Category: Grace

Posted in Grace, Ministry

Can’t quite choke out that word

Posted on by William Douthwaite

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I’m having a hard time saying, “Congratulations.”

Having said that, I owe you an explanation. It’s in response to a social media update from a young single woman announcing she is expecting her second child. The comments and responses to her post are expressions of joy and excitement. And rightly so, for the conception and birth of new life always brings hope to our lives and world.

However, in the midst of all the high fives, does no one but me see anything wrong with this picture? It is so easy to skip over the sin of sex outside of marriage, the immorality being modeled for our children, the very difficult challenge of single parenthood, the strain on grandparents raising their grandchildren and the absence of husbands and fathers in families and simply fast-forward to the birth announcements, baby showers and choosing a name. By doing so, we approve of, encourage and perpetuate the growth of families where there is a much higher incidence of poverty, substance abuse, health problems, lower grades, and teen pregnancy.

You see, no one says, “That’s wrong.” No one calls it a sin. I am aware that my comments here will be read as judgmental and uncaring, but I can take it. No one really wants to have their sin pointed out. I don’t want my sin to be pointed out to me. But you know what? If you don’t, you never get to forgiveness. You never really deal with the guilt. You just pretend its not there. You deceive yourself and you are living a lie (1 John 1:8).

Some recent reading I’ve been doing lately places some of the blame on men. Ouch. We haven’t raised our sons to be responsible men, made our daughters feel loved, been faithful husbands or encouraged other men to do these things. Can’t point the finger. Have to take some responsibility. That’s why I am having a hard time saying, “Congratulations.”

We’re not just talking about changing behavior. This is about transforming hearts. And that is God’s work. Clearly pastors like myself need to lead our churches in proclaiming a God who calls us through His own son Jesus Christ into a different kind of a relationship with Him, our bodies, our families and our world. Pointing out a sin is just the first step. We must then direct our attention to our Savior, who really does change the direction of our lives.

Posted in Grace, Life, Ministry

Call Day (part 4:back home)

Posted on by William Douthwaite


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After an eleven-hour travel day, we are back home. We were blessed with a much less eventful day for our return. Now, a little time to reflect upon Adam and Sarah’s Call Service at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. 

The worship program was available online earlier this week, and I was amazed to see two of my favorite hymns being sung, “Awake My Heart with Gladness” and “Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds.” Set those hymns in a chapel full of Lutherans with a great organ, choir and brass ensemble, and you feel like the worship of heaven has touched that spot on earth for just a moment, reminding you of the eternal praises being sung around the throne of God.

It’s nice being near the beginning of the alphabet, for Adam’s name was soon announced, followed by “Associate pastor, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Dallas, TX.” Just where they thought and hoped they would be assigned.

Pastor. A title never associated with my son Adam’s name before, but one which would always speak to God’s grace, direction and blessing in his life. With humility, amazing communication skills, musical talent, a great sense of humor and a willingness to serve, he will be a blessing to many as he serves the church. He and Sarah embody great hope for the church as they begin their ministry together. I am so very proud and blessed.

You know, we didn’t used to be a family of pastors. But the faithfulness of my mom and dad and my wife’s parents became an avenue for God to lead me, my son, my brother Jim, and my brother-in-law Jeff into the pastoral ministry. On Sarah’s side, her dad and two brothers are pastors, and she is now a deaconess. Our family is now replete with full-time church workers.

Pretty cool.

Posted in Grace, Life, Ministry

The unseen

Posted on by William Douthwaite

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“We don’t focus on the things that can be seen but on the things that can’t be seen. The things that can be seen don’t last, but the things that can’t be seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

When I read this verse a few weeks ago, it immediately made me think of all the CSI television shows I enjoy watching, from the original to Miami to New York, as well as the Behavioral Analysis Unit of Criminal Minds. I know those shows are scripted, but I am still fascinated by the things that they observe, as well as the things that they don’t see at a crime scene. A picture that isn’t on a wall, food that’s conspicuously absent from a refrigerator, jewelry not in a box, or even a body missing from the scene of a crime. I don’t know how realistic the scripts are, but I sometimes wish I could develop the observational skills of those investigators.

So my question is: how do we focus on something we cannot see? How do we keep our eye on something that we cannot observe? How do we make sure we don’t lose sight of those things that are invisible and eternal?

When we look at each other (or ourselves in a mirror), it is easy to see errors, shortcoming and failures. It’s not so easy to see the redeemed, the forgiven and the saints. All that is only visible by faith, for God’s Word declares us to be redeemed, forgiven and the saints of God. That’s who we are! Do you believe that? Can you see that in someone else?

One of the things I’m doing each day is asking, “What didn’t I see today?” What pain, loneliness or disappointment was hidden behind a smiling face? What insecurities, fears or doubt was hidden behind a friendly greeting? It’s all there. We just don’t see those things because they’re disguised behind busyness, spirituality and the good parts of our lives revealed in public.

How can I learn to see the unseen?

Posted in Grace, Life

Flagler Beachfront Winery

Posted on by William Douthwaite

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Lisa and I headed down to the beach for supper tonight, and parked right across from the Flagler Beachfront Winery just a few blocks north of the Golden Lion on A1A. We never noticed it before because it has only been open for a month or so. So we wandered in to see what they had to offer and discovered a great place to sit and have a glass of wine made right on the premises, a pint of beer (they had some craft beers on tap) and a nice cheese plate. Sitting outside on a beautiful night, the ocean had calmed from the high waves of the full moon just nights before. We’ll definitely be back to sample some more of their wines!

Posted in Grace, Life

Finally, a gardenia!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

 

I planted these gardenias over a year ago. Finally, the first bloom.

 

Posted in Grace, Life, Ministry

What Family Promise did for our church

Posted on by William Douthwaite

family promiseFamily Promise is a fairly new resource in our area that provides temporary shelter for families experiencing homelessness. It involves local churches who provide a place to stay, meals and other support, enabling families to stay together as they take steps towards obtaining employment, transportation and a home. Churches provide a week’s worth of hospitality four times a year. 

Our church was literally dragged into this program by a family who insisted we be a part of our county’s effort to establish a chapter of Family Promise. While that family is no longer connected with our congregation, we found ourselves unable to find any reason why we shouldn’t or couldn’t do this. We had the space, the volunteers, the resources and the heart to minister to these families, so we became a host church.

A year later, after five different weeks of hosting, I find that for us, it’s not so much what we did for Family Promise, but what Family Promise did for us.

First, Family Promise exposed us to the name and faces of families experiencing homeless. Most of the time, when we talk about the homeless, we know they are out there, but we have no idea who they are. We may have seen someone in that situation, but we never met them. Now, we’ve broken bread with them, heard their stories, played with their children, worshiped with them and prayed for them. And we still do.

Family Promise blew up our capacity for compassion. We thought we were a compassionate, caring and loving congregation. Our guests took us to the next level, sharing their lives with us, caring about our families and gratefully accepting whatever we could offer them. In a way they took us under their wing and helped us rediscover the importance of family, of hope and commitment.

Family Promise brought people in our church together. Some of our volunteers had never met each other before. Our guests enabled new friendships to be forged.

Family Promise made us work hard and do things we didn’t want to do. We had to recruit volunteers, move furniture, buy food, prepare meals, clean, do laundry, spend the night, get up early and make our church home a safe home for the families. We actually had to do something rather than simply make a donation. We had to live the reality these families faced every day.

Family Promise showed us a different side of ourselves. You don’t get to know someone very well when you are sitting in worship on a Sunday morning. We got to see each other talking with the parents, playing with the kids, taking out the trash, and drinking coffee first thing in the morning. No better no worse, just real people doing real stuff in the name of a real God.

Finally, Family Promise opened our eyes to what’s possible when you drag yourself away from the TV, a comfy bed and the Internet for a while. You don’t need a ton of resources to make a difference. Just a little love.

Posted in Grace, Life

Boston in our prayers

Posted on by William Douthwaite

My heart goes out to the families of those who died in the bomb explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon today, as well as the many who were injured. I learned of it just minutes after it happened today when I quickly glanced at Facebook on my phone after a hospital visit today. In no time at all, there were prayers being offered (here’s one by our church body), rants against terrorists and the government, and even a Wikipedia page replete with details and references.

Instant news coverage means our lives are filled information, fear, anger and questions in an instant. It can be overwhelming. Thankfully, it also means that our minds are renewed with the perspective God’s Word gives us as the faithful have responded with proclamations of Christ’s victory over death, His mercy and healing extended through rescue workers, race officials, nearby churches and bystanders, and reminders to call upon Him in the day of trouble, for He promises to deliver us, and we will glorify Him (Psalm 50:15).

Our lives can end in an instant. Not just because someone has a gun, a bomb, mental illness or an ax to grind. It’s “because sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

But…”the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). That is where we will find hope.

From a long time runner who didn’t quite qualify for Boston in 1982: “Lord, have mercy.”

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Posted in Grace, Ministry

A better question to ask

Posted on by William Douthwaite

At a recent pastor’s conference, one comment really caught my attention. “How is our community benefiting from our church’s ministry?”This question was suggested to replace some of the usual barometers of ministry, such as

Is our attendance increasing?
How many new members do we have?
What kind of activities does our church offer?

Those kinds of questions tend to be inward focused and self-serving. The question, “How is our community benefiting?” is outward focused but harder to answer. I can count the number of people who show up for a worship service on Sunday morning. But how do I quantitfy our church’s impact on the community?

  • How many families are fed with the food donated for the resource center’s food pantry?
  • How many parents are now praying at the request of their children who learned to pray in our preschool?
  • How many of our youth are a positive influence among their classmates in the public schools?
  • How many children in the after school Bible club we sponsor have come to faith in Jesus?
  • How many children in Haiti have led their parents to Christ through our partnership in their school?
  • How many people have been blessed, strengthened and healed through our prayers for them?

Those kinds of questions not only make me thankful for the far-reaching influence of the church, but remind me that there is so much more to do.

Posted in Grace, Ministry

My therapy?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A chore recently turned into therapy.

Yard work was until yesterday a necessary chore, just part of being a homeowner. But yesterday, as I raked up bags and bags of dead grass from our lawn, I realized I had stumbled across something therapeutic.

The last week or so has been rough. After a busy weekend hosting our friend Lophane from Haiti, all h*** broke loose. My friend Bud found his mom dead in her apartment. A couple of elderly members were admitted to the hospital in really bad shape. And another, David, was facing major surgery. I’ve dealt with all of these kinds of events before, but this time they just seemed to pile up in a way that left me feeling drained.

Monday morning found me in a pretty bad mood, as was pointed out to me by my neighbor. I came home early that day and to tackle the front yard raking and within half an hour, found myself feeling much better. The beautiful afternoon (we live in Florida, so some February days are indeed beautiful!), the rhythm of raking and the sense of accomplishment made me feel relaxed, refreshed and renewed.

Well, I thought, if this task eases the stresses of ministry, then I’m going to be out here everyday, doing something in the yard. If this helps me unwind, then I’ll be out in the yard every day if I can. Today I stopped and bought some flowers to replace everything that died in last winter’s freeze. I didn’t have a lot of time; just enough to get them all in pots and watered.

I don’t know if it’s being outdoors, or getting my hands dirty, or just focusing on something besides ministry, but I like it and I’ll be out there again tomorrow.