by Greg | Aug 27, 2014 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
Silence can be deafening, especially when you are anxiously waiting to hear from someone: a call, an email, a text – anything to provide a bit of hope or assurance that all is well and all will be well. If you have been on the receiving in of a pathology report you know all too well what it feels like to wait in silence while your misery commandeers your imagination. We have been there with God too: waiting for a word, a nod, or at least a glance to reassure our fears and our anxieties. As a church we have journeyed alongside Israel in the opening pages of Exodus where God has mostly been passive and silent. Meanwhile we read of kingly insecurities that lead to murderous conclusions. A baby of no particular merit is saved because three women step in and this baby grows up and makes some mistakes and flees the scene in exile and fear. Meanwhile God is nowhere to be found. So the people of God cry out. It sounds a lot like Job, another character from our Bible whom is remembered as the embodiment of suffering the indignity of God’s silence and apparent absence. We need to stop right there and linger for a moment or two around the phrase absence of God. It seems disloyal to say it, let alone think it. It has an air of apostasy to it. Yet it is a valid expression in the Hebrew tradition. Listen to this one Psalm to get an idea of a cry of absence: How long, O LORD? Will...
by Greg | Aug 20, 2014 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
While my head of hair is nothing to brag about, I am, all things considering, fairly easy going regarding my haircut. My “stylist” (stop laughing) does not have to ask me how I want my hair cut on any given day that I show up. It is always a little off the top, thin on the sides, and do something with that cowlick. Before moving to Augusta my last barber took it upon himself to clip (I can hardly say this) my ear hair! Can nose hair be that far away? This dilemma has puzzled mankind (you women have other issues) as long as we have been stepping over dirty laundry: why is it that as we grow older we lose hair from the top, but grow more hair in our ears and nose? And while I am asking deep philosophical questions, if you break a cookie up into small pieces, does it have fewer calories? Where does the other sock go from the wash? Can a dog smile and if so, what is he (or she) smiling about? When one of my sons was a little boy he asked me what toenails were made of? I still don’t have an answer. I guess I will have to deal with these questions another day. Still, it never hurts to ask. That’s how we grow. In fact growing in the faith is all about asking questions. The “whys”, “wheres”, and “hows” are how we deepen our relationship with God because it takes God serious enough to ask. Like smiling dogs, we may not get the answer right away,...
by Greg | Jul 30, 2014 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
A few Sundays ago I had what can delicately be described as a “wardrobe malfunction.” It was not nearly as sensational as the infamous episode a decade ago during the half-time of the Super Bowl, but it was nevertheless inconvenient. The right arm (or is it a leg?) of my eye glasses fell off and despite all my efforts it would not reassemble. In ten minutes I would be preaching and unless something changed I would be preaching in the dark. Actually, it would be more like preaching in the blur. I trotted in a stumbling, woozy, nearsighted-kind-of way to my car which now seemed to be inconveniently parked on the upper lot to retrieve an old pair of glasses that would see me through the day (get the pun?). By the time I returned to the worship service in progress it was five minutes before the sermon and I was rumpled, ruffled and not a little bit sweaty. I imagine you think that preachers are in a blissful state of prayer and union with God right before the sermon, but on that particular day I was just trying to survive. That afternoon with some crazy glue I temporarily repaired my glasses and was able to enjoy the Sunday paper without much squinting. The following week I returned to the optical store to have my glasses repaired and it was there I learned that there was a recall notice on my glasses – a recall! I have been wearing glasses since I was seven and have never once had a pair that was later recalled. Whoever heard...
by Greg | Jul 23, 2014 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
Many years ago on a Saturday morning I was up in the attic changing air filters in the heating & air units. Yes, I know that you expected that I live the glamorous life on Saturdays, spending my time engaging in intellectual conversations with world-renowned scholars at local bookstores. Alas, more often than not, my Saturdays are not particularly glamorous, unless you count running into church members at the Waffle House as exotic. Anyway, while up in the attic I brought down a shoebox full of old 8mm reels. They dated from the mid 60s to the 70s. Amy salvaged these tapes from her mother’s house and had remained undisturbed in the attic. Not having an 8mm projector to enjoy its hidden contents, I took it upon myself to have many of them converted to DVD and surprised Amy with it on her birthday. Watching those old clips of Amy’s early childhood was like traveling back in time. We saw many of her family members who have since passed away. She was reminded of favorite dresses, special vacations, and cherished Christmas presents. We both took delight in viewing scenes of the great snowfall of 1973 (remember that one?). By the way, Amy has not changed a bit; still has that great mischievous smile. It made me wish that we had old home movies of my childhood. I would give anything to see my G.I. Joes, or my grandfather, or my old room. There are a few things, however, that I would like to forget. That terrible crew cut, for example, that all boys were wearing when I...
by Greg | Jul 16, 2014 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
Last Sunday I shared with the church family that one of my fondest memories as a child with my grandfather was watching wrestling on television on Saturday afternoons. I know that is not very “high-brow”, but come on, have you met me? Tony Atlas, Abdullah the Butcher, Andre the Giant, Mr. Wrestling II, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair – these were the men of legends. People told me it was fake but it sure seemed real to me. And when our weekly hour of entertainment was over we would head down to the barn, breathless from this cosmic struggle between good and evil. I want to invite you to wrestle with me. That is, wrestle alongside me. Together we are going to take on the Bible. The Bible itself does not tell us much about wrestling. The only genuine wrestling story we have in the Bible is the famous story from Genesis 32. There we read where Jacob wrestles with a man who is some angel or manifestation of God or something like that. That is when Jacob gets his name changed to Israel – the one who strives with God and mortals and prevails. Which is why that story is one of my favorites – it is a metaphor for life with God, as well as life with these words of God we call the Bible. I am inviting you and me to wrestle because it is out of laboring and striving that we grow, mature, and get stronger. The Bible is too important, too influential, too confusing and confounding to just take passively, flippantly or thoughtlessly....
by Greg | Jul 9, 2014 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
I am surrounded each day by old and new friends. They are from all over the world, but mostly North America. Many are Christian, but a few speak from the point of view of other faiths and some have no religious faith at all. They are the books in my study. I have a few text books from college. There are books I bought on a meager income while trying to build my own library. A few books were given to me when I was ordained nearly 27 years ago – this morning I am looking at a woefully outdated concordance that was at the time a precious and useful gift. Most of my books, however, I simply acquired over the years: commentaries, devotional guides, church administration manuals, theology texts, collections of sermons, poems, essays, etc. Yesterday I was browsing over the shelves looking for a book I read a couple of years ago. I recalled that this author might have something to say towards the subject I was planning to preach about this Sunday. I eventually found the book – my filing system is not bad but it is undecipherable to most anyone else – but not before being reminded of so many other books I have read in the recent past. For some reason it felt like those books were taunting me with ideas that I should have acted upon or issues that I still do not quite understand or pathways I should have taken. For the briefest of moments my quiet study at church seemed loud with the voices of scholars and practitioners...
by Greg | Jun 24, 2014 | Blog Posts
I did not grow up with a family that took regular vacations. It was a luxury of time we did not have on a dairy farm that operates with milkings twice a day, every day. I can remember going on four distinct vacations with members of my family. When I was 8 years old we took a vacation to Disney World. The park had just opened a couple of years earlier and it is still one of my favorite childhood memories. A few years later my grandparents took us to the Smoky Mountains for a few days. Those mountains still have a hold on me. The first time I remember seeing the ocean was on a quick trip to Daytona Beach. Another time I went to Destin Beach with my maternal grandparents. The ocean holds its own kind of mystery and I never tire in hearing the tide come in. These four vacations all occurred within the first twelve years of my life, and I am grateful for each one. After that, if we wanted to see the mountains or go to the beach we had to find a way on our own. Time was a luxury that just did not allow for those kinds of family outings. We did have the luxury of family, and that is a gift that cannot be reduced to a photograph or postcard or souvenir. Every year of our marriage (26 years thus far!) we have enjoyed both the luxury of time and family to enjoy a vacation. The term vacation literally means to vacate or take freedom from something. Vacations...
by Greg | Jun 13, 2014 | Blog Posts
When we walk it is usually to just get from one place to another. But there are other times we walk when the point is not so much the destination, but the walk itself. Walking is a great way to clear your head or work through a problem. Some walk for exercise and others walk with a friend for companionship. Aristotle allegedly taught his students while strolling about. Sigmund Freud conducted consultations while walking and conducted a number of “walking analyses” in the evening times. If Steve Jobs wanted to have a serious conversation with you, his preference was to do it while walking. Harry Truman was a man who loved routine and one of those daily routines was a vigorous walk of a mile or two at 5 AM – wearing a business suit and tie. One of my favorite gifts is a walking stick one of my sons whittled for me from a young dogwood. In the last ten years that stick has travelled with me along the mountain ridges of North Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. In the Gospels many things happened while Jesus was on the road with his disciples – healing, teaching, praying, feeding, and listening. One of the most beloved post-resurrection stories is his walk on the road to Emmaus. This blog, “Pilgrim’s Walk,” is an invitation to join with me in our shared walk together as friends in Christ. Through stories, lessons, and reflections I want to walk with you as we discover how God is moving, working, and loving this world. As Jesus was walking along…he said…”Follow me.” (Matthew 9:9) Grateful...
by Greg | Jun 12, 2014 | Blog Posts
Do you remember the first time you ever saw the ocean? I am not sure how old I was, but I will never forget standing on the edge of the shore staring drop-jawed at the endless Atlantic before me. With absolute awe I looked out amazed at the vastness before me and for the first time in my life caught a glimpse of eternity here on earth. The ocean is still a pretty amazing sight, but I no longer have that boyish veneration when I stare off into the ocean’s horizon. Several years before the death of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel he suffered a near-fatal heart attack. His closest friend was at his bedside. Heschel was so weak he was only able to whisper: “Sam, I only feel gratitude for my life, for every moment I have lived. I am ready to go. I have seen so many miracles during my lifetime.” The old rabbi was exhausted and after a long pause, he said, “Sam, never once in my life did I ask God for success or wisdom or power or fame. I asked for wonder, and he gave it to me.” Indeed, a life lived well is one that is filled with wonder. Each day we stand at the precipice of wonder, but so often turn around to more immediate concerns. The wonder of an “eternal ocean” gives way to the knowledge that it has fixed boundaries found in continents on the other side. The wonder of an evening thunderstorm is reduced to the prosaic analysis that it is just warm air running against cold air creating static...
by Greg | Jun 3, 2014 | Blog Posts
As if life is not confusing enough with all of our choices, I want to extend to you one more choice: considering signing up for a new blog our church will be publishing: “2020 Vision” and you can find it at www.2020vision.faithlabserver.com/. Once you enter the blog, look to the sidebar and subscribe. What is the blog about? In the very near future our Deacon leadership will appoint a team of members to work with the congregation in articulating a vision for the church as it lives into the Missio Dei (the Mission of God). This website is designed to facilitate our conversations toward this goal. We you sign up you become part of the conversation. After all, any good vision is a vision worth sharing! Very soon I will be changing the title and look of this blog – same random content, but hopefully a better look and reach....
by Greg | May 28, 2014 | Blog Posts
Johnny Cash; I still miss him. He passed away in 2003. Most any kid in the rural South for the last sixty years was raised at least in part on Johnny Cash. From an early age our children were introduced to his music, sometimes against their will, when we would take car rides to visit family, the cemetery or just to go run some errands. And even though I have never been in prison, shot a man in Reno, or hopped a train bound for Texas, I feel as though I understood him. Perhaps more so than any other entertainer Johnny Cash was the most consistent in his authenticity. What you saw was what you got – voice and all. Of course he was far from perfect. He had a bad first marriage and struggled with drugs, alcohol, fame and his own beliefs. With all of that and more, his struggles were not filtered through the spin of a publicist. We heard him “warts and all.” I am glad as a child I had the experience of rifling through my father’s LPs and listening to that voice of pure gravel voice that is distinctive of Cash. He sung of his pain and of his joys. He sung of things he understood, but also of things that were a mystery. And for better of for worse he lived life with very little pretense. Now far be it from me to extol him as a man of pure virtue and say, “Go and live like Johnny Cash.” Can you imagine what the choir would sound like; look like? And don’t you...
by Greg | May 21, 2014 | Blog Posts
When I was a teenager and in the middle of self-absorbed angst I counted the days until I could move out of the house and live on my own. Within weeks of my high school graduation I fulfilled part of that plan by moving to Atlanta to begin a fresh journey as an art student. I quickly discovered there really is no such thing as living on my own. Money was always tight, so I needed others to employ me; I knew no one in Atlanta and so I needed to make new friends; and my family, doggone it, was not so bad after all. I found myself coming home most weekends and waiting until the last minute to head back to my lonely studio apartment in Atlanta. Each week my grandmother would fry a chicken and bake a loaf of bread for me to take back with me. It was for me a striking reminder of how our lives are bound together in this life together. Those are two very simple words that bespeak volumes – life together. Sometimes life together is a fragile collection of relationships, loosely held and easily broken. In other seasons life together is about tight bonds, loyally woven together in a tapestry of lifelong love. German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a little book by the title Life Together while he taught an underground seminary during the dark days of Nazi Germany. In it he describes that the church should be a community of love where forgiveness, acceptance and charity to all is lived and practiced. Life together. That is what we are seeking...
by Greg | May 14, 2014 | Blog Posts
The urge wells up within me whenever the days are warm and the skies are sunny. It simply is not much fun riding around in a car with the windows rolled up, the air-conditioner humming, and NPR broadcasting. To allay this desire for asphalt freedom I will play U2 or Bruce Springsteen on the radio, but the effect is only temporary. When I owned a MINI I enjoyed the luxury of a “panoramic sunroof” which was probably as close to a convertible as I will ever come to possess. I would slide the roof back and let the wind blow through my thinning hairline and feel some measure of freedom. That is, until I pulled into the church parking lot, straitened my tie, patted down my hair, and returned to respectability. Yep, I want a motorcycle. Or a convertible. Or at least a hula doll for my dashboard. But in the meantime I think I will just enjoy this life as it comes day by day regardless of what I am driving, riding, or surfing. If I can find a Jimmy Buffett tune to accompany me along part of that journey, all the better. One of my favorite texts of scriptures that quite often makes its way in my funeral homilies comes from Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 – “I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; moreover, that every one who eats and drinks sees good in all their labor – it is the gift of God.” Listen to those verbs again: “rejoice…do good…eat…drink…sees good…” This is not just another...
by Greg | Apr 16, 2014 | Blog Posts
God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. (Genesis 1:31) Do you remember when you first discovered that the world, the earth is a beautiful place? Perhaps you were on a family vacation and you were gripped by exploding autumn colors in the Great Smoky Mountains. Or you hiked with your parents to a waterfall and for the first time were overwhelmed as the mist enfolded you and the water thundered down. When was it that you discovered the beauty of creation? Staring at Orion galloping across the evening sky or peering through the telescope to see the craters of the moon? Early in college I took an interest in ecology and the environment and found myself accused of being a tree-hugger. Well I must confess I am. I love trees. Many mornings you might see me walking around this campus admiring the stately live oaks, redbuds, and Japanese Maples that mark our church grounds. With great affection I remember the first tree I fell in love with when I was a boy. It was a giant sycamore that to this day still looms over a creek through the pasture bottoms where the dairy cows graze before the afternoon milking. When we were small children my daddy and grandparents would take us to that spot to play in the sand alongside that sycamore whose roots reached beneath the creek itself and the massive limbs shaded us from the scorching summer sun. This time of year trees around us are shaking off winter’s sleep and opening up delicate new leaves for the year. I have...
by Greg | Apr 9, 2014 | Blog Posts
Preachers love stories – hearing them; telling them; sharing them; and even – if necessary and it is good for the kingdom’s sake – making them up! From this preacher, you will not likely hear me tell a golf story. I have never played the game and outside of knowing that the little white ball is supposed to go in the little hole conveniently marked by a flag, I know very little about it. I know that even if I were to try to tell a golf story I would invariably get the facts wrong, or mess up the punch line, or say something that would leave the better-informed among you thinking less of me. Amy was mildly embarrassed of me and a bit indignant during my first golf outing here in Augusta. Someone was very generous and thoughtful by providing an opportunity for us to attend The Masters – perhaps you have heard of it? Anyway, at hole 13 (at least I think that was the hole; I remember there were lots of beautiful azaleas and some water, yet for some reason no one was fishing) a golfer was preparing to “tee off” and I politely asked the question, in an appropriate hushed tone because everyone else was whispering, “is that where they whack the ball?” Amy told me to be quiet and eat my pimento cheese sandwich. Now when I attend I just keep my thoughts to myself and make small talk about all the lovely shrubs, flowers and trees. Even though I know very little about golf and have no intention to take up the game,...
by Greg | Mar 26, 2014 | Blog Posts
Years ago when I was just a fledgling young adult I stumbled upon a stack of old candy bar wrappers that my grandmother had carefully saved through the years. A dozen or so “Mr. Goodbar” wrappers had been devotedly pressed like wildflowers on exhibit and preserved as a mute testimony to my grandfather’s attempt at romance. My grandfather, Papa, attended Rockville Academy, in rural Putnam County. The school is still standing with a historical marker designating it as the oldest consolidated rural school in Georgia and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. His memories of his years attending that farm school live on in the stories he shared with us. He laughed about the recollection of a school holiday when as boys they led a cow (or was it a mule?) up the stairs of the schoolhouse and locked her in for the duration of the break. Then there was the time when, along with some accomplices, he took a mason jar, placed it over the hole of a nest of yellow-jackets and filled it to the brim. Later in the afternoon someone rolled the jar down the aisle of the classroom releasing the now very angry yellow-jackets and affectively releasing class for the day. Corporal punishment was in use and was no doubt used frequently. For reasons I am not clear, by the time Papa was a teenager he began attending Eatonton Academy – the school in town which was also the same school house attended by my daddy, and later my sister, brothers and me. It was there he moved from pranks with cows...
by Greg | Mar 19, 2014 | Blog Posts
I dream’d in a dream I saw a city invincible, to the attacks of the whole of the rest of the earth, I dream’d that was the new city of Friends. I keep a copy of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass on the end table by my reading chair. I read snatches of his lines in the early morning before digging into whatever book I am working through at the time. There is just something about those 19th century American Romantics that have me returning to their waters time and again to drink. You have heard me cite the following quote by Henry David Thoreau – another American Romantic – before, but it is worth repeating: I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately; to front only the essentials in life and see what it had to teach me. And not, when I came to die, discover that I had never lived. Those few words make me want to grab my walking stick parked in a corner in our house and head out to the wooded hills with my wife in hand to see what there is to see. The words of Whitman and Thoreau have lasted so long because they speak to the heart of the human condition – the desire to live faithfully and deliberately. It is also a reminder of the importance of abiding together. It is part of the church’s responsibility to bear upon our consciences that God created us to live not in isolation but in community, and to do so with a holy intentionality. So many – too many – trudge...
by Greg | Mar 12, 2014 | Blog Posts
It took four weeks of intermittent, hard labor but I have taken care of a stump in our front yard…mostly. It all started with the ice storm – ICE2K14, or icepocalypse, or whatever you want to call that event one month ago. We had several trees come down during the storm including one right in front of the house. It was one of those tall yellow pines that bless our community with its electric-yellow dusty pollen every year. Unlike all of the other trees that fell on and around our place, this one fell right at the roots, creating a modest size root ball of Georgia red clay and knotted, spidery roots still clenching to the earth from which it came. As of last night I finally dug, clawed and hacked my way down the hole to sever the remaining roots including the infamous tap root. When I emerged from the hole gripping the tap root I looked as though I had just caught an 80 pound channel cat. This stump is only about 24 inches in diameter but the hole I dug to get to it is about 20 feet deep. Well, maybe not twenty feet, but it was deep. Combined with the depth of the hole and the weight of the now severed stump I am looking for back up (two young men who happen to share my last name as well as part of my DNA) to help me lift the tangled mass of pine and mud out. I plan to keep my day job if you good folks will permit. Preaching is much easier. Of...
by Greg | Mar 4, 2014 | Blog Posts
I love the rich breadth of Christianity, which means I am open to “new” ways of experiencing community with fellow believers. Observing Ash Wednesday (this year it is on March 5) is an old practice for believers around the world but fairly new to most Baptists. For the last several years we have held an Ash Wednesday service and the have been some of the most memorable and poignant services of the year. In fact, the ashes we use are compliments of our sister congregation, The Church of the Good Shepherd. The first year we hosted the Ash Wednesday service the thoughtful chair of the altar guild offered to give me a can of ashes, saving me the trouble of burning, sifting and mixing the ash mixture. She had the prepared ashes waiting for me at their church. When I arrived to pick up the can (formally cashews, which I am sure was a surprise for anybody reaching in for a few nuts). On the lid of the can was written: Ashes – Greg DeLoach (he is not in here). This is an important disclaimer of which I am happy to confirm. Yet is this not what Ash Wednesday is about? – a time to reflect on our own mortality as well as repentance. Philosophers have long exclaimed that the way to prepare for life is to contemplate death. Morbid? I don’t think so. Often Jesus spoke of the need to release one’s life (which is in itself an enormous act of faith) in order to gain it (Matthew 10:7; 16:25). Furthermore Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Jesus’...
by Greg | Feb 5, 2014 | Blog Posts
It seems like the “Snowpocalypse” of last week is a distant memory. All traces of snow are gone and our friends in Atlanta have returned to normal routines. Living in Georgia all of my life, I have had very few snow days, so nearly every one of them is memorable. I can easily recall one winter ice storm when I was a little boy that took down power lines and waited along with befuddled dairy cows needing badly to be milked for Georgia Power to restore our electricity. Even though out lives no longer revolve around the school calendar, there was still a bit of hopeful anticipation to see if local schools will be cancelled. Throughout Tuesday we tracked on television and on the internet the progress of the cold front that was promising to bring us snow, ice and sleet from the heavens. Some, especially those that work outside, saw this as an ominous foreboding. Others, especially students, saw this as a gift from the Creator. I saw this as a nice diversion. This was the first Snow Day without children in the house. When I suggested to Amy we go outside and make snow angles and build a snow fort guarded by a snowman, she politely ignored me as she read the paper from the comfort of her rocking chair. She will be the first to tell you, however, that she loves to welcome its rare arrival. What is so special about a fresh snowfall that even the most cynical among us cannot refuse? Is it the wonderful blanket of silence that morning snow leaves or those...
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