Posted in memories

I’ve got some relics

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I’m not sure why this popped into my mind this morning, but I wondered to myself, “What do I still have from before I got married?” My wife and I are coming up on our 36th anniversary this May. Do I own anything that is older than that? Not much.

My Strad, still in its original case.

First thing on the list: my trumpet. A silver plated model 43 Bach Stradivarius Bb. I bought it in 1979 when I had just graduated from college and was working my first job at Bell Labs in West Long Branch, NJ. It was my second Strad. My first was a brass plated horn that my dad bought for me when I was in ninth grade, I think. But someone broke into my car in the Bell Labs parking lot and stole it my first summer in NJ. I still remember going to Red Bank music where they had a whole bunch or horns in stock and playing them till I found the one I decided to buy for $600. (I think they list for about $3,000 today!) It has served me well for forty-one years.

Next: some tools. I’ve got some metric wrenches I purchased when I owned a 1980 Volkswagon Rabbit that had a diesel engine. There wasn’t much to that engine, but it got over 50 miles to the gallon when I was at the seminary. In fact, I could drive from the seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN to my parents home in Philadelphia on one tank of fuel. I think I bought these to switch out the glow plugs one winter. I’m not sure what else I used them for back then, but I still use them now.

I’ve also got a few pots and mixing bowls my mom bought for me when I moved into my first apartment. She got me a small set of Revereware. We still have and use one small sauce pan and a couple of the steel mixing bowls. These items would actually predate the trumpet by about six months.

I’ve probably got a few photo prints from before I got married, but I’m not sure where they are in the house. Perhaps a theological few books from my first two years at the seminary, too. But that’s about it.

Posted in Ministry, prayer

It’s 6 am on a Thursday. The regular crowd shuffles in.

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

If at all possible, I try to there when church members are scheduled to arrive for surgery. More often than not, their assigned arrival time is 6:00 am.

Not a problem. I am a morning person. I’m up at that time most days anyway. Most recently though, I and my parishioners (and a few other folks) arrived before the registration person! No problem. We had a few minutes to pray for the doctor and nurses, for the procedure and for the patient. “The prayer of a righteous person has great power” (James 5:16).

I know from experience that things happen quickly. Small talk can wait. We get to the prayer, seek the Lord and call on His name, and then we can converse about the day, the recovery and the future afterwards. Before you know it, you will hear their name called, and they will disappear behind a door with a nurse into the preparation area.

Over the years, I haven’t seen a lot of other clergy at the same-day surgery waiting area. All I know is that those are some of the best moments for ministry. No one pretends to have it all together. We all humbly kneel at the throne of the king, who also happens to be the Great Physician.

I hope someone will be there to pray with me. If nothing else, just to remind me that I’m in good hands.

Posted in church, future

The future of the church

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash

You have no doubt heard someone at church say, “We must have a strong children’s and youth ministry.” Why? “They are the future of the church!” Many hours are spent discussing how to attract younger families with children. A United Methodist congregation in Grove Cottage, Minnesota decided to shut down one of its campuses and relaunch that church to reach a younger demographic. Part of that process included asking the current members, most of whom were older, to attend another church for twelve to eighteen months. The approach and the reaction made national news.

The many different sides of that story does prompt the question, “Who is the future of the church?” I think it depends on the context. While children and youth may be the future of the Church, they are probably not the future of our church. You see, they grow up, go to college and move to where they find employment. We pray that they will be a part of the Church at large, but they will not grow up to be a part of our congregation.

Many of the people moving to Florida and our community are older. They are retired. They are tired of northern winters. And they are the future of our church. They are the new members, leaders, voices and teachers in our congregation. Yes, there are young families who move to our area, too. It’s an affordable place to live. But they are not necessarily the majority of the folks who come to visit and join our churches. That’s just the way it is here.

That is not necessarily a negative thing. In the pages of scripture, we find God staking the future of the church on a variety of people of different ages. Abraham was 75 when he got the call to move. Samuel grew up in the church. Moses was 80 when he was told to go to Pharaoh. David was a young shepherd when anointed the king of Israel. Josiah ascended to the throne when he was eight years old. Jeremiah had a job before he was born! Noah was 500 years old when he built the ark.

I love the babies, children and youth of the church. Yes, I am in my element when holding the infants, playing with the toddlers, teaching the middle schoolers, serving alongside the high school youth and praying the graduates off to college or the military. But I am also grateful for those who come with a lifetime of managerial, financial, educational and musical experience that fund, lead and drive the ministry of the church.

It’s ironic that some churches with a strong youth emphasis shuffle their young off to nursery and children’s church. It’s also ironic that those who want young families in church get irritated when the little ones get squirmy, noisy and leave Cheerio crumbs in the pew. Don’t you know how Jesus responded when the disciples tried to keep the kids away?

The future of the church will always be the gathering of people who need to hear the gospel, receive God’s forgiveness and be equipped to take that blessing back to their world. There are no age, height, income or experience restrictions on that experience.

Actually, the future of the church is “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev. 7:9-11).

Posted in people

In the right place at the right time

Posted on by William Douthwaite

When I got done reading the biblical book of Esther a few months ago, I asked myself the question, “What people has God strategically put into my life?” Esther found herself in just the right place at just the right time to save her people. It wasn’t a coincidence. It was a God thing. Who else has been in the right place at the right time for me?

I’m stretching my memory here, but the first person that shows up on my radar is my eighth grade Algebra teacher, Mrs. Flaig. She was the first teacher who awakened my love for math and recognized my aptitude for that subject. She was tough but one of my favorite teachers ever. Mrs. Miller was like that, too. She taught my high school Algebra 2 and Calculus classes, always emphasizing “good mathematics!”

Then there are those who brought me along musically. Bonnie Strang taught me to play the trumpet in elementary through high school. My friend Gary Lefkowitz taught me to play guitar in college. An organist and choir director, Diane Allwein, let me play all kinds of sacred music on the trumpet at Luther Memorial Church in Tinton Falls, NJ, and gave me my first real experience in choral music. Rev. Richard Resch greatly expanded both my trumpet and choral music experiences while at the seminary.

A few pastors were in the right place at the right time, too. Pastor Don Sallach who told me at age thirteen, “You should think about being a pastor.” I never did, though, til I was twenty-six. Pastor Don Biggs in New Jersey who let me get very involved with music and youth work when I was new to the his church. Pastor Paul Harris, then a vicar in Austin, TX, who directed me towards seminary study. Pastor Dave Mulder, president of the New England District, ordained me and installed me at my first parish in Coventry, CT. He was a source of amazing encouragement in my first few years of ministry.

To this day, I still love math, music and ministry, no doubt because God had placed many of these people in my life “for such a time as this!”

Posted in Ministry

A few random grandkid pics

Posted on by William Douthwaite
This is by far the best way to eat spaghetti. I twirl mine, but I want to learn from the master, Elijah!
The cousins decided to start their own book club. At ages 12 and 16 months respectively, they emptied the bookshelves, ploughing through story after story, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Keeping the grandkids busy tip #22: paint the fort with water. Each one is holding a paint can filled with water and a three-inch paint brush. Sixty minutes of quiet activity on a beautiful late December afternoon in Florida.
Posted in Ministry

So why did I join a college fraternity?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I just finished reading Fraternity by Alexandra Robins. It resurrected a lot of memories from my freshman year at college in 1975-76. I found myself wondering, “Why did I join a fraternity when I went to college?”

On the surface, it was simple. Better food, better living space and a established social life with the friends I made my first few weeks in the dorm. The Upislon chapter of Delta Sigma Phi at Franklin and Marshall College was a place where I fit in, had a brotherhood that had a greater focus on academics, a little less emphasis on hard partying and an easygoing approach to college life. The author of the book describes a well-defined approach to brotherhood, leadership and philanthropy that I don’t believe was emphasized forty years ago. I learned many of those things, but only a a byproduct of fraternity house life. We had a bit of hazing, but nothing so severe as that described in the book.

Annually recruiting new members was critical to the survival of out chapter, so I don’t remember being all that discerning about who was invited to pledge and who wasn’t. If a guy desired to join, he was in, for better or worse.

At that time, social events were the domain of the Greek system. There were no sororities on campus till a colony formed my senior year. If you wanted to go to a party, you went to a fraternity. Parties simply involved kegs of beer and a live band. We didn’t drink anything harder than that. A few guys dabbled in marijuana or whippets. Most of us were under the twenty-one year old Pennsylvania drinking age, but as long as we kept it in the house, no one ever seemed to mind.

We certainly did not treat women with any kind of respect. They were simply a commodity, whether they were from campus or nursing students from the hospital down the street. Casual sex was rare, even in the pre-HIV world of the late 1970’s.

Communication was all face-to-face. The house had a pay phone that we all shared. A few brothers had their own phones installed in their rooms. Yeah, I know, it was a strange world with no email, no texting, no internet, no FaceBook, and no word processing. Library card catalogues, books and periodicals, manual typewriters, a campus bookstore and vinyl music defined daily campus life.

However, I probably learned more from fraternity life (along with the college radio station and band) than I did from my classes. I learned a lot about running a house where twenty guys lived and another twenty dined during the week. I learned a lot about music, including playing the guitar. I actually had a lot of fun washing dishes in the kitchen every night to pay for my room and board. I learned how to tap a keg, hack into the college administration databases with a dialup modem connection, make a few bucks typing papers for my friends and jimmy a lock to someone’s room when necessary.

About a year ago, my office manager stuck her head in my office and said, “There’s a guy here who says he’s one of your fraternity brothers.” I didn’t remember much about him since he was a freshman as I was finishing up my final year. But we had a ton of mutual friends and memories, and he helped me realize the lasting value of brotherhood.

Posted in Nature

Sand Hill Crane

Posted on by William Douthwaite

In between sessions at workshop yesterday, I was walking by a wall of windows and saw this guy staring at me through from the other side of the window, just foot away. I stood really still and he stood really still until I got a few nice pictures and he slowly wandered off.

He looked a bit different than the usual herons I’ve seen in the area. Today I went to allaboutbirds.org and used their handy identification guide. With just a few clicks indicating location, size and color, “Sand Hill Crane” popped up. Bingo! He (assuming this was a “he”) was probably wintering in Volusia County. His slow, graceful gait was mesmerizing. I wish I could have seen him fly. His wingspan would have been magnificent. I loved watching his backward-bending knees and the way his toes splayed out each time he took a step.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he was surprised to find a church and parking lot in the place that was remote and wooded the last time he was here. He may have been thinking the same thing about me. A year ago this church wasn’t here, either. Natural wetlands are succumbing to relentless development in this part of Florida.

I think we were both a little sad.

Posted in church

A new, modern church

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Daytona Beach First Baptist Church

I attended a required Child Evangelism Fellowship workshop today so that I could continue working with the Good News Club at a local elementary school. The workshop was held at the new campus of First Baptist Church of Daytona Beach, which recently moved from its historic location closer to the heart of the city. I looked forward to seeing their new site.

On the way there, I missed the turn into the church entrance. After I turned around, I turned into a mile long drive into a gorgeous acreage with the two new church buildings. A friend of mine commented, “That drive must have cost at least a million dollars.” I believe he was on target.

But as I pulled into a parking space, I was underwhelmed by two very understated buildings. I felt like I had pulled into an industrial park rather than a church complex. OK, take a breath. Just walk in and see what they have done here.

I walked into a space that was designed to be a coffee shop, restaurant and gathering area. It was very nice, and I quickly recognized others from my Good News Club. We sat together with coffee and bagels and caught up since our last time together.

The opening session was in the adjacent building, the main worship space. I tried to keep an open mind, but to tell you the truth, it felt like a warehouse rather than a church. The audio/visual technology was spectacular, but with a back wall of garage doors, exposed ventilation ducts and exposed walls, I did not feel like I had stepped into a church. I know that this design was intentional, but wow, what a difference from what this church used to be. Our breakout sessions were in very nicely appointed classrooms with very homey appointments.

So many thoughts went through my mind. Is this what a church looks like in the 21st century? Am I old enough to feel uncomfortable in a contemporary church? Is this what Jesus had in mind?

Jesus never went to church. What would he have to say about our churches? I am so glad he is merciful and abounding in love!

The dais, screen and stage
Posted in Psalms

Rock climbing

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I am having a ball in the Psalms this time through the Bible. The word pictures just keep jumping off the page and into my life. Like this one:

“Lead me to a rock that towers above me” (Psalm 61:2 AAT).

You never have to teach your kids (or grandkids) to climb on rocks. From parks to the zoo to a creek or the each, take them anywhere there are rocks and they will automatically begin climbing.

Why is that so appealing? Is it the physical challenge? It is the sense of accomplishment when you get to the top? Is is a chance to be higher and taller than the grown-ups? Or is it for that moment when they can announce, “Look at me! I’m all the way up here!”

For David, these words were his prayer for help against an enemy. The top of a rock was a good defensive position, a strong tower of protection. There’s no better rock and no more secure tower than God himself!

You’re never too young to begin and never get too old to keep climbing on the Rock!