I’m so proud of our Renaissance Church folks for how they gave, served, and ministered to over 100 folks over Thanksgiving.

We delivered all the groceries for a complete Thanksgiving feast to the homes of families who needed a helping hand for the holidays.  We also delivered a lot of warm smiles, and shared a lot of hugs.  We were able to pray with almost everyone we served. Our volunteers did a great job ministering to our new friends.

Renaissance Church kids hand-decorated gift bags to distribute to the children of the families we served.  There were all kinds of cool things inside the bags, but I think the best part was the love that was conveyed on the outside.

Thank you to everyone who took part!

Some wonderful volunteers

A “good Samaritan” was no where to be found within the athletic department in Happy Valley.  For it appears they loved the praise of men and the reputation of their football program more than they loved their neighbor.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”    Matthew 22:37-39

The part of this whole story that is so flabbergasting to me is not the heinously evil nature of the crimes committed by one man.  Sadly, we all knew that human beings were capable of such depravity.  No, what punches me in the stomach and drives me to my knees is the failure of otherwise good, moral human beings to do something about it when they had the opportunity.  They saw the unspeakable injustice, and they essentially crossed to the other side of the road to avoid having to deal with it.  And other young men were victimized because of their lack of action.

Before we “cast stones” at those men for their tragic moral failure, horrific as it is, Jesus reminds us that we should always be willing to see where we come up short as well.  “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Luke 6:41)

Questions we all need to be asking ourselves:
Do we hate sin and injustice?  Wherever we see it?
What are we willing to do about it?  What does God want us to do about it?
Are we willing to ‘pay the price’ to love our neighbor, even if it costs us?
Because that’s what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

May God bless and heal the victims of this terrible tragedy and their families.
God, please help me to be willing to pay the price to love my neighbor, just as Jesus paid the ultimate price for me.

"Some real Renaissance men"

What great time we had at Church@theLake!  The weather was beautiful, and everyone had a blast relaxing, swimming, and canoeing.

We shared a nice meal together, and then listened to the Word of God, along with some great worship led by Marla and Anitra.  Perhaps the highlight for me was getting to baptize two more precious folks.

To see a lot more pictures, visit our Renaissance Church group on Facebook.  (And if you haven’t joined our group, why not do it now?)

We were about 80 people, and such a beautifully diverse group (including people who hail from 5 of the 6 inhabited continents!)

Did you attend Church@theLake?  Leave a comment below and tell us what you thought.

Listening to the Word of God after lunch

The first reason is obedience.  Jesus commanded his church to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19)  In the book of Acts, the church followed this pattern:  the good news about Jesus was proclaimed; those who repented and believed in Jesus were then baptized.  So, if you’ve made a decision to follow Christ and put Him at the center of your life, trusting in Him for your salvation, you should get baptized.  For many, their baptism serves as a “stake in ground” that serves as a reference point for their faith – a physical act that marks their decision for Christ, and salvation received by grace through faith.

Baptism is also a public ceremony that declares your identification Jesus Christ, and symbolizes your allegiance with Him in His death and resurrection.  Our Christian faith is not meant to be a “personal matter” to be kept secret. Rather, we unashamedly identify with Christ’s death and resurrection, and testify to the new life that we now have in Christ.  By going down into the water we are symbolizing the “death” of our old self.  Coming out of the water represents our new life in Jesus Christ.

Now let’s deal with a couple of common misconceptions:

1.  Baptism is not a means to join a church.  I’ve heard stories of people moving to a new church and being asked to get baptized again… simply because, “Well, you haven’t been baptized by us.”  Baptism is not about church membership.  It is, in part, a ceremony to celebrate new membership in the Church, the Body of Christ universal.  But there’s no need to get baptized again because you have changed churches.
2.  Baptism is not the means of salvation.  It is a beautiful visual picture of your salvation.  You should get baptized when you become a Christian, as discussed above.  But it is not absolutely necessary.  The thief who died on a cross next to Jesus apparently repented of his sin and trusted in Christ, but he did not get baptized.  And yet, Jesus said to him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”  (Luke 23:39-43)

Got more questions about baptism?  Or about becoming a Christian?  Ask them here by replying to this post, or email me directly.

We had a great time with the young men and women from Eglise Le Chemin in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada last week.  They spent their spring break in Charlotte – not to enjoy the (mostly) nice weather, but to share the Good News of Christ.  They were “on a mission”.

A missions trip to Charlotte?  Absolutely.  Any place that hasn’t been totally transformed by the power of God’s love and forgiveness is a target for us as Christians to go “on mission”.

Yes, that would include your home town, be it Charlotte or somewhere else.  All of us are called to share the message of God’s offer of grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.  And the best place to do that is in your own back yard.

Many thousands of people who live all around us are still living apart from Christ.  We can’t wait for them to come to us.  They drive by church buildings every day.  If they haven’t come inside yet, it’s going to take more than a sign reading “All are Welcome”.

We’ve got to go find them.  Before they will open their hearts to Christ’s message, we must accurately represent Christ with our actions.

That’s what our week with the Quebecois was all about.

This was a Christmas gift from my wonderful and hilarious sister.  What can I say about this brilliant work of art?

I’m not sure I can access the deeper spiritual meaning of the electronic yodeling pickle.  Instead, here are a few points for you to ponder today.  I hope they enrich your life.

1.  First, you have to understand that on Christmas morning, of all the presents the family opened, our boys first and foremost gravitated towards this sonorous briny cucumber.

2.  The boys have perfected the lip-sync of the electronic yodeling pickle.  Classic.

3.  In my more philosophical moments, my mind drifts to an unknown factory in China, where workers there are fabricating the electronic yodeling pickle for export to the U.S.  What must they be thinking, as they complete their 10 hour shift on the assembly line of the electronic yodeling pickle?  What images of our society are conjured in their minds, as they contemplate a people who demand such a product?

Comments, please!

When I was in medical school, I got to spend two months training in a French hospital.  Every weekend, Marla and I (newly married) would take a road trip in our rented Citroen Saxo.  It would barely make it up the hills.  We became experts at locating the best pains au raisins, and all kinds of other French delicacies, and saw some very beautiful places.  It was one of the best times of my life.

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend (no, the French don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but we duly informed them that WE do, and that we would be needing a four day weekend), we visited Normandy, and particularly the famous beaches where the D-day invasion occurred.

The story of the invasion is truly fascinating.  It’s a story of great courage,  sacrifice, and teamwork.  Inspiring stuff.  There were so many heroes in those days of the summer of 1944.  Some came home, many didn’t (as the American cemetery at Omaha beach illustrates above).  Today, Veterans Day, we honor their sacrifice.

My strongest memory from the trip is my visit to the Airborne Museum in St. Mere Eglise.  As I left the museum,  a couple of French young men yelled to me from across the parking lot, “Thank you, Americans!”

Humbled, I smiled and waved.  I was painfully aware that I didn’t pay a price for France’s freedom.  Or America’s.  So today, I give credit where credit is truly due.

Thank you, veterans!

They asked me to be the speaker at their youth camp, and it was a
pleasure. God really moved, and the young people were great. I spoke
on intimacy with God. On the last day, several made first-time
commitments to Christ, and there were many more serious re-
dedications. Almost everyone was very touched by the Holy Spirit, and
many youths were weeping in the presence of the Lord.

And of course, we had a lot of fun, too. We even ate well! Who knew
you could make good Vietnamese food at a camp site?

Check out the blog above, “Awesome Testimonies from Camp” to read what the Vietnamese youth were saying about the camp.