It's been too long since I have posted for you all to stay connected. I apologize. This is another update, for your benefit and for mine, as I keep a record of my sabbatical.
My last update mentioned that Doris and I were traveling with some friends and that I was planning to spend a few days with Paul Grout in Vermont. I am writing this as the train is leaving Phila for Vermont, with me on it of course. I likely will not be able to post this until I get to Paul's place tonight or tomorrow morning.
Let me share a few things. Before we left for our travels with our friends the Bollingers, Doris and I had the privilege of meeting with the pastors of Ephrata Community Church, where we have been worshipping while I am off. We met the pastors and two other lay leaders for a season of what they call "prophetic ministry." Basically what happens in a meeting like this is people with prophetic gifting (remember our study of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit where in we learned that some of us have prophet giftings) and meet with us for a season of prayer and spiritual discernment. While praying we all listen for God to speak into our hearts with any images, words or promptings that might relate to my life and ministry. We entered this time with anticipation of what God might say, and were not disappointed. While I have been in other settings like this, it was a first for Doris. It proved to be very encouraging. I need to digest some of this and might blog about it later.
On our trip with the Bollingers, we went to church where Phil and Sarah are worshipping while the work towards their doctorates. I think it was called the University Christian Fellowship, and was basically filled with 20 somethings from the various universities situated in that part of Cincinnati. The speaker that morning was a young man from Philadelphia who was in town for a convention related to the ministry of transforming our cities and culture for Jesus. I do not remember the name of the organization, but know that it is related to the work of Tony Campola and his Phila based ministry. The speaker was particularly interesting. Doris spied him in the café before the service, not knowing he would be preaching--long hair, handing in brads to his waist, a bandana on his head, sort of grubby clothes. She was a bit taken back when he came up to preach, but boy what passion for Jesus and what courage to take on the decaying neighborhoods of Phila, in Jesus' name. I left feeling very much that if he represents what is often called the "emerging church" I am confident that the church is in good hands. Oh how little my generation has done.
After we got back from our days with the Bollingers--which were great times of hanging out with a couple that has been a part of our lives for over 35 years--my friend, Jim Chronister, came to spend a few days with us. I met Jim and his wife Karen back n '79 when he still lived in York. We have been long time friends, and our families sort of grew up together. Jim preformed the wedding ceremonies for all three of our children, and I did for one of his two kids. Jim now pastors in the Church of the Brethren in Western Ohio. For a year or so, Jim has been talking to me about helping him put a clutch in his old pickup truck, which his dad bought new back in '87. I agreed to do it during my time off, mainly, as I told Jim, just to have a few days with him. He arrived at our house on Sunday (Nov. 1) and we jumped into the clutch job on Monday morning. To make a long story short, a job I thought we could do in a day took two and a half days, and we finished up around one pm on Wednesday.
The time with Jim was good for me. I felt a bit sad after he left on Wednesday evening as I relived our days together, realizing that it might be a long time until we would have another chunk of time together. The clutch job really took its toll on me--at 56 I'm a bit old to be crawling around under a rusty and grimy old pickup for three days. (I've been wearing a knee brace for the last few days, letting my left knee recuperate from too much bending and crawling.) As we finished up the job I realized a spiritual principle was at work. I mentioned to Jim that the degree of suffering one will endure for another is directly related to the depth of one's friendship. I was thinking of Jesus, who was willing to die for his friends (John 15:13).
In between these endeavors, I have been doing some work on our house and helping my one son-in-law with some home projects as well. And, of course, there has been plenty of time with the grand kids. We have taken the older 6 grandkids over night, two at a time, and this past Friday had our two four year olds. What a blast.
Watch for more posts this week--there are a few percolating.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Update
Just a quick update to all you following my blog. One of our sabbatical goals has been to spend some time with old friends with whom the vigors of normal life sort of get in the way.
I am writing this from a resort in Tennessee. We traveled here with our friends, Tom and Sue Bollinger, for a few days with them. We left home on Saturday (Oct. 24) and headed for Cincinnati, where their son, Philip and wife Sarah, are both working on Doctorates in Biblical Studies. (If you have been around ECOB for a few years you may remember that Philip spent a month or so with us while he was in college.) From Cincinnati we headed south to Fairfield Glade Resort in central Tennessee. We plan to arrive home on Thursday evening.
Back to blogging after that.
Also newly developed are plans for me to travel to Putney, VT, during the second week of November for a few days with Paul Grout. Paul is a key leader in the Church of the Brethren, a prophetic voice within the church, a bit out there sometimes, but via a brief conversation on the phone and email, I believe I need to spend some time with him during this Sabbatical.
I'll share more about this later.
I am writing this from a resort in Tennessee. We traveled here with our friends, Tom and Sue Bollinger, for a few days with them. We left home on Saturday (Oct. 24) and headed for Cincinnati, where their son, Philip and wife Sarah, are both working on Doctorates in Biblical Studies. (If you have been around ECOB for a few years you may remember that Philip spent a month or so with us while he was in college.) From Cincinnati we headed south to Fairfield Glade Resort in central Tennessee. We plan to arrive home on Thursday evening.
Back to blogging after that.
Also newly developed are plans for me to travel to Putney, VT, during the second week of November for a few days with Paul Grout. Paul is a key leader in the Church of the Brethren, a prophetic voice within the church, a bit out there sometimes, but via a brief conversation on the phone and email, I believe I need to spend some time with him during this Sabbatical.
I'll share more about this later.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Half Way
Today I begin the second half of this sabbatical. Surprisingly, I am only now really beginning to feel relaxed and released, for lack of better words. I sensed this yesterday in worship. Let me share a bit about it.
As I wrote earlier, Doris and I have been trying to worship consistently at Ephrata Community Church. In reality, we have been getting there every other week, and attending worship with our kids on the other Sundays. Anyway, this past week was a really moving time for me in worship. The ECC band did their rendition of "Taste and See" (Hillsong). Every church has songs that seem to hold special meaning for them and I sense "Taste and See" is such a song for ECC. Anyway, the congregation really cut loose and the worship flowed freely. I love seeing people worship with abandon and seeing a church really open up in worship. And since I had no worries about what is coming next, I too could just let my heart go. From this song the band went into "Holy" by Brenton Brown. Part of the lyrics for "Holy" go like this:
"Holy is your name in all the earth.
Righteous are your ways, so merciful.
Everything you've done is just and true.
Holy, holy, God are you."
As we sang these words, I wept. They were tears of joy and praise and thanksgiving for the righteous, just and true ways God has moved in my life over the years. They were tears of joy and praise and thanksgiving for the love God has for me, as unworthy as I am, and how gracious and kind and amazing God has been. It has been a long time since I was able to let go like this in worship, and it was so very good.
Why this moving experience now? Not sure, but it had something to do with what I have been working on the last few weeks. I have been reading, studying and praying. There remains in my soul a great quest for increased intimacy with God and I have been asking him for this, wondering if I am being selfish. But God heard my prayer and on Sunday gave me another glimpse of his glory and grace.
Also, I have been spending some time reviewing my spiritual journey over the years, as you know from previous posts. And I had just spent some time with two close friends of mine--two guys I went to high school with whom God grabbed and and set on a path of following him during the same eventful year that I blogged about. As I was hanging out with these two guys and their wives, including attending a wedding reception for one of their children, I again saw how gracious God has been in our lives. We three couples have ten children, and now a host of grandchildren. The ten children we raised are all believers who are actively following Jesus and are plugged into the church. Those who are married (all but one) chose well and have spouses who are also Christ-followers. Some of our kids are on staff at their churches, some serving abroad in missions, some pursing advanced degrees in biblical studies and psychology, some following the call to ministry and some providing important services in their communities. And emerging now is the next generation--little people to invest our lives into. God has been so merciful and gracious, and unbelievably kind.
As I reflect on this, it comes with great humility. I speak for myself and Doris, but we were not perfect parents. We made our share of parenting mistakes. There were times when we wondered if our inadequacies and blunders would leave scars on our children that would turn them away from God. But righteous are his ways, so merciful; and everything he does is true and just. We give God all the glory. I know there are many families where the parents were just as sincere in their faith as we and their family stories are very different. I do not know why. Many factors come to bear on the lives of our kids, some far beyond our control. But God is sovereign and his ways righteous and merciful, and so I trust in him and thank and praise him for his mercy.
So as I worshipped on Sunday, the goodness of God flooded my soul. My heart filled with joy and gladness as God blanketed my soul with is mercy and love. I cried tears of joy (and clouded up my contact lenses for the rest of the day!). It was sweet and refreshing. Tears have a way of cleansing more than just your tear ducts. Doris and I worshipped side by side, arm in arm, as we basked in the glory of the Lord. It doesn't get any better than that.
Sunday was a great half-way point for this sabbatical.
Here are some YouTube renditions of the songs I mention in this post. The videos are, naturally, from other places and by other bands, but you get the gist of the songs. (Reminder: some of you who receive this by email will not be able to see these links and will need to log on to this blog directly to see the videos. I do not know why this is. Sorry.)
As I wrote earlier, Doris and I have been trying to worship consistently at Ephrata Community Church. In reality, we have been getting there every other week, and attending worship with our kids on the other Sundays. Anyway, this past week was a really moving time for me in worship. The ECC band did their rendition of "Taste and See" (Hillsong). Every church has songs that seem to hold special meaning for them and I sense "Taste and See" is such a song for ECC. Anyway, the congregation really cut loose and the worship flowed freely. I love seeing people worship with abandon and seeing a church really open up in worship. And since I had no worries about what is coming next, I too could just let my heart go. From this song the band went into "Holy" by Brenton Brown. Part of the lyrics for "Holy" go like this:
"Holy is your name in all the earth.
Righteous are your ways, so merciful.
Everything you've done is just and true.
Holy, holy, God are you."
As we sang these words, I wept. They were tears of joy and praise and thanksgiving for the righteous, just and true ways God has moved in my life over the years. They were tears of joy and praise and thanksgiving for the love God has for me, as unworthy as I am, and how gracious and kind and amazing God has been. It has been a long time since I was able to let go like this in worship, and it was so very good.
Why this moving experience now? Not sure, but it had something to do with what I have been working on the last few weeks. I have been reading, studying and praying. There remains in my soul a great quest for increased intimacy with God and I have been asking him for this, wondering if I am being selfish. But God heard my prayer and on Sunday gave me another glimpse of his glory and grace.
Also, I have been spending some time reviewing my spiritual journey over the years, as you know from previous posts. And I had just spent some time with two close friends of mine--two guys I went to high school with whom God grabbed and and set on a path of following him during the same eventful year that I blogged about. As I was hanging out with these two guys and their wives, including attending a wedding reception for one of their children, I again saw how gracious God has been in our lives. We three couples have ten children, and now a host of grandchildren. The ten children we raised are all believers who are actively following Jesus and are plugged into the church. Those who are married (all but one) chose well and have spouses who are also Christ-followers. Some of our kids are on staff at their churches, some serving abroad in missions, some pursing advanced degrees in biblical studies and psychology, some following the call to ministry and some providing important services in their communities. And emerging now is the next generation--little people to invest our lives into. God has been so merciful and gracious, and unbelievably kind.
As I reflect on this, it comes with great humility. I speak for myself and Doris, but we were not perfect parents. We made our share of parenting mistakes. There were times when we wondered if our inadequacies and blunders would leave scars on our children that would turn them away from God. But righteous are his ways, so merciful; and everything he does is true and just. We give God all the glory. I know there are many families where the parents were just as sincere in their faith as we and their family stories are very different. I do not know why. Many factors come to bear on the lives of our kids, some far beyond our control. But God is sovereign and his ways righteous and merciful, and so I trust in him and thank and praise him for his mercy.
So as I worshipped on Sunday, the goodness of God flooded my soul. My heart filled with joy and gladness as God blanketed my soul with is mercy and love. I cried tears of joy (and clouded up my contact lenses for the rest of the day!). It was sweet and refreshing. Tears have a way of cleansing more than just your tear ducts. Doris and I worshipped side by side, arm in arm, as we basked in the glory of the Lord. It doesn't get any better than that.
Sunday was a great half-way point for this sabbatical.
Here are some YouTube renditions of the songs I mention in this post. The videos are, naturally, from other places and by other bands, but you get the gist of the songs. (Reminder: some of you who receive this by email will not be able to see these links and will need to log on to this blog directly to see the videos. I do not know why this is. Sorry.)
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