Happy Thanksgiving, family! Can you believe it’s already Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving comes at such a great time of year. Fall is just setting in. This is the time when we can really appreciate fall before it gets too cold. The leaves on the trees are beautiful colors, and the weather is pleasant. Have you taken time to appreciate the beauty of the change of seasons? In the midst of our busy lives it’s so easy to rush through our days, to our responsibilities, our meetings, our jobs, our church services and forget to tell God thanks.

I had the chance this week to sit back and appreciate the beauty of change of ministry in our city. We are blessed with a number of long-established churches and pastors in our city. We are also blessed with new churches and new pastors, signs of continued life and new growth in our city. Everyone who attended the Pearl Community Thanksgiving service this week witnessed three new pastors in our city, two of whom pastor young churches. These pastors displayed an energy about the gospel that was fresh and enthusiastic.

I’m so happy to know and work with these new churches and new pastors. As we enjoy the change in seasons, let’s celebrate positive changes in our community. Now is our time to energetically and enthusiastically change to embrace the new things that God has to refresh us and revive us. May the beauty of fall inspire you and remind you of this season of change.

Internationally known evangelist Myles Munroe and his wife died in a plane crash last Sunday as their plane was about to land in the Bahamas. They were traveling there for a conference they had coordinated. After decades of building man and advancing the kingdom through books, sermons, speeches and conferences, Munroe’s death certainly affected many people in many ways. For me it was an in-my-face reminder that the Bible says always be ready. (Matthew 24:44 and Luke 12:40).

That scripture warns us to be ready for the coming of Jesus, to be ready for judgment and to be ready for our time to depart from this place and enter into the eternal presence of God. That warning, spoken by Jesus and illustrated by Munroe’s tragic death, advises us to not hold on to grudges and resentment, to say “I love you” and “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you” as frequently and as promptly as we can before the opportunity no longer exists.

But more than in death, the charge to always be ready requires that in life we always be prepared for opportunities. In Wednesday Bible Fellowship we’ve been studying Nehemiah. He was prepared before God gave him the opportunity he had been praying for – to rebuild the wall. We don’t know when opportunities to build God’s kingdom here or the time to meet God in eternity will arrive. What we do know is we always need to be ready for both of those opportunities. Let’s stay prayed up and focused so that we are always ready. I’m praying for your readiness this week.

While in Orlando last week for a work conference, LaToya and I decided to visit Disneyworld during some down time. As we rode, I noted that unlike most roller coasters I had seen, Disney’s roller coasters were largely or completely covered by some huge, themed structure. For example, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the Mount Everest roller coasters were mostly hidden underneath mountains. At most, I could see glimpses of the ride through the structure.

I found that I preferred the covered roller coasters to the exposed ones. The exposed roller coaster let me see too much of the ride. I would become anxious about the number or depth of the drops and not enjoy the ride as much. I think God creates our lives like Disney creates roller coasters. We tend to see only a few glimpses of our lives, at most, before we experience them. It can be frustrating to yield your life without knowing what’s ahead. But I think God knew, like seeing the whole roller coaster ahead of time, we would be better able to approach the ride of life not seeing our whole life, all our lives ups and downs, beforehand.

We are preparing to introduce new things God has laid on my heart for 2015. I encourage you to do as I did on the Disney rides — expect to encounter high speeds, sharp turns and a few ups and downs, trust the creator and the driver of the ride, sit back, surrender to the track and enjoy the ride.

Jesus is referred to as a lion and a lamb in the Bible. (Revelations 5:5-6) Often we play out either one role or the other. This week I had a chance to play both roles in one experience.

My wife’s car was hit in a hit-and-run accident. We took the car to a body shop. When we went to pick up the car we were disappointed that we didn’t see the results we were promised. We could have taken the car as it was, but I told the owner we were displeased and why. He was neither pleasant nor repentant but promised to try to take care of the things we pointed out.

When we returned the car looked much better, but the owner never admitted he initially failed to live up to his promise. I was frustrated that I had to be so involved to get what we were promised, but my wife reminded me to choose to be happy that we ultimately gained a nicely repaired car. So, I became a lamb, not further confronting the owner about the attitude and service problems we experienced.

Sometimes we have to be the lion and fight and exercise the authority God has given us to stand up for what’s right. And then there are times when we have to be meek because the only Godly thing we can do at that point and in that situation is to be cordial and peaceful.

Happy Sunday, everyone! Halloween comes this week. Some people look forward all year to dressing up as though they were someone or something else. I don’t get into Halloween. I don’t dress up. I don’t choose not to participate because of religious reasons. I simply choose not to participate.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve daydreamed at times about being someone else. It was an attractive thought at one time. I can say, however, at this point in my life I have finally realized there is no other person I would rather be than me. Knowing how I felt earlier in my life, wanting to be someone else, sometimes I can hardly believe how glad I am today that God made me who I am. I am grateful for the choices I have made – good and bad – because they all led me to where I am today and to who I am today and to the people that I share my life with today (that includes you, my wonderful church family reading this).

God knew I needed my quirks and my admirable traits. He knew I needed my strengths and my weaknesses. He knew just how to make me, and I must say he did a superb job. I hope you feel the same way about yourself. I feel that way about each of you. If you dress up for Halloween, do it only for fun because you are a wonderful, God-reflecting miracle just the way God made you.

I read a funny joke this week: Two hunters went duck hunting. The first hunter had a dog that could walk on water. When the first hunter shot a duck, the duck fell in the water. The hunter’s dog walked on the water, nothing getting wet but the dog’s paws, and the dog retrieved the duck for his owner. The first hunter, proud of his dog’s miraculous ability to walk on the water, said to the second hunter, “Notice anything unusual about my dog?” The second hunter replied, “Yeah! Your dog can’t swim!”

Wow. The second hunter saw a miraculous dog that could walk on water but missed the miracle focusing on how things didn’t happen as he expected –that the dog didn’t swim. I think it’s safe to say the second hunter is probably not in the habit of choosing happiness. I thought that story was pretty funny, and it was a great illustration of how easy it is to look at every circumstance of life and choose to experience either happiness or unhappiness.

I am so proud of our leadership and even our youth as I hear stories about how we have stated out loud over the last two weeks that we are choosing happiness. Keep up the good work! And if you’re not happy, I have two words for you: get happy! Have a happy week, everyone!

We had such a fun time in Bible Fellowship earlier this month talking about why we come to church. There are so many good reasons. I’ll share four of mine.

1. I enjoy the experience of celebrating God together. Feeling the love of God radiate from so many people in one space is a powerful feeling.

2. I enjoy having a place to use my gift. I am so happy and fulfilled when I teach. And I enjoy seeing other people at United excelling at and developing their gifts.

3. I realize I need a network of people to support me and care for me and help me stay accountable to my commitment to live the teachings of Christ. And I acknowledge my responsibility to do those same things for others.

4. It is fun and memorable to congregate with friends and family every week. We form a network in which we get to watch each other and our children grow and change.

Remember, we have National Back to Church Sunday coming up next Sunday, September 21. Make your list of five or ten reasons you come to church, and share some of those reasons as you invite everybody you know who doesn’t go to church to come to United next Sunday.

One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in the classroom. The teacher was going to explain evolution to the children. The teacher asked a little boy:

Teacher: Tommy do you see the tree out side?

Tommy: Yes.

Teacher: Tommy, do you see the grass outside?

Tommy: Yes.

Teacher: Can you see the sky?

Tommy: Yes, I see the sky.

Teacher: Did you see God?

Tommy: No.

Teacher: That’s my point. We can’t see God because he isn’t there.

The little girl spoke up and wanted to ask the boy some questions. Teacher agreed and she asked the boy:

Little Girl: Tommy, do you see the teacher?

Tommy: Yes

Little Girl: Do you see her brain?

Tommy: No

Little Girl: Does that mean she doesn’t have one?

So many people believe there is no God because they can’t see Him. The only way some people will ever come to believe is if they see God through you. Let’s take advantage of our special National Back to Church Sunday event on Sunday, September 21 and invite all of our friends, family and coworkers who don’t go to church to come see God through us at United.

Happy Labor Day, everyone! I thank God for each and every person that labors for both the glory of God and the life of United church.

I am especially excited about the work we’ll be doing this month celebrating National Back to Church Sunday. Churches across the nation will be spending this month inviting people to church who have never been or no longer go.

I am so proud as the president of the Pearl Ministerial Alliance to lead this effort in Pearl and represent United and our city as we attempt to take the city for Christ. What we have been talking about in Wednesday fellowship – making disciples of nations – starts by making disciples of cities. Ways to join in this effort include: 1) getting small personal invitations from Sister German to give to your family members, coworkers, friends, neighbors or strangers to invite them to church on September 21; 2) showing up at United on Monday, September 15 at 5:30pm to put door hangers on doors in the nearby community to invite people to United; and/or 3) bringing refreshments for our guests on September 21. We are also participating in a mailing inviting people to United that will go to every address in the 39208 zip code.

Wow! God is leading the way and making a way for us to do big things. Let’s step up and do our part, United. Help me pray for, invite and welcome our outpouring of guests on September 21.

As I have mentioned, we have been landscaping at the Thompson house. To our surprise, one day we noticed some of our plants were not looking so good. Some had brown places. Some had leafless branches. We suspected the plants were not getting adequate water

We had been spraying the plants daily using a nozzle on the hose. We changed to laying the hose near each plant and allowing the water to run for a while. The plants did not improve as we had hoped. 

Next, we tried a sprinkler. So far, so good. Not every plant has come all the way back, but most of our azaleas have beautiful white blooms on them now. We realized the force of the water from the hose was coming out so strong on our hard ground that the water was doing more running off the shrubbery and making mud puddles in the grass than giving our plants much needed hydration. The hose and the sprinkler both put forth much needed water, but the sprinkler seems to be giving the water in a more effective way for our ground and our plants.

As we continue to work hard and smart on growing our landscaping, know that we continue to work hard and smart on growing United. We are working to identify the methods of watering and nurturing that are most effective for United, our community, and the new people we hope to attract. With your help and willingness to try new things, we are confident that we can and will grow our family.