2010. I’m letting that number roll off my tongue a little bit today. It’s the beginning of not only a new year but a new decade. After everything that has happened these last two years, most persons I’ve spoken to are excited to leave the horrors of 2009  in favor of the hopes that this year may offer.

Many news organizations are doing their top 10 lists, and Associated Baptist Press has done us a favor by following that trend. ABP has compiled their sampling of the most newsworthy stories in Baptist life. Read through them and see what you think, but suffice it to say that some Baptists will do anything to keep their name in the news. Still, I had forgotten about some of these people, places, and events and a reminder helps me realize that it has been a busy year once again for Baptists. And not always in the best sense.

I’m looking ahead into 2010 with a sense of hope and optimism, believing that the local church remains the greatest resource there is to advance the Kingdom of God. It is very easy to get overwhelmed by the urgent things, to the point of missing out on the important ones. I am constantly challenged by the amount of institutional oversight there can be with buildings, budgets, programs, and raising money to pay off debt. I can appreciate what Amy Butler is dealing with at Calvary Baptist in Washington, D.C.  and how she is leading her church to acknowledge its past with an eye for the future. 

What keeps me moving forward is seeing children come to faith in Christ, our church engaging our community with the gospel, and an enduring hope that God has a purpose for our family of faith. I am grateful to be Baptist, and more thankful to be in a congregation that appreciates our Baptist heritage and cooperative missions efforts both here in Springfield and around the world. I’m expecting good things, and look forward to moving into the second decade of the 21st century knowing that our Lord “will never leave us or forsake us.”

With less than a week to go and three children nearing holiday meltdown, I wanted to extend Christmas best wishes to all my friends. I don’t have any unrealistic views of how many of you actually drop by but do appreciate your taking the time and interest in our church and my ramblings.

A Time magazine article from November indicated that this last decade was the worst we had since World War II times. It was entitled “Goodbye to the Decade from Hell” or something very akin to that. I won’t establish the link this time, but have worked through it and agree that the Millennium bug, 9/11, Katrina, and two economic crashes are enough to depress any of us. It’s no wonder so many of us have been in a sour mood.

Despite these reports, I do want to thank the Lord for my family. Lori, Cally, Lucy, and Matt have been blessings to me and I’m so thankful to have them in my life. They are SO ready for Christmas, and Cally and Lucy’s having birthdays this month have only added to the energy of the season. We are also so grateful for our church family and being in Springfield for these 2 1/2 years now. I’m hopeful for good things in 2010 as the Lord opens doors of service into our community. More about that later, but for now I hope that we’ll all count our blessings and celebrate the real reason for the season.

The photo above was taken at Barnes and Noble Bookstore. Our church supported a book fair for the Rountree Elementary School. I read a story to the kids, several choir members sang carols, and our own Bob and Marilyn did a great job as Santa and Mrs. Clause. Lucy didn’t want her picture with Santa, but when she saw who it was said “Oh, it’s just Mr. Bob” so that made it ok.

I’m pretty excited about having a week off next week but in the meantime will remain busy getting ready for Christmas Eve and the following Sunday. So, from my family to yours. . .  Merry Christmas!

Yes, it’s true. Cally is 12 years old today and celebrated by riding in the front seat of the car on the way to school. I didn’t let her behind the wheel, however, and am in no hurry to do so. She had a good time Friday with her party and then yesterday with Meredith’s party plus the youth party so she’s been busy this weekend.

Lori and I are SO thankful she is in our lives and has a Nintendo DS to keep her company when she isn’t being hugged by her brother Matt or playing Apples to Apples with her sister Lucy and her mom.

We love you Cally, and hope you have a great day. And yes, we’ll watch “The Sing off” tonight.

Oral Roberts died a few days ago. He made a profound impact upon Christianity in general and upon the field of “televangelism” in particular.  He was a little bit before my time, but growing up I recall hearing his name associated with the phrase “something good is going to happen to you!”

Of course, I think some of this enthusiasm was related to an appeal for dollars from his viewers. Roberts is known as a forerunner of the “health and wealth” gospel, and the USA Today article indicates. Another key phrase that he might have coined had to do with “seed faith” which means viewers giving a portion of their income (to him) in faith, believing that God would multiply their efforts. I’ve seen this kind of approach used countless times on the air, and TV preachers nowadays probably have Roberts to thank for it.

I am certain that Roberts did many good things; he started a university in Tulsa and impacted the face of Christianity for years to come. To be honest though, the one thing I remember about this man is his claim that “God would kill him if he (Roberts) didn’t raise a million dollars.” He locked himself in that tower on the ORU campus, waiting for the hand of judgment to fall. I have wondered how God who “owns the cattle on a thousand hills” would threated the life of one of his servants. I’ll have to doublecheck the history, but believe a dogtrack owner came to Roberts’ rescue and redeemed his life. I suppose the Lord works in mysterious ways, indeed.

A sidebar to the story, of course, is the rise of the “prosperity gospel” which is another way of saying the “health and wealth” gospel. This message is awfully appealing on the one hand and just plain awful on the other. It implies that health and money follow faith and that those who give large amounts of money can purchase happiness. This is not the gospel of Jesus who said, “if any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me” (Luke 9.23 CEV).

We are facing record unemployment and anxieties from all sides, and my prayer is that the people of God can perservere through these difficulties. Not everyone gets wealthy, and it should be said again our “treasure is in heaven.”

That’s the real prosperity.

We had a good trip to Alabama to visit Lori’s parents for Thanksgiving and take in the Iron Bowl the day afterward. It was a very emotional and exciting time for a lot of reasons, and even though it’s a long drive there and back we’re glad we could work it out.

It looks like there was only a brief hiccup between THanksgiving and Christmas. I find myself almost out of breath, spiritually speaking, in trying to catch up with all the events of the season. The tree is up in the church and the sanctuary is beautifully decorated in recognition and preparation of the Advent season. I am glad our church recognizes the significance of the times so that we can soak up the religious atmosphere of the occasion.

Advent means a lot of different things, but for me it is a time to pause and reflect upon the meaning of the incarnation. The mind boggling idea that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” can’t be appreciated in just one day. This spiritual truth is so integral to the Christmas season, and I for one find it implausible that there are many persons who acknowledge the holiday without the spiritual significance. You might say that there are “many who have Christmas, but not everyone gets Christmas.”

My desire for myself and family and then for the church family is that Advent will be time of preparation and earnest searching about what Christ means to each one of us. This year’s Christmas season comes after a very difficult year and a ten year period that Time magazine called “The Decade from Hell.” There will be many people who will not be sad to see this year or decade pass, but before this happens we ought to stop and take spiritual inventory of what has happened and how these events have shaped us.

Advent offers this opportunity. It will require some slowing down and reflection, but I for one believe this opportunity for renewal couldn’t have come at a better time. Join me in praying for our hearts to be open to the Holy Spirit’s leadership and prompting as we approach the manger once again.

I am at loss to know where the year went. I’m off work this week and this morning put up our Christmas tree so the girls (and Matt) can offer mom help in decorating it. I can remember taking it down last year, the months have been a blur. Here’s just a brief review of where things are with us:

Cally is in 6th grade at Hickory Hills and doing well. She had her struggles 2 years ago when we moved, which I believe was somewhat stress related in getting settled into a new school and friends. She is doing so well now, and plays violin in the school orchestra and is in the pep club. I’ve haven’t enjoyed watching the Spartans lose but it has been fun seeing her cheering alongside her friends in that lavender shirt. Cally is involved in our church’s youth group and growing up more and more every day. 

Lucy is in 1st grade this year at Hickory Hills. One adventure I have every morning is driving her and Cally to school on my way to work. Even with such a short commute, there is usually time for them to annoy each other and occasionally they’ll get me involved. I am doing my best to enjoy such experiences. Lucy has a good first grade teacher who really cares about her and Lucy’s work thus far demonstrates good progress. She isn’t thrilled about getting up in the mornings, but I do my best to have the biscuits and chocolate milk on her TV tray while she watches cartoons.

Matt is riding the bus to Shady Dell four days a week for half days, and has become quite verbal which we all appreciate. The goal is to have him ready for Kindergarten next Fall, which means I’ll be taking all three of them to the NEW Hickory Hills school in the mornings. We’re praying to that end, and in the meantime are enjoying watching him spell his name while holding his pencil correctly. He still enjoys trains and cars and is becoming quite the architect with his legos. Life is good, with pancakes for breakfast every morning and an abundance of paper to practice his “homework.” He turned five years old in September.

Lori and I have been married 15 years. I am glad the Lord brought her into my life and blessed us with healthy children and interesting places to live. She is involved in the PTA at school and sings in the choir at church. She helps keep us connected to the world through posting pictures and updates on Facebook. We have been in Springfield more than two years now and are gearing up for another holiday season. We grateful to be in the Ozarks, and look forward to having Christmas with Andy Williams at his show in Branson in a few weeks. Of course, the trip to Silver Dollar City and their lights is a must as well.

We are grateful for our health, family, and friends. We have have experienced our share of struggles just like many others. In some ways, it’s been a really tough 2009. There’s a lot that could stress us and problems that must be faced. But for this week in particular, my desire is to slow down and count my blessings. I hope you’ll join me in that effort. Happy Thanksgiving!

Barry Howard, from FBC Pensacola, compiled this article that  Teddy Roosevelt gave to the Ladies Home Journal years ago about church attendance. I’m surprised I hadn’t heard about this one before, it is a really interesting compilation of reasons for going to worship. It is still relevant after all these years.

This is really nothing unexpected, but it is worth mentioning that the Georgia Baptist Convention have now made the divorce official. The state convention has chosen to sever ties with the historic FBC Decatur congregation after almost 150 years of ministry together.

The nature of this action is nothing knew to our state, as the Missouri Baptist Convention dismissed 18 of its congregations for not following the “single alignment” approach in their giving and ministry partnerships.

The timing of this action reinforces something our church heard this weekend, as we welcomed Dwight Stinnett to join us for our annual Baptist Heritage Day and Thanksgiving Banquet. During a question and answer time, he indicated that den0minations were not necessarily going away but that they were changing and must change in order to connect with our 21st century world. “Many people like Jesus”, Dwight said, “but they don’t like the church.” That is food for thought.

I wish FBC all the best as they move forward in reaching their community and world for Christ. The local church remains the headquarters of Kingdom work, and I am thankful that Baptist churches remain free to choose their own ministry partners, call and ordain whom they choose, and find ways to be relevant for Christ in their own communities.

Well, this one is different.

There’s a church in California that is offering worship services for dogs–literally. The Los Angeles congregation is holding half hour meetings with ”individual doggie beds, canine prayers, and an offering of doggie treats” for those four legged creations that can make it. One question I might have is whether you can count those dogs in the daily attendance figures. It might be hard to get them to fill out a guest card though.

I’m all for finding ways to reach out into the community, especially in light of this situation where the membership is aging and the attendance is dwindling. It’s so difficult to reinvent the church’s role in a changing neighborhood. There are fewer things more discouraging than to be part of a congregation that was at one time vibrant but now is doing all it can to keep the doors open, as if that is the main focus of a church. However, I am not sure how to relate to this kind of worship experience. Ministry is contextual, and I commend any pastor and congregation who attempts to get beyond it walls into the community.

I’ve heard about cowboy churches, but not so much about “cow churches.” I’m sure these would be moooving to be a part of it. If this canine congregation works, then we can all go down to the zoo for regular worship services. Of course, this is California and Los Angeles we’re talking about.

With respect to dog lovers out there, I’d like to know how this LA worship style relates to others.

The Missouri Baptist Convention has approved a budget with an opt out for churches who don’t want their CP funds used for lawsuits–but they’ll have to take church action on it. Unless churches say otherwise, some of their CP funds will go to maintain the litigation against Baptist institutions.

There is already a mechanism in place for receive funds for litigation, apparently, but this vote will guarantee an influx of funds to keep the lawyers happy for a while.

Most Baptist pastors will tell you that it can be difficult getting their people to act on anything against the conventional Baptist way of doing things. Usually it takes an informed and strong pastor to lead the people away from ties to the state convention. My hope is that there are some pastors like that in Missouri who will stand up and speak out in their congregations about what is happening to their CP money. It seems like the convention is putting the ball back in church’s court, and it will be interesting to see which pastors and churches send a dissenting message back to Jeff City.