Moving

Dear Friends,

In some ways, I feel like I have been moving since we arrived here a little less than three years ago.  We moved from North Carolina, we moved Luke and Krysta from NC.  We both moved into a rental house here on SSI.  After 10 months we moved to the home we bought.  We moved Luke and Krysta to a home they bought in Brunswick.  The church sold part of the 3^rd floor and I moved my office across the hall.  My son Alex graduated and we moved him to Brunswick.  The church sold more of the 3^rd floor and we had to move everything out and into storage.  After Luke passed away and we moved Krysta and Liam out of her house and into an apartment.  We helped Alex move to Savannah.  The church sold the 3^rd floor offices and we again had to move things to storage.  Alex moved again, this time to Richmond, VA.  Now, we as a church, are moving to our new home on Marsh’s Edge… I think my feelings are justified.

Moving is exciting, exhausting, humiliating, frustrating and filled with anxiety all rolled together into one experience that we look forward to being over.  This is not one of those times where the joy is in the journey. No, the joy is in the last item being put away and falling into the most comfortable chair to survey and appreciate all that has been accomplished and imagining the future ahead.

As a church family, that is where we stand right now.  The finishing touches are being put on our new home.  The moving trucks have emptied out our storage units and much of the furniture and equipment from our current Fellowship Hall/office space.  All of this has been staged in various rooms in the new building as we await our permission to occupy.  Our last day at our current home (June 25^th) and our first day at our new home (June 26^th) looms large on the calendar.  The excitement in our church family grows and grows as those days get tantalizingly closer!

I have only been waiting for this moment for two years and ten months.  Some of you have been waiting and preparing, praying and saving for nearly twenty years!  That’s exhausting, and I imagine every little delay has been a frustrating gut-punch as you have sought to do what you felt God calling you to do and what you have been working so hard to accomplish.  Finally, the dreams have taken shape and the threshold is just waiting to be crossed and now, the anxiety kicks in.  What if there’s a problem, what if the final inspection doesn’t go well?  What happens if we don’t get permission to occupy in time?  Where will all the furniture go, will we need to buy more or get rid of some?  Do we rent trucks or do we hire movers?  So many questions, so many worries!  Fortunately, we have Rick and several other members of our family who have been working diligently and tirelessly to answer these questions and to deal with situations as they arise.

The packing and the moving have begun!  Every time I move, I find it slightly humiliating to realize how much junk I have accumulated and kept and even moved from place to place!  Human nature being what it is, a church is no different.  We are currently having and will continue to have many “Why in the world are we keeping this” moments.  That old saying, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure,” is on full display as we dig through cabinets, drawers and closets asking the question, “Should we keep this?” 

In the end, however, it will all be worth it.  The new building is going to be beautiful!  We will have room to welcome guests and to expand.  There will be room for discipleship seminars and ultimate frisbee showdowns, fellowship dinners and children’s worship, weddings, funerals and so very much more!  I for one am looking forward to sitting down in my office with a great sigh of satisfaction as I imagine our very bright future together in our new home!

Only by Grace!

Pastor Mike

The Poor

Dear Friends,

There are many things in our society that we, as Christians, are called to process, confront, engage and deal with for which there just doesn’t seem to be an answer for how to fix the problem.  It’s very easy to become frustrated, throw up our hands and just do nothing.  Yet, God’s Word never commends those who ignore those who are hurting around us.  Paul tells us that in order to fulfill the law of Christ we must “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal 5:6).  That speaks to the “others first” orientation of Christianity.  It is why humility, meekness, gentility, generosity and love, among other virtues, are so highly praised in the life of a believer.

One of those issues we must contend with is poverty.  Jesus said, “The poor will always be with you…” (Matt. 26:11) and that has proven to be true.  Even the mighty U.S. government can’t figure out how to end poverty.  Frankly, even if we all gave half of everything we have to the poor, many would still remain poor.  Even if somehow, we were able to give everyone a job, there would be many who would not take the job and would remain in a state of perpetual poverty.  Of course, the definition of poor changes as well.  The higher we raise the minimum wage the higher the poverty level raises keeping pace with inflation.  If we then throw in the desperately poor of the world, outside of the United States, the whole situation is completely overwhelming.

The Apostle Paul had much to say about the poor and why we should have compassion on those less fortunate than ourselves.  In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 he says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.”   Those verses cover a lot but when applied to the poor and hopeless it means; God didn’t give up on comforting and helping us, we shouldn’t give up on allowing God’s comfort and help to flow from us to others in need.

It truly was my joy to help our team serve at Manna House this past Saturday.  We had fewer helpers than normal but everyone got busy, prepared the food, packed the bags, filled the cups with water and iced tea and got ready to serve lunch to all who came.  Would they have gone hungry if we had not shown up?  Some yes, others probably not but that was not for us to judge and it certainly was not our reason for being there.  As the bagged lunches were being handed out, I had the opportunity to go outside and interact with some of those we were serving.  Some joked with me, they laughed at my skinny white legs! I laughed right along with them.  Some asked me to pray with them and I saw Brenda praying with others that she took the opportunity to engage.  At one point I looked up and saw Amy and Lisa giving hugs as well as lunch to some of the ladies in line.  Many who were there have very real worries, hurts and concerns and I was honored that we as a group were able to help bear, or at least momentarily lighten, their burdens.  I pray that they saw the love of God in our words and actions and that perhaps, in the future, they will be comfortable enough with us, to have a spiritual conversation about their true need of salvation.

Yes, the poor will always be with us.  Some of them are coarse, some have mental challenges, others smell badly and a few are scary.  However, without exception, they have all been made in the image of God just like us and every last one is loved by our Heavenly Father.  “Lord, allow us to see them through Your eyes!”

Only by Grace!

Pastor Mike

Patriotism and Worship

With Memorial Day and Independence Day just around the corner we, as your pastoral team, are faced with a recurring dilemma every year.  Is it proper to incorporate national patriotism into our worship service?  Many times, we have the same type of question for other popular holidays on the calendar, but these particular holidays seem to bring out a lot more emotion.  Since we, as a team we have been discussing this, I thought now would be an excellent time to explore this topic together and give insight into our reasoning for leading worship the way we do.

The first things we must consider are our goals for leading worship.  Our goal as pastors and worship leaders should be, first and foremost, to please God – not, necessarily, to please those whom we are leading.  Of course, we do want to please you, but we want to please you in appropriate God pleasing ways.  For example, many in our family of faith would love it if we only sang the old hymns with organ accompaniment. But God’s word tells us in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 that we are to sing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” while Psalm 150:3-5 instructs us to “Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!”  You see, God is pleased with many types of music and many types of instruments.  To arbitrarily exclude any one type is to limit our worship experience and possibly to diminish God’s pleasure.  We must always elevate His pleasure over our own.  Nothing should come before or replace God in our services.

The next thing we considered is that just because a particular day is celebrated as a national holiday, it is not necessarily a sacred church holy-day.  Memorial Day and Independence Day are rightly celebrated as American holidays.  It is right and proper to honor those who have given their lives in service to their country.  Likewise, it is right and proper to celebrate the founding of our country and the freedoms that we enjoy.  However, we are not only citizens of the United States of America.  In fact, our greater citizenship is in the Kingdom of God which should always be our first allegiance.  “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33). Whenever our eyes slip from that target we are being distracted.  Paul warned us, “Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away” (1 Corinthians 7:31).

Finally, unlike Christmas and Easter, the focus of most holidays is not Jesus, who should be the only focus of our weekly worship service.  When confronted with the issue of paying taxes in Matthew 22:21 Jesus said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” I think the same principle applies here.  There are times and days set aside to celebrate our national holidays.  We should celebrate them!  However, we should not take additional time from that which is set aside specifically to worship and celebrate our God and His kingdom.  That is not to say that there be no mention or acknowledgment of veterans, mothers, fathers, historical circumstance and the like.  Of course, there will!  However, our focus and praise must be locked firmly on Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

Our country was founded during an 18^th century philosophical movement in Europe known as the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason.  In fact, many of our founding fathers like Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson where heavily influenced by the thinkers of this time (Thomas Paine, Voltaire, Rousseau and others).  During this time, intellectualism replaced faith and established religion was rejected in favor of nationalism.  This was especially true in France where even church alters were converted from God worship to worship of the state.   Of course, history shows us that this reliance on man and state over God and faith took a terrible, bloody toll, not only in France but across Europe. The effects of this can still be seen in the governments and societies of many European nations today.  I pray that we will keep our priorities straight and never try to replace our eternal personal Savior with a temporary political one.

Please know that your pastors honor and appreciate all the men and women who serve and have served in our country’s armed forces.  They are true heroes whom we thank for their service.  We stand shoulder to shoulder with you at civic services to mourn our national dead and to honor those heroes who sacrificed to protect our freedoms.  We celebrate God’s grace that placed us in a country where we might live and worship in fearless freedom with fireworks and patriotic songs.   While we might not be happy with the direction in which we see our country going, we proudly do our civic duty by voting in elections, paying taxes and participating in political dialog when it is appropriate.  We encourage you to do these things as well in their proper time and place.   However, in our worship, all of these rightly take a back seat to praising, glorifying and proclaiming God, His grace unto salvation and His kingdom come.

Only by Grace!

Pastor Mike

Light of Hope

Dear Friends,

Over the few weeks around Easter, we received donations towards a food distribution to the families of the Light of Hope Girls Center in Chittagong, Bangladesh.  We received from you $1,005.49.  While this did not completely cover last week’s distribution it did cover most of it.  Following is a note from Debbie Mauger thanking you for your generosity:

Dear Mike,

Please pass along our thanks to your congregation for generously providing for our latest food distribution to the needy families of the girls in our school.  I didn’t get as many pictures as I planned because I was talking with each parent about the exam scores. But I did get some (below). I talked about the importance of the resurrection to have a personal relationship with God using lots of scripture. One girl who we ordered a food packet for hasn’t returned to the center so we divided the packet in two and helped two other local families that needed help. The families weren’t told about the food distribution ahead of time and were very grateful for the food, especially the oil. Cooking oil in this country has almost doubled in price in the last 2 months due to Ramadan, Ukraine war, and hoarding. Also, many other food prices have gone much higher than normal. So many poorer families haven’t been able to buy as much food as normal.

We gave each family:

22 pounds of rice                            30 eggs

4.4 pounds of flour                         7 bananas

4.4 pounds of lentils                       2.2 pounds of sugar

2.2 pounds of salt                           ½ pound of loose tea

1 quart of oil                                    1 bar of soap

4.4 pounds of potatoes                  1 bottle of shampoo

4.4 pounds of onions                      2.2 pounds of laundry detergent

2.2 pounds of oranges

We spent right around $1,150 so your church covered the cost. Please thank them very much!

Debbie

I know that Bangladesh seems like a million miles away and we have so many people and problems to deal with here in Georgia and the United States.  However, over and over, Jesus calls us to give to the poor.  There are not many people groups in the world poorer than these destitute families that the Mauger’s minister to.  Knowing that they are being presented with the saving gospel of Christ (spiritual food) in addition to the physical food makes your donations of eternal value!  Thank you for giving!

Only by Grace!

Compromise

Dear Friends,

No longer do those of the world ask us to compromise our beliefs, morals or principals… They demand it!  Frankly, if we are honest, much of their reasoning and logic sounds right, fair or reasonable to us.  Unfortunately, those messages are appealing to the “natural or carnal man” within us, not the “spiritual man” that is a result of our rebirth in Christ (Rom. 8:5-10). It is always a temptation to listen to our old nature and compromise.  Typically, it will make life here in this world easier but it is a slippery slope because the more we listen, the more “right” it sounds and as soon as we compromise a point of godliness, the easier it is to do it again.

To compromise is to make concessions or accommodations for someone who does not agree with a certain set of standards or rules. There are times when compromise is good and right—compromise is a basic skill needed in marriage, for example, and in other situations in which keeping the peace or unity of the body is more desirable than getting one’s own way.

In certain other matters, however, compromise is not good. The Bible makes it clear that God does not condone compromising His Word or commands: “Be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left” (Deut. 5:32).  “Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed” (Psalm 119:2-4).  “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law (jot or tittle) will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So, if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 5:18-19).  God is holy, and His ways are right and perfect. Concerning matters that God has clearly addressed in His Word, we do not negotiate, bargain, or compromise.

What makes compromise so dangerous is the subtle way it approaches us. Compromise, doesn’t involve a wholesale capitulation to worldly ways or ideals; rather, it accommodates them which in turn affirms them.  I would guess that most who read this article would affirm the Bible to be God’s Word.  You may even say that the writers were inspired by God to write what they did.  But inerrant; relevant for today; literal?  This is where compromise is so often made by, we modern highly intelligent, humans.  “That was meant for the first century not the twenty-first century…” Compromise! “The Bible is more of a philosophical guide rather than a true historical document…” Compromise! “Over the millennia many mistakes have been made in our modern Bibles by copyists and translators…” Compromise!  These seemingly logical compromises completely invalidate and de-legitimize the Bible as our guide to eternal life.  That’s Satan’s greatest desire!  If we truly believe in an eternal, perfect and transcendent God, why can’t we hold to the belief that He would protect and maintain the perfection of His revelation to us? Dear friends, never cross that line.  Hold to the inspired, inerrant and always relevant truth of God’s Word!

As we go through this world, we will hear many calls to compromise. The “fleeting pleasures of sin” (Heb. 11:25), the “… empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, (Col. 2:8), and “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16) all tempt us to compromise in areas we should not. Usually, the temptation to compromise is heightened by some type of fear, such as the fear of being rejected or criticized by friends, family or others of the world, perhaps even others in the church! But, from an eternal perspective, there are certain lines that should never be crossed because there are times when compromise becomes evil, a tool of Satan.  Resist him! (1 Pet. 5:9)

Only by Grace!

Pastor Mike