Monthly Archives: September 2021

ANNIVERSARY – A DAY TO REMEMBER

Posted on by

Most of us have one or more days on our calendar each year in which we remember something that happened in the past. Weddings and birthdays are probably the most celebrated anniversaries, but there are plenty of other things we also remember, including some things we remember but don’t celebrate (like 9/11 in the USA).

This coming Sunday marks a significant day in my life and our family as we look back 37 years to the first Sunday of October in 1984 when we launched a new church in Southern California. After 10 years at a church in the Philadelphia area I was given the opportunity to plant a church in the rapidly growing area east of LA that become the city of Moreno Valley.

Audrey was 2, Rob was 8 months, Jan was 30, and I was 33. I had no experience in starting a church but our nucleus and I had worked hard getting ready for our launch on October 7. We met in a middle school and were so excited that on that first Sunday we had 137 people gather for our first worship celebration.

We bought property in Moreno Valley and eventually built two buildings on the site for worship, children’s ministry, youth ministry, adult classes, banquets, etc. I don’t remember the exact date we occupied the facilities, but it was a great day of celebration on that first Sunday as well as the dedication that followed.

Every year on the first Sunday of October we celebrated the anniversary of the birth of our church. Some of those celebrations were bigger than others. For several years we were known as Moreno Valley Christian Church, but eventually changed our name to Discovery Christian Church to avoid the mix ups with other churches’ with Moreno Valley included in their names.

After 29 years I finalized my decision with our elders to step down from my position a year later. We announced to our congregation on our 29th anniversary that I would conclude my ministry a year later on our 30th anniversary.

My last Sunday was seven years ago on the first Sunday of October in 2014. That Sunday morning time of worship, and the evening celebration of my 30 years, was the most difficult, fulfilling, emotional, and affirming anniversary of all 30 celebrations.

Since I’m looking back in anticipation of this coming Sunday’s anniversary, it’s obvious I remember and rejoice in that first Sunday in 1984 each year. I realize a lot has changed at Discovery Christian Church the last seven years, but not the foundation that was laid at the beginning 37 years ago this coming Sunday.

Congratulations to Discovery Christian Church on the occasion of your 37th anniversary – long time members, newer members, long term staff, more recently added staff, leaders in terms of your elders, and former members who have moved, but still remember Discovery’s anniversaries (like me).

Congratulations to new Senior Pastor Garrison Polsgrove and best wishes as you lead the body of Christ and the ministry of Discovery Christian Church. I’ll celebrate your first anniversary on the first Sunday of October next year as well the 38th anniversary of the church.

To all readers: mark, remember, and celebrate anniversaries that deserve the recognition.

Feel free to leave a comment below and/or share this post on Facebook or other social media.

WORTH SEEING

Posted on by

Even though I have on occasion made comments about a new book I read, in this post I want to make some observations about a movie I saw today. I certainly am not in any way a film critic, but I enjoyed the movie enough to share some of my thoughts about it with readers.

This afternoon my wife and I went to see the new Clint Eastwood film Cry Macho. I knew that the theater for a 12:05 showing on a Thursday would not be crowded and it wasn’t. Altogether there were four of us in attendance.

Having seen Cry Macho I can say with confidence it is worth seeing. I think I have probably seen all of Eastwood’s movies, and this one is unlike any of the others I have seen. It’s not a typical western or about a police officer and there is no shooting of guns, but the ninety-one year old is still an interesting character as a retired rodeo star.

The plot is about Eastwood’s character (Mike) paying back an old friend by going to Mexico City to bring back his friend’s son—Rafa–who is with his mother. Rafa agrees to go with Mike and the bulk of the film is about their journey back to the Mexico/Texas border.

Unlike many of Eastwood’s previous films, this one is unique. Obviously he is older in this one than the others and the setting is 1978. For me Cry Macho was heartwarming and I saw Clint Eastwood playing the part of a gentle and caring old man. Mike was not only caring and gentle with a widowed mother and her children, he also was both gentle and helpful with a variety of animals.

Of particular interest to me was when Mike and Rafa were going to sleep and Rafa asked Mike if he believed in God. Even though it was brief, I thought the exchange was interesting.

The ending of the movie was quite brief and left me wondering about the ultimate outcome of what Eastwood’s character pulled off for his friend. I wish the film would have lasted a little longer to tell us more about what happened next for the two main characters: Rafa and Mike.

If I were a real film critic I would suggest five stars for Cry Macho, but I’m not a real critic. But for me, if Cry Macho is the final film for Clint Eastwood, I’m glad his last piece of work is as good as any of his others.  

Feel free to leave a comment below and/or share this post on Facebook or other social media.

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT?

Posted on by

Most of us have at times when we seem to be daydreaming been asked the question, “What are you thinking about?” A common answer is “nothing,” but my sense is that thinking about nothing is probably rare.

I just finished a book by Hannah Anderson entitled ALL THAT’S GOOD: Recovering the Lost Art of Discernment. While she does write about discernment, six of the eleven chapters are about the six things the Apostle Paul suggests Christians should think about in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (NIV).

The New Living Translation renders Paul’s challenge “Fix your thoughts and think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” In the Message Eugene Peterson paraphrases, “you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on . . . the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not to curse.”

Comparing these three translations gives us insight into the six specific areas Paul encourages us to focus on: what is true, what is noble (honorable), what is right (reputable), what is pure (authentic), what is lovely (compelling), and what is admirable (gracious).

Here are a few selections from Hannah Anderson’s explanations of things we are to think about: “honorable carries the idea that something has weight or gravity” (p. 81), “something is just (or right) when if fulfills what it is supposed to do” (p. 97), “being pure is the condition of being whole and untainted” (p. 114), “to describe something as lovely is to describe both the thing itself as well as the response it produces in us” (p. 128), and “seeking whatever is commendable means giving attention to both what we talk about and how we talk about it” (p.141).

The importance of what we think about should not be understated. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the Apostle Paul gives us six suggestions for what we should consider and focus on.  If as believers we give much thought to the opposite of these six, let’s be challenged to replace them with what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.

To conclude this post I share Hannah Anderson’s observation: “discernment simply means developing a taste for what is good” (p.13). Perhaps we need to work on being more discerning about what we think about and fully enjoy what we do think about.

Feel free to leave a comment below and/or share this post on Facebook.

Image by 139904 from Pixabay

SOME THOUGHTS ON FRIENDSHIPS

Posted on by

Two weeks ago I learned that one of my childhood friends died and I wrote a blog about him to honor him. I concluded my thoughts about Bruce Edgecomb and another childhood friend, Charlie Bailey who passed away a couple of years earlier, with the closing line of the narrator in the movie Stand by Me: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12.”

Since then I’ve been thinking a lot about friends and friendships. I’m now 70 and agree with the narrator that neither have I had any friends later on like Chuck and Bruce. That is not to suggest, however, that I have not had close, supportive, fun, caring, and wonderful friends.

Somewhat surprising to me in thinking back is the number of friends I had who were older than me during my years in youth ministry. Most of them (called youth sponsors in those days) contributed in vital ways to our youth ministry and we became friends. What is also meaningful to me is the number of friends I have had and still have from among those young people who were participants in our youth ministry.

I was privileged to serve as the preaching pastor of two churches following my five years as a youth pastor. I served 10 years as the minister of a small congregation in the Philadelphia area from 1975 to 1984. My best and most helpful friends during my tenure there were men who were older and more mature than me who invested in my life by supporting me, advising me, challenging me, and loving me.

At the age of 33 our family moved to Southern California where we planted a church in a rapidly growing area of mostly young families. Jan and I stayed there for 30 years until we thought it was time to step down and move to Texas to be closer to our children and grandchildren.

One of the most difficult things about stepping down from Discovery Christian Church after 30 years and moving to Texas was leaving the many friends we had made and with whom we had shared life. It has not been easy to keep in touch, but we have remained in contact with several and quite a few have visited us in Amarillo.

The past four years we have become involved with a church and I am elated to have a part time position as Pastor of Senior Adult Ministry. Jan and I are certainly loved and appreciated, but we have not yet cultivated many friendships as we are busy with our grandsons. I’m hoping to nurture some more meaningful friendships both giving and receiving as real friends do.

We all need friends, don’t we? Friends make a difference in our lives. No two friendships are exactly the same, and my sense is that’s the way it should be. The loss of a friend or a friendship can be painful. I thank God for my many friendships from growing up, during high school, while in college, in the churches I’ve served, and those with whom I have connected. Friends have enriched my life in many ways and I hope that as a friend I have also enriched their lives in many ways as well. Sometimes I think back over the years and become nostalgic remembering those friends and the times we shared.

Friends and friendships are a gift from God.

Feel free to leave a comment below and/or share this post on Facebook or other social media.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay