Just look at these two cutie pies who entertained me until the sanctuary filled up. I learned, later, that they are brought to church by their neighbors, who are members there. I spoke with the man after the morning service and was touched by his heart toward ministry. He said that he and his wife had been on a foreign missions trip and they were excited about the ministry that had been done there, but when he returned home, he was convicted about the unchurched children in his own community. Now, these two kids are being blessed by that couple. It was sweet to see the little one waiting for the woman to hold her hand and walk her to children’s church, after enjoying the praise service in the sanctuary.

This is Benjy making his way from the pastor’s house back over to the church for evening worship. I love the unusual features we find at the churches we visit. For instance, the bell tower just above Benjy’s head. Isn’t that interesting? Here’s a close up:

I love this old bell tower. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen another one like it. It is still used to call the Sunday school classes to the sanctuary for worship service. This old church is filled with character and nuances of a bygone era. You can get a glimpse of it’s charm in the pics I took when we visited in December of last year.

Pastor Slowey told us about all renovations that have been made in the last 18 months … and he mentioned that he hopes to add a white picket fence around the front and side yards. I think that will really add a special quality to the building and grounds. Not only is the facility coming to life again, but the congregation is coming to life as well. In fact, the Sunday morning service was started with two baptisms. What a blessing to celebrate their special day with them!

On His Exciting Journey,

Last Tuesday, McKenzie and I dropped by to check on our good friend, Fran Gerhart, from Harmony Baptist Church. She is recovering from breast cancer surgery. Doesn’t she look great! Keep her in your prayers, though. She still has radiation and chemo ahead of her.

Thursday evening, Benjy sang at the annual Widow’s Banquet, hosted by the deacons of Roseland Park Baptist Church. I love how those deacons treat the widows in their congregation to a meal and entertainment every autumn. Scripture says, “Religion [worship] that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Benjy wasn’t the only one who sang at the banquet. We heard some songs from the Big Band Era, performed by Bro. Roy Gjertsen. Not only did Bro. Roy do a great job singing … he kept us laughing too. What a funny guy!

And these two young ladies did a fantastic job with some praise songs. They have the sweetest harmony … and sweet hearts to match! I love to see young people lead in sincere worship.

Visiting our sick friend and ministering to the widow’s this week seemed to be part of a theme God is using to speak to me about the ‘Law of Love.’ Through Scripture and ministers and conversations with godly friends, the theme of ‘love your neighbor’ has come up time and again, lately. If you are walking with the Lord, I’m sure you know how God, often, teaches that way. So when I recognize a theme surfacing, I start paying attention because I know I’m about to learn a very special lesson. I’ve written two short articles [ What Is The Law Of Love? and Why Is The Law Of Love So Important? ] about what God has taught me about loving my neighbor so far, but I have a feeling the lesson is far from finished. In fact, I think it will be a life long process of learning.

On His Exciting Journey,

Our table is dressed and ready for the season … bring on the flavors of autumn!

Benjy, McKenzie, and I were privileged to have dinner, last week, with Ms. Frankie and part of the mission’s team she hosted this summer. It was a blessing to hear her tell the team about the effects of their work in the Chinese town where she lives 6 months each year. Ms. Frankie has served the Lord as a missionary to China for many years, and she is encouraging and inspiring many others to reach out to the Chinese with the love of the Lord.

Speaking of reaching out to others with the love of the Lord … McKenzie and I had an opportunity, last week, to minister to a new friend who had fallen out her back door and broken her nose so badly that it needed corrective surgery. I cooked a pot of homemade soup and McKenzie baked a batch of brownies, and we had the sweetest visit when we delivered our little care package.

Scripture teaches that we should take every opportunity to do good for others, especially to those who are of the household of faith (Gal 6:10). Our family sees this as an important way of picturing God’s love, even in small ways, to the world around us. We often refer to it as the ‘law of love’ or ‘law of Christ’:  Love God and love your neighbor … ALL the law hangs on this (Mat 22:36-40).

Stationed outside our front door.
Not really the strongest security guards … but certainly the most fashionable!

Coming Up Next

Benjy has enjoyed worshiping with the congregation at Goodyear Baptist Church here in Picayune several Sundays this month as he filled in as music minister there. Next on our calendar is a mid-week event … the annual Widow’s Banquet which is sponsored by the deacons of Roseland Park Baptist Church. They’ve invited Benjy to sing for the banquet several years now, and it is always a sweet pleasure to spend that time with them.

On His Exciting Journey,

The stories of lives that have been touched by Debra’s example were wonderful, but they really seemed to be secondary in this book, as it’s focus was more on Ron and his rocky relationship with his father. Maybe the stories are better suited for an interactive blog-type of media, where the emails and letters could be regularly updated, and those who are looking for a sense of direction about how to reach out to their community could find examples and encouragement.

Pearls of Wisdom

All of that being said, there were some pearls of wisdom in this book. One such pearl was found in Denver’s dialogue about helping the poor and needy.

But when you reachin out to folks, ’specially if you just reachin out when other folks expects it, you got to ask yourself – is you doin it for God, or is you doin it for you? The things you do for nothin is the things you keep forever … If you doin it for somethin, you already done got paid. God don’t pay no overtime.

Well said, Denver! Further over in the book, Denver offers a profound insight to those of us who are suspicious about what is done with ‘our’ blessings once we have handed them over to a needy person.

I was sho ‘nough happy to hear that story ’cause it shows that even if you bless some needy person just a little bit, God might use other folks down the line to weave your little gift into a bigger blessin. And if you bless folks, you gon’ get the blessin back, no matter what they does with the money. So you give the gift with no strings attached, and let God take care a’ business on the other end.

I plan to keep Denver’s ’sermons’ in mind as I try to live by the law of love … “He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know Me?” says the LORD” (Jer 22:16 NLT).

On His Exciting Journey,

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This is my personal review of What Difference Do It Make?: Stories of Hope and Healing, written by Ron Hall and Denver Moore and published by Thomas Nelson.

It was when he treated Denver Moore to a cup of coffee at Starbucks that he got his second lesson about the law of love. He couldn’t have bought a better education from an ivory league collage. No, what he was about to learn from this new found friend was far more than head knowledge … it sunk deep down into his soul. What he got from Starbucks that day was about to change more than just his life, it was going to change a community!

In this true story of Debra and Ron Hall, we see a beautiful example of God’s love received and funneled through to those who are often considered untouchable … the homeless. Because we receive God’s blessings, a river of blessings should flow from us, and that is exactly the kind of life Debra Hall lived. Same Kind of Different As Me is an amazing story of a woman whose tender heart understood that caring for the poor and needy is how we show the love of Christ. I consider myself blessed to have learned this lesson from the beautiful testimony of Debra Hall’s life.

On His Exciting Journey,

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This is my personal review of Same Kind of Different As Me, written by Ron Hall and Denver Moore and published by Thomas Nelson.

Last week, we were in revival with New Palestine Baptist Church, one of the oldest churches in our area. It’s a beautiful old church, and I just loved walking around the grounds and enjoying the remnants of handiwork done by congregations from days gone by. Over the years, there have been a number of improvements to the buildings, but the congregation has been careful to leave the good craftsmanship of men from yesteryear when it was possible.

This is a new steeple … it was added after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the original steeple which housed an old fashioned church bell. The new steeple doesn’t have a bell, but it does have a modern broadcast system, which plays chimes every hour. I was at a graveside ceremony at New Palestine recently, and I heard the chimes playing a beautiful chorus at the noon hour. It was such a sweet addition to the ceremony.

This is the old fashioned church bell which used to live in the original steeple. From what I understand, Hurricane Katrina destroyed that steeple and tossed the bell into the ditch several blocks down the street. I took this picture when we were in revival there in the fall of 2007, before the bell was mounted and put on display at the entrance of the church office. I noticed the initials C.J.O. inscribed on the side of it. Wouldn’t you love to know the story behind those initials?

Update 10/8/09: Brother Harlen Henegar, a friend from Central Baptist Church in McNeill, MS, answered my question about the initials:

“I thought you would want to know that the initials CJO cast into the bell from Palestine Church are the trademark for The Judd Company.  The high end antique market continues to carry many of their door stops, novelty banks, and other small statuary.  They were well known for their high quality castings in iron, bronze, and architectural work for buildings (mostly exported to Europe).”

I love the simple, yet beautiful, stained glass windows in this sanctuary. The colors were arranged in a pattern of red, blue, yellow, blue, red.

A close up of one of the beautiful stained glass windows.

In the typical fashion of the 1800’s, there was a balcony in the back. I don’t know if it was the case for this particular church, but balconies of that day were generally designated sections for blacks, and they were often referred to as the ‘Buzzard’s Roost’.

As I mentioned in another post, I just LOVE the mossy old oaks in the parking lot of New Palestine. They add a certain charm to the place. And the cemetery of this old church is huge, for our area. It’s interesting to look at the older headstones and wonder about the people who once walked these grounds and raised their families in this area. What would they think of our world today? I’m sure they would marvel at the advances in our technology, but I think they would be disappointed by the decay of personal responsibility and the lack of respect for God, His Word, and His sanctuary. Come to think of it … I’m disappointed about those things too!

On His Exciting Journey,

If you’ve never heard Dr. Argile Smith preach, you’ve really missed a treat. He has a preaching style that is unique among ministers … he is a story teller. Brother Argile jokingly declares that his voice is the “Walmart garden variety,” because he is more soft spoken than most, but when he begins to weave a story, the congregation becomes hushed. I love listening to the way this man delivers the gospel. Brother Argile currently serves as senior pastor of First Baptist Biloxi, where he also teaches ministry courses on Thursday evenings as an extension of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Benjy warming up with the choir before Sunday evening worship.

Bro. Argile and Benjy were invited by Pastor Philip Caples to lead the congregation of New Palestine Baptist Church in revival last week. What a great revival team they were! It was a great week of singing and preaching and worshipping, and a few souls were added to the Kingdom in the process.

New Palestine is located in Picayune, MS, and is one of the oldest churches in the area. The sign out front indicates that the church was established in 1898. I love the ‘feel’ of this old church, with moss covered oak trees in the parking lot. I try to get a good pic every time we visit, but I just can’t capture the feel of it with my camera.

One of the many benefits of visiting the number of churches we do, is that we get to see so many creative ways of ‘doing’ ministry. This is one of my favorites … a very creative way to report the progress of the Margret Lackey State Missions offering. Looks like they are well on their way to reaching their goal!

On His Exciting Journey,

I’m writing a negative review for my latest Thomas Nelson book review project. While I appreciated the point of the book, which was that we should make an effort to live a more meaningful life by making choices that challenge us, the author calls it ‘living a better story’, I have to ask a few questions.

Although the meat of the book was insightful, and it inspired me to live a better story by ‘pointing to the horizon’ and overcoming some obstacles to get there, I just can’t neglect mentioning the fact that some of the content in this book is inappropriate, and it should have been edited out. If the writer wasn’t mature enough to know better, then the editor of Thomas Nelson, a Christian publishing company, should have taken care of it.

Keeping it real,

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This is my personal review of A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life, written by Donald Miller and published by Thomas Nelson.

I love the mission statement at Oak Hill Baptist Church … “Knowing, Growing, Going In The Love Of Our Lord.” In keeping with that mission focus, Pastor Ed King preached a motivating morning sermon titled “Going For The Greatest,” using Mark 10:35-45 as his reference. And in the evening services, Bro. Ed is teaching his congregation how to study their Bible.

Benjy has lead music and even preached at Oak Hill Baptist a couple times over the years, but this was the first time he served alongside Pastor Ed. We appreciated his heart toward helping his congregation focus on a personal Bible study time, as it has become obvious, in recent years, that believers are neglecting that critical part of their relationship with the Lord.

What a blessing it is to have dedicated musicians like Jo Lynn Davis! Music is such an important part of the worship service.

We love traveling from congregation to congregation, meeting our partners in ministry and our fellow believers. Our family has a large and divers collection of friends because of the way we do ministry, and that has proven to be a sweet blessing to us! Regardless of where we worship, we find precious people with tender hearts toward the Lord.

On His Exciting Journey,

Several months later, she had an allergic reaction to dust, which set off a mild case of asthma, for which two asthma inhalers were prescribed. Apparently, the strength of the meds was too strong or conflicting or who knows what, but it landed us in the ER late one evening with her having a severe panic attack. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I seriously considered lying on the bed beside her and having a panic attack of my own!

Fears! EVERYBODY has them … health concerns, financial woes, fear of not mattering, fear of overwhelming challenges, fear of violence, fear of really trusting God with your life … the list could go on and on. These days, there are PLENTY of opportunities to fall into the pit of despair because of fear. I know I’ve been wrestling with it, and I’m thinking you are too. That’s why the timing of Max Lucado’s new book, Fearless, couldn’t be better. With soothing words and insightful wisdom, based on the solid principles of Scripture, Max offers encouragement and strategies for combating some of our most common fears. For instance, this rousing encouragement is given in the chapter titled “What If Things Get Worse?”

Avoid Pollyanna optimism. We gain nothing by glossing over the brutality of human existence. This is a toxic world. But neither do we join the Chicken Little chorus of gloom and doom. “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” Somewhere between Pollyanna and Chicken Little, between blind denial and blatant panic, stands the levelheaded, clear-thinking, sill-believing follower of Christ. Wide eyed, yet unafraid … Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

That’s powerful stuff! Stuff you would hear the coach say in the locker room before you faced your most fierce rival. Oh, wait … that IS who we are facing! Thanks for the pep talk, Coach Max!

On His Exciting Journey,

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This is my personal review of Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear, written by Max Lucado and published by Thomas Nelson.