Word on the Street

The furnishings campaign for our new building has begun. It is called "From the Heart" and it gives us all the opportunity to remember and pay tribute to the special people in our lives. On our website there is a brochure that describes the guidelines and all the items being requested for the new building (click here). I invite you to carefully read through this brochure and spend time in prayer about your contribution to this effort. You can also get a printed brochure at the church.

I believe it is very important to clearly understand what we are doing. This is a furnishings campaign not a furniture campaign. Every item on this list will someday have to be replaced but the legacy of love we generate through this campaign will never be replaced. In preparing to make a contribution to this campaign ask yourself these questions before you choose any of the items:

1. Do I love this church?
2. Do I love someone who I want to honor or remember?

After you answer these questions, then begin to search for items that represent the people you care about. The Furnishings Committee has given us a wonderful set of choices that will affect the ministry we perform at Grace Avenue in a wide number of areas. For those who simply want to honor or remember someone, but do not know which area or items they want choose, there is a great gift card option. If you so desire, contributions can be made anonymously or simply "to the glory of God."

My family is planning on choosing six items; four items to honor each of our four children, one item to honor Laura's parents and one item to remember my parents. As we have prayed about this, we plan to spend at least $1000 on each of the six items. Your plan needs to be based on your prayers but this much I know; everyone can do something.

I am so excited about the progress on our new building and the plans for the renovation of our existing Worship Center. The new building still looks like it is on target to open sometime in December of this year, but I am even more excited about the ministry of "Making Disciples and Making a Difference through Jesus Christ" that will happen in this new building. Thank you in advance for the generosity I know you will show "From the Heart".

Word on the Street

July 20, 2012

The echoes of Vacation Bible Camp resound: Look Up & Trust God!

Word on the Street

July 13, 2012

One of my favorite storytellers is Garrison Keillor. He is famous for his yarns about a fictional small town in Minnesota called Lake Wobegon often told on the syndicated radio program "A Prairie Home Companion". The parody is about the fact that, from the outside, nothing much exciting happens there, but if you live in Lake Wobegon, there is always "news". Keillor finishes every newscast from Lake Wobegon with the phrase; "where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking and all the children, above average".

It is a bit of an overstatement to say that we don't live in Lake Wobegon. We live in the extremes of stress and escape. We are either so busy with so many important things or we run away to mindless, self-indulgent, sometimes dysfunctional endeavors. Psychologists call it "fight or flight".

God calls us to the simple joys of everyday living. God calls us to appreciate the ordinary experiences in our lives that are extraordinary because of God's love. Philippians 4: 4-7 says: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Garrison Keillor states: "Gentleness is everywhere in daily life, a sign that faith rules through ordinary things: through cooking and small talk, through storytelling, making love, fishing, tending animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports, music and books, raising kids-- all the places where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through."

This week are you living in the extremes or in the places where "the gravy soaks in and the grace shines through"?

Word on the Street

I was on vacation last week in Washington D.C. It is always amazing to see the richness of our nation's heritage depicted in the buildings, museums, monuments and institutions. When I go there and experience these things I realize that I am not simply encountering the past. I am also encountering a challenge as to what kind of citizen I will be in the future.

One evening we went to the area of the Tidal Basin just before sunset. A walk around the south and west side of the Tidal Basin will now take you to the Thomas Jefferson, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials. In the Jefferson Memorial stands the large statue of Jefferson along with four panels of inscription quoting the famous Founding Father from Virginia. On the fourth panel are the words:

"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

As I read these words I thought about our country and our church. No one would ever have accused Thomas Jefferson of "Good Ol' Days" syndrome. Jesus said it this way: "No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. (Luke 5: 37-38).

With you on Grace Avenue,

Billy Echols-Richter

Pastor

Word on the Street 6/15/12

Many of us are traveling this summer.  We are planning to go to some great destinations.  We are planning to see some amazing things and have some amazing adventures. We will need a way to get to those destinations.  Some of us will go by plane and others will go by automobile, but whatever method we choose, we would never mistake the vehicle for the destination.

In a new book called Remember the Future by Bishop Robert Schnase, he recalls hearing a sermon by Dr. Joy Moore at the 2011 World Methodist Conference in South Africa.  Dr. Moore told the gathering; “The church is not the destination any more than the plane and a successful flight are the ultimate destination on your next trip.” She went on to say; “The purpose of the church is the way to salvation.”

The church is at its best when we realize this.  The church is the vehicle that carries us on the journey of faith in Christ.  On the one hand one would never go on a long trip and just stay in the car or on the plane.  In the same way we cannot simply “go to church” and think we have arrived.  On the other hand one would never go on a long journey without a proper vehicle.  So by the same token, we cannot disassociate ourselves from the church and believe we are going to get anywhere on the journey of faith in Christ.  The church is not the destination but an essential vehicle.

I have experienced this again firsthand this week at Vacation Bible Camp.  The theme for the week has been “Look Up”.  As always the week has been filled with a great deal of excitement and learning, but the emphasis has not been simply; “go to church”.  The emphasis over and over again has been to teach our children to ‘Look Up and Trust God.”

When we get this straight we begin to see the value of the church as God’s vehicle but not God’s destination.

With you on Grace Avenue,
Billy Echols-Richter

Pastor

P.S.  By all reports, the steeple frame on the new building (with the cross on top) will be set in place Monday morning June 18 between 8 & 9 am. Be sure to watch the edited video of this great event later that day.  

Word On the Street

June 1, 2012

May has been a terrible month for “The Market”.  After some signs earlier this year that the economy was beginning to rebound, most of the strengthening receded in the last 30 days.  Many of us “depend” on “The Market” for our livelihood, plans for our children, plans for our retirement or living out our retirement.  What we were told was wise investing over a long period of time has turned into a roller coaster of unpredictability.

Bill Enright is the Director of The Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at the University of Indiana.  He is one of the smartest people I know when it comes to research and trends regarding faith and money.  This month in his Insight column he wrote about God and  Money.   Here is what he wrote:

Recently I stumbled across an essay written in 1999 by Harvey Cox, retired Professor of Divinity at Harvard, on "The Market as God."  Cox reminded me that "at the apex of any theological system is its doctrine of God."  So we use words like Allah, God, Yahweh to denote divinity; Adam Smith, I would argue, used the term "Invisible Hand" to reflect his understanding of God. Today The Wall Street Journal and the business section of our newspapers all seem to suggest that a new grand narrative now governs human history, The Market.

In the monotheistic faiths God is sometimes characterized as omnipotent - all powerful and capable of defining what is real. As omniscient - all knowing, reflecting a kind of photographic wisdom that is all-inclusive and comprehensive. As omnipresent - or existing everywhere and shaping or influencing everything. Until recently, Cox reminds us, the Market was never God as it existed amidst the restraint of other institutions and centers of value...or gods.

What sets the market god apart from the God of traditional religious faiths? Traditional religions stress the finite character of human beings and the limits that characterize any earthly enterprise. So, as you think about your financial situation both individually and as a faith-based institution don't base your economic decisions solely on the market. Take time to bend your knees and bow your heads to the God behind and beyond the market as a potential source of wisdom, hope and generosity.

What is the source of your wisdom and strength this week?

With you on Grace Avenue,
Billy Echols-Richter

Pastor

Word on the Street

May 18, 2012

The PGA Golf tour comes to DFW the next two weeks with the Byron Nelson Championship in Las Colinas this week and The Colonial Invitational in Ft. Worth next week. I like golf and I am amazed at the dedication and skill of some of these professional golfers. Like anyone who is dedicated to something, however there is a moment when dedication becomes obligation.

Harvey W. V. Pennick was famous golf instructor who lived for many years in the Austin TX area. He was coaching a woman who went on to win the Texas Amateur Women's Championship. He coached her right up to the minute of her tee time, and at that moment, the woman said to Pennick, "Well, I have to go out and play now". And he replied, "What do you mean, you have to go out and play? You get to go out and play".

Sometimes we forget that the things we are most dedicated to are also our greatest blessings. God gives us so many opportunities, many of which we have asked and prayed for, and yet when things get busy or hectic we turn our blessings into "Have to's".

Look at the following phrases. Which best describes you right now?

"I have to go to work" or "I get to go to work".

"I have to take the children to school" or "I get to take the children to school".

"I have to go to church" or "I get to go to church".

The list could be as long as you want to make it, but it is essential to analyze in regards to our faith. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Spring Fever and our propensity for letting apathy creep in to our prosperity. God gives us so many blessings, but we must be careful to not take those things for granted.

Is your life full of obligations or blessings?