by Greg | Jul 25, 2012 | Blog Posts
I have to be honest; church has not always mattered to me: As a teenager church did not matter much when it came to my dating life, unless there was a pretty girl in the youth group. Amy was and still is a pretty girl, but she was not in my youth group. Church did not matter as much as my first car – a 1969 Ford Mustang Fastback that I bought for a $1,000 and added an 8-track tape player so that I could listen to my Marvin Gaye tapes. (see previous point) Church did not matter in terms of the clothes I wore. Can you just imagine what the Baptist fashion scene was like in the early 80’s? Church did not matter when something better came along and my car was drivable (see second point). Even though I am a pastor, and more to the point I am the pastor of this great congregation, I must confess that church has not always mattered to me. Somewhere along my “growing up” church began to matter. Church mattered when I realized that life is more than pretty girls, cars, and yes, the music of Marvin Gaye. Church mattered when I began searching for meaning. Church mattered when I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world. Church mattered when I needed transcendence and mystery. Church mattered when I discovered relationships that would change my life for the rest of my life. I still believe deeply that church does matter. Does church matter to you? I would assume it does or you would not be reading this blog....
by Greg | Jun 27, 2012 | Blog Posts
My nose is not much in terms of looks, which is too bad since it is more or less the center of my face. It has been broken twice – once when I was six and fell face first from a silo and again when I was a teenager while playing football. It is a bit crooked, wide, and, although you cannot see it, there is a deviated septum that limits my inhalations. This seems like a good reason to get a nose job. On the other hand, I like my nose. It goes with me everywhere. Nonetheless, tomorrow morning I am getting a nose job. Well, sort of. I am having just a smidgen lopped off due to too much time in the sun. This is probably more than you wanted to know but when you see me donning bandages across my face you will have the rest of the story. Not only is it a good time for a nose job, but it seems like an equally good time to take a vacation. This will allow my nose some time to recuperate. Come to think of it, I think the rest of me is looking forward to a bit of down time with my family and friends. For the last decade or so we have traveled back to St. George for our beach time. This year we are watching weather reports because it has been pummeled by a tropical storm. Every year there is always some challenge. One year the little Gulf Island was inundated with mosquitoes. Then there was the year jelly fish saturated the surf....
by Greg | Jun 13, 2012 | Blog Posts
The last few years my reputation as a farmer has suffered. I have planted and labored in the fields only to find the deer and other varmints beating me to the harvest or droughts beating down my plants or insects beating down my hopes. It is enough to make a preacher…well, you understand. It is not like I have flowing pastures of excess to watch over. Really it is just a couple of small raised beds, and three containers. Therefore every squash counts and every tomato is special. Perhaps my vigilance this year paid off. Maybe it was the “nasty” spray I used that repels deer, varmints, traveling evangelists and my wife from entering the back yard. Whatever the reason I am happy to report that today there are Better Boys among us – nice, ripe, fat, juicy tomatoes that are making their way to the supper table. Some say the summer begins when school ends for the year. Others remark that it does not really begin until the neighborhood pool is open. Still others mark the beginning of summer with Memorial Day, while technically it does not arrive until Summer Solstice. For me summer begins with the first ripe tomato. All gardening involves hope and trust. At some point you do all you can then you have to trust to the earth what you have planted and hope that it will come to fruition. Many times it ends in disappointment and some times it exceeds expectations. I love that line from Jesus when he compares the Kingdom of God to someone who goes out and plants seeds “…and...
by Greg | May 30, 2012 | Blog Posts
Summer is the time for travel: to beaches; to ballgames; to the mountains; or just simply wandering along the back roads of Georgia and taking in the sites. Summer, in other words, is the time for road trips! Have you ever been on an honest-to-goodness road trip; eating at questionable diners; stopping at shady gas stations because you just cannot go any further; all the while foregoing a map? (who asks for directions anyway?) With that in mind I am going to focus for the next four weeks on a road trip. The Christian faith – or taking a road trip with Jesus – is as much a reminder that the journey is the point. The destination is just a result of the journey. How do you travel on the road when covering a long distance? Most of us seek out the quickest way possible, which probably includes interstates and major highways. Taking side roads and driving through small towns is usually avoided. I do not wish to pick a fight with the DOT, but for the most part I do not care for all these by-passes that have been built around many of America’s small towns. These bypasses take the traveler around a town, instead of through it. I realize it saves time and it perhaps reduces unwanted traffic through a town, but think of all the traveler is missing when they choose to take a bypass. They never get to see the mom & pop stores, or the turn of the century architecture, or the sheer character that every small town holds. For most of us...
by Greg | Mar 1, 2012 | Blog Posts
Day 9 Soon we will be making our way to the airport in Delhi (our flight leaves at 3 AM) and head back to the United States. This has been a tremendous time with Sam Bandela and participating in just a bit of the CBF work he is overseeing in Nepal. Regrettably we were not able to visit the slum churches in Delhi since they do not even convene until 9 pm and by then we need to be focused on getting our belongings together for our jaunt home. While I have visited developing countries before and lived in one for nearly three months, Nepal is like nothing I have ever experienced before. It is exotic, mysterious, beautiful, grimy, struggling, searching, at times hoping and at times despairing. There are great people doing great work for the sake of God’s kingdom. Two words come to mind: hope and love. Hope is the one thing that keeps a human being from sinking fully into despair. Hope can come through things (like food and shelter) and it can come through people. Hope is the essential message for the Christian. Such hope, however, is not merely a profession, but lived out in the second word I mentioned: love. Love is what compels people to give of their lives into a different culture to redeem the innocents and stand in the face of injustice. I have seen both hope and love at work among Christians from across the globe gathered in the country of Nepal. Milton Martin and I are most blessed that we were able to travel here in the name of...
by Greg | Feb 27, 2012 | Blog Posts
Day 6 Nothing like waking up to a view of the Himalayas! The morning was clear and the view from our room was outstanding. After a nice simple breakfast we hiked through the village of Nargakot and took in the scenery. Even though this is a “tourist” area because of the hotels facing the mountains, the locals live in structures that resemble something like chicken coops. Yet everyone was busy about their day, reasonably happy and content. Butchers were chopping slabs of something atop a plywood counter along the dirt road; several ladies were huddled around a blanket full of onions and garlic, preparing something for a wedding; and idol makers were busy carving masks for sale to Hindu homes. Yes, that last sentence was completely accurate. In fact there were several idol makers working on masks in a village that could not have been more than a couple of hundred in population. We left around noon to head back to Kathmandu. The road seemed more bumpy and rough than I remembered it going up. By the time we were down the mountain I was a green as my winter collards. In fact, even as I write this I am not sure when, if ever, I will eat again! I am sure I will get over this soon enough. I am not sure when I will have internet connection again, so let me share with you what remains of our trek. Tomorrow morning I will be preaching at the Kathmandu International Christian Congregation, which ministers to English speaking residents of Napali. While some Nepalese attend the church, the...
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