Pastor Rob’s Blog

     Family, what is that? I mean, in today’s world what constitutes a “real” family, and how do we actually define it? I don’t know about you, but I’m a “dictionary person.” And, often times, when I’m looking for clarity on a concept, or a word, one of the first places I turn is to a dictionary. That’s a habit I got from my grandmother (“Nanna” I called her) who would regularly tell me to “Look it up…” whenever I had a question about a word. So, to the dictionary I went, and what an interesting thing I discovered when I did.
     Webster’s Dictionary in their 2000 edition (the copy I currently have in my desk drawer) defined a family (in their number one listed definition) as: Family: 1) “A household; parents and their children; the descendants of one common progenitor.” Hmmm, that sounded simple enough. But, not wanting to be too behind the times in my definition of the word, and in my understanding of the concept, I went to the Merriam Webster’s (2009) Online Edition (www.merriam-webster.com). It was there that I found both an updated and a much expanded definition of the word “family.” Here is what it said: Family: 1) a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head. 2) a: a group of persons of common ancestry. b: a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock. 3) a: a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation : 4) a group… related by common characteristics… 5) a: the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children ; also : any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family. b: spouse and children… Hmmm… So, either things have very rapidly become a whole heck of a lot more complex in the first 9-10 years of the new millennium, or we are just now getting a handle on putting words to the description of things as we can see that they really are.
     An honest evaluation of the American family today, as we open our eyes to the realities that surround us, is that the family and the home are both facing some pretty desperate circumstances. The statistical realities regarding marriage, divorce, cohabitation, domestic violence, extra-marital and pre-marital sexual activity, teen and unwed pregnancies, abortion, drug and alcohol abuse and so many more key issues, are literally stunning when you consider the implications for the American home and family. So, what is the “real” answer for all of this, and for “reality” as we have created it? And, in an age of so much negativity regarding the family and the home is there “really” hope for a positive solution?
     The Bible tells us that there absolutely is hope in this reality as we know it, and that there are viable solutions to all of the problems and circumstances the American home and family are facing today. That is what we are going to be talking about here at TBC throughout the month of May in a sermon series entitled “Desperate Homelives.” So, please allow me to invite you and your family (whatever form it takes or whatever circumstances you may be personally experiencing) to come and hear what the Bible has to say about hope for the future and God’s solution for all of the things the American home and family are currently dealing with.
     In Joshua 24:15, a man (and father) by the name of Joshua speaks up and says; “…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” And, it is here that “we” will start this message series as the beginning place for all families to be able to keep on keepin’ on in Jesus no matter what we have been through or where we may be.

- Pastor Rob

     Spring…  What an awesome time of year!  Today outside my office window the sky is blue, the temperature is both cold and warm (at the same time), the grass is “greening” AND the wind is blowing so hard it sounds like it is trying to launch the church steeple into the next county!  Ah, Kansas in the springtime, love it or leave it…

     I am (personally speaking) a bit of a Kansas History buff, and I have actually read accounts of settlers in the early days who found themselves or their loved ones literally driven “mad” by the incessant blowing of the wind on the open Kansas prairies.  Even today, wind can kind of make you crazy here after a while.  It messes up your hair… (That really used to make me mad back when I had big 80’s hair!)  It blows your trash cans into your neighbors yard or down the street… (Which isn’t so bad if you either don’t like your neighbor or if you don’t care if your neighbors don’t like you!)  It sucks all of the sacks and papers out of your car when ever you or one of your kids opens the door to get in or out… (Which is bad if you are an environmentalist, but good if you don’t really have the time to clean out your car!)  It blows dirt and sand into your eyes and mouth if you try to walk in it… (That can make gum chewing and walking rather interesting.)  And, (my wife’s favorite thing about the wind) it stirs up all of those springtime allergens into the air so you can enjoy them to their fullest extent and get all of your money’s worth out of your allergy medication! (Yeah Right!)                    
     But, as irritating as the wind can be even in our present day, that kind of wind blowing is not nearly as hard to deal with as the “winds of life” that can very suddenly come up, and that can literally “blow us away” if we let them.  Winds like job layoffs, illnesses, marital problems, accidents, emergency room visits, breakdowns, TAXES, etc…  These are the kinds of things that seem to have the ability to make us crazy today.  Or, that can cause us to lose our balance, lose our footing or to even lose our way all together.                       
     It has been interesting today to watch the new trees that Greg Link planted for us out in front of the church as they have stood up to the gusts of the wind outside, even while all kinds of trash has been blowing all around them.  One of them even had a couple of plastic sacks stuck in it for a while (Must have blown out of my car!).  But those trees have all stood their ground…  It makes me think that Greg must have planted them well.                    
     I believe that is what Jesus wants for you and me, that we be planted well and firmly rooted.  That will be my prayer for you as you read these words and as you find yourself dealing with whatever winds of life you may be experiencing right now.  So, this month, no matter what trash may be blowing all around you, and no matter how strong or noisy the winds may get, think about what it says in Colossians 2:6-8 where the Apostle Paul writes these words, “So, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, …firmly rooted and now being built up in Him, …established in your faith, just as you were instructed… See to it that no one (and / or no thing) carries you away…”  And, no matter how hard it may get to keep on keepin’ on in Jesus and to keep “running against the wind…”(To borrow a lyric from Bob Seger.), just remember you’re not trash, and by Grace through Faith you have been firmly planted in Jesus and nothing can carry you away!(Unless… YOU choose to let it!)         - Pastor Rob 

     “So, just how bad do you think this economy and this recession thing can really get?!?”  I don’t know about you, but that is a question I am hearing a lot of lately in one form or another.  And, though I am quite certain that no one (this side of heaven) really knows the answer to that question, I do know that God knows, and that He is both intricately aware of, and firmly in control of, ALL of my circumstances. (No matter what!)  And you know what? That thought helps me.  It relieves and refreshes me to really know and believe that…  That God really is both aware and in control.  So, since He is aware, and since He is in control, I not only don’t have to be, but I also don’t have to either try to be or even pretend to be, for that matter.

     This month here at TBC we will be beginning a new 5-part Sunday morning message series entitled “Rising Above the Recession.” During the series we will be talking about just how to do that very thing. And, we will begin exploring some very practical Biblical principles for secure financial management and faith-filled “economic navigation” in the midst of layoffs, unemployment, foreclosures, business failures, tax deadlines, and so much more.   We will also be offering trainings, educational opportunities and outreach ministries to the people of the community, the area, and the church itself that are designed to equip and assist anybody who is interested in finding out about how to not only “ride-out” the recession, but to also literally “rise-above” the reality of this current set of circumstances, and find real blessings in the midst of almost surreal economic difficulties.

     In Matthew 6, Jesus speaks some amazing words about life, money, and the pursuit of happiness that you may want to take a minute and check out.  Some of the most comforting for me in that passage are Matthew 6:25-27 and verse 34.  Here they are…“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body as to what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not worth much more than they?  And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?  (Vs. 25-27)     “So, do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Vs. 34)      That is some pretty powerful stuff!  If… we can really let ourselves believe it, and begin to think about how to really live it…

     So, here is the “real” deal…  This month (and this year for that matter…), no matter how bad things may get economically… you and I still have a Good God who promises to not only never leave us and to never forsake us, but who also assures us that we (as believers) are (in and through Him) “over-comers” of any and every circumstance as we keep on keepin’ on in Jesus…   No matter What!

- Pastor Rob 

     So, when was the last time you really took the time to listen to someone?  I mean really, intentionally, listen?  If you are like me, listening can be a bit of a challenge most days.  We live in a world of so many responsibilities, surrounded by so many distractions, wrapped in so much activity.  I can get so busy, so focused, so hurried, so caught up in it all, that I find myself in conversations with people, and yet not really… (I mean “really”) listening to what they are saying.

     Today though, I sat down in the back of a room where a weekly gathering was taking place here at the church, and I accepted the opportunity to just sit for a few minutes and listen.  At first I was distracted with thoughts about all of the things I needed to be doing besides sitting there listening.  Then I started obsessing over five different deadlines I was up against, with things I needed to get completed and turned in to the people who were waiting on them.  Finally, my cell phone kicked in and started buzzing and alerting me that there were phone-calls, e-mails and text messages trying to get through to me.

     Almost instinctively, I started to get up out of my seat and head back to everything that was working so hard to pull me away.  But, instead, for some reason, I stopped.  Then I did something I don’t normally do, I took a deep breath, shut off my phone, told myself the deadlines would just have to wait, prayed and asked the Lord to speak to me though what the leader of the group was saying, looked up at the person who was standing up and talking, and I started to intentionally listen to what she was saying.  I listened to her share from her heart about things she had learned from her own personal experiences of life.  I listened to her about where she had come from and how life had taught her some rather destructive ways to cope.  Then, I listened to her as she explained about what Jesus had been doing in her life since she came to know Him as her Savior and best friend.

     And then, in the most subtle of statements, there it was…  The word I needed to hear most myself at that particular moment.  It wasn’t even anything she was intentionally teaching her group, or a point she was really trying to emphasize.  It was just something that described a way that Jesus had helped her to see and deal with life differently.  She said that she had found that with Jesus, “The only real way ‘out’ is through…”

     I can’t really explain all that those few words spoke to my heart in that moment, but I can tell you that I knew then (and I know now) I was given a word from the Lord in that tiny little phrase about some pretty significant things in my own life.  But, the reality is, I almost missed it.  I almost was too busy to listen.  And, I almost missed words I desperately needed to hear myself to help me keep on keepin’ on in my own walk with Jesus.

     This month I’d like to dare you to take the time to find a place where you can turn your phone off, take a break from all of the demands, busyness, and pressing responsibilities of life, and ask the Lord to speak to you.  Is it possible that there really are words from the Lord being spoken all around us that we just can’t seem to hear, simply because we won’t take the time to listen?  Psalm 19:1-2 says that even the earth and sky, and day and night declare words from the Lord.  I don’t know about you, but I think I’m going to try to take more time to be a better listener as I try to keep on listening on in Jesus.

- Pastor Rob 

     It was a perfect Autumn day in the Ozark Mountains of south-central Missouri.  Crisp cool air, clear blue sky, and beautiful Fall colors everywhere we looked.  “Breathtaking” might be a good word to use to describe it all.

     Usually our family goes on a family Fall camping trip near the end of October somewhere here in the state of Kansas.  But, this year we decided (my idea really…) to go on a family Fall canoeing “float” trip on the North Fork of the White River to a little place called Sunburst Ranch (a fishing and canoeing outfitter located right on the river) just outside of Caulfield, Missouri. (www.sunburstranchcanoe.com)

      The morning of our float trip everything was literally “perfect.”  We had stayed the night in a very rustic, hand-built, log cabin, back in the woods on the side of a mountain.  Angie had made us pancakes and sausage for breakfast.  The girls weren’t fighting, and Zeph was being just as sweet and as cute as an 11 month old little boy can be.  I remember thinking as we headed out to the river from the cabin, and then also as we launched into the river itself, “It just doesn’t get any better than this…”      Have you ever amazed yourself with your own brilliance?  This was my fourth trip down the North Fork of the White with Sunburst, and just one of the countless number of times I have been in a canoe or a kayak.  I had noticed when we arrived that the water was slightly higher compared to the previous three times I had been there, but I really didn’t expect it to be a problem.  After all, I was an experienced “paddler”  and we would all (even Zeph) be wearing life jackets.     Thirty minutes into our three-hour float we came to our first “real” set of rapids.  Angie and I and Zeph were in the “lead” canoe, and Micah and Genna were in the “chase” canoe having a blast and trying to figure out how to steer and use their paddles.  And, as Angie and Zeph I came to the end of that first stretch of whitewater I looked back to make sure the girls were doing okay.  Now, let me confess my last words to our outfitter as we headed out into the water for the day were… “I have never unintentionally swamped a canoe.”  Remember what I said earlier about brilliance?  Well, guess what, just as I looked back to check on the girls, the front of our canoe hit a rock that was hidden by the “slightly higher” water and… you guessed it, we “dumped.”

     Seeing my wife tip over backwards into the water and out of a canoe is scary enough, but when I saw my 11 month old son face down in a rapidly flowing river…  Well, I really can’t describe what I felt.  But, as quickly as I could, I grabbed him with my left hand, held the canoe and a paddle in my right, and managed to help Angie up and out of the water with (I believe it was) my left leg.  And there we all were, very wet, but all okay.  Maybe a Fall family “float” trip hadn’t been such a “brilliant” idea after all…

     Long story short, (with the help of some fishermen who just “happened” to have a cell phone and just “happened” to be right there at the place where we tipped) we got the outfitter contacted, and met them at the next bridge.  And, Angie and Zeph got a warm, dry, ride back to camp, and Micah, Genna, and myself continued on down river for the last 2 and 1/2 hours of our float trip.  (The girls were still having a blast and I really didn’t want their experience ruined just because their dad was a moron.)  So, on we went…  And, what a great adventure we had, up until we came to the end of our float…      

     On my previous three trips the “three-hour” float had ended very “gently” at a place called “Dawt Mill” (literally an old mill right on the river where the water comes softly up to a Dam and is directed into a lock next to the mill.).  This time however, there was a much louder sound ahead of us as we drew nearer to the dam, and a mist that was rising in the distance.  As we came even closer I began to fully realize that what had been (on my previous trips there) the gentle flow of water toward the dam, had recently become a rather pronounced waterfall with a pretty significant current ahead of it.       But, again, long story short, since I was in the canoe with the girls, we were able with no real trouble at all to paddle to the side, and I was able to get out (on purpose) and walk the canoe through the current and over to the boat ramp.  However, had we not tipped earlier, I would have been in the canoe with their Mom and brother when we came to the mill, the dam and the waterfall, and the girls would have been on their own…   Hmmm…  Maybe tipping where we did when we did, really wasn’t such a bad thing after all…  And, maybe God had really provided in advance for an even greater danger that we didn’t know we were approaching.  Hmmm…

     Maybe as you read these words of mine you are thinking about a canoe that has recently tipped over in your life.  This month as you try to be thankful in the midst of it all, try and remember that God promises in His Word (Romans 8:28) that “God causes all things to work together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”  Now that’s a promise you can take with you everywhere, and in and through all of life’s experiences as you keep on keepin’ on in Jesus, no matter what!!!

  - Pastor Rob   

      Like many of you reading this letter, my wife (Angie) and I both work outside of the home, and both do the best we can to make ends meet for our family.  We also both do the best we can to cover all of our three kids needs and demands of time, schedules and activities.  As a result, Angie and I are very intentional about adjusting our work schedules so that we are both able to be with our kids at home, and there for our kids when they have specific functions, activities or sporting events.  And, as many of you all well know, life can be pretty interesting at times just trying to keep all of those bases covered and trying to keep up with the pace of it all.
     Tuesdays and Wednesdays are two of my favorite days of the week because those are the days in our schedule when (since I work late into the evenings on those days) I get the opportunity to go in to work later, and spend time doing breakfast, helping get the girls off to school, and getting Zeph up, changed, fed, bathed, changed, changed, and changed again.  Wow!  That kid can definitely move some raw materials when he puts his mind to it!!!
     After the girls are off to school, and after Angie is off to work, and after all of the “necessary” baby stuff is done, I like to bundle the “boy” up and take him outside for a walk around our yard.  That’s where Zeph really likes to be… Outside, under the big blue sky.  It is so awesome whenever I take him out, because as soon as we hit the door, he get’s real quiet, his eyes open as wide as they can, and he is definitely “payin’ attention” from that point on.
     After a while of walking around and adjusting to his new surroundings, Zeph starts to point toward things like trees, chickens (I actually have a total of four now), dogs, leaves, or whatever, and he says “Bap!”  Verbally, “Bap” pretty much covers everything right now that is not “Mama,” or “Dada.”  And, depending on what exactly it is that he is pointing at or wants, it can be “BAP!, Bap!, bap, or baaap…”
     So, whatever he “Baps,” I always point to and say the proper word for it  (i.e. “tree, dog, leaf, etc.”).  But, then Zeph just looks at me, looks back at what he was pointing at, and says (you guessed it…) “Bap!”  Oh well, that’s the way it works with his Mama whenever we have conversations as well.  Ha!  The reality of it though is that I love that little boy more than he can ever know, and there is almost nothing better in my life than just hanging out with him and listening to the sound of his voice, no matter what he is saying or trying to say.  Really, that is the way it is with each of our kids.  I just love being with them, and they will never fully know just how much I love them and how crazy I am for them… until someday, when they… are blessed enough to have kids of their own.
     I think that is the way it is with Jesus as well.  He’s just crazy about us every day, and He absolutely loves hanging out with us and hearing the sounds of our voices, and we just don’t ever really get it.  So, when was the last time you got the chance to hang out with someone that was crazy about you even when you said the wrong thing or made a mess (or several of them) first thing in the morning?
   This month, as you try to keep on keepin’ on in Jesus, I think He wants you to know, that it really doesn’t matter just how messy, stinky, or confused you are.  Jesus loves you more than you will ever know, and He LOVES hearing the sound of your voice whenever you point at something that you can’t quite identify and say… “Bap!”       (Jeremiah 33:3)     - Pastor Rob    

     Have you ever had an answer to prayer that just kind of dropped into your lap out of the clear blue sky?  I love it when that happens!  It just happened to me about three weeks ago when a preacher buddy of mine called me up and asked me if I wanted a few young chickens.  Now, what you may not know about me at this point is that the very first job I ever had was on a chicken farm back when I was in the 6th Grade. (The Stirtz Hatchery in Enterprise, KS) And, that I have ALWAYS (ever since working there) wanted to have a place where I could raise chickens of my own.  In fact,  I had actually already converted the girls’ old “play house” into a chicken house after they had quit playing with it a while back because they were now too “mature”… (I’ll bet I have the only chicken house in the state of Kansas with a pink ceiling.) Oh well…

     So… “Yeah!,” I said to my friend, “I’ll take some chickens, and I have just the place for them.”  I couldn’t believe it, I was about to get back into the chicken business. I was “totally pumped!” (That’s old 1980’s terminology for “really excited.”)  I was envisioning fresh farm eggs, hatching baby chicks, building our own “flock,” and best of all… fresh fried chicken!  

     So, over I went to my buddy’s  house with my truck and my dog crate in the back.  And, when I got there he gave me nine young chickens.  Nine!!!  Awesome!  That was way more than a “few chickens!”  In fact, by the time we got home, as I took the chickens from the crate, the number had already increased to ten!  It was either a multiplication of poultry miracle (Remember what Jesus did with fish in the Bible!) or, it was poor counting skills on my part.  But, either way, I was more thrilled than I can even begin to ex
plain. Wow!  My own chickens!!!  Life can be so good sometimes!        

     Did I mention yet that we happen to also be dog owners?  Two dogs actually, a Chocolate Lab (a “bird dog”), and a Blue Heeler (a “herd dog”).  Everything was great for about five days.  The chickens were safe and sound in their new coop with the stylish pink ceiling, and the dogs were enjoying dog life and freedom in the yard.  But, it was on the morning of my sixth day as a new “chicken farmer” that I awoke to strange sounds and a brand new reality. (Something I really should have seen coming all along.)  There my “herd” dog was chasing a terrorized, almost featherless, chicken across the yard, and there my “bird” dog was heading it off with a very swift “pounce” and a “gulp.”  All around the yard were the scattered remains and pieces of what was left of my nine new chickens.

     Our yard looked like the scene of some kind of an Indian massacre from the old west.  And, in keeping with that image, as I peered into the dog invaded chicken house, there, much to my amazement, huddled in the highest and farthest corner of that pink ceiling, was number ten.  I was down to one last chicken. 

     Maybe as you read these words you know what it’s like to be betrayed by your two best friends.  Or, maybe as you look at your checking account in the midst of trying to keep your gas tank full, and all your bills paid, it seems like you are down to your “one last chicken.” The good news this month is, that there is a friend that has promised to never leave you and to never forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). And, that friend will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19) as you choose to keep on keepin’ on in Jesus, no matter what!           

                                                                                                                             - Rob