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Other Recent Blog Entries: The Caleb Spirit in 2012 A Year to Remember The Most Wonderful Time
of the Year Finishing
Strong Be
Encouraged! SBC
Today: An Interview |
Rick Lance's blogJanuary 2012A Glimpse of Christ
Sometimes I am asked if I miss serving as a pastor in a local church. When I answer yes, I will most often give a brief response such as, "I miss having the close personal relationships with the people. Upon further reflection, after almost 14 years as a state missionary, I can honestly say that I truly miss the pastoral relationship with little children as much as I do with the adults. In my early pastorates, Pam and I worked with preschoolers, in Vacation Bible School. I loved watching them interact and receive the blessing of Bible teaching and the enjoyment of the special activities which accompanies this annual emphasis. In the latter years of my pastoral ministry, I worked with adults in VBS as well as teaching them in Bible study on Sunday mornings. As I travel the state representing Alabama Baptists in churches of all sizes and types, I watch with keen interest how pastors relate to little children. I often have some endearing flashbacks to my days in the local church. I can remember the smiles and chuckles of the little children as I welcomed the opportunity to interact with them. Those are cherished memories for me. As a frequent guest in churches due to my travels, children have a natural hesitation about reaching out to me. This is very understandable and indeed a healthy response. Today, we are concerned about the safety and well being of our children and we want to protect from the dangers of any kind of potentially abusive situation. Reluctance to talk to strangers is no respecter of persons. When the parents introduce them to me, most off those barriers come down and there is at least a smile and in some cases an answer to the question, "Well, how old are you? Recently, I was in revival at the First Baptist Church of Demopolis, a church served so well by Carl Williams. He has three beautiful children. The youngest is Marleigh. She is a little redhead like my youngest daughter, Allison. Marleigh has an infectious smile and an overwhelming desire to hug everyone. I was no exception. She came running to me and hugged me at every opportunity available to her. She came back several times and said, "I need one more hug, which I happily gave to her. In the Bible, there is some discussion about the "blessed child. The Old Testament offers descriptions of this blessing. Remember, Jacob stole the blessing from Esau. Later, Jacob seemed to shine his blessing on Joseph too. The so-called Parable of the Prodigal Son may have overtones of the "blessed child" built into the narrative. The blessing sometimes became problematical for the child who did not receive the same parental affirmation as another. In our culture, we don't speak so much of blessing one child over the other. Yet, parents may have a tendency to do that more than they think. Some children get the mistaken notion that they are an "unblessed child. This formative and fallacious self-concept can cause many problems in personality development, which can be evidenced years later in adulthood. Dealing with these issues is a most challenging task for parents and for the children who grow up with such feelings. Jesus commanded His disciples to "let the little children come to me, for such is of the kingdom of God. Our Lord, in His earthly ministry, set a sublime example as to how to affirm or bless children. Today, He wants us to nurture the children in such a way that they will be drawn to Him. Jesus wants us to lead children to Him for salvation. When children are reached for Christ at a reasonably early age, they tend to develop the disciplines of faith, which become tools in the Christian life for faithful living for Christ. Marleigh blessed me with her hugs and smiles. She reminded me that we are little children in need of affirmation. Children bless adults, especially their parents, when they offer such gestures of affection and consideration. It is actually a two-way street flowing with the kind of healthy love that Christ so often described. When I look into the face of little children, I see a glimpse of Christ Himself. I pray they see the same reflection on my face when they see me.
Recently, as leader of your State Board of Missions staff, I shared this email with my colleagues as together we seek to serve our Lord and Alabama Baptists during the new year ahead. The words "Happy New Year" may have already grown old sounding as we have entered 2012. However, I wanted to offer my expressions of affirmation and desire to see this as your best year ever in the service of our Lord! As all of us know, the past several years have tested our mettle in terms of economic conditions in our country. I hope the new year will bring improvements on this front. Whether or not that is the case, we cannot know. We have to be faithful despite the circumstances. My reason for writing you is to say thank you for your faithful service through the State Board of Missions. I could not have asked for more cooperation in the overall sense of the word. You have set good examples for others to follow. Now, as we look to the new year, I want to encourage you to continue this legacy of steadfastness in service to our Lord. I want to stand with you during this next year and face any challenges which may come our way. Let me call upon you to do a personal inventory in your life. All of us can improve our effectiveness in ministry, and this year will afford us ample opportunities to see where we can make these improvements. As most of you know, I choose a verse or passage for the new year, which is featured on my emails and personal notes I send to others. My verse for 2012 was chosen back last spring, when we faced the unprecedented tornado outbreak in our state. During a brief devotional period, in the midst of this crisis and chaos, I reflected upon Numbers 14:24, which focuses upon the lesser known Old Testament figure of Caleb. "But my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me completely; I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it." In my mind, Caleb is the Barnabas of the Old Testament. When others seemed to lose hope, he offered encouragement to them. He set the example for the children of Israel when they were facing a critical moment in time. This little verse offers us a biblical template for Christian living in 2012 and beyond. The scripture describes him as one who has a "different spirit." His spirit was one of hope and trust in a time when things were uncertain for the whole family of faith. That is the kind of spirit I want to embody, too. Caleb was steadfast in that he followed the Lord completely. He did not live in a halfway house of faith. He was sold out to the Lord, come what may. His sold-out kind of spirit is needed so much today as well. May we be like him in this new year! One thing we need also to see in this verse is the promise. Caleb was promised the Promised Land. Years later, he entered that precious place with his descendants and others. In many ways, our descendants in faith depend on our example of faithfulness in the present. Forgive my preaching a bit, but this verse has been ringing in my heart of hearts like a trumpet call to duty. Our names are not Caleb, but his sold-out spirit which set the example of steadfastness so long ago remains a path for us to follow in 2012. May those who come behind us find us faithful!!!! December 2011A Year to Remember
The people of Alabama will long remember this year as one marked by severe weather. Our state has always known the terror and the devastating effects of major tornados. To have an F5 tornado to hit somewhere in Alabama is news for sure, but to experience an outbreak of 62 tornadoes and for five of them to be of the worst form is newsworthy. That is exactly what happened on April 27, 2011. In a 24-hour period of time, as many as 41 counties had been impacted by at least one tornado. Some areas were hit multiple times on this one eventful day. As I sought to describe the devastation of these voracious forces of nature, I simply said, "This is our Katrina." Some have felt that was a reaction of being in the throes of the experience, and it may have sounded a bit too overstated. I don't think so at all. When you consider the massive amount of destruction and the effects the tornadoes had upon infrastructure, this is an accurate assessment, in my opinion. As most of you know, we are in for a long-term recovery in many places in north Alabama. Much progress has been made, but we have a lengthy journey to make toward any semblance of full recovery. When the eventful day of April 27 took place, Alabama Baptists and others moved into action to help those who were hurting as a result of the tornadoes. In a brief period of time, a Command Center was set up at the State Board of Missions, and volunteers from all over the state as well as from 12 other state conventions began their labors of love in the impacted areas. Recovery and rescue workers were on the scene to do their indescribable work. Food and shelter were provided for those in need. Chainsaw workers did the tedious tasks of trying to clear out the rubble. Numerous other ministries were done in the name of Jesus for those needing "a cup of cold water in Jesus name." I have never ever been more proud to be an Alabama Baptist than during this most challenging time in our beloved state. I witnessed countess numbers of selfless acts as people aided others following this most destructive day in our history. I rejoiced to see churches become rescue stations, shelters for the homeless, food and clothing centers as well as places of counseling for the people so terrified by their experiences of suffering and loss. Associations across our state responded in ways which are too numerous to name. DOMs became chaplains and disaster relief workers in every sector of the impacted areas. To this day, some of them are continuing to handle the tasks of helping homes to be built in their communities. The need for local associations in our state was never any more evident than during this time of disaster relief work. Our disaster relief teams are composed of local lay people and ministers from the various associations. Their ministry during this time was critical, and for them I am so grateful. The oft-quoted phrase from the well-known leader Winston Churchill came to mind very often during the aftermath of this tornado outbreak, "This was our finest hour." Crisis experiences are times when real character is revealed. For Alabama Baptists and others in our state, this was certainly a test of character and commitment. We can thank God that He has always been faithful, even when life seems so troublesome and horrific. Our calling is to be faithful to Him at all times, taking the good with the bad experiences, and trusting in His goodness and greatness! Yes, indeed, this has been a year to remember for all the people of Alabama, Alabama Baptists included. On Sunday, April 22, 2012, we will commemorate the first anniversary of what we can call 4/27. This will be a time of reflection and dedication for us as a people of faith. Our annual disaster relief offering will be a focus of attention as well, because we learned something important on 4/27: You can never be too prepared for the unexpected. Join your fellow Alabama Baptists for this special day of remembrance, and let us pray that we will be found faithful in the future as we seek to serve the Lord even in the worst of times. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
"Its the most wonderful time of the year. Those popular music lyrics ring in my ears during the Christmas season. You can hear songs like that almost everywhere as you shop the stores, listen to the radio or even watch TV commercials. Sometime ago during the Christmas season, I asked a close friend, "Is this really the most wonderful time of the year?" My friend looked a bit shocked at what seemed to be a cynical question. We both smiled and began talking about something else. I am still asking myself that question as we face yet another Christmas season. This can be the most wonderful time of the year if we allow the Christ of Christmas to guide us through the experience. Rather than being caught up in the routined frenzy of long lines at stores shopping for gifts and the endless social gatherings during the season, we can focus on what is called the Advent. Baptists do not use the word Advent very often because we are far less liturgical than some faith groups. Advent means "the coming or appearing of Christ. At Christmas, we are to really celebrate the Advent or the coming of Christ as the main focus. That is the essence of the experience or, as we now more tritely expressed, "Jesus is the reason for the season. Celebrating the advent of Christ brings balance to the highly commercialized ritual we seem to almost robotically follow every year at this time. Reading the Scriptures about the birth narrative and the prophecies of His coming reminds us that the fact that God became flesh in Jesus is far, far more important than what we receive materially at Christmas.  This
can be the most wonderful time of the year in another way too. During Advent, or
Christmas, we are reminded that "God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son. God loved so much that He gave us Jesus Christ the Lord. Our love
for God's gift in Jesus should compel us to share Him with others.Research done by faith organizations like LifeWay indicate that people are more open to being invited to church than any other time of the year. I believe that those who do not know Christ have an unrecognized need to come to know Him. At Christmas, that need often surfaces in people's lives: an invitation to come and worship. A word of witness to someone whom you know needs Christ can truly make this the most wonderful time of the year. Giving to the cause of Christ can make this the most wonderful time of year. Each year, at this time, we Baptists focus on the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. A gift to this missions cause has eternal consequences. Every dollar given makes a difference in a world so much in need of knowing Christ. Have we answered my question? I think we have. The song lyrics may echo through the shopping areas, radio stations and even in offices and on the television, but what is most important is what is happening in our hearts and lives this Christmas. Jesus makes this the most wonderful time of the year if we focus on Him, His gift and our giving! |
