Happy New Year, dear friends!

In an old book from across the pond in Great Britain, I discovered “A New Year’s Address for 1853.” It was published by the Reverend Thomas William Gittens, and addressed to “The Church of Christ Worshipping at Ebenezer Chapel, Camden Town.” If you’ve traveled to England, you may know that “Camden Town” is now generally shortened to “Camden,” and that it’s the inner city district of northwest London.

Within that “New Year’s Address” is a short poem, and I’d like to share it with you as we prepare to enter 2017.

“Man lives regardless of his state,

Unmindful of his fleeting date,

Absurdly slumbers o’er the deep.

And sings his heedless soul to sleep.

Almighty grace, my soul incline,

To things eternal and divine.

Oh, for a heart t’improve the past,

And weigh each moment as my last.”

Sometimes we’re stuck in the past in an unhealthy way. At other times we’re so fixated on some future event – which may never even transpire – that we’re paralyzed in the present. Neither way is Christ’s way! Jesus has taken care of our past, regardless of how sinful or shameful it may have been, by covering it with His own precious blood. “It is finished” (John 19:30). To live in the past is to undermine His forgiveness. Likewise, our Lord made it very clear that we must never allow tomorrow’s perceived sources of anxiety – and there are plenty of them – to rule in our hearts today (Matthew 6:25-34).

We never want to be like the Israelites of old, whose incessant idolatry: 1) made the past look better than it was; and 2) made the future loom on their mental horizon like some kind of horror flick. They literally sabotaged their own tomorrow by neglecting God today (First Corinthians 10:1-22). The Rock of Christ was theirs all along, but they wanted something else.

Something else …

Yesterday in Walmart I observed two different moms, and one dad, scolding their kids with almost the same rebuke (and here’s my paraphrase): “Stop asking for things! Christmas is barely over!” One mom specifically used the word “ungrateful” with her child, while the second mom reminded her kid that she “already got forty presents.” Maybe the mom was exaggerating the number, but we get the point. It’s time to grow up.

Will you and I grow up? Why in the world would we want “something else” when we already have everything? Last time I checked, Christ was everything.

I did a little research on Pastor Thomas Gittens. He was born in 1791 into a family which “held a respectable position in society.” But God moved in a big way. And, at the age of twenty – and willing to lay aside all pedigree and privilege – Gittens formally declared himself to be “on the Lord’s side.” He died in 1859, six short but fruitful years after penning the new year’s address.

Like the faithful pastor, may you and I declare ourselves “on the Lord’s side.” And may our testimony ring true in 2017. May God grant us the grace to weigh each moment as if it counts forever, because it does indeed.

Pastor Charles

The United Nations has labeled the atrocities against civilians in Aleppo “the worst humanitarian war crime of the 21st century.”

You may remember this fall when I had the privilege of ministering among Syrian refugees in Armenia. As Christmas quickly approaches, my heart is drawn to our brothers and sisters in that part of God’s world. It probably doesn’t feel much like “Fa La La” in an environment of genocide against Christian believers and other minorities in Iraq and Syria. According to Patrick Sookhdeo of the Barnabas Fund: “It is like going back 1000 years and seeing the barbarity that Christians are having to live under. I think we are dealing with a group which makes Nazism pale in comparison, and I think they have lost all respect for human life.”

All of this horrific activity is centered at the dot on our planet which we regard as the cradle of human civilization, and especially of Christianity. When we think of Syria, we’re reminded of Paul’s own dramatic conversion to Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-22). In the 1920’s, Christians made up nearly a third of the Syrian population. That number was down to less than ten percent by the time civil war erupted in 2011, and is now down to less than five percent. Approximately 7.6 million Syrians have been internally displaced within the country, and some four million have fled Syria for other countries. The result has been one of the largest forced migrations since World War Two.

Specifically worth noting, Aleppo is Syria’s largest city. It is likely the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, following Damascus and Byblos (which is in Lebanon). Aleppo is also home to the country’s largest population of Christians. Friends, here’s something else you must know: about eight million children remain in Syria! Save the Children estimates that about forty percent of the besieged population in Eastern Aleppo are children. Can you imagine what everyday life is like for them right now? In late September Carol Anning told the BBC: “What we have seen in Aleppo in the last couple of days is totally indiscriminate bombing from the air, so children are impacted just as much or more than adults.” And things have gone from bad to worse.

Antioch was the city where Christ’s disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). Please join me in praying for Christ’s “peace on earth” where it all began.

Pastor Charles

“Silver Bells” was first performed by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell in the motion picture The Lemon Drop Kid, filmed in 1950 and released in 1951. The song’s first recorded version was performed by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards, with John Scott Trotter’s orchestra, and released in 1950. After the Crosby and Richards recording became popular, Hope and Maxwell were called back in late 1950 to produce a more elaborate version. The song’s inspiration is the subject of conflicting reports, but several periodicals and interviews cite the writer Jay Livingston affirming that the idea for the song came from the bells used by all the Salvation Army sidewalk Santa Clauses on New York City streets. Perhaps that’s the case, and I suppose we’ll never know for sure.

But this I do know, because it’s well documented. In 1885 Charles Spurgeon preached in London a sermon which he titled, “A Sweet Silver Bell Ringing in Each Believer’s Heart.” Spurgeon’s theme was simply this: one of our greatest joys ought to be our absolute certainty that God hears us when we pray. He based that message on Micah 7:7.

Do you ever feel like the craziness of the Christmas season is working against your spiritual life? If that’s your situation right now – and believe me, you’re not alone – I want to encourage you to pull away from it all, and pray. You may be surprised by just how hastily the Lord will meet you right where you are, and how His Word and presence will calm many of those seasonal anxieties. This is a great time to ponder the joys and wonders of Christ’s gospel. Without Bethlehem, we’d have no bells to ring or songs to sing! Christ is all.

Andrew Murray wrote: “How often we complain of darkness, of feebleness, of failure, as if there was no help for it. And God has promised in answer to our prayer to supply our every need, and give us His light, and strength, and peace. Would that we realized the responsibility of having such a God, and such promises, with the sin and shame of not availing ourselves of them to the utmost. How confident we should feel that the grace, which we have accepted and trusted to enable us to pray as we should, will be given.”

As a pastor I’m reminded every December that this time of year is painful for many. As we face the realities of families that aren’t perfect, expectations that can’t be realized, and Christmases that aren’t “just like the ones I used to know,” may we embrace with Jesus the moment that is now. He is good. He is here. He is ours.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Pastor Charles

I wanted to post a quick thought or two before the day’s end, mostly just to ask you to pray for the people of Chapeco, Brazil, who are mourning the loss of their beloved soccer team. They were scheduled to play tomorrow for the first time in the Copa Sudamericana Final, which was to be the moment of a lifetime for a small-town “football” team. Their charter flight crashed in the Colombian mountains, and at least 71 perished, including a number of journalists who were covering the story that had all the makings of a Disney feel-good movie. On Sunday, Chapecoense nearly defeated the famed Sao Paulo club Palmeiras, which won 1-0 in a nationally televised match to claim its first Brazilian league title in decades.

For purposes of perspective, just imagine something like this happening to a Paducah team that was on top of the world. In Chapeco, everyone in town knew at least somebody on board that plane. The community is more than devastated.

Perhaps we who live in such a tight-knit and sports-minded small city are uniquely called to pray tonight. “Brazilian football is in mourning,” said Pelé, Brazil’s most famous soccer star. “It is such a tragic loss.” The team tweeted after the crash, in Portuguese of course, that they want their “warriors” to be remembered joyfully.

Jesus wept (John 11:35).

Pastor Charles

Advent is a season of waiting. Expecting. It’s a time of looking forward with hope, even when a complete understanding of every circumstance is impossible. Advent is a season of longing for that which has been promised.

If you stop and think about it, the first “Advent” went on for thousands of years. From the Lord’s first hopeful mention to Adam and Eve of a promised Redeemer (Genesis 3:15), through all of Isaiah’s prophecies and well beyond, everyone waited for the Messiah to come. I think it’s safe to assume that few people actually expected Christ to come during their own lifetime, however, and that almost no one expected Christ’s first coming in the precise way that “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14). It was simply too much to comprehend. Even now we marvel at all of the stunning details.

But Christ came. Indeed He came. Angels had paved the way for Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, and Joseph to understand. Simeon knew the moment He saw Jesus. So did John the Baptist. And, in time, the first Christmas changed everything.

This morning just before 10:00 in Columbus, an Ohio State University student was shot dead by police after he purposefully drove his car into several pedestrians, and then attacked and stabbed multiple others with a butcher knife. Sadly, you and I are becoming almost immune to such reports.

But didn’t that angel who spoke to those frightened Bethlehem shepherds promise PEACE? Yes. Absolutely, yes. In fact the goal of both creation and redemption is the glory of God. Our Lord desires to be known and praised for His glory. And those who will adore our great God for eternity will be those who are filled with His peace. Even peace on earth. We can think of Christ’s kingdom as a new and peace-filled humanity. Paradise restored!

But we’re not there yet. At least not entirely. And I know that I didn’t even need to tell you that. Could Tom Petty have been a timeless theologian? “The waiting is the hardest part” (1981). At least on that point, Petty was spot on.

A much better source of lyrical inspiration for us, God’s songbook (Psalm 130:5-6), declares: “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.” The psalmist was comparing waiting expectantly on God to the night guards of a city who watched the clock as they anticipated the coming dawn – which would mean their release from duty. The dawn’s coming was a sure thing, but it was not to be quite yet.

You and I are still caught in the not quite yet. We need Jesus to calm our anxious souls, while we wait on Him to do that which is immeasurably better than what we would do “to fix things” if left to our own devices.

Susannah Spurgeon, the wife of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, counseled her own restless heart with these words: “The Lord has strewn the pages of God’s Word with blessedness to those who wait for Him. And remember, His slightest Word stands fast and sure; it can never fail you. So, my soul, see that you have a promise underneath thee, for then your waiting will be a resting and a firm foothold, for your hope will give you confidence in Him who has said, ‘They shall not be ashamed that wait for Me.’”

So wait we must, but not without marvelous hope.

Blessed Advent!

Pastor Charles

As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of The Fellowship:Downtown, I want to extend a special “thank you” to Starfish Orphan Ministry.

Since the launch of our first satellite campus at 1000 Broadway, Starfish Orphan Ministry has graciously opened their building – and their hearts – to us. This has enabled the family of First Baptist Paducah to enlarge our witness for Christ, and to reach a segment of our city that we want to serve for His glory. Laura and John Roberts have welcomed and blessed us by their hospitality, energy, and willing-to-do-whatever-it-takes attitude.

If you’re unfamiliar with Starfish, not only do they serve our city well, but they also connect the people of Paducah with service opportunities in El Salvador and beyond. Their motto is: “We believe that everyone can make a difference, one child at a time.” And that is what Starfish does. Instead of writing off 150 million orphans as a number so massive that helping them is impossible, Starfish focuses on one child at a time. Human contact. Food. Clothing. Foster care. Adoption. Mentoring. Missions.

In a nutshell, love.

In very unique ways, Starfish also loves our community here. Through Kendra’s Kloset, Starfish serves single parents, foster parents, and teens who are aging out of the foster care system. They serve as a clearinghouse for desperately needed items from diapers to bunkbeds. They love Paducah, and serve our neighbors as Christ’s hands and feet.

So I’ve been thinking about how we might give back. Right now one of our church members is volunteering at Starfish one day each week and, specifically, receiving clients as they come in to request assistance. According to Laura, this volunteer’s service to Starfish is invaluable. It primarily involves processing necessary paperwork and praying with those who want prayer support.

Here’s my question: Are any of you available to do this kind of thing on another day of the week? Please pray about the possibility. If you can help, please let me know, or call Laura directly.

The Apostle Paul reminded the Philippians and us (2:5-7) to maintain a Christlike mind. That mind is “ours in Christ Jesus,” as we – like Christ – “take the form of a servant.” Almost every place where the word “servant” appears in the New Testament, it is the Greek word “doulos,” which means a “slave” or a “person of servile condition.” Our Lord Jesus shared all glory with His Father in heaven, but He emptied Himself anyway. When you and I are servants of Christ, we do what He calls us to do. That’s not always easy, but we are privileged to have been called to such a high calling.

That’s right. To serve in the lowest role is the highest honor (Mark 9:35). Thank you, Starfish, for showing us that. It is a pleasure and joy to love Paducah, and the ends of the earth, with you.

Pastor Charles

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.

Thank you, Veterans. Thank you. Just three days ago, we exercised the gift of democratic process that military members of the past helped ensure. We are most grateful for your service, and we recognize that it was a sacrificial service that less than one percent of the American population is willing to shoulder.

I can recall protests against our military from among my earliest memories. I was born in 1963. Though my father served in Vietnam, I came into the world during a season of American life marked by student demonstrations which labeled heroes as villains. I’ve always loved my country but, as I’ve aged well into my late 30’s J, my sense of patriotism has both deepened and widened.

I must tell you that some of this has happened because of Christian missions. As I’ve visited more and more parts of the world, I’ve had to come face-to-face with the reality of how blessed we are to be citizens of the United States of America. I’ve been to places where women are second-class citizens (at best). I’ve been to places where giving away a Bible is against the law. I’ve been to places where the news media are controlled by the government, and where any message contrary to “the party line” was blacked out on my television screen. I’ve been to places where good education is inaccessible to all but the most wealthy and privileged. I’ve been to places marked by a degree of widespread corruption that makes America’s most unseemly moments look, by comparison, more like a squabble on a kindergarten playground.

And I’ve been to places where I’ve wept, literally, upon boarding my flight bound for home. Were they tears of joy? No. They were tears of profound sadness because I felt so utterly helpless in my small attempts to make any difference whatsoever. I remember flying out of Haiti after the earthquake feeling so guilty that I was able to step onto a 757 and get out of there. And then I felt horribly sad and selfish because I hadn’t given my last twenty dollars to the young woman who had tried to sell me some stupid trinket at the airport at Port-au-Prince.

It is on this day, November 11, 1918, that Private Harry Gunther from Baltimore was killed. That may seem insignificant to you, but it’s important because Gunther was the last American killed during World War I. It was also on this date in 1918 that Germany signed the Armistice treaty – in a railroad car – in Compiegne, France. That marked the end of the First World War. We all know at least something of why this day matters, but perhaps our veterans need more from us than just a word of thanks.

Over 17 American veterans kill themselves every day. That is a rate at its highest level in history. And current members of the United States military are taking their own lives at a rate of one a day. That’s another tragic statistic, as suicide has become the leading cause of death among our troops. I would urge you to check out the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Wounded Warrior Project, and Homes for Our Troops. You can also donate your frequent flier miles through the Hero Miles Program of the Fisher House Foundation, as a way to help bring family members to the bedside of the injured.

If you have veterans in your family or within your sphere of influence, pray for and with them. Be an encourager (First Thessalonians 5:11). Be a friend (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).

St. Augustine said that “the purpose of all war is peace.” May Christ’s peace be yours today and forever.

Pastor Charles

As last week drew to a close, several of you kindly suggested that I show an excellent video from Franklin Graham in our morning service yesterday, and others asked me to publish a voter’s guide from an outside organization. I chose instead to share from my own heart. As I wrote down my thoughts in preparing to speak, I asked God to help me be pastoral rather than political. Several of you have requested yesterday’s transcript, so I share it here. Before we, as a church family, prayed for our nation yesterday – just forty-eight hours before our national election – here is what I said …

I want to urge you to vote Tuesday. Don’t fall into anger or despondency. You and I still serve a Sovereign God! Voting is a God-given privilege in our land, and one way for Christ-followers to function as “salt and light” as our Lord Jesus commanded us (Matthew 5:13-16).

As your senior pastor, I believe that there are before us at least four colossal moral issues:

1. We need to value all human life as created in God’s image, just as we’ve learned in our Genesis study. It will be a tragedy if our government repeals the Hyde Amendment, thereby apportioning the use of every citizen’s tax dollars to fund abortions. I pray that those who fear God will influence both political parties to work unashamedly toward a culture of life and hope.

2. We need the appointment of Supreme Court justices who will seek to administer “liberty and justice for all,” including religious liberty for all. Our next President will likely appoint multiple justices who will influence American life for decades. Without political motivation, we need humble and reasonable men and women on the Court who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, including limits on government overreach and the accountability that comes from the separation of powers as wisely and carefully designed by our Constitutional Framers.

3. We need jobs, and a restored work ethic in our land. I don’t think that we can rely entirely on the unemployment index, because those numbers tend to be manipulated for political gain. But if you look at the last report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (October 2016), you’ll discover that we have over 94,000,000 working-age adults outside the labor force. This is hitting all segments of our society hard, but it is especially tragic for African Americans. This should break our hearts. African American young people in our inner cities can’t find jobs, not even decent summer jobs. As you know, poverty leads to many other social ills, and the lack of gainful employment tends to create a vicious generational cycle of despair.

4. We need for American influence in the world to be both strong and We can’t compromise on protecting our citizens. Nor should we enter into a season of strict isolationism, which would harm our already fledgling economy and cut us off from the opportunities across the globe – which we have enjoyed throughout American history – to love our neighbor in distress. Through America’s generous spirit, God has opened doors for the Church, and allowed in unprecedented fashion Americans to export Christ’s good news to the ends of the Earth.

To quote the singer Kari Jobe: “Wake up, sleeper, lift your head; we were meant for more than this. Fight the shadows, conquer death, make the most of time we have left. We are the light of the world, we are the city on the hill, we are the light of the world. We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine!”

Pastor Charles

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” First Peter 2:9.

Wow! Chosen. Royal. Holy.

But, really? Us?

Though God must think we’re a sight for sore eyes, aren’t we as Christ’s Church sometimes a funny-looking bunch? I don’t mean that we can’t get all dressed up and looking dapper from time to time, but I mean that we’re always an interesting assortment of every imaginable – and even few unimaginable – personalities, temperaments, and preferences!

But you and I are the Church. Living proof that our Creator has a wonderful sense of humor. I don’t understand why God chose the Church to be His hands and feet and voice on Planet Earth, but I’m sure glad He did. Warts and all, I’m so grateful to be a part of Christ’s body. Are you?

Charles Spurgeon more than once preached on the safety of every Christian believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. I’ll never forget a quote from one of Pastor Spurgeon’s sermons, where “the prince of preachers” was describing Noah, his family, and all the animals held safely in God’s Ark (both literally and figuratively): “All, blessed be God, were safe in the ark, no ruin entered there. From the huge elephant down to the tiny mouse all were safe. The timid hare was equally secure with the courageous lion, the helpless cony as safe as the laborious ox. All are safe in Jesus.”

Isn’t that a great thought? Regardless of all of our distinctive personalities, temperaments, and preferences, we are one. One in Christ Jesus! He is the glue that holds us together. Christ is our identity, our life, and our joy. You and I are immeasurably blessed in Him.

Are you the elephant (political preferences aside), with a strong and sometimes intimidating presence? Secure. Always steady under pressure.

Are you the mouse who tends to run for hiding when things get a little frightening?

Are you the hare? Not longing for much of the spotlight, and preferring your fair share of anonymity.

Are you the lion? So sure of who you are that you’re willing to take bold risks. (Risks that would scare the stuffing out of the rest of us.)

Do you feel like the tiny creature who’s been through so many trials that you feel like there’s no strength left?

Or do you feel more like the storms of life have made you wiser, and even stronger?

Truth is, we’re all in it together. And we all need each other. Whoever you are, God has made you – and is still making you – a very special you. “All, blessed be God, were safe in the ark.” You are the apple of our Savior’s eye.

And, if I might put in my two cents, I also think you’re more than terrific.

Pastor Charles

Since Lifeway has just pulled from its shelves the books of Jen Hatmaker, I feel compelled to speak. Jen Hatmaker is a New York Times bestselling author from Austin, Texas. She’s a bright, dynamic, 42-year-old pastor’s wife and a compelling blogger. She’s a mom of five – and from what I’ve observed via a couple of HGTV episodes in which the family transformed their old farmhouse into a dream home – Brandon, Jen, and their kids are loads of fun and would make terrific neighbors.

Jen has been criticized before. She is outspoken, and she has little patience with “evangelicals” who don’t bother to love their neighbor. She pushes people out of their churchy comfort zones. I have defended Jen in several different conversations over the years. Once I remember she was seen with a wine glass in high-profile photographs. My response to her accusers, though phrased a bit more politely than this, was something along the lines of: “Who cares? I guess you wouldn’t like some pictures of Jesus, were those also available.”

But I must say, as much as it saddens me to say it, Lifeway has made the right decision. In an interview Tuesday, Jen Hatmaker told Religion News Service columnist Jonathan Merritt that she believes that LGBT relationships can be “holy.” Also in Jen’s own words, “any two adults have the right to choose who they want to love … our communities have plenty of gay couples who, just like the rest of us, need marriage support and parenting help and Christian community … Not only are these our neighbors and friends, but they are brothers and sisters in Christ. They are adopted into the same family as the rest of us.”

Jen is so close to the truth. The church has failed in ministry to many. We have, wrongly, made certain sins “super sins.” I would totally agree with Jen that “we have to do better.” Amen! But to embrace a sinful and rebellious lifestyle as “holy” not only gets the Bible wrong, but it cuts off from Christ’s gospel people who desperately need Christ’s gospel.

Though none of us wants to be stuck in dead tradition, we must be anchored in living truth. I think of the Passover. What was the point? That God’s people never forget where we’ve come from, and what God has done for us. And what God has revealed to us about Himself, including what He has shown us about what is right and what is wrong. The British novelist who penned The Travelling Grave, L.P. Hartley, once wrote: “The past may be a foreign country, but it is not so foreign that it has not been a constant resource for the church throughout the centuries.”

Speaking of Hartley’s short story, I must tell you that my pastoral concerns regarding these types of postmodern doctrinal evolutions – and I envision many more of these coming down the pike – feel ominous to me. It’s certainly not just an abandonment of our heritage that disturbs me. It’s an abandonment of God’s Word. Far surpassing our love for either “liberal” or “conservative” ought to be our love for the Scriptures.

I think of Princeton Seminary, once the global center of sound theology (I don’t think that’s an overstatement). What happened when the leading influencers at Princeton began to prize academic (cultural) acceptance over reliance upon revealed truth? The train bound for more and more “intellectual enlightenment” left the station. The forces against the “shackles of the past” – in nearly the blink of an eye – blew up the gospel underpinnings upon which Princeton had been founded. Confessional truth gave way to subjective disaster.

This has been played out countless times in denominations, churches, homes, and hearts since the first “Did God really say?” in the Garden. We ought to weep. I am no backwoods fundamentalist redneck, but I will say this: If we can no longer declare to be true what God has declared to be true, then we have lost the battle. Regardless of the depth of compassion which first moved us to open our hearts to any group of people, without God’s truth we are lost.

It is not enough to say that we believe the Bible to be the Word of God. The real question is: Will we yield to the Bible’s authority when we need it the most, even when we loathe its present and personal application?

Jen, if you read this, please come home. We love you in Christ. We will love all your friends too, but please come home.

Pastor Charles