by Greg | Oct 14, 2009 | Blog Posts
…That was what my friend Rob Nash said to me once many years ago. Rob is now the Global Missions Coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. His comment seems to betray much of what we good church going folks have been taught all of our lives. When you meet a neighbor, invite him to church…when a new student sits beside you in class, invite her to church…when you meet a couple at the local gym, invite them to church. Isn’t that the implied message we get from the pulpit to the pews? Go out and invite others to church. Rob remarked that you do not invite people to church. You invite them to Jesus. Of course inviting people to church is much easier. We can feed, entertain, enlighten and even enliven – all on one visit. Inviting people to Jesus, however, is inviting others into a relationship, which means commitment, discipline, sacrifice, relinquishing, and surrendering. To invite another to church, any church or our church, doesn’t really require much of us personally. To invite someone to Jesus is to share in a relationship. What kind of church do we want to be? Do we want to be a church of people where the journey ends at 3500 Walton Way or a people on a journey in relationships? It reminds me of another “pithy” saying that I have picked up along the way: Don’t go to church. Be the church. Be the church in word – all are welcome. Be the church in mission – the world is our parish. Be the church in love – every relationship has value....
by Greg | Oct 7, 2009 | Blog Posts
This week I have been trekking back home – not the one in Grovetown, but the one in Putnam County. Actually I have not made it so far as home, but to my home church of my childhood. Beside it is the cemetery where my grandparents are buried and where I will be too one day. Just beyond the modest porch of the church is a Georgia Historical sign indicating that this church – Philadelphia Methodist Church – is where Joel Chandler Harris worshipped 150 years ago when he was just a boy. I was honored to be invited to preach their revival this week. Each night fifty or so familiar faces gather in the small sanctuary to listen to the “boy” they have helped to raise. They are getting older but as I glance at my graying beard I am reminded that I am getting older too. I became a Baptist at sixteen when I joined the church in town, but the collection of small churches around our dairy farm will always be home to me. Over the years Amy and I have been pretty good at nesting for ourselves places to call home – even when we knew our stay would be temporary. Our first “home” was a tiny garage apartment in Rome, Georgia where I was finishing up my last year of college. Whenever our landlady would crank her ’72 Buick the roar of the motor would shake books off of our shelves. Our next home for three years was our seminary apartment. It was an efficiency unit which meant that you could place your hand...
by Greg | Aug 31, 2009 | Blog Posts
Reading List 2009 Not every book I have read this year is a great book, but thus far no book on the list has been a waste of time. I am slowly learning that just because I start a book does not mean I have to finish it. Therefore there are several not on this list because, to be candid, they were wasting my time – life is short, right? Non-fiction Unpacking Boxes, by Donald Hall Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflection on Mortality, by Pauline W. Chen The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality, by Tenzin Gyatso Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig The Book of Dead Philosophers, by Simon Critchley Brother to a Dragonfly, by Will Campbell Walden, Henry David Thoreau Essays Eagle Pond, by Donald Hall Spirituality The Asian Journals of Thomas Merton, by Thomas Merton Thoughts in Solitude, by Thomas Merton Theology Questions to all Your Answers: The Journey from Folk Religion to Examined Faith, by Roger E. Olson Biblical Studies Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts, by John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed Fiction Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse Ahab’s Wife: Or the Stargazer, by Sena Jeter Naslund Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpi Lahiri Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe Pastoral Care The Couple Checkup, by David H. Olson. I actually read this book in 2008 but forgot to put it on the list. <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in...
by Greg | May 6, 2009 | Blog Posts
On April 23, thirteen members of First Baptist Church of Augusta departed Atlanta for Pecs, Hungary to partner with CBF field personnel Glen and Clista Adkins and their work with the Roma Gypsies. In the last blog entry I gave you information regarding the Romani people in Europe so I will not repeat myself here. Needless to say what I have read about has now been observed that their needs are great as is their marginalization in the larger society. Day 1 – Thursday We left Atlanta on time around 3pm and arrived at New York to catch the flight to Budapest. Outside of the ubiquitous crying babies and a few rowdy passengers the flight was uneventful. The same could be said for our 8 or so hour flight to Budapest. I know because I did not sleep a wink during the night. I have never been one to sleep on planes because I just cannot get comfortable – or maybe I just don’t want to subject passengers to my late night drooling! Day 2 – Friday We arrive somewhere around 11:30AM (5:30AM in Augusta) and were greeted by CBF Missionaries Glen and Clista Adkins (Glen is also the former Minister of Music at FBC Augusta). Our first official stop was for a quick bite to eat at Burger King. After being subjected to the meager meals of an airline, I was glad to eat a whopper which in Hungary tastes just like a whopper anywhere. We then enjoyed a three hour trip to Pecs, which was interrupted half way with a pit stop at a convenience store. The...
by Greg | Apr 22, 2009 | Blog Posts
As you read this I am well on my way, along with twelve other members of the church, to Pecs, Hungary. This is the second mission trip to work with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship missionaries Glen and Clista Adkins at the Gandhi School where we will, in part, teach English to the Roma youth. Roma is a term I was not at all familiar with ten or so years ago, but then I started reading about the Romani people in mission’s related writings. Loosely defined Romani people are an ethnic group whose origins can be traced back to South Asia, into India, and for a thousand years have lived dispersed throughout Europe, particularly Central and Eastern Europe. In Hungary, as in most places, they are called gypsies because at one time it was mistakenly assumed that the Romani came from Egypt. The term “gypsy” has a pejorative connotation and historically until present day they continue to be victims of violence and persecution. During World War II they were a target of genocide by the Nazis. In 2008 Italy has singled the Romani out for registration. Imagine growing up and being told that because of your ethnicity, your culture or your looks you are of lesser value. Last year several of our church members, during free time, went out to eat in the city wearing t-shirts with the Gandhi School emblazoned upon it. They were ignored by the restaurant. There association with gypsies labeled them. Our work will, in part, be to not only strengthen and encourage the work of the teachers by assisting in teaching English, but communicate that Romani...
by Greg | Apr 2, 2009 | Blog Posts
…bread, of course. For most of us bread is both abundant and taken for granted. Except for the annual threat of a snowstorm which rarely manifests, grocery store shelves are filled with bread of numerous (countless?) varieties. Store bought bread, however, tastes…store bought. That is why I like baking bread. Baking bread can be both fun and frustrating. Like most anything homemade, the ingredients are important, and not just what goes in, but how much, how long, etc. One of the things I like about making and baking bread is that the mixing and kneading is done largely by hand. Observing the dough’s feel and texture is most important. Once bread is all mixed and kneaded you leave it alone and wait for the yeast to do its work. It may take an hour, or two, but slowly and steady the dough rises and the loaf takes shape. It is then ready for the hot oven and soon the kitchen is full of the yeasty smell of fresh bread! (don’t you wish this blog was scratch and sniff? Go ahead, lean into the monitor – you know you want to!) The best part of fresh baked bread is not in the making or the baking, but the breaking. Even better, is when you can break bread with people you love. Many Saturday evenings, if we do not have church commitments, Amy and I (and sometimes the boys when on the rare occasion they are home) will sit in our back yard and share fresh bread alongside olive oil for dipping. We also enjoy baking bread to share with friends...
by Greg | Mar 26, 2009 | Blog Posts
Car? Bus? Cab? Horse? Train? Mule? How did you get here? Throughout my childhood until I was old enough to own my own car (a 1969 Mustang fastback, 3 speed, straight six – for those of you who are curious) I went to church in my daddy’s pick-up. On the dairy there was little need for a car, so our family of five (my daddy, sister, two younger brothers and myself) would squeeze into his ’73 Ford pick-up to go to church each Sunday. By the time we arrived in the parking lot we sort of looked like a “DeLoach explosion” once the doors of the truck flew open. I have come a long way. Now I come to church in a 2005 MINI Cooper. Well, to be fair about this, Amy and the boys come later in station wagon. How do you get here? The question isn’t just concerned with modes of transportation. It really doesn’t matter to me if you came in a station wagon, minivan, walked or rode a mule (although you have to be careful where you park a mule). To ask, “how did you get here” is really a spiritual question. Who were the ones in your life that taught you about faith, that loved like Jesus and inspired you to do the same? In John’s Gospel we read of some Greeks that came to one of Jesus’ disciples and asked, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (12:21) Philip and Andrew were asked to help the Greeks “get there.” As a “City on a Hill” we have been entrusted to teach, share and be...
by Greg | Feb 26, 2009 | Blog Posts
(photo by Rainier Ehrhardt) “When death comes… I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world” – Mary Oliver Last night (Wednesday, February 25) we hosted an Ash Wednesday service. Even though Christians have observed some form of the imposition of ashes for well over a thousand years, it is a relative new observance for Baptists. Yesterday I worked on the meditation or reflection for the service, experimented with the ash mixture with olive oil (no one teaches these things in seminary), and went over the order of worship with several of the other ministers. Just as we were wrapping up our church supper, I robed up and joined the other ministers in the sanctuary were we sat quietly for the service to begin. I love a church service that begins in quiet: no piano, or idle gabbing, or frantic, last minute activity. Just to sit for a few brief minutes and listen to the pews creak while finding stillness can be such a gift. The first half of the service was filled with music, scripture readings and reflections and so even to the most stalwart of Baptists it was still a fairly typical worship service, if not a bit more subdued than usual. I transitioned from my message on penitence and mortality – traditional themes for Ash Wednesday – into an explanation of the imposition of ashes. Traditionally the sign of the cross is marked on the foreheads of the worshippers as the minister recites the phrase: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” I was a bit concerned that the marking...
by Greg | Feb 18, 2009 | 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 February 25) is an old practice for believers around the world but fairly new to most Baptists. I have attended many such services, but this year will be the first time I will host one. I have taken the liberty of turning to many resources including books, the internet, our minister of music Stan Pylant and Episcopalians! In fact, the ashes we will use are compliments of our sister congregation, The Church of the Good Shepherd. I decided I had too much on my mind than to try to figure out how to burn, sift, and mix ashes for the service. The dear chair of the altar guild offered to give me a can of ashes, which she would have waiting for me at their church. Yesterday I arrived to pick up the can (formally cashews, but didn’t that surprise anybody that reached 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...
by Greg | Feb 11, 2009 | Blog Posts
I have a not-so-secret confession to make – I love classic soul music. Sure, I recognize that some may think I should listen to more respectable if not conventional music. Stan and Keith listen to the arias, Rodger is rather fond of Broadway tunes, and Andy listens to country. I certainly do not have a problem with their iPod playlists, but if I were on a deserted island, give me the music of Marvin Gaye, Barry White and Luther Vandross! This genre of musically is usually labeled as “rhythm and blues” but most everyone knows it is “soul music” plain and simple. Good soul music sings of love lost and love gained. When I hear Ray Charles sing “Georgia” I smell red clay and green pines and love growing up in this state. When Marvin Gaye sings “Mercy Me” I long for an imagined past of better times. And Amy and I cannot help dancing in the kitchen when Barry White croons “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love.” Nearly all good soul music is rooted in love. In fact, all good music is rooted in love. Music speaks to our heart’s longings, our desires, and our hopes. When George Jones wails “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” we don’t have to have the same experience to identify with the song. Love lost and love gained connects us. No wonder that Paul the apostle described love as the greatest gift. We are shaped and given life because of God’s generous love. We love and are loved. It is what we desire and it is what we need. Love is the foundational...
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