I need to write about my cousin Joyce who passed away last Friday at age 79. I have only three cousins on my dad’s side, all in the same family, and Joyce is the middle one, born two months after me.

Joyce Moran with her husband Charles, who passed on January 11 of this year.

Joyce’s mother, Grace, was my dad’s sister, who came to the Lord in her early 20s. (My dad wasn’t saved until his early 40s.) Grace’s husband, my Uncle Sam, lived to be 99 and was sending out inspirational emails until about three weeks before his homegoing.

Uncle Sam taught my cousins music. Joyce and her older sister Carol were excellent singers and pianists. Cousin Dennis sings and plays guitar. I like to say, “Any song, any key, any part.” They could start a song, realize another key would be better, transpose to that key, and then switch their singing parts around until everyone was in their right range. It was amazing. They came from the Pentecostal tradition with upbeat music that was just fun to listen to (and to play when they let me sit in!).

Joyce had a hard life. They added on to her parents’ house in Pampa, Texas, and Joyce took care of them in their later years. Uncle Sam passed in 2013; Aunt Grace, a few years before. At some point, Charles developed MS. I last saw Joyce and Charles when I came down for Uncle Sam’s memorial service in 2013. Charles was bedridden at the time, and didn’t pass until earlier this year. (Do the math!) Meanwhile, Joyce developed brain bleed, for which she had at least two surgeries. She wasn’t receiving visitors when I wanted to see her in 2023. (I see cousin Carol whenever I travel through Amarillo. Dennis moved to Amarillo from Forth Worth a few years ago, and I just spent time with both of them in early May. Always a blessing.)

Back to Joyce, here’s an excerpt from her obituary:

 [Joyce and Charles] pastored the Foursquare Church in Pampa until 1977. For the next 25 years, together they pastored several churches which included Wichita Falls for 9 years during the 80s. Joyce was an ordained minister as well, and they were a great team together serving the Lord. Eventually they had the opportunity to serve at Life Pacific University in San Dimas, California where Joyce worked in the admission department and attended as a part time student for several years before they returned to Pampa.

…Joyce loved Jesus more than anything and devoted her life to ministry, singing with her parents, siblings, Charles and her daughters. Joyce spent her quiet time with the Lord at the piano worshiping and writing songs. Joyce was also passionate about the prolife movement. She along with other women across the nation traveled to Washington during the Reagan administration to talk to senators about the right to life.

A full life, a musical life, a ministry life, a life well-lived. I love you, Cuz.

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. (Proverbs 31.28 – 30, NIV)

PS I’m not able to attend Joyce’s funeral, which is at 2:00p, tomorrow (Thursday, June 11). I’m playing a piano/organ concert with my friend Mike Guyote at noon at Immanuel Lutheran Church gym where the theater organ is. (It’s free for any local folks who want to come.)

I wrote before about Benji the dog who arrived in October 2024 and left December 2025. I’m pleased to report that Benji’s replacement has arrived. “Paddy” was born on Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2026. We acquired him from the breeder 9+ weeks later on May 23.

He’s a Cavachon: his mother is a King Cavalier Spaniel, and his father is a Bichon Friese. He weighed 7 pounds when I got him, 9 pounds when he saw the vet 10 days later, and he’s expected to top out at 20 – 25 pounds.

I was having lunch with my friend Mike on Friday, May 22. He found out that Benji didn’t live with us anymore so Mike recommended I check out Cavachons at a breeder in Strasburg, Colorado, just east of Denver, about 90 minutes from here. They had puppies on hand: “Why don’t you drive up tomorrow and pick one up,” they said.

Here is Paddy saying good-bye to his littermates. The Kennel has a (long distance) view of the northern mountains.

We haven’t had a puppy since we raised a golden retriever for my parents in the early 80s. A bit of work! But so far, he’s been mostly fun. He’s adapted well. Some of the ladies in our 20-unit gated community are gaga over him. Two (so far) have offered to watch him any time we need. This pic was shot by a neighbor:

So a bit of a break from “heavy” blog content. Tomorrow I’ll share another “gift” from my friend Mike, this one for your encouragement.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights… (James 1.17, NIV)

We saw Baruch, Jeremiah’s secretary, in the episode about Burning the Scroll. From Baruch’s point of view, the king’s defiance just produced more work for Baruch!

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire… (Jeremiah 36.32, ESV)

Then in Jeremiah 45, Baruch’s complaints are reviewed from God’s point of view:

The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: You said, ‘Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.’” (Jeremiah 45.1 – 3, ESV)

Yep. Life is tough, and judgment is on Jerusalem:

Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. (Jeremiah 45.4, ESV)

And here’s a word for Baruch…and for us all. It’s one of my favorite short rebukes in the Bible:

And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. (Jeremiah 45.5, ESV)

We go again to Eric Church’s challenge to the graduates of University of North Carolina:

The people who tend to their faith in ordinary seasons do not come undone in the extraordinary ones. They still hurt. They will still sit in hospital waiting rooms asking unanswerable questions at 3 in the morning, but they have a foundation to return to. – Eric Church

Some people are really put to the test. David and Alicia Lloyd were missionaries to Haiti, running a children’s home in Port Au Prince. Their son, Davy, in his early 20s, had recently married a lovely Christian girl, Natalie, and they were enjoying serving in Haiti together. After all, Davy grew up there.

On March 23, 2024, Davy and Natalie, along with Judes (pronounced “Jude”), a Haitian staff member, were brutally murdered by one of the (too) many gangs that operate virtually unimpeded in Port Au Prince. The parents, again, David and Alicia, worked with my friend and accomplished Christian author Dean Merrill to write a book about their mission, their son and his wife, and their murder.

Strong to the End is short (June and I both read it the same day), but it’s a brutal read. Satan-inspired sin is real and ugly:

The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy… (John 10.10)

When I say “brutal and ugly,” here’s an example. The bodies of Davy and Natalie were flown home for burial in Missouri. Judes was buried in Haiti, of course, but in his casket was the part of Davy’s leg that was cut off by the murderers.

The Foreword of Strong to the End opens with:

There are stories that shape our faith, and there are stories that test it. The pages you are about to read do both. – Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States

Test our faith? You bet:

• Why do the good ones die early?
• Why does God allow the deaths of two of the finest, most dedicated people of their generation?
• Why do their godly parents have to go through the pain of burying their children?
• Why are there no guarantees of outcomes when we give our lives to God’s service? (Of course there are no guarantees of outcomes any time. See the story of my friend Bob Edelstein. He didn’t know the end game when he married Theresa, maybe, 10 years ago.)

And so it goes. But it’s not a new story. Read Acts 12. James dies. Peter lives. Stephen’s martyrdom is reported in Acts 7, at the hands of Saul of Tarsus who later becomes the Apostle Paul. I’m praying that some of those gang members meet Jesus in this life.

And the counsel of a country singer still stands:

The people who tend to their faith in ordinary seasons do not come undone in the extraordinary ones. They still hurt. They will still sit in hospital waiting rooms asking unanswerable questions at 3 in the morning, but they have a foundation to return to. – Eric Church

You can read about the book Strong to the End, along with as yet not completely updated info about the work at https://www.missionsinhaiti.com/.

…Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11.35 – 40, ESV)

It’s the 82nd anniversary of the Allied invasion of Europe. A reminder that freedom isn’t free and homage to all the soldiers over whom millions of people rejoiced on May 8, 1945, less than a year later.

It’s worth a pause to remember that freedom isn’t free. Over 4,000 allied soldiers died that day. The opening scene of Saving Private Ryan (9+ minutes) captures some of the horror of it:

Here are a few of the comments posted on this film clip:

Imagine living for 18-30 years, then going through weeks of demanding training, just be shot dead immediately after the landing boat door opens.

This is thought to be the most accurate depiction of war ever put to film. Hundreds of veterans walked out of seeing it in theaters because it was too much to take in.

I’d like to say a thanks to all the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice on June 6th 1944, lest we forget.

I can’t improve on those.

Here is a first-person account from a 101-year-old veteran of D-Day. Jake Larson passed away on July 27, 2025, at the age of 102.

Wright Bryan, a graduate of my alma mater, Clemson University. broadcast the the first radio report of the invasion. He went on to have a distinguished career in journalism and was Vice-President for Development at Clemson when I was a student. (Of course, none of us undergrads knew any of that history.)

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15.13, ESV)

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5.8, ESV)

Note: this blog originally posted here on June 6, 2024, the 80th anniversary of the invasion. It reappears with minor edits.

The story of Johanan, hero of chapter 41, continues. They ask Jeremiah for direction…

Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan… and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the LORD your God for us, for all this remnant…that the LORD your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.”

…and promise to obey:

Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your request, and whatever the LORD answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.” Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to us. Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.”  (Jeremiah 42.1 – 6, ESV)

So after 10 days, Jeremiah gives a clear answer:

Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. Do not fear the king of Babylon…for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. (Jeremiah 42.9 – 11, ESV)

The story continues in chapter 43. To recap:

• People: Jeremiah, should we go to Egypt? Whatever you tell us, we’ll do.
• Jeremiah: No. Don’t go to Egypt. That’s a really bad idea. (See Jeremiah 42)

So, naturally, the people said, “Your word from the Lord is clear. We won’t go to Egypt.”

I crack myself up. Here’s what they really said:

When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the LORD their God, with which the LORD their God had sent him to them, Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The LORD our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there.'” (Jeremiah 43.1, 2, ESV)

They acted immediately:

But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven— the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the LORD. And they arrived at Tahpanhes. (Jeremiah 43.5 – 7, ESV)

So Jeremiah has to deliver another message of judgment:

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. He shall come and strike the land of Egypt, giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword. (Jeremiah 43.10, 11, ESV)

An obvious lesson.

Don’t merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says! (James 1.22, NIV)

Most of the people from Judah have been taken to Babylon, but not all, including Jeremiah. Now begins an interesting section: what happens to those left behind? It begins:

Jeremiah is offered a choice: to stay in Jerusalem or move to Babylon. Jeremiah chooses to stay in Judea.

If you remain, then return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land. (Jeremiah 40.5, 6, ESV)

Gedaliah is appointed governor, and he instructed the Israeli soldiers who had not been taken to Babylon.

Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” (Jeremiah 40.9, 10, ESV)

And so they did…

Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance. (Jeremiah 40.11, 12, ESV)

Then, a warning:

Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. (Jeremiah 40.13, 14, ESV)

It’s not clear why Gedaliah didn’t believe the warning, but it was true. Johanan wanted to kill Ishamel…

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.” In the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. As they ate bread together there at Mizpah, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there. (Jeremiah 40.16 – 41.3, ESV)

Then Ishamael killed 70 of 80 men who had come down from Shechem. And…

Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

Ishmael is NOT a good guy! But Johanan to the rescue!

But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at the great pool that is in Gibeon. And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. (Jeremiah 41.10 – 14, ESV)

Note, “When all the people…saw Johanan and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced.” There is a time for war, and those who fight are heroes who bring joy.

As long as there is evil, there will be a need for war and soldiers to fight it. We’ve just celebrated Memorial Day, the day we remember all those who died fighting for others. Coming up shortly is D-Day, a day that resulted in A LOT of soldiers to remember on Memorial Day, but which paved the way for rejoicing when the Allied Forces finally liberated Europe.

Armed forces used for good:

When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people. (Genesis 14.14 – 16, ESV)

Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way…

Behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. (2 Samuel 30.1, 2, 16 – 19, ESV)

Continuing in Jeremiah, we need to tie up loose ends on King Zedekiah. We saw him in the story of Jeremiah being thrown into the cistern. First Zedekiah gives permission for his officials to do that, then he listens to Ebed-Melech and has him pulled out of the cistern.

Jeremiah gives a final warning to Zedekiah: surrender to the Chaldeans:

But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” (Jeremiah 38.18, 19, ESV)

Zedekiah is more afraid of his own countrymen, doesn’t surrender to the enemy and meets a bad end in Jeremiah 39.

When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at Riblah, in the land of Hamath; and he passed sentence on him. The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. (Jeremiah 39.4 – 7, ESV)

It’s hard to know what the best application is for this story other than God’s purposes will stand, and maybe fear-motivated decisions are sometimes (maybe, usually) not the best.

At any rate, Zedekiah’s capture puts the punctuation mark on the captivity. For Judah, it’s over, at least for 70 years!

See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. (Deuteronomy 30.15 – 18, ESV)

The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy. Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. (2 Chronicles 36.15 – 21, ESV)

I wrote yesterday about my disappointment with people who might experience “grief, frustration, and loss” over a few simple changes to service times. I don’t think we’re doing a good job of producing robust and resilient disciples.

They seem to be doing a better job in China. An article by Brian Spegele in the May 20, 2026, Wall Street Journal has this headline: China Is Throwing Christians in Jail, but This Pastor Refuses to Back Down and this subtitle: Ezra Jin kept his church going—and growing—through years of government intimidation. Now confined to a cell, his defiant faith is still rousing believers. The lengthy article, worth the read in its entirety, opens:

Pastor Ezra Jin was just finishing dinner with his elderly mother-in-law in the Chinese city of Beihai last October when more than a dozen police appeared at the door. 

They stormed the apartment, confiscated his phones and computer, and hauled him off to jail.

Since then, he’s been confined to a dank cell at Beihai’s No. 2 Detention Center, cut off from his flock and his family, 8,000 miles away in the U.S. His sin: leading a church that Xi Jinping couldn’t bring to heel.

Here’s the climate in China under Xi:

Authorities once tolerated Jin and others like him, back when China’s economy was thriving and the country was gradually opening up to the world. 

Then Xi took power and began tightening the screws. Officials interrogated churchgoers, threatened they could lose their jobs and pressured landlords who rented space to churches. Authorities demanded surveillance cameras be installed at Zion. Some of Jin’s assets were frozen, and he was barred from leaving China.

Jin refused to back down. After authorities raided Zion in 2018 and shut it down, he took his preaching online using Zoom and other digital tools—and reached more followers than ever, placing the pastor on a dangerous crash course with Xi’s government. 

His arrest was part of one of China’s biggest crackdowns on Christianity in decades. Jin is being held for suspected “illegal use of information networks” related to Zion’s online ministry, along with 17 others associated with the church. 

And how are the believers handling it? The article continues:

The struggle is about more than one man’s stubborn refusal to surrender his faith. 

To a degree many observers thought impossible when China’s leader took power more than a decade ago, Xi has succeeded in using digital surveillance and tough jail sentences to silence activists, lawyers and business leaders who speak out of turn. But he still can’t fully control Christians, who number in the tens of millions in China.

In fact, many believers say the more authorities seek to suppress Christianity in China, the more the faith will spread and grow stronger.

“It’s the highest honor for a Christian, for people like Pastor Jin, being put in prison,” said Sean Long, another pastor at Zion. “That’s exactly the mark of following Jesus.” 

As I say, you can read the article in its entirety, but I think you get my point: I can’t imagine these people being upset about a change in service times!

…so that we may no longer be children…we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. (Ephesians 4.14, 15, ESV)

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5.11, 12, ESV)

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4.12, 13, ESV)

I will probably get in trouble for this post, but I am really disturbed about this announcement in a church’s email to its members:

As a reminder… Our new Worship and Sunday Community times go into effect June 7.

• Sanctuary will be at 8:30a and 10:15a.
• Worship Center will gather at 9:30a and 11a.
• Most of our Sunday communities will span 9:45a-10:45a, but several will gather earlier or later.

As we’ve already mentioned… grief accompanies any change. As the church works to smooth out wrinkles over the coming months, please be especially sensitive to those experiencing frustration or loss. Be ready to listen authentically, encourage openness to new things, and pass along relevant comments.

What am I disturbed about? Do you see it?

We are a wealthy, spoiled country whose churches have raised up weak, self-centered “disciples” if changing service times causes someone to experience “frustration or loss.” The rest of the members are called to “listen authentically and encourage openness to new things…”

“…grief accompanies any change.”

Really? What kind of change are we talking about?

• 8:30 Sanctuary, no change.
• 10:00 Sanctuary, goes from 1000 – 11:00 to 10:15 – 11:15. Whoa! 15 minutes later.
• 9:00 Worship Center, goes to 9:30 – 10:30, a whopping 30-minute change.
• 11:00 Worship Center, no change.

I’m having trouble mustering sympathy for “grief” and “frustration or loss” on changing service times. I wrote on May 24 about a mother who came home from a business trip to find her 3-year-old son shot to death by his father who then committed suicide. THAT is worth experiencing “frustration and loss” over! NOT changing service times by a few minutes. (Maybe those of you with pastor’s hearts can help me with this.)

Let’s change the comparison: there are millions of Christians in China who would be delighted to have a building to meet in, and a chance to meet without the threat of their pastor or any of the members being hauled off to prison. More on that tomorrow. Please stay tuned.

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11.35 – 38, ESV)

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2.3, 4, ESV)