THE CHILDREN's CHAIN GANG AT CHURCH- LESSONS IN KOINONIA

Dallas is all BOY.He is a little younger than my First graders . He's one of my special friends- a bundle of energy  and a bounce in his step.... always ready with smile. It's easy to tell that he loves being with his friends at Opening Assembly every Sabbath morning. I lead them in singing hymns, praise songs, and  a short lesson- our lesson  ties into our catechism question for the day....after all we ARE good Presbyterians... A Sabbath Day without Catechism is like a day without sunshine... :)

I always encourage the children as they make their way to their Sunday School classes. Dallas had answered all the questions correctly last Sunday... He wisely reminded all of us that God Loves us because of what Jesus Did for us... He reminded us that we ca'nt do anything to "make" God love us any more.. or any Less... Heaven is a free gift... In other words, Dallas reminded us of the Gospel... After assembly, I told  him "Dallas, you are becoming a strong disciple, your  faith is growing, and you are doing a GREATjob reminding us about what the Bible teaches... then I asked Him, " How did ALL that HAPPEN???"..... without hesitation he looked me right in the eyes, showed me that gigantic smile and said...," It's all because I sit in a CHAIN OF FRIENDS!!!"... a little puzzled ( it comes from too many years hanging out with adults), I asked," What do you mean by that??" He said," You saw it... you see it every Sunday... we have a chain of friends.. we all sit together.. side by side... we are close... THATS why we are becoming strong disciples"....

Now If I had asked an adult " " How'd you come to learn that??" or " How is it that you have grown so much in your faith?".... I suspect I would hear something like," WELL, I have been doing an exhaustive study of Calvin, Luther, Knox.... I read all the Puritan commentaries...OR " I have a degree in Theology, did some seminary work..... you know the things adults say.... sometimes they miss the answers because they want you think they are super-theologians.... it's about something THEY DID.... Those adults.... Lets pray for them..

Let's pray that they understand what Dallas understands- The answer is the "chain of friends( i.e. Brothers and Sisters in Christ) who "sit" together,"side by side", "staying close to one another" ! They support one another, they exhort one another, they encourage one another in their faith.... they live in KOINONIA. sharing with /sharing in the preaching of the Word, prayer, and the sacraments... this is the answer that Scripture gives us- you know ... yep there's LOTS OF "ONE ANOTHER" scriptures- love One another, be patient with one another, encourage one another, Thats how STRONG DISCIPLES are MADE...

SO..... The next time you get your feelings hurt , and want to go sit in the corner by yourself  ... DO'NT DO THAT!!!!..... go BACK  to the Chain of Friends.... because thats the place where your faith is made stronger.... Back on the chain gang......

" TREASURE" IN THE LIBRARY( Mrs. Neal shared with us!)

I ca'nt remember the first time I saw her... but as long as I can remember, she wore that beautiful crown of  white hair- My parents who grew up here in our little town knew her, they knew her story. They can tell you where she was born, where she went to college, and where she  met Mr. Neal. I ca'nt tell you those things... but I can tell you about her treasure- YES.. she had LOTS of treasure stored up... but you could'nt see it- or could you?????

She was our librarian when I was in elementary school. I ca'nt remember any specific conversations that I had with her in those days- but I do remember a Friend of hers that was always with her, there in the Library. She introduced Him to many hundreds of students through the years.

I remember the first time she introduced her Friend to us. It was just a couple of days before Christmas Break, and we spent our library time watching a slide show( remember those?). Mrs. Neal made sure that her students heard  the true story of Christmas. The story of Jesus's life was flashed upon that little screen in the school library for all and everyone to see-  we were told of  His death, burial, and resurrection . We were introduced to Him;  the Gospel message was clearly presented , We saw Mrs Neal's  GREATEST Treasure, it was a pearl of great price....

Because she was a daughter of the all loving and generous King, she shared His treasure with everyone. She was always willing and ready to help those in need, she always had a listening ear, and she poured her life into the young people of Fayette County. All of us are blessed because she loved us-

I appreciated Joan Neal because she was not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. " Her" Jesus was ( and IS) the REAL JESUS... She shared a Jesus who came to earth to die for us, to pay for our sins- so that we could be forgiven of our sins.

 - She went to be with her Friend the other day. She is now completely healed, she is at complete and perfect rest, she is MORE ALIVE than she has ever been... and we are blessed because she was with us for a while- She touched so many lives with the Father's Love- Jesus said that when we spend time sharing HIS LOVE with others, we are" storing up treasures in Heaven , where moth and rust can not corrupt- "

Thank you Mrs Neal for showing us what is really important, Thank you for showing us your Treasure... and thank you for Sharing Him

BLESSED ARE THE SHOEBOXES- for they shall be filled( why are YOU whispering?)

The safety scissors were safely scissoring, the wrapping paper was wrapping , the smiley-face stickers were sticking - Two shoeboxes were getting  extreme makeovers... and the Voice that was heard at the end of the makeover did not require a megaphone ... It was not "shouting "that declared the"job" a success... it was a Whisper- a whisper that was clearly heard above the excited voices of my Sunday School students...They were decorating Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. We talked while we worked..." I wonder just WHERE our boxes will go??? Maybe Haiti?? OH, I hope a kid in Cherokee gets one of our shoeboxes.. That would be cool".. we filled them with toys,toothbrushes, crayons, coloring books, and letters.... .

Dear Friend,
                  I hope you like the toys we sent you. I am praying that you have a Merry Christmas. God Bless You. I Love YOU!

After we finished the letters, we took prayer requests like we do every Sunday.. one of my boys said" Mr. Callaway, lets not only pray that the kids who get our boxes will like the stuff... but that they will come to know Jesus"....

"Blessed are the eyes that see the things that you see, Blessed are the ears that hear the things that you hear"

There's that Whisper......can you hear it???

..... That VOICE is saying it's not about the stuff.. It's about Jesus The children know it.. they know that when we reach out in Love , God will use us  to draw souls into His Kingdom. ??? After 18 years of teaching( or being taught by) children, I am beginning to understand what Jesus meant when He said" Let the little children come unto me, and forbid them not.. for of such is the Kingdom of God"... If children  are "OF" the Kingdom, then we should not be surprised when they  teach us what His Kingdom is like... let the children speak to you... Come on in to our class......join us on the floor.. surrounded by tape,glue-stick, crayons,wrapping paper.. wait a second... can ya hand me the purple marker??? Thank you!!!...

hey... do'nt ya love it here??? It sure beats that OTHER Sunday School class that you usually hang out in... the one with all the adults... why I bet they are trying to figure out supralapsarianism again... we "handled" that one in here last year.." The Secret things belong to the Lord our God but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever".... we LOVE verses with Families and children in'em..:)

Whats That?? what are we doing here?? well.. yes we are filling shoeboxes for needy children.. we are decorating the boxes, we are using up ALL that dollar store wrapping paper... YES.. WE ARE!!! but let me tell ya what we are REALLY DOING... we are building the Kingdom.... thats right...you see, our Sovereign Lord has His hand upon every act of kindness ... He will use these shoeboxes ..- and the people who pass them out- to bring many people into His Kingdom... His kingdom is not made of stones... it IS made up of LIVING stones... as we share HIS love, those living stones are being added to the kingdom... SO... it may look a little messy.. it might be a little LOUD.. HEY we are excited when we are working on HIS building...its not about the Stuff... it's about Jesus....

Can you hear something...???

CROOKED,KNOTTY,AND A LITTLE TWISTED( How's the branches on your Family Tree?)

I AM one of THOSE.... I confess... Lots of people laugh at us, they look at us with that smirk on their face and say," How in the world do you have time to do that?"; " I have better things to do with my time"; " Why do you wanna know about them folks that lived so long ago?"( Aunt Liza asked me that one... she did'nt wait for an answer- she quickly expectorated her gravy colored spittle of snuff ,slammed the door and walked away) I am proud to be ONE.. yep, you guessed it- I am a genealogy "nut".. thats really the best way to describe us. We are not "certified" genealogists... but we are certified crazy.. crazy about climbing our family trees.. and once we start climbin' , it's hard to come down out of that tree! We explore every branch and vine, and when we find a crooked, knotty, twisted branch.. we stop climbing... we sit THERE for a while.. and we listen...





we hear about the young boy who came to this continent as an indentured servant. He worked in the fields to pay for his passage to America... the details of his life are few and far between... but Court Records tell us that he fathered a child out of wedlock, He and the child's mother were charged with "Bastardry" and They were ordered to pay a fine of several pounds of Tobacco... their story made the branch crooked, knotty, and a little twisted... it caught our eye... and our imagination. In our mind's eye, we see them... maybe late at night, meeting in secret, plotting and planning their future??Fear of the unknown consumes them.. and yet they go on to marry, raise a family, and die at a ripe old age. I am so glad that I rested on their branch... and listened to their tale. It comforts me, it reminds me that my struggles are not mysterious and esoteric, "struggle" runs in the family....It's in my blood... it's in my DNA





Sometimes we look around while we are sitting on that crooked, knotty, twisted branch.. and we see that others have joined us. Like us, they were climbing around on the family tree, completely content exploring birth years, names, states, and surname spellings... then they heard a whisper... something deep inside told them to venture "over there" ... yes... to the branch that was shaped by fear, struggle, hardship,adventure, heartache.. and survival... all the emotions and obstacles that make up the human condition. Like us, they rejoice that our ancestors left us a record of their journey.. so we sit there together and listen...after all we are "kin"- we are kindred spirits





I met one of those kindred spirits the other day. She and I "found" each other as we were climbing - we discovered that we were both looking for that certain branch-, the one that was given a unique shape and feel -by a man who was a Lawyer, a preacher, a theologian, a philosopher, and a million other things all at the same time. When my new friend told me that she was indeed related to the eccentric and colorful character that I had been searching for, my words were," I finally found YOU, I have been searching for so long"! what a joy it was to know that she and I and the Lawyer/Preacher/Theologian all came from that same twig that grew into a fine strong tree.. Some of the branches are straight and true... some are crooked, knotty, and a little twisted... but they are all strong....



we experience so much joy and wonder as we sit together on that branch.. it's delightful when we discover that we share common traits and "quirks" in our respective families... it's exciting to share family stories- it reminds us that we are really all alike.. in so many ways... the Greeks had a word for FELLOWSHIP," KOINONIA"... the best way to describe it is "sharing with and sharing together" Thats what my newly discovered kindred spirit cousin and I are experiencing... the branches are not perfect... but they are strong....

SACRAMENTAL BRAVERY( YALL KNOW WHAT YA NEED TO DO)

My friend Pastor Mike is a strong man of God. He's a Christian First, a Husband and Dad, a soldier , a chaplain, and a Pastor.. and Oh yeah, He happens to be African American. He Pastors a Presbyterian Church that is made up of mostly African -american congregants... whenever I am not busy in ministry on Sunday mornings, Maria and I go and worship with our brothers and sisters at Redemption Fellowship. One of the blessings of being part of the body of Christ is that we are the ones who can TRULY celebrate our diversity... we can be UNIFIED and still maintain our differences... you know what I'm talking about.. do'nt pretend you do'nt... we ALL know that for the most part, the African American worship time is a whole lot more expressive( ok... I'll go ahead and say it: "JOYOUS") than the worship at mostly white churches... I mean when was the last time you saw a PRESBYTERIAN raising his Hands in worship, or clapping, or swaying to the music( sorry... I am a presbyterian Elder, I am not allowed to type the word," DANC_NG)??? Like I said, we do'nt all have to Worship with the SAME level of emotion in the Body of Christ, but we CAN learn something from each other... and I have been thinking about the ONE THING that The "caucasian" church can learn from our African American brethren that will help us to grow as followers of Christ... and thats BRAVERY IN THE SACRAMENTS... OK, I can hear yall hollerin' at the same time," WHAT???? what in the name of Zacharias Urinius is bravery in the Sacraments??" I am so glad you asked.... I will tell you





A few Sundays ago, Maria and I were worshipping at Pastor Mike's church . It was a glorious time of worship - some children were being presented for Baptism. The assistant Pastor talked a little about Baptism.. and then Pastor Mike came up to baptise the children... but before He poured the water on the children's heads... the Holy Spirit poured down upon Pastor Mike, he turned to the congregation, gave them THEIR charge, and said plainly and unashamedly," Some of Yall here are Christians and your children have not been baptized- Yall need to bring them for Baptism, so do it"... What boldness! What refreshing "bluntness" from the mouth of the man of God. You see, the African - american church encourages, and fosters boldness and bravery when it comes to the sacraments. They still RESPECT THEIR PASTORS... they understand that HE deserves to be honored . He is in a place of authority over them.. we do'nt get that in the "white" church... we are so caught up in our egalitarianism... Our Pastor is just another "GUY" at the church... and he better not be trying to tell us what to do... How dare he???IN FACT, we want to tell HIM what to do.. we have women's ministry leaders reading books about Church Leadership -telling our Pastors how to "lead the church".. we 'do'nt respect the man of God... we try to tell him how to do his job . We criticize him and judge him. " Who is HE to tell us what to do??"Thats how WE think....but in the African american church, the Pastor is respected and honored in such a way that bravery in the sacraments is a GIVEN... The Pastor SHEPERDS the flock, He is EXPECTED to tell it like it is... especially with Baptism and the Lord's Supper... the means of Grace that the Lord Jesus has given to the church... There's no half hearted plea for those who feel "lead of the Lord " to submit to these Holy Mysteries, there's no "APOLOGY" to the Immersionist- anti- paedo baptist visitors ( who deep down in their heart of hearts KNOW that their children are NOT LIKE the children of UNBELIEVERS- thats why they came up with that thing they call "Baby dedication"... sorry- thats for another blog post)





My Prayer is that ALL the Churches of Jesus Christ will respect and honor their Pastors- that they will encourage sacramental boldness and bravery in the Pulpit. This is the need of the Church.. it's not a super hip worship leader, it's not a new power-point presentation, it's not a well designed" catch phrase" oops.. sorry ..uh.I mean." Vision statement".. We need a sacramental view of the Church... and oh yes... it will be ok if ya raise your hands.. but wait till the benediction... while everyone's eyes are closed.. NO-one will see you.. and thats another thing.. your eyes are supposed to be open during benediction... uh oh.. lets save THAT for another blog-


Have Fun this summer and keep in touch,


Clay

The Cruel Laughter from The Right( Al and Tipper, John and Elizabeth)

Hello friends, romans, country folks, and neo-platonists! It's that time again... yep.. time for some more thoughts from your buddy the old mud-daubber... sorry its me.. again! It's starting to get hot down here in the southland and the news on my color tv screen is even hotter these days.. down at the general store , theres talk about the oil spewing out of the ocean floor... (ai'nt it funny that we can put a car in a rocket, shoot it up to Mars, operate it remote control from MILLIONS of miles a way... but we can't stop an oil leak in the ocean floor)but lately I been thinkin and studyin on the stuff thats spewing out of the mouths ( and hearts) of the folks on the " Right".. you know who I'm talking about.. after all, yours truly is proud to be numbered among that group-.. lots of "us" refer to ourselves as Conservative republicans, we proudly wave the banner of "traditional" values. We are pro-family, pro-gun, pro-life... we get upset about the "liberals "when they start talking about gay marriage... because The Bible says that marriage is between ONE woman and ONE man... it's a Holy Institution ordained by God. We get on our soap box, shake our fingers, pound the podium, and Holler( sorry yankee friends- that means "SHOUT") ...and we SHOULD... we should NEVER shrink back from speaking the TRUTH about marriage, and relationships that are spelled out in the Scripture....



Thats why it hurt me so to see how that many on the "right" reacted to the news of Al and Tipper Gore's separation... and John and Elizabeth Edward"s divorce.. In other posts, I have commented on how that our old friend , the TELEVISION has taught us to laugh at the problems and struggles of others. so called "conservative " internet groups stumble all over each other in cyber space, trying to be the first to make a joke about Al and Tipper's 40 year marriage falling apart..and that John Edwards affair?? wow... such hilarious stuff... the wife with cancer, the baby born out of wedlock... can I get a rim-shot please??? our culture encourages us to find humor in adultery, unfaithfulness, broken vows, the tears of children and grandchildren, loneliness, sadness- think about it... ... thats REALLY what you are laughing at... families being torn apart by selfishness... our Flag of Traditional Family Values is being trampled on.. and WE wear the cruel boots that do the most damage...

The Works Salvation Taught By Campus Ministries(I think i'll just join a Fraternity)

Hello again Kids! It's me again.. yep the old Cotton chopper is back with some crumbs from the poor man's table.. sorry it ai'nt much.. but such as I have, I will give you... ! The fields are all plowed, Papa has got all the fields plowed up and things are already growing... the old summertime is not too far off... Lots of the college students are home for the summer. Some of 'em are blessed to have jobs.. some are still lookin, so pray for them- I ran into some college students the other day down at the general store.. It was good to see the young people back in town... they are learning lots of important stuff at them there institutions of higher learning, they are doing good, serving in ministries on campus.. doing service projects... now THATS GOOD STUFF... I was proud to hear about it.. but it also seems some NOT so good things are happening in some of them student ministries.. it was kinda shocking... kinda sad..



It seems that some of those OutREACH Ministries to College students have developed what they call a " Clique" mentality... Yep- you got it... I said it( well, actually I typed it) the leaders of one of these ministries make the other believers feel like they are LESS if they are'nt part of the "leadership" group- the WORST part is that these leaders are telling the members of the ministry what to do in EVERY area of their life, how to schedule their time, where to live, etc etc. where to go to church.. yep... its happening and this is sad... because some of the young believers who want to minister are coming away from meetings broken- thinking that they are not GOOD Christians if they do'nt "tow the Line".. they are not really serving God with all their heart if they don't do it the way the Campus Ministry Leader says to do it... this is sad... can you say "PERFORMANCE- Based affirmation..." Yes.. I thought you could....



Now before ya start accusing the old Agrarian Agitator of being agitated because some hyper-sensitive college students are whining about their insecurities.. let me say this.. that ai'nt the case- The students who told me this were not at the recieving end of this crazy attitude from minstry leaders....it was some other students on campus.. who were and are devastated.. My rant here is to let yall know whats going on... the leaders of the ministry leaders need to look into what is being communicated , the mental manipulation that is going on...this cult-like mentality has crippled other once - vibrant, effective ministries.. churches that faithfully preach the Word have been hurt because of the Reformed Righteous Rabble-Rousers who are'nt content to preach Liberty of conscience ... they have to BIND the conciences of their followers -the old check list has to be dusted off so that the students can make the appropriate marks on the "score-sheet" ... do'nt forget to add the " How Reformed are you ?" application to your facebook page... it's a good witness... and oh Yeah... have a great time witnessing on the Beach this summer.. WE will be watching.... and keeping score....