Compassionate Care for those Beaten-up by Life

Recently, at church, I was talking to a young, single mother of three small children. After the customary "small talk," I talked to her about what the church could do to help her, at which she began to beam a smile, and proceeded to tell me all the things the church, and several members individually, had already done for her! She finished up our conversation by saying, "This church has a big heart." Needless to say, I was as proud right then as any parent is of a child with a straight "A" report card. Having just started at Waynesboro a few weeks ago I don't yet have knowledge of all the details of our different ministries and thus was not aware of what had been done for this young lady and her family. God has truly been glorified, through the church, in the eyes of this single mother and is it not supposed to be this way?

As we pray for and work toward growth in the body one thing will always happen, the church will change. It's inevitable. We don't have to change in doctrine but the physical make up of the church changes and will reflect the demographics of our community. That means we begin to see more divorced-single parents, more divorced and married again couples, more never married-single parents, etc. As the church, we must be prepared to offer not only the message of Christ but also the compassion of Christ to these people.

If the church is growing, its appearance will change. This could become uncomfortable for some people. Any change is uncomfortable, but when people start to show up who don't "look like us" then a lot of people get figety and fast. While we certainly shouldn't condone sinfulness in anyones life, if we are spreading the message of salvation we will certainly be running into a few people with sin in their life. It was Jesus who said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. . . For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:12, 13b)

I pray that everyone who encounters Christ, through means of the church, will come away with the same experience as that young lady. We first must show people that we care about them and their families. After the pressing concerns of life have been taken care of, then people can clearly focus on Christ. It is hard, near impossible, for a mother or father to think about anything, including their eternity, when their children are in need of food or they have no place to live.

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

Coated with Gooey Goop

This afternoon I spent some time at the Fellowship Center cleaning a popcorn popper in preperation fo CSI: Waynesboro tomorrow. This thing was coated with gooey residue from past use. It amazes me how dirty an item such as this can get if you neglect cleaning it, even after just a few uses. The product we put in the popper is clean, just vegetable oil and popping corn, but the risidual builds up fast.

It reminds me of the way we as Christians can neglect our need for daily cleansing. The bible says we start the Christian life a new creation, forgiven of our sins, cleansed of all the "gooey goop" sin had left behind. Paul says, "you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11) We start our Christian walk clean but then life happens. We are bombarded on every side by temptation, old habits, and new seductions. Soon, like the popcorn popper, through neglect we start to notice a residue. At first we might think it's not that bad and we even justify our slight coating of goop by comparing ourselves with other people. We think, "Hey, I'm not that bad just look at that guy, even his goop has goop."

The problem with thinking like this is that even if our observations are correct and the other guy does have more "build up" than me, I'm still dirty and no excuse in the world is going to cover it up or make it go away. There is only one way to deal with sin in our life and that is to walk daily with Jesus Christ. The apostle John puts it this way, "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

The old saying, "Confession is good for the soul," is true.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16

Back to School

We had a very successful Back to School Bash last night. Over 50 students were in attendance with a total of over 70 people making the fellowship center buzz with activity.

This function was just a sampling of our new program CSI: Waynesboro. Most of the students in attendance last night who had not yet decided on attending CSI signed up on the spot! They seemed to enjoy the time spent with each other in a Christian environment. Everyone enjoyed playing "Pig Ball" as well as clothes pin tag. I was so proud of the way all the students pitched in to clean up the place once the festivities were winding down.

Thanks to everyone who attended last night and made it such a huge success!

CSI: Waynesboro

CSI: Waynesboro is about to become a reality! No, it's not the latest extention of the popular TV series and no, it is not an addition to the Waynesboro Police Department. CSI: Waynesboro stands for Christian Service Institute - Waynesboro church of Christ.

CSI: Waynesboro is an afterschool program for students grades K-8 with High School students lending a hand helping others complete homework and other projects. The "investigations" will take place each Wednesday afternoon immediately after school. Waynesboro Elementary School students will be picked up from school in the church van and taken to the Christian Fellowship Center while Waynesboro Middle School students will walk to the Fellowship Center.

There will be plenty of activities that appeal to everyone. Snacks will be provided first thing after school followed by homework time(the last thing mom & dad want to worry about late Wednesday night is getting homework). There will be ample free play time as well as scheduled activities and competitions. Sometime during the afternoon we will have a devotional. Around 5:30 dinner is served! We will eat anything from hot dogs to pizza to hamburgers to sandwiches. Following dinner students are encouraged to stay and attend bible class. Bible classes are broken up into smaller age groups than CSI: Waynesboro so everyone will be receiving an age appropriate biblical education.

Each participant in CSI: Waynesboro will receive a free T-shirts which is their "price of admission" each week. Won't it be great to see all those students walking around the school wearing their CSI shirts!Plans are already in the works for CSI: Waynesboro to take a field trip! You don't want to miss out on the action that takes place each week.

For more information or to enroll your child just send me an email and I'll get in touch with you ASAP. You should receive an enrollment letter and form at your child's school registration.

Back in the Saddle

Sheryl and I have been out of town for the past ten days which is why there have been no new posts. I apologize to those who are accustomed to me posting on a more regular basis. I will resume my normal posting now that we are "back in the saddle."