Following up the letter to the congregation about our decision to conclude our ministry at the church next year, December 2011, Abe Fisher (current Chairman of the Elders) and Doug Denlinger (new Chairman of the Elders) addressed the congregation before the morning worship services on November 14, 2010. I also shared the following comments:
“Life is essentially a series of phases that God sovereignly leads us through. As we leave one phase we understand that that phase is closed and will not be altered. We also realize at the same time the Lord is sovereignly opening up a new phase of life and he wants us to enter into it by faith. We are to confidently move ahead embracing the truth that the next phase may be unknown to us, however the Lord already has the path well charted. Calvary Monument Bible Church, Doris and I are entering into a new phase.
"As we move into this next phase, I want to assure you of something. Our relationship to this church will remain special, but different. In the letter you received, I hope you understand how special you are when I wrote, “This church represents people we deeply love, a ministry we fully support, and a part of God’s harvest field were we have invested half our lives.” Yet things will be different.
"A ministry friend drew an analogy between pastors who move from a ministry with the father of the bride. I have pondered that analogy. The father stands at the end of the church aisle and realizes in brief moments the relationship between his daughter and he will soon be very different. It creates a tug at the father’s heart. But even after a 'new man' enters into his daughter’s life, the love for his daughter does not change. The relationship is indeed different, but on another level, a relationship remains because the love remains. I expect the same will be true in the leadership change that will be occurring in our church. The relationship will be different, yet a relationship will remain.
"I will be praying for you as the Lord leads this congregation to a new man, a new pastor, who will enter into this congregation’s life. I pray that he will love you and serve you. I pray that you will love him and support his ministry among you.
"I am asking that you support the rest of the ministry team – my fellow “under shepherds” of the pastoral staff and the elders. They will be walking with you through this process and will need your prayers for wisdom, spiritual understanding, and patient endurance. They will be taking on more responsibilities and will need your encouragement and helpful efforts to lift some of the load. I am praying for unity and love to abound as this phase of our church’s life. We cannot allow Satan to have any foothold in our congregation through the manifestation of ungodly attitudes or actions.
"I will continue serving here for the next year. So don’t turn this time into a funeral dirge. Doris and I are excited for what God has ahead for us. We take this step of faith fully convinced that we are to “Trust the Lord with all our heart, and lean not on our own understanding; in all our ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct our paths” (Prov. 3:5-6). I pray too that our church will have this same conviction."
Thanks for praying for us as we will be assuming the title of Minister-at-Large in about a year from now. The position is described like this: "As Minister-at-Large, Pastor Reid will serve beyond the walls of Calvary Monument Bible Church to the larger universal church through the teaching of Scripture, the strengthening of the body of Christ, and the encouragement of churches and Christian workers, in the U.S. and around the world. He will be free to serve whenever and wherever he believes the Lord has provided the opportunity. He will report annually to the elders of Calvary Monument Bible Church, and may seek their prayer and counsel regarding opportunities for ministry."
Saturday, November 20, 2010
An Attitude of Gratitude
Sometimes I have fantasized about what it would be like to receive a million dollars. Before you jump to the conclusion that I play the lottery, let me assure you that I do not. Nor would I follow the example of a person who was tying up a line at the register in a convenience store. He justified his multiple lottery card purchases by saying he was trying to pay off the mortgage on his house. I think he would have had greater success by applying the sum of money he paid for the tickets toward his mortgage!
I suppose in these moments of fantasy, I flash back to my childhood remembering the late 1950's TV series The Millionaire. The weekly story line was about a multimillionaire, John Beresford Tipton, Jr., who found gratification by giving away one million dollars to individuals he has never met. Then the rest of the story revealed how the million dollars impacted the recipient’s lives. The result was sometimes positive I suppose, but the stories I recall most often recounted how disruptive the windfall was to the individuals.
Recently I read an account of an elderly couple, Allen and Violet Large, who live in rural Nova Scotia. They won $11 million in a Canadian lottery. Four months after their windfall they decided they had no need for the money and have given virtually all of it to churches, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, hospitals, and charities that fight Alzheimer, cancer, and other diseases. Incidentally, if you didn’t get a check from them by now, you probably will not have any better chances of doing so than if you had bought a lottery ticket!
What ever possessed this elderly couple in their late 70’s to be so generous? Perhaps it was an attitude of gratitude. In reading portions of an interview with them, I discovered how they may have arrived at the decision they made. First, I noticed an attitude of contentment. Violet Large, 78, commented, “We have an old house, but we’re comfortable and we’re happy in it.” He husband, Allen, 75, added, “We were pretty well set, not millionaires, but comfortable.” They live in their 19th century house lacking such advantages as a microwave and voicemail. For transportation they drive a 13-year-old car and a 5-year-old truck. How does Violet assess their situation? She puts it simply, “I have no complaints.” She adds, “Why spend money when you have everything you need?”
Second, I observed how much they valued relationships with people. Violet and Allen have been married since 1974. Violet is recovering from cancer having just completed her last course of chemotherapy. A reporter observed Allen choking back tears when asked about the money. Allen responded, “That money that we won was nothing – we have each other.” In July when they were notified of the windfall, Allen had also gotten choked up saying there was only one thing he wished he could buy, “For Violet to be healthy.” They valued people over money and it showed. They made good on their initial promise to help people. They discovered, “It made us feel good,” to give money to people and community organizations.
Finally, it appears that they discovered money can also be a burden. Allen described their winnings as “a big headache,” and Violet expressed concern about the “crooked people” that began to call them trying to get their money. With the money out of the way the couple was focusing upon Violet’s recovery.
I have no information about the Large’s spiritual lives so I do not know what part that played in their decisions. I do recall, however, a biblical passage that says something about developing an attitude of gratitude that may relate to the couple’s actions. Paul wrote, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Timiothy 6:6-9 NIV).
That is a good insight as we go into this Thanksgiving season. May the attitude of gratitude be formed in us as we express contentment and thanks for what we do have. How easy it is to become discontent in a marketing culture that stresses our “need” for one more thing to make us happy. The blessings God gives us are often overlooked as we fixate upon what we do not have. Our vision perhaps needs adjusted so that we may, as the hymn writer puts it, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” Let us let our Thanksgiving be saturated with an attitude of gratitude.
I suppose in these moments of fantasy, I flash back to my childhood remembering the late 1950's TV series The Millionaire. The weekly story line was about a multimillionaire, John Beresford Tipton, Jr., who found gratification by giving away one million dollars to individuals he has never met. Then the rest of the story revealed how the million dollars impacted the recipient’s lives. The result was sometimes positive I suppose, but the stories I recall most often recounted how disruptive the windfall was to the individuals.
Recently I read an account of an elderly couple, Allen and Violet Large, who live in rural Nova Scotia. They won $11 million in a Canadian lottery. Four months after their windfall they decided they had no need for the money and have given virtually all of it to churches, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, hospitals, and charities that fight Alzheimer, cancer, and other diseases. Incidentally, if you didn’t get a check from them by now, you probably will not have any better chances of doing so than if you had bought a lottery ticket!
What ever possessed this elderly couple in their late 70’s to be so generous? Perhaps it was an attitude of gratitude. In reading portions of an interview with them, I discovered how they may have arrived at the decision they made. First, I noticed an attitude of contentment. Violet Large, 78, commented, “We have an old house, but we’re comfortable and we’re happy in it.” He husband, Allen, 75, added, “We were pretty well set, not millionaires, but comfortable.” They live in their 19th century house lacking such advantages as a microwave and voicemail. For transportation they drive a 13-year-old car and a 5-year-old truck. How does Violet assess their situation? She puts it simply, “I have no complaints.” She adds, “Why spend money when you have everything you need?”
Second, I observed how much they valued relationships with people. Violet and Allen have been married since 1974. Violet is recovering from cancer having just completed her last course of chemotherapy. A reporter observed Allen choking back tears when asked about the money. Allen responded, “That money that we won was nothing – we have each other.” In July when they were notified of the windfall, Allen had also gotten choked up saying there was only one thing he wished he could buy, “For Violet to be healthy.” They valued people over money and it showed. They made good on their initial promise to help people. They discovered, “It made us feel good,” to give money to people and community organizations.
Finally, it appears that they discovered money can also be a burden. Allen described their winnings as “a big headache,” and Violet expressed concern about the “crooked people” that began to call them trying to get their money. With the money out of the way the couple was focusing upon Violet’s recovery.
I have no information about the Large’s spiritual lives so I do not know what part that played in their decisions. I do recall, however, a biblical passage that says something about developing an attitude of gratitude that may relate to the couple’s actions. Paul wrote, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Timiothy 6:6-9 NIV).
That is a good insight as we go into this Thanksgiving season. May the attitude of gratitude be formed in us as we express contentment and thanks for what we do have. How easy it is to become discontent in a marketing culture that stresses our “need” for one more thing to make us happy. The blessings God gives us are often overlooked as we fixate upon what we do not have. Our vision perhaps needs adjusted so that we may, as the hymn writer puts it, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” Let us let our Thanksgiving be saturated with an attitude of gratitude.
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