Do people send you those videos via email that you, “just have to watch”…the ones that will change your life…the ones that if you do not see your life will not quite be complete? What do you do with them? If you are like me you can’t hit the delete button fast enough. If I am not careful I would end up doing nothing but watching “life changing”, “special” videos all day. Well, in a moment of weakness (or boredom) I chose to open one of those videos and boy am I glad I did. It captures the kind of “life to the full” transformation that Jesus talks about in the gospels and shows how we can be a part of bringing it to those who are less fortunate. Now, it is certainly not a complete answer…nor will it solve all of the worlds problems but it did bring some joy into the lives of a small group who were struggling. If we are to live out the gospel message we must care for the widow and orphan, we must have a heart for those in prison and the homeless. This video captures just one example of what it could look like to help raise the spirits of people, even if only for just one night, who are experiencing the harder side of life. It cries to me of the ministry of Jesus. It screams of Jesus welcoming everyone on the same footing no matter what their social or socio-economic standing. It is an example of the gospel lived out today…enjoy…and may you find ways to live out the gospel in bold and beautiful ways!
Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels Delivery
The other day I met one of the men in Kennett who works with the local chapter of meals on wheels. It is an organization that I first became aware of back when I was in jr. high school and mowing yards. Mr. Stafford was one of my first lawn customers and I would stop by on the way home from school just to check in on him to make sure he was okay and did not need anything. The two of us ended up becoming friends and I was more than the boy who mowed his lawn and he shared a lot of his life with me. I learned about coin collecting, model trains and some of the struggles that life can bring. His model train wrapped all the way around the full finished basement. He would sit on his stool and direct me where and how to build and place things. I would climb under and over what felt like miles of track building towns, landscapes and placing people in the exact location to create different scenes. It was not unusual to spend hour placing things only to move them to the other side of the basement a week later to make room for new pieces that arrived. Quite often I would hear things like, “my wife would never let me do this when she was alive…but she cannot stop me now.” A hollow kind of laughter would follow statements like that…you could tell he was longing to hear her footsteps on the stairs coming down to tell him to, “put his toys away!”
My times with Mr. Stafford were always filled with work, but they were special and helped shape who I am today. I would often wonder how he ate, how he cooked his food. He did not move well, did not leave the house often, so how could he even get food from the store? One day when we were in the basement the doorbell rang and he said, “Let’s take a break.” We went upstairs, he answered the door and there was a man with a cooler who pulled out a container of food and gave it to him. Now Mr. Stafford, in true Mr. Stafford style, made some comment questioning the quality of the food but he gladly accepted it and thanked the man for bringing it to him. When he left I asked who had been at the door…and I was introduced to Meals on Wheels. I felt better, knowing that the man I had come to care for was getting a nutritious meal and that somebody was taking the time to bring it to him and check to see if he was okay on a regular basis. Meals on Wheels has been around for a long time. The Kennett Square Chapter of Meals on Wheels has been providing meals to home bound residents in the Kennett area since 1971. The backbone of this effort is the crew of volunteer drivers who deliver the meals to clients. There is currently a critical need for both permanent drivers and people willing to be placed on the substitute driver list. Permanent drivers are asked to commit 1 1/2 hours of time one day every four weeks. Drivers pick up meals at Kendal at Longwood at 11:00 and deliveries are usually completed by 12:30. New volunteers are given training until they feel comfortable delivering meals on their own. People interested in becoming volunteer drivers or wanting more information can contact Meals on Wheels of Chester County. Please consider how you can help continue this important service to the people of Kennett. It may be that you can find a few “partners” who can work together to take a day and carry the load together.
Baskets Left Over (August 3, 2014)
Matthew 14:13-21
Feeding of 5,000
Disciples: See size of the need and the smallness of the human resources available to meet it and are overwhelmed.
Mark 6:37 – That would take 8 months wages!
Ever heard anything like that at a council meeting or in a board meeting?
Andrew: Here is a boy with 5 small barley loaves and two small fish. Andrew presents what is available…unsure of how what can be done with it…but he offers it.
Jesus: Sees the size of the need and is aware of the greatness of God’s resources available to Him.
We need to see like Jesus. I don’t want to see like the disciples as they stood before the 5,000 men… I want to see with Jesus eyes…
Last thing I want you to note about this miracle…we see it in John’s gospel,
John 6:14-15: Sometimes…even when we see miraculous works and provision of God we can jump to our own conclusions of what is right and good…and force our own agenda.
The nation of Israel was looking for a political leader…one of the signs they were looking for was a prophet who would feed the people like God fed the nation of Israel manna in the desert…imagine how the excitement began to build as five loaves and two fish fed well over 5,000 people.
We are at risk of doing the same thing in our lives…our prayer must constantly be that we put aside our dreams (dreams of man) for the Visons of God.
A Well Worn Bible
This morning I had the honor of presiding over the funeral for Marian Reese. I never met Marian but I feel like I knew her after spending a few days with her Bible. As I was getting ready for the service I asked her son Fred if I could borrow her Bible and look it over and see if there were any special passages she highlighted, marked or noted in some way. What I found was a bible that had been well used. As I turned each page it was clear she had spent time with the book other than on a Sunday morning. I could tell where she liked to “grab hold of the page” to turn it (right in the middle of the page) because it was discolored by years of reading and study. Most importantly I found those passages which were important to her…they were marked with a quick circle or underline. Very respectful (almost as if she struggled with the idea of writing in the Bible) yet she wanted to remember the morsels of wisdom and promise she found.
The sermon for her funeral came from two words, one she circled (almost until she cut through the paper) and the other she underlined. Ephesians 2 begins with a Paul talking about the reality and consequences of sin. He reminds us (as if any of us need any reminding) that sin and evil abound, that we are all tempted to fulfill the sinful desires of our hearts. Then comes the words of Paul that Marian marked up and found so comforting…
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:4-10
BUT… read even though they did not deserve it…even though he would have been well within his rights to watch them struggle… BUT God, motivated by his immense love for you and for me made us alive even when we were dead in our sins.
How did he do it? Through the work of Christ. It is nothing we do, it is a gift of God’s grace which we receive through faith. Powerful words that gave Marian hope and strength in life, bore witness to the truth of her eternal celebration with Christ and called each of us gathered together to celebrate her life to examine our own relationship with God.
It was an honor to share a few days with Marian’s bible and I was blessed to be able to allow it to speak to those gathered together today.
May all our Bibles speak so clearly and so boldly.
Burton’s
Bob Burton, third generation barber & relationship builder in Kennett Square
Today I had one of those unique and special experiences that happen around things you quite often take for granted. How often do you get your haircut and think nothing of it? A task to get done. Something to cross off your list that must be done in order to continue living an ordered life…unless you want to be like my brother and go for the hippy look…which I could never pull off with any kind of class or dignity. Anyway, this morning a haircut was on my list and I stepped into Burton’s at the center of Kennett Square. Bob is a member of First Baptist Church but more importantly he is a third generation barber. He gets to the shop around 4am and spends the day getting to know people, building relationships and on the side he happens to cut hair. I was there for over an hour met five people, each of whom Bob called by name and quickly shared a piece of their story. It is clear that the shop is a place where “everybody knows your name”, a community within a community. The walls are lined with all kinds of history, tracing the people and sports teams of the Kennett community. You could spend a few hours looking over the pictures and my sense is that Bob could tell you a story about each image, each artifact which has found its way to the Barber shop. I left with a haircut (item # 1 crossed off my list for the day) and more importantly I felt like I had been somewhere special…with people I could call friend even after spending such a short time with them.
Boxes…Boxes…Boxes
The moving truck arrived in Kennett Square late Friday, July 25th. An army of new friends and church members arrived at the house nice and early on Saturday morning and made quick work of unloading what took an entire day to pack. By lunch time the truck was empty, except for my shop equipment which was moved to a storage unit later in the week. We stood in what would become our living room and looked at piles of boxes and wondered where all this stuff came from. We had done a good job of going through our possessions and purging unnecessary items back in Locust…or so we thought. It all felt overwhelming, which box to open first, what room was most important, how was this house ever going to become a home? Well we have been hard at work (okay, Rayann and Nancy have been hard at work) for four days and things are beginning to take shape.
Rooms once filled with boxes are now open and look inviting and provide a place to rest and live together. We had dinner at the dining room table the other night! The birds (don’t ask, or at least ask Nancy) have been moved from their “travel cage” to their real home and have started to sing again. Life is starting to take on the feeling of normalcy. Nancy won, Rayann and I did not put a pool table in the guest room, so…Joseph has a bed should he ever decide to visit…hint…hint…hint.
Thank you to everyone who has done so much to help make us feel welcome and has extended themselves to help make the difficult transition easier.
Roger VanDerWerken
Steve, Pastor Roger VanDerWerken, Me
I got quite a special treat today. I came out of my office and was told there was a very important message. Roger Vanderwerken, his daughter Christina and their friend Steve were on their way to see me. Roger was the first pastor I served with when I graduated from seminary. We worked together at Memorial Baptist Church in Cortland, New York. He was/is a great guy with a heart for Jesus who loves to help people grow in their understanding and relationship with God. One of Roger’s greatest strengths, and one of the things that helped me grow the most during the time I spent with him is the fact that he is very secure in who he is. There are no games, no need to worry about people “stepping on toes”, we shared a common vision and were able to work towards it very well together. Roger helped me see and develop my strengths and I would not be the pastor I am today without spending those four years with him. He left Memorial Baptist to return to the Navy and has served as a Navy chaplain for many years until recently retiring from the navy and now serves as a disciple making pastor for a large church out in California.
Christina and Dan
Christina was in Jr. High, maybe a freshman in high school the last time I saw her. She has grown into quite the amazing young woman! She is one of two masters trained biologists (there is a special name which you would be impressed with but escapes me now) in the state of California who study algae. It was great to catch up with her and to see how she has grown and matured. Steve was one of Roger’s friends who would pop in every now and then when I was at Memorial…it was nice to renew that friendship as well. I appreciate Steve letting Roger and Christina “get away” the day before his daughter was going to be married…Roger was in town to perform the ceremony.
We had a great lunch together in downtown Kennett Square, talked like we had never parted company…when in fact we had not seen each other for over 10 years. It is great to have such friends, to be able to build that kind of community…it is the kind of community and fellowship I hope to build during my time here at First Baptist. Roger, Christina & Steve…I wish you nothing but the best and thanks for thinking of me and taking the time to stop by and say hello.
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