Last Night in Buffalo

Following another superb teaching session on Colossians 3 by Mark Dever and a seminar by David Green on "Preaching to the Conscience," the afternoon business meeting included the voting in of the Conference positions for the next year, including a new president for the CCCC, Larry Wood, to replace Nick Granitsas (on the right in the new photo) of Revere, who has so faithfully and ably served the conference in this position. He and Pastor Greer are among the longest serving pastors in New England (to remain at the same church).


The Thursday evening service includes a message by the past President (Nick, this year) and is followed by the Lord's Supper at which the Conference Choir sings during the distribution of the bread and the cup. Sadly, the hotel placed a loud band with a dance in the next room, directly behind the podium, and separated from us by a folding wall. The music (pop songs from the 60's and 70's) was so loud that it was hard to hear the praise songs and even harder to hear Nick's message. And the choir, pictured below during rehearsal, was sitting against the wall. Not only did their sound overpower us, but the band controlled the lights in the room, so the lights would come on and off at their discretion (depending on the mood of the song they were performing). Barely able to hear the piano through the distraction the choir began (under my direction) to sing Robert Sterling's arrangement of Jesus Paid It All, beginning with the first verse words, "I hear the Savior say, 'Thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness, find in me thine all in all.'" Suddenly, the "wall of sound" parted just as the women began to sing "For nothing good have I whereby Thy grace to claim." It was truly a wonderful moment. The band had stopped and softer background dance music played. Which made the music for the distribution of the cup, "I Want to Be Like Jesus," singularly wonderful (you'll remember that I wrote this for the Carlisle Choir on the recommendation of Jackie Miller back in 1989).


It certainly made for a memorable evening. Later, the Burnocks and the Weibleys went to the restaurant in Buffalo, where the first Buffalo wings were made. It was packed, but my they were good. Yes, the dark blob under the sign are Burni, Suzi, and Deb.


We all had the wings, and they were wondeful:

But more wonderful was our time spent with the Halls, and especially Burni and Suzi Burnock, but also with all those brothers and sisters who continue to serve the Lord across the United States and in mission fields, with all those involved in the church multiplication work, with those with whom I attended seminary and all those I've met at all those Annual Meetings in the past. I'm looking forward for the time to think through all the seminars and messages from the week, some encouraging, others challenging, all part of this important week. BUT NEXT, VBS!!!

Wednesday in Buffalo

A full and fulfilling day at the conference. Which started with a fire alarm going off sometime before 7 and everyone trying to get out by the stairs, though it was a false alarm. The morning continued on a more positive if also more challenging note with another hour of Bible teaching from Mark Dever of Capitol Baptist, this study from Colossians 2. Here's that picture I promised:


I'm told that mp3's of the annual meeting main sessions will be up on the CCCC website, when they've been uploaded (http://www.ccccusa.com/audio.html). All of these messages by Dr. Dever bear careful listening; all touch at the center of what we are as the Church of Jesus Christ as well as reminding us of all that pulls us to add to or distract us from the Gospel.

After a morning seminar on worship, my second session was with one of my favorite seminary profs who is now at Grove City, Dr. David T. Gordon. Dr. Gordon has been studying and writing the last decade on the subject of media ecology, how media affects the human environment. Just as the medium affects what is communicated, so does the manner of communication impact how people think and their ability to think. As to the first, imagine a Native American sending smoke signals for a message. The medium (the smoke signals) limits what can be said and the depth of what can be said. More alarming was his discussion of the changings in the ability to concentrate and think in our post-typography era. Much of what he had to say carried over into the men's luncheon, where he also spoke. I hope to have an opportunity to talk about the profound importance many of these studies have to do with the communication of the Gospel in our community and homes. However, let me leave you with a nugget: Dr. Gordon requires of his students a "media fast," where they use no electronic devices for 24 hours. Expecting to hear of the in-depth conversations they were able to have with dorm mates and the like, instead most of what he heard in student write-ups was their saying how hard it was to go with out these props to everyday life that so distract and limit our ability to concentrate and focus. Much more to follow, but I think we get a better picture of how trained some of us have been by electronic devices, when we see how hard it feels to live without them and live with the "musico mundi," music of the earth, everyday sounds that people now miss because they are "plugged in" with their Ipods . . . .


Choir was much better attended today, with 5 or 6 more women and at least one or two more men, and the sound is quite good, and the feeling of our fellowship in Christ is sweet: there is also something about singing with people from so many different parts of the United States. (And, it's a national phenomenal: the basses thought their part was too high. Hm, where have I heard that before?) Two new singers were from an Episcopalian church in Rhode Island that has just joined the CCCC (and was received into fellowship today) after what seems to me a remarkable testimony about the right way to leave a denomination that has left the Bible.

We shared a wonderful dinner with Suzi and "Burni" Burnock and Jeannie and Bob Hall. One of the encouragements of these annual meetings is getting together with those who have labored long over the years in the same work, like these dear brothers and sisters.

The day ended with a message from Dr. Ron Hamilton, who spoke of this year's work in Church Multiplication and the new churches planted and in the process of being planted. These include a church planted that is a "grandchild" church of Forestdale Congregational in Malden where Paul McPheters serves, and will serve second generation Indians in Philadelphia. Another is thriving in LA, and another in Salem, Massachusetts; all represent some hopeful work in planting vibrant and diverse local churches. Dr. Hamilton:

Tuesday in Buffalo

The morning started with a breakfast provided by Gordon-Conwell for us alums and hosted by one of my favorite profs, from whom I learned much, Ken Swetland. The "worship" was again led by people from the church Dayle Keefer serves as senior pastor (on the right below) and his brother Ric (who is an assistant pastor there). A church with many musicians who assist us in the singing.


Here's a picture of us all singing together . .
In the evening, Dr. Jon Kimball, director of CCCC redevelopment and care, spoke about practically and clearheadedly living out the scriptures:
His powerpoint showed one of the central issues of real Christianity, his message based on Matthew 15. The missionary might look at a native culture (that's the eye of the missionary at the top right of the diagram) and see problem behavior (say, many wives) and try to change that behavior, not remembering that the heart remains unchanged, though the behavior might change. The biblical model is to change the heart, the world view, which in turn changes, then the beliefs, then the values, and finally the behavior, creating the kind of change the Bible is talking about.
Jon summarized his message with these powerpoint slides showing the heart work that calls out for the Lord to rule our hearts in repentence and truth:
During our first sabbatical, Deb and I had heard Mark Dever speak at the church he serves, Capitol Baptist in Washington. It is truly unfair to excerpt, as I have, these following short excerpts from his thorough study of Colossians 1:24 and following verses, but these are short and important nuggets and practical reminders, all part of our Bible study Tuesday morning. I look forward with great eagerness for his speaking tomorrow morning (when I'll take a picture for the blog as well).

How do you see the invisible God?
How%20do%20you%20see%20the%20invisible%20God-Devers.mp3
And you thought the Apostle Paul was judgmental!
you%20think%20Paul%20is%20judgmental.mp3
Evidence that you are a believer.
how%20do%20you%20know%20that%20you%20are%20a%20believer.mp3
The significance of the hard work of preaching.
the%20importance%20of%20preaching.mp3
How to find spiritual power (and the ways people try and fail)
finding%20spiritual%20power.mp3

Simply extraordinary biblical work and heart searching. I commend you to them, and thank you for your continued prayer. The conference choir is smallish and could use some more people, especially sopranos and altos. AND, it looks like we will be singing, "I Want to Be Like Jesus." Tomorrow, we hope to have dinner with Bob and Jeannie Hall and Burni and Suzi Burnock . . .

His and yours,
Steve and Deb

Another Sort of Beauty

Deb and I, after driving 8 hours and some, occasionally through violent thunderstorms, arrived in Buffalo (AT THE SAME TIME SENATOR MCCAIN IS VISITING BUFFALO). Out our hotel window, you can see the spectacular Art Deco City Hall.
In no time we saw many friends from the pastorate, some of whom you may know, depending upon how long you've known our church: Burni and Suzi Burnock (with whom we had dinner--let me tell you, that was a loud and unruly table), Bob and Jeannie Hall (from the Bronx Household of Faith), and Ed Whitman among many others. But, before the evening events, Deb and I took the opportunity to drive the half hour up to Niagara Falls, to ride the Maid of the Mist (Deb's first time) and to see the spectacular glory of these falls. Canadian flag picture included for the benefit of both Brian B. and Annette D. (We went up to Niagara-on-the-Lake: boy, do they know how to make beautiful gardens up there in Ontario's wine country!)The evening service began with a mention of our church, as Ed Whitman (whose parents, some of you will remember, attended Carlisle) told the assembly that he had served as one of the delegates from Carlisle Congregational Church in 1960 (the next year's meeting in '61 was held at Carlisle Congregational). It was a tender moment when the well-loved Anne Ortlund, whose husband Ray died around the time of last year's meeting, led in prayer. The band was great, and included a baritone sax, a tasteful and subtle drummer (is there any other kind?), two synthesizers, and a great pianist, accompanying the two brothers who led the singing.Steve Gammon, Conference Minister, closed the evening with a remarkable and full call to challenge the way we think about ourselves and our responsibility to each other and those who do not know Jesus. Weaving the scripture and his personal experiences, as well as the history of the CCCC, Steve laid out what to me was one of his clearest statements of his hopes for our association. Almost incidentally, I was struck, in thinking about Carlisle Congregational Church (herself richly part of the history of the CCCC) when Steve mentioned Acts 19:10. Paul stayed and taught in Ephesus, and Scripture records: This continued (Paul's reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus) for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. All in that region heard in two years. What might this kind of view and this kind of work mean for Carlisle and our local communities? How would we approach it? What would the same thing look like in our century and our culture? I know I will go to bed with this passage running through my mind and heart.Also in my mind and heart will be this banner behind the rostrum, picturing the cross of Jesus as both the foundation/beginning and capstone/finishing of every work we do. Tomorrow, I have the privilege of beginning to rehearse the concert choir, and I never know how many or of what voice will come, so I've brought some 6 anthems as possibilities. Any and all prayer is appreciated.
So, there you have it; in one day, the beauty of great architectural craftsmanship (City Hall), the glory of the work of the Great Architect (Niagara Falls), and the beauty of and glory of Us, His Church.

His and yours, Steve and Deb

Glory in the Passing Garden

Though I've been thinking political thoughts lately, the Lord reminded me of something wonderful the other day in the yard of the parsonage. Several spectacular lilies, some from our friend Helen in England, have begun to bloom. You just can't beat daylilies for a plant; almost impossible to kill, they double or more every year (these were from Seawright Daylily Farm, where I had the privilege to serve for one summer about 20 years ago).

The thing is, of course, that these images can't give you the full experience of the beauty of these flowers. The nature of a photo is that it turns the three dimensional into something flat and removes all of the context around what is seen. Rather like the difference between listening to a CD and attending a performance. One step removed from a genuine experience. The colors are about right, the proportions are right and there is a glimpse of the beauty. Similarly, in our culture, we are more and more pressed to these mediated experiences. They are more convenient, easier, and they feel more safe (like internet relationships). But they are not the genuine experience. Some parents, it seems, only view their children through the lens of a video camera, instead of being fully present and soaking in the moment. Photographers and videographers are today allowed to the distract from the solemn and joyful covenant service that is a wedding. Aunt Alexandra somehow seems to think that her ability to capture what is happening during the service requires that she step into the aisle and "assist" the professionals by taking a flash photo of some part of the service.

Here is one of the spectacular blue-green hosta beside our front door. These, too, are wonderful, and ideal for all the shady spots we have. And look at this close up of the delicate columbine from an arrangement given by the Women's Bible Study to my wife:


All of this attempt to concretize, to capture, to try to snare what is passing away, all that is so temporary, can be a sentimental way of thinking of the past. Trying to remember a past once present, but passing away as soon as the shutter clicked, and which is only slightly captured by the photo we view. Israel's God, the eternal, never-changing God, could never be pictured in static forms like statuary or images. The commandment proscribed it. A concrete image could only hint at all that God is; it's inability to express Him in all His context could only result in an inadequate description of him, a "lying" image. Later, Jesus was that living, breathing photograph of the Father. Now, (aside from the certainty that no apostle thought it good to draw his picture except in words given by the Holy Spirit) no picture, no image, no crucifix, no ikon of Jesus captures all that He is in His manifold glory as the God bound eternally to humanity, ascended, His humanity united to His deity, unpictureable. Any pigment would be too poor to paint it. No hand can have the skill to craft it. Now, the wonder is that it is the disciples of Jesus who are together the image, the ikon, the photo of Jesus. No one of us enough to be a picture to our world of all the excellencies of Jesus, but husbands show how Jesus is to His wife, the Church, in the way they love their wives. Snap. Earthly fathers are an imperfect and incomplete picture of the perfect heavenly father. Snap. But he doesn't just call us to be these things. That's what we are. Every day in the way we are fathers, we say, "That's what the fatherhood of God looks like." Every day in the way we husbands love our wives, we say, "That's the way Jesus loves His wife the church." Well, there you have it, a wandering discourse prompted by a morning photo shoot in the garden at the Chelmsford parsonage . . .

A closeup of one of the columbine flowers!

A Non-Political Side Line

(First, note that I have now blogged two days in a row. This may not at all be a healthy sign).

I do a lot of reading and my recent reading has taken me to some pre- and post-WWII history, particularly on the thinking of the Progressives as it culminated in FDR. Most interesting, in view of Senator Obama's recent redesign of the presidential seal (turning it into a blue eagle) was the work of the National Industrial Recovery Act under Hugh S. Johnson, who was a philosophical follower of Mussolini's Fascist theories in the 1930's and also Time Magazine's man of the year for 1933. Americans who didn't cooperate with the New Deal, said Mr. Johnson, would get "a sock in the nose." Johnson's goal was to change difficult economic times by waging a "war" on the Depression: "It is women in homes--and not soldiers in uniform--who will this time save our country . . . . They will go over the top to as great a victory as the Argonne. It is zero hour for housewives. Their battle cry is 'Buy now under the Blue Eagle!'" And the eagle looked a good deal like the German National Socialist eagle of the time. The 1933 Musical Footlight Parade, starred James Cagney and featured a chorus line (like those in North Korea, for example) who hold up flash cards that together made an American flag which were flipped to form a large portrait of FDR to the tune of different service songs (though the country was not at war). Following that (it's the Shanghai Lil sequence and can be found on YouTube) we look down on the crowd and see them form the NRA Blue Eagle (The film is worth watching for the brilliantly camp "By a Waterfall" with it's Busby Berkley human waterfall as well as a now embarrassing portrayal of an oriental by the brilliant Ruby Keeler--many stars--introducing Dorothy Lamour and Ann Sothern as uncredited chorus girls and Billy Barty, also uncredited, as a boy in a mouse costume. Warning for parents: alcohol use and some "blue" humor as this was produced before advent of the film code). The biggest parade in New York City was not the one for Charles Lindberg after he successfully crossed the Atlantic, but the Blue Eagle parade: 50,000 garment workers, 6,000 brewery hands, performers from Radio City Music Hall, 250,000 men and women marching for 10 hours past an audience of over a million (even larger than this picture of the parade for Olympic medalist Gertrude Ederle).
"A hundred thousand schoolkids," writes Jonah Goldberg in his Liberal Fascism, "were marched onto the Boston Common" to swear allegiance to an oath administered by the mayor: "I promise as a good American citizen to do my part for the N[ational] R[ecovery] A[dministration]. I will buy only where the Blue Eagle flies." All this patriotic sounding government intervention had a dark side, though. If you wouldn't charge 40 cents for a product for which you wanted to charge 35 cents, you were thrown in jail for three months, as the aim of the New Deal was to "create artificial scarcity to drive prices up." Crops were left to rot, 6 million pigs were slaughtered. The regulations of the NRA effectively (whether it was intentional is debated) aided the already racist labor unions in keeping blacks out. While head of the NRA, Johnson distributed a tract from one of Mussolini's favorite economists to the Secretary of Labor and begged her to give it to the rest of the cabinet.

All of this was a piece of history new to me. I was startled, therefore, when I saw the redesigned presidential seal for Senator Obama's rally (which has since been withdrawn, intended, it has been said, for only that one time use) with the eagle all in blue. Now, this is clearly not the NRA eagle, but the choice of color was interesting. And likely no one would make the connection, nor would I have, who did not have the historical background. In the national debate, the issue is the supposed presumption of the candidate, but I can't help wondering if someone on his staff was aware and wanting to make a connection to Roosevelt, but didn't check out their history carefully enough. Verbum sapienti satis est.