Monthly Archives: June 2015

To My Dad on Father’s Day, “Thank you.”

 

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For the last couple of years I’ve noticed a tendency on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. I’ve had the privilege of teaching or preaching on those days for a number of years. Moms get a lot of praise and adoration on their day. Dads, or men in general, get challenged and chided. Now, adoration for moms is well-deserved, and challenge for men and dads is necessary. And I guess as a man speaking to women, it is easier to be encouraging than chiding. And I guess the reverse is true as a man speaking to men. I see my own shortfalls along with the shortfalls of men in general and take the opportunity to challenge us.

But with that said, let me take a moment and offer a positive commentary on dads and men. I have a great dad. He’s not perfect, but he was always there. Growing up in the home of a pastor presents a challenge to children (glass house, parental pressure, etc.). I never saw my dad as a pastor first. He was a good pastor who loved and led his church, but I saw him as my dad because he was present.

My dad taught me to play sports—baseball, golf, football, fishing, etc. My dad taught me to work, to mow the grass, to tend a garden, to be generous with what God had given us, to love a woman deeply, and to trust God. My dad modeled for me some important lessons I’ve tried to emulate as a father.

  1. My dad taught me to be present with my children. We did many things together, and even today I cherish the golf and fishing memories of my childhood.
  2. My dad taught me that we should sacrifice for others, but that family comes first. I remember cutting a vacation short one year because a church member passed away. But putting church things ahead of family was rare. My dad was always generous and giving with his time, but he didn’t sacrifice his family for his church.
  3. My dad taught me that it’s ok not to be perfect. I’m my own harshest critic. I think I get that from my dad actually. But my dad reminded me over the years that he’s not perfect (and he certainly pointed that out to me, in a good way, when I was a child). That’s a lesson I didn’t get until I became a parent. It’s not my job to help my boys be perfect. They are sinners and need to know it. It’s my job to show them my imperfections, their imperfections, and point them to Jesus, the only perfect One. I’m eternally grateful to my dad for that lesson.
  4. My dad taught me to say, “I love you” and “I’m sorry.” Dads, your children need your affection, your emotion, and your honesty. They’re learning how to live and interact with others from your example.

I pray that I can live up to the lessons my dad taught me. I also hope this father’s day to be an encouragement to other dads and men. So, if you’ve learned from your dad, or if you’re seeking God in your role as a father, be grateful. Take some time tomorrow and enjoy the day. Honor those who’ve taught you. Bless those who are learning from you. And humbly acknowledge the great responsibility you have as a dad.

To my dad on Father’s Day, “Thank you for what you’ve taught me. I love you.”

 

 

 

Calling all the Messengers

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VBS at Mud Creek Baptist Church just finished. The theme for this summer was “Calling all the Messengers.” A tremendously creative team (Allison Gosnell, Brittany Pace, Diana Hefner, Autumn Thompson, and Deanna Bradshaw) envisioned a missions theme for this summer and were helped by an army of volunteers, church staff, and leaders. Numbers of children put their faith in Jesus Christ, and all of them came face to face with our mission as messengers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

VBS highlighted 3 countries where we have worked recently—Honduras, Kenya, and China. Honduras is a predominantly Christian nation (largely Catholic). Our work there with the Christian Community of Honduras and Pastor Israel Gonzalez begins with compassion and service projects giving us the platform to share the gospel. Over the years, we’ve seen many come to faith in Jesus Christ and many churches started through this partnership.

Kenya is also largely Christian. The Kenyan population is generally very open to hearing and responding to the gospel. Our partnership is through North Carolina Baptists with the Baptist Convention of Kenya. Our platform is the “Houses of Hope” project providing a home to a needy widow that will also be a location for a village Bible study. Over the past few years, we’ve had the opportunity to witness hundreds place their faith in Jesus Christ and seen how God can take a chicken and turn it into a church which I’ve written about here.

China is a very different country. Our kids heard from a journeyman who spent two years in China learning the culture and language and sharing the gospel. China is predominantly non-religious, has nearly 1.4 billion people, and regularly persecutes believers. Many Christians in China worship in house churches that are not sanctioned by the Communist government. Nevertheless, the gospel is spreading in this closed country.

The children at our VBS this week were challenged to pray for missions and to one day go on mission. This challenge is not just for the children at our VBS. It’s for each of us. God is doing a redemptive work in the world. He promises to redeem for himself by the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ, believers from every tribe (race or clan), tongue (language), people (commonly bonded people of society—usually Jews in the Scripture), and nation (people group—usually Gentiles in the Scripture). This promise is found in Revelation 5:9-10.

The bottom line is that there are currently 6,552 groups of unreached peoples in the world. Unreached is defined as no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize their own people. This number is approximately 3,047,782,000 people (that’s 3.4 billion people!) or 42% of the world population. These statistics and more can be found at the Joshua Project.

God promised to redeem for himself people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. He will keep his promise. Have you partnered with God in his mission? Our VBS children partnered this week learning, praying, giving, and sending crafts to participate in God’s redemptive, eternal, universal mission.

What about you?

Will you join God?

Will you go on mission?

You say, “But where can I go? How can I get started?” Well, you can pray for our summer mission teams as a starting point. Here are some prayers you can pray. You can also sign up through the Joshua Project to pray for the unreached peoples across the world. And while you’re praying, ask the Lord where He might want to send you on mission this year. If children at VBS can join God’s mission as messengers, then we can too.