Vol 3 No 7 - From the Crow's Nest

In the early part of January each year, every pastor across United Methodism has to prepare and submit a year-end 'audit' for the previous year. Information included in this process concerns membership, attendance, programs, finances, and other measures of the congregation's life. The second week of January, each pastor has to present themselves and their information to the district office, where the numbers are verified by a team of pastor. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday of this week at our district office in Lafayette as one of the audit team, and I was excited to see not only how much our church has grown the past year in many areas, but also how healthy we are in relation to other churches in our area. In 2007, we saw a 10% increase in average attendance and over 50% increase in our giving and expenditures.

What I am reminded of as a part of this process each year is that we far too often get caught up in the minutiae of everyday life and fail to see what is happening overall in our lives and, as a pastor, in the life of the congregation. It's only after looking back over the past year, and at previous years, that I truly get a sense of what God is doing. It's only after looking back that I can see that attendance grew by 10% last year after having declined a total of 33% over the previous five years. It's only after looking back that I can see that we are projecting to have an increase of almost 140% in our income from two years ago. It's only after looking back that I can see that God is moving mightily in our midst, and, by seeing this, can be more excited about where he is taking us in 2008 and beyond.

On a personal note, last weekend I was in the parsonage of my first church visiting with their current pastor and was flooded with memories of my time there. Looking around, I thought a great deal about what all I did and what I did not do, and about what I would do differently if I were to go back there. I was reminded, by looking back at where I was, just how far I have grown as a person and as a pastor. It was a great moment, for I was reminded of God's gracious work in my life.

As you go into the rest of this Thursday and into this weekend, let me ask you - when was the last time you sat back and look at things from the larger perspective? When was the last time you looked back over a longer horizon and seen how God has worked in your life? When was the last time you went from the day-to-day battles of life to the overall 'big picture'?

Don't fall into the trap of allowing every day to dictate your attitude about life. It can physically and spiritually debilitate you.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 6 - Just Ask

Buffalo, New York. New Year's Day. Very cold. Very snowy. A great day for hockey. There was a time in my life when I followed the Pittsburgh Penguins as closely as most of you follow LSU football. However, having been away from the 'burgh for almost 15 years now, and with no ready access to hockey on TV, my interest has waned a little bit. I was so excited when I found out that NBC would be broadcasting the NHL's first outdoor game in the US and that the Penguins would be playing the Buffalo Sabres. To make a long story short, I was very excited to see the Penguins new young star, Sidney Crosby, along with a host of others with which I was not familiar. My best friend from those days has told me that this is a good young team and that I would love to see them play, and I am glad I did. I even went online and listened to the Pittsburgh radio broadcast with the finest announcer in sports history, Mike Lange.

What's this got to do with anything related to me being your pastor? Simple. If my friend had not told me about them being so good, and if he hadn't sparked my interest in watching this game, I would not have come to appreciate the simple beauty of the game, along with the atmosphere of 71,000+ (a record) participating in this game.

I wonder sometimes about those people in our lives who were once in love with God, once in active fellowship in the church, once closely connected to Christ who are just waiting for someone like us to remind them of the great things that come from this Christian life. My friend Mike interested me in the hockey game (and even texted me from the game site) - who's needing you to interest them in the Triune God and the life of the church?

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 5 - The True Christmas Season

Another Christmas is upon us - what a joy! After four weeks of waiting, watching, hoping, and anticipating, we are FINALLY able to celebrate the Christmas season over these 12 days from Christmas Day to Epiphany. This morning, I was chatting with someone who told me that Christmas had already come and gone in their house - the decorations were all away and things were 'back to normal'. I completely understand the sentiment - just before I wrote this message, I was in an IM session with Erin talking about possibly taking the tree down tonight.

Christmas is a major inconvenience in many ways for us - our work and school schedules are disrupted, money comes tighter and tighter, and a whole host of other things that we are not used to come into play. Another friend I talked to this morning is at the point he can't wait for his in-laws to leave so that he can get his house back. A third talks about how much work is piling up while he takes vacation that must be burned before Dec. 31.

This Sunday, we will note that it is the First Sunday of Christmas being observed. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of trying to 'return to normal', don't forget that Christmas is, for us, not just a one-day event. In fact, it is not just a 12-day celebration within the church. No - Christmas must be for us a way of life; a way of life because God has taken it upon himself to come and show us the way. Christmas must be a way of life for us - a way that is led by the Master and followed by his church, his body (in other words, us).

We will begin this journey by spending the next few months in Christ's most expansive description of the Christian life - the Sermon on the Mount as found in Matthew 5-7. I will be preaching a series with the theme "Basic Christian Living".

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 4 - Peace...

While in the recovery room today after my myelogram (imagine me having to lay pretty still for 6 hours - when you stop laughing, feel free to continue reading), I was catching up on some e-mails and RSS feeds on my phone when I came across a guest editorial in today's Wall Street Journal by Steve Salerno titled, "The Happiness Myth." As happens a great deal of the time when I am reading things things in contemporary publications, this article seemed to resonate with what is going on in my life and what I see happening in your lives and the life of the church. The particular item from this column is where he quotes his father's advice, "Life isn't built around 'fun.' It's built around peace of mind."

As you head down the home stretch, with not much time left in this Advent season, and calendar year, take a moment to ask yourself if you have 'peace of mind.' Peace of mind related to who you are. Peace of mind related to what you do. Peace of mind related to your relationships with friends and family. Peace of mind with God. Peace of mind knowing that what you are doing, and the identity you have, are not related to the things of this world, but can be directly traced to the incarnation of God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit in a life that spanned from the manger to the cross to the second coming.

I look forward to seeing each of you and your friends, relatives, and neighbors, on Christmas Eve @ 6:00 or 11:00.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 3 - The Light's Always On

Over lunch early yesterday afternoon with one of my colleagues, a dear friend of mine (J) who I am working with on his ordination process, the subject of what is it that we as pastors hope for in our churches came up for discussion. Just before or during the middle of this (I don't remember which), a mutual friend of ours called him to shoot the breeze. This friend and I have not talked in about six years (no animosity or anything - just life intervening) but when I found out it was him on the phone I got on and did 5-10 minutes of catching up. What was great about it was that even though he and I had not talked in a long time, we picked up without missing a beat. In the middle of a routine Tuesday over a late lunch in a sandwich shop in Lafayette, an old friend re-entered my life, even if for a few brief minutes.

Later on in the conversation, after J and I had gotten off the phone with our friend, we went back to the subject mentioned first in this column and I shared with J that one of the things that I hope for in the churches that I serve is that they are places where relationships are developed and formed to the depth that even after a six-year (or longer) break in conversation things pick up like there was no break. As we talked further, we got into what goes into seeing that kind of vision come to fruition. The bottom line we came up with was that it must become our very nature to invest ourselves in one another to the depths that do not come when we breeze in and out of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings, barely talking to anyone (and certainly not those people whom we do not know). It must become our very nature to seek out these relationships. After all, if we as the body of Christ are not willing to invest in one another, why should we expect anyone to invest in us? If we, as the body of Christ, are not willing to take a chance to invest in those whom we don't know who come into our fellowship, why should we expect them to feel as though we

Whether or not it will be another six years before the mutual friend of ours and I talk again, I do not know. I hope not, but if it works out that way, I know that the bonds that we formed during the time we were a part of the same Christian community are stronger than the separation of a few years.

Could the same be said if you left Pharr Chapel and didn't come back for six years? I'm not talking about people you grew up with or worked with, but those people whom you got to know solely through your connection to this community of faith.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 2 - Perspectivization

A few months ago, one of the recipients of this message, a fellow United Methodist pastor, said to me something along the lines of: "I read your e-mail each week and love it. I do have a question, however: What is your purpose in sending out the e-mail?" It was a great question, and one that I have thought about each week in the course of preparing this message.

My answer to him was: "1. To remind them that I am thinking of them in the midst of their crazy week. 2. To give them some food for thought on a Christian/spiritual level. 3. To keep the church and its activities in their mind." Whenever I write to you, I do my best to hit on all three of these ideas at some point, either in the article (hopefully) or elsewhere in the e-mail.

There is a popular philosophy among some preachers to look at the preaching & writing aspects of pastoral ministry as speaking to them, with the people of the church being allowed to listen in on the conversation. This week is one of those times for me, for I hit the proverbial 'wall' about 4:00 this afternoon, looking at what all I have allowed to crawl onto my plate between now and Christmas. Instead of a lot of thought-provoking and soul-searching (hopefully) writing, I want to simply ask of you who are journeying with me towards the manger the following questions:

1. What are you doing today to get ready for Christmas?

2. How is that helping prepare you encounter the Christ child?

3. How has the activity that you are engaged in with respect to #1 helped nourish your soul?

4. How much of what you are engaged in with respect to #1 do you allow to dominate your life?

5. How much of the answer to #4 is really important to help you answer #2?

Just a few questions to help with your 'perspectivization'.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 1 - Participation = Preparation

There is a GREAT video on YouTube that is a clip of a press conference NBA star Allen Iverson had a couple of years ago in Philadelphia. The subject of the press conference was a rift between Iverson and his coach, Larry Brown, after Iverson missed practice. Many of you may remember it, for Iverson says the word 'practice' about 20 times in 2.5 minutes. Watching this clip again (and, I must admit, it is one of my favorite YouTube videos), the very last thing that Iverson says in this clip (which is not the total interview) is, "How the [heck] can I make my teammates better by practicing?" Good question. GREAT question. One I think that we all should have to answer - how can I make others on my team important by practicing?

Going into the Advent season, I have had several people mention to me that it seems there is a lot on the church calendar for December and wondering how it is all going to come off. There's also been some mention of people not being able to make it to EVERYTHING on the calendar due to other important matters. My hope and prayer is that you will make an effort to be a part of as many activities as you are willing to make time for, since it is when we are the body of Christ come together that we are strengthened and encouraged in our quest to fulfill the Master's will in all things. Through things like the Hanging of the Green service, the Advent lunches, Bible studies, Sunday School, Salsa sales, and food drives, we catch a glimpse of the kingdom of God that we miss when we limit our participation in the activities of the body of Christ to simply showing up on Sunday morning for an hour.

Advent is a season of preparation. Four weeks where we focus our strength and energy on nothing other (in theory) than preparing to observe and celebrate once again the arrival of our Savior. Further, this season is not just about preparing ourselves as individuals to participate in the joyous celebration of Christmas, but to walk with one another in this time. As Paul reminds us in several places, we are the body of Christ, and when we miss the opportunity to be together, we are not being all that we can be, nor all that we should be.

To answer Allen Iverson's question, "How the [heck] can I make my teammates better by practicing?", let me conclude by saying that when you, each of you, are present in the activities of the community of faith, you bring to the rest of us another glimpse of God's saving work through the very life you present for His service. By doing that, you make all of us, your teammates, better. After all, what is participation in the body of Christ but, to quote Fanny Crosby, a 'foretaste of glory divine'?

See you Sunday!
Lamar