"It's Only Just Begun"

The Carpenteers sang a song some time ago called "It's only just begun". That title came to my mind this week as I watched truckloads of building materials being unloaded at our Apopka Vineland Road property.

They started arriving around 8 a.m. and are still a day later unloading and moving things around. It finally looks like a work site! Oh, we still have some "permit" issues to take care of but it is now only a matter of time until the building that lies on the ground right now becomes the building in which we will one day worship. I am excited to see things start to happen but I know that "the best is yet to come." And I give thanks.

When the Church Throws Dirt

In case you were looking for something controversial you'll have to look elsewhere! We're talking about the Ground Breaking Ceremony we had last Sunday (June 8, 2008) for our new church facility! It was a wonderful day as we remembered all those who have paved the path for us to get to where we are and dreamed about where we'll be a year from now.

One of my very first acts as the new pastor of Metro West International Church of the Nazarene was to sign papers purchasing 30 acres of new property. That was 46 months and a 100 meetings ago. Now we move from the selling property, raising funds, and worshiping in a school phase to actually constructing the buildings phase.

These have been good months with plenty of blessings, a great deal of struggle, and a a bunch of promise. Faith has brought us to this place. Yet, as good as it felt to gather on site, worship the goodness of the Lord, and turn a few shovels full of dirt, I need to be certain you understand that THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!!!

Friends, Five Irons, and Fairfield Glade

, and hittin

On Memorial Day six friends met to play some golf and make up for lost time.

Fred Hall, Gene Smith, and I grew up together going to church camps in Eastern Michigan and to college together at Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee, Illinois.

That's where we met Bryan Solomon and we all became close friends.

Mike Adams just thinks he went to Olivet but the truth is he came into the picture in the late 1970s. The final member of our group that day was Don Smith, Gene's "little brother" who tagged along at those church camps.

It was a great time of renewing friendships, enjoying the beautiful scenery on the Cumberland Plateau around Crossville, Tennessee, and losing not just a few golf balls. Gene and Fred now minister in Michigan, Bryan pastors in Indiana, Don and I pastor in Florida, and Mike travels around the nation as a full time evangelist.

We seldom see each other but when we do, we pick up right where we left off. True friends truly are friends forever! We laughed, we cried, we competed, and we told stories of days gone by. As far as I am concerned it was a 9.998 out of 10!

But as good as it was, as beautiful as it was, I can't give it a perfect 10 because it will pale in comparison to that great reunion day that is yet to come. There, amidst the beauties of Heaven, we will be joined by so many good friends and family that we haven't seen in quite awhile, we will tell stories of days gone by, and we will laugh. We won't cry and we won't compete but we will say that it was true; THE BEST WAS YET TO COME!

Hockey and Heaven

"My" Detroit Red Wings just won the National Hockey League Championship! (Real fans always take ownership of their chosen teams!) I am a big sports "nut". I love the the drama that plays out in heated competition and it doesn't get any better than in playoff hockey!

A hockey team, probably more than in any other sport, reflects family. They refuse to let anyone pick on another team member, they refuse to sit on the bench with some litttle pain and allow another team to have an advantage, they just seem to reflect the old "all for one and one for all" thing. They pull together, each filling their own role, for 60 minutes of controlled chaos.

The ultimate goal is that, after about 100 games, they win the Play Offs and hoist the Stanley Cup high in the air for a victorious skate around the arena.

I also noticed that "everyone" got to take a lap with "the" cup! It didn't matter whether they played or not, they were counted as a part of the team.

Sounds a little bit like the way it should be in our biological family and our church family. We should always stand up for each other, refuse to let the little hurts sideline us, and understand that only as we work together as a team will we be successful.

One last thing. In order to win the Stanley Cup you must first win your Conference title. In hockey you will not even touch the trophy that goes with that hard fought victory. Why? That is not your goal. Your goal is nothing less than the Stanley Cup!

For the Christ follower we trust there will be numerous victories along the way but we must never allow them to detour us from our ultimate goal, our final victory, when we conquer the last great opponent, Death, and reach the pinnacle of our life's Play Offs. Yes, someday this controlled chaos that we call life will hear the final horn and we, who have "toughed it out" will be the final victors.

I want to be able to hoist the emblem of His cross high above my head, take a skate around the ice, and end up in Heaven! Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

Caps, Gowns, and Robes of Pure White

Every year we take time in our church to celebrate those who graduate from High School and College. Every year my graduation gets more distant and forgetable. It was 1966 in Port Huron, Michigan that I "graduated" from Port Huron Northern High School and 1970 that I "graduated" from Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee, Illlinois. I heard somewhere that by the time we reach 55 years of age that we only have our brain working at 50% capacity. So I guess I'm normal in that I can't remember anything anyone said at either ceremony and that I can't even remember who the "commencement" speakers were. (You'd think I'd remember 1 of the 2 so maybe I am worse off than most.)

I do know that the words graduation and commencement always go together. We graduate (finish, leave behind) and then we commence (make a new start). With that in mind, I remind you that "the best graduation and commencement are yet to come." One day we will graduate from the school of this life and as believers we will walk across a final "stage", the book will be opened and we will hear "well done...enter in....and commence to enjoy all the blessings of eternity in Heavenly places with the Lord, Jesus Christ." We'll put on a graduation gown of pure white and walk into the glories of time without end. Yes, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!