Inspiration from O'Connor

            What can a Baptist preacher learn from a female, Roman Catholic, Southern fiction writer? A lot.

For several years now, I have enjoyed the writings of Flannery O’Connor. She was born in Savannah, GA in 1925, and lived only 39 years. Her novels and short stories can be dark and even shocking. Yet, through them all there are threads of truth that resonate with me and reveal something of O’Connor’s faith, which she took very seriously.

I recently found a prayer journal of hers that was discovered after her death and published in 2013. The journal was written during her time at the University of Iowa, where she studied writing as a young woman. The handful of handwritten pages reveals a young woman struggling with who she was and how she related to God. Glimpses of her inimitable writing style bleed through the private prayers.

There was a particular line that reminded me of what it is I love about her stories, and also pointed me to a truth that I needed to hear. At the close of one of her journal entries, she wrote:

“Give me the grace to be impatient for the time when I shall see You face to face and need no stimulus than to adore You. Give me the grace, dear God, to see the bareness and the misery of the places where You are not adored but desecrated.”

Read that paragraph again if you didn’t quite get it. I read it a few times the first time I came across it. Flannery knew that while she was in this world she was limited in her ability to worship God the way she should. She longed for the day when “face to face”, she would see Christ as He is and worship Him as she should.

She also realized that the world she lived in was a broken, fallen, and often “barren” and “miserable” place. What made it so was not simply that sin abounds, though it does. It was not so much the presence of sin, but the absence of a recognition of God that can make the world such a malignant and miserable place.

That girl was on to something.

When you drive past a crime-ridden, run-down, drug-infested neighborhood; when you see a horrifying news report about some heinous crime; when you hear of some new atrocity committed by terrorists in the Middle East; do you see the real problem with all of that sin? It is not just that men are doing awful things to one another. Humanity at its worst is doing something awful to God. By not glorifying Him as God and “desecrating” Him, rather than “adoring” Him, men commit the greatest sin.

If the “chief end of man” really is to glorify God, the chief sin of man is to ignore Him and refuse Him what He is rightfully due. Flannery O’Connor prayed for grace to see her world that way. Lord, grant me the same grace.

Reflections on the First Year

            Yesterday I celebrated my first year as pastor of Sharon Heights Baptist Church. Here are some of my thoughts on this first anniversary.

Providence is powerful

            Providence is one of my favorite terms. It speaks of the unseen but undeniable hand of God guiding our paths. In Wendell Berry’s novel, Jayber Crow, the main character says, “I am an ignorant pilgrim, crossing a dark valley. And yet for a long time, looking back, I have been unable to shake off the feeling that I have been led – make of that what you will.”

            Looking back over this past year, I cannot shake off the feeling that I have been led. It was God who connected me with the people of Sharon Heights. I have seen His big hand in little ways nearly every week of this past year. I bless His providence!

Pastoring is a privilege

            The people of Sharon Heights have been so kind to express their gratitude for my ministry. The reality is, however, I am the one who must be grateful. It is a great privilege to pastor anywhere, and the ministry is something I do not deserve. The privilege of ministry is greatly increased when you are blessed to pastor a people who love you, support you, pray for you, and share your love for Jesus. I am doubly blessed and I am grateful.

Preaching is paramount

            After a year of preaching to these gracious people, I am more convinced than ever that successive Biblical exposition is the greatest thing a pastor can do for his congregation. The majority of the Sundays this past year (34 to be exact) were spent preaching through the gospel of John.

            One of the values that we adopted early on is this: We value exposition over entertainment. Working through books of the Bible may not always be the most exciting method of preaching, but I do believe it is the most edifying to the people who hear it.

            My prayer is that when my ministry here is finished the people of this congregation will have grown in their love for the Word of God, their knowledge of its message, and most of all, their devotion to Jesus, about whom all Scripture speaks.

            Well, that’s enough reflection. Year two is underway, Sunday is coming, and John 15 needs to be studied. “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.” I Timothy 1:12

His,

Terry

The Valley

Deep in the valley, exceedingly low,

The way is hard; the progress is slow,

Deep in the valley, exceedingly rough,

You’ll find that your own strength is not enough,

Deep in the valley, exceedingly faint,

Shadows can blind the eyes of a saint,

But,

Up in the heavens, exceedingly high,

Nothing is hidden from God’s sovereign eye,

Up in the heavens, exceedingly stable,

Nothing has changed with Him, who is able,

Up in the heavens, exceedingly true,

Nothing has stopped Christ praying for you,

So,

On through the valley, exceedingly long,

Do not forget to Whom you belong,

On through the valley, exceedingly frail,

Do not fear, His Word will not fail,

On through the valley, exceedingly clear,

The valley will vanish and heaven appear.

At 36

At 36

On this day, 36 years ago, in the fading disco lights of the ‘70’s, I was born. While I am not fond of naval-gazing blog posts, I do wish to record a few things I’m starting to learn.

1. Life is fast. I know the cliché is that “life is short”, but “fast” seems to be the better term for me. I’m struck by how quickly my days are moving, my kids are growing, and my life is passing. The problem is that I seem to be moving slower.

2. Coffee is good. At 36, my affection for coffee is great. I drink it as black as a Baptist deacon’s heart and as strong as pre-haircut Samson.

3. My wife is wonderful. I married a good woman and each year I realize how blessed I am to spend my life with her. (Perhaps I should have mentioned this before coffee)

4. My children need a better dad. Parenting is something we learn on the job. The ones raising the children are still growing themselves. I want to be a better dad than I am.

5. Jesus is glorious. I love Him. He is better than I know, but what I know of Him is better than anything else I know.

6. God is faithful. I am not always faithful. I have often been foolish. He, however, has never failed to be just who He declares Himself to be. Great is His faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

I suppose this list should be longer, but hey, I’m only 36.

His,

Terry

A Romans 7 Requiem

Stragglers, strugglers, and sinners are we all,

Ever since the first, great fall,

Theologians call it depravity,

A curse afflicting both you and me,

I need no preacher to diagnose my condition,

I know too well my predisposition,

I too often do what I wish I would not,

I too often find that I hate what I’ve got,

“Who shall deliver me,” I join in the cry,

Will this body of death be mine till I die?

Then I look to a cross and a death far away,

To the words of a gospel I need every day,

Save me, Jesus! For you alone can,

Forgive what I’ve done and create a new man,

I thank my God that Your life I can claim,
That what I am and will be are not the same.