Rethinking the Platform

Brian Solis, analyst for the technology marketing firm Altimeter @ Prophet, in an interview with CNN yesterday, said that technology was not created with "the worst of humanity in mind." He also wrote, "Once you see an instance of someone using technology the wrong way, you have to rethink your platform." He was speaking in the aftermath of yesterday's shooting of journalists Allison Parker and Adam Ward, from Roanoke station WDBJ. Specifically, he was speaking to the manner in which the murderer used social media to post video of his crime alongside the words he wrote to justify his crime.

To their credit, both Facebook and Twitter removed the video within minutes of its posting, but not before many became unwitting witnesses to this senseless violence.  Solis' assessment that technology was not created with the worst of humanity in mind seems to share a similar perspective with the argument that guns don't kill people; people kill people.  One cannot deny that these "weapons" do not act on their own or that they have the capacity to hate, but in the hands of an angry, emotionally unstable person, they can produce devastating results.

In his angry ranting, the disgruntled former employee of the station in whose hands these weapons were used, praised the gunmen from Columbine and Virginia Tech whose violent actions preceded his. The worst of humanity? Yes, but perhaps worse still, is our unwillingness to meaningfully address issues of gun control, mental illness, and the pervasive abuses of technology that together present a growing threat.  

Rethinking the platform, as Solis suggests, has broad implications for each of these concerns.  Our unwillingness thus far to do so, however, seems to make us captive to the repetitive nature of "the worst of humanity."   I do not labor under the illusion that legislative changes will magically eradicate these threats, but responsible discussion and meaningful action across all societal lines can make a difference.  And the willingness of people of faith to live as examples of Christ's love, valuing and respecting every human life, regardless, continues to be our greatest hope.

Rethinking the platform implies action. May we find the courage to do so in word and deed.

Jim Abernathy

Prayer

I was given a special gift today, a wristband made by one of our children.  The wristband was created to serve as a reminder of the young man's grandfather who is battling cancer.  I appreciated the ingenuity and love that motivated this reminder to think about and pray for his grandfather.  I have looked at it several times today and paused each time to think and pray.  It is good to remember and pray.

 

Danish philosopher and theologian, Soren Kierkegaard, writes, "Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays."  We often think of prayer as petition for others, but it's more than that.  Prayer should call us to remembrance when we recall the needs of others, and to action.  To be a willing agent of God's grace and healing is to put feet to your prayers..  The wristband on my right arm, like the needs of hurting people around me, shouldn't be ignored.  Prayer and action do bring change.

 

Consult the Westwood Express for a full list of prayer concerns.  Remember...pray...act and you will be used to make a difference.

 

August Sundays at Westwood continue this week at 9:30.  The Williams family will provide special music as well as Ginger Beecher and her group, Taste of Bluegrass.  We will be saying farewell to Clay and Cindy Nettles as they relocate as well as observe a special called church conference to hear a report from the Nominating Committee.  I will be preaching on the subject, "The Gift of Work: A Glorious Opportunity," based on I Corinthians 10:23-33. 

 

I look forward to seeing you.

 

Jim Abernathy

What Can I Give Him?

Good Saturday Morning!

 

While Cindy is still in Indiana for a few more days, I have returned home from vacation.  Along the way we saw old friends from many years ago, helped Clayton move into his new apartment in Lexington, celebrated with family my mother's upcoming 90th birthday, and spent a few days at Cindy's family farm in Indiana.  It was a busy, but good few days away.  I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow as we gather for our second August Sunday worship service at 9:30 a.m.  I will begin a series of messages tomorrow that will carry us through the rest of the month on the theme, "What Can I Give Him?"  The final verse of Christina Rossetti's poem, "In the Bleak Midwinter," is the inspiration for this series, as she writes, "What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; if I were a wise man, I would do my part; yet, what can I give Him-- give Him my heart."

 

The poem was actually written as a Christmas offering and later set to music in the Christmas carol, "In the Bleak Midwinter."  While it might be refreshing to think of a Christmas theme in the heat of August, our focus will not be Christmas, but the act of giving.  How do we make a difference in the gifts we give, and what do we truly have to offer to God?

 

I hope you will join us tomorrow and throughout the month for these special August Sundays at Westwood.  I look forward to seeing you at 9:30 in the morning!

 

Jim Abernathy 

"It's a Gift!"

Since I cannot join our adopt-a-highway group tomorrow to clean Old Keene Mill Hwy, I went ahead and cleaned a portion of this busy road that Westwood is responsible for this morning.  It was a beautiful morning. Indeed, one woman who smiled at me as she waited for a bus, pointed to the blue sky, breathed in the air, and said of the day, "It's a gift!"  She was right.  As I made my way on down the road, another man, a worker for Fairfax County who was supervising a tree trimming crew, stopped to thank me for picking up the trash along the roadside.  I didn't expect either exchange, but both were reminders of the blessings we share in the simplest things of life...the beauty of a new day and the gratitude one shares with another.

Wherever you are today, take a moment to consider this day as a gift, and then give thanks to God for the treasure of this particular day. Make the most of it!

Thanks to the Hope Class for sponsoring the Adopt-a-Highway cleanup tomorrow morning at 9. Come and help clean the area of Old Keene Mill Rd designated for Westwood to take care of. Many hands make for quicker work.   

Sunday morning we will share in the dedication of Adalyn Chen to the Lord by her parents, Paul and Kyle.  We will also hear from our Impact Team. I hope you will be present for this special service. Then plan to join us Sunday night at 7 for Westwood's Got Talent.

Enjoy the gift of this day.

Jim Abernathy

Faithful Empowerment

Yesterday, we celebrated the life of Nancy D'Ambrosio, long-time member of Westwood.  Another of our long-time faithful members, Charles Clark, shared his remembrances of Nancy during the service, particularly highlighting her persistent interest in missions.  Charles told us that Nancy was not only faithful in prayer and present in mission action, but also generous in her giving to support mission efforts locally and around the world.  In other words, her faithfulness empowered the work of others and therefore, the work of the Kingdom.

 

Sunday, we will pray for and then send out our Impact Team.  They will spend the week in Fluvanna rehabbing broken structures and offering hope and help in Jesus' name to the residents they encounter.  We may not be able to go with them, but like Nancy, we can faithfully empower their work through prayer and faithful giving.  Pray for this team every day and then give faithfully throughout the year in your regular budget giving, Mama Mias, and other fundraisers such as the dessert auction.  In doing so, you are participating in meaningful ways, following the example of Nancy and so many others through the years who have made missions a Westwood priority.

 

Join us for worship this Sunday as we commission our Impact Team and invite a friend to join you.

 

Jim Abernathy

July 4

With hand upon heart I thank the Lord For this my native land,
For all I love is here within her gates.
My soul is rooted deeply in the soil on which I stand,
For these are mine own United States.
                             (Don Raye)

 

I remember singing the great American folk song, "This is My Country" in elementary school.  As a child I learned to value the nation of my birth and began to understand the responsibilities of citizenship.  Now, some fifty years later, on this 4th of July, I find myself thinking about this text, and though my perspective is hopefully a bit more mature, there is still a sense of wonder and appreciation for "this, my native land."  Citizens and friends of this nation will gather today in homes, along parade routes, in parks and backyards across our land to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy and to hear again and again the stories of our country's 239 year history.

 

Take a moment today to do what Don Raye's lyric calls us to do...'thank the Lord for this my native land."  To do so is not to claim that we are favored above other nations in God's eyes, but it does mean that we recognize we are blessed to live in a free land...a place of sacrifice and service that offers great opportunity and calls us to great responsibility.   

 

We will take a few moments in our service tomorrow morning to give thanks for our country and to allow you to voice your gratitude.  Again, during July and August, our dress is more casual and worship less formal, so if you have guests from out of town, or a friend or neighbor nearby, invite them to join you.  I look forward to seeing you.

 

Jim Abernathy

Trust the Lord...In Everything!

God's blessings to you on this soggy Thursday!  I told someone in a distant city after a recent downpour here (can't remember which one because they have been happening multiple times a day!) that the ark had been completed and we were ready to set sail! They thought I was talking about water in my basement.  I assured them our basement was one of the few things dry around us, but the water outside seemed to be rising fast!  By July, things are usually beginning to look a bit dry, and the extremes of summer will probably bring that before long.  In the meantime, we will be cutting our grass more frequently, enjoying rainy walks with the dog, and trying to sidestep those puddles that seem to be everywhere.

 

Jesus is quoted in Matthew 5:45b as he speaks of the wonder of his heavenly Father's handiwork, "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." In other words, what seem to be the extremes of life are part of the human experience within the context of God's creation.   There is an ebb and flow in God's creation, and we are to strive to do our best to honor the Creator in the midst of all of it. Jesus' words were offered within what we call, "The Sermon on the Mount," and meant to give instruction about how we relate to the Creator and to the creation. And so, in sunshine or rain, heat or cold, victory and defeat...soggy shoes or parched throat, give thanks with a humble heart and trust the Lord...in everything!

 

Arrangements for Rita Pearsall's daughter, Sandy, have been made.  The memorial service will be held Wednesday, July 8 at 1 p.m. at Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home.  Please keep Rita, Sandy's daughter Skylar, and all the family in your prayers.  As was shared in yesterday's Westwood Express, Nancy D'Ambrosio passed away yesterday.  Nancy was a deacon, Sunday School teacher, and faithful member of Westwood in so many ways over the years. Funeral arrangements are still pending and we will share those when they are made.  Please keep Nancy's family in your prayers.  

 

VBS starts Monday, so please keep our children, workers, and parents in your prayers.  For those who still need to take the Child Protection Training before VBS begins, your last opportunity to do so is this Sunday morning at 10. I look forward to sharing in Bible study and worship with you this Sunday!  Dress comfortably, invite a friend, and come with great expectation.

 

Jim Abernathy