Pews, Paint and Pulpits...

Walls…Paint…Carpet…Windows…Pews…moved – repaired – bolted down…Bathroom floors and cleanup…Baseboards…Electrical work…Sound system,…PowerPoint system…new pulpit…card and pens….Lights…and of course a clock on the wall. We have a new place!

I think God just keeps amazing all of us at Spring Meadows. Sunday we set a goal of giving $30,000.00 (when we decided that I thought – “My, I wish we’d set it at 20.”). Well, the gasp was audible when Glenn announced we had given over $51,000.00!

When I came here, this was the smallest church I had worked with on a fulltime basis but that is the largest contribution I’ve ever been a part of! Wow. God is good to us. I still love the motto I first heard around here: “Don’t limit God.” I hate to admit it, but that is easy to say and hard to live by. I thought we might get close, but I never anticipated we’d blow that goal away!

Steve Baker had the quote of the day: “We just aren’t very good at setting goals around here.”

Sunday we will move in and I feel sure we’ll fill the building. So many have done so much, I think every member has been a part of making this all possible. Things have seemingly “just happened” but I know behind every “happening” there have been people who have made it happen, with love, prayer, hard work and most obvious the blessing of God.

I hope you will be with us, it’s gonna be another great day. The worship service begins at 9am. If you’ve not been to Spring Meadows before, you need to come, you’ll find it hard to believe what’s happening!

And if you can't be here (shame on you) but we do want your prayers anyway! :)

P.S. Sunday night holds great promise too: Dennis Doughty who's book on Heaven will be coming off the press later this week will be with us and will have some copies of his book available. His lesson will be "Heaven, the Unwritten Chapter". It will be a night to remember. We start at 5 on Sunday evening.

Politics and saving the world...

There are thousands of “good causes” that would love to hijack the church as an arm to their purely political purposes. Thus must the church ever be on guard. We are to be light and leaven but anytime we start to speak out on moral issues neo-political “christians” will try to sabotage our real mission. They will even try to use issues we must speak out on like homosexuality (see Romans 1:32 If you question whether or not we “must” speak out on this issue) and try to make that “the issue” of the church. Our message is Christ crucified, raised, glorified and coming again, not “headquarters for the coalition against _____ (you fill in the blank here). We must speak out as the leavening influence in our world, we are obligated by scripture to “rail” against sin for it is what crucified Christ and it is what separates men from God and unrepented of sin is what will send men and women to eternal punishment. But…

…The world will not be changed by political forces, the changes they cultivate are merely cosmetic. They cannot address the heart of the matter, which of course involves the heart. Everywhere and in every age that Christianity has gone and dominated so have more civilized living, greater prosperity and more friendly living conditions.

I could care less about the parties! I’m morally conservative – period. I don’t know if Democrats care more for the poor and oppressed – most of the national ones are so filthy rich, I doubt it. I don’t know if Republicans care more about conservative values or not, watching the news lately that’d be hard to prove. Which party is more fiscally responsible? Frankly I care more about traffic conditions on I-65 (you name the time of day). Which can better manage the war, the environment? Debate that with somebody else. I am an American by birth, a Christian by rebirth. I am a citizen of a higher country (Hebrews 11:10).

But that doesn't mean I have no voice in our culture. I am commanded by God to be salt! For instance I'm pro-prayer. In the school, at ballgames, in the halls of legislators, at work...our country has been in a constant state of moral decline since the 1960's ruling that supposedly took away this freedom because a few bigoted atheists thought a heart beat of concern of the minority should lead our nation founded on a forceful Christian outlook!

Now, if one man is opposed to abortion and shows promise of doing something to change that devilish practice that has allowed the legal murder of hundreds of millions of babies, that’s an easy call. If the vote comes before us that would outlaw abortion, restrict legalized gambling, limit the sale of alcohol, foster families as outlined in God’s Word, I’m going to speak out on it. And it doesn’t matter to me who wrote it or who else is supporting it or opposing it. It doesn’t matter what it might do to the economy or to our perceived political correctness in the eyes of foreign countries, I will speak out. But I’m not going to let it become my hobby. I have one – “go into all the world and preach the gospel…”

Now, if I’ve made myself clear: The November 7 election gives an opportunity to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment regarding same-sex marriages. Be aware that those who worded the amendment were sly . The wording of the amendment demands a "yes" vote. It’d seem that you would vote “no” – as in “I’m against recognizing homosexual marriage as an acceptable definition of marriage.” But read it carefully and trust me, if you are opposed to this sin (and there’s a truckload of reasons both Biblical and culturally to be), you will vote “yes”. The second sly method of getting this passed is in that defeat or approval must have both a majority of the votes cast as well as a number of votes equal to one-half plus one of the votes cast in the governor's race. If you vote for the governor but do not vote on the amendment, by default you have voted "no." I urge you to vote "yes" because of God's definition of marriage (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5; Eph. 5:31).

Let me hear from you on this...your discussion below might help inform and enlighten...

A Raw Deal...

“I got a raw deal…” – Billy Volek, ex-Tennessee Titan.

Let's see. Billy

Born in America

Had college paid for at a major university

Given great skills from God

Paid millions and millions to stand on the sidelines and do virtually nothing for 5 years… 6.8 million dollar contract in 2004…with a roster bonus of $500,000 a year and a possibility of an addition 4 million if you stayed the duration.

Allowed to be traded to the Chargers where he will make at least 1 million this year.

Poor Billy – A raw deal?

(I know he had to move his family and that surely is hard, but he didn't have to move them because someone was bombing his house or because the government was terroizing him)

Billy's not the only one: It seems everybody in our culture is a victum. What is your compaint today? Could you stand to spend a little more time counting your blessing instead of listing your woes?

Sermons and Food...

Several weeks ago I posted on my blog that I would be preaching one of the sermons I most remembered from my growing up years. Among my most observant friends came a post that listed the thee sermons he most remembered hearing from my dad growing up. It was a special note for many reasons. One because it was from a friend, another because it was about dad and finally because, I too, remember each of these lessons and had forgotten them before.
Six months to a year after I left the Hamilton church to move to Nashville another dear friend, Ann, sent me an e-mail that listed the sermon outlines she had kept, the ones that had touched her and meant something to her life. It meant more to me than I could express that she actually remembered anything I had said, even more that she had kept some of the outlines and even more that they continued to bless her life. And it helped me to know what sermons I had preached had made some lasting difference in some persons life.
What sermons/lessons do you remember that affected your life? Share with me and others. I'm sharing my friends e-mail...

"On our way home, I got to thinking about some of your Dad's sermons & realized there are 3 that really stand out in my mind. Coincidentally, all 3 were while we were at Maywood. The following is the order I remember them by:

1. Christ's death & significance while a cross burned below the
director's hut & across the little creek (back when the lower part was still the Canteen).
2. Gazing up at the stars on the ball field while discussing the
constellations, God's grandeur, and magnificence.
3. On the side of the lake as your Dad preached from one of those old
flat-bottomed aluminum boats (I will admit that although I fell asleep about halfway through this one, it still stands out in my memory).

But most of all, I don't remember your Dad ever preaching to us as though we were a bunch of little kids (even if for the most part that was exactly what we were). He preached to us information that we needed to know and that he needed to share with us, whether it took
15 minutes for the message or an hour and a half. I really don't remember too many 15 minute lessons...

I find the comparison between sermons and meals truer the older I get. While I may not remember every meal/sermon I've had, one look at me tells you (hopefully) that I've benefited & been nourished by all of them. "

I hope you have a great weekend and that you hear a sermon you'll remember forever.

Writing for me?

Writing for "me". Actually everything I do I try to do for God so that first sentence may need some clearing up. I've written for nearly 40 years.

When I started writing it was for a teacher who corrected everything from how I held my pencil to my sloppy "S's" (is that correct?).

Before too long I was writing a sports column for a school newspaper where my editor didn't quite get my humor (an ongoing problem that I've passed on to both my sons, one it sadly seems got a double measure of it :)).

Then it was on to church bulletins which I've edited and been edited in for 25 years. There, there are(500) always rules: If you say this it might offend so-and-so, you might leave out this person, this group might misunderstand you ... and after all, remember, what you write is a reflexion on the church.

I've written for books and magazines and quarterlies and annuals and lectureships. So, when I say this writing is for me...I mean, it's MY BLOG. In a sense I only represent me here, it is unedited (that's dangerous) and it will be a lot of fun most of the time (cause I never lost that sense of humor that my old school newspaper rep didn't get). So, don't take offense (I assure you, I don't ever offend anyone on purpose - at least I don't think I do), or don't read, these are my thoughts!

And by the way, I like exclaimation points! It says I'm happy and excited about something and I usually am. And it's my blog, so deal with it!!!!!!

Gotta Blog...

Just got to blog for a few minutes. It was such a great weekend. It started with the opportunity to play in a golf tournament to benefit Maywood Christian Camp. This was their first such tournament and it resulted in a profit of $3200 for the camp. I'm not a golfer but I got to spend the morning with my son Andrew and nephew Ren. It was a delight!

Then Sunday. What a day! We had a record crowd any way you slice it. There were 136 present. That's doubly neat because we seat exactly 136 when you combine both auditoriums (that'd be our small one and our smaller one!). There were about 7 in the nursery and a few parents held their kids, so we did have a handful of open seats. We had 5 families of 18 people gone Sunday which could have put us over the 150 mark in worship. Thanks to all who invited folks.

Following the morning services we had a great picnic! It was awesome! What a crowd. I'd estimate about 150 were at the picnic. Several came over who went to services elsewhere. We had a blowup balloon (we called them "moonwalks" when I was a kid) and the kids had a ball. We had it catered by Famous Dave's, so the adults had a ball too :)!

At about 1:15 we had our afternoon service. We had 100 on the dot stay for the service (a record crowd for our evening service), the previous record set the week before was 92! People stayed around till about 3:45.

Then we had the evening devo service at 5 at the building. There were 11 there. Five Spring Meadows folks and as the service got going some of my dearest friends stopped in to surprise me. They ended up being the ones surprised. Chuck and Susan Terry and their wonderful kids. I've known Chuck for nearly 40 years and his wonderful wife Susan has helped him become so well rounded. They are super parents - I am proud of them and their children. The kids are sharp and well behaved. Their oldest is now a young man - Jacob is as tall as I am and can carry on a comfortable and enjoyable conversation with an adult. Their daughter Jessica is growing into a beautiful young lady (who'd ever have thought Chuck could have a beautiful daughter). Their youngest Joshua will keep them on their toes...he's in first grade (I think) and is playing football! Wow. And. Jonathan well, he's obviously mature beyond his years. Enough about them - but it is my blog and I wanted to talk about a good friend for a minute.

In addition to all that Sunday we "officially" took possession of the hardware store - though much of the "building" out is already done. I'm told there'll be a great paint party Saturday! I can hardly wait.

Everybody also got to see the big sign for Spring Meadows on US31. How exciting!

Then Monday seemed just as great:
I got to be a part of giving out copies of our new book to the area preachers at the 21st luncheon and then drove to Spring Hill where we made some great visits (we had 6 show up for Monday night "no-guilt" v - a record). I also got to meet with a good friend who made recommendations for sound issues and other technical equipment for the new building.

Well, life is good and I just wanted to share.

November 5th is going to be a great day - unless the Lord returns first and that will be the best day. I hope you're inviting people to be in the right place for both those days :).

Love,
dale