Our team will be meeting today and tomorrow as we seek God sized solutions to some of the problems that plague the rural church in Tennessee. Please be praying for us.
Everyone needs a someone to call their buddy sometimes. This is our Buddy. . . really, his name is Buddy. Buddy is true blue Cottage Grove through and through. Besides being a very faithful church member for more years than most of us will be alive, he is a good neighbor and friend. WHERE would we be without our Buddy?
Buddy has come to my rescue more times than I can count. He has 87 years of experience under his belt, so he has become my 24 hour 7 day a week bank of wisdom. Where does a pastor go to find out how to tie a tire swing properly? Where does a pastor go to learn how to plant tomatoes? Where does a pastor go to find out how to endure, overcome, and stick with a project? Where does a pastor go to borrow tools? YOU GO TO BUDDY!
There are many things to like about Buddy but the thing I love about him is how he has become a mentor to my son. Mentors are so important. Mentors are hands on teachers who allow you into their world so that you can learn what they have spent a lifetime figuring out. Mentors are usually people that the pupil has great admiration and respect for. Buddy is one of those people for my son. He looks up to Buddy so much that he is willing to be taught, corrected, and even rebuked at times in order to learn what Buddy knows. Because of Buddy, my son has acquired a love for growing things. Not only does he have a desire to grow things, but the knowledge it takes to see it through from seed to harvest.
Mentors are sorely lacking in pastoral ministry these days. A young pastor needs an older pastor to teach, admonish, and even rebuke him at times. A young pastor needs to be encouraged to “stick with it” even when the ministry is tough. Young pastors need an “ata boy” at times when everything goes right. It seems, though, that we are becoming all too professional. We rely on our training. We rely on our books. We rely on the resources and even the blogs we find on the internet for inspiration and encouragement. The truth though, is that we need living breathing mentors. I can’t help but think of the way that Paul took the time to mentor Timothy. I am praying for more “Pauls” to come along side more “Timothys” for the sake of the Gospel and for the sake of the church.
The following is an excerpt from a speech given by Senator Obama:
You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years, and nothing has replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.”
“And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
Most of you, unless you are locked up at Guantanamo Bay, know that Senator Obama made the above statement that seems to be somewhat condescending toward rural America. It at least sounds like he thinks we are a bunch of bitter, backward, racist, gun-toting, religious zealots who just need government education, government health care, a government bailed-out mortgage, and a good job in order to evolve (that is how I interpreted it anyway). His statement smacks with an elitist attitude that looks down its long nose at ruralites no matter where they may dwell. He assumes that we need to be rescued from our God and our guns and that he is just the messiah to liberate us. What a life of bliss we would all lead if we were just like the good Senator from Illinois. If he really knew rural Americans, he would understand that our guns and our God really have nothing to do with bitterness at all.
There are many Christians who have an “Obama” view of the traditional rural church. There is a sort of ecclesiastical elitism that exists within Christendom, and although it is rarely expressed publicly it does, nonetheless, exist. Their seems to be a belief that rural and small churches “cling to tradition” because they fear change or because they are just not enlightened enough to do anything else. This elitism is expressed in the way denominations allocate resources. It is expressed in the way that denominational leaders are chosen. It is expressed in written material that is generated through market research and geared exclusively for people living in the suburbs and who attend large progressive churches. Perhaps the most insidious way it is expressed is in the way that we measure success through numbers and statistics. How many people did you baptize this year? How much money did you give to missions this year? What is your annual church budget? What was your average Sunday School attendance this year? I am convinced that ecclesiastical elitism is born in statistics. Rear-ends in the pews and dollars in the plate equals success.
Somewhere along the line someone decided that 1 baptism was bad and that 100 was good. We have bought into the idea that tradition is always bad and that progressive ecclesiastical thought is always good. We elect our leaders based on the size of their congregations and how much their churches are giving to missions. How many small church pastors do you know who are getting nominated for leadership positions within thier denominations?
Before you think I have some kind of Napoleon complex. . . don’t. I don’t have a problem with big churches. I embrace mega churches. I praise God that they are doing good Kingdom work. I do, however, have a huge problem in that my church’s success or viability seems to be measured by what First Baptist Big is doing. I have a GIGANTIC problem with this ecclesiastical elitism that seems to be driving everything from denominational leadership, church programing, and even my Sunday School curriculum. Am I barking up the wrong steeple here? What do you think? While you mull it over, since I am feeling a little bitter today, I am going to go pray while I clean my guns.
1. When you walk into Wal-Mart, do you acknowledge the greeter or do you pretend to be having an intense conversation on your cell phone in order to avoid the poor retiree who is having to work at Wal-Mart as a greeter b/c social security just ain’t enough?
2. If you have children with you, do you proudly wear the smiley face sticker the greeter just handed your kid (grandkid) or are you too much of an adult for that?
3. After getting past the greeter, do you have a pre-determined shopping game plan or do you just wander around the store?
4. Have you planned your trip to Wal-Mart in such a way that you could take advantage of the free lunch provided by the ladies giving free samples of all the new products?
5. Did you remember the five Wal-Mart gift cards you you recieved at Christmas, or did you forget them . . . again?
6. Do you test drive your cart before you take it to make sure that you don’t get the one with the wobbley wheel?
7. When you park your car, do you circle the parking lot 10 times waiting for that front row spot or do you just admit defeat quickly and walk from another zip code?
8. Do you ever open your chips, Pop-Tarts, or cookies before paying for them so you will have something to snack on while you shop?
9. Are you one of those people who actually have the gall to hold up the check-out line while you demand that Wal-Mart hold up their promise to not be undersold?
10. On your way out of the store, do you secretly worry that the ”Inventory Managment” device will go off (by mistake of course) and that you will get frisked by the greeter?
The fish were biting, the sun was shining, and I had a bucket full of worms. Y’all have a good day! I’ll post something a lot more spiritual tomorrow.
If Helen were a country song, she would be “Rhinestone Cowboy”. . . . or cowgirl in this case. Helen is where the country meets the city. She is a high-powered insurance executive and the ultimate country girl all rolled up into one. She and her husband, Larry, could choose to live in the city, but they prefer a rural route. They represent a prime example of what is happening more and more in rural America. Because of the willingness of companies to work with employee schedules, and because communication technology allows employees to be in touch from just about any location, people are moving to the country.
Helen’s office is 2 1/2 hours from her home. She usually leaves on a Monday, stays in an apartment that her company provides, and then comes home later in the week. Why would Helen and others like her choose this way of life? One word. . . .COMMUNITY. We have a community post office, a community store (The Mill), a community Farmer’s Cooperative, a community bank, and three community churches. People find a sense of belonging here that they cannot find anywhere else. They like living in a place where everybody knows their name. Helen is a rural church story, and our community is the happy beneficiary of her desire to live on a rural route.
This woman is Guilty! She has been known to teach young children the fine art of shooting spit wads through straws. She is also guilty of feeding them insane amounts of caffeine and sugar only to send the rugrats home all juiced up! Her rural church story is coming soon!
Spring has sprung here in West TN. The flowers are blooming and the trees are budding. It is quite beautiful. People are out planting flowers and working in their flower beds. The sound of lawn mowers in the distance precede the smell of fresh cut grass. Birds are singing, and it is a “Zip-a-de-do-da-Day!” Spring has overtaken and overrun Cottage Grove!
The kid behind the rubber snake is my oldest kiddo. He measures the changing of seasons, not by the budding of trees and pretty flowers, but by the day he catches his first critter. About a week ago, he came running up to me with his hands behind his back (always a bad sign) exclaiming, “Spring is here!” He then proudly showed me the two Ring Snakes he had caught fresh from their winter nap. He was extremely excited about the dawning of Spring because it meant that all of his slithery little friends were coming back. Take a trip over to www.calebswildlife.blogspot.com to see the slithery little buddies my son brings home.
I was excited about spring because it meant warmth and beauty. Caleb was excited because of the wildlife that he would see and catch. We were both excited about the same thing, but for different reasons. His reason for loving spring was just as valid as mine. . . just different. Churches are often like that. Let’s take Sunday School for example (for all you contemporary folks, Sunday School is what we used to call Small Groups). I have people who come to Sunday School strictly because they love being taught the Word of God. I have other people who, because they are alone during the week, come for the fellowship that is shared during that hour. Both are excited, but they are motivated by different aspects of Sunday School.
I wonder how many times we squash other people’s enthusiasm about church because we demand that they be excited by the same things we are motivated by. There is so much to love about Jesus and his church. There are a multitude of reasons to love coming to church (especially a rural church). Pick a reason. . . I’ll be excited with you.
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