Across the Bay we go...

Saturday, Suzanne and I had the opportunity to attend a special celebration in the big city of Crossroads, Alabama. For those of you who are not familiar with the Crossroads community, it's just east of Hurricane and north of Bromley. Didn't help much? If you were to travel north from Spanish Fort in Baldwin County, Alabama towards I-65 you would eventually come to one four-way stop at the Crossroads community. On the southeast corner is a boat shop, on the southwest corner a BP station, to the northwest the old school, and finally, on the northeast you will find the Durant Chapel Baptist Church.

Some 100 years ago, the Durant Chapel church was founded and the community gathered this weekend to celebrate both its founding and its continuing ministry in Crossroads. I'm not familiar with all of the ins and outs of the history of the church, but I am intimately familiar with one small portion of its history. In late November of 2001, I was a young man with a lot of desire to do ministry and little outlet to do it. In July of that year I had begun to feel strongly again God's call on my life to pursue ministry as a career, and set out quickly to get started. I didn't have much of a plan. I was already involved as a volunteer in my church and I continued to serve in those capacities. I felt like the biology degree I was working towards at Spring Hill College might not be that useful for a Southern Baptist minister, so I transferred to the University of Mobile and began my new course of studies there. As a ministerial student, I filled out a profile in ministry which displayed my utter lack of qualifications to all who would take the time to look at it.

In November of that year, I came home from my job at Springhill Memorial Hospital to the news that "some church" had left a message for me. I promptly returned the call and asked for the lady from Deer Ranch Chapel. (Note to young ministers trying to find an opportunity to serve: When you call somebody, make sure you have the name of their church right) The church was looking for an interim youth director, and they were wondering if I might be interested in coming over on a Wednesday night to lead a youth Bible study. I didn't know what to expect, but I went, both excited and afraid to lead their youth service that night.

If you've never had the opportunity to be the new minister in town, it's a little surreal. They had a good crowd of kids that night who had come to "check out the new guy". I suppose the night must have went pretty well, because the committee asked me to stay after for a few minutes to talk. I'm not a good interviewee. I don't have a lot to add to the conversation, and I'm often painfully honest. One member of the committee asked me, "What special skills do you bring to the table? Do you sing, play an instrument, or do dramas and skits?". I answered the only way I knew how: "No ma'am, but I'm a really nice guy and I'm willing to mop the floors".

The two years that I spent at Durant Chapel were a joy. I loved the church and I'm thankful for the love and patience that they showed me. I was blessed with a lot of excellent students, and I hope that they are able to carry the experiences that we had during that time with them into their young adulthood.

The events Saturday were bittersweet for me. It was good to see many familiar faces, and it was good to meet some of the new leadership in the church. The difficulty in any reunion is the faces that are not there. Durant Chapel has been blessed with some of the finest senior adults that I had the chance to know, and in the intervening years, many of them have passed on. There are others who have left and found other churches or moved out of the community. My closest compatriots from those days, my students, are all young adults now and are striking out into the world, and I missed the opportunity to visit with them. To all of you, I say thank you. Thanks for giving a young boy with no discernible ability or skills to do ministry an opportunity. Were it not for the ministry that you have had in my life, I don't know what would have happened to me. Thanks for every encouragement, gift, and prayer that you've offered on my behalf. You've been a blessing to me. Durant Chapel Baptist Church, happy birthday, and may God richly bless you with many more.

So you have an oil leak...

I guess that most of you out there are aware that we have a little oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. Yesterday, our governor Bob Riley along with the governors of several other Gulf Coast states called for a day of prayer regarding the oil spill. I applaud their resolution, because as it is now painfully obvious, this situation has exceeded our capacity to control. During our morning worship service, we took the time to recognize the situation and to unite in prayer over the entire situation.

Why pray? What good will it do? We took a few minutes to look at Exodus 2:23-25 and saw three important principles about God that ought to guide our hearts toward God in prayer:

1) God hears the prayers of His people
God wants us to pray and listens when we do it. Prayer is not just an attempt by weak-minded people to find peace in a difficult situation. God is actually listening to our requests.

2) God remembers His people
Is there anything that feels worse than being forgotten? The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for years, and I imagine that they felt lost. God remembered His covenant with their fathers, and was faithful towards them.

3) God cared about their situation

The last phrase of v. 25 is translated in a number of different ways, but they all point to one basic theme. God is concerned for His people. God is not just a cosmic spirit that is untouched and unmoved by the injustices His people face.

The whole message of the book of the Exodus is that God heard the cries of His people, He remembered His covenant with them, and He was concerned about their situation. Because of this reality, God moved in their situation and provided a deliverer in Moses. While our situation is quite a bit different than the one faced by the Israelites, I do know that God cares about our situation and we need to turn to Him in prayer. Many of you are out of town and have asked, "What can I do?" I've come up with a list of 10 items that we can all be praying for in response to the oil leak.

1) That the oil would stop leaking

Simple enough, and maybe not very spiritual, but this is the root of the problem. Until the oil stops leaking, our other efforts are in vain. Whether the solution is natural or supernatural, the leak must stop.

2) A speedy and effective cleanup
This is new territory for those of us on the Gulf Coast. Give us a hurricane and we know how to recover, but an oil leak is a new thing. Pray that the cleanup is done quickly and completely, so that we are not left to face the damage of this leak for generations.

3) Protection for those involved in the cleanup efforts
A lot of work is already being done as part of the recovery effort, and a lot of it is dangerous work. Pray for the safety of those workers both in their daily tasks and in their long-term health in the years to come.

4) Protection for the ecosystems affected by the leak
The earth is the Lord's, and we know that He is in control of it. From the waters that supply our seafood to the beaches that draw the tourists, the livelihood of many is affected by the presence of oil.

5) A sense of peace and a willingness to forgive
Our people have faced two overwhelming emotions over the past few months: Confusion and anger. Pray that we would have peace that God is in control regardless of what has happened and will happen in the days ahead. Pray that we would be able to forgive. When faced with the reality of the leak and the arrogance of many of the responses to it, our people have been hurt and many carry bitterness with them. Pray that we would be able to forgive, even when it is not asked for.

6)Wisdom for the leaders that are overseeing the recovery efforts
This entire process is a massive undertaking, and I don't get the sense that anyone is quite sure where to start or what to do. Pray for those folks who are the decision-makers, that God would grant them wisdom in each step.

7) For the hearts of our people to be open to the Lord's work
Many people in our communities are suffering. Join us in praying that they would be open to respond to God during this time. As they question many of their spiritual assumptions about life, pray that they would find their hope in Christ.

8) For the church, both locally and globally, to be ready to minister during this time of distress
As I mentioned earlier, there are many emotional and physical needs that our people are facing. Pray that our local bodies of believers here on the front lines will be prepared to meet those needs. Further, pray that the church outside of our region will be ready to come alongside us and partner in ministry. I believe that this one is especially important for us in the days ahead. We do not yet know what we are facing. In the wake of a hurricane, we need many volunteers to come and help clean out flooded houses and cut up fallen trees. This is a dramatically different situation, and as of yet, most of our churches are not in need of volunteers. Please pray that we will know how to respond!

9) For the ability to see God's grace in spite of our circumstances
I had the pleasure Sunday of preaching in a newly remodeled auditorium that never would have been, had it not been for the damage caused by the tragic events of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina was a terrible tragedy, but we saw the church respond and experienced God's grace and love in ways that we never had before. Pray that we will recognize God's work when we experience it.

10) For the ability to give thanks to God and say "Thy will be done"
Pray that we would be thankful people, in spite of the circumstances, and that in all things we would trust God to work all things together for good. God has always been generous to us and we know that He has not changed.

If you've read all the way to the bottom of this post, thanks! Know that we desire your prayers on our behalf. For those of you reading this who are locals, you know that this is not an exhaustive list of needs. If you have a specific prayer need, I hope that you will add it in the comments section below.

Who Says You Can't Go Home?

So, here I am. A few months ago, I had a conversation with a friend regarding life and ministry, and I made an off-the-cuff statement that has resonated with me since. In the course of the conversation, I said "you know, God does funny things sometimes and I don't always understand them". Little did I know when I made that statement that I would be writing this blog sitting in my office on N. Wintzell.

Ministry is obviously a pretty big part of my life. I first began to feel God's call on my life as a teenager, flirted with other options into college, and confirmed that call at the halfway point of my undergraduate degree. I struggled with that call for a long time, but looking back, I can't imagine doing anything else. When I first felt called to ministry, my immediate response was an emphatic "Yes Lord, I'll go where you send me". Never in my wildest imaginings would that path have brought me home. Apparently God does funny things sometimes.

I've been blessed. I'm now serving my fourth church, and I've had a great experience in each one of them. Answering God's call has brought me to some pretty interesting and unique places. Each one has been different and had its own challenges, but each one has also been good. I've had the opportunity to serve alongside some of the best people a person could ever ask to know. If you are reading this blog and are a member of one of my previous churches, thanks. Suzanne and I treasure your friendship. While the decision to come home looks like an easy one on the surface, it was one of the most difficult decisions that we've made in our life together. You see, the truth is that while we were in Wetumpka, you made it home for us. Thankfully, the same thing has been true for each church that I've served; they've all been home.

So, can you really go home? I've had a lot of people remind me of Matthew 13:57. Suffice it to say that Jesus received a less than stellar reception when he returned to Nazareth. I'm happy to report that the folks here at First Baptist have welcomed our family home with open arms. I suppose in one sense, you can't go home. Things have changed around here. The church that I've returned to is a different church than the one I left as a teenager. The city has survived a natural disaster only to face down an unnatural disaster of potentially greater magnitude. People I've loved and that have loved me have passed on. A lot of things have changed, some for the better, some not. In all of this, I remember that God does funny things sometimes, like sending me home to pastor a church that I love. As much as we would all like to produce an idealized image of what "home" was like when we grew up there, it existed in as much a state of flux then as it does now. Maybe you can't go home, but it can become home again.

What is God going to do here? I don't really know. I don't know what God is doing. I don't know what part I will play in it. But I do know this: I'm glad that He chose me to be a part of it. I don't know what God's doing, but I do know this: "for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day" (2 Timothy 1:12)

Today's Adventure

So, today I had my first real adventure since moving back to the Bayou. Any of you that have seen me lately know that I'm a man of significant constitution, and as such could probably stand to lose a few pounds. In view of helping me on that quest, and also to get the opportunity to spend some time together, my dad invested in a two-man kayak. This afternoon after work, we met at Landry Boatworks and headed up the Bayou. Our adventure yielded a few important observations:

1. A two-man kayak is infinitely more difficult to operate than a one-man kayak. Both operators were men with a good general knowledge of watercraft operation. Lesser men might have never made it. Men, never take your wives anywhere in a two-man kayak.

2. The distance from Landry Boatworks to the small bridge at the end of E. Davenport St. seems much longer when it is made under paddle power.

3. I had no idea how many Alligator Gars lived in the Bayou. Note to self: Avoid falling in as you may be eaten alive by a pack of mutant gars...

4. Apparently there is no way to paddle a kayak without getting yourself wet. In the cool waters of the Coosa this was quite refreshing. In the Bayou, maybe not so much. Which leads me to my next observation.

5. After you've doused yourself with water from the Bayou, you carry a distinctive aroma with you for the rest of the day.

6. I've got a great Dad. I'll be 29 next month and his role in my life has changed, but I was reminded today of the important role that fathers play in our lives. When we weren't paddling in opposite directions, we made a pretty good team, and I learned some things about my hometown that I never knew. Also, he demonstrated his characteristic patience as I expended a lot of paddling energy with little positive result. More importantly, I got the opportunity to spend time with the most influential man in my life, and I'm grateful for that.

7. At the end of a two-hour kayak trip, you get pretty tired. I'm pretty certain I used muscles that aren't a part of my normal routine. (Since my normal routine includes a lot of talking, studying, and writing, there aren't many muscles that are part of my daily circuit)

8. I think this would be even more fun if you were fishing. Plus, there's always the possibility that one of the mutant gars could tow you home...


So, that's all for today. I've always lived by the philosophy, "it's not the destination, it's the journey" and today proved that out. My roundtrip voyage from Landry Boatworks to Landry Boatworks will go down as a high point of my first few weeks home, and I hope that it's something that I'm able to do again soon.

OK, so I'm new to this...

Greetings,

After several hours of trying to get this thing going, I'm afraid that I'm already a failure as a blogger. Thanks for taking a few minutes and checking out my blog anyway! A View from N. Wintzell is my attempt to chronicle my journey home, and I hope that you will find some things here that resonate with friends old and new, both nearby and far away.

Blessings,

Clint