Remembering One of Christ's Ambassadors

“We are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20).  That’s the first Bible verse I ever memorized.  I was 6 years old, and it would be a while before I took on John 3:16 or other passages.  Like many boys my age, we became acquainted with this portion of 2 Corinthians 5:20 because it was the Royal Ambassadors motto.  For some reason our group never got into saying the Royal Ambassadors pledge.  Maybe our leader and parents thought the whole “keep myself clean and healthy in mind and body” part was just too high a bar for us to clear at the time.

Today, family and friends will gather at Reevesville Baptist Church to give thanks to God for Dennis McAlhaney.  As my RAs leader beginning 39 years ago, he demonstrated to a bunch of energetic boys what it meant to be one of Christ’s ambassadors.

We did a lot together.  Mr. Dennis taught us about missions and carrying the message of Christ.  Most lessons were about being kind and helpful.  One Christmas, he even talked us into singing for the church program.  We took a trip to The Citadel for RA day and we watched Stump Mitchell run all over Newberry.  Sometimes we would complete craft projects at home and bring them on Wednesdays for some show-and-tell.

Ask, however, any of my colleagues from Royal Ambassadors days what they remember most about the experience and, to a man, they will tell you about the track meets.  Every year Mr. Dennis helped us get ready for the Screven Baptist Association’s RA track meet.  We practiced events, especially the relay.  Our parents got involved and even organized a conditioning program where we learned to stretch and do some distance running.  We’d travel down to Baptist College and win the track meet, then celebrate the victory at Hardee’s in Summerville (remember when that was a treat?).  The next morning we all had to be back at church where Mr. Dennis would stand us up in front of the congregation to present us to them as their champions.

It strikes me how many of those images are fitting metaphors helping define what it means to be one of Christ’s ambassadors.  As Christians, we need our coaches: the leaders, teachers, preachers and parents who help us learn about faith in Jesus Christ and show it to us through their actions.  We didn’t know it as kids practicing a relay race, but now a more important baton has been placed in our hands which we are required to hand off to the next generation.  Faith, hope and love are meant to be shared.  Winning as a team certainly speaks to how much we need each other in this life together.  When we follow Jesus Christ, it certainly will stretch us and it will require perseverance, but we will grow, and the Bible tells us that because of Christ, we are “more than conquerors”.

No, we didn’t cover all of that during lesson time on Wednesday nights, although somehow at the end of the year we had earned our pins and patches.  Mostly, we were anxious to be turned loose to go outside and run.  Hmm… now there’s another good metaphor for you.

Throughout all that activity, though, the constant we can agree on was that Mr. Dennis was there for us.  Here was one ambassador for Christ who invested his time, talent, patience and love in the lives of children.  Jesus would have said he was doing good Kingdom work. We had no idea that we were gaining a lifelong friend much less being introduced to an Eternal Friend.

Thank you, God, for Mr. Dennis, from “all the boys”, he certainly helped turn us loose to go out and “run in such a way that you might win”.

What Shall We Call Him? @TheChipReeves

Today, many of my minister friends are waking up from Lent/Holy Week/Easter recovery day, if they got one or took one.  They deserve a pat on the back--what am I saying??? They deserve a raise.  I imagine that, long ago, it was minister serving on a church staff who coined the phrase "sweet nothings".  But I digress--and I haven't even "gressed" yet!

It's always a good idea to share compliments with your minister.  Start by referring to her or him as your minister.  If you say it out loud enough, you might even get around to actually believing it.  Your minister is your minister and not your employee, no matter how much money you give or what committee you might chair.  The only ones exempt from this rule are the church's administrative professionals.  Sorry, pastor, we all know who really runs things.

Calling your minister your minister is a high compliment.  Introduce your minister to others by saying, "This is my pastor/minister/life coach/bad mood exterminator."  Don't even go there with the archaic, "This is our church's youth director. Ain't she cute?"  You'll be very close to learning a very new definition of cute as in, "Great white sharks are cute."

One of the highest compliments I have received in 23 years of doing ministry happened back in my youth ministry days.  I supplemented my income working crowd control at Georgia Tech football games.  I helped supervise ticket takers.  We'd get a different crowd to take tickets at each home game.  Sometimes they were a group of Boy Scouts.  One other time, they definitely were not Boy Scouts.  One of the ticket takers told me she worked at night as a bar tender.  She added that during that day or other spare time she had she earned money as a body artist.  "Tattoos?" I asked.  "No, piercings," she replied.  Then she went on to give a little more "educational" detail about her art and the medium in which she worked.  She mentioned her own piercings and left it to my imagination if she had done them herself or relied on another colleague from her guild.  My mind was blown, hearing her autobiography through my very naive filters.  Well, then she turned those proverbial tables on me and asked, "What about you, what do you do?"  I gulped.  I then composed myself and said, "I'm a youth minister at a local Baptist church."  Her reply has helped keep me in the business.  In a tone that suggested complete acceptance and invited me to give the same she said, "No [bleep]! Really?  I think that's great!"

When the time came for me to select a Twitter handle, of course, I wanted to be me.  @me was already taken.  I thought about my Georgia Tech experience, but I didn't have the guts to check if @No[bleep]really was available.  Twitter offered me @ChipReeves2 which suggested there was a Chip Reeves who came before me.  Who would ever believe that?  I hate to break your heart, but I actually have an older not-too-distant cousin...

My mind leapt to another high compliment that has blessed my heart for a few years now.  If you knew me during the McAfee School of Theology years, you are familiar with my contributions to the downfall of journalism.  If you are a current McAfee student, and don't know, get thee to the library archives or at least beg your Baptist Heritage professor to develop a J-term class on it.

OK, back to the story.  A few summers ago, I helped my fellow minster The Right Reverend Mrs. Youth Ministry Woman chaperone some children to camp.  On arriving at camp the children were turned over to their Bible study leaders and the adults remained in the auditorium to cover camp business together (have a snack).  We also had to introduce ourselves.  Following the meeting, a colleague in ministry who happened to also be an alumnus of McAfee early AC (After Chip), came up to me and asked with enough confidence that it bestowed a title, "Are you THE Chip Reeves?"

Now, how else can you answer that except to say, "Yes.  Yes I am!"  Thanks for the blessing.  You know who you are.


The Chip Reeves is available to preach and tell stories in your church, group or community.  You can contact him by email, or follow him on Twitter @TheChipReeves.

Preacher Pro Day

As soon as Under Armour hooks me up with a robe, stole and shoes, I'm having a pro day.  I guess the more traditional way of doing things still works.  One has to update a resume, locate some good sermon recordings and videos, dust off the network and depend on the connections.  There are, however, certain "intangibles" that good ministers bring to Sunday morning which can can go unnoticed because when they're done right everything runs smoothly.  When they go wrong, it can be pile up to rival any opening scene on an episode of CHiPs.  Don't rule that out, though, especially of you're interested in attendance figures, folks love to stop and watch a good one.

In addition to vertical leap and a 40 time, if I were a scout, here are some things I'd like to see in a preacher's pro day:

1. Comfortably wearing the Bobby Brown "It's My Prerogative" head set version of the wireless microphone.  Extra points if you can dance and sing--I mean be mobile.
2. Demonstrating patience with the volunteer operating the sound board, yet making sure we get it right next week.
3. Successfully resisting the urge to look at one's watch while someone else is speaking at the pulpit.
4. Sitting up front and not rolling one's eyes or shaking one's head while the ushers/deacons manage to take up the offering or serve the communion elements in a manner that is nowhere close to how it was rehearsed.  
5. Being able to pronounce proper names from the Bible.  The title of the last book is RevelaTION.
6. Leading a children's sermon without using a rhetorical question.  They're children, if you ask a question it will get answered, and you deserve the answers you get.
7. Welcoming and incorporating the sounds of a crying baby into sermon content.
8. Never offering a weejus prayer. "Lord, weejus wanna thank you..."
9. Accepting last minute announcements with grace and actually sharing them with the congregation.
10. Get folks out on time.
11. Keep folks 10 minutes longer without them noticing.
12. Shaking hands at the door and not clotheslining the congregants who want to compare your sermon to the TV preacher they watched before coming to church.
13. Tell one of those old jokes, make it work and make people laugh at it.
14. Wear one contact lens for distance and one contact lens for reading and not pass out.

I am sure I've left something out.  Please feel free to add your suggestions, and look for me some late night on ESPN8 "The Ocho".

Give up "church" for Lent

Here’s something to give up for Lent: “church”.

OK, now please let me explain.  I am not telling anyone to leave church or stop attending or play hooky for 40 days.  No, I have an actual spiritual exercise in mind here, and it involves the word “church”.

I believe “church” is a word that Christians often take for granted.  It can be overused.  It can be used wrongly.  It can be unconsidered altogether.  Whether we can site ignorance, neglect, or some undefined need to oversimplify, a great term describing Christian fellowship and commission has been reduced to a stereotype.

Think about it.  What do you call that big building with the steeple where folks who’ve put forth the effort to get all dressed up manage to go and stick it out for an hour a week?  When someone has dared to become an obstacle to your Sunday morning course asking, “Where’re y’all goin’ all dressed up?” what simple answer do you offer?   What term do you use to refer to a worship service?  For that matter, what term do you use to refer to just about anything that happens in or near that big building with the steeple on top?  Whether it’s worship, Bible study, children’s choir or ceramics class, chances are good that you have referred to the place and, perhaps to your credit, the activity as “church”.

You probably have heard this as often as I have.  You might have even said it.  The church is not the building.  The church is not the program or the activity.  The church is people.

When Jesus said to Peter, “Upon this rock, I will build my church,” he did not mean that a cathedral was to be constructed on that very spot in Caesarea Philippi—though I’d like to think he might have at least chuckled at the thought of a ceramics class.    Jesus was ready to build upon what was confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The Greek word we often define as “church” is an important term in this gospel story.  It is ekklessia.  In Jesus’ day, they already had places where they gathered together, and they were called synagogues.  Ekklessia is a word that does not have much to do with how we construct Christian campuses and compounds or how we might cloister or hide inside of said buildings.  A very literal translation of ekklessia demonstrates that we are supposed to be the “called out” ones (ek + klesis).

The church is people.  It is time to stop going to church and start being the church.  Again, I don’t mean abandon the weekly worship service or cease and desist your important ministry of rocking babies in the nursery.  Based on Jesus’ definition, church is what Christian folks should be all the time, and not the box in which you might find some of them.

Here is the Lenten exercise I have in mind.  Give up “church” as your term for the building and the stuff you do there.  The exercise is not to come up with clever synonyms, but rather to really pay attention.  What do you mean when you say “church”?  What should you mean when you say “church”?  Should someone actually get in your way on Sunday morning and ask about where you are headed, that person is in that moment your congregation waiting for you “to church”.  It is your time to be one of the “called out”, and your words and actions should demonstrate who you know Jesus to be.

How will you "be the church" in the restaurant you go to following the worship service?

How will you "be the church" when you're standing in line to pay a bill on Monday morning?

How will you "be the church" in that conversation you have with that person who is always so surly?

The list of questions could go on and on, and the Christ, the Son of the living God is asking them.

A free recipe for you

Chip’s Promethean Lentil Soup

Quite often I cook by the seat of my pants—ew.  I mean I improvise as I go and can create a dish without a recipe.  Sometimes it works out.  My wife HATES this.  She might say recipes, like rules, are meant to be followed.  Therefore my managing to come up with something edible could be equated with stealing fire from the gods.

This was some really good soup, though, prompting me to take the time to write out what I did in order to share the goodness with the whole world.  Part of the credit goes to cooking it for several hours.  So, if you’ve got the time, give it a shot or adapt it to your slow cooker if you’ve got somewhere to be.

1 med. onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

4 carrots, sliced

2 Tbs. olive oil

½ tsp. salt

In a large pot, sauté onion, celery and carrots in olive oil.

Add spices…

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. coriander

2 tsp. cumin

½ tsp. white pepper

½ tsp. crushed red pepper flake

1 or 2 tsp. salt

Add liquids…

4 cups of water

4 cups of chicken broth

Bring to a boil, then simmer at least 30 minutes.  My batch was simmering for 4 hours.

OK, lentil time.  Add...

1 cup of dried lentils

Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add…

2 cups of egg noodles.

Simmer 10-15 more minutes until noodles are done.  Serve garnished with parmesan cheese.

It's Powerful Cold

                It’s cold, people!  Did ya’ hear?  Of course, you did.

Is there too much focus on the cold weather?  Well, from a safety first standpoint, the answer to that has to be “no”.  People need to know the risks and take certain precautions for the sake of their health and the health of those around them.  We need to talk about staying indoors, bundling up, dressing in layers, dripping faucets and so on.  We need to bring in our pets.  We need to cover up the plants.  We need to check on our elderly neighbors and make sure everyone’s OK.

                Every warning that accompanies a “Freeze-pocalypse” must not go ignored.  It is the media’s obligation to discuss these matters ad nauseam.  They cannot control when someone will be tuned in, so for the sake of helping everyone understand what’s at stake, the coverage goes on and on.  Of course information only continues to be information unless it is accompanied by a practical demonstration.  As I’ve said before, “All lecture and no lab a science course does not make.”  Hence the need for Jim Cantore to stick his tongue on a pole.  “It’th weawy dat code! Pweathe be thafe, peopo.”

                I worry though that with all this focus on the actual temperature, the wind chill, and the “feels like” temperature, something is going to get ignored.  No one’s talking about static electricity.

                Please be prepared for this.  With much of the country dominated by cold, dry air, or the interior of our homes dry because of the heaters constantly running, the zap factor is running at an all-time high.

                Is there really a static problem?  I’m positive (see what I did there?).

                There is a tremendous risk involved with being insulated but not insulated, if you know what I mean.  Without thinking, people bundled up in layers get up off the couch (rub-rub) and shuffle off to the bathroom (rub-rub).  All they’re thinking about is how long it’s going to take to de-layer, and then their thoughts turn too quickly to how cold the seat’s going to be.  No one has any clue about the silent and invisible predator they’ve helped to create.  That is, until they touch the bathroom doorknob and...

 

After that you’ve got to go change a few layers.

                It’s cold, folks.  Please remember to stay warm, and don’t forget to stay grounded.