"Follow the Right Leader"

As Canadian geese honked overhead, I plodded along through my daily predawn walk. There was still crispness in the late winter air, yet the temperatures had modified over the last several days melting snow piles and allowing patches of grass to materialize over night. I looked up and admit a smile formed on my face when I realized that the v-shaped flock was headed in a generally northern direction. The leading goose flapped away as the rest followed as an obedient avian flock on a mission. “Can spring be far away?” I mused. I could at least be hopeful.

The sighting of the flock of geese reminded me of the 1996 movie release entitled Fly Away Home. This movie was loosely based upon a true-life experience of a Canadian, Bill Lishman. He theorized that if he could get a flock of geese to become “imprinted” (the process by which birds will approach and follow an object to which they are exposed soon after hatching – from Scienceray.com) he could get them to follow an ultra light aircraft. In 1993 he successfully went through this “imprinting” process with some newly hatched goslings and later that fall led a flock of 16 Canadian geese from Ontario, Canada, to Northern Virginia. He had convinced these birds that he and the ultra light were leaders worth following. Fortunately he was a leader that had their best interests at heart.

Each fall there are groups of people who also try to lead Canadian geese. They do not use an ultra light aircraft; they use decoys cleverly set in fields and waterways along the geese’s migration routes. They are called goose hunters. Through skill and trickery these hunters try to get the geese to follow their lead and land where decoys are strategically located. Geese that follow the hunters “leadership” often end up a tasty meal on a hunter’s kitchen table. These leaders have their own best interests in mind, not the geese’s.

You have to be careful when it comes to following a leader. Following is important. So is knowing who and what you follow. If you follow the wrong person or thing – no matter how sincere and how much effort you invest – you can be in trouble. Following the right leader is as important as the activity itself! Who wants to have their goose cooked by a dangerous leader!

In our lives there are many “leaders” that vie for our followership. They may arise from among our peers, popular cultural personalities, religious instructors, educational institutions, print and electronic media, friends, and a host of other sources. The point is they are attempting to influence us to head in a particular direction and toward a specific outcome. The challenge is to determine if the leader is taking us where we really should be going and thus worthy of our followership.

Throughout the Bible there is ample evidence that leaders need to be scrutinized and not blindly followed because of their charming personalities, convincing propositions, and pleasing promises. One biblical warning states it this way, “There were false prophets [looking back at history]… even as there will be false teachers among you [looking ahead in history] who will secretly bring in destructive heresies… and bring on themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). Here it seems clear if you follow the wrong leader you might find yourself destroyed along with them. That is why it is essential to inspect a leader’s leading by measuring them against the absolutes of Scripture. The people in Berea did this in Acts 17:11 as they listened to the leaders of the early church, Paul and Silas. Dr. Luke reports they listened to their leading, but they also “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

One needs to be careful about who and what they follow or they could find their goose is cooked! I just heard another flock of geese outside my window. I hope their leader is taking them north. I’m anxious for spring!

Loving God as Much as the Super Bowl

I love football. I loved to play it. I love to read about it. I love to watch it. So when the Super Bowl came along years ago, I loved it. The first Super Bowl was played when I was a college freshman, January 15, 1967. I clearly remember this game between the AFL and the NFL league champions as they bashed one another for bragging rights. I watched the game on a 21-inch black and white television located in the lounge of the men’s dorm of Philadelphia College of Bible. The room was packed with guys sitting on discarded couches and chairs and munching cheeseburgers and fries from a “greasy spoon” called St. George’s. The food wasn’t great, but it was functional – the heart burn you got from the food could keep you awake all night so you could study. I remember little about that game, but I remember that it was a great evening!

From that humble beginning, the Super Bowl has morphed into a world all of its own. The game has become an unofficial national holiday gathering family and friends around all sorts and sizes of screens. Most years it is the most-watched television broadcast in the USA. Last year 106.5 million viewers made it the largest TV audience in history. People watch football teams play a game and half-watch a half-time show – often of dubious interest. They laugh at commercials funded by corporations that pay millions of dollars for fleeting seconds of opportunity, hoping to capture the nation’s attention and hawk their products.

Consumption of food has become a key ingredient to watching the game, becoming second in the USA only to Thanksgiving as the largest day for food consumption. The cost of the food, estimated at about $55 million, including among others things: 15,000 tons of chips, 4,000 tons of popcorn, and 8 million pounds of guacamole! It is no coincidence that the Monday after Super Bowl, 7-Eleven claims their sales of antacid increases 20 percent and there is a 6 percent increase of all working Americans who call in sick. I suppose you could say, “Americans love their Super Bowl… no matter what it costs them.”

What would happen if people loved God as much as they loved the Super Bowl? First, people would give a lot of attention to God. He would not be a casual interest. He would be a compelling reason to adjust schedules and make sure that nothing would interrupt time with Him. People would hardly be able to wait for Super Sunday to get to church to focus upon God. Each day there would be discussions about God’s strategies and daily opportunities would be taken to read the Bible and to learn about how God operates.

If people loved God like the Super Bowl, then they would gather family and friends together to focus upon God. There would be no fear that someone might not be interested in God. In fact, the love they had for God would have them thinking it would only be natural that their associates would want to love God too. Invitations to encounter God would be so natural that people who loved God would look at their invitation as a reasonable act of friendship, not an invasion into a person’s private world. There would be lots of enthusiasm and little embarrassment.

Loving God like people love the Super Bowl would bring joy into the lives of those who loved God. Being with God would be seen as a wonderful time of celebration, not a mere obligation or something to be tolerated and endured. They would think of all the victories God had won and reflect on the exciting prospect of what God was going to do. Cheers of praise would flow out of their lips. Being in God’s presence is where they wanted to be, and they rejoiced that they had the opportunity to do so. After all, God the Son is the champion over sin and death! He has already won the game over our soul’s opponent, Satan.

If one loved God like they do the Super Bowl, one would not think about the cost and fret about the sacrifice of being with God. You would just be glad to be able to be there and experience Him. After all, you would think, “Isn’t He worth it?”

Loving God is more important than the Super Bowl. The 45th Super Bowl will be over in a few days and few will even remember much about the game. On the other hand, God and His love for you will last for forever and it impacts your eternal soul. Why not love God more than the Super Bowl?

Keeping a Christmas Promise

Last week the wind was bitter and snow dusted the cemetery as I pushed against the car door that seems glued shut by the force of the squall. My traditional pilgrimage to my family’s grave plots was again met with a blast of winter weather that always seems to accompany the yearly ritual. This annual trek started years ago when Dad complained that I never went to the cemetery to see the family graves. My theological explanations and rationalization for my lack of attendance did not seem to diminish his disappointment. He commented that after he was gone there would be no one to put the “Christmas blankets” of greens on the graves.

One part love and one part guilt joined together to generate a promise from me. “Look Dad,” I said, “I promise that after you are gone; I’ll carry out the tradition as long as I can.” Several weeks after those words were spoken, the day after Christmas 1997; Dad unexpectedly went home to be with the Lord.

Almost a year later, on a frigid day in December 1998, I was at the cemetery trying to fasten “Christmas blankets” to frozen ground as snow flakes fell. All the while I knew Dad was in the perfect environment of heaven with the Lord, along with Mom, my sister, and other family members who had trusted Jesus Christ to be their Savior. For the Bible promises that believers in Christ can be assured that when we are absent from the body we are at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). Yet there I was with frozen red hands pounding metal fasteners in the ground. Why? Because I made a promise – a promise my children witnessed – and it was a promise I intended to keep.

There will come a day when I will not be able to keep that promise to my Dad, because, after all, I am human. This is the problem with human promises. They have limitations attached to the best of intentions. Think of some of the limiting factors we face in fulfilling our word including physical frailty, limited resources, finite life spans, and the inability to control many other circumstances associated with our humanness. This year I was able to drive to north Philadelphia and keep my promise. I have no idea if I can do that next year.

I thank God that He has no limiting factors associated with His promises. His abilities are unbounded. His resources are unlimited. His integrity is impeccable. His power is immeasurable. His character is saturated and overflows with mercy and grace. As such, I have every confidence that God will honor His word and fulfill that which He says He will do. He is not fickle like humans often are.

A major demonstration of God’s ability to keep his promises is displayed at Christmas. God promised Mary, Joseph, and shepherds, through angelic messengers, that Jesus would come and be the one to save people from their sin (Luke 1:26-33; 2:8-12; Matthew 1:20-21). Their message was simply a continuation of the prophetic promises God had given previously concerning Jesus in the Old Testament (i.e. he would be born in Bethlehem; he would have the specific genealogical heritage; he would have a miraculous birth; he would be worshipped by royalty; his birth would be accompanied by mourning; he would have an Egyptian connection; he would have an amazing name; etc.). God did exactly what He said He would do that first Advent.

Seeing how God kept His promise at Christmas encourages me as I consider the other promises God makes throughout the pages of Scripture. I am promised that God will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). I have the assurance that my God shall supply all my needs (Philippians 4:19). I am encouraged to realize that God’s Word guarantees that nothing shall separate me from the love of God – no not even death (Romans 8:35-39). I realize too that God’s promises touch not only my present life, they touch my future too. God the Son, Jesus Christ, promised a Second Advent – that he would come again and take me to heaven to a place He has prepared for me (John 14:1-6). God who has fulfilled His promises, is fulfilling His promises, and will fulfill His promises as we enter eternity.

At Christmas I remember that I have made a promise I hope I can keep. Even more importantly at Christmas, I am reminded that God can and does keep His promises.

Moving to the Next Phase

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."

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.

Thinking About Death

We are entering into the season of Halloween when death is somewhat romanticized, fictionalized, or relegated to the realm of the unknown. People dress in costumes depicting ghosts, vampires, zombies, and a host of other creatures associated with death, yet give little attention to the reality. Frankly, people sometimes wonder about people that talk a lot about death.

However, when someone we knew and loved dies, we are forced to consider death from a different perspective. Death takes on a stark reality and is seen as a genuine part of the human experience. It is in these moments, even if only in the brief minutes of a funeral service, that death is addressed and questions are raised about the meaning and brevity of life. It is a time when we experience the pain and sorrow death causes as the reality of separation settles into our world. Then we learn that death is not just a seasonal thought, it is an invasive reality. President Andrew Jackson was right when he wrote: "When death comes, he respects neither age nor merit. He sweeps from this earthly existence the sick and the strong, the rich and the poor, and should teach us to prepare for death."

In the last several weeks there have been five funerals in our church. The ages of those who have passed from this life have ranged from seven months to ninety-two years. There were both males and females who died. Deaths occurred after a prolonged illness and in one instance after a tragic accident. In this context it seems rather bizarre not to think about life and death even if I might prefer other topics to occupy my thinking.

One of the major themes that has crossed my mind is that life should not be measured in years alone. Among other things, life should be measured by impact. There are many who have lived long lives yet made little impact. Others, who only lived a brief time, none-the-less made a significant impact. Sadly, the impact a life has upon individuals is often not expressed until after someone has died. Then the imprint of their life surfaces as people take time to process the way the person has touched their own life. Wouldn’t it be nice to engage in that process before a person dies and then encourage them by articulating how loved and important they are to us? One woman perhaps captured those sentiments when she said, “I told my husband to send me the flowers now and not wait for my funeral!”

Another thought that crossed my mind is, “Stop living life thinking it will go on forever in this world.” How often have I said that “sometime” I will do something I have always wanted to do? Death reminds us that sooner than we expect that time is gone and the “sometime” will never come. Several years ago there was a movie called The Bucket List about two terminally ill men who leave a cancer ward for a road trip with a wish list of things they want to do before they die – or in their terms “kick the bucket.” One man was a flamboyant millionaire and the other a quiet mechanic, but both faced the end of life realizing that they had unrealized dreams. The story focuses upon them trying to squeeze what they wanted to do in life into the remaining time they had. Wouldn’t a better plan be to live each day with reckless abandon to the glory of God, doing His will, and living by faith? Perhaps our “bucket list” would then be pretty short!

Tomorrow I will officiate at another funeral for a friend. He probably had a pretty short “bucket list” when the Lord called him home. It was not just because he lived a long life. It was because he lived a life of impact. He lived each day with the excitement that “This is the day that the Lord has made we will be glad and rejoice in it” (Psalm 118:24). He desired to make his Savior known and found his greatest joy in telling someone the good news of the Gospel because he knew that he was Christ’s ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20). He wrote to me that he wanted to live life “going the last mile” – and that he did. He held nothing back. He lived a life fully invested in the Savior he loved, because he knew he served the Savior, Jesus Christ, who loved him so much that He died for him (1 John 4:19).

Perhaps this is a good time to think about death. It may not be a pleasant exercise, but certainly a wise and necessary one. You prepare for death while you are alive, not after you have died. Life on earth is briefer that we think and eternity is longer than we can imagine.

Are We Still In Our Terrible Twos?

The two-year-old boy with a tangled mass of blond curls and deep blue eyes had his gaze locked upon his dad’s. Standing in front of his father he was at best petite and in reality just a miniature person. However, at this moment, his dad’s physical size meant nothing. The child was again preparing to declare his independence from the “establishment.” The directive from his father was clearly and lovingly given, but the mind of the cute little boy was busy processing how he was going to respond in such a way that he would declare and establish his independence. After a pause, defiantly he stuck his little tongue out toward his dad as if to say, “I’m going to try it one more time. I don’t want anyone – even someone who loves me – to tell me what to do.” The response of his dad was the same as it had been numerous times that day. The corresponding results were: a child disciplined, tears flowed, assurances of love from a patient father expressed, and little arms tightly hugged his father’s neck. The words formed in my mind, “When will he ever learn? He is not going to win!” Then I mused, “Welcome to the terrible twos!”

Just using the phrase “the terrible twos” conjures up all sorts of images. Despite the image we imagine, they seem to communicate the same thing, an immature child is trying to declare their independence from parental authority – and anyone else’s for that matter. Those who observe such rebellious encounters try and comfort exasperated parents by saying, “Don’t worry, they will grow out of this.”

However, it seems to me that some people have a hard time getting past their “terrible twos.” An individual may be in their 40s, but they still have a defiant spirit that sticks their proverbial tongue out at the world declaring, “No one can tell me what to do!” Their defiance creates havoc in their lives and yet they persist. They are just an older model of the “terrible twos.” They do not consider nor care now hopeless their action may be, they just feel better that they have expressed resistance to an authority.

Our Heavenly Father deals with rebellious children all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve in a way “stuck out” their defiant tongues to God by ignoring His clear directive “not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17). The result was God’s loving discipline and His gracious provision to restore them to fellowship with Him once again. What a display of amazing gracious love!

Humanity through the centuries has continued to display “terrible-two-defiance.” The Psalmist captures this spirit when he asks, “Why do the nations conspire and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters’” (2:1-3). It sounds like a bad case of the “terrible twos,” doesn’t it? As foolish as it is to defy an earthly father, it is even more arrogant to rebel against a Heavenly Father, who is all powerful and righteous. What an encouragement to realize that our Heavenly Father is even more gracious with us than our earthly fathers.

The terrible twos resurface in all of us from time to time. A clear biblical command is encountered and we seem to intentionally resist the directive rather than submit to it. In those times perhaps we need to reflect upon how immature and foolish that response is. To borrow the words of the Apostle Paul, “When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me” (1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV). Perhaps we need to get past our “terrible twos” and start living as spiritually mature people who seek to practice unreserved obedience to our Heavenly Father. He loves us so much that He gives us guidance to live successfully in this world. He also loves us so much that he doesn’t let us get away with our “terrible-two-defiance” that ignores His directives. Is it time to grow up yet?