Meaningful Words (12/4/06)

Here are a couple poems I’ve written over the past few months. I’ve also included my Immanuel poem in honor of Advent.

Pharisee
Sometimes I feel like a modern-day Pharisee
My outside is all nice and shiny
But inside I’m greasy, grimy

They tell me I’m great, they tell me I’m wonderful
If only they knew the truth, they’d tell me that I’m really full

But I keep it all inside
There in the darkness is where I hide
There where no one else dares abide

Yet into my life You come, O Lord
You, to whom, all my life is as an open door

Away you brush the thin layers of my outer mask
For even the thickest of walls, for You, would not be much of a task.

Deeper and deeper you delve within
Past all the muck, past all the sin

You wash it all clean with Your water of life
Freeing me from all my hate and strife

Community
Christ in you, Christ in me
This is what it means to be a true community
Christ in you, Christ in me
This is what God desires, His earthly Trinity

Your heart beating next to mine,
My heart beating next to yours
And at the center, there is God
In our midst

Christ in you, Christ in me
This is what it means to be a true community
Christ in you, Christ in me
This is what God desires, His earthly Trinity

For there are loads we cannot carry alone
Never were meant to be on our own
But side by side,
Let me carry you,
And when I’m tired
You’ll carry me too.
And we can can’t carry on
That’s when we’ll look to God
And find He’s been with us all along

Christ in you, Christ in me
This is what it means to be a true community
Christ in you, Christ in me
This is what God desires, His earthly Trinity

This road of life is long and narrow
With much toil and real sorrow
Yet hold to me,
As I hold to you,
And we will grow in His embrace.

Immanuel
Son of God, Immanuel
Tonight You came with us to dwell

You came to show us how to live
You came to us eternal life to give

Child of the King, You came from above
To teach us the true meaning of love

Took on our flesh, took on our sin
Our earthly burden, You took within

By Your hands, our wounds were healed
With Your blood our hearts are sealed

Teach us this day
To walk in Your way

Almighty Father, watch over us
Protect us from our darkness

Holy Spirit, Who dwells within
Keep us this day from all sin

Jesus, Redeemer, Lover, and Friend
To us Your embrace now extend

As we gather with our family
As we gather with our friends

Your love guides our hearts, as we amble blindly
While we hold hands, Your grace descends

And for those of us, who spend this season alone
As our spirits within us groan

Remind us, I pray, that You are always there.
Remind us, O Lord, that You always care.

The road we walk is treacherous
But You O Lord are ever with us

Give us this day our daily bread
Watch over us as we go to bed.

A-men.

Holistic Evangelism

As in the V.A., here at St. John’s, I have found in many ways I am re-learning not only how to share my faith but also how to grow in it. As some of you know, proselytizing or "aggressive evangelism" is not allowed within my role as chaplain. In fact, in action it is called "religious harassment" and goes right up there with "sexual", "racial", and all other kinds of "harassment." Some might see this policy as an affront to the Evangelical Christian lifestyle which almost assumes most of its members are sharing their faith on a regular basis. Yet I have come to see it as a different kind of invitation. An invitation to live out that famous quote from St. Francis of Assisi, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words." It also invites me into what I think is a much more gracious style of evangelism. Rather than actively seeking to save the soul of every veteran under my care, I have chosen instead to meet them where they are and in that place, help them to connect with God as they understand Him. I seek to help them find the tools for getting to know God on their own, rather than assuming my way of knowing Him is best.

There have been a few times where family members have asked me to “save” their relatives under my care. In those times I often state that I believe salvation happens best within the context of an already established relationship. That way the person new in their faith can grow in a safe and comfortable environment. I also point to the fact that I’m not sure it is in my role to save souls anyway. God, in the form of His Holy Spirit is the One Who ultimately does that. My job is to share my faith in the best way I can and for me, that faith is best shared by living my life before them as a testimony to the work of God’s Spirit within me.

Set in motion

My deepest apologies for the two-month delay in writing all of you. As you might imagine, what with two jobs, trying to have a social life and working towards ordination, my life has been a bit hectic as of late. But fear not, I bring you tidings of great joy ;-) This coming Tuesday (12/5/06) I will be meeting with the Elder Board at Calvary to gain their sponsorship for my ordination. The next step after that will be a meeting with Baptist General Conference’s Ministerial Guidance Committee, which should happen early on in the New Year. Then Calvary will assemble an Ordination Council consisting of pastors and ministers from their staff and that of other surrounding churches which will convene for, what my Associate Pastor called, a “two-hour grilling session.” If you are a pastor who receives this newsletter and would be interested in serving on that council, just let me know and I will pass your name to my Associate Pastor there who is assembling the council. Thanks!

Things are still going fine at St. John’s and Accessible Space, Inc. It’s hard to believe I have already been here for six months. By the way, I know Christmas is around the corner and a number of you may be wondering what to get me. If not, that’s fine too. For those that are, I have decided to post my wish list via Froogle this year. If you want to see it, just go to my Profile here and then click on the link for my “wish list” there. If you’re still at a loss, cash always works or gift certificates to Amazon.com or Christian Book Distributors . Thank you in advance!