May 2008
May 21, 2008
We received a call from my father-in-law last evening. He was leaving Altoona, headed for Allentown. Today he will attend the funeral of a close friend. My father-in-law is getting along in years, so attending funerals is one of the sad facts of life for him. But this funeral will be a little different.
Paul Nevel fought in the Korean War along with thousands of American young men and women. I don’t know much about the Korean War. In fact, most of what I picture about the war is from the show M.A.S.H. I have the feeling it was not that fun to those who actually went through it. Troops stopped the onslaught of communism into the south and opened the way for South Korea to become one of the most "Christian" nations on earth. The South Koreans will send more missionaries around the world this year than the United States.
Dad Nevel became friends with two other men during that ordeal. Dad was sent home at one point because his father passed away but then had to return to the war. When the other two men returned home, one settled in the Philly area, and one in the Allentown area. These three comrades have remained close friends for nearly 50 years.
I am sure that it will be a very difficult day for my father-in-law. Friendships forged in war and honed for 50 years are very tight bonds. I will pray for their comfort.
My father-in-law and his friends are the kind of people from which wise men learn important life lessons. They raised good families. They worked very hard their entire lives. They served God. They were faithful to their local church family. They fought for their country.
Dad and his three friends took the opportunity afforded them through returning home alive and made good lives. Their legacy is moving forward through three new generations and will go on until the Lord returns. I am part of their legacy through marriage and feel blessed to be such.
As we approach Memorial Day I would like to say thanks to my father-in-law and his two friends. They have taught me numerous invaluable life lessons. I also salute the thousands of men and women who returned home only to be buried. I am sitting in a comfortable chair enjoying a good cup of coffee in a country and for a philosophy of government that is worth the fight.
To my father-in-law and his friends I say, "Thank you." To those who have died defending our freedom I say, "Thank you."
Sharing the Journey,
Pastor Don
May 1, 2008
I attended the board meeting for Orchard Group in New York City this week. Orchard Group is a mission organization that plants churches in New York and the metropolitan areas throughout the mid-Atlantic region. A staff director from Redeemer Church, the largest and most dynamic church in the city, discussed church planters with us. He explained that successful New York City church planters are people who can adapt well to Gotham culture. Those who are not able to adapt do not bear much fruit and do not last long in the intense environment of the city.
Adaptation and change are gifts given to us by God. Unlike animals who only survive on instinct, we can change and morph as we are presented with new situations and environments. The problem is that we sometimes choose not to change, not to adapt. When the opportunity presents itself, we tend to like things the way they are. We resist change to our own peril.
Jesus encountered resistance to change from His listeners. The religious leaders of His time complained that Jesus and His followers did way too much celebrating and not enough fasting. He explained that with the arrival of the Kingdom of God, celebration is appropriate etiquette. He told them that "new wine must be placed into new wineskins." He also stated the maxim that those who are used to old wine do not like new wine, they say the old is better. "We don’t want to change," sums it up.
An individual or an organization that is not changing forward, adapting to evolving environments, is dying. Marriage partners who are not changing are placing their marriage in peril. Parents who are not growing their parenting skills are harming their children. Employees who refuse to learn new skills and new paradigms are outdating themselves. Leaders who do not adapt their craft to each new generation are left behind. Churches that do not deliver the Gospel in relevant ways are fading away.
So what’s up with you? If Jesus were speaking to you right now, what might He tell you to change? Are there ways you are living your life that have long since lost their effectiveness? Do you find yourself constantly complaining about "how things are these days?" Maybe you are prompted to complain because you are out of sync with your world - because you refuse to change.
Jesus provided a solution. He told them to place new wine into new wineskins. When the inevitable winds of change blow your way, be ready to adapt with new information, new practices, new ways of thinking. Change the wineskins of your life.
So what one wineskin do you need to change right now? What is holding you back? God has gifted you with the ability to change and is willing to provide the resources to accomplish it. Make the change today!
Sharing the Journey,
Pastor Don