To all surrounded by the splendor of fall…

Posted in Personal Words from Pastor Ron with tags on October 20, 2009 by revronarpc

God speaks through fall’s colors and embraces us with beauty as God speaks through sisters and brothers in Christ who write books. Such a brother is Stephen Plunkett and his book Eight Truths Presbyterians Affirm. Dr. Plunkett reminded me of a truth I need to keep clearly in focus…..

“The church is God’s community, not ours. Sometimes, amid the squabbles of church life, we begin to think the church belongs to us – don’t we? – and that it is ours to manage as we choose. The Church of Jesus Christ belongs to no governing body, no pastor, no committee, and no ‘right’ way of thinking. The church was not crafted by a task force or by a General Assembly action. It is not the property of any denomination or the possession of any movement, whether it be tagged liberal or conservative, moderate or centrist, left-wing or right-wing. The church, wonder of wonders, is God’s possession, despite every wart and blemish that we humans bring to it. IT IS NOTHING LESS THAN THE REDEMPTIVE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST POURED OUT IN DIVINE LOVE FOR ALL CREATION.”

 These profound words remind me to celebrate the incomparable joy I have in Jesus Christ and in His Church. I encourage you (and myself) to let no one’s critique of the church diminish that joy.

 Grace and Peace,

 Pastor Ron

Did You Know……..

Posted in Personal Words from Pastor Ron with tags on September 25, 2009 by revronarpc

DID YOU KNOW that ARPC supports a ministry known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society that offers English as a Second Language courses on the ARPC campus? Walking into the church office one afternoon I met a family headed for that course. There was a young father, mother, two beautiful children, and a young! grandmother. They had been in the United States for only two weeks – from Burma. Talking with them I was pleasantly startled that they were Christians. The young mother, a Presbyterian Christian! She shared that she became a Christian through the ministry of a Presbyterian Missionary from Wales to Burma. A week or so later some of the folks from Saints Alive and I took them to lunch. We discovered them to be devout Christians who will join our fellowship!

 Dear Folk, the entire world it seems is right at ARPC’s back door. This is undoubtedly a part (a big part) of our calling as a church as we move into the future.

 By the way: I’ll soon begin my lunch visits to the schools of ARPC’s elementary-age children. Eating lunch with these little folk is a lot of fun for me and it enables me to see a number of public schools up close. I’m not sure what the little folk think of me!

 Grace and Peace,

 Pastor Ron

BACK IN THE SADDLE….again

Posted in Personal Words from Pastor Ron with tags on August 25, 2009 by revronarpc

Speaking of “back in the saddle….” School for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg system begins the day I find myself writing this. This past Sunday during worship (as we always do the Sunday before school begins) we had a prayer of blessing for students and teachers. School (the training and development of the intellect) has always been a core value of the Presbyterian tradition. I celebrate wholly this core value. Let us all keep our teachers, students, administrators in our prayers – all year long.

 Christabelle – one of my great nieces and great joys of my life – begins her senior year at Owen High School in Black Mountain. I’m hoping that the following fall she will find herself at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC.

 Shifting gears a bit, I would like to share with you from the lesson our Sunday School Class enjoyed this past Lord’s Day. Presbyterian pastor, Dr. John Ortberg (author of the book we are studying) quoted one of the desert fathers named Anthony….

             What must we do to please God?

1.   Always be aware of God’s presence.

2.  Always obey God’s Word.

 But the third was surprising…….

 3.  Wherever you find yourself, do not leave easily.

 For me, this third piece of advice is a good reminder that God would have us never to easily give up, whether it be…

 -      school

-      family

-      the church

-      our ministry

-      our nation – especially our efforts now to provide universal health coverage for all of America’s citizens.

 DO NOT EASILY LEAVE……..

             the place where you are –

            the struggle you are in….

 A fellow struggler,

Pastor Ron

This Week I Celebrate….

Posted in Personal Words from Pastor Ron with tags on July 29, 2009 by revronarpc

….the officers (elders and deacons) of ARPC. We gathered on Tuesday evening, July 28, for fellowship and discussion about some important issues. It is when I am with the folk of ARPC in such settings that I remember so clearly why I love this congregation…

  • These folk love each other,
  • These folk want to reach out to love our community,
  • These folk truly love the Lord and His Church and seek God’s Will for this church,
  • And….many of these folk are great cooks!

 Also, I am celebrating the rain! You should see my bed of Zinnias and my three Sunflowers.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Ron

P.S. Don’t forget the Ice Cream Social in the ARPC Family Life Center this Sunday, August 2, 5:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Did You Know?

Posted in Personal Words from Pastor Ron with tags on July 16, 2009 by revronarpc

This year the Presbyterian Church celebrates the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. Born in 1509, John Calvin is not only a great Reformer of the past, but one whose influence continues through the centuries. Simple truth is there would not be an Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church if God had not gifted the world with John Calvin.

 Calvin’s precise, intense and thoroughly biblical voice is one that we need to listen carefully to in this time of theological confusion.

 ARPC will be celebrating Calvin’s birth in various ways. I hope to offer a class on Calvin’s theology during the fall months.

 Grace and Peace,

 Pastor Ron

July Musings…

Posted in Personal Words from Pastor Ron with tags on July 15, 2009 by revronarpc

Dear Family of God at ARPC,

 The summer is sailing quickly along! I brought this to the attention of one of our public school teachers and she didn’t seem to want to be reminded! I am enjoying the summer a great deal. Have you noticed…..

 How beautiful the Crepe Myrtles are at the church?

 How great the garden-fresh tomatoes and cucumbers taste?

 Knowing that the season of summer quickly passes, I have been thinking about fall. There will be some changes/additions to our Sunday morning schedule at that time. I will be sending you a letter to share more fully about upcoming additions.

 Our new church directory is coming along well and our thanks to Cindy Eccleston, Ellen Roubaud, Jan Myers, Rosemary Nelson, and Carolyn Tansey! I told the photographer that my photo simply didn’t do me justice; and can you believe he replied…..

 “Preacher, you don’t need justice – you need mercy!”

 As Jack Benny used to say, “Well!……………”

 Know that I love you and look forward to seeing you in worship.

 Grace and Peace,

Pastor Ron

“Back in the Saddle”

Posted in Personal Words from Pastor Ron with tags on June 17, 2009 by revronarpc

Howdy Folks!

 Well, sabbatical ended and it was a very good experience for me. I am very glad to be back at ARPC and am deeply thankful to God for the privilege of serving this wonderful congregation. It is really not too difficult to get ‘back in the saddle’ as the needs and challenges of this community of faith require my immediate involvement.

And I have moved again. This time I live at Trellis Point right next door to Art and Jean Bowman (I couldn’t have better neighbors!) One of the men in the neighborhood invited me to the Men’s Breakfast Group and I responded… “Isn’t that for old men?” → He just looked at me. Old man that I am, I’m not ready to throw in the towel or as Mike says “to be put on the shelf.” God never puts anyone on ‘the shelf’ – that is always the work of human beings with too narrow vision.

Don’t forget our ARPC Produce Stand is back and all the veggies, etc. we bring will go to the Somalia refugee families.

Enjoy these summer days!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Ron

April: Springtime in the Mountains

Posted in Personal Words from Pastor Ron with tags on April 21, 2009 by revronarpc

EASTER: THE GREAT THING!

 

I hope all enjoyed a wonderful and glorious Easter. I had the opportunity to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord with my family. Immediately after worship the church held a great Easter egg hunt. I stood and watched as the little folk poured out with their baskets to find the egg treasures in the newly green grass.

 

            Worship was great!

            Being with my family was great!

            The Easter egg hunt was great!

 

I sound like Tony the Tiger – don’t I? Yet Easter is a call to remember – to focus upon and celebrate…

 

The Great Things

 

The greatest of all things for me is that in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God has come and invites us by faith into the realm of God where abundant and eternal life reigns – now and forever!

 

But we have a tendency in the church to allow to slip out of focus The Great Things.    Dr. Ronald Byars, Professor of Preaching and Worship at Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, offers this extraordinarily relevant critique:

 

“…deprived of confidence about The Great Things of our faith, we have become passionately certain about smaller things. We are certain about abortion rights or abortion wrongs – about what pronouns may be used or must be forbidden – about who can or cannot be ordained… None of these issues is unimportant but the ardor with which we embrace one view or another seems to substitute for a lost zeal for The Great Things….”

 

And just where do we find the identity of these Great Things? We find them in the completely trustworthy witness of the New Testament to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is The Great and in His words The Great is known and through His Holy Spirit we are empowered to live with zeal The Great!

 

(Perhaps you can tell I’ve been out of the pulpit too long. My family is great but they are not willing to sit at home and listen to me preach.)

 

Upcoming in sabbatical time—

 

Shortly I will be spending time at my alma mater (Wheaton College) as I study at their Marion E. Wade Center which houses the world’s definitive collection of C. S. Lewis,    J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Dorothy Sayers …. Wheaton (located in a Chicago suburb) is a place of tremendous resources both spiritually and academically. This is a change in my original plans but a change I believe will be beneficial. Wheaton College and its great legacy has always served to point me to The Great Things.

 

Continuing to speak of great things – I received an invitation from Rob Chambers to his graduation from Union Seminary. I join with all in extending my congratulations for this accomplishment and the future ministry God has for him.

 

I look forward to seeing you soon and remember…..

 

“WE ARE AN EASTER PEOPLE AND HALLELUJAH IS OUR SONG!”

 

                                                          Pastor Ron

 

 

March Sabbatical Musings

Posted in Personal Words from Pastor Ron with tags on March 19, 2009 by revronarpc

A “Mess” In Montreat

 

Greetings from one of the two national retreat centers of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. On March 3 Montreat College featured William Young, author of The Shack. This book has been on the New York Times best seller list for weeks.

 

                                    William Young’s own words:

                                    I’m not a real author.

                                    I’m an accidental author.

                                    I am a “mess.”

 

I very much appreciate this kind of vulnerable honesty for there are many times when I feel like a “mess.” Authors, preachers (or anyone else) who always speak from a position of strength as if they always have it together are not much help to me. For me they are not relevant. Perhaps this leads us to one of the reasons the words of someone such as the Apostle Paul are and will always be relevant. Paul never attempted to hide his inner strife – his weaknesses – his “thorn in the flesh” – the “messiness” of his life.

 

                                    The Apostle Paul’s own words:

 

I don’t understand why I act the way I do. I don’t do what I know is right, I do the things I hate…. Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong. (Romans 7:15 Contemporary English Version)

 

And so each day after finishing my reading and study in the Montreat College library I leave the building via the front door and turn right and there it is directly in front of me…

 

The Chapel of the Prodigal

 

It is a beautiful building with a steeple and a cross and within a magnificent fresco by artist Ben Long depicting that story told by Jesus, dear to so many believers over the centuries.

 

If a parable is, as someone said, “a picture window into the heart of God,” then what we see is absolute Good News (Gospel) to all folk who know they are a “mess.” The great I Am, Yahweh, the Creator, God Almighty is shown to us (revealed) as a God prodigal / extravagant in His love for this entire world which is in a “mess” and has been since the Garden.

 

So… a personal word to the folk at ARPC:

            Before I left on sabbatical – I was a “mess.”

            I am a “mess” now.

            When I return I’ll still be a “mess.”

            And you, dear folk at ARPC, are a “mess.”

 

But hey! This is Good News (Gospel) for there is no doubt whatsoever (biblically speaking) that God takes “messes” of men and women and repeatedly displays His Glory through the weakest of vessels.

 

In our weakness (messiness) God is strong!

 

One young Montreat College student shared it this way…

 

God is moving our small (messy) worlds to unveil an expansive sky; God is shoveling up the dirt in our souls, raking it over, and bringing Heaven down to kiss our weary mouths…

 

God’s Joy is our strength.

God is strong in us so we don’t have to be.

 

Expansive Sky – Each evening when the light of the moon and stars allow I fall to sleep seeing the mountains of the Blue Ridge through bare branches against that expanse of sky. I awake and they are there, those mountains that beckon you to look upward. What a privilege – what a gift – what a joy!

 

Hope you are having a Holy Lent,

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Ron

 

P.S.

I do miss all of you at ARPC and being geographically distant from you is not easy. This will be the first Easter after a twenty-year span that I have not spent with you. Distance from those you love can be a cause of sadness. At this point in my life I am distant from many sisters and brothers in Christ that I’ve shared the journey of faith with. For many of these beloved the distance is the unfathomable reach to heaven. In my reading I came across a beautiful solution to this sadness….

 

PRAYER

“Remember that when you pray you are not kneeling or standing there alone… all devout Christians are there with you…”   (Martin Luther)

 

“Whether we are in the presence of others or physically alone, when we pray we are united with all those who through faith in Jesus Christ have become the adopted children of God.” (William Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas in Lord, Teach Us to Pray)

 

When I close my eyes in prayer I am with you – and those across the world who are in Christ – what comfort!

February 2009

Posted in Personal Words from Pastor Ron with tags on February 20, 2009 by revronarpc

“Sabbatical Musings”

 

I truly miss being with my congregation, but I am also finding these days of sabbatical very fulfilling. I have chosen to spend my first month of reading to be done by the sea (the Atlantic Ocean). I have never considered myself a beach person but have found this winter experience of surf and sand exhilarating. The room where I am staying looks directly out upon the Atlantic; and each time I gaze out upon this vast body of water, I know I am seeing an absolute beauty.

 

IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!” These words from Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life were ones I bantered around in a comic fashion with some folk in my congregation. “What do you mean it’s not about me?!” Standing at the ocean’s edge and sensing the utter smallness of who you are against such vastness greatly helps one to see “it’s not about me.” I am doing a lot of walking both day and night with this vastness filling both eye and ear. It is exhilarating…

As exhilarating as I am finding my reading. I assigned myself many books to read during the time away; and on my first day I sat and stared at a table stacked high with said books. Most of these books require far more than a casual reading, so I looked for a book amidst the pile that would be less demanding. And so I pulled out a volume by Dr. Timothy Johnson titled Finding God In The Questions. Dr. Johnson is an ordained minister, Harvard University physician, and journalist. I could not have started with a better selection as the motivation behind this volume came from important issues for Dr. Johnson in a “sabbatical” time of his life. Those issues for him were questionsrecurring questions. Questions as to what he really believed about God – about the purpose of life.

 

RECURRING QUESTIONS…. They keep coming back – questions I asked years ago in my journey of faith. And so in this sabbatical time of my life, I find myself confronted with them once again —

 

  • Is the universe (the absolute beauty that the Atlantic is) an accident?
  • Am I an accident?
  • How did we get here? Who are we?
  • Who was/is Jesus?
  • What does a life look like that takes Jesus seriously?
  • Why the often glaring disparity between the Jesus of the New Testament and those who say they believe in Him?

 

What do you think? Is it appropriate for me, who considers himself a follower of Christ, to continue to ask such questions? I have no doubt that some would say as much. I feel, however, (for me) that it is absolutely imperative that I return to these (and other) fundamental questions – and keep returning.

 

Yet returning with a humility borne of a sense of the incomprehensible vastness of God.

 

Questions about God – the know-ability of God – suffering – life – Do you have them? Someone has said …..

 

“Christians are not those who have all the answers, but they are the ones who are asking the right questions.”

 

SWITCHING GEARS:

 

One of the things I am enjoying greatly is worshiping with other Presbyterian congregations.

 

-         One Sunday it was “First Presbyterian” with a magnificent pipe organ that I would go to church to hear (if for no other reason). They also had a beadle and processional cross – felt at home!

 

-         Another Sunday, a Presbyterian Church that calls itself “purpose driven” – different from “First Church” but still warm, caring – again I felt at home!

 

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Ron