August is here. The news is all abuzz with what decisions parents are going to make about school for their children. I recently saw an article that said at this time of year there is usually a surge in sales for all those traditional back to school things. However, this year the surge is in laptops, with parents most likely getting ready for virtual school or homeschooling. In most churches, this is  also usually a gearing up month for a new season of ministry, but not so much this year.

If you can remember back to January 1, which seems like an eternity ago, I said that my first year would be spent getting to know you as a congregation and the seasons of ministry here at First Presbyterian Church in Punta Gorda, FL, to learn traditions, holidays, and special church celebrations.

Then Covid-19 hit. I joked with someone the other day that when Easter rolls around in 2021 I will have been here almost a year and a half but not have had an Easter with the church. I will still be learning the traditions of our church. The virus has certainly created a different kind of first year.

But being different is not all that bad, after all when you, and I, became a Christian, we were made different. In 2 Cor 5, we read: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

There is no end to the number of articles being written now on the new normal of the church, how it will be different, which in some ways seems funny to me as we are still in the midst of the pandemic. But we do plan, and set out vision, and look to the future. No matter the differences, our purpose is still the same. We were given the ministry of reconciliation.

 You remember when Jesus called His first disciples, He called them to be fishers of men. They most likely did not have a clue what He meant by that statement, they simply knew there was something different about this man, and they wanted to know more. So, they followed Him.

Before He returned to heaven, He gave them the same mission, Matt 28 records: 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Things are different, and they will be changing even more. Who knows what the new normal for church will look like? However, our mission stays the  same, even if the way we go about being the  church changes. God has placed our church at this location for a reason. I want to encourage you to put on your thinking caps, and get creative. How will First Presbyterian Church carry out the ministry of reconciliation in the Punta Gorda area? Exciting times await us in this new normal – whatever that may be.

Let’s be honest. We peer around the corner at the start of  a new month in 2020, and wonder what does it hold? We have to admit this is a tough time in our nation. We are dealing with a pandemic, protests, riots, racial injustice, and the political rhetoric of an election year. What’s next?

I prefer the words of the Teacher in Eccl 1:9, What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. All one has to do is look at the history of our nation, the history of our world, or just Biblical history and see sin has always been present since the Fall. What we are experiencing today is just the next chapter, nothing new. So, what is our attitude?

For the Christian, we simply cannot throw our hands up in the air and say all is vanity, all is hopeless. (Eccl 1:1) The Teacher at the conclusion of the book of Ecclesiastes, finally concludes: The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Eccl 12:13)

As a Christian we face all this turmoil in the world with the hope of the Gospel. The Teacher tried to find meaning in worldly things, but came up short. His conclusion, it is only found in God. I often talk of the four relationships  that were destroyed in the Fall: with God, with one another, with ourselves, and with creation. However, in Christ those relationships are being restored. As a Christian, we must mature spiritually, that means to Worship (fear) God and keep His commandments.

Only through Christ can the relationship with God be restored. Do we love our neighbor enough, that we are willing to risk sharing the Gospel with them? We may be rejected, labeled as a fanatic, or put into a category – “one of those’. In today’s tempestuous world we may have to  lay a lot of groundwork with people before we ever get an opportunity to share the Gospel. Do people see us as caring for their needs? Emotional, physical, or spiritual?

What about restoring relationships with one another? The Bible tells us we are all made in the image of God; do we treat one another with that reality?

What about restoring the relationship with creation? In the Garden God gave mankind dominion over the earth, that is a privilege and a responsibility. He gave intellect to us to use creation to find medicines to cure disease, intellect to use the resources of this planet wisely. Do we use creation to His glory?

What about the relationship with ourselves? This is perhaps the hardest. At our core we are sinners, looking out for number one. But thru the Gospel, our worldview begins to change. The Holy Spirit begins to do heart surgery, to conform us more to the image of Christ. Are we seeking to grow in our faith?

During this new month, don’t be hopeless. The Teacher looked at all of life, and saw there was nothing new, and that finding meaning outside of God, was vanity. It is a confusing time, but we serve a God who is in control of all things. As Christians, we seek to reflect the light of Christ  to a watching world. That implies that we are growing in our faith and are involved in the world. So, this month let our focus be on Jesus and be open to what the Spirit is teaching you about restoration of relationship through the Gospel.

I believe I see light at the end of the tunnel! Our plan is to start back on June 14, if the State of Florida is officially in Phase 2. We have talked about the importance of community before – as part of the created order, as the benefits of a group of believers assembling together, and simply as friendship.

The Apostle Paul in writing to the church in Thessalonica had a similar situation, not because of a virus, but other circumstances that hindered his being with the believers there. He writes, “…but since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you…” (I Thess 2:17-18) Even the Apostle Paul, who had friends scattered about, wanted to be present with this group of believers. So much so, that he writes, “Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” (1 Thess 2:8) Paul, Timothy and Silvanus all looked forward to spending time with these believers – not just writing letters. That was fine in the situation, but they needed more. In our day, it is just not enough writing letters/cards, texts, phone calls, or even newsletters – our desire is to be face to face and sharing life together with all of you.

Our daughter and her husband are missionaries in Nicaragua, and I Thess 2:8 is their life verse. They are committed to living life with the people that they are ministering to and with, because they are like family. That is the community that God has called them to. When things got rough a few years ago during the uprising there, they decided to stay and share a dangerous life, rather than flee back to the States like so many others did. And now, during the pandemic, they are choosing to stay in a developing nation with that community, rather than return home. When, as parents, we asked “Why aren’t you coming home?” They replied, “This is our home, our life, our community, we want to be here for the good and the bad, that’s living life with people, that’s living out the gospel.” They have been influenced by the late theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who wrote “I have come to the conclusion that this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people.” What happened to Bonhoeffer? He returned to his homeland of Germany. He would then be accused of joining the plot to assassinate the Führer and spent two years in prison. He was executed by the Nazi regime at Flossenbürg concentration camp on April 9, 1945, just two weeks before the United States liberated the camp. When he died, he famously remarked to another prisoner, “This is the end — but for me, the beginning.”

We are nowhere near the extreme that Bonhoeffer faced, or the Apostle Paul during his missionary journeys, but we all have that same desire – to share the Gospel and live life in community. We all have missed that through these momentary afflictions & interruptions. The year opened on a note of excitement, then many weeks of uncertainty – masks, social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and isolation. Honestly, I almost feel like we will be beginning afresh as we get to know one another again, sharing the Gospel, and sharing our lives together.

To help jump start that process, after many weeks of being apart, Bo and I will be hosting weekly get-together dinners this summer at our home, beginning June 17. This will be in groups of six, and you can sign up for a Wednesday night in the church lobby, or call/email the church office to reserve a night. There is no agenda, lesson, or study, just a time to get together for fellowship and to learn more about one another. I hope it will be a time that we are able to connect more deeply, especially after this separation. Hope you all can join us at some point this summer for “Pullen Up A Chair” with the Pullen’s. Bo and I are eager to share not  only  the Gospel, but our lives as well.

There is light at the end of the tunnel….

What are the two C’s of First Presbyterian Church? They are hurricane Charley and the Covid- 19 virus. They both hit the church hard, but in the first case the church bounced back fine, and as for the second, so far things are looking good. PTL!

Hurricane Charley took out the church building. It was a tough time in the life of the church, but even then, the church continued to meet in borrowed and rented space. Pastor Steve, when interviewed by the local paper, reminded everyone that the church is people, not a building. The church survived and thrived, and relocated to the present building on Airport Rd.

Now we face a new challenge for the church, an invisible one, but it has deadly potential as well. The building itself stands ready, but the people are not able to gather. We began making decisions of not meeting together because we felt that we have an obligation to look after one another and consider the needs of others as more significant than our own. Our deepest concern is for those most at risk. Whether they are a fellow church member, immediate family, friend, neighbor, or colleague…we all likely know someone we can help protect. So, we closed the building. Through the blessing of technology, cards and letters, and social media we have been able to stay connected to one another during this time.

Now we are at the threshold of re-opening the building. What will we do? According to the President, Governor, and medical professional’s assessment, there are certain criteria that need to be met in a geographical area to be able to return to ‘normalcy’. Most of our congregation is in the most vulnerable population, so we do not want to rush into a situation that would cause more harm to individuals, than the benefits of gathering together again. Therefore, we have decided that we will continue online services for May 3, 10, and 17. Our hope is that we will be able to meet again before June, but it is an every changing situation, so we will reevaluate in mid-May.

First Presbyterian Church will celebrate 125 years this October, and what a celebration it will be! We have been through several hurricanes, building relocations, and by God’s grace we will get through this crisis as well. In an email letter a few weeks ago, I mentioned a quote by J.I Packer, which I still believe has merit as this crisis drags on. He wrote, “To know that nothing happens in God’s world apart from God’s will may frighten the godless, but it stabilizes the saints.” It is a crazy time, which can lead to a mixture of feelings. Feelings are part of what makes us human, and there is nothing wrong with them. However, we do not need to camp out there; our God is in control, and that should give us hope. I do not pretend to understand it all; I simply choose to trust in the One who does. That helps me to deal with the situation we are in. It stabilizes me.

Looking forward to the time we once again gather in the Church building as the Congregation of First Presbyterian Church and give all praise, honor, and glory to God for who He is and what He has done.

In my office is a cute picture of two children trying to figure  out the finger play for that old nursery rhyme:

Here is the church and there is the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people.

Nowadays, we might modify it to:

Here is the church and there is the steeple. Open the doors and where are the people?

It is definitely a new day in the life of the church, we are all learning to “do church” a little differently. But what does that phrase mean anyway, to “do church”? Let’s remember what the church is; our standards (Heidelberg Catechism #54) define the church as:

I believe that the Son of God, out of the whole human race, from the beginning of the world to its end, gathers, defends, and preserves for himself, by his Spirit and Word, in the unity of the true faith, a church chosen to everlasting life. And I believe that I am and forever shall remain a living member of it.

One of the things I love about the old standards is the bigger perspective that the writers had. We, the people, are the church family of First Presbyterian Church of Punta Gorda, but more than that we are part of the church universal, from the beginning of the world to eternity. And Christ has promised, as the Good Shepherd, that He will gather, defend, and preserve it. The King of all creation — He is the One in charge. Nothing can defeat it. So, as we gather around our tables, our computers, or in our living rooms to have Worship/Prayer Meetings/Bible Studies — we are gathering with saints around the world to bring glory, honor, and praise to the Triune God — and we will forever be a part of it! As I mentioned in my letter, it is never an easy decision to cancel our meeting together; however, we have an obligation to look after one another and consider the needs of others as more significant than our own. Our deepest concern is for those most at risk. Whether they are a fellow church member, immediate family, friend, neighbor or colleague…we all likely know someone we can help protect. So, I just wanted to say thank you for working through this momentary inconvenience.

What about Easter? I know, there are lots of family and church traditions that are part of the season. As I write this to you, we have not made a decision about Easter Sunday. However, Services and activities are cancelled through Good Friday (April 1-10). I hope that we can meet together for Easter, but even if we are unable to meet together as a church family in our building, that doesn’t mean that Easter is cancelled. I don’t know about you, but a person really has to fight during the Christmas season to remember the true reason for the season, it has become so commercial. It seems that Easter is starting to feel that way too — with the candy, Easter Egg Hunts, new clothes, big meals, etc. Maybe, this is a corrective year. An opportunity to reflect on what Holy Week is all about, from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday! We have been going through the Gospel of John on Sunday mornings, I would encourage you to take the time for family devotions to go back and read the last half of the book in preparation for Easter, and ask yourself, “Why do I celebrate Easter?” It may be a refreshing time to refocus on what it means to be a Christian. On Wednesday April 1 & 8, I will put up on our Facebook page a recorded Easter devotional that looks at some of the Messianic Psalms, I’ll send the link out on Wednesday. (I’ll also post links to two Holy Week devotionals, or email me and we will mail you a copy. One is produced by the Billy Graham Association, the other is produced by Desiring God Ministry.)

We are the church — perhaps for now scattered, instead of gathered for a season. But this too will pass, and when it does, our communion will be all the sweeter and appreciated.

At our luncheon in January I was asked about the churches, mainly the size, that Bo and I have served in before coming to First Presbyterian Church in Punta Gorda. We served on staff at three previous churches. We began at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, which was about 3500, then Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian in St. Louis, which was about 2000, and then Wildwood Presbyterian Church, which was about 1000. “So why would you come to a church of about 100?”

The simple answer is we sensed a call from God, but there was also the power of the smaller church that attracted us. The power? Yes! Some statistics suggest that about a billion Christians attend church with membership over 350, and about a billion Christians attend church with less than 350 attendees. Basically, half of the Christians in the world are choosing to Worship and unite with smaller churches. God is using the small church in His plan of evangelism. In all those churches we served, we would spend time in staff meetings, and even retreats, dedicated to how to make our church feel smaller. How to make the mega-church feel smaller! They had every conceivable program imaginable to meet people where they live. I’m not bashing the large church, they provide things that are very needed. Yet, they were missing something vital – smallness.

Community — When you come into this church there is a sense of friendliness, of warmth, of community, of caring that you are there. That is not something to take for granted. While Bo and I were waiting on God to provide the next call, we took advantage of the time and visited quite a few churches. (That is not something that a pastor normally gets to do.) Some churches were welcoming, but many were not, we just slipped in and worshiped and slipped out. As I watch the greeting time in our service, the fellowship after the service, there is a real sense of caring for one another in this congregation. That is to be celebrated.

Relationships — I will have to admit that the ‘seasonal’ resident is a dynamic that I need to learn about. But even so, the relationships when these members started coming back, felt like a family reunion. Even when spread apart geographically, there are real relationships in this body that continue. It is a family.  That is also to be celebrated.

So, I get asked, “What is the vision?” “What are the changes that are coming?” “Where do we go from here?” We are a good church, with a long history of ministry in this community. We have a body of believers that are unified and excited about the future. So, how do we capitalize on our past and become a better church? A great church? And a great church has nothing to do with numbers. It has nothing to do with trying to look like a smaller version of a big church. It has to do with understanding its unique role in the Kingdom. We want to ask questions like, “Why did God put First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Taylor and Airport Roads?”, “If we ceased to exist, would our community notice?”, “What are the gifts, talents, dreams of the members of our church?”

Our first year here we are getting to know one another, trying to figure out the answers to these questions, (or maybe just letting me catch up to the rest of y’all). But, I want us to pray, dream, and expect that God is going to do great things through First Presbyterian Church for His glory in the years to come.

Let’s start dreaming…..

Two respected pastors from the past saw the importance of a ministry to children; one as
he reflected on his long pastorate, and the other as prepared to lead the church to a return of Biblical theology.

After the observation and experience of a long life, I have come decisively to the
conclusion, that, if I had my life to live over again, I would pay ten times as much
attention to the children of my charge, as I ever did when I had a pastoral charge. If I
were now about to undertake the care of a new or feeble church, I should consider
special attention to the children and young people of the neighborhood as one of the most
certain and effectual methods of collecting and strengthening a large flock that, humanly
speaking, could possibly be employed. (Samuel Miller 1860’s)

When I preach, I regard neither doctors nor magistrates, of whom I have above forty in
my congregation. My eyes are on the servant maids and the children. (Martin Luther
1500’s)

In many churches today an emphasis is being placed on ministry to children within her
doors. This emphasis can be seen at the Sacrament of Baptism when the congregation is asked the following question, “Do you promise to support these parents as they rear their child in the love and discipline of the Lord?” This promise, this vow, this attitude we have toward children is rooted in the concept of covenant. I want to briefly lay out for you the Biblical basis of why we minister to children, why there is such an emphasis to be placed on children. As we think about children’s ministry, let’s go back to when you were in Sunday School.

My testimony is a Timothy Testimony; that is, I have had the privilege of knowing the
Scriptures since infancy. There were many people that inculcated God’s Word into my life, but there are two teachers that stand out in my mind: Mr. Bolin and Mr. Walker. Mr. Bolin was my fifth grade Sunday School teacher and had an obvious love for his class. I do not remember what exactly we learned that year, but I do remember a man who loved me and cared for me, even when I requested to sing, They Will Know We are Christians, for the umpteenth time. The other was Mr. Walker who had great gadgets in my Senior High Sunday School class. I can remember going down to the beach and writing our sins in the sand, and then the waves washing them away, and then sitting around a campfire and listening to the story of Jesus’sacrifice in a whole new light. He also had this black box hooked up to the television, a Betamax (Does that take you back?) that made Josh McDowell appear on his screen at will. These two men, along with many
others members of the church, assisted my parents in building into my heart a love for God and His Word.

I remember those godly men as I walk into the classes I teach today. I can remember a
three–year-old class in which a little boy named Timmy would ask the most off-the-wall
questions and make the most irrelevant statements in the middle of my lessons. “Pastor
B, Pastor B, yesterday my sister went poop in her pants.”“Pastor B, Pastor B, We saw a helicopter on the way to church today.”“Pastor B, pastor B, do you think God likes apple juice?”There were times when I would wish that he would not show up so I could actually get through a whole lesson. Then a wise woman in the church, Heidi, made this statement to me;“You know, one day when you are old and gray and sitting in the pew, little Timmy may be your pastor and may be serving you communion.” Wow! There was an eye opener. From that day forward, I really began to enter the classroom with a long-term vision, a perspective of eternity.

That perspective of eternity is the essence of the covenant. Our Lord, the sovereign of
the universe, has entered a relationship with His creature through no merit of our own by His own holy decision. There are many threads we could follow through the Bible, but if we follow the development of the covenant, we notice how important children are in the economy of God.

Let’s take a look at a sampling of Biblical passages:

In Genesis 1:28 we read that “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and
increase in number…”What we see in this passage is that one of the foundational purposes of marriage was procreation, was children. It is important to note that children were not a result of the Fall, but were part of God’s original plan.

In Deuteronomy 6:4-9 we read “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” As the nation is assembled and addressed, the Lord takes special emphasis to tell the people that they must instruct the children, not just the adults in their midst. It is important and necessary for the adults to know God’s commands, but equally as important that the children be given instruction as part of the covenantal community.

In Deuteronomy 31:12-13 we read, “Assemble the people — men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns — so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” As God prepares the people to enter the promised land, he takes special care to remind His covenant people to obey His laws, not just the adults, but the children as well must learn the law.

In Psalm 78:1-8 (printed on the front cover.) we see the eternal perspective of one
generation passing on to the next generation the things of the Lord. Unless we intentionally pass on our faith, humanly speaking, Christianity is only one generation from dying out.
In Joel 2:16 we read, “Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the
elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast…” Again, as God gathers His
covenantal community for Worship, all the members of the community are included, not just the adults. Children learn from our model, as well as from our words, perhaps even more so.

In Jeremiah 32:38-41 we read, “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I
will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.” Take a minute and re-read this passage. Note all the things that God said He will accomplish for His people. But, note that it is not only for His people but also for their children, the generations to come that He will accomplish these things.

In 2 Timothy 3:14-17 we read, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and
have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In God’s providence Timothy was mentored by Paul to become a leader in the early church. But, Paul did not start with a blank slate, but rather Timothy had been taught the Scriptures since infancy. Our training of children must begin at an early age!

In Psalm 8:1-2 we read, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have
ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger”, and then in
Matthew 21:15-16 we read, “But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?” In this passage Jesus uses the praise of the children to silence His enemies, just as the Psalmist declared. It was not the praise of the adults, but of the children that Jesus pointed out. Our children must be given that opportunity to praise the Lord.

In Genesis18:17-19 we read, “And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am
about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? “For I have chosen him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice; in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” In this passage the Lord points out the promise that He has made to Abraham to bless him and all the earth. Interestingly, one of the reasons that he was chosen was to command his children. An integral aspect of the covenant is so that our children will be taught the ways of the Lord.

From this brief reflection on your past experiences and an overview of Scripture, I hope
the point is clear: Children are an integral part of the covenantal community, not simply an add on or the future church. As such  we design the children’s ministry to ‘come alongside’parents as they seek to fulfill their covenantal obligations to rear their children in the love and admonition of the Lord. The Children’s Ministry seeks to provide opportunities for children to engage in worship, be given instruction in God’s Word, be involved in fellowship, and give expression to their faith. Our responsibility to children is not simply babysitting, but to minister to them, for they are part of the covenantal community.