Cable Community Church

Recently one of the youth returned awe-struck from visiting one of the larger churches in the cities.  “They have two youth pastors.  They have a worship pastor.  They have a pastor of visitation.  Why,” he exclaimed, “They have a pastor on staff for nearly everything!”  Compared to the small, rural church this person has known since birth, this city church must have seemed super special.  Not only did they have multiple ministers on staff, or rather because of that, this church is able to offer a great variety of services and ministries.  To the Christian consumer, this plethora of choice would seem to make the city church preferable over the rural.

As a rural church minister, I’ve decided that I cannot compete with the larger churches on the consumer level.  Larger churches with their greater resources will always be able to offer more and better ministries.  To compete with them would be something like the local hardware store squaring off toe-to-toe against Lowes or Menards.  The local owner may be able to hold off for a while based on such things as his location and convenience to his local market, but eventually those stores with the bigger resources will wear down his strength and resolve.  You’ve seen it before.  The little guy runs out of either money or fight, and then the bigger stores divide up that market area.  This scenario will continue to play out in our churches so long as Christians approach their religion as consumers.

Pause to consider just how much a consumer mentality has affected Christian worship.  We judge the worship service as good or bad based on what “we got out of it.”  “That was a good service,” we tell someone, “I got a lot out of it.”  Or, “I didn’t care for that service.  I didn’t get very much out of it.”  Our very concept of church has been corrupted in this manner.  We are in trouble when worship becomes more something we hear than something that we DO.  For far too many people, church has become someplace to which we GO rather than the original intention of the Church as a group of Christ-followers called out from the world and gathering together for service and worship.

You see, truth be told, Jesus never told us to go into all the world and make consumers.  His mandate was to make disciples.  Disciples, in the Bible, are called many things, but never called to be consumers.  Instead, believers are called to be  priests of Jesus’ kingdom, ministers of grace and diverse members of a Body who share the unique gifts for the benefit of one another. In fact that phrase, one another, is used scores of time in the New Testament calling the Church to cooperation in unified service.

With all this in mind, I have concluded not only that I can’t compete with the larger churches but that I shouldn’t need to.  I believe that there is room in God’s Kingdom for all manner of ministries, both large and small.  I further believe that true Kingdom growth occurs when our focus is on building disciples and not enlarging ministries.  Sure, there’ll still be the occasional temptation toward “bigger and better,”  but if that temptation is motivated more from competition than kingdom, I’ll have to stand with a firm “No” to those ideas.

What about you?  In light of what’s been said, do you see yourself as more disciple or consumer of Christian things?  What can you do to move away from the one and toward the other?  1 Corinthians 3 speaks to those who were “still in the flesh” and were making their decisions as consumers of religion.  To those people he wrote:

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,  so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.  He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  (1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ESV)

Praying for you all.  Boasting in the Lord for your sake,

Pastor Clint

Here we are in October, and it’s clear that summer has run its course.  Robins and Geese are winging southward.  Cardinals baseball fans are cheering into late fall while Cubs fans rehearse their infamous chorus of, “Wait until next year.”  The ghouls and gremlins have returned to stores and front lawns everywhere.

This year I was asked to judge a Halloween costume event.  I have to refuse.  I don’t celebrate Halloween.  It’s not that I don’t believe what it represents, it’s that – as a person tasked to bring life and light into darkness – I cannot revel in darkness and death.

Now I know, there are those who see nothing wrong with a little “harmless, innocent fun.”  They are free to hold their position.  As for me, I am bound to certain points of Scripture.  For example, 1 Thessalonians 5:5, “You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.”  And consider 1 John 1:7, “… if we walk in the light as He is in the light, … the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”  Finally, consider Ephesians 5:8-16  , “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says:

“ Awake, you who sleep,

Arise from the dead,

And Christ will give you light.”

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ”

In summary, while I am happy to celebrate life and light, (That’s Easter, isn’t it?) I choose not to revel in darkness and death.  Some choose to see the holiday differently.  The see it as innocent, dress-up fun; all princess and fairies.  There is that, but I cannot ignore the darker aspects of the day.  You need to think it over, pray about it and decide for yourself.

Praying light and life for you,

Pastor Clint

Where were you and what were you doing on the evening of August 6th, 2011?  If this helps, it was a Saturday night.  Chances are you don’t remember.  For you, this was likely just another weekend.  Not so for me and mine.  We shall mark that date as “The Night We Were Stranded On The Border.”  Let me explain.

My wife, son and I were vacationing, enjoying a week of rest in Maine, when we determined to go up into Canada.  We’d spent the money on passports, and we thought, “Why not use them?”  So we set out North, in the winding, Maine-road-sort-of-way, and up RT 27 through the border check-point at Corbin Gore.  In Canada we did the proper, touristy things.  We ate at McDonald’s and looked for a Wal-Mart.  (All of the things one could NEVER do back in the good ol’ USA.)  Having properly satisfied our wanderlust, we bid Quebec “Bon soir” and  turned back for native soil.

Just in case you’ve never been through a border crossing, especially post-9/11, I’ll explain the procedure as we experienced it.  When you pull up to a border crossing there are all sorts of signs in all manner of languages informing you exactly what you are about to do and what is expected of you.  That is to say, you are about to interact with a Border Agent, and you’d best not mess with him (or her, I suppose.)  Duly warned, we proceeded to the first stop-area.  A signal light holds you there until the interrogation area is clear.  Receiving a green indicator, we pulled forward.  The Agent asks you to turn off your car and begins quizzing you about where you went, what you did and what you are bringing back with you.  If you pass and are deemed worthy of entrance, you may restart you vehicle and proceed.  This was the beginning of our troubles.

Our car would not start.

All of a sudden the stand-offish Border Agent became our best friend.  He left his interrogation box and came out to see if he might be able to turn the key in a different way so as to coax our car into starting.  He opened the hood and stared at the engine in an intimidating manner – as only armed persons can – as if to threaten our engine into starting.  The starter, unmoved by either of these attempts, remained dead.  Since we were blocking all entrance into the USA on RT 27, we were forced to push the car out of the way into a parking slot.

Our new friend, Agent Bates invited us inside the Border Station.  I warily accepted, noting the Agent’s name and its infamy in Hitchcock film lore.  Hopefully, we were not to be spending the night with him.  We didn’t realize at that time that God was already beginning to provide for our need.

I used their telephone to call the American Auto Association (AAA.)  The girl who took my call and I were in “the same boat.”  I couldn’t tell from where she was answering, and she had no idea from where I was calling.  “Corbin Gore?”  She said,  “That’s not on my map.”  Map or no, that’s where we were stranded.  She was going to have to call “dispatch” in Maine.  They would get back to me.

A half hour later, I was told that our rescue was on his way.  Now would be a good time to mention that, in all of my conversations with AAA, I had told them that I was broken down at the border-crossing, my car wouldn’t start, and I needed a tow-truck.  “He’ll be along in about an hour,” I was told.  So we waited.

Ninety minutes later a Ford, F-150 pickup truck pulled up to the Border Station.

“That’s what they sent you?”  Asked Agent Bates.  His partner chimed in with the obvious, “That’s not a tow-truck.”

The service man sent by AAA jumped out of his truck with a “starter-battery-pack” gadget in hand and said, “Who needs a jump start?”  Ummm… Not me!

I was beginning to lose all hope on that dark, Saturday night of either a prompt return to our hotel room or a sound nights sleep.  Both of those I considered requisites for my preaching at Vi’s father’s church the next day.  It was then that “AAA man” developed a plan.  (In the despair of those hours I never got to know that man’s name.)  Our rescuer decided that he would take us twenty miles South to the nearest outpost of civilization.

“Is there anyone you can call to meet us there?” He asked.  We called Vi’s mother and arranged for pick up at Eustis, Maine (population 685.)  Our rescuer and his three stranded passengers all piled into his pickup.  Along the way, our rescuer made an insightful observation.

“You know,” he said, “Those AAA folks didn’t say anything about there being three of you stuck at the border.  My tow-truck only seats two.  If I’d have brought that there wouldn’t have been room for everyone.  It’s a good thing there was this sort-of-a mixup.”

Indeed.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8:28 NKJV)

Praying that your trips are much less exciting… unless you’re looking for a good story to tell.

Pastor Clint

Cable Community Church is pleased to announce the Silk Cords will be in concert for an outdoor service on September 18, 2011 at 10:30am.  The Silk Cords are an all-female, gospel quartet whose tight harmonies and sacred lyrics have been compared with the male sound of “Take Six.” a unique and uplifting a cappella vocal jazz sound.  Their repertoire ranges from traditional choral literature to new arrangements of old hymns.

This concert is free, and the entire community is invited.  After the one hour concert, the church is hosting a free dinner on the lawn.  In case of rain, all activities will be moved indoors.

For more information, contact the church at (309) 593-2685.

Everyone is invited to a cook out sponsored by the Youth Group on August 28th at 6:30 pm.   We will be celebrating the end-of-summer, back to school, and we will be having a special “send off” for our youth leader, Katie.   She is going away to college.   This cook out will be held at the church.   If the weather cooperates, we will be outside in the picnic shelter.   Meat and drinks will be provided.   Please bring a side dish and/or dessert to share.   Hope to see everyone there.