Vol 3 No 19 - Important Anniversary

May 3, 1978 is a day, to paraphrase Franklin Delano Roosevelt, that lives in infamy for all of us who use the internet, especially those of us who rely on e-mail as a major form of communication. I have been an e-mail user (in some for or another) for almost 25 years, and, until I read a blog at the Wall Street Journal's website yesterday, I had not idea of the significance of May 3, 1978. For, my dear friends, this Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of the first piece of piece of unsolicited e-mail, or SPAM.

The man who got the ball rolling, Gary Thuerk, was advertising an open house for a new line of computers that his company was selling. Reaction was swift from the 2600 or so people on the net; he was warned by many to not do it again, for there was an understanding by the users of the net that e-mail was not to be used to sell things. Mr. Thuerk to this day maintains he was not selling something but rather extending an invitation. No matter the reason, a new era in computing history was born.

This got me to thinking about SPAM and Mr. Thuerk and I wind up with a couple of reflections: 1) How many unwanted messages do you and I send out every day? (I'm not talking just about e-mail, but all messages, verbal and non-verbal); and 2) How many times do we initiate things that wind up with unintended consequences?

Now, don't get me wrong, I do not believe for one minute that Mr. Thuerk is solely responsible for all the SPAM in the world; someone would have done it if he hadn't.

However, take a moment as the 30th anniversary of the first SPAM message comes around and reflect upon the messages you send out every day. As Christians, our hope and prayer is that all of our life is about spreading the gospel of Christ in thought, word, and deed. Can it be said of us that we are spreading the message of God's love, hope, peace, and grace; or are we spreading a lot of SPAM through the lives that we live?

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 18 - The Cat's Meow

Late in the evening yesterday, I found, in a most unexpected place, a great reminder of how important it is to be people not just of faith, but a faith that embodies good works. As we let our dogs out for the last time before bed, a dragonfly made its way into our home. Quite annoying, these little creatures can be, especially when buzzing all around your house. Then Erin and I noticed that our cat was absolutely fixated on the dragonfly, tracking its every movement. Since the insect in question was flying around the ceiling, our cat got visibly and audibly frustrated with his inability to get to the pest. After a couple of attempts to put him in position to catch his prey, we went on into the back.

Well, about 15 minutes later, the cat appears at our bedroom door and starts meowing loudly, as if he wanted our attention. So after a few minutes of this, I went to see what was going on. He looked up at me, with a look only cats can give, and then I saw it. Under his front left paw was the dragonfly, who by this point had gone to see its maker. Mew had done what he'd set out to do, and wanted to share it with us. He seemed so proud that he had done what we had thought not too long before would be impossible.

As I thought more about it this morning, I started asking again those questions that we all must face each and every day: "Am I proud of what I have accomplished today? Could I take to God what I have done today, in thought, word, and deed, and expect God to be pleased with my efforts?" In no way am I saying that my relationship with my cat parallels at all with God's relationship with us. However, could you take, willingly, to God how you live your life and expect him to be pleased with the results?

Just something to think about.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

P.S. Our denomination's General Conference begins TODAY in Fort Worth, TX. Every four years, representatives from every conference in our denomination meet to discern where it is that God is leading our movement, voting on our church structure and guidelines. The representatives (equally split among clergy and laity) are elected at the prior year's annual conferences by vote of each congregation's delegate to the annual conference. Each congregation's delegate to annual conference is elected by the charge conference of the local congregation. Please be in prayer for the clergy and laity delegates from Louisiana that God may give them the wisdom to do what is right and pleasing in the sight of God. More information about General Conference can be found here.

Vol 3 No 17 - Back in the Game

I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am to be back in the game this week after recuperating from my recent surgery - I have missed you all terribly and cannot wait to see each and every one of you during worship this weekend. As I told my friend Lynn Malone last week, I am truly blessed to have a job that I cannot wait to get to every day and am distraught when illness or injury keeps me away (after all, how many people in our society can honestly say they love their job)? Thank you again, one and all, for who you are and how much you have and continue to bless me and Erin.

One of the great things about getting back into the swing of things is returning to the routine of the church's life. Most all of you know, from having read your April newsletter, that we are going to see the return of weekly group and Bible studies starting next week. There are several different studies being presented; please find more information about all of these as you scroll down. I must note that I made an error in my column about one group - it will meet on TUESDAYS at 6:00, not Wednesdays at 7:00.

Finally, it would be a terrible omission to not acknowledge that today is the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech Massacre. Whether we want to admit it or not, we never know when tragedy will strike us as we go about the routines of life. My hope and prayer for each of you is that you are constantly aware of, and engaging in the practice of, nurturing your relationship with God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have the honor and privilege of serving a God who desires for us to commune with him not just when tragedies occur and we are searching for answers; no, our God desires for us to relate to him in all things, through all things. Can you honestly say that this is your outlook on life?

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 16 - Holy Week

Most of the time I make an effort in this space to give you something to chew on as you walk in your journey with Christ, or to let you know of something upcoming in the life of the congregation. The starkness of this week leads me in a different direction, however.

This is Holy Week. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday we will be gathering for worship at 6:00PM. Easter Sunday, we will be gathering for worship at 10:00AM.

If these days ever fail to get our attention and these worship opportunities ever fail to become the number one priority on these days, then it tells us more than anything about our faith. Christ's Last Supper, His Death, and His Resurrection. What more could he do to tell us of the importance of these days?

See you Tomorrow, Friday, AND Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 15 - Pre-Holy Week Recognitions

I want to take a moment to thank in advance a few people who are going to help make our Holy Week 2008 one of the best ones yet in the history of Pharr Chapel.

Thank you to John & Cindy Lacy, who are going to take care of cooking our lunch on Palm Sunday.

Thank you to Marietta Race who has helped organize this lunch.

Thank you to Dana Blanco & Thelma Liner for organizing the picnic activities.

Thank you to those unnamed who are going to help prep the church for Maundy Thursday.

Thank you to Marlene Hendrix and all those involved in our music ministry who will be leading our service on Good Friday along with some of their friends.

Thank you to those of you who purchased the lilies we will have in our sanctuary Easter Sunday.

This week is the most awe-inspiring week of the year. To remember again the miracles of the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, the holiness of the Last Supper, the ironic victory of Good Friday, and the unbridled joy of Easter Sunday is something that we cannot allow ourselves to take for granted just because we've been through it before.

To have the opportunity to gather as a community for this Holy Week is an honor and a privilege for me. I cannot wait for us to journey down this road together, the highs and the lows, as we celebrate Christ's life, death, and resurrection. If there is someone you have been waiting to bring to church, this is a great time to do so.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 14 - Membership in Lenten Context

Less than three weeks! Three weeks! Can you believe that less than three weeks from now we will be celebrating Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday! O what joy! So much to do between now and then...

I had the great occasion Monday to visit about the vows of membership and what is involved in being a member of our congregation and it has gotten me thinking since then about what it does mean to be a member of this congregation and the responsibilities that come with these vows. Then I started thinking a little more about what is coming up over the next few weeks and saw that we will have the opportunity to live out all four areas that we pledge to fulfill:

1.) PRAYERS

Lent is a wonderful time to recommit ourselves to the discipline of prayer, and not just prayers for things in our lives, but also for our community of faith. As we approach Holy Week be in prayer now for those who will be attending worship with us as well as all of those leading our worship experiences.

2.) PRESENCE

In addition to our regular Sunday morning worship, we will be involved in our annual Mission Run/Walk on the 15th, our Palm Sunday picnic & Easter Egg Hunt on the 16th, Maunday Thursday communion worship, & Good Friday worship led by our music ministry, there are great opportunities to be with your brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.

3.) GIFTS

Quite simply, the Scriptures remind us over and over again that everything thing that we have is God's, given to us to bring him glory. No matter what your gifts are, the anticipation of the Easter season is a great time to ask yourself if you are bringing the gifts God has blessed you with to the ministry of this congregation.

4.) SERVICE

I know that we will need volunteers to assist with the Mission Run and with the Palm Sunday Picnic. In addition, I have been visiting with some of you about some local outreach opportunities to be involved with later this summer and a very special one around Thanksgiving - be sure to use this time of reflection and anticipation during Lent to ask yourself if you are truly carrying out with integrity the vow you took to be in service to your community of faith.

God has truly blessed us with a wonderful congregation. Let's make sure that we are continuing (or beginning again) to remember our promises to God to be a part of the Kingdom work in this special place.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 3 No 13 - Worship Priority

One of the great honors and privileges I have as a pastor is to officiate at a Celebration of Life & Service of Death and Resurrection for the saints of the church when they pass away. This past Friday, we joined together in such a service for Mrs. Elma Voisin, one of our 88-year-old saints who has gone on to the next stage of life. What is so interesting about preparing these services and homilies is to revisit their life and their faith journey, and find out about how they saw God at work in their life. I was fortunate to get to know Mrs. Voisin well through our monthly communion visits, and even had privilege of worshiping with her during the final worship service she attended a little over a year ago. What struck me most was that when we talked about it, she could not stop crying. Just bawling. This was rare for me to see, so I asked what was happening. She told me that I just didn't understand; it was such a joy and overwhelming delight to be in worship with her church, her people, in the house of God. She went on to say that she missed it so much and that she would do anything to have the ability to attend every week, just to be with the people of God in the house of God. After she talked, it made me weepy as well.

Mrs. Voisin is not the only one of our shut-ins who has these feelings about Sunday morning worship - they would give anything to be able to be a part of the worship of the saints each week as we gather, hear and respond to the Word, give thanks and participate in communion, and are sent forth as the people of God to live out the kingdom of God.

The question you and I face as we hear these stories is, 'What is my attitude toward morning worship?' Is it something that is optional - something that is not really important and I can get along without it? Or is your attitude such that I will not allow ANYTHING to get in the way of my being in morning worship every week because it is what God's will is for my life and it is what I gave my word I would do when I joined the church?

I promise you that when we put ourselves in such a position that we drift away from worship on Sunday morning we are putting ourselves in position to drift away from what God's desire is for our lives. Trust me on this one. As as been said on more than one occasion, worship is about God, not us. Not our desires, our temperaments, our personalities - it's about God.

Since the beginning of January, various things such as secular holidays, weather, and other things have been allowed to get in the way of our worship attendance - let's make sure that we take TODAY to re-orient ourselves toward a life where our week is not complete without worshiping with our fellow Christians on Sunday mornings.

See you Sunday!
Lamar