This past weekend I made the trek home to Hodgdon in order to attend and give a little talk at the church I grew up in. The theme was Lighthouses and based on Psalm 16:6 ~ Reflections of a goodly heritage.
"The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
indeed my heritage is beautiful to me."
Dear Amy & dear Heidi have also blogged about this, and I had the opportunity and privilege to hear Connie, Lynette, Jill, April & Robyn's thoughts too. Here is what I shared, (approximately.):
I marvel at the "stats" of EHBC. Marvel. The % of young people who have been through this church and are now living for the Lord is amazing. I'm sure most are aware that between 65-90% of young people who attend church regularly in their childhood leave after they graduate from high school. That has not been the case here.
So, what is it about EHBC that has been successful/ is successful? I think it's okay to use the word 'successful'. Let's say that the goal is for a young person to grow up and become an adult who loves the Lord and is serving Him. If that is a goal we have in mind than it is okay to say that EHBC has experienced success in this.
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| Micah at EHBC's 100th anniversary celebration last June |
It is always good to have objectives. I have "blessings"/objectives for my kids. It's good to know what you're shooting for! For example, with Micah, I pray nearly every night that he will "grow up to be a good, strong man who loves Jesus & serves Him his whole life long." Micah knows this by heart & he knows it is what I'm hoping he will be as an adult.
So, back to the "success" of EHBC. Obviously, I think the Word of God as a foundation is of utmost importance. However, I have come up with three things that EHBC did that certainly helped them achieve success.
1. EHBC carefully chose a few programs that fit the needs of the body.
AWANA is a classic example. Our parents put SO much effort into AWANA! It planted the seeds of God's Word in our hearts & minds.
2. Children were and still are a priority at EHBC.
They are important. They are allowed responsibility.
~Collecting the pennies in "Opening Exercises"
~Teaching SS while I was still in high school, and then again in college & being allowed a Sunday night for that junior high class to share
~Faith Promise Pledge! I remember as a very young child pledging the grand total of $3. I put my offering in so that by the time a year was up I had given $3. I'm sure my mom helped me keep track. This allowance of my small gift began a lifetime of tithing and giving.
3. Multi-Generational time together. (This is probably my favorite!)
So often today elderly, singles, young marrieds, toddlers, teens - everyone is segregated into age groups. We have so much to learn from one another! I'm thankful that I spent so much time in the company of my parents' generation & my grandparents' generation.
~Uncle Glenn eating a donut off a string
~Sam driving his car on the ice
~Various "older" people sharing in church
I can no more extract the value of this time with older generations than I can extract just the flour out of cookies that have been baked. The goodness of that has been baked into me!
Certainly all three of these things make for a healthy church, but back to my "stats" and marveling. Many wonderful churches have done these things and have not experienced the success of EHBC. I shall make a later point on the value of the home because I think that is where it is at!
However, I think the "special sauce", the secret ingredient has been that there is no doubt that we at EHBC are reaping the benefits of seeds sown by past generations. We do have a goodly/beautiful heritage.
My great grandmother attended this church.
My Gram, born in 1918, grew up in this church.
I wish I could spend some time with these people, from generations past, who paved a pleasant path for me.
The Bible doesn't speak specifically about generational blessings. It does, however, speak of generational curses, visited to the 3rd and 4th generations. However, I think generational blessings aer implied. Certainly, when we think of Abraham. Psalm 145:4 says:
"One generation shall praise Your works to another,
and shall declare Your mighty acts."
Deuteronomy 6 is one of my favorite passages. Right after talking about how you should teach God's statutes to your children when you lie down, sit at the table, walk along the way, etc., it says:
"Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities, which you did not build, and houses full of good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied."
None of us had anything to do with what we are reaping. We are so blessed!
It makes me think of the song - "May All Who Come Behind Us Find Us Faithful." A few words from that song -
...Those who've gone before us lined the way
Cheering on the faithful
encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace
...let us leave to those behind us
the heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.
May the power of our devotion light the way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.
However, every generation must make their faith their own. More specifically, every person must make their faith their own in order to enter heaven. I believe we have established the "success" of EHBC. (I read part of an article at this point, but I think I shall leave that out here!) I realize that I am talking to mature Christians, but I think sometimes we slide down to a different chair.
I'm sure most are familiar with the concept of the "3 Chairs." I think it may have originated with Bruce Wilkerson. I found several different versions online, so I have tweaked it accordingly.
Everyone is in a chair, although sometimes we migrate.
Where you're seated is important.
This summer our family is going to the Sight & Sound Theater in PA. I just recently purchased the tickets and was able to choose our seats. They have a neat feature. You can click on the seat and it will show a picture of what the stage looks like from that seat. If you're "into" attending sporting events, plays, concerts, you know that where you sit is important!
The first chair is Commitment.
This is a personal walk with the Lord.
The second chair is Compromise.
Those in this chair claim an association with Christ, probably claim a decision, but their commitment has faded. Their actions and beliefs are associated more with who they are with.
The third chair is Complacency.
The unsaved are seated in this chair. They are comfortable with no space for Christ.
Joshua 24 talks about choosing who you will serve. It is easy to piggyback on my godly heritage. Growing up it seemed that everyone knew my Grampie and my Gram and my parents. I felt like we had a good name. I know I have my own faith, and I know that you know you have your own faith, but given such a "goodly" heritage, we sometimes fall back on it. I cannot live off the glow of a goodly church or a goodly family.
You know, it is very easy to get warm fuzzies coming here.
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~Little red aprons: Kathy Smith did an AMAZING job with this! Every year she would have a Valentine's Day banquet for couples in the church and we girls got to be the waitresses.
~Walking around the pole at the bottom of the stairs, in my church shoes.
~Mother-Daughter Banquets! Oh my! This was before Pinterest & the internet! How did they come up with these amazing ideas!? One year I won the door prize and got to pick a doll quilt which I still have!
However, a Sparky crown full of jewels doesn't place me in the first chair. I am guilty. The 3 Chairs are convicting to me.
?How many communions go by at church and I am confessing the same sins, month after month, sometimes year after year, with seemingly no growth?
?How many days in a row does my Bible sit unopened?
In order to Be the Story and Tell the Story we need to Know the Story, but even that can be tricky. Knowledge puffs up and we have been blessed at EHBC with so much knowledge. I have all the college credits for a Bible degree - hours and hours of learning doctrine and Pauline epistles and prophecy. But we cannot live off past victories.
Last week our pastor challenged us to share the gospel with one person that week. Simple enough, right?
It's been 2 years since I have led someone to the Lord, and even if I were to count up everyone I have every led to the Lord, it wouldn't be such a big number.
It has been 4 months since I have clearly and fully explained my faith and what I believe to an unbeliever.
Yes, there have been mission trips and lots of time spent teaching kids. I am not talking about a works-oriented faith, but a sold-out-to-Jesus and follower-not-a-fan type commitment.
It reminds me of the song "I Want to Leave a Legacy." I do, but not for legacy's sake. Here are a few of the words:
...But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides the temporary trappings of this world.
I want to leave a legacy.
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering.
I want to leave an offering.
Child of mercy & grace who blessed Your name, unapologetically, and leave that kind of legacy...
We have been given a goodly heritage.
It follows then, that we are responsible to leave a goodly heritage.
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EHBC has been "successful" with helping to raise up children into young adults who love the Lord and continue to serve Him. That is wonderful and I do believe that the "special sauce" of faithful past generations and the three things mentioned before have a lot to do with that. But I don't want to leave out the home.
In true form, I will take issue a bit with the theme of a lighthouse. :)
"The role of the church is not to just make sure that as you look down on this community you can see the light shining bright from our facility. The role of the church is to make sure the light is shining in each and every home so the community can be lit for the world to see."
I think I'll exchanged the idea of a lighthouse, although the church certainly is that, with the idea of a power source, a recharger, a place to plug in and re-focus on God, connect with Him, and a place that equips the home. Not just feeding the family but teaching them to feed themselves.
This brings me to Faith at Home, which is my heartbeat.
Did you know that in a study of 7-12th graders, when they were asked who is the most significant religious influence in their lives they chose
Mother
Father
Grandparent
Another relative
Siblings
and Friends ALL before "Pastor" and "Sunday School Teacher", etc.
"While the approach of 'dropping the kids off at church' may keep them busy at church for a few years, it often doesn't lead to faith that lasts into their adult years. From 65-90% of kids active in high school youth groups do not go to church by the time they are sophomores in college. One third will never return. The reason these kids don't return to church is b/c their faith hasn't been firmly established and lived out in their homes. Many of them view faith as something hypocritical - parents act one way at church & a completely different way at home."
Reggie Joiner is a speaker & author. He says that parents typically have over 3,000 hours per year of unscheduled time with their children while the church has about 200.
I am suggesting that we encourage one another. We pass one a goodly, godly heritage.
Sit in the first chair,
with baton in hand.
You would think that I had pretty much everything I needed in my arsenal. Christian home, Christian education. That's pretty prideful, right? One of the biggest encouragements I have had was from my friend, Susan. She encouraged me when my kids were quite small that they could be having their own daily devotions. Thank you, Susan! And so they have, since they were about 5, 7 & 8. This is not to say that we are some kind-of great & perfect family. Spend 5 minutes with us or friend me on facebook and you will see that this is not true! However, we are intentional.
On the way up, (to Hodgdon that day), I was listening to Rush Limbaugh.
He was talking about a family that groomed their son to be a football player. I imagine that boy had a football by the time he was 1 or 2 years old. He probably spend weekends playing catch with his dad. His family took him to games, started him in pee-wee football and taught him the ins and outs of the game. Imagine the time, energy & effort they spent grooming him to be a football player.
That is how intentional we need to be with the spiritual heritage we are giving our children/special kids in our lives.
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