Nobody Visited

Maybe I should pause here and explain a few things going on to those who may not be aware. I've been an elder in my church for 9 years. I can think of no greater honor or higher responsibility. We choose elders for 3 year term, and they must get an 80% approval vote by the congregation to take office. Yes, that is a fairly high standard. This election I failed to get 80%.

That was mid-November. The Sunday following Thanksgiving the elders voted to ask the Preacher for his resignation. I was out of town for Thanksgiving and was unable to make it back in time for the meeting. Last night the board voted to accept his resignation.

There are a lot of hurt people in our church right now. Lots of misunderstandings. And it has caused me to set back and kind of reflect on things and go through some of what I've written since taking the office of elder. 9 years ... it really does not seem that long.

Here is a communion meditation I used 4-29-99:

I read a magazine article this week that had one sentence that really jumped out and grabbed me. The March/April Christian Reader had an article titled “House Fire!” It was written by a lady in Tennessee about a tragedy that struck their family about 25 years ago. Their house caught fire in the middle of the night. Both parents were injured trying to rescue their children. They lost one child in the blaze.

Let me quote one paragraph, written in her own words: ”I stayed in the hospital eight days and had eight units of blood. Not one church member as I recall visited me. An unbelieving friend of mine come by the hospital to sit with me while the family all went to the funeral.”

That one sentence, “Not one church member as I recall visited me.” Has really hit a soft spot the last couple days. As I looked over the prayer list from last week I saw 5 people in the hospital. I saw eight more in nursing homes. I didn’t count the “Family and Friends” list. How many of these could say not one church member visited me?

We had at least two folks in the congregation in the hospital this week. One had heart catheterization, another had surgery. How many of these could say not one church member visited me?

We have elderly folks who have trouble getting around the house. Not just getting to church, but getting to the kitchen table at times. How many of these could say not one church member visited me?

Before somebody thinks I am getting boastful of what I have done, I have to admit I didn’t go either. But that doesn’t make it right.

We have a nice building. We have a missions program that is fantastic for a church this size. We just had a great Ladies Night. Folks, it doesn’t mean a thing if we lose sight of the basics.
In Matthew chapter 22 Jesus was asked, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus replied: " `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

We can’t let our successes and our programs get in the way on the basics, Loving God and each other. This is one of the reasons we partake in the Lord’s Supper, or communion, every week

Communion is basic . The why of communion has not changed over the centuries, and will not change. The bread is to remind us of Jesus body, the juice is to remind us of his blood. We take part in this ceremony to remember, to honor, Jesus and His sacrifice for us. We do it in remembrance of Him. Let us also love each other, in remembrance of Him.

WUCC Revival 2007

Well, Y'all missed it. We just finished holding Revival meetings for the church.
First 2 nights Kevin Brimner spoke,
the last 2 nights Chuck McNeely spoke.

Our music was all done in house. We had a women's quartet the first night, conventional church music the second night, our contemporary group the third night, and the last night we had ... well sorta Bluegrass. If you were a purist the left handed electric bass guitar was out of place, but we really don't care. There was a bass fiddle and banjo and a mandolin and an acoustic guitar. Same guys had our special at church today, but Steve traded his banjo for a keyboard and Michael traded his mandolin for a sax. Big Daddy Weave better look over his shoulder !

But back to the message. Our theme was "If we are the body..." For those unfamiliar with it, that is a Casting Crowns song. You can hear it on at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44dzm71TKF8&feature=related

CASTING CROWNS LYRICS

"If We Are The Body"

It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in trying to fade into the faces
The girl's teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgemental glances
Tells him that his chances are better out on the road

Jesus payed much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ

Jesus is the way

Kevin and Chuck did an excellent job developing the theme ... but it sure was hard on my shoe shine. They just walked all over my toes.

20th anniversary

Lest you think I am tooting my own horn, I am not. But when you have been involved in a project as long as I have you do talk about it. We had an open house this evening at the West Union Library in celebration of 20 years of service.


A Reading Center was started in 1985 by the West Union Merchants Association with donated items. The Wabash-Embarras Public Library Service started bringing a mobile unit twice weekly in November of 1985. York Township passed the levy for taxes to support a library in November of 1986. A grant was approved for one year until funding was received from the township. The library is located beside the Post Office. The library has always offered a summer reading program and the use of four public computers. In 1991 the library began a Summer Story Hour and became a member of LTLS. The library became the West Union District Library in 1993. In 1995 WUDL purchased the building, nearly doubling floor space. WUDL participated in an expansion grant and has annexed two thirds of Melrose Township into the library district. The library owns eight computers and seven offer high speed Internet. I've been a part of this endeavor since the get go. I was a trustee of the library from the beginning up until this summer, when I assumed the duties of the Assistant Fire Chief and decided there were only so many meetings one could attend in a month.

It was nice being honored. But even nicer to think back 20+ years ago to what we started with and look at what we have now. We struggled may years with a tax income of about $1000 a month to cover staff, inventory, building and grounds, capital purchases, and anything else that needed done. We had fundraisers, we applied for grants, we begged and pleaded ... and took whatever we could get to make it work.

To all who helped ... by donating time or money or books or oil wells (Yes! The library has a very small interest in an oil well somebody inherited and donated. It isn't much, but every little bit helps) I say thank you, and keep up the good work.

OK, so it's been to long

I know, I know, if I'm gonna do this I need to keep current. Why should this be any better than my desk? Anyway, here is a combine update. We got an axle extension from a guy down the road 20 miles as long as we guaranteed to replace it as soon as possible. Got her up and going in about 24 hours

Now the trick is finding the sheet metal. It is not available from a salvage yard I have found yet. The door is about $950, not counting other shields and hardware.

Here is another of my favorite photos


Gotta run. I'll try and keep it more current.

That was ... Interesting

Machinery breaks, right. Well. when I break it I do a good job of it.
I was turning the end west of the barn when all the sudden the right
side made a noise and lurched. See the attached photos for the end result. Seems the axle extension broke. (that is a factory part that came with the combine when new. It isn't some shade tree stuf that was added, it is OEM)

Oh, did I mention it was about 4:30 ? And that there are no 6" axle
extensions anyplace in the country? If I understood Stan correctly they
are on national back order.

I think I'll try and go to bed and sleep now. Yaaa, right.

Response to Ault

Ault said:

Your comments on church attendance it something I had not really thought about before. I don't really like small talk at church or maybe I am not good at it.We have had ministers who have said we should enter the church ready for worship in a reverent mode and be ready to listen. I am not disagreeing with you, it is something I need to think about. Church is about fellowship.

I guess it is a difference of perspective? The approach Ault mentions is what I often hear called a "High Church" way of doing things. This viewpoint considers the church building to be a sanctuary, a Holy Place. I can't say it is wrong, because it is the way the Israelites treated the temple. However, the Temple was designed as a place for God to reside. Under the new covenant God through the Holy Spirit is residing in us.

I come from a viewpoint more of a "we are the body" (It's a Casting Crowns song. click on the link for the lyrics) point of view. Perhaps we should be more ... reverent ... when we enter the church building. But to my way of thinking the building is JUST a building. WE are the church and the building is only important because we are meeting there.

Perhaps the difference is also because I am a part of a Restoration Movement church (or as a dear elderly Baptist neighbor lady calls us, "Campbellites"). We do not hold anyone more reverent than others. In fact, preachers in our churches generally object to the title "Reverend". That really confuses newspaper editors and funeral directors. So we start out a bit irreverent.

Anyway, I need to wrap this up. I'm reading through the Bible in 6 months with a group at church and I'm 12 pages behind. Ault, feel free to look up the church home page at www.wucc.us or drop me an email at XmwayneX@firehousemail.Xcom (remove all the X's first) It's a throwaway address I use which will forward to my real address.

[edit the next morning: I've been pondering on this and I guess the difference between what you describe and what I am striving for is the basic definition of "church". Is the "church" a Holy Place where one goes to worship the One True God , or is the church those who believe Jesus is the Christ and accept Him as their Savior? I suppose both could be true. But when we look at the example in the Book of Acts we find the believers gathered together to share with each other.

I suppose part of the problem many have with this concept is the fact they never had a good family background to base it on. So may families are fragmented and broken and disfunctional that people don't grasp what they should have enough to try and attain it.

My problem with the other viewpoint is it tends to lead to "temple worship" The building is Holy, everything we do in it must be quiet and reverent and how dare you smile or tell a joke! Nothing wrong with coming together with the attitude of worship, but one must be careful of WHAT he is worshipping.

Anyway, I need to run. By the way, I switched back to my OEM keyboard with wires and my trackball. I hate the wires but it just works so much better.

Oh, and here is what we'll be doing today:]

September 10

I don't feel too inspired right now, but felt I should add something since it has been so long since I posted. I told you I was not very good at this.

Right now we are setting in anticipation. The beans are not quite ripe, corn could be harvested but why pay to dry it when nature will do it? So we wait. The last week or two has been a bit rough on Dad with Aunt Jean's problems. Surgery is tomorrow. More waiting, and he is not gifted at that.

Hopefully I have caught all the typos. I bought a wireless keyboard / mouse system at Wal-Mart for a very good price. I really like it, except the keyboard does NOT have the touch I would like. The keys are too stiff, especially the space bar. Nobody has made a keyboard that compares to the old click click IBM keyboards.

I'm joined a new class at church going through the Bible in 180 days. Problem is this means read 6 pages a day, every day. I'm not that disciplined ... as you can tell by how often I post updates. I better get to reading.