We've Passed A Milestone

Now, I know it's small potatoes compared to a lot of blogs, but earlier this week, this humble site "For What It's Worth" received it's 100,000th visitor.

I just want to say thank you to those who have visited, left comments, shared posts, or walked away shaking their heads.  Thank you for stopping by for a visit.

My blogging has slacked way off over the past year or so, but it is nice to know that there are folks who visit do the site from time to time.  All viewers are appreciated!

Don't Miss This Event!

The congregation of Westmoreland Baptist Church and visitors will have a wonderful and rare opportunity on Friday, April 4^th at 6:30 PM in the multipurpose building.

Those who are present that evening will be taking part in one of the oldest and most meaningful rituals in the Bible – the Passover Seder

The Seder is a ritual performed by the Jewish people, involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. This story is in the Book of Exodus (Shemot) in theHebrew Bible. The Seder itself is based on the Biblical verse 

commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 13:8) 

This is the very Passover meal that Jesus and His disciples shared at their “Last Supper” the night that Jesus was arrested. Iis full of symbolism, both to the descendants of Abraham and those of us who know Jesus Christ as our Savior.  Christ and His sacrifice for our sins is pictured in the Passover Meal.

Mr. Steve Ilchishin, a Messianic Jew from Chosen People Ministries, will be with us to lead us in a special time of worship, learning, and fellowship as we observe the Passover Seder Meal, and reflect on its meaning for us in this Easter season. The Seder is much more than the unleavened bread and fruit of the vine that we use for communion.  You will be blessed and touched by God’s grace as we go through the meal with explanation from one who’s ancient ancestors were there for it’s inception.

There is no charge for the meal, but we will be receiving a love offering at the end for Mr. Ilchishin.  Everyone is welcome, but we MUST have an idea how many to prepare for.  Please RSVP the church office no later than Monday, March 31^st , or turn in a reservation sheet in the Sunday morning service on March 30^th.

This will be an interesting event for adults and children alike. Don’t miss out on this special blessing!  RSVP to 304-429-1348.  If it is after regular office hours just leave your name and how many will be in your party for the Seder.

Thinking Outside The Cultural Box

In 1 Corinthians chapter 9 the Apostle Paul defends his Apostolic authority, yet at the same time he models the heart of a servant.  Even though he has been called by God into this very important work, he shows himself to be willing to humble himself and to be flexible in his methods. In this passage Paul speaks of Christian liberty as well as Christian responsibility.

 

It is easy for Christians sometimes to be heavy handed in our “spirituality”.  In our geographical church culture we seem to feel that we have a handle on how we should worship.  We often look down on, and are critical of others who “do church” differently than we do.  We also often have the idea that lost people should see things the way we do, and we go about our worship, our ministry activities, and our witnessing using jargon, rituals and “code words” that are familiar to our “church culture” but absolutely foreign to those we claim we want to reach for Christ.

 

I grew up here in the Bible Belt, the son of a Baptist preacher. Dad was a bivocational evangelist who also often served as pastor to small churches.  Growing up we “did church” a certain way in the churches where Dad pastored or held revival meetings.  We prided ourselves on not having a “printed program”, yet every service was the same basic ritual.  There might have been some old hymns like Amazing Grace, The Old Rugged Cross and Rock Of Ages, but most of the  music was primarily Southern Gospel “quartet style” music.  There was usually a piano accompaniment and in some churches an organ may have been involved.  There might be soloist or trios or quartets who would use a guitar.

 

Prayer was something that was done a certain way.  We always had a “Family Prayer” time in the service where everyone would shake hands with one another and gather around the altar for what is often called choral prayer (everyone praying out loud at the same time).  If a person was called upon to lead a prayer individually he might stand at his seat, or even kneel in the aisle or come to the altar to pray.

 

There was always a time for testimonies.  Messages were usually topical and fiery.  Not a lot of scriptural exposition, very little doctrinal teaching, and usually filled with a strong evangelistic thrust followed by an emotional invitation or “altar call”. Legalism was pretty common although we were always talking about the Grace of God.

 

It went without saying that those who were members of our churches were expected to fit a certain mold.  There was not a lot of cultural diversity among us, and as a result, those whom we sought to reach with the Gospel, looked, acted, and fit into the same basic culture to which we belonged.

 

It wasn’t until I went away to Bible College that I learned that many Christians worshipped and looked a little differently than us.  Later, through becoming familiar with missionaries and making short term mission trips, myself, I learned that there are Christ Followers in other places and cultures who look, act and worship very much differently than we did.

 

Eventually the little light bulb came on over my head that “our way” is not the only way, nor is it necessarily the right way.  It is simply part of the culture that has slipped into churches in our geographical region over the years.  By the same token, methods that we have long used to reach out to lost people are not the only methods, nor are they always the right methods to reach people in a changing culture.

 

Paul says some pretty radical things here in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, that I think would be wise for us to consider as we ponder how best to take the Gospel to the world around us.

 

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.  To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.  I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

 

Paul made an intentional decision to think outside the box in the methods he used to share the Gospel.  The message never changes my friends, but the methods MUST be flexible.

 

We know that it is impossible for us to do EVERY ministry we would like to do, but it is very important that we be open to new manners of worship, new ways of doing ministry, new ways of getting the Gospel out and doing missions.  NEVER changing or watering down the MESSAGE, but looking for different ways to reach those who may not look or act just like us, and those who live outside our culture and customs.

 

Our success in fulfilling our role in the Great Commission depends largely on whether we will hold to our local customs and methods as the “only way” or if we are willing to think and act outside the cultural and customary box in reaching and discipling lost people for the Kingdom’s sake.

 

What do you think?

 

"All The Lonely People..."

I don't know how many total funeral services I have conducted in my 42 years of ministry. I should have kept better records back then.  I have, however, kept such records in my past eleven years as pastor of Westmoreland Baptist Church.  Today was the 131st funeral I have done since being called to WBC.

I have conducted services in our church sanctuary, other church buildings, various funeral home chapels, in a private home, in mausoleums, and simple graveside services in several cemeteries. Today was one of those graveside services.

Some funeral and memorial services had hundreds in attendance.  Some, not so many.

The most unusual funeral service I have conducted was while pastor at my previous church in Kentucky. One of our members, an elderly lady,  had previously told me of the deep sadness in her life after one of her three grown children had gone missing in 1950.  Never a word from the missing daughter, no idea of where she might be, dead or alive.  Then in 1999 word came to her son about a "Jane Doe" who had been found dead in South Carolina six months earlier.  The county coroner had for some reason decided not to bury the body until efforts could be made to identify her.

The coroner combed through hundreds of FBI Missing Persons reports dating back for decades.  Lo and behold, circumstances led the coroner to believe that this may have been the young lady from Kentucky who had been reported missing so long ago.

Dental records, finger prints, and a positive ID by her brother, brought the body home to Ashland to be interred in the family plot.  The grieved 93 year old mother was able to finally get closure, and to view the body of her long lost child one last time, only 3 months before her own passing.  The attendance at that funeral was very sparse.  Less than 10 total family members attended. Small crowd, but all loving family members - some of whom had never met the deceased.

Today, at a cold (20 degree), snowy grave site in Wayne County, West Virginia, I conducted a service that I felt was under even more sad circumstances than that Kentucky funeral many years ago.  Today I delivered the brief funeral message for mourners of a 90 year old widow lady who was being laid to rest beside the body of her long deceased husband.

Gathered at that grave plot were three mourners, the funeral director, and myself.

There was not a family member present even though her family name is one that is fairly well known in the area.

At the wishes of the deceased, the service was unannounced and private. An obituary notice will not be published in the local paper until later in the week. She died childless.

Although connected to a rather large family, there was apparently very little interaction between this lady and the in laws and nieces and nephews who lived in fairly close proximity. I understand that the last contact she had with any family was around Christmas time when a nephew and niece had visited her home.

I am totally unaware of all of the family dynamics involved in this situation.  Furthermore, I am totally unequipped to make any judgments about it.  Usually when there are cold relationships between family members, there is enough blame to go around.

What I will say is this.  How sad to lay to rest someone who has been on this planet for 90 years, and so few people seem to have had any type of warm relationship with her.

Only God knows the whole situation surrounding today's service.  But I was reminded anew that there are many lonely and perhaps forgotten people around us.  Lennon and McCartney touched a chord when they wrote these words in their ballad, Eleanor Rigby:

"All the lonely people

Where do they all come from?

All the lonely people

Where do they all belong?

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name

Nobody came."

Perhaps there is an Eleanor Rigby in your family.  Maybe there is one in your neighborhood.  Perhaps even in your church.

I believe Jesus would seek out those who are lonely as well as those who labor and are heavy laden.  As His followers, shouldn't we?

A Letter To My Newborn Grandson (Reprint)

Late in the evening on January 25, 2000, Linda and I came home from King's Daughters Medical Center as grandparents for the very first time.  Grandparents!  So hard to believe!  Our beautiful daughter in law, Michelle, had been through nearly 24 hours of labor, with our son, Jay, right there by her side.  Finally the little guy made his arrival into this world. Caudle Jerry Adkins V was here.  A big, beautiful, and healthy child.  I was convinced he was the most beautiful child - ever!

What to call the little guy?  Jay and Michelle had already worked that out.  They certainly weren't going to saddle him with the moniker, "Caudle" for obvious reasons.  "C.J." was already taken.  Jerry apparently didn't strike their fancy, so since he was the fifth Caudle Adkins in the line, his parents decided to key on the numeral. So they chose "Quint", Latin for "Five".

Emotions were high that night. We were so happy for Jay and Michelle. We were so excited to be grandparents. We were deeply in love with a little fellow we had just met. Sleep was elusive, so I got up around 2:00 AM, grabbed a legal pad, and scribbled down a letter full of advice for this little newborn. Obviously Quint couldn't read it then.  Hopefully he will read it today, and know how special is and how much he has been loved for 14 years. Here's the letter.

Happy birthday Quint.  You are a blessing.

A Letter To My Newborn Grandson 
(Caudle Jerry Adkins V was born January 25, 2000)

Dear Quint,
Happy birthday little fellow! You were born last night at 10:59PM. Your beautiful mother worked long and hard to bring you into this world and your daddy was right there with her the whole way. I cried when I saw how much they loved each other and how much they loved you (even though they didn't yet know who you were). You see, sadly, the laws of our country would have allowed you to have been destroyed before you were even born, but your Mom & Dad would never have considered that. She carried you inside her body for nine long months until you would be able to live on your own. She labored for 25 hours and gave up her own physical well being and comfort to give you life. Always love and respect them for that – but more so, do it because God's Word instructs you to do just that.

I never thought I could ever love any little boy as much as I did your daddy and his brother, Benji – but last night I found out that indeed I could. Your Mamaw and I fell in love with you at first sight. Not only were you beautiful to behold, but you also carried in your little person the combined heritage of all your Mommy and Daddy's combined families. Your represent our very best hopes and dreams.

You are an eternal creature, for in your little body dwells a never dying soul. One day – sometime down the road, God will begin to deal with your heart about loving and serving Him. I am praying today that when that day comes, you will meet God on His terms and ask His son, Jesus, to come into your heart. Your Mommy and Daddy will be talking to you plenty about Jesus. So will Mamaw and I – and your Great Grandparents will too! You listen closely and believe, and when the time comes, it will be very easy for you to trust God and allow Jesus to be your Savior and Lord.

Sleep well and gain lots of strength. You'll need it for what lies ahead of you. Who knows what the future holds for you? Tonight my imagination runs wild about you. What will you be like as you grow? What will you look like? How will your little voice sound when you say your first words, and what will those words be? With what types of talents and abilities has God blessed you? What great things might you accomplish for Him. Who will you marry? Will I be around to see you grow into adulthood and have a family of your own? I certainly pray that I do. You are so special. Among all the 6 billion people on earth there is no one else just like you. Not only does your whole family love you, but God loves you and Jesus died for you, and that makes you special.

This is an exciting time to be alive. My Papaw (the first Caudle) was born in the 19th century, in 1895 and he fought in World War I. He died in 1959. My Daddy (your great grandfather) was born in 1927 – the year Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs and Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic. He lived through the Great Depression, served in World War II, and as a member of the greatest generation, helped set the standard for all of us who followed. I was born in 1950 at the mid point of the 20th century, and have seen a lot of changes in this world and it's lifestyles. Your Daddy arrived in 1973 and now, 25 days into the new 21st century, here you are! At the dawn of this new millennium, your life begins.

Listen to your parents. Watch their lives. Learn from them and trust their Savior as your own. Live for Him and walk with Him. Follow Proverbs 3: 5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." If you'll do that, you'll never, ever go wrong! Your Mamaw and I love you, little fellow – more than you can comprehend right now. I pray for God's richest blessings on you all the days of your life.

With All My Love,
Papaw Adkins

Attitude Check

Several years ago a disgruntled church member stormed into my office, demanding “satisfaction”.  Something had happened in the course of this person’s activities on a committee that had caused this member to just go ballistic.  “I’m right, and I know it!” the individual yelled at me.  “I’ve been in this a long time” they continued, “and (the person they were at odds with) is just wrong!  She needs to listen to me!”

The sad news is that the dispute was not over any matter of Christian doctrine or practice. It had nothing to do with heresy or obvious sinful behavior. This wasn’t even about the never dying controversy over worship music style.  It was nothing of consequence that would have altered our mission or ministry at the church.  It was all about a difference of opinion and interpretation on some minor issue of church policy.  In the vast scheme of things, in light of eternity, in light of lost souls around us, it meant NOTHING,

It simply came down to a matter of personal opinion.

 A few years ago, my son, Jay, was in a discussion with a couple of his staff members and seminary classmates.  I’m not sure exactly what the topic of debate was, but the discussion was lively and animated.  Jay’s 10 year old son, Quint, was also in the room and was quite accustomed to being around such conversations.  As this lively discussion went on, Jay asked Quint, “What’s your opinion on that, son?”

Quint stated his opinion and Jay announced, “Wrong!”

Calmly Quint replied, “No.  You asked for my OPINION and that is what I gave you - my opinion.  It doesn’t matter if it’s right or wrong.  It’s my opinion.”

The boy was wise beyond his age.

Many of us adults need to remember that our opinion is just that - an opinion.  Sometimes they may be right on a particular subject.  Sometimes they may be wrong. But we should never lose sight of the fact that they are simply our opinions.  The other guy is entitled to his just as much as we are to ours.  Sadly, often our opinions are based on preconceived notions, personal preferences, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, limited understanding of the facts, and (for us Christians) limited knowledge and understanding of the scriptures.

The person who stood red faced and boiling in my office was intent on my backing them up, and offered a “my way or the highway” ultimatum if I didn’t.

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit brought a scripture to my mind immediately.  I took my Bible off the desk and asked that person to read this scripture out loud.  Here is what it said:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  Philippians 2:3-8

“Do you think you are showing the mind of Christ on this issue?” I asked the aggravated individual.  “Are you allowing Jesus' example to guide you in this?”

The individual stormed out of my office, left the church, and never came back again.

Now let me be very careful when I say this, and I hope you will understand what I am saying in the spirit in which I say it.

Good Riddance!

When we display an attitude such as this, we neither bring honor to Christ, nor His Church, and we certainly do not show God's Grace in our behavior.

 

Now please understand that I do not want to lose members.  Over the years in pastoral ministry I have spent an inordinate amount of time mediating disputes, soothing disgruntled sheep, and trying to encourage folks to focus on keeping the main thing – the main thing.  My point is this, however.  Our mission is to reach the nations with the Gospel of Christ. That is the task Christ left us. Pure and simple.

As the family of faith grows in number, there will always be differences of opinions and irritations over personal preference.  We cannot let those small, stupid, insignificant things obscure our mission to reach the lost, and to drive wedges in our fellowship as members of the Body of Christ.

Those who do, may simply be spiritually immature, in which case we need to patiently disciple them as much as possible and as quickly as possible.  However, some – who like the angry member in my office – “who have been in this a long time” yet have no evidence of Christlike behavior, and bear little or no fruit of the Spirit, and really do not care WHAT the Bible says, make me wonder if they have ever even truly come to faith in Christ at all.

When the focus of our attention as church members becomes a constant conflict over such small, non doctrinal, non missional things, then we’re practicing a petty version of “churchianity” rather than Christianity. Then the church becomes more of an “organization” than the living “organism” that Christ died to create.

Wouldn’t it be something if the church got as concerned over lost people, headed for a Devil’s Hell as some folks do over the color of the carpet, musical styles, outdated ineffective programs, creature comforts, the temperature of the sanctuary, or the toilet that didn’t get cleaned to our satisfaction?  What if we spent more time in prayer than we did in complaining?  What if we committed ourselves to sharing the Gospel with others rather than fussing about the things we don’t like?  What if we acted more like Christ than a pouting child?

Why, revival might just break out!

I’m ready for an attitude check in my life.  How about you?

An Interesting Map

Dr. Steve Lemke recently posted a link on Facebook to a very interesting graphic and article regarding the concentration of "Christian" denominations across the U.S.  Here is a link to the article.  The map shows a breakdown of the most dominant religions in the United States on a county by county basis.  The information was compiled from the 2010 Census.

There are many interesting things to talk about regarding this graphic.

One of the things that obviously jumps out at me is the great concentration of churches aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention in the southeastern United States.

This is one of the obvious reasons that our SBC North American Mission Board has turned their focus in church planting efforts toward some of the great metropolitan areas in the Northeast and Northwest and the West Coast.  That's not to say that the SBC churches in the Southeast are reaching everyone with the Gospel, but it is obvious that we do have a strong presence here and there is a need for evangelical work in many other areas of the US and Canada.

I live in Kentucky, which has over 2000 Southern Baptist Churches but my current place of ministry for the past eleven years is just across the Big Sandy River in my native state of West Virginia.  The Mountain State seems to be fairly evenly divided predominantly by American Baptists in the west and United Methodists in the east.  There appear to be four counties where the Church of Christ is most heavily concentrated, with a Roman Catholic presence in the northern panhandle and two counties where the SBC is in majority status.

That last fact is somewhat surprising to me since one of those counties is Wayne County, where the church I serve is located.  I would not have thought of Wayne as being predominantly Southern Baptist due to the high number of other Baptist (American, Free Will, United, Primitive and Independent types) in the mostly rural county.  However, my guess is that the statistic comes from ours, and five other SBC churches located in the more urban northern end of the county, roughly along the Ohio River in Huntington, Ceredo, and Kenova areas.

Any how, as you look over the map, you will probably find many interesting points.

When it comes to religious sports fans, I'd guess that the average Southern Baptist would most likely be a fan of the SEC or ACC.  The purple area would likely root for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.