom was so excited that she volunteered to babysit throughout the week despite the fact that she lived 1 hour away. She had already planned on staying at my house throughout the week or taking Dakota to her house for a few nights so we didn't have to pay for childcare. Then it all hit! I received a call from my mom who was so strong that she called me from the hospital to tell me she was in liver failure. We had seen different signs, but she would say that it was upset belly and she was coughing off and on but she would say it was allergies. Turns out her lungs and body were filled with blood clots due to hereditary blood disorder. I called my aunt Jackie immediately who lives in Michigan (she is more like my sister) and she packed her bags and drove all night to be with us. I remember telling her "I am pregnant and can't handle this". When she arrived we spent every waking moment at the hospital with my mom. Jackie brought along my 2 cousins also and they were such great support. We have always been very close despite the seperation in distance. Of course they were all excited to see my pooching belly and such! While my mom was in the hospital, I had an appointment for an ultrasound. My husband and cousin went with me and at that time we discovered that Dakota was a "boy". I will never forget the look on their faces. I thought my husband was going to jump with excitement out of the room. You could tell that he had deeply always wanted a boy. We all rushed to the hospital to tell my mom the great news. She would lay in the hospital bed and rub my belly and talk to Dakota. Then things got even worse. My mom who was perfectly healthy to in hospital was diagnosed w/cancer and told that chemo/radiation wouldn't cure. She was told she had only a few weeks to live. That's when my entire life crumbled literally beneath my feet. I got so weak I didn't know what to do. I sat on my mom's bedside and she said "I am going to get them to keep me alive until August so I can see Dakota" (that was his estimated due date). I told her that I didn't want her to suffer and that I wanted her to be healthy in order for Dakota to see her. We just cried and cried. Then she looked at me and said "I don't want to live without you" and I told her "you will always live inside of my heart". Which to this day is true. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her. That afternoon, my mom passed away. My grandmother who is healthy and in her 80's offered to stay and help me with the baby and we graciously took her into our home. She would go to appointments with me, but one appointment turned into another beginning of a nightmare. I was seen by high risk doctor and they immediately admitted me to the hospital. They wouldn't even let me go to the car to get my belongings because they said I had to get straight to bed. They could already see the top of Dakota's head. My husband and dad came immediately to the hospital (and my husband never left me for more than a few minutes the entire time from admission to discharge). Anyways, they attempted several things to try and help with preventing Dakota from coming early. We prayed each day that he would grow in my belly more and more. It was an amazing experience to feel him moving and kicking around. They drained amniotic fluid out through my belly to relieve some pressure which helped prolong him somewhat. Unfortunately, I developed a blood clot myself and discovered I had inherited the same blood disorder that my mother had and they placed me on blood thinners. Then it happened. I went into labor. They took me to delivery and my sister in law, grandmother, dad, and husband were present. They had all rushed to be there! The doctor felt that since Dakota was early that he would easily be delivered despite the fact that be was breeched. I was so much more relaxed when I saw that my nurse was a girl that I had gone to nursing school (ande). She made me feel more confident despite my hesitations about delivering naturally and breeched. They couldn't give me any epidurals due to being on blood thinners. The delivery turned into a huge complication. Dakota got stuck and they had to work hard on getting him out because my hips and pelvis hadn't expanded for him. Since I was on blood thinners both me and Dakota were bruised quite badly. I will never forget them holding him up for me to see and all I thought was "look at that head full of black hair!". My husband is red headed and I am blonde. Everybody was so positive and saying he was doing well. As the story continues to get worse, I began to hemorrage and had to have blood transfusions due to being on the blood thinners. I practically went into shock and was heavily medicated so I really didn't know all that was going on throughout the day. I knew it wasn't good due to he fact I would see my entire family in the room crying off and on. My husband would come and tell me that Dakota wasn't doing well, but I encouraged him to care for Dakota and not me. I won't ever forget looking to my bedside and my dad sitting there and me asking what was going on and his response was "I just want my baby girl to live right now". That's definitely what a daddy would say to his girl!! That evening, the doctor came to talk to us and Gene and I decided that we didn't want Dakota to suffer through anymore medical trauma. It was all in God's hands. So, we took him off his ventilators which was pretty much recommended by the physician. Dakota continued to fight off the equipment, but finally passed away. I was so shocked and stunned that I couldn't even cry. I was offered to hold him, but so weak and stunned that I was unable. I am glad that Dakota got to be in his daddy's arms though. I wish I could have held him, but just couldn't. I let everyone in my family hold him that wanted to. His Aunt Angela would go and talk to him and touch him which was such a relief for me that she stepped in and did the "motherly" thing for me. I like to tell everyone that my mom wanted to have her grandson so badly that she had him brought to Heaven to be with her and that she is rocking him each day in Heaven for me. There is not a day that goes by or that will ever go by in my life that I don't think about my baby Dakota. He will always be my son and my 1st born. I just want to express Thanks and Love to everyone that visited, called, helped, etc. Don't know what we would have done without you all! It proved to us who our "true friends" are. This story is not intended to make you sad, but to share our story and let you know that other people suffer and go through experiences like this daily. We ask that you make a donation to the March of Dimes, Erlanger NICU, or Hospice of Chattanooga in memory of Dakota. His birthday is May 18th! Love to all!!

 

God isn’t finished with this story yet, by the way…

If you've been looking for me... I've been at the ballpark!

Yep, that's right. Just about every night for the last month we've been at the ol' ballpark. This year Andy and David are both playing so between practices, games and shuttling back and forth... we're spending quite a lot of time these days in the bleachers. I thought I would share some shots of the boys at their first games of the season. They've each played about 3 games so far. David had his first win today! He played incredible... three hits and even scored the winning run. We're still waiting on a win for Andy's team... but he played great today, too! He even got some time in the infield at second base even though he's the youngest on his team (and he did great!) They also look pretty sharp in their uniforms... all of this, of course, they get from their mother!

Standing thru... death

   With all of the uncertainties of life, there is one thing that is certain… death.  The Bible says, “It is appointed unto man once to die and then to face the judgment!”  It is an appointment we will all keep, even though few of us know when it will come.  This Sunday we will be concluding our series “Stand in the Rain” by discussing the “rain” that will fall upon us all… death.  Death is certainly a tough one!  The death of a loved one, especially a life-long spouse can be devastating.  The prospect of one’s own death can also loom over us like a specter and rob us from living to the full the moments we DO have.  What is God’s answer to death?  How can we “stand” when death looms over us?  How can we continue on when we have lost someone so dear to us?  These are the questions I hope to explore together Sunday morning.  If you’ve ever wondered about any of those questions, I hope you’ll be encouraged by God’s Word.

   Through this series I have hoped to offer words of encouragement and hope for folks who have been through some pretty tough stuff.  Let me know what you have thought and how you have been touched by God’s promises through it all.