Clarity of focus...

Somewhere along the way someone got the idea to have “Pastor Appreciation Month” during the month October. I’m not sure whose idea this was and honestly I feel a little weird talking about it given my position as a pastor. I have a beautiful picture above my work desk given to me by the first church I served as pastor when they expressed their appreciation to me years ago. The picture is called “The Legacy”; it portrays a pastor holding his Bible in the pulpit proclaiming the Word of God. Portrayed on either side of him are “the great cloud of witnesses” from Hebrews 12:1 and one of the figures apparently represents the Lord Jesus, standing beside his messenger with his hand on the Pastor’s shoulder as the Pastor preaches. It is one of my prized treasures and I wanted it above my study desk because it helps me have clarity of focus on the primary duty I have to proclaim the Word of God.

Pastor Appreciation is a Biblical concept that appears in several places in the New Testament. One of these is found in Hebrews 13:7 “Remember those who rule (lead) over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.” I can’t really speak for Bob, Ken and Wally, but I think they would say ya’ll have indeed remembered us with so many cards, notes of encouragement, the gift cards from the church and other tangible expressions of your love for each of us. I think it would be safe to say we’re all overwhelmed by your love and encouragement and we’re so appreciative of what you have done for us. Your thoughts and gifts mean so much and we’re thankful. Many of you tell us throughout the year you are praying for us and that you appreciate something we did.

The writer of Hebrews however was inspired by the Holy Spirit to immediately record verse 8 in that context of remembering your pastors: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” One of the Holy Spirit’s jobs is to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ and so He inspired the writer to remind each of us we need to maintain clarity of focus and exalt the Lord, to keep our focus on the Lord and not on the men He has called to serve as under-shepherds. You see the reality is each of your pastors is human, just real men, men with flaws, fears and failures. We may show glimpses of inspiration but we’re certainly not infallible or inerrant. The sad part is that when God had to call pastors, He had to recruit from the human race so He got us, warts and all. The good news in this is that it magnifies Jesus and His grace even further. Pastors’ kind of live in a fishbowl, everyone is watching us and through that fishbowl, we look larger than we really are. When we do something wrong, we make a mistake in our judgment, or we flat out fall on our face in sin; it can be devastating to people because they are not looking past us to Jesus. So remember that Jesus is in fact the same yesterday, today and forever. He’ll never disappoint you even though we will. He will never leave you or forsake you even though He might call us to another place of service and battle as He has done with Bob. The reality is under-shepherds come and go, but the Chief Shepherd always remains steady and faithful to His bride.

These are historic times here at Calvary, included in this edition of “The Way”; you’ll find our proposed 2011 Budget for review. We’ll discuss this budget on Sunday evening Nov.21^st and vote on it on Sunday December 5^th. It is a historical budget in that for the first time in Calvary’s history, our budget is over one million dollars ($1,000,011.00)! It is definitely a faith budget of what we’d like to see God do but it is grounded in reality as well as we’ve considered actual expenses in order to be accurate with our planning. It has been through a myriad of processes, committees and staff review to ensure we’re being wise stewards; and I’m confident we are presenting a realistic guide for our 2011 ministries. While a million dollar budget may be a shock to your system, in my simple view of the world, it helps me gain clarity to realize the weekly need will increase $1,229.00 over our 2010 budget to $19,231.00. Our unchanging God who provided last year for His bride will provide this year as well.

With Bob Brown’s obedience to God’s call and departure to a new field of service, we’re also entering a historic season in clarifying and quantifying the staff needs the church has. I told you of Jean Carr’s plan to retire at the end of the year and I can tell you that your personnel committee is already hard at work planning for our future staffing needs. It is important the church choose staff for her long term future based on the clarity of focus the Lord is providing and His vision for what He wants Calvary to accomplish. Embracing God’s vision for us will require we keep our eyes fixed squarely on the Lord who is the same yesterday, today and forever. His constant faithfulness, His vision, His clarity of focus and His wisdom is what we must all pray for as we walk through these historic days together by faith. I don’t know about you, but I’m thrilled to know Jesus is always the same yesterday, today and forever, that knowledge encourages me and helps me see clearly, from my little corner of the world to yours…

Ralph Green

Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

www.calvarybelair.com

Subscribe to Pastor Ralph's Blog: http://pastorralphgreen.blogspot.com/  

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Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

Changing Seasons....

October 14, 2010

Changing seasons…

I love living in Maryland for a lot of reasons, primarily because God has called me to serve Him here, which in and of itself should be and is for me more than enough reason to love it. Every reason I can come up with beyond the call of God is icing on the proverbial cake. I’ve come to embrace our field of service in so many ways over the last 21 months mainly because of relationships we’re establishing and it’s wonderful to have access to so many regional interests. It doesn’t hurt to have a great football team to root for in the Ravens and I enjoy seeing the team spirit as purple becomes the order of the day. (This is especially good for me seeing the Cowboys are currently in the cellar!)

One of the things I love about Maryland is the true four season climate we enjoy here. Reasonable winters with enough snow (or as in last winter an abundance of snow) to enjoy, but then it goes away. A gorgeous springtime as trees blossom with beauty that is difficult to describe. How can you not love seeing those cherry trees in front of the church in full bloom? Nice hot summers to enjoy the water in the pool, on the lake, the bay or the beach with sky blue cloudless days for extended periods and rain when needed to cool off and replenish the soil. And now we’re entering fall. Cooler mornings and evenings, training myself to remember to take a jacket out to watch my boys play football and the leaves begin their turning process. Each day reveals more color and each bend in the road reveals another splash of beauty. Raking leaves at my house is another story altogether!

The point is to some extent, as seasons we love go by like summer, there is a degree of sadness which takes place but our Lord brings the new season for us to embrace and look forward to for its own unique blessings and benefits. I’ve learned through my ministry there are definite seasons in the life of the church as well. New eras and periods on the horizon but with the fading of one season there is a degree of sadness that goes along with it. With Dr. Carter’s retirement after 20 years of faithful ministry, Dr. Jackson’s steady transitional interim ministry, and my arrival and efforts to get up to speed with a new system and church family, many changes afoot, and your kind patience with me as your new pastor; we’ve been in an extended season of change. One of the reasons from my perspective my transition to Calvary has been so smooth and such a blessing is because of the steady, faithful and wise ministry of our Associate Pastor Bob Brown. Bob has helped me learn the church DNA, helped me understand some dynamics I couldn’t have known had he not given me insight. He’s provided me with a completely opposite perspective I may not have considered which has helped me and our staff make wise decisions and plans.

By the time you read this article, Bob has notified the church of God’s call upon his life to pursue a new ministry opportunity. He personally shared with me his call to this and how the Lord orchestrated his being accepted into a chaplain internship in York, Pa., at the hospital there. Obviously this represents a huge change of seasons for us at Calvary and for Bob and Jenny. On one hand we are sad because they have both been tremendous servants here to our Lord and church family. On the other hand we are excited for Bob and Jenny as this will be a great blessing to their family and their future. I want us as a church family to see this call upon Bob’s life as a great thing for the work of God’s Kingdom. To my kingdom way of thinking, I see Bob going as a missionary to a new field of harvest. I can totally see Bob in this role as I’ve watched his pastoral care and how he thrives in this environment. I have no doubt that Bob will see many people come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because of his care for them and witness to them. The wonderful news for all of us is we’re partners together in ministry and we’re sending the Browns out as missionaries to the hospital and medical community along with all the patients and their families. We’ll have a church wide reception for Bob and Jenny on Sunday night Oct. 31^st immediately after our church in conference business meeting to celebrate God’s working in their lives.

I’ve also been notified formally by our Administrative Secretary Jean Carr that she plans to retire at the end of the year. Jean has served Calvary for 18 years and had told the personnel committee when hired for the position she currently holds she’d serve for 2 years so we’ve known her plans for some time. No doubt as we draw closer to her retirement we’ll honor her service and ministry in a special way.

For several months already, I believe the Lord’s guidance has been preparing us for these staff changes. I’ve been working with the personnel committee to rewrite Bob’s job description and divide the multitude of responsibilities he carries. We were already in the planning stages of  adding a family and discipleship pastor to our team because of our growth and intentional desire to reach and disciple young families. God’s timing is perfect and we can be confident as He’s calling Bob to a new field of service and prompting Jean to retire; He already knows what His Bride at Calvary is in need of and He will make known to us His will as we seek His direction for these positions. The job descriptions may in fact look completely different to what we’ve had but we have a marvelous team serving on our personnel committee and I’m confident in God’s provision for us as a church family. I’m also confident that you’ll encourage and support the Browns and Jean and that you’ll begin now to pray for them and our church family as we walk through this season of change together. I echo the sentiments of the Psalmist in Psalm 118:23 “This was the LORD'S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.” The changing of the seasons can be a beautiful thing to behold if we see it as the Lord’s doing. It is marvelous in my eyes from my little corner of the world to yours…

  Pastor Ralph Green
Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

  www.calvarybelair.com

Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

Where true security comes from...

Over the last few days, we’ve had several in our church family undergo various kinds of struggles and difficulties particularly with health issues, others have marked recently or will mark in the next few weeks the anniversary of the death of a loved one, some I’ve come to learn are going through much difficulty emotionally, or they are stressed beyond belief about their job or lack of one. A family and high school in our community were devastated by the tragic death of a high school freshman. Economic and political turmoil is all around us and there are demands on each of us we couldn’t possibly complete in the time we have. Honestly, I’ve struggled recently (and still do some days) with some personal concerns that weigh heavily on my shoulders. All of this added together can be overwhelming to us.

Then I open my Bible in my morning quiet time and I read several word pictures of our Lord Jesus in the Gospel of Mark that strengthened and encouraged me. Hopefully God will use them with you at the point of your need. I love the Gospel of Mark because it was written in a condensed form – kind of simple facts about the life of Christ, quick snapshots of Jesus’ ministry. In chapter 6, there’s the snapshot of Jesus feeding 5000 men (conservatively more like 25,000 people with women and children considered). He took the meager lunch of a young boy and He multiplied it to meet the need of the people there. He did so with abundance as there were 12 baskets of leftovers – nothing like a good old Baptist pot-luck, except there was no “luck” involved in this. It is the Lord meeting an overwhelming need that was humanly impossible to handle with the resources available. The practical lesson for us is that no matter the size of the need, Jesus is confidently able to meet the need facing each individual with abundant supply. In short, He’s bigger than any problem we’ve got, lack of resources is not an issue for Him. So when your faith begins to waver because you’re overwhelmed by a huge need, be secure in this fundament truth that Jesus is bigger than your need!

The next snapshot in the same chapter is Jesus sending the disciples off in the boat across the lake while He goes to the mountain to pray. One quick lesson is if the Son of God carved out time alone to pray because He not only wanted it but needed it, you and I better find a place to pray too! But the text continues in 6:47-48 that the boat with the disciples was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on land, and the text says “He saw them straining at the rowing for the wind was against them.”  Another quick lesson is that you cannot escape the watchful eye of Jesus who sees you in your struggle. He knows the strain you are under and He knows the winds of life are against you much of the time. The text continues that Jesus came walking to them on the sea! Lesson? Physical barriers are not a big deal to Jesus and He’s willing to come to you no matter what is in the way! It’s interesting in Mark’s account that Jesus “would have passed them by.” He didn’t impose Himself on the disciples but He revealed Himself to them so they knew He was there. It scared the dickens out of them because they thought it was a ghost – after all who walks on water? But they called out to Jesus and He comforted them in the midst of the wind storm by saying: “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid (6:50).” Jesus got in the boat with them and the wind immediately stopped – again scaring them and amazing them that He controlled the wind and waves. So when you’re in a storm, you’re scared, straining at rowing through life – Jesus is nearby and He’s waiting for you to call on Him. The other lesson is no matter what you are going through, Jesus wants you to be of good cheer because of who He is and He commands us to not be afraid! Verse 52 makes a curious statement “For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.” See we can become calloused to the miracles God is working all around us. They had just seen Jesus overcome that huge need to supply food for so many people, yet the disciples are back in a storm and they were insecure once again.  The text continues about Jesus healing and meeting the physical needs of so many people. Again, security comes from Jesus, no matter what we’ve got going on.

The final snapshot I’ll talk about here starts in chapter 7 but it stands in stark contrast to what we’ve seen. The Pharisees, leaders of the religious crowd, were insecure because Jesus was upsetting the status quo. He was not conventional, He was not traditional and rather than trust in Jesus, these people clung to the security of their traditions. One lesson of many coming out of this section is that people, including many religious people and even leaders, can hate change. Rather than acknowledge and embrace the work God is doing, they criticize it and undermine it because their tradition is more comfortable, or their area of control is weakened. Jesus called their number on it in 7:6 saying “This people honors Me with their lips but their heart is far from Me.” Sometimes well meaning people say and do things in church life that are upsetting in some cases because their security is not coming from the Savior, but from some tradition that is comfortable that they control. They appear to be spiritual by paying lip service to Jesus, but their hearts are not trusting and they are good at going through the motions. Their insecurity usually is displayed in the form of fault finding and harsh criticism because they forget Jesus is “Lord of the impossible” and that our security comes from Him, if we’ll trust Him completely by faith. More often than not, what upsets people clinging to tradition is something pretty small in the grand scheme of things. Our challenge as disciples is to remind people to get their eyes off the problem no matter how big, or off the tradition no matter how comfortable, and back on the Savior from where true security comes. I’m not sure what’s going on in your corner of the world today as you read this, but I’m trusting in Jesus by faith for my security,  in my little corner of the world today…

Ralph Green

Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

www.calvarybelair.com

Subscribe to Pastor Ralph's Blog: http://pastorralphgreen.blogspot.com/  

Follow Me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RalphGreen  

Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

Learning to set limits...

One of the responsibilities I have as a Pastor is to shepherd the people of God. Talk of sheep and shepherds often gives us a cuddly view of sheep and the serenity of sheep grazing in lush green pastures from the picture Psalm 23 paints for us may come to mind. A small pond in the middle of the pasture with the heavy morning dew wetting the grass, a light haze and fog lifting above the sheep under the ever watchful eye of a gentle shepherd sitting on the hill with a blade of grass protruding from his lips with his walking stick or shepherd’s crook resting on his shoulder. The leaves of the nearby forest are beginning to change into their myriad of colors, there is a fresh crispness in the air and a cool refreshing breeze is gently blowing. The clock doesn’t matter and it’s a pristine day with bright sun under a cloudless day. Sounds inviting doesn’t it?

With school starting back, I doubt many of us with kids in school have this kind of picture taking place in our homes and lives…the obnoxious alarm clock is going off for the third time which means we’re already late after trying to get 5 more minutes of shut-eye. The mad morning dash is on to get the kids up dressed, fed and to school. The stress going on by the time we begin our drive to work is nearly at max levels because of the wreck/traffic blocking our progress. We finally make it the office and the full court press is in full swing until quitting time and the dash continues to pick up the kids, get homework started and hopefully finished before practice, lessons, recitals or who knows what else. Dinner on the run if we’re lucky, and if not, staring at the pantry at 9 p.m. wondering what to eat because we didn’t quite get to the grocery store, trying  to get the already grumpy kids in bed. You collapse for another run at it tomorrow, started a conversation with your spouse but one or both of you passed out . Sounds more like reality doesn’t it? It’s more a picture of a ravenous pack of wolves scattering the sheep!

The second picture I’ve painted is more like what I hear more and more from the sheep God has entrusted me to shepherd in His pasture land called Bel Air Maryland. I appreciate our Lord’s feelings recorded for us in Matt. 9:36 “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary (harried) and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” In talking with so many of you and people in our community; I know you’re harried and weary and you and your family seem to be scattered all over the place. I know this as it is a challenge for me and my family too.  Added to all of this is the general stress of life, bills and expenses get higher and higher and our hard earned paycheck doesn’t go very far. The reality is all of us are limited in our time, resources and energy. We simply cannot go full speed and sustain that lifestyle for very long. We can’t live on the edge of our limits in any category very long without breaking down and going over the edge. Jesus sensed the same problem going on in the 1^st century culture He lived in also and it bothered Him then and it bothers Him now as He’s watching our lives.  He’s inviting you to step back from the edge and live with limits that you set in the choices you make for yourself and your family. We began a study last night after worship called “Take it to the Limit” and the message of learning to set limits will be a fantastic help to those who come. It spoke to my heart deeply as your shepherd as I’m concerned that my sheep are struggling and seem to be maxed out in nearly all areas of their lives.  Will you ask God to give you wisdom to set limits and how you can build in margin to your time, your finances and your energy? Living without limits and margin is a recipe for disaster.

Let me encourage you once again to make Wednesday nights at Calvary a priority for you and your family. We’ve dubbed it W@C (Wednesdays @ Calvary). We just had our second week with our AWANA  clubs, worship in the sanctuary at 6:15 till 7:10 and then from 7:15 to 8:15, there is a discipleship class, Bible Study or choir for you, a youth Bible study for your teen, while the AWANA club continues till 8:15. Why is this important? “Don’t you know Pastor Ralph we’re busy through the week?” Yes I do and that’s precisely why you need to make W@C a priority because I believe you’ll find it to be just what the doctor ordered. Our staff has identified 4 pillars that support our mission of teaching God’s people very well so they will love Him very much and serve Him very effectively. Those pillars are connect, grow, serve, renew. Each one of those pillars is part of our W@C strategy. Our Wednesday crowd is not so overwhelming and you can actually get to know people so you connect with each other and connect with God through the study of His word. As you connect with God and others in genuine relationship, you’ll grow in your faith (this is making disciplesJ), the growth as a disciple produces a servant heart and there numerous chances to serve with W@C. Personally, I love W@C because on the “hump-day” of the week, I’m renewed and refreshed in my spirit for the remainder of the week. While it’s a chore sometimes (even for the pastor to get back to church on Wednesday), I’m always glad I made it a priority.  I know you’ll have to make some choices elsewhere in your schedule, but that’s part of learning to set limits and a step toward being less weary and scattered. Something to think about from your shepherd’s busy little corner of the world to yours…

Ralph Green

Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

www.calvarybelair.com

Subscribe to Pastor Ralph's Blog: http://pastorralphgreen.blogspot.com/  

Follow Me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RalphGreen  

Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

Mind your tongue...

That’s something I’ve heard several times in my life, maybe not exactly that way but something similar. Maybe it was “Boy, you better watch your mouth” – a warning from my father that I was perilously close to danger; as sobering to me as if I were in the Texas bush and heard the tell-tale warning of a rattlesnake which has made my blood run cold hearing it. You know when you hear a rattlesnake, your first instinct ought to be to freeze, figure out where the critter is and back off from it very slowly! As scary as my dad’s warning was when I was a boy, or that old rattle from that viper shook me in my boots, Jesus issued a warning in Matthew 12:36 that ought to cause all of us to freeze and it really ought to scare the living daylights out of us. He said simply: “But I say to you that every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.” Wow! Every idle word? Is He serious? Yes He is. The Lord is going to hold each of us accountable for our speech some day and I shudder to think about all the stupid things I’ve said in my lifetime that I’ll have to answer for with Jesus. Oh how thankful I am for the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin! Proverbs 21:23 wisely advises “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.” The Apostle James devotes nearly all of chapter 3 of his letter to the difficulty of taming our tongues. We Christians can sometimes be so self righteous thinking we’re not breaking the 10 Commandments but we say pretty much anything and everything we want and sin with a poisonous tongue that spews venom that would make a cobra proud.

The reason I’m bringing this up is that in the last several days, I’ve gotten feedback about some things people have said to others that grieved my heart and if they would grieve my sinful heart that is sometimes calloused to such things, I know it grieves the very heart of God. In one case a lady was having a tough day in her grief and as she’s coming to worship, someone asked her casually how she was doing and she honestly said she was “just leaning on Jesus.” The person she was speaking to simply laughed at her. While that’s not direct speech, the impact of that response spoke volumes to a lady in distress. In another case I was made aware of, a woman who’d been attending church regularly for a lengthy period of time but had yet to join the church was told that if she wasn’t going to join she had no business attending! How in the world can I engage that woman whose no longer attending now?  One of my daughters shared with me several weeks ago of a verbal beating she received from an acquaintance at her church in Texas that really hurt her feelings. Folks, we need to be reminded to mind our tongues. My dad also used to tell me that it was better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you’re a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.  I think that wisdom might come from Proverbs 17:28 “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” The stupidity bug can bite any of us if we’re not carefully minding our tongues.  Sometimes what you’re wanting to say may be correct but the time to say it is not right.  With most people and how they use their tongues, the approach is usually “ready, fire, aim.”

 

Let me encourage you to realize that words have power and words have meaning. What you say, when you say it and how you say it have great impact on people for good or bad. When you come to church or wherever you go; to school, to work, to the gym, the store; people are hurting. Behind the smiles and superficial responses of “I’m fine”, people are really hurting and struggling as they have life and the hardships of it beating on them. I believe if Christians began to mind their tongues, we would see revival break out in short order that would sweep like wild fire when we used our speech to encourage and edify people who are hurting, even if we don’t know they are. We’ve been studying through the Book of Ephesians in worship on Sunday mornings and it addresses this in 4:29 “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” The very next verse in 4:30 warns us not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God in direct context of what we say. (I’ve also heard some questioning of why our Bible Study lessons are now going to be from Ephesians as well this quarter – Hmm, maybe the Lord wants us to study it in depth until we get it right?) Contrary to the children’s’ rhyme “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”; words do bring hurt and heartache to people at home, at work, at school and sadly at church as well. I pray that will not be how you use your tongue. I pray that the word of Christ would dwell in you richly in all wisdom (Col.3:16) and that when you uncoil your tongue to speak, what the hearer hears is a soothing balm of Godly wisdom that edifies and builds up their weary soul, that soothes their heartaches like a bottle of aloe vera cools a sunburn or brings healing to a cut. I think I’ll shut up now, and mind my tongue from my little corner of the world to yours…

Ralph Green

Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

www.calvarybelair.com

Subscribe to Pastor Ralph's Blog: http://pastorralphgreen.blogspot.com/  

Follow Me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RalphGreen  

Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

Lessons from a boat...

Everywhere I’ve lived as an adult, I’ve tried to enjoy the culture and worked to educate myself on the community that I lived in at that time. I’ve looked for local history markers, embraced the local sports teams, and tried to learn how people think in that area. When we were starting a church in New Hampshire, we got ice skates so we could skate in the parking lot of the town post office when they flooded a portion of it and made an ice skating rink. We enrolled our kids in skiing lessons and for six weeks every winter on Friday afternoon, all 7 Greens could be found swooshing down a mountain near Mount Washington. Since I’ve been in Maryland, we’ve taken in the sights, enjoyed the inner harbor on a number of occasions, found the Rocks State Park and I’ve perched myself on the King and Queen seat (but I soon come down as I can tell I make Cheryl nervous hanging out up there). One day in the inner harbor, I saw a number of sailboats and I thought to myself that day I’d like to learn how to sail. I did some checking and found a great sailing school in Havre de Grace. On my vacation last week, I took our daughter Beth and we learned how to sail a 22 foot sailboat. Honestly, I had a ball being on that boat with Beth for 3 days along with our instructor and two other folks learning with us.

I thought about some spiritual applications from that experience of learning to sail. First of all, you can’t just go down to the dock, jump on a sailboat and go. I had to be trained and equipped to do this. I took advantage of a school and the training it offered me to learn this sport. I was excited about getting trained because I wanted to sail. I wondered why more people don’t take advantage of the training classes offered at Calvary to help them be better equipped disciples of Jesus Christ. Could it be we’ve lost our excitement about being disciples? Let me encourage you this fall to sign up for one of our discipleship training classes we’ll offer on Wednesday evenings after worship. You’ll see more about these class topics soon but let me encourage you to take advantage of this training.

I also learned that sailing takes planning ahead and constantly being on the lookout for dangerous situations that can develop quickly. Life is like that also as Satan is constantly laying traps for you but God has given you a manual and an instructor to guide you through life in the Bible and His own Holy Spirit. He’s offered you the safety and security of a church family to help guide you. All of us on that boat were alert and pointed out danger as we saw it as we were all quite literally “in the same boat”. We studied the manual, learned “the rules of the road” for safe boating and how to get out of the way of trouble when it was looming. We started our day in class before heading out on the water to sail. I must spend time in the Bible each morning before I head out as it shows me principles needed to navigate away from the snares of the devil.

I learned it takes a team of at least two people to operate that sailboat but there was the support of the marina crew we needed. We witnessed a number of boats come to the aid of a little Hobie Cat that overturned. People rearranged their plans to get involved for a pressing need. It takes lots of people to serve in the ministries of Calvary. Many of you have said you’ll serve in some way and we’re thankful for that. Some are still considering it but let me encourage you to get involved. If you’re not yet a member, let me encourage you to commit to joining Calvary and get to work with us as there is a pressing need to reach our community for Christ.

To get certified in sailing we had to successfully complete a “man overboard” recovery drill on the water. If we didn’t do it correctly our “victim” (in this case a life jacket) would drown. As we go about our lives, we need to remember people will die and go to hell apart from Jesus Christ and we must do everything we can to share with them the Gospel – God’s provision for salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. You may be the only one who can get to that friend, co-worker or loved one in time with the good news that Jesus made provision for their sin. In order to reach my "victim" in that drill, I was intentional with a proven plan to reach him. Be intentional in your relationships with a proven plan in order to reach them. (Hmm, "becoming a Christian is as simple as ABC..." comes to mind).

One final thought for now at least. I also learned that while I’m able to sail a small boat, I still have much to learn and even though I made mistakes and was downright overwhelmed at times, patient and faithful perseverance pays off in the end. The more I learn as a disciple of Jesus Christ, the more I know there’s more to learn. I know when I make mistakes, the Lord patiently guides me back to the truth and patient, faithful perseverance in walking with God daily will pay off no matter how overwhelmed I am. In the Gospels, I see that Jesus was comfortable in a boat no matter what storm was raging. Even though His disciples were scared and overwhelmed, Jesus brought peace to them. He does that for you and me too when we trust Him by faith no matter the storm is going on in our life. I thought you’d enjoy just a few lessons from a boat, from my little corner of the world to yours…

  Pastor Ralph Green
Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church
  www.calvarybelair.com

Posted via email from Pastor Ralph

The power of a vision...

This year is another big year in the Green household as we travelled with our youngest daughter and middle child Beth down to tour Liberty University in June and are making plans for her to head off to college this fall. We’re also seeing our oldest son Ralph headed to High School this year as a freshman. Cheryl and I have always had, as most parents do, dreams and hopes for our children in how they will turn out. We’ve been intentional in our parenting to raise them to love Jesus with all they have and to serve Him all of their days. While this is still an active process and we’re at a very different stage at this point in our lives, where we are today in our relationships with all of our children began as a dream, a vision if you will, that burned in our hearts from before they were born. That vision for what we wanted them to become has meant we’ve had to make some tough choices along the way that were not popular with them at the time but the vision helped shape what we said yes or no to. If we felt like what they wanted to do would help them in line with our vision, we said yes. If we felt like it would prevent them from becoming what we envisioned, we said no and stuck to our guns no matter how much whining or belly aching followed. Cheryl and I have parented with the end goal in mind, the vision of what we desire them to be. (This is not to suggest that as parents we always made or make the correct choice!)

As we walked around the vast campus at Liberty University, I could not but help to reflect back 28 years ago when I was a freshman student on that very campus. I remembered going to Thomas Road Baptist Church and hearing Jerry Falwell casting his vision for a world class university that would someday have more than 50,000 students enrolled. I remembered singing the little jingle they had developed “I want that mountain” referring to the mountain in Lynchburg that has become “Liberty Mountain.”  I walked through a huge building that used to be an electronics manufacturing plant which now houses the new Thomas Road Baptist Church  and also the student center. Driving by the huge football stadium now on campus, I had a flashback to being at an LU football game at the old Lynchburg City stadium 28 years ago and to my delight as a freshman student, there was Dr. Falwell standing on top of a concrete dugout in front of a few thousand fans urging them to get fired up to root Liberty on to victory. As I saw the myriad of changes there that have taken place in 28 years, one thing kept coming to my mind, this is all the result of the power of a vision that burned in Dr. Falwell’s soul and caused him to wake up every day and go to work to see that vision fulfilled. By the way, Liberty University now has close to 60,000 students enrolled worldwide including their online students!

You may be sitting there reading this and thinking ”so what Pastor Ralph, what does that have to do with me or Calvary?” Quite frankly, everything. Part of Proverbs 29:18 says: “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” This is true for your life and family personally, and for our church corporately. We must live personally and corporately with the end goal in mind, the vision of what God wants us to be and what we want to be. The people who find joy and contentment in life are those who desire that their hopes and dreams align with God’s dreams for them. People who resist God’s plans for them find themselves to be miserable.  Last night, I met once again with our vision team members. God is drawing us together and He’s speaking to each of us about what the future of Calvary Baptist Church. We are having a great time together just dreaming and asking God what He wants to do here at Calvary, what He wants to do in Harford County, this region and the world. We’re working through our personal devotions and study of God’s Word, exercises, selected books, even some sermon CD’s to help us clarify a fresh vision for Calvary, how we can help people encounter God and experience life change. How can we fulfill our mission statement your staff has identified “Teach my people very well, so they will love me very much and serve me very effectively.” That’s making disciples, that’s fulfilling the Great Commission in the context of Calvary Bel Air Maryland.  When I begin dreaming what God wants to do in us and through us to reach this community, our region and the world; I see much of what God has in mind for us and it fans my flame. It’s exciting and it’s scary but it’s all good because God is the author of it! You’ll be hearing more as we pray and develop a fresh vision we believe God has for us.

I’m thrilled to tell you under Dr. Carter’s leadership, a number of folks from Calvary worked on a “Strategic Action Plan” several years ago. In looking through those notes and that plan, they dreamed with God and much of what they envisioned has been implemented and is already in place. That vision and plan has gotten us to where we are today. Pray for us as a staff, pray for us as a vision team and pray for us as a church family, that we’ll have the courage to embrace God’s vision for Calvary. Maybe 28 years from now, someone will be strolling through Bel Air Maryland and they’ll see the reality of the power of a vision, that transferred from God to my little corner of the world and to yours…

Ralph Green

Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

www.calvarybelair.com

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Posted via email from Pastor Ralph