Getting Ready
In August of 2008 I am scheduled to go on a backpacking trip with the Boy Scouts. We are headed to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. If you are not familiar with the camp it is one of the Boy Scout’s premiere high-adventure bases. I went when I was a Boy Scout, and we hiked 60 miles in 10 days in full backpack gear. We hiked to heights above the tree line. I am not sure we ever saw any flat land on the whole hike. It was a tough but good trip. The Boy Scout web site gives some idea what can happen. Here is a short sample from the camp’s Risk Advisory.
“A Philmont trek is physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding. Each person will carry a 35- to 50-pound pack while hiking five to 12 miles per day in an isolated mountain wilderness ranging from 6,500 to 12,500 feet in elevation. Weather could include temperatures from 30 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, low humidity (10 percent to 30 percent), and frequent, sometimes severe, afternoon thunderstorms.”
That sounds like fun but wait the advice goes on. “If you decide to attend Philmont, you must be physically fit, have proper clothing and equipment, be willing to follow instructions and work as a team with your crew, and take responsibility for your own health and safety. Like other wilderness areas, Philmont is not risk free, and you should be prepared to listen to safety instructions carefully, follow directions, and take appropriate steps to safeguard yourself and others.
Parents, guardians, and potential participants in Philmont programs are advised that journeying to and from Philmont, and one's stay at Philmont, can involve exposure to accident, illness, and/or injury associated with a high-elevation, physically demanding, high-adventure program in a remote, mountainous area. Campers may be exposed to occasional severe weather conditions such as lightning, hail, flash floods, and heat. Other accident possibilities include injuries from tripping and falling, motor vehicle accidents, worsening of underlying medical conditions such as diabetes or asthma, incidents, heart attacks, heat exhaustion, and falls from horses. Philmont's trails are steep and rocky. Wild animals such as bears, rattlesnakes, and mountain lions are native and usually present little danger if proper precautions are taken.”
It reminds me of the Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared.” Here is the real issue and risk for me: I am not in good enough shape to make that hike right now. I need to get into better shape, or this trip will be a dreadful experience. I need to be able to hike with a backpack weighing 50 pounds for several miles at a time. The hike will be at altitudes that my body is not accustomed to—so I will need to work harder here at sea-level to be prepared.
The convenient thing about scheduling a trip like this is I know it is coming. I can start working out in advance. I can prepare my body. Well, in the spiritual world we also need to condition our spirit. One pass through Psalms and you will find that this life is full of heart break and danger. From a spiritual perspective we need to “Be Prepared”. Jesus advises us that we do not live by bread alone, but we live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matt 4:4) I sometimes get a visual of the world filled with spiritual weaklings. We must remember and prepare for the difficult days before they arrive. So we must read our Bibles everyday to remain in spiritual shape. Life is a spiritual journey. Some days are more difficult than others, but often the mountaintop views are afforded on the more difficult days. Since we do not know when the spiritual tests will come, prepare in advance. For the world is filled with wild animals such as bears, rattlesnakes, and mountain lions, but they provide much less danger if proper precautions are taken.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Humility is Freeing
Humility is Freeing.
I worked at a creosoting plant during the summers while in High School. I often was sent out to load pickup trucks. People would come in to purchase fence posts and lumber, and my job was to load the trucks. I learned something about men that summer. With men there is some sort of pride involved in their pickup trucks. They somehow connected their pickup’s load capacity with their own strength. After spending day after day loading pickups I had a good idea how much most trucks could really carry. Yet the problem was that I looked way too young to be giving advice to grown men about their pickup trucks.
One afternoon a couple of guys come in and wanted to purchase 10 brand new railroad ties. I asked what kind of truck they were in. He pointed to a half ton Chevy parked outside. I told him it would be best to purchase 5 now and come back for 5 more because 10 would exceed his truck’s capacity. He said all 10 would fit. I agreed but pointed out that each tie weighs 205 pounds and 10 would weigh one ton. (One ton being twice the weight capacity of his truck) I said you could probably get as many as 6 or 7 but 10 would be too many, so you might as well make two equal trips.
Well, by his reaction you would have thought I said something really tacky. When he finished telling me why his truck could carry more, I said, “let’s go load your truck and you can say when it has enough weight on it.” He drove around back, and I loaded 4 ties on his truck. He was looking quite confident, but when I put the 5th tie on his truck it sank down in the back. I asked him, “do you want 5 more or do you want to make a second trip?” He said, “I think two trips”.
What is truly funny is that his truck was fully loaded. I mean it was carrying a full load. He had 1,000 pounds on a truck rated to carry 1,000 pounds. Trust me, I loaded it and it was heavy. Yet you could tell he felt sad, but he had nothing to be sad about. His truck was carrying all it could.
I believe that this same thing happens in our lives. We overload our lives with expectations about what we can carry in our jobs, our families, and our religious lives. When we notice the overload we tend to sacrifice one for the other. That is, we toss part of the load off of our truck. As the time crunch happens something must go. In seminary I noticed that often the younger students would start to skip Chapel services right about the time midterms started. For me, it was not that I had all of my work done, but when it came time to choose worship or homework, I chose worship—even when that last bit of homework could have meant the difference between making a B or an A.
The reason I was able to make that choice was that at one point in my life I chose work over family. At that same time I chose work over worship. You see, my pride never let me admit before that I did not have the capacity to get it all done. So I let the things slide that I thought no one would notice. The irony is that I let the most important things in life slide.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. (Romans 12:1-3)
Rev Patrick Evans
http://pastorpatscorner.blogspot.com
I worked at a creosoting plant during the summers while in High School. I often was sent out to load pickup trucks. People would come in to purchase fence posts and lumber, and my job was to load the trucks. I learned something about men that summer. With men there is some sort of pride involved in their pickup trucks. They somehow connected their pickup’s load capacity with their own strength. After spending day after day loading pickups I had a good idea how much most trucks could really carry. Yet the problem was that I looked way too young to be giving advice to grown men about their pickup trucks.
One afternoon a couple of guys come in and wanted to purchase 10 brand new railroad ties. I asked what kind of truck they were in. He pointed to a half ton Chevy parked outside. I told him it would be best to purchase 5 now and come back for 5 more because 10 would exceed his truck’s capacity. He said all 10 would fit. I agreed but pointed out that each tie weighs 205 pounds and 10 would weigh one ton. (One ton being twice the weight capacity of his truck) I said you could probably get as many as 6 or 7 but 10 would be too many, so you might as well make two equal trips.
Well, by his reaction you would have thought I said something really tacky. When he finished telling me why his truck could carry more, I said, “let’s go load your truck and you can say when it has enough weight on it.” He drove around back, and I loaded 4 ties on his truck. He was looking quite confident, but when I put the 5th tie on his truck it sank down in the back. I asked him, “do you want 5 more or do you want to make a second trip?” He said, “I think two trips”.
What is truly funny is that his truck was fully loaded. I mean it was carrying a full load. He had 1,000 pounds on a truck rated to carry 1,000 pounds. Trust me, I loaded it and it was heavy. Yet you could tell he felt sad, but he had nothing to be sad about. His truck was carrying all it could.
I believe that this same thing happens in our lives. We overload our lives with expectations about what we can carry in our jobs, our families, and our religious lives. When we notice the overload we tend to sacrifice one for the other. That is, we toss part of the load off of our truck. As the time crunch happens something must go. In seminary I noticed that often the younger students would start to skip Chapel services right about the time midterms started. For me, it was not that I had all of my work done, but when it came time to choose worship or homework, I chose worship—even when that last bit of homework could have meant the difference between making a B or an A.
The reason I was able to make that choice was that at one point in my life I chose work over family. At that same time I chose work over worship. You see, my pride never let me admit before that I did not have the capacity to get it all done. So I let the things slide that I thought no one would notice. The irony is that I let the most important things in life slide.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. (Romans 12:1-3)
Rev Patrick Evans
http://pastorpatscorner.blogspot.com
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Must we be Different?
In school it was a general rule that if the teacher said something three times it was going to be on the test. So in the past couple of days I have gotten a message three times. Here are those messages. I was watching the Blue Man Group last night and they said something interesting in an interview. Often as a part of their three person act two of the guys gang up on the one guy who is acting differently. They portray our society’s tendency to require conformity. The process is quite funny when watching the blue man group. It is done by looks they give each other.
Then while reading Quite Strength by Tony Dungy I noted what he said when he was speaking about his first head coaching job. On page 96 he talks about the logic of whom he chose for his staff. “While I was in Pittsburg observing Coach Noll, I had learned that you need all types of personalities on staff. The last thing I should do was surround myself with fifteen clones of me.”
Yesterday we had a one day staff retreat. On that retreat we did an exercise about our personality types. It was interesting learning about all of our staff’s personalities, and somewhat informative. I know this is a shock, but we are not all alike. We each have our strengths and weakness.
In Romans 12:6 it says “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” It then goes on to list the gifts; prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, and showing mercy. Often Paul uses the example of the human body in comparison to the church. Differences for different functions, yet still forming one body. He points to us belonging to one body, with us belonging to one another.
So it should be no surprise that we are not all the same. The things that make us unique are often what God uses in service to him. Yet here is the catch, those differences can often drive us crazy, and often do. What is great is that Paul attaches this verse right after listing our differences. “Love must be sincere…Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” We must learn to care for one another—and part of that caring is learning about our differences. It is part of a process of learning to meet people right where they are. In the process of meeting people right where they are I am being made into the likeness of Christ.
Rev. Patrick Evans
Then while reading Quite Strength by Tony Dungy I noted what he said when he was speaking about his first head coaching job. On page 96 he talks about the logic of whom he chose for his staff. “While I was in Pittsburg observing Coach Noll, I had learned that you need all types of personalities on staff. The last thing I should do was surround myself with fifteen clones of me.”
Yesterday we had a one day staff retreat. On that retreat we did an exercise about our personality types. It was interesting learning about all of our staff’s personalities, and somewhat informative. I know this is a shock, but we are not all alike. We each have our strengths and weakness.
In Romans 12:6 it says “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” It then goes on to list the gifts; prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, and showing mercy. Often Paul uses the example of the human body in comparison to the church. Differences for different functions, yet still forming one body. He points to us belonging to one body, with us belonging to one another.
So it should be no surprise that we are not all the same. The things that make us unique are often what God uses in service to him. Yet here is the catch, those differences can often drive us crazy, and often do. What is great is that Paul attaches this verse right after listing our differences. “Love must be sincere…Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” We must learn to care for one another—and part of that caring is learning about our differences. It is part of a process of learning to meet people right where they are. In the process of meeting people right where they are I am being made into the likeness of Christ.
Rev. Patrick Evans
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Anointing Tears
Anointing Tears
As Volunteers whenever we had a full day in the prison we would eat lunch in the guards’ cafeteria. It was next to the inmates’ cafeteria but was smaller—maybe 40 people could be seated. There were paintings by inmates on the wall, and some were quite good. The air in the guards’ cafeteria was warm, and paper towels were laid over the butter to keep out the flies. The butter was soft from the warmth of the room. The background noise was loud—a combination of the fans, people talking, and clanging plates.
As we ate lunch that day I noticed a couple of the guys talking to one of the inmates. This inmate was a trustee who worked in the guards’ cafeteria. He was a fast moving fellow always checking on what we needed. I remember his short stature and bald head. He looked like a tough fellow. Later in the day I asked what the conservation was about. My friends said he had never been to church, nor did he know Christ. They took time to pray with him that day.
One of the nice things about being around for a while is having the opportunity to see things change. One day I was asked to shoot a video of the prison choir. It had been a couple of years since that day in the cafeteria, but I remember distinctly seeing my waiter’s shining face. He had joined the choir and was singing. Shooting a video can keep you quite busy, but during a break I stopped and asked one of the men how long he had be a choir member. “A couple of years, I would guess” he replied. “You can always find him in the choir. He is the one with the big smile on his face and tears streaming down.”
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him. Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Oh? Tell me.”
“Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?”
Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.”
“That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.” Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.”
That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: “Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!” He ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-48 The Message)
The stories of the Bible still live today if you have the eyes to see them.
Rev Patrick Evans
The Church will have a prison ministry night at the fellowship hall this Wednesday night. Dinner at 6:00 PM. Program at 7:00 PM.
As Volunteers whenever we had a full day in the prison we would eat lunch in the guards’ cafeteria. It was next to the inmates’ cafeteria but was smaller—maybe 40 people could be seated. There were paintings by inmates on the wall, and some were quite good. The air in the guards’ cafeteria was warm, and paper towels were laid over the butter to keep out the flies. The butter was soft from the warmth of the room. The background noise was loud—a combination of the fans, people talking, and clanging plates.
As we ate lunch that day I noticed a couple of the guys talking to one of the inmates. This inmate was a trustee who worked in the guards’ cafeteria. He was a fast moving fellow always checking on what we needed. I remember his short stature and bald head. He looked like a tough fellow. Later in the day I asked what the conservation was about. My friends said he had never been to church, nor did he know Christ. They took time to pray with him that day.
One of the nice things about being around for a while is having the opportunity to see things change. One day I was asked to shoot a video of the prison choir. It had been a couple of years since that day in the cafeteria, but I remember distinctly seeing my waiter’s shining face. He had joined the choir and was singing. Shooting a video can keep you quite busy, but during a break I stopped and asked one of the men how long he had be a choir member. “A couple of years, I would guess” he replied. “You can always find him in the choir. He is the one with the big smile on his face and tears streaming down.”
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him. Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Oh? Tell me.”
“Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?”
Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.”
“That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.” Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.”
That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: “Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!” He ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-48 The Message)
The stories of the Bible still live today if you have the eyes to see them.
Rev Patrick Evans
The Church will have a prison ministry night at the fellowship hall this Wednesday night. Dinner at 6:00 PM. Program at 7:00 PM.
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