Being a Spectator...

I’ve never liked to watch Tennis being played.  Oh, don’t get me wrong.  I enjoy the game, even though I am absolutely horrible at it.  (Once upon a time, I had a fairly wicked serve that was infrequently returned; however, if it ever was, the volley would not last.  I rarely had the talent to return the ball again if it came to me.  And if you ever wondered where I got my limp, I wish I could say it was from something more masculine, like Football, or Rugby.  But alas, it came from a game of Tennis.  Most folks get “Tennis Elbow” – I have “Tennis Knee”.)

Still, the sport is interesting to me.  The thought of the “game of Royalty” intrigues me.  I am fascinated with people who have the skills to play it well.  Just not enough to watch the game from the grandstand.

I guess, I am a limited spectator at best.  I like the ideas of people who have practiced and practiced for years – decades even – to become good, really good at something.  But I’ve never been one to want to watch them practice and practice.  I’d rather pick up a racquet, and try my hand at it, even if I wind up making a fool of myself.  It is better to get in there and mix it up than to watch other people do it.  And yet, many folks have become addicted to following this player or that on the pro tours. 

Christianity is a little like that, I suppose.  Most folks have become so accustomed to being spectators that they’ve forgotten that they’ve been invited to participate – to become one of the team.  To get in there and “mix it up” as my dad used to say.  They are more content to just sit on the sidelines and watch it all happen.  Some would even say that they have earned their retirement from the Church – “I’ve fulfilled my obligation to teach the children.  It’s someone else’s turn now” they say.  As if you could retire from the faith the way we do a job.

Still, the Church calls.  Because Christ calls.  Because there are people who are desperately in need – with the basic necessities of life, as well as a basic understanding of who God is in Jesus Christ, and how we are all related to Him.  The task is ever before us.  And we cannot simply sit by watching and waiting for someone to pick up the banner and carry it forward.

In just a few weeks, our regular weekly programming will be kicking off for the fall.  And there is something for every single person.  From being fed by the fellowship and on the Word of God in a small-group Bible Study, to being a role model for a young child who is searching for someone – anyone – to show them how much God loves them.  There are Sunday School opportunities for all ages – on both sides of the Leader’s Guide.  (That means we need teachers as well as students!)

In the meantime, the benches are still there.  But there’s plenty of room on the court.  Or the field.  Or the classroom.  Or the Super Wednesday dinner table.  And there are plenty of people of all ages who would love to share and learn with you.  Or maybe its time to take another look at the Bible - and take a refresher course in what you believe.  Think about where you sit.  Have you been on the sidelines too long?  Maybe it’s time to get back in the game!

See you in Church!

Grace and peace,

Brad

Rest and Renewal...

It was a relaxing week in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Our family did the vacation-thing: we pulled the trailer to a campground in Hot Springs, then attempted to make the best of the record-setting heatwave that settled on south-central Arkansas for a week.  (After two flat-tires on the trailer, we made it fairly uneventfully!)

There was plenty to do there.  There were museums (a favorite of the adults) and the swimming pool in the evening (the kids' choice).  Of particular note to me was the Bath House Row that lined Central Avenue there.  Hot Springs got its name from the underground spring mineral waters that bubble up throughout the region.  The springs are actually hot when it comes out of the ground - 143 degrees Fahrenheit!  (Maybe that's why the pool was so warm every evening!)  History has it that Fernando De Soto discovered the spring waters when he came across several Native Americans who had been bathing and drinking the water.  (Little did he know that they had been coming there for several centuries before he showed up!)  The Federal Government assumed control of the land in the mid 1870's and declared it a National Reservation, later changing it to a National Park.

It became a popular tourist destination in the early twentieth century when folks discovered how the waters seemed to help in the treatment of various diseases and conditions.  For over 100 years, people had been making the journey - some by train, others by horse and automobile - to this place for rest and renewal.  Several Bathing Houses were founded along the main road that settled Hot Springs, where people could come and bathe in the hot mineral waters. 

Wandering through those old buildings made me ponder how many people had passed through their halls hoping to find the latest treatment for rheumatism and the like, and how many folks actually found relief.  It made me wonder if the water had any mystical, magical healing powers at all. What made that water so different than the waters in their own home towns?  Was it healing and rejuvenating?  Did it cleanse and purify the inside as well as the outside?  Did it last or was it merely short-term relief?  What did the waters do for the soul?  Or was it all snake oil? 

But then I began to think even further about the healing power of water.  That evening as we sat in the pool, I began to think about the waters of baptism.  I began to wonder what powers it held for me.  I began to ponder about the life-renewing power it has over me - and my sin.  When I was baptized, I was declared a child of God - welcomed into the fellowship of the Christian faith, and redeemed from my sin.  Forever marked as one of Christ's own redeeming, I am cleansed from within and without.  But it was not the chemical composition of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen that did this miraculous healing - rather it was the Holy Spirit of God that did the work of redemption in Jesus Christ.

Every single person who comes to Christ through Baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, receives this same healing power.  The cleansing is real.  The healing is eternal.  And blessing is greater than any hot tub in the world. 

There is renewal in remembering our baptism.  And we can rest in the arms of the One who redeems and restores.  I pray you will find this rest and renewal in your travels and experiences this summer.  And know that the fellowship of Christian Believers is anxiously awaiting to get together again!

See you in Church!

Grace and peace,
Brad