visions

Calvary gathered for a congregational conversation in mid-April on the Strategic Planning Committee’s proposed Vision Statement. You may read the statement below:

Calvary Baptist Church is a Christ-centered community of faith devoted to the worship of the living God. Committed to a deeper understanding of God's word, we aspire to grow personally and communally, to become a sanctuary for all God's people, and to pour out God's love in the local and global community.

A good crowd turned out for the conversation, including most of the committee. The comments were theologically mature, well thought out and heartfelt.

As discussion progressed, the beauty of the statement appeared before us. Calvary is first and foremost a community of disciples of Jesus; we welcome all folks to enter our doors and come into our midst. However, we are people who worship Christ who lives. Some terms within the statement transcend a minute interpretation. Worship involves much more than Sunday morning activities but incorporates what we receive and give to God. The statement also notes the inward/outward journey of faith—as God shines upon us, we go forth reflecting that grace to others.

Perhaps the best point from the conversation is that this statement reflects a goal. We aren’t there as a church just yet. We aspire to be this people in this place worshipping this God.

The congregation will vote on whether or not to accept this statement as its vision on May 23 at our Spring Ministry Conference.

If that vote is positive, the next step in the process will be to work out a Mission Plan. As the Vision Statement defined who we hope to be, the Mission Plan will chart a course for us to get to that destination.

Just finished reading Henry Emerson Fosdick’s The Meaning of Service.

Community gathered for worship...

I had the honor of preaching at Truett Seminary last Tuesday, April 20. It wasn't a recycled sermon but something new and geared for that audience. If you would like to listen, or view, this message, you may find it here.

Prayerful poetry or poetic prayer...

The Summer Day

Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

from New and Selected Poems, 1992
Beacon Press, Boston, MA

Copyright 1992 by Mary Oliver.
All rights reserved.

On a mission...

Kathryn Seay has a newsletter. She is working her way to Mali; to read more, go to Calvarybaptistwaco.com, click the “About Us” link and then to go “Missionaries.”

Speaking of Missions, read the paste below from Children’s Minister Mary Alice Birdwhistell:

Dear Friends,

Several of you have mentioned interest in a family mission trip, and this summer is a great opportunity for you to be part of one. Emily Snider would like to invite a group from Calvary to join her and her home church to serve in Dulce, New Mexico this summer, the week of July 25-31. Emily's church, Lindsay Lane Baptist, Athens, Alabama, is sponsoring its 10th Kid's Club in Dulce, the tribal capital of the Jicarilla Apache Indians. They would love for you to join them for during this week to share the love of Jesus with the Jicarilla children and to encourage the members of Dulce Baptist Church. You would spend the week semi-roughing it (staying in Dulce Baptist Church's facilities, using air beds and sleeping bags), and minister to around 100 kids each day. In the evenings, you would be able to fellowship with local church members and members of the community. Previous trips have included people of all ages, from 4 to 74. The only requirement is a willingness to pour yourself into the lives of children and adults so that God may be glorified. Details:

When: July 25 - July 31 (Kid's Club is Monday-Thursday)

Where: Dulce, New Mexico

What: Vacation Bible School

Cost: Approximately $200 per person, not to exceed $800 per family

Contact: For more information, contact Emily Snider at 256-431-2684.

There will be a brief informational meeting directly following worship THIS Sunday if you would like more information.

Recently completed books:

Beneath the Unpredictable Plant by Eugene Peterson

“The Second Mile” by Harry Emerson Fosdick

hope amidst despair

A Calvarian sent over a link to a website that provides material for daily devotions. It looks pretty good, has the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship as one sponsor and is ecumenical with other denominational sponsors. Here’s the link: http://www.d365.org/todaysdevotion/

Trenton, the Capital City of New Jersey, made the news recently. A 7 year old girl was “sold” by her step-sister and then sexually assaulted by a number of individuals. I knew the apartment building where the assault took place—it’s one of a number of high-density/low-income buildings. These buildings tend to serve less as homes for people to make better lives for themselves than as structures to keep people inside. Learning of the assault of the poor child sparked much sadness, but not much surprise.

Where does a community go after something like this happens? Law enforcement can sweep in but they are reactive by nature. Social services can get involved but shouldn’t they have been there already? How does a community in which this heinous act occurred heal and move forward? Betrayal does not serve as a word for what happened to that little girl. Other folks had to hear what was happening yet did nothing. And then we get to the willingness of individual participants to harm a child. How does a community come back from this?

It seems to be a situation without hope, a position void of the possibility for redemption. And yet, our God is a God of victory. There is nothing that God cannot fix; those scares we earn in this life will be undone in the next. Nothing is without hope; nothing is irrevocably separated from the opportunity for grace.

That doesn’t put the onus on God but rather on God’s instruments, namely us. Government cannot fix this. Social service agencies cannot fix this. Only something transcendent or only transcendence-inspired people can make a difference. That means caring about those down the street or across town or wherever. It means helping others to carry their junk, as Jesus carries ours. It means expanding our sphere of care so that we see each person as someone crafted in the image of God. It means being sold out to this everyday and all of the time.

That’s hard and painful and we can grow weary. Jesus promises to fill our bowls and refresh us with Living Water.

Keep Trenton and Waco in your prayers and go do the work of the Most High God.

A seat at the table...

As Calvary was in the midst of Holy Week worship last week, I was struck by the Gospel witness that Judas was at the table for the Last Supper. Maybe you are well aware of this; I passively knew this too. As we celebrated Maundy Thursday it hit me that Judas had an intentional seat at that table.

The Gospels record Judas’ betrayal and that Jesus foreknew this. The Wednesday of Holy Week is the day on the church calendar that recalls Judas agreeing to hand over Christ for the 30 pieces of silver. We rarely treat those who wish to do us harm as friends. If anything, we seek to distance ourselves from them. We certainly aren’t going to cook a meal and wash their feet and speak of loving them. But that’s what Jesus did.

If Jesus saved a seat for Judas then I reckon that you and I have a seat at that table too.

From time to time, I’ll post what I’ve read lately. I love book referrals so feel free to recommend things to me.

· Harry Emerson Fosdick’s Riverside Sermons. It’s a collection of messages he gave at Riverside Baptist during his tenure.

· A lengthy biography of Richard Wagner, titled Richard Wagner: Last of the Titans.

A Round of...

I am well aware that we all have our own individual hang-ups, likes and dislikes. One of mine is clapping during Worship—I bristle at it. In a concert hall, in a theatre, at a performance, I’m clapping away. Not at Worship. We don’t physically affirm scripture readers or Ensemble or Choir. My sermons are not met by applause. These portions of Worship may rouse a few words of enthusiasm to be sure but no one claps after these pieces conclude.

Calvary does typically clap whenever our young people lead us in Worship—be it the Music Makers or Children’s Choir or Youth Choir. I believe that doing so does God, our young people and ourselves a disservice.

Calvary is a Baptist church and far be it from me to urge folks to suppress the movement of the Spirit. However, I think it is important to note that when our children or youth sing (or contribute in other ways during service) they are leading in worship. They are not performing. There is a profound difference between the two. Soren Kierkegaard, the 19^th century Danish churchman, noted that in worship the Triune God is the audience. I agree with him: everything we do on Sunday mornings during our service is directed to praise, thank and please our Lord. It’s directed to Him, not to us.

[This fact stands in sharp contrast to the contemporary view that churches are a version of consumables, to be tried and sampled until one is found pleasing to the taste. Under this guise, the Church exists to serve parishioners, not the Great High Priest. Congregants become the audience--to be entertained and dazzled and recruited. This is a future blog post.]

Which brings me back to clapping: when we clap after our young people lead us, we are directing praise to them. All praise and affirmation in Worship should go to God alone. I do believe that we can affirm God and those who enhance our experience with God. This is typically done with a hearty Amen or some other phrase.

That said I can bristle if I must. But, if you are going to clap, direct it to the Lord of Hosts.