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?

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

New Castle Courier-Times Christian Perspectives Article for July 19, 2008

Should I stay or should I go? The old Clash song could be sung by many Christians today. Should I stay in my comfortable, cozy church, or should I go into the world and share the good news out there. The answer appears to be, “Yes!”

Should I stay? Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they received the power of the Holy Spirit. For the most part, we do the staying part pretty good. But WHY do we stay?

Do we stay because it’s comfortable? Do we stay because it’s familiar? Do we stay because it means we can rest? Or do we stay with a purpose?

Do we pray while we stay? Do we seek the power of the Holy Spirit? Do we work at growing as disciples of Christ? Why do we stay?

Should I go? Jesus told his disciples to go into all the world and share the good news with sinners. ‘Sinners’ is an uncomfortable word in a politically correct culture. But Jesus was called a friend of sinners. Are we friends of sinners?

We do the going part pretty good. We go to camp, go to concerts, go to hear good preachers, and go to revivals. But do we go to sinners?

Occasionally we go on mission trips: Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Africa, Mexico, the Appalachians. I’ll be going to Indonesia the end of August for two weeks. These aren’t vacation trips. We pay our own way, and work hard while we’re there.

But what about the in between times? Where are we going on Monday morning? What purpose do we have on Tuesday afternoon? Is there any intentionality in our Thursday evening? Do we ‘go’ on a daily basis? If so, WHY do we go?

Should we stay, or should we go? Yes. We should stay, with the purpose of growing as disciples, until we receive the power of the Holy Spirit. Then, we should go, daily, with the purpose of sharing the good news of Christ with a broken world. Then we should stay, and grow in the love and grace and truth or Jesus. Then we should go, with the intention of being a friend to sinners. And the cycle continues.

When I go to Indonesia, I will be going with the prayers and support of friends and family. I’ll also be going in the power of the Holy Spirit. Until then, I’ll be staying and going, and staying and going, and staying and going – with purpose.

NAC 2008 - Thoughts on Wednesday, June 25

Wednesday evening wrapped up the week. My personal highlight was being able to sing Get Up and March! for the first time, which I had been working on since 2001. The choir from Madison Park Church of God provided the core choir for the evening. Paul Flores and Alejandro de Francisco helped lead worship.

Songs we used:

• He Reigns; by Peter Furler and Steve Taylor; arranged by Jay Rouse; PG Octavo PA8138 – November 2005; directed by Steve Williamson
  
• Days of Elijah; by Robin Mark
  
• I Cannot Be Idle; by William J. Henry
  
• Rise Up, O Church of God; by William P. Merrill, alt. / Aaron Williams
  
• The Stand; by Houston, Joel
  
• Forever Grateful; by Altrogge, Mark
  
• Let Them Know; by Lanny Wolfe
  
• Reach the Lost; by Alejandro de Francisco
  
• Here I Am, Lord (Heme Aqui, Senor); by Hipolito (Paul) E. Flores
  
• Get Up and March!; by Curtis L. Ferrell
  
• Here I Am To Worship; by Tim Hughes
  
• Grace Alone; by Scott Wesley Brown / Jeff Nelson

He Reigns can be ordered on-line at http://www.praisegathering.com/

Reach the Lost can be ordered by contacting Alejandro de Francisco at alejandroycarmen@yahoo.com or alejandro@evangelizando.com

Here I Am, Lord (Heme Aqui, Senor) can be ordered by contacting Paul Flores at paulflores@juno.com

Get Up and March! can be ordered by sending me an email at curt@smdcog.org

NAC 2008 - Thoughts on Tuesday, June 24

Tuesday evening we started with the Kid’s Place Kids leading us in worship. Alejandro de Francisco and Ed Fry also helped lead us in worship during the evening.

Songs we used:

• Let the Children Come; by Mia Fieldes
  
• A Child of God; by Barney E. Warren; arranged by Curtis L. Ferrell
  
• We Fall Down; by Chris Tomlin
  
• Holy, Holy, Holy; by Dykes, John B. / Heber, Reginald
  
• Holy Is the Lord; by Chris Tomlin / Louie Giglio
  
• Let My Words Be Few; by Matt Redman / Beth Redman
  
• Poderoso Rey / Almighty King; by Alejandro de Francisco
  
• Levantando un mundo diferente by Alejandro de Francisco
  
• Ven a Cristo by Alejandro de Francisco
  
• We Will Rise; by Curtis L. Ferrell
  
• I Am the Lord’s I Know; by C.W. Naylor and Ed Fry
  
  

A Child of God; and We Will Rise can be ordered by sending me an email at curt@smdcog.org

Poderoso Rey / Almighty King; Levantando un mundo diferente; and Ven a Cristo can be ordered by contacting Alejandro de Francisco at alejandroycarmen@yahoo.com or alejandro@evangelizando.com

Information on Ed Fry’s great rendition of I Am the Lord’s I Know can be obtained by contacting Ed at edpaulfry@aol.com

NAC 2008 - Thoughts on Monday, June 23

A major technical glitch occurred on Monday night. The joys of digital sound created a nightmare when the right speaker stack and the left speaker stack were suddenly and significantly out of sync. The house system had to be re-booted but it didn’t affect the web-stream or cable signal. This almost made me forget about the piano repairman trying to rebuild the piano in the middle of rehearsal. 30 minutes shot and the piano still had sticky keys for the rest of the week! But God is still good . . . all the time . . . The Michigan Singers and the Indiana South Youth Choir combined to form the core of the choir on Monday evening.

Songs we used:

• Sing to the King; by Billy James Foote; arranged by Jay Rouse; directed by Kendyl Terry; PG Octavo PA8145 – May 2006
  
• Crown Him With Many Crowns; by Matthew Bridges/Godfrey Thring/George J. Elvey
  
• All Hail King Jesus; by Dave Moody
  
• Bless His Holy Name: by Crouch, Andrae
  
• Majesty: by Jack Hayford
  
• How Great Thou Art: by Stuart Hine
  
• What a Mighty God We Serve: by Clara M. Brooks / Barney E. Warren
  
• I Will Praise Him; by D.Otis Teasley
  
• You Reign; by Curtis L. Ferrell
  
• He Is Lord; by Author Unknown
  
• How Great Is Our God; by Tomlin, Reeves and Cash
  
• Shout to the Lord; by Zschech, Darlene
  
• Alive Forever, Amen; by Travis Cottrell, David Moffitt, and Sue C. Smith; Brentwood Music Octavo #45757-1097-7; directed by Dick Forsman
  
• The Doxology (Michigan Singers); by Thomas Ken, Samuel Stanley; directed by Dick Forsman

A song I would like to have used, but we ran out of time in rehearsal, is “Holy, Worthy” by Kendyl F.L. Terry. He can be contacted at kterry@hpcc.cc

Sing to the King can be ordered on-line at http://www.praisegathering.com/

You Reign can be ordered by sending me an email at curt@smdcog.org

Alive Forever, Amen can be ordered on-line at http://www.brentwoodbenson.com/

NAC 2008 - Thoughts on Sunday, June 22

Sunday evening service was planned by Jim Lyon. We had special guests Sandi Patty, Alli Peslis, Tommy Moseley, Leslie Barnes and the Arlington Church Choir from Akron, Ohio. Also, participating electronically was the choir from Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The evening was broadcast on Cable TV in East Central Indiana, web cast to over 300 churches in North America, and locations in over 22 countries and on every continent. The evening was hosted by Jim Lyon and Robert Davis Jr.

Songs we used:
Nearer, Still Nearer; by Lelia N. Morris
Near to the Heart of God; by Cleland B. McAfee