Andy's Blog: A Personal Word

July 2010 Archive

July 20, 2010

Jul. 20, 2010

It’s Monday morning and the church is filled with children – hundreds of noisy children at Vacation Bible School. I like the sound of a noisy church. When it gets too quiet around here, then we are in trouble!

As I watched the 3 year olds - 8 year olds file into the church, my mind flashed back to Sunday morning when we commissioned 50 plus youth for a week long mission with SOS in Memphis. These youth are living out the les- sons they learned in Bible School: to be a disciple of Jesus. They are giving a week of their summer to work on home repairs with folks who otherwise would do without. Not long ago, they were singing, “He’s got the whole world in his hands,” at VBS. Now they are serving as the hands of Christ to the world.

At Trinity we believe that to be a follower of Christ is a matter of head, heart and hands. It is important to connect all the dots...to know about Jesus, to experience and love him as Savior and to serve him as Lord. Hopefully, as a church, we are doing those things that help our children and youth connect the dots...to know and serve Christ.

But we can’t do that alone. The line between those dots goes right through the homes. When our children are baptized as infants, we promise to nur- ture our children in the church, “that by our teaching and example they may be guided to accept God’s grace for themselves, to profess their faith openly and to lead a Christian life.” That’s a big promise to make! But it is a life giving promise – meeting the spiritual needs of our children is as important as meeting their physical and emotional needs. It is so rewarding to see the results of our efforts when our children grow into mature, strong, faithful youth and adults. It takes both the church and the home to make that happen.

Thanks to the over one hundred VBS volunteers, the adults who are working with our youth, and to the parents. It takes all of us to connect the dots.

July 13, 2010

Jul. 13, 2010

It’s the kind of thing you wouldn’t notice unless you knew to look for it. Like a
flower pushing its way up through a crack in a sidewalk, or an empty cicada skin
clinging to a tree; we see subtle evidence of the Kingdom of God growing and pushing
into our world.

One of the privileges of serving on staff at Trinity is that I get to see these signs of the
Kingdom. Many people who show up Sunday morning may not even be aware that
they’re happening; but Trinity members are involved in ministries beyond the church
walls every week. Some sew for Baby Love; others tutor kids in after-school programs;
some teach adults how to read; and others serve meals to the homeless.

Last week several Sunday school classes and individuals helped prepare lunch for the
kids at Urban Ministry’s summer camp. Urban Ministry is a United Methodist mission
organization that serves West End in Birmingham. You can learn about some of what
they do at their website, http://www.urban-ministry.com. I took a lunch prepared by Trinity
staff. I met the kids as they swarmed in from the sweltering heat. They had been playing
at the park and had worked up an appetite.

“Mr. Dave, sit over here. Mr. Dave, when you get your plate, I’ve got your seat right
here.” Demarcus gestured to a place between himself and Martavius. I sat down
between them and tried to share my attention equally between the five kids vying for
my attention. “Mr. Dave, do you like sports? Are you watching the World Cup? Mr.
Dave, do you have kids?” One curly-headed boy beamed at me. “I’m on my sixth
plate of celery,” he announced. Fresh produce can be hard to find in poor neighborhoods.
I’d never thought of celery as a treat.

We finished the meal, and I began mentally listing the tasks I’d need to do when I got
back to the office. Demarcus interrupted. “Mr. Dave, can I read to you?” How could I
say no? He fetched his book from a desk, and read ten pages from a story about life
on a ranch. I signed off that he had met his reading goal for the afternoon.
It’s the kind of thing you wouldn’t notice unless you knew how to look for it. But bidden
or unbidden, the Kingdom of God comes, growing like a mustard weed, pushing
up through cracks in the sidewalk. Those who delight in what God is doing scrape
their knees on the concrete, look through a magnifying glass at the unfolding leaves,
and wave at passers by, shouting, “Come and see! Come and see!”

Dave Barnhart

July 6, 2010

Jul. 6, 2010

Any job worth doing is worth doing well. It’s an often repeated phrase, or at least it used to be. Pride in workmanship and in a job well done feeds our spirits. We are naturally drawn to or admire people for whom the bottom line is not just how much, but how well. 

The seventeenth-century violin maker Antonio Stradivari made instruments of such quality that they are still prized and in use today. Every violinist dreams of playing/owning a Stradivarius violin. Stradivari describes his quest for excellence in this way: “When any master holds ‘twixt chin and hand a violin of mine, he will be glad that Stradivari lived, made violins and made them of the best...If my hand slacked I would rob God...since he is the fullest good. (But) he could not make Antonio Stradivari’s violins without Antonio.”

Stradivari understood that the gifts he was given were unique, but that they were God given. Using those gifts called for excellence and to do his best. His pride of workmanship was not just about him, but about living his life to the glory of God. 

I like the phrase, to the glory of God. You see it inscribed on cornerstones of church buildings: “This building erected to the Glory of God.” What if we thought of that phrase in connection with our own work or life? Do we use our gifts in such a way that we would be happy to have “to the Glory of God” inscribed across our efforts? 

Part of what we ascribe to and attempt as a church is to do things with excellence so that we honor God with our best. 

Full listing »