Repainting The Fence Posts

We are creatures of habit.

There is no doubt about that.  We like things that are familiar, comfortable, in the same places as always, and in done in the same way we have always done them. In short, we like the Status Quo.  We want to maintain things the way “they have always been”.  But the fact of the matter is if you leave thing alone, you actually leave it to a torrent of change.  Let me give you an example.

In my old neighborhood a house across the street had a white picket fence.  The front gate hung between two large, ornate fence posts with a trellis that arched from post to post.  When the fence was put up, my mother (who never seemed to envy the possessions of others) remarked how beautiful it was and how she would love to have such a pretty fence with those beautiful posts.  The fence was painted vivid white and was a landmark of sorts in our neighborhood.

The lady who lived in that house had been a resident there for many years. The fence and its beautiful entrance brought her place just to the way she had always wanted it to be.  She was very satisfied.

She was getting up in years, now, and was unable to do a lot of maintenance around the place.  Time began to take its toll on her home, and upon the beautiful white fence. It maintained its luster for a while, but eventually, under the rain, wind, snow, freezing winter weather and the torrid days of Summer, the fence and its beautiful posts began to lose their luster.  It didn’t happen overnight, but eventually the white fence posts and trellis, began to turn gray, and darker each succeeding year.

The fact is, if you leave a white post alone, it will eventually become a black post.

Dr. Chuck Kelley once put it like this.  “If you particularly want it to be white, you must always be painting it again. The fact is, if you really love the OLD white post, you must always be preparing a NEW white post.”

Isn’t that the way it is with our church?

We like the Status Quo.  We enjoy the comfort zone. But nothing ever stays the same. Nothing, that is EXCEPT the message of the Gospel.  The methods we use to share that never changing message, however, must always be evaluated, tweaked, and updated or else we become stagnant, and weather, and darken, and eventually will rot.

Westmoreland Baptist Church has a wonderful history dating back over a century. There have been some glorious times, and times of difficulty. Things have changed a lot since this little mission was begun on this corner in 1915. When the church was in its “heyday” in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s it was hard to see it coming, but change was going on all around us.  The community was changing. Jobs were changing. The economy was changing.  Culture was changing.  In the midst of it all there were churches like ours, and ours, itself, that wanted to cling to the status quo. If we’re not careful, traditions sometimes become more important than mission. Opinions and preferences become more important than ministry. And in the midst of the comfort of “sameness” the fence posts go unpainted and we lose our luster for the Lord.

It is time for us to look past personal preferences and likes and dislikes, to get a clear view of the purpose and mission of our church.  I’m not talking about making wholesale changes in how we do things.  I’m not referring to change just for the sake of change. Our history hasn't changed.  Our identity doesn't change. Our Mission doesn't change. And most certainly our message never changes.  However, we must find the most effective ways to share our unchanging message with the changing culture around us, and be willing to keep repainting the fence posts as necessary - until Jesus comes again!

Let us look to the Lord.  Let us look ahead and not behind. Let us evaluate our ministries and programs in light of our threefold mission (Magnify God. Minister To People. Make Disciples) and be willing to repaint the post where needed. If we open our eyes and our hearts, the Lord will help us.

As we seek to serve the Lord in this Post Christian Culture and Age, let us seek new ways to serve Him, and let us not be guilty of repeating the 7 last words of a dying church, “We never did it that way before!”

Have We Crossed The Point of No Return?

The unlawful (IMHO) edict from our president (I will no longer use a capital P in the title as long as he holds the office), in the latest bout of this ridiculous and totally unnecessary transgender restroom war has just gone over the line. This is wrong on so many levels.

First, it shows the folly of how we have allowed our Federal Government to have such a financial choke hold on our own schools. Some bureaucrat, Federal Judge, (or an amoral chief executive) can make monumental decisions regarding the use of our tax money in education of our children, and "We The People" have lost control. Secondly, the president has no authority to make such decrees. While the office can issue lawful Executive Orders, there are still limits to that power. He is not a king and only heads up one of the three co-equal branches of our government. This must be stopped!

I could go on, but this incident is just another layer added to the decadent snowball that is picking up speed and growing as it is rolling downhill to a destination of total depravity in our society. Along with the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legitimized the American Holocaust, The more recent decision of the supreme court (also not going to use capital letters for them either) to legalize same sex marriage will most likely be looked upon as the threshold America has stepped over to the point of no return.

Our churches will be feeling more and more pressure (threats of losing tax exemptions - to eventual other federal control efforts) but we must stand for Truth. We should not be surprised at this, in fact we must embrace the memory of those early believers who lived under the debauchery of the Roman Empire. We must take on the mindset of them and other martyrs through history who have withstood evil government influence throughout the past 20 centuries - and even today in many ares of our world.

The family is the first institution on Earth and it is a earthly picture of the beautiful union of Christ and His Church. To blur the role of the sexes, even to the point of now making no distinction, is the end of what has come down through 5,000 years of civilization, understanding of natural science, and the God ordained differences between the sexes that were created by God, Himself.

Dr. Russell Moore has written this today:

"The truth is that the male/female sex difference is objectively real. Biological science is built off of this reality. More importantly, the mystery of Christ tells us that the male/female binary points us beyond nature to the gospel itself (Eph. 5). We must tell the truth about this. John the Baptist lost his head for saying that Herod could not have his brother’s wife. Some now will be targeted as culturally unacceptable because they tell Herod he can’t be his brother’s wife. That will take courage and compassion and, above all, it will take Christ."

You can read his entire post, by clicking this link

What To Do When You Feel Overwhelmed

Sometimes things simply take us by surprise. On the surface the circumstances seem insurmountable.  We know that the enemy is powerful, well equipped, and wily.  We don’t have a clue how to respond. 

That is when we must simply turn our eyes upon the Lord.  He is our protector and a very present help in times of trouble.

 In 2 Chronicles 20 Judah’s King Jehoshaphat was faced with such a situation.  Things had been going fairly well for Judah, and Jehoshaphat was a good King.  However, he received very disturbing news.  A federation of nations had formed against him and they were on the march to invade Judah.  Jehoshaphat knew that his army was no match for this force of allied nations.  What was even more frustrating was the fact that God had not allowed His people to invade or conquer those nations during the time of the Exodus, and the King could not understand why God did that and now allowed them to come against His people with overwhelming force.

 
So, what did Jehoshaphat do?
Send a party out to try to ask for peace?
Capitulate and surrender?
Gather his generals together and call up reinforcements and fight the battle under their own power?

No.  He called all of the people together for prayer. 

He prays publicly, himself, and says these words.

¹⁰ And now behold, the men ofAmmon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— ¹¹ behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. ¹² O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Well spoken!

In times of difficulty, uncertainty and crisis, there is nothing we can do that will be more effective than going to God as Jehoshaphat did. Acknowledging our own inability, our own might, but looking to the Sovereign One who is our refuge and strength.

It’s a great story as to how God brings Judah the victory.  Instead of giving them a fool proof battle plan of strength, God instructs the King to put the “choir” up front, going ahead of the fighting men.  A group of singers, “praising the beauty of holiness”.

Here is how the story ends:

²⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” ²¹ And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.”
²² And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. ²³ For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.

 

Every Pastor Would Understand!

I am fond of saying that being a Pastor is not a "job", it's a calling.

If it were a job, many of us would resign every Monday!

In fact, there is a book entitled "It Only Hurts On Monday: Why Pastor's Quit And What You Can Do About It." I have a Deacon here at Westmoreland Baptist that read that book years ago and he orders extra copies to give to new Deacons who come on board.  There is a lot of truth in that book.

Another dear friend and Deacon told me on several occasions, "You guys must be crazy to do this!"  Well...
Stress does come with the territory.  But who among us doesn't have to deal with stress.  The joy is, Pastors get to work through some special kinds of stress that may not be in the wheelhouse of most folks out there.  We do it because that is what God has called us to do, and no complaints here.  But I do often pray for God's grace, and over more than four decades in ministry, I have developed a hide somewhat like a Rhinoceros.

Sometimes folks can add to the stress - intentionally (and unintentionally) by comments, questions, and "important" items they want to share with us.
This morning I came across a blog post from Thom Rainer that I could really identify with.  It's called "Ten Sentences That Make A Pastor Cringe".  Every Pastor I know can relate, I'm sure.  You can read it by clicking  Here.

Have a nice day, and don't let the stress stop you.

Pray for Abby and Her Family

The picture at left is special to me.

Admittedly it looks a little weird, but it really has sentimental value to me.  It was given to me back in 2014 by Abby Lees (the young lady in the photo) and her Dad, Dave.

The occasion of the photo was after church one Sunday morning in May, 2014.  For those who may not know, the guy clowning around in the top hat was my Dad, Caudle Adkins Jr.  We didn't know it at the time, but that Sunday turned out to be the last time Dad would ever be in our church service. Shortly after he and I did the funeral service in Logan, WV for my Aunt Irene Stidham, who died on Mother's Day, Dad found himself in St. Mary's Medical Center with Congestive Heart Failure and Renal Failure.  On June 26th he went to Heaven.  That Sunday he showed up in the top hat was the last time I was ever in church with my Dad.

Sometime later that Summer, Dave and Abby brought me this photo, already framed, and it sits today in my office suite here at the church.  Dad always loved kids and they loved him.  He had some corny jokes for Abby and her brother that Sunday, and someone in the family snapped that picture.  I am glad they did.

It's amazing how Abby has grown over the 18 months or so since that photo was snapped.  Here is a current photo of her.

Abby is a sweet girl and has a great family, including brother, Drew, Mom, Jennifer, and Dave. They are very special to me and to our faith family here at Westmoreland Baptist.

Over the past few years Abby had begun to develop some curious health issues that baffled, not only her own parents, but also the local physicians that had tried to treat her symptoms.

Things got worse and the concerns in the family grew greater as she began to just "go out like a light", losing consciousness and experiencing convulsive symptoms.

Epilepsy was eventually ruled out, along with some other maladies, but no one seemed to be able to put a finger on what was causing these episodes.

As one can imagine, this became a frightening issue.  Dave and Jennifer began to get calls from school.  It would happen in Dance Class. It would happen in church services.

After several trips to Cleveland Clinic, Abby was diagnosed with a syndrome called POTS.

Her Dad has started a Blog which chronicles the family and personal issues involved when a family member has POTS.  you can read it here.

Let me encourage our readers to check this out, and above all to pray for Abby Lees and her family.  Their faith is strong, but they covet the prayers of other believers on their behalf.

Happy Birthday Freda Kimsey

When I check the status page on my blog, on any given day the views it receives may come from as many as 13-17 countries around the world.  It also shows me where the traffic comes from (various search engines, websites, etc).  The problem is, I never really know WHO is reading the blog. Oh, I know that close friends and family members read it regularly, and sometimes someone will leave a comment on a particular post that will let me know that person is reading it.  However there is one lady who seems to read my blog daily.  Even though I don’t always post daily.  In fact, when I don’t post to it in a while, she’ll send me an email to let me know she misses it.  Now THAT makes me feel like it matters to someone!

Well, tomorrow (Saturday, November 21^st) is that lady’s birthday, and if I should ever wish anyone a happy birthday on this site, it should be Freda Kimsey of Parkersburg, WV.  I don’t think Freda would mind me telling which birthday this is, since an 80^th birthday doesn’t come around very often.  In fact, it doesn’t come around at all for many folks.  Today is a day for Freda and her daughters, sons in law, grandchildren, and great grandchildren to celebrate, and we all should celebrate with her.

The Kimsey family’s story is a great American story.  She and her late husband, Dan (a career US Air Force veteran, who saw duty in Korea and Viet Nam) raised three daughters, and were great Christian examples to them and their families with a heritage that will last for generations.

Freda and Dan were married June 20, 1954 when she was only 18 years of age.  Dan passed away on June 5^th of last year, just 15 days shy of their 60^th wedding anniversary.  I was privileged to attend his memorial service in Parkersburg, and it was a fitting tribute to BOTH Dan and Freda and their lives well spent in service to God, Country, and Family.

As I said, Dan was a “Fly Boy”.  They were stationed at Lockbourne AFB and moved to Circleville, OH in 1955.  Freda soon became active in Circleville First Baptist Church around 1959.  Her faithful witness helped lead Dan to Christ and he came to faith in Jesus in 1961.  Freda worked in the church teaching Sunday School, VBS (back when it lasted 2 weeks) and was involved in Women's Missionary Union, holding various offices in WMU including president.

In April, 1963, Dan was transferred to Grand Forks AFB, and they immediately joined a church just off the base.  Even though only at Grand Forks for two years, Dan and Freda made many life long friends there.  1964 brought them back to Lockbourne and Circleville.  The church family and neighbors there became extended family to the Kimseys. 

When Dan retired from the USAF in 1972 they moved to West Virginia.  Once again, Freda made her home a welcome place to all her new friends and neighbors. She and Dan attended Marshall University football and basketball games regularly.  Eventually they settled in Parkersburg in 1978 and became active in the MU alumni association, where she even served as president.  She is still involved.  In retirement, Dan and Freda traveled regularly, visiting old friends and attending squadron reunions, etc.

It is an understatement to say that the last year and a half has been tough for Freda, her three girls, five grandchildren and nine great grandchildren, but they would all agree that they are blessed to have her in their lives.  She is a wonderful, godly woman, and a true prayer warrior.

Freda, you have been a great encouragement to this pastor for a number of years.  You are a blessing to many, and now we wish you a happy birthday, filled with the blessings of family and friends!

For Those Of Us Of A Certain Age - A Great Christmas Poem!

All this talk about Starbucks and Christmas has made me realize that Christmas is just around the corner.  Hard to believe it's going to be upon us soon (even though Thanksgiving is still a couple of weeks away).  How is it possible that it's Christmas again?  Didn't we just have it ...?
 
It all got me thinking about back when it seemed like Christmas would never come. Back in the '50s on Gallaher Street in Huntington, WV.  Back in the days when "boys were boys", and we got into everything that we could, most of it our mothers would have described as "mean-ness". 

There were sling shots and BB Guns.  Double Bubble Gum and Bazooka Joe, Turkish Taffy, RC Cola and Moon Pies.  There was stealing tomatoes from Mr. Black's garden, and buying cigarettes for 35 cents from the machine at the Dairy Cheer and smoking them behind the Beverly Theater.  There was the daily ritual of throwing of crab apples at the Curtis girls on the way home from Gallaher School.  And who remembers climbing over the fence after dark  and skinny dipping in the swimming pool they set up on the school playground every summer?  There was lots of stuff to get into, and we did what we could, but sure enough, when it got down to this time of year, there was a marked change in our behavior.

After all, Christmas was coming.

You know the line, "He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good, for goodness sake!...".

Santa Claus was coming and we knew there had to be a marked change in our behavior.  When it was Christmas time, a guy HAD to be good.  And it was tough.

Years later, as a young father, myself, those memories were brought back to me by Carl D. Taylor, when we worked together in an Automobile Dealership in Ashland, Ky.  At Christmas time, Carl was prone to quote a poem, a long one he had learned by heart at a young age, It harkened back to the days (even back before the '50s) with a narrative by a young boy who understood what each of us went through at Christmas time when we had to be "as good as we could be"!

I haven't seen Carl in years, but through the miracle of Google, I did find that old poem recently.  In the spirit of the coming season, I thought I'd share it with you today.  Hope it brings back some sweet memories to you.

Jest 'Fore Christmasby Eugene Field (1850-1895)
Father calls me William, sister calls me Will,
Mother calls me Willie, but the fellers call me Bill!
Mighty glad I ain't a girl---ruther be a boy,
Without them sashes, curls, an' things that 's worn by Fauntleroy!

 Love to chawnk green apples an' go swimmin' in the lake---
Hate to take the castor-ile they give for bellyache!
'Most all the time, the whole year round, there ain't no flies on me,
But jest 'fore Christmas I 'm as good as I kin be!
 
Got a yeller dog named Sport, sick him on the cat;
First thing she knows she does n't know where she is at!
Got a clipper sled, an' when us kids goes out to slide,
'Long comes the grocery cart, an' we all hook a ride!

 But sometimes when the grocery man is worrited an' cross,
He reaches at us with his whip, an' larrups up his hoss,
An' then I laff an' holler, "Oh, ye never teched me!"
But jest 'fore Christmas I 'm as good as I kin be!

Gran'ma says she hopes that when I git to be a man,
I 'll be a missionarer like her oldest brother, Dan,
As was et up by the cannibuls that lives in Ceylon's Isle,
Where every prospeck pleases, an' only man is vile!

 But gran'ma she has never been to see a Wild West show,
Nor read the Life of Daniel Boone, or else I guess she 'd know
That Buff'lo Bill an' cowboys is good enough for me!
Excep' jest 'fore Christmas, when I 'm good as I kin be!

And then old Sport he hangs around, so solemn like an' still,
His eyes they seem a-sayin': "What's the matter, little Bill?"
The old cat sneaks down off her perch an' wonders what's become
Of them two enemies of hern that used to make things hum!

 But I am so perlite an' tend so earnestly to biz,
That mother says to father: "How improved our Willie is!"
But father, havin' been a boy hisself, suspicions me
When, jest 'fore Christmas, I 'm as good as I kin be!
 
For Christmas, with its lots an' lots of candies, cakes, an' toys,
Was made, they say, for proper kids an' not for naughty boys;
So wash yer face an' bresh yer hair, an' mind yer p's and q's,
An' don't bust out yer pantaloons, and don't wear out yer shoes;
 
 Say "Yessum" to the ladies, and "Yessur" to the men,
An' when they 's company, don't pass yer plate for pie again;
But, thinkin' of the things yer 'd like to see upon that tree,
Jest 'fore Christmas be as good as yer kin be!
















































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