THE PLAGUE OF THE CHURCH

I don't know where I found this, but it has been on my computer. If light of the church and it's needs, I thought I'd include in on the blog. The title is "Gossip can kill a church".

Am I a gossip?
—When there is a problem in church, do people run to you to get the “scoop”?
—Do you ever begin a sentence with “Don’t tell anyone, but…”?
—If every word you mutter was printed on the local newspaper’s front page or broadcast on radio, would it honor God?

Tips to Avoid Malicious Gossip
—It takes two to gossip. If you’re listening, that makes you #2.
—Don’t whisper in public.
—Watch your nonverbal responses. A raised eyebrow can equal gossip.
—Be polite, but don’t participate.
—Your best friend shouldn’t be the church gossip.
—Don’t disguise gossip as prayer.
—Just because it’s true doesn’t mean it’s appropriate to verbalize.
—If you say it to a friend, it’s still gossip.
—Never allow a person’s character to be degraded.
—Correct misinformation.
—Sharing a prayer request? Don’t give too much information. God knows the details.
—Never speak negatively about the church down the street.
—Stop, drop & pray. At the first hint of gossip, immediately interrupt and pray aloud for the situation.
—Guard what you put in print. Written words may appear harsher than intended, and email may be forwarded to hundreds!

Avoiding Misunderstanding on the Internet
—Is what I am about to say honoring to the Lord Jesus?
—What is my intention in putting these words up on the Internet for the whole world to see?
—Would I be willing to speak what I am about to write to another person’s face, or only to him indirectly through the Internet?

Here's a good scripture to support the facts. "The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid someone with a big mouth." Proverbs 20:19 (HCSB)

QUALITY VS. ROYALTY

On Thursday evening we were watching the men's ice skating finals from Vancouver, and the camera scanned the audience for some personalities.

The first person shown and mentioned was Jerry Jones . . described as American sporting royalty.

The second person to be shown was Tony Dungy . . described as a man of quality.

What a comparison!

Which one would you rather be? It says a lot about your priorities.

MY NEW CHRISTIAN BROTHER

I met Richard Williams just a few weeks before our planned trip to Ecuador. There was an immedicate connection with this new brother in Christ. He's been a Christian only a short time, and God is doing a marvelous work in his life. This was his very "first" missions experience, and God used him in marvelous ways. I've attached what he had to say. Listen to his heart with your heart:

Dear Many People,

The group that left for Ecuador last Tuesday is back home and I would like to thank all that prayed, financed, and gave their support to this mission. This was the fifth trip of many and I hope you continue in your support and prayers for the people there as well as those to come. I personally thank you for an experience of a life time and a lesson of how big, loving, and in control our God is.

I left not knowing exactly what I could do, but with a desire to help in anyway I could and I came back with the knowledge that I can do nothing on my own, but to serve God, honor God, love God and watch what He can do. I suggest we all love one another and let God do His work through us.

Man with his bitterness, self-centeredness, and sinful nature creates not only separation from God, but separation from one another. God and His love, a love so big we truly don’t comprehend, can and does transcend all barriers and boundaries. He can break through any obstacle to show how great He is.

This life really can’t be about us, but the more we try to do for others it seems to me that God shows it is about us. Not in the sense that we normally think, but in the sense that God wants to show His love for us and He is pleased when He is glorified, recognized, worshiped and loved. You can’t out love God… Try it… I challenge you.

Many things took place and I won’t go into all the details, but here is a few of the things that went on. A hungry family was fed with a surprise food package that was left at their doorstep. Books were donated to the local University. Children at the local elementary school received a lesson on conserving energy to help cut back on power failures in the area. They were given goody bags and a message of God’s love, but they gave back big smiles, hugs and love that was so precious and much more valuable than anything we brought to them. The community was offered and many took part in a leadership conference and a marriage conference that both emphasized Biblical principals and honor to God through service, but the people gave back a thirst and hunger for more knowledge and that was refreshing to me. A free movie was offered, received and enjoyed by many of the Ecuadorians, but they gave back enthusiasm, joy and pure gratitude for something many of us take for granted

Not only was a roof replaced for the care taker at the community woman’s center, but the woman received help with an old rotten floor that also allowed moisture in. It wasn’t a big project and, in all honesty, I imagine some on this list have storage units that are larger and in better condition. I know for a fact that some have a bigger and better place to park there car than this woman has to live, but the roof job lead to another job at a local home to replace an old rickety make shift dangerous second level walk way that children used. A new sturdy steal beamed walkway with rails that could support a number of people at the same time is now in place. Not only did the brother of the woman that received the roof at the woman’s center give forward and help with building the walk way, but the man of the home invited us and opened his house for a Sunday home church worship service. It was beautiful. Because of translation the walk way project was described as a bridge and we went without knowing what sort of bridge to build. What I found was that God is building a bridge through all of His children to connect us all in His love.

We had one day, the last day, to do some sight seeing, but God wasn’t done with me yet. We were able to go to Quito and take a cable lift to the top of a mountain that looked over the whole countryside and there He was in nature, as in Romans 1:20, and there was no excuse for not recognizing how great God is.

From there it was to the equator and the message was God is in control. There is a natural order to things. Many of you know more about the natural sciences than I do, but where does natural science come from if not from God? If one tries to walk the equator with hands outstretched and eyes closed, he can feel the pull from both the north and south. One must open his eyes and concentrate to walk a straight line. It is a very strange sensation. There is physical proof that we have natural forces pulling on us and it demonstrates the pull of the world in our lives to succumb to one direction or the other. The same is true in the spiritual sense, but God isn’t going to force you to love Him. He has given you free will, but He wants you to come on your own volition. God wants our total attention and trust, but we allow distractions and outside forces to pull us in all sorts of directions. Sometimes all that we have, all we think we need and the entire surplus that is nearby can be an obstacle to our total trust in God. If we know where our next meal is coming from, if we know we have shelter with a sound roof to keep the next storm out, what do we need God for? If we know we are going to heaven….Hmmm?

My new Ecuadorian friends need God, but they are no different then you, me, your next door neighbor, brother, sister, mother, father or anyone else you see throughout any given day. We all need God, His love, His abundance, His peace, His protection, His salvation and it is all there for the asking. Ask Jesus into your heart and if He is already there ask Him to grow in you like He never has done before. Take His love, walk in His ways to show that you love Him, love one another, forgive one another, and let there be peace on earth…

I love you and please forgive me when my actions or lack of don’t show it.

Richard

THAT'S GOOD STUFF . . FROM GOD . . TO MY HEART . . Sam

FLAT MITCHELL

We've played along with several of our grandchildren when they've sent a Flat Stanley to us for a visit. It's always been fun to take pictures of Flat Stanley in various places and poses. Written by Jeff Brown in 1964, this famous story has been the joy of many parents and grandparents.

I had extra special fun recently when I took Flat Mitchell of Michell Hedstrom fame on a trip to Ecuador. We traveled with seven others on a mission trip to Cumbaya, Ecuador. I hope to get most of the pictures on my Facebook soon. You'll enjoy the many scenes of his visit to South America.

We had to smuggle him into Ecuador since he didn't have a Visa. All of my Baptist friends were very happy to break laws so he could go with us. I'm glad he didn't get detained because he needs to get back to Columbus Elementary School. The rain, celebration of carnival, travel in a notebook, and eating all kinds of Ecuadorian food were very distressful to him, but he survived. I hope the original Mitchell recognizes him when he gets home.

Thanks Flat Mitchell . . we had a great time.

HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1957

RL and I had lunch today, as we do every three months, with 27 people, most of them who graduated with me in 1957 from Weatherford High School. It is always fun to sit and discuss some of our memories from high school and junior high and elementary school. Some of our memories are the same; many are different.

There is one significant change to our conversations. Most of these 70+ year olds speak a lot about the shortness of life, the coming of death, and the fact that all of us have an eternity in front of us.

It's a more comfortable conversation now than when we were 18 years of age. I thank God that I've had the opportunity to say good things about Him over the years. I'm also thankful for the eternity with Him that is ahead.

KEN ALBERT AT SOUTHERN SEMINARY

Ken is an old friend from Colorado who is now working on his PhD at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. This was his post on FaceBook today:

"Ken Albert Fired up, and ready to preach (oops, TEACH) for 3 hours at Southern. Hard to believe that I will actually get paid to teach personal evangelism. Yakov Smirnov had it right, "What a country!""

I added a comment to his page that said, "What a great God". Let me tell you some of Ken's story and why we serve such an awsome, wonderful God.

Ken grew up in the Boston area, and he was in trouble with the police from his earliest years. He was, what be described, as a hoodlum. I don't really know much about the crimes he committed, the time he spent in jail, or the locations. I just know that he finally ended up in the prison system of Colorado out on the eastern plains. His life was a mess, and he found himself in a terrible spot.

Ken volunteered to work with the chaplain at the prison, knowing that it would give him access to books and to a small amount of freedom. He didn't care anything for Christianity and its claims, but being a chaplains helper was easier than other jobs. He also didn't know that the Holy Spirit was already giving him direction that would place him in a position to clearly hear the gospel. (That's how God works!)

Larry Maxwell served as a Director of Missions on the eastern plains of Colorado, and he would often make visits into the prisons in the area. His daughter, Shawna, a school teacher in the panhandle of Texas, would often visit her parents, and Shawna would also go with her father to the prisons. It was on one of these gospel sharing trips that Shawna met Ken, who was working as the Chaplains Assistant. Larry told me later that he immediately recognized a "connection" between Shawna, the preacher's daughter, and Ken, the inmate. As most people would understand, that was not a good thing. So Larry and his wife Betty began to pray very diligently about that relationship.

I don't exactly remember the details, but during this time, Ken Albert was gloriously and wonderfully saved by the power of God. He accepted the claims of Christ for his life, and he began the new journey of faith. And, oh yes, he and Shawna were later married.

By the time I first met Ken and Shawna, he was already pastoring one of our small Baptist churches in Colorado and was a student at the Rocky Mountain Campus of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. His testimony, as you can probably tell, was thrilling. He was so excited about the gospel, growing and maturing each day. It was "fun" to be around him and to feel his enthusiasm.

Ken and Shawna did a wonderful job of ministry, but it wasn't long before he had completed his seminary education. He knew that God wanted him to teach, and he had such a brilliant mind. So, without fear or hesitation, they folded up their roots in Colorado and headed to Kentucky where Ken had been accepted in the PhD program.

That brings us to today.
1. Read his statement in the first paragraph.
2. Ken is serving as an evangelism consultant for the North American Mission Board.
3. He just returned from Nevada/Utah and a week of teaching evangelism.
4. Ken and Shawna have two growing boys.
5. He is serving as the interim Executive Director of a Baptist association.

Wow, I'm glad I wrote all of this. It reminds me of the greatness of God. I sometimes get some caught up in the small stuff that I forget how God is still in the life-changing business.

WESTERN COLORADO and BAPTISTS

I had two different contacts today, and both of them helped me to reflect on my years of ministry in western Colorado. Many of my Texas family and friends have a somewhat negative view of that region; they see it as isolated, remote, and probably impoverished. I have discovered that there is no where that is remote and/or isolated. The "center" of the universe is where you as an individual live and love and serve. So western Colorado was and is the "center" of their universe.

I heard today that Eddie Scroggins has died. Eddie was 92 years of age. He and his wife June moved to western Colorado back in the 1950s, and he served as pastor of many small churches in the area over the years. I imagine that even he thought of the area as remote in those days when he arrived from Oklahoma. There were few good roads and much dangerous travel over the mountains. Some of the roads were even dirt; interstates hadn't arrived; and travel was treacherous. Western Colorado became his home, and even though you may not recognize his name, it is well known and loved among Baptists. He raised a wonderful family of seven children, 16 grandchildren, and 11 great-great grandchildren. He started many new churches; he gave his life so that others might hear about Jesus.

In my mind, that is being at the "center" of the universe . . when you are in the "center" of God's will for your life.

I also saw today on Facebook that this is Roger Little's birthday. Roger and his wife LuAnn also now live in Grand Junction, but while my children were young, he served as the Principal at Craig Middle School. He is a tremendous man of integrity whoo had a wonderful Christian influence on my children. He's the type of teacher and administrator that we all desire for our children. He and his family were also wonderful members of our church.

We had a saying about Craig, Colorado. I suggest that yout look up its location on a map if you're unfamiliar with some geography. It was said of Craig . . "that it wasn't the end of the world . . but you could see it from there." We still have many wonderful friends in Craig, and they know for sure that it is not the end of the world but the "center" of the universe. Many of them continue to seek God's will for their lives.

My suggestion is always to find the "center" of your life in Christ.

WORKING WITH AGING ADULTS

I admire folks who work in nursing homes and retirement centers. Most of them have a deep sense of "call" to do this very difficult work. My mother has lived in these situations for the past twelve years, and I'm always amazed at the depth of commitment and "personal touch" that these individuals give.

This "nursing home" was a new thing for me. Oh, I had read many articles and books about this unknown future, but I had to experience it to fully understand. I didn't realize the many pressures it would place on our lives. I probably didn't comprehend the changes that would occur, not only for my mother, but for me.

For instance, I often found myself angry. I wasn't sure where to direct the anger. Many times I was angry at God. I wondered why God had placed my mother into such a difficult situation. I felt that he could make some better arrangements for her.

I was also angry at the inevitability of death. I understood that it was coming, but just like everyone else, I wanted it to come at a later time.

At other times I was angry at myself. I had a deep feeling of being unable to help. I would also find ways to blame myself for my mother's condition. I knew it wasn't my fault, but I could not help but feel that I was not doing enough to help. I wasn't sure I was visiting her enough; I didn't feel that I was meeting her needs.

It was also easy for me to be angry with the very people who are working to help her fragile life. I had heard many of the horror stories of nursing home workers who said and did inappropriate things. I didn’t want that to happen to my Mother. And then, I realized that they are just humans doing a very difficult job. I am sorry to say that I have found myself saying and doing things to them which were out of line, things that were more than inappropriate.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, I am so glad that I understand forgiveness. It's a day to day need in my life. The scripture says . . "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to heal us from all unrighteousness." That's exactly what I do when I "mess up" with my words and attitudes. I recommend God's type of forgiveness to everyone.

There is no doubt in my mind that Holland Lake Nursing Center is the very best in Weatherford. It always comes out NUMBER ONE in the polls. Every worker offers undying love and support to my 103 year old mother . . and also to me. They go out of their way each day to make this life ending experience as joyful as possible.

I visit my Mother daily, and I see many who have a servant's heart for her. I'm tempted to begin the process of "naming names", but I'm afraid I'll get myself in trouble. So let me just say a huge THANK YOU to all of the staff at Holland Lake Nursing Center. Each one of you is loved and appreciated.

Sam Cotter