The Things We Don't See

Christian Perspectives Article for the New Castle Courier-Times - June 12, 2010

I just got my new issue of Discover Magazine and the theme for the month is the Invisible Planet - The Science We Don't See. It got me thinking; What are the things we don't see in our world?

Have we witnessed the selfless acts of our community's first responders?

Do we think about the positive effects of the various food pantries, the Westminster Community Center, the Christian Love Help Center, Cradles, the Henry County Pregnancy Care Center, and other similar groups?

On the flip side, do we see the damage that drug abuse does to our community or is it invisible to us?

Do we appreciate the destruction that broken families leave in the emotional lives of our children?

Are we aware of the loneliness experienced by our neighbors?

Do we perceive the quality of educators we are losing to cutbacks and retirements?

Do we notice the vacuum created by lost economic opportunities?

Howard Hendricks, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, said something at a conference I attended a few years ago that has haunted me ever since. He said, "It's not enough to see a problem. It's not even enough to be able to articulate the problem. What are you going to do to solve the problem?"

There are a lot of issues that emerge in communities. Some are very visible; some are relatively hidden. Oftentimes we pride ourselves in being able to see these issues and talk about them. But the real question is, "What are we going to do about them?"

James 4:17 reads: Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

What can you do about the issues you know about? Do you have a problem with something happening on a national level? Have you offered a solution? Have you contacted your representatives? For instance, many people are concerned about the oil spill in the gulf. Do you have the ability to offer your time or services to resolve the issue?

Have you noticed our economic hardships? Have you offered to be part of a delegation to secure new businesses for Henry County? Can you help re-train someone who is out of work? Are you able to teach a new job skill? Are you doing what you can to make Henry County appealing to prospective businesses?

Do you appreciate our local heroes; our first responders? Have you told them or shown them in a tangible way? Have you encouraged them or prayed for them?

Maybe one of the invisible things in our community is our identity. When you look in the mirror do you see part of the answer to many of these issues? Don't wait for the President, or Congress to do something. Stop depending on the state or local government to "take care of it." Be part of the solution even if your church is not mobilizing. You and I can be agents of grace, healing, encouragement, and restoration. "We The People" can make a difference, and if you are a Christian you are an ambassador of the Kingdom of God. See the issues and talk about them, but don't stop there. Do something!

Any questions or comments? Email me at curt@smdcog.org

You can find me on FACEBOOK at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719). Here's a link to my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/) Thanks for reading!

Quorum Sensing, Bioluminescence, and Community

Courier-Times Christian Perspectives for Saturday, August 9, 2008

Quorum sensing, bioluminescence, virulence, autoinducers, and community; big words for a simple mind like mine, but I learned about all of them while watching NOVA on PBS.

It seems that Princeton University’s Bonnie Bassler has pioneered some remarkable science that may one day yield new ways to combat bacterial infections. Along the way, Bonnie and her research team have uncovered another example of how God has designed all of creation to live, work, and play in community.

While studying a harmless bacterium called Vibrio harveyi, Bassler discovered that there was something these little bacterial cells could do when they all worked together, that they could not accomplish while working alone. They could glow!

Individually, their little light would not make any impact at all, but collectively they could create a wonderful blue light. The exciting part is that they don’t try to generate light at all until they sense that there are enough individuals gathered to make their “lighting party” effective. They sense when they have a quorum large enough to effectively shine.

Now, no one believes that Vibrio harveyi held a convention or a business meeting, did research on candlepower and luminescence, and determined exactly how many individual bacteria are needed to efficiently “turn on” the glow switch. Scientists believe these little cells “communicate” using special molecules they produce and send to each other – like instant messages. People of faith see the hand of a creative God at work in establishing community at a grass-roots level.

The same quorum sensing and cooperative group activity happens in other bacteria that actually cause disease. The belief among the scientific community is that if they can disrupt this “grass-roots” communication they can prevent bacterial diseases in humans.

By now you are asking, “What does that have to do with the church?” I’m glad you asked. It confirms that at a very basic level, God designed the universe to work cooperatively in community. God, as revealed in the trinity, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is community; and His creation reflects that essence of who He is.

It also confirms that there are some things that the church can only do effectively if and when it works together in community. What could the church in Henry County do, and only do, when it worked with the rest of the church? How can we let our “light shine” together? How is the enemy of the church effectively blocking communication, preventing us from “turning on the light”?

There’s a lot we can learn from our little friend, Vibrio harveyi. Imagine all that God could do if the church worked together.

One opportunity the church has to come together in worship will be Sunday evening, August 31st, 2008 at the First Baptist Church on South Memorial Drive. I encourage you to show up and do some quorum sensing of your own. Maybe there will even be an after-glow :-)

What Ties Bind You?

Christian Perspectives Article for the New Castle Courier Times 07-26-08

There’s an old church hymn with these lyrics: Blest be the tie that binds / Our hearts in Christian love / The fellowship of kindred minds / Is like to that above. What are the ties that bind you to your local fellowship of Christ-followers?

For many church-goers, the only connecting point is that we meet in the same building once a week. The advent of the automobile and the increasing desire for personal preference in worship styles has effectively eliminated the “neighborhood church”. We rarely worship with our next-door neighbors. Instead, we drive some distance to find “just-the-right” church.

But what happens when we don’t see our fellow worshipers during the week? What do we miss when we only see each other on Sunday mornings?

Those weekly meetings are staged, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, facing forward and listening. When do we sit across the table, and share face-to-face about our struggles and joys? What are the ties, or connection points, that bind us to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ through the week?

When someone is hurting because of a broken relationship, do we find out because of direct interaction with that person? Or do we find out through that particularly Christian form of “sharing” called the prayer chain? Prayer chains are fine, but when do we have the opportunity to personally minister the grace and peace of Christ to someone who is hurting? Those opportunities usually happen within the context of a meaningful ongoing relationship.

The only way we can be in the right place at the right time is to be in the right place to begin with. This might sound redundant but explore the idea with me. How can we minister to people with whom we have little or no contact? How can we connect with people we only see for ninety minutes, one day a week? When the right time comes along, will be in the right place?

What will it require, in rescheduling our lives, to create new ties that bind? How can we “live life together” more effectively? The early Christians were known for gathering daily to talk and eat and share and minister. When someone had a need, the rest of them sold personal belongings and addressed the need together, as a community. But they couldn’t have addressed the need together if they were never drawn together.

Togetherness deepens our understanding of each other, our trust for each other, our accountability to each other, and our compassion for each other. Separateness breeds misunderstanding, mistrust, and cynicism, and opens the door for all kinds of behavior that dishonors God. We fail in our mission, when we fail to interact with other believers and the rest of the world.

What are the ties that bind you to other believers? If it’s just a car and a spot on a bench for an hour-and-a-half, that tie is very fragile: handle with care. What can you do today to improve those ties? What will you have to give up in order to spend more time with brothers and sisters in Christ, not to mention those who have no relationship with him?

Is Grace Available?

Courier-Times Article for Saturday, May 5, 2007

I got a phone call from God on Wednesday. Actually, it was from one of those telephone sales people, but I’m sure that God was behind it.

Wednesday afternoon was busy, as usual, and we were short-handed in the church office. When one of the secondary phone lines started to ring, I knew it must be a sales call. I don’t like sales phone calls and I really didn’t have time for this one, so I was going to dismiss it as quickly as possible.

“Hello. Church of God, Curt speaking.”

“My name is . . .” at this point I was so disinterested in the call that I can’t even remember the lady’s name or the company she was calling from. I instantly came to attention when she asked, “Is Grace available?”

Just then, I had one of those moments where time slows down and you have an extended conversation with yourself. I wanted to say, “There is no Grace here.” But my mind said, “Actually, there IS grace here, but not a person called Grace.”

The conversation in my head continued, “Right, but if I try to explain that to . . . ‘what’s-her-name’ from ‘what’s-that-company’, she won’t understand. Then we’ll have a longer conversation and she really doesn’t want to have a long conversation. She just wants to sell me something.”

Being slightly frustrated at the conversation going on in my head and feeling awkward about the extended pause in the conversation in the real world, I answered, “I think you have the wrong number.”

She apologized and hung-up, but that’s when God picked up the phone and continued the conversation. “Is it really the wrong number?”

Is Grace available? How about Joy, is Joy available? If I knock on your door, will you answer with Charity? If I come to visit, will I meet Hope? If I visit your home will I be greeted by Faith?

I didn’t answer quickly because I know that when God asks a question, it’s not because He doesn’t know the answer. He wants to know if I know the answer.

Talking-the-talk is easy, but walking-the-walk is challenging. I hope the answer to all of those questions is, “Yes!” But I fear that many times I am so consumed with things that are urgent, I respond in ways that prevent Grace, Joy, Charity, Hope, and Faith from showing up.

When God calls your number and asks you those questions, how will you respond?

Today you may witness Cinco de Mayo celebrations among many of our Hispanic neighbors. Given the national debate about immigration, legal and illegal, when you greet someone celebrating Cinco de Mayo, will Grace be available?

We have several prisoners in Henry County, some from out of state. If you visit them will you bring Hope along?

New Castle is full of nursing homes, transitional care facilities, and those who are simply shut-in. Could you take Joy with you the next time you visit?

Look at your community and ask yourself, “What is it that Charity is asking me to do for my neighbors?”

If you are facing dark days of depression, or sickness, or family strife, how would Faith deal with the situation?

I pray that you will be ready to respond the next time the phone rings. By the way, when God does call, you don’t have to worry about the phone bill. That fee has already been paid by His Son.

The Well Of Community Is Dry

Courier-Times, New Castle, IN - July 8, 2006

I hear it all the time. The problems all seem different, but they have the same source. “People just aren’t committed any more.” “We have to cancel the meeting, we can’t get a quorum.” “I just don’t understand them, how can they think that way?” “I can believe it. Another minister (or lay person) is going down in flames!” “I just don’t trust him anymore.” “I don’t understand why people don’t give to the church like they used to.”

All of these issues in life, both inside and outside of the church, flow from one well. Actually, these are all problems that indicate a lack of flow from a well that has nearly run dry. That well is what we used to call community.

We still believe that we have community and that we live in community, but rarely to 21st century Americans experience genuine community. We used to sit on our front porch and wave at the neighbors driving down the street, or those tending to their own front porch. Now we stay inside our air-conditioned homes and watch the latest sitcom on TV.

We used to gather the entire family, or neighborhood around the TV to watch the Ed Sullivan Show or pre-WWF wrestling. Now we have four TVs in a household of three and, if we all happen to be in the house at the same time, we are watching at least three different stations in three different rooms.

People used to show up for Sunday Evening service, even non-church-goers, just to be with the rest of the community. Now church is a second thought if it even ends up in our minds at all.

What we are witnessing is the drying up of the well of community, what researchers call social capital. Fewer people are participating in group activities and more and more are participating in solo activities. We bowl alone, eat alone, commute to work alone, play video games alone, surf the web alone. We have fewer common experiences. We watch television shows designed for our specific demographic. We stop listening to the local radio station (a common experience) and start listening to our I-Pods (a personal experience). We’ve even stopped worshiping together and demanded “our own style of worship service.”

Often, as a result, we don’t trust each other, we don’t understand each other, we don’t work together, we don’t pool our resources like we once did, and we are more likely to fail when it comes to moral accountability. There is a reason why God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” Even before the fall of humankind, and the first act of sin, there was something in the garden that was not good and that something was aloneness.

It is not good to be alone. But we live in a culture that elevates the personal preference over the common good. If we are to replenish the dried up well of community, we will have to make intentional decisions to make it happen. Community doesn’t happen accidentally in American culture. We must decide to recapture or reinvent community. That’s where you come in.

When was the last time you invited someone over after church, or after the game, and just sat around the backyard and talked? When was the last time you talked to your neighbor down the street? When was the last time you turned off the technology and ate dinner together as a family? When was the last time you and your spouse had a casual conversation that didn’t anticipate an end result or by-product? Only you have the power to make community happen in your life. It is not good for you or me to be alone.

You can make a difference and help replenish the well of community, and I hope you make an effort to do just that.

The Lone Ranger Wasn’t Really Alone

August 19, 2006 – Christian Perspectives - New Castle Courier-Times, IN

Growing up in America, I’ve learned a few things that are as American as apple pie and Chevrolet. The Cubs will probably never win a World Series Championship. You can remember the names of the Great Lakes because each lake starts with a letter in the word HOMES. Columbus discovered the New World; or was it Leif Eriksson, or maybe Americus, or maybe the Native Americans?

Anyway, I also learned that the heart of the American Spirit was the self-sufficient, entrepreneurial pioneer most typified by the Lone Ranger. I’ve been taught that Donald Trump is a self-made man, that Rambo and the Terminator can each save the world all by themselves, and that Elvis and Frank both did it “My way!” And while this might be the heart of the American Spirit, it is far from God’s design for us.

Scripture teaches us that it is God who made us and, not we ourselves. It also shows us that very rarely does God use a lone individual to accomplish His purposes. Moses needed Aaron and Hur. When Moses tried to be the lone judge of the people, his father-in-law, Jethro, convinced Moses to select several judges to help with the work load. David had his mighty men. When Elijah was depressed thinking he was the only one serving the Lord, God reminded him that there were still 7000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal.

We see the same pattern in the New Testament. When Jesus sent the twelve out to minister the Good News, He sent them two by two. Jesus did the same thing with the 72 followers who were sent out to do ministry. The missionary tours of Paul were not taken alone. It was Paul and Barnabas, then Paul and Silas. Dr. Luke tells us that the church spent time working and worshiping together as a community.

I am becoming more and more convinced that effective, God-honoring, Kingdom advancing ministry can only happen within the context of community. God doesn’t desire, and hasn’t designed Lone Ranger Christians; He has made us for community.

Evangelism, when practiced outside of full participation in the community we are evangelizing, may still win souls to Christ. But the motivation for that kind of evangelism is rarely compassion for lost souls. Instead, the motivation is a self-serving, check-list, do-the-right-thing mentality.

Giving a turkey to the homeless on Thanksgiving is better than not giving one. But the motivation behind this once a year, social-sacrifice is usually to appease our guilt and not based on love or concern for those in a desperate situation.

When we lose our identity as a body of believers, even worship gatherings can become centers for selfish spiritual consumers, rather than communities of grace.

Grace, compassion, love, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, joy, goodness, self-control, and many other marks of true Christ followers all indicate a relationship with someone else. You cannot have compassion except for someone else. You cannot show kindness except to someone else. There is no need for self-control except in dealing with others. You cannot show faithfulness without someone else to be faithful to.

Our very nature, as new creatures in the Kingdom of God, presupposes that we will live, and work, and laugh, and grieve, and experience joy, and peace within a community. To live outside of community is to deny the very core of our new nature.

I’m still not sure who first discovered the New World but it was probably some guy who wouldn’t stop and ask for directions. Maybe the Cubs will win a World Series, but I’m not holding my breath. And if Donald Trump could do it by himself, why does he need an apprentice?

However, I am convinced that the Lone Ranger didn’t do it “on his own.” He had Tonto and they worked as a team. The Lone Ranger is not only fiction, it’s a myth. The Lone Ranger Christian is also a myth, whose legend is better suited for the comic books than real life.

Even Peyton Longs for Community

Christian Perspectives Article 08-26-06

I watched the Indianapolis Colts’ preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks last week and something that John Madden said caught my attention. He said that Peyton Manning said something that Madden hadn’t heard in twenty years. Peyton startled him by asking, “Do you know what I love about training camp?”

John Madden’s broadcasting partner interrupted with the play by play and then followed up. “Well, what was it?” Good question.

What could possibly be loveable about training camp? Is there anything appealing about two practices a day in 90 degree heat in Central Indiana in August? What could one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL like, let alone love, about training camp?

Peyton said, “I love the fact that we can’t get away from each other. Guys come by the room and hang out. We play cards. We’re together.” What Peyton Manning loves about training camp is community.

But Peyton’s not alone. Ask any kid what they like most about the summer and more often than not they will respond with something like this: “I loved camp with all my friends,” or “our family vacation together,” or “when our little league team won the championship together.” The highlights of people’s lives are the times when they experience togetherness.

What was so magical about the days following September 11, 2001? We had all experienced something together as a nation. What is so appealing about a honeymoon? It’s the time that two people can focus exclusively on their “togetherness.”

Have you ever spent a relaxing evening together with friends that you haven’t seen “in forever”? As the evening winds to an end, you look at each other and say, “We should do this again!” What did you want to do again? It was the experience of togetherness or community.

God created us for community. Many of us are deficient in experiencing community. We feel that there is something missing but we can’t quite put our finger on it. When it finally happens, often by accident, it takes us by surprise and overwhelms us. We don’t want to leave, and when we are forced to leave we are eager to reproduce the experience as soon as possible.

The writer of Hebrews says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.” Why? Because we need to encourage one another. We need to love one another. We need to help one another. We need to bless one another. We need to challenge one another to do great things for the kingdom. We need to weep with one another. We need to party with one another. We simply need one another.

How good do you think the Colts would be if they refused to attend training camp with each other? They need to spend time with each other so that they can accomplish the job that they were assembled for – to win every game they play.

How good can the church possibly be if we refuse to spend time with one another? We need to spend time together so that we can accomplish the job that we were assembled for – to advance the Kingdom of God.

They probably didn’t know it, but Sunday Night Football touched on a profound truth that effects every person alive. We were made for community. We crave community. We are at our best when we live in community.

For Peyton and the Colts, the season is just around the corner. For the church, we are very likely in the second half of the most important game of the season. It’s time to get together and build community.

Do I Really Love My Neighbor?

Christian Perspectives Article – Saturday, March 17th, 2007

"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."

One month ago the body of four-year-old Ariana Payne was discovered in a storage locker in Arizona. She had been dead for at least six months and no one knew. Her five-year-old brother, Tyler, has been missing at least that long and is feared dead, but no one has missed him either. It is possible that these kids have been missing for almost a year but it didn’t bother anyone until they found little Ariana.

On the same day Ariana was found, police entered a Long Island apartment and found the body of 70-year-old blind, diabetic Vincenzo Riccardi, sitting in front of a TV that was still on. No one had seen Vincenzo for more than a year. No one had missed him. His neighbors thought he had been hospitalized or moved to a nursing home so they didn’t check on him.

Two cases, a country apart. Two souls, a generation apart.

What breaks down in a society, or in a nation, that allows the most vulnerable to disappear without notice? Why is that two individuals, who should be receiving the most watch-care, can be missing for a year and no one knows? No one cares.

It is the second great commandment that is broken; Love your neighbor as yourself. It is community that has disintegrated. How can we love our neighbors when we don’t even recognize that they are missing?

I am convinced that most Americans are so busy with the busy-ness of life, so focused on our own needs, so consumed with consumer-ism, that we have left the “community” and not even recognized it. Do you know your neighbors? Could your neighbor be missing for more than a year and you not know about it, or care about it?

There are neighbors within one-hundred-yards of my house that I am ashamed to say could have been missing for a year and I wouldn’t know.

Sometimes we get tied up in do’s and don’ts, trying to live up to the standard we think God has set for our lives. Or we reach for the “brass ring” of success by climbing the next rung on the corporate ladder. We strive for athletic, academic, or artistic success and sacrifice time and relationships to attain it. Even in the church sometimes there is more busy-ness than effectiveness.

But Jesus said only two things are required; Love God and love your neighbor. If you do these things, the rest of the law of God will take care of itself. But how can you love God if you don’t invest any energy in getting to know Him? And how can you love your neighbor, if you don’t even know that they are missing?

John, Jesus’ closest friend during His earthly ministry, goes even farther. “Anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” John ties the two together. If we don’t love our neighbor, how can we claim to love God? If we truly love God, we must also love our neighbor.

Who do you know that needs extra watch-care? Who are the ones in your neighborhood that need “checking in on?” Who’s watching out for you? Who should have been watching our for Ariana and Vincenzo?

I was stunned by the recent re-publication of pictures of the destruction in the wake of the 1917 New Castle Tornado. Whole neighborhoods were destroyed. 22 people lost their lives, and hundreds were injured. If we were hit by another tornado in 2007, would you know who to look for in the piles of rubble? Would you know if your neighbor was missing? Would you care?

During this season as we prepare for an Easter celebration, let’s build community on all levels. Get to know your neighbors and what their needs are. Only then will you be able to love them. And get to know God and what He desires. Only then will you be able to love Him.

Postage Stamps

I went to the post office today and bought a book of stamps. Being privileged to live in 21st century America, I had a choice . . . Do I want regular stamps or Christmas stamps?
I was in a good mood and felt like spreading some holiday cheer. “Christmas stamps!” I said. The postal worker behind the counter handed me my stamps with my change and then I realized that Bill O’Reilly was wrong.
There is no “War on Christmas.” How can people go to war when they don’t have a clue what their fighting against or defending?
In my hands I held freshly printed “Christmas Stamps” for 2006. Snowflakes. Four different kinds of snowflakes. No Merry Christmas, no Happy Holidays. Just four snowflake pictures repeated five times, 2006, 39¢.
I don’t remember the part in the Christmas story where the three wise men trudged all the way to Bethlehem, uphill, bare-foot, in two feet of snow. I forget, did Joseph have to brush the ice off of the donkey before he placed Mary on top, side-saddle?
Since when do snowflakes have anything to do with Christmas?
Then I wondered what else we’ve accepted without thinking. When we talk about community, are we talking about the real thing or snowflakes? Is community just the fellowship dinners and after-glow, or is it much more? When I say that my church is part of the Church of God, what does that mean? Do any of the people in my congregation know anybody else in any other Church of God congregation? Are we just a part of the Church of God on pieces of paper bound together to form a Yearbook, or is there greater substance?Christmas is so much richer that blue-ink snowflakes on sticky paper. Maybe community is too.