Workers

The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Pray that the Lord sends workers into the harvest. That's what Jesus said to do. I take it seriously and the Lord is sending us yet another worker. I find it exciting but it befuddles some who do not understand that the Lord very literally answers prayers, especially those directed in scripture.

Unless we want the church to die, why would we not welcome qualified candidates to the ministry? Not everyone who feels a call is going to be qualified or appropriate for a particular denomination. But we all serve the same Lord. And people are dying without the Lord every day. I am thankful that our little denomination welcomes women and a variety of people, but they will not welcome everyone. There are people I send to other denominations. Not everyone with a call to serve the Lord as a pastor is suited to this denomination.

What gives me that right? I'm not on any committee or in a position of authority dealing with the newly called. If the Lord sends someone to me, it is He who has given me the authority to help them to the next step. If the Lord does not send them, I do not see them.

This denomination is made up of primarily southern churches, the majority of which are small, too small to support a minister well enough to pay off school debts. While a small percentage make a decent living, the majority do not. Many must have another source of income and pastor part time. Either that or live in poverty. Very few people are cut out for a deliberate life of poverty and low income.

The attitudes are primarily southern and rural. Those with non rural attitudes flock to Memphis and a few other city areas with CP churches. There is often a disconnect between those in the city and those in the rural areas. People in Memphis are used to city incomes and city standards.

St Louis Thoughts

We visited some mega churches that started out in homes with small groups of people. We did not know that before we visited them. It is my opinion that it is quite possible to plant a new church in the St Louis area, particularly the suburbs. A CP church could be planted by someone who knows the culture of the area and it would not take a lot of money to get started.

Culture and understanding of mindsets matters. Metropolitan areas of larger cities have different attitudes, expectations and ways of getting things done than those in the much slower rural areas and small towns. Add to that that each part of the country has its own personality, history and customs.

Kansas City appears to be cursed for CP churches. They have had some good, healthy churches going but somebody always seems to kill them. It doesn't seem to matter who the pastor is or much about the congregations, they are DOA. There are a lot of words about it, but when the light shines on the truth, love and consideration for others has not been present. You shall know them by their fruit. The city has spiritual issues. Lord please, Deliver us from evil.

But St Louis is a different matter. Perhaps the Lord would bless (and protect from evil) a CP church in St Louis? The battle is spiritual. I see hope and much possibility here.

I vaguely remember the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. He had a vision to fly higher and faster but the other seagulls on the beach had very limited vision. They were scrabbling on the beach for cast offs and left overs, garbage, fighting among themselves for scraps and territories without any vision of what they could be. Every so often CP's remind me of that story. Very few seem to have much vision, but a few do. They fuss and fight over things of little or no consequence and ignore the vision. Sometimes they even tear one another apart and behave like the gulls of the story, not very nice.

BUT, the Lord has called us to this denomination for a reason. He has a vision for the the denomination could be (as those who started it envisioned long, long ago). If I did not firmly believe that, I would have been history a long, long time ago. God has a plan and He is going to do wonderful things. I am here because the Lord sent me. I can also see others he has sent. Some very clear, some are "we'll see" depending on their fruit.

"Whosover will", is true of denominations as well as individuals. The denomination is slowly declining and there is some decay within, not so much evil, just death of churches and of enthusiasm. Far too many want to be served and even demand it, forgetting that believers are servants of the living God, not entitled bumks and freeloaders.

If the Lord does not have a plan, and I am sure he does, I am wasting my time and energy and, as a faithful servant, I need to use my limited time on earth to glorify God and to further His kingdom. Without the Lord, I/we can do nothing. With the Lord, all things are possible and we expect miracles. Anything less is simply human effort.

Missouri was once a very vital state for CP's. Now it is, for all intents and purposes, on life support and rapidly declining. We lose churches every year in the rural areas, where the young move off and the older ones move on to glory, leaving no one to run the church. (The children are not necessarily the future for individual churches. They grow up and move away. The future of the church depends on continually winning souls of all ages, like a flowing stream of water irrigates plants and keeps them alive and healthy.)

I will pray about St Louis and the potential to start a new church here. perhaps the Lord will send someone with a vision and ambition and knowledge, which are much more important than making sure the money is there before they start. We'll see what the Lord has in mind.

From The Front Porch

My front porch is a wonderful place to sit this time of year and drink coffee or tea. The temperatures are nice and the shade of the big tree makes it very comfortable. Sometimes my husband and I sit out there and talk and eat dinner. Other times I visit with my children, family or friends. Sometimes I sit out there and talk to the Lord. The front porch is a place for prayers.

When I am reading or studying, the front porch is very comfortable. I love to read my Bible as I sit outdoors. The birds sing and sometimes land very close to me. The roses and the flowers brighten the area. The trees rustle, the neighbors wave, and the cars that go by every so often sound like the waves of the ocean. When it rains, the front porch is a shelter as we watch the comforting drops fall and the rivers form in the streets racing to the end.

At night, I sit on the porch in the dark and listen to the sounds of the night, the crickets, a occasional frog, the leaves, the faint sound of traffic in the distance and sometimes a train whistle far off. It is beautiful and peaceful. There are a lot of college students on the block and sometimes they will be out laughing and talking, but never a problem. If they see me we wave at one another.

The front porch is a good place for phone calls. I enjoy watching the rabbits, the squirrels and the birds as I converse with others. So many phone calls pertain to difficult matters, it is comforting to be in a peaceful setting to keep it all in perspective. God is in control and he does not change. He loves us and cares about what happens in our lives. He comforts us and gives us peace. Some of the things we concern ourselves about are only temporary. Nature is a reminder. The Lord created it and the Lord is with us still, even when we forget. We are small, the Lord is huge and he can handle any problem.

We are so blessed. lord help us to open our eyes and to be aware of the beauty all around us every day.

CP Priority Goals

One of the priority goals for the denomination as printed in the Yearbook on the first page is, " Recruit, educate and nurture clergy and laity for their specific ministries."

In the last year, we have met many people who have expressed an interest in pastoral ministry. Most aren't interested in the CP, especially the younger ones. One went with the Baptists (and his family was long time multigenerational CP's), one with another denomination, and another in our church is still in high school and still pondering the call. We are going to give him some time and mentor him since he is not ready to make a solid commitment.

I have volunteered to mentor a twenty something young man who feels called to ministry. He has 3 small children, and the middle one, a 4 year old, has two kinds of cancer and had a bone marrow transplant yesterday in KC. There is no hurry. He will probably go with another denomination, but I am going to work with him to get his educational background going. He is an old friend.

We are priviledged to have two ordained men who are interested in exploring the possibility of having their ordinations recognized by the CP church. Both are seminary graduates. One is a doctoral student from Korea, studying here. He does not speak much English. He was ready to start the process but wanted to wait another year before going to the Program of Alternate Studies. Session did not push him. That was okay. He spent a lot of time in contact with others in the denomination, including Dr. Yoong Kim, pastor of the Korean CP church in Memphis and George Estes and others. They convinced him to attend PAS this last summer because there was a special program for Korean speaking pastors being offered. I know that Tom Campbell was consulted and Robert Rush had some kind of knowledge of what was happening (but may not have been involved). The denomination has special ways of doing things for international pastors but I do not know what they are. I leave that to the committees.

Pastor Andy had been in our church for a while and was interested in the possiblity of becoming a Cumberland Presbyterian minister. He is a little bit younger than us and has a lot of potential. He read the Confession of Faith and felt like it was something he could uphold. Since Pastor Park was going, session decided it would be good to send Pastor Andy too for a couple of classes.

The chairman of the presbytery's Committee on Ministry was called, Leslie Bone, and he said he could not get ahold of all of the committee, just some of them, but go ahead and send the pastors to PAS and they would meet with them in August. He said there was no money so session had to pay for it themselves. From there the committee would decide what they wanted to do next and whether they would accept them. He did not guarantee anything. Tom Campbell was also called. He said he did not have time to meet with the two pastors prior to PAS but it was okay to send them to PAS and he would talk with them later about what he might suggest to the COM.

Session sent both men to PAS to take the classes concerning Cumberland Presbyterian History and Polity and whatever the Korean classes were. Those classes would give them a good basis on which to decide if the CP ministry was for them. They are also good classes for any person to take. Everyone in the church is welcome to take any class at PAS any time they want. No matter what else is required, these classes are basic for everyone. Both had a very good time of fellowship and getting to know what it means to be a Cumberland Presbyterian. They had as good of a time as I had when I went.

The two men went before the Committee on Ministry after they went to PAS. I do not know if either will be taken under care of presbytery at this point.

Everybody starts at the bottom it seems, whether you are a high school student or a seminary graduate makes no difference. I was amused to be placed on the same level as high school juniors and seniors when I started the process, even though I have a master's degree from a seminary. I got to have a lot of fun that way though. I loved going to PAS and meeting all the people with all the activities and classes. I miss going.

We are recruiting clergy, at least when the Lord sends them, but most decide way before they get to the COM that this denomination is not for them and move on. I guess that's what we call the discernment process. CP's are mostly southern, mostly rural, with low pay. I tried to recruit a PCUSA pastor in his late 20's to join us when his position fell through, but he said no way. I think my question was an insult to him. We are too small and PCUSA people at his educational level can expect to make $60,000 to $80,000 a year with benefits. That's what he told me. He did get a job at a level acceptable to him too, with the PCUSA.

The adventure continues. I am here because this is where the Lord wants me to be. The thought of making $60,000 to $80,000 or more a year is tempting but almost nobody does in this denomination, the one the Lord wants me to stay at. Same for everybody else in the presbytery. Almost all have no retirement benefits or health insurance unless they get it somewhere besides the church, like social security or a working spouse or another job. I guess it's easy to see why they aren't exactly beating down our doors to get in? I'm thrilled two men are considering our denomination.

Big Things

All big things in this world are done by people who are naive and
have an idea that is obviously impossible.

-- Dr. Frank Richards (1875-1961) English Writer

I guess we are destined for big things. We are like a chihuahua next to a great dane and we are fine with it.

Hummingbird

As I sat on my front porch early this morning reading and drinking my coffee, a tiny hummingbird paid me a visit. He was attracted by the red flowers on my porch. One of the flowerpots was hanging about 3 feet from my head. He went to it anyway and chirped with a loud squeaky sound before sipping the flowers.

Then the little bird moved around the side of the plant and was straight in front of me in mid air, about 2 to 3 feet away. He stayed there for several seconds, in mid air, looking at me, then flew off. The sound of the flutter of the tiny wings beating the air was intrigueing.

I wonder what the message was? Sometimes the Lord uses birds to minister and to give messages. As I thought about it, it occured to me that a hummingbird is beautiful and is always on the move. Their wings go very fast as they hurry from place to place. It's lovely. They are attracted to sugar and to the color red. We also know hummingbirds do not live very long. It's not the sugar or the color red, the sugar is what nourishes the constant activity. The lesson may be that those who are constantly on the move and never rest wear out much quicker and do not live as long. Humans are not made to do that but we try.

Jesus said, Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. The Lord commands a Sabbath rest. He also designated holidays and festivals to give the people rest. Constant motion is not part of His plan for humans.

The message for me is, maybe I need to reevaluate our life and see if we are going to wear out like a hummingbird, before our time at our current pace. Some of you reading this may need to reflect on the same question.

I'm not green, just frugal

There's so much talk of going green and saving the environment, you'd think some things would be easy to find. That's not what I am discovering. Our utilities company is talking about how much electric, water and gas is going to go up in the next year or two.

Everybody's got problems and needs more money so we have to pay more, and in some cases it could be significant. It's really stupid. They tell people to use less utilities and have incentives. They say rates will go up if we do not cut back. Lo and behold, people cut back on their utilities useage. You think that would solve the issue, correct? No. We aren't using enough so rates have to go up. It doesn't seem to matter in reality although all their theories sound really good.

One thing is clear, regardless of what the chameleons say, the less I use as an individual, the less it may cost me. Unless they put a special tax on people who use less for some silly reason.

I think we are in trouble. Cap and Trade is coming and it will be expensive for everybody, another kind of fee tax.

Our city council diverted funds needed for the police and fire pensions so there is not enough to fund the pensions now. In spite of the fact that other groups are allowed decreases, this one is not. So the city wants more taxes to fund it. There is no question the firemen and police deserve to get it as much as anybody (especailly more so than the jerks with the golden parachutes) but, even if we raise the taxes, they won't necessarily get it. There is zero accountability concerning city hall for those who diverted the money in the past and there will be zero accountability in the future. There is no insurance that the money will go where it is supposed to go, just like before. It may simply become a big money grab for the city within a year or two after the tax is passed and they think people will forget. There is no insurance, no accountablity and no liability for anyone. It will be a soak the public and everybody loses kind of thing. The city council's word is no good. If it was, these people would not be in the mess they are in. They have nothing but failure to back it up. It doesn't matter what I think, we will pay anyway and it will not all go to them.

We have the schools crying because revenues are not up as high as predicted. They cry every year and have been since I was a little kid. Everything is terrrible, they don't have enough, it's so bad. Schools are like bottomless pits, there is no such thing as enough no matter what you do. They always promise but never deliver. They do some of what they say they will do and the fountain of tears dries up for a few months after they get what they want, then it starts again. They are like a spoiled female who always needs the newest dress and behaves like a drama queen until she gets it. They closed schools to build new ones because they really "needed" them so bad and now they have overspent and need more. Shock and disbelief. And, of course, they always neglect to do something essential to manipulate the public into saying "poor baby". (One of this town's planned areas of neglect resulted in the death of one child and the disability of another. I predicted it as soon as the manipulations started. If I knew, having been in education for years, they knew too, some would be innocent but some were not. Money over children. We are in the end times it appears.) It has been that way every town and city I have lived in, the cry for moeny not the deliberate risk of children. With the school system it is always somebody else's fault, so they did as predicted, they blamed it on everybody else. This time they said it was the city but sometimes it is those evil parents they like to blame. Hogwash! Eventually they will get their newest additional tax increase. One more expense for the rest of us whose income is also not the greatest.

The next tax will have something to do with universal health care that is being considered. Whatever our "fair share contribution" is will be coming. Even if it starts out cheap, it won't stay that way.

Those are some of the new taxes we will be treated to in the next few years. There will be more. The economy is down.

So back to my original statement, I'm not going green, I'm looking for ways to be frugal. I tried to buy a free standing clothesline to save electric by using the dryer less. We do not have the right trees. They are very hard to find. "Green" WalMart and KMart do not carry them. Hardware stores have a few. They are pretty expensive too. My local store was out but was getting more in soon. They hadn't exactly had a run on them. They order in about 3 at a time.

I heard on the radio that appliances use 70% of their total electric when they are turned off. It's those little led lights and keeping the appliance ready for instant on that uses it. I am going to buy surge protectors and put all appliances on them. That way I can turn them off when not in use totally. If I have anything that needs instant on, I'll not plug it into a surge protector bar. And i'm going to wait for surge protectors to go on sale to get them.

I'm buying those little solar lights that absorb sun during the day and light up the house at night for outdoor lighting, on sale of course.

I have put small gardens in my back yard to grow my own fresh food in small amounts. It is somewhat expensive at first so it really isn't saving any money this year, even though I waited for price reductions and used coupons. One of the things I used in the garden beds was special moisture retaining soil. I need to go and get more. That way, the plants do well with less watering. I am also adding vegetable scraps (composting) instead of tossing them out, for organic matter.

Whenever we replace something, we buy energy saving models.

Awnings are not pretty but, if utilities go up a lot, we will be looking at them. That and those roll down bamboo shades to shield the house in summer and block the wind in spots in the winter even. Bushes around the edge of the house provide protection for the foundation. Trees provide shade in summer. So can tall plants near the house. I will probably buy heavy curtains eventually, a few at a time, to block out the heat in summer and the cold in winter. Thermopane windows are cost prohibitive at this time and even with them, the sun shines in the windows and heats up the house.

Weather caulking is on sale this week so I should go get some to make sure the windows and other areas are sealed well.

More later.

The Lord

I've been pondering the holiness of the Lord and what that means. God is Holy. What kind of reverence and respect do we need to be showing a Holy Lord?

How does that fit with the notion that the Lord is our good buddy who follows us around? Does that show a lack of understanding and respect for who God is? Are we insulting the Lord and being disrespectful, even without knowing it?

We say we read the Holy Bible. What about it makes it Holy? There are those who say it is just a good moral book with stories about how to live. How does that make it Holy? There is more to it than that. Holiness transcends the here and now of our limited existence. The words of God are the breath of God and they speak to the hearts and unseen souls of the reader. It is beyond explanation and cannot be measured. What is the length, depth, mass and weight of the soul of man?

It appears we are small, limited, shallow, misguided and not very intellegent overall. Who can comprehend God? How big is infinite? How long is eternity? It seems reasonable to admit there is no way we can understand the things of God or God himself. How small we are, how little we know.

If we say we know all about God, our God is too small.