Working Together

Our quarterly church conference will be held in Whitten Hall after morning worship this Sunday.  Among the important issues to be considered are the 2013 unified budget, revisions to our bylaws, and a recommendation to initiate an endowment fund at Westwood.  Each of these recommendations are significant and have been brought forward after much work and prayer.  One of the blessings of our congregational form of church government is the privilege to empower brothers and sisters in Christ to the task of preparation and presentation of these recommendations, and to offer the congregation the opportunity to act on such recommendations.  Having worked with or known of the work of these groups over the last several months, I am confident that each team and committee has worked faithfully to bring to the congregation meaningful recommendations that will enhance and encourage the continuing work of Christ in our Westwood community and beyond. 

 

Sometimes we take for granted the privilege of working together in community for the cause of Christ.  We will never agree on every aspect of every recommendation...the uniqueness of every person and perspective assures that.  And yet, bound together by the love of Christ, we walk together to accomplish what we could never do by ourselves.  That cooperation and strength of purpose is celebrated every time we gather to worship, work, and fellowship.  I am grateful for such a rich heritage and so bright a future.  With the courage to follow Christ and the commitment to walk together in love, much has been accomplished and there is still much more to do.

 

I look forward to Sunday as another opportunity to affirm God's hand at work in the continuing story of faith known as Westwood Baptist Church. 

 

Jim Abernathy

What's Your Evaluation?

I recently bought a coat at a local department store. The salesman who assisted me in the purchase also concluded the purchase by ringing up the sale. As he was handing back my debit card he also handed me the receipt. He took a moment, while we both clutched opposite ends of the receipt, to point out a phone number he encouraged me to call to complete a survey about the purchase. "When you do," he added with a smile, "make sure you give me a good evaluation so they will know I'm doing a good job." This was the first time I had been encouraged to evaluate a menswear salesperson, but not the first time I had been told by a salesperson how to evaluate him or her. Evaluation, I have always thought, is best done in the context of objectivity and free thought, not as a directive from a person you don't really know that has just sold you something you didn't really have to have. To be told the quality of evaluation to offer is really not to offer an evaluation at all.

I suppose that you and I at times are in the business of pre-determining personal evaluation. Sometimes it's the simple "don't you agree?" that's asked at the end of a declarative statement when we want others to concur with our opinion. Sometimes it's the decisions we make for others, assuming that we know what choice they would make, given the same options before us. Occasionally it's simple tradition when our minds are made up about a particular direction without fully considering other possibilities, simply because it's the way we have always done it!

There are times along this journey with the Creator when we make pre-determined evaluations about direction or choice without consulting the wisdom of God's word or the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had a lot to say about assumptions made pertaining to right relationship with God. He refused to affirm the evaluation of those who believed their salvation was summed up by a strict adherence to the Law, or to encourage the hatred and prejudice of those who embraced the centuries-old hatred of certain races, religious perspectives, or social positions. He would not confirm the violent ways of those who embraced retribution as means of overcoming enemies. A number of times in the fifth chapter of Matthew, in what some believe to be the most significant of Jesus' teachings, he seeks to revolutionize the thinking of his listeners as he says, "You have heard it said...but I say to you..." His words from these powerful teachings should remind us that the way of Christ is a transformative way that calls us to think and act in ways that reflect an openness to God's way, not a pre-determined path from which we should not vary. God created human beings to think, to make choices, not with the absolute certainty of lock-step conformity, but with open hearts and minds to what God might be saying and leading us to do. Jesus declared, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness..."

I am stubborn enough not to be coerced into reflecting an opinion someone else pre-determines for me. Sometimes I agree with the assessment of others, sometimes I do not, but I believe strongly enough in the gift of freedom that God has given to make my own choices and come to my own conclusions. I believe I do this best when I am in tune with the One who made me in his image, the one who still instructs me through holy scripture, still goes before me in the example of Christ, and still guides me by the power of the Holy Spirit.

To seek first the Kingdom is to set aside pre-conceived notions, choosing instead to live as free and faithful followers of Jesus Christ. That's my evaluation...what's yours?

Jim Abernathy  

Our Human Condition

John Claypool, in his book, "Mending the Heart", writes, "Very few things about the human condition are truly universal, but one of them is this: none of us has lived life perfectly." The apostle Paul stated this truth quite bluntly when he wrote, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." The Message perhaps takes it a step further as it says that we have a "long and sorry record as sinners." Doesn't sound like a hopeful assessment of our human condition, does it?

And yet, though broken by our sin, we are not without hope. Claypool continues, "We face no greater challenge day in and day out than simply discovering some way to live creatively and redemptively with the imperfection that is inherent in all things human." We are able to live creatively and redemptively in the midst of our imperfections because of the grace and mercy of the One who created and redeemed us. It is impossible to truly ignore the sin of our lives...there is no mistaking our failures. There is also, however, no mistaking the wonder of God's love at work through Jesus Christ to bring forgiveness and restoration. John reminds us in I John 1:9, "If we are faithful to confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Even with our long and sorry record as sinners, God does not forsake, but offers the way of return.

Thus, Claypool concludes, "Because of God's incredible patience, mercy, and hope, we can stoop over to pick up the pieces, learn what there is to learn from them, and then see what we can make of what is left. Next time, not if only, is God's gracious answer to our admission of guilt, and nothing is more basic to the mending of the heart." Amen!

As one with a long and sorry record as a sinner, I am grateful for the grace and mercy of Almighty God. I look forward to sharing with you this Sunday the continuing story of God's love as we worship together.

Jim Abernathy