Some of the Work Required to Turn Around Churches

Below are the newsletter articles for February and March.  In them there is discussion on what we can do to turn churches around.  Just as a reminder these items are not totally inclusive.  There are probably others as well.

                I am often asked by individuals and in meetings what we can do to turn the church around/how do we get people to come back to church.  I have some answers, and will share some of them this month and some next month.  There will be some commentary with them to help explain them.  One thing to remember is that just like a fully loaded oil tanker at sea trying to turn around, it is going to take time, work, and space.

1.  There is no group that is going to be the savior of the church.  We often think “if only the youth/the ones who have stopped coming/ the families/etc would come they will save the church.”  As Kenda Creasy Dean reminded the Annual Conference a few years ago these groups are not our savior(s), our Savior is Jesus Christ-living, died, raised, and coming again. 

2.  We have to tell among ourselves and to others our stories on why God is important to us, what Jesus has done for us, and how the Holy Spirit helps us.  If we do not talk about our faith then other people are not going to know that God is alive and active in the world today.  Our faith is not supposed to be kept to ourselves, but rather it is to be shared with the world.  Remember Jesus tells us in Matthew to go into all the world teaching and baptizing, making disciples.  He does not tell us to stay quiet.

3.  Along with talking about our faith we also have to issue invitations for people to come to church, and invitations for people to enter into a life transforming relationship with Jesus Christ as their Savior.  Over the last 20 years I have had many people say “I don’t know how to share my faith” or “I don’t want to push religion on anyone” or “it makes me uncomfortable,” and a host of other reasons or excuses.  We live today in a culture more like the Apostles’ and early Christians than we do in one like the 1960s/70s.  In the 60s and 70s there was still somewhat of the expectation one would go to church on Sunday and be involved in its ministries.  That is not the case anymore.  Instead, like the Apostles and early Christians, we live in a society where we need to be like Andrew when he went and told people about Jesus, and then asked him to go to see him.

4.  We need more small groups.  These groups can be grouped around interests, missions, sports, learning, study, etc, but they should always include prayer and support when they meet.  The early Methodists met weekly in classes where they were encouraged to confess their sins and to build each other up.  The classes also grew organically, and when they began to get too big they split and formed new ones.

5.  We need to rethink what the Church is.  Too often we have forgotten The Church, which we are members of, is the Body of Christ, and not a building.  We are the hands and feet of Jesus.  It has been said the Church is the only entity that is in business not for itself.  We need to be reaching out locally, nationally, and internationally.  This reaching out is not just by giving money or supplies, but also going to where the need is, taking the time and inviting people to come to receive physical and spiritual help. 

                Next month we will look at a few more items that we can do to strengthen the congregations.

                Blessings,


                Pastor Dave

                Last month I listed five items we need to know or do to turn the church around/to get more people in church.  This month we will conclude the list.  Now please understand these are not all that we have to do, but it is a start and they are some of the bigger items we need to address.  Also, please know that most of the items are facing many, if not most, of the churches in America today.  Just as a recap here are the five that were talked about last month.  If you want to know more about each point refer to your newsletter or contact the church office and Norma should be able to e-mail you one.

1.  The only Savior for the church is Jesus Christ.  There is no one person or group who is going to save the church other than him. 

2.  We have to tell other people, including those who do not come to church, what God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit has done for us.

3.  We have to extend invitations to people to come to church and to enter into a relationship with Jesus.

4.  We need more small groups.

5.  We need to rethink what church is.

                 Here are the rest of the actions we can do to help the church become who God wants us to be.

6.  We have to be willing to take risks and to be willing to set aside personal preferences.  Congregations are some of the most risk adverse groups there are.  Change does not come easily, nor new things.  Even some of the things that we try that seem new are old things just repackaged in new wrapping.  Sometimes what we try or should be doing goes against what we would do personally or what we like to do.  Risk taking is scary, it can be uncomfortable, and there is no guarantee of success, and yet we are called to do it in the name of Jesus Christ.  If we stumble then we will just get up, wipe ourselves off, and continue to do what God is calling us to do.  Sometimes we get too comfortable in our preferences that we cannot, or more accurately, will not be willing to change or try new things.  Peter took a risk when he got out of the boat to go to Jesus, and when he stumbled Jesus was there to help him up.

7.  Everyone has dreams including God.  God has a dream of who we can become as individuals and as a congregation.  We have to be willing to set aside our dreams for the congregation and church, and then pick up God’s dream for us.  This takes a lot of work, discernment, and will power.  It involves a lot of letting go.

8.  We need to move the Lord and church up on our priority list.  Some may say “you’re getting too personal Dave.”  I would ask, “did this strike too close to home?”  Remember the first commandment, “you shall not have any other God before me.”  God should be number one in our lives.  We are told not to forget the assembly of the saints as some are known to do.  In today’s world there are many other things calling for our priority.  As we hear these voices we have to make choices on what is going to be the most important.  We will also have to carve time out of the schedule for both worship and personal devotion time.  There will be those times we also need to make time for special activities at the church.

9.  We need to remember what God gives us may be something entirely different than what we want.  This could be ministry, building, location, who we work with, and the list goes on and on.  This may mean giving up what we hold dear, and not just dreams and memories.

10.  We need to show mercy, grace, offer forgiveness, and put aside grudges.  I have heard of and been in churches that are still dealing with unresolved conflict or grudges from 5, 10, 20, even 50 years ago.  It needs to be practiced in the Christian’s home as well because you will bring your attitude from home to the church.  From moving a piano across the chancel area or even just a few inches to putting cushions on the pews; from somebody who might not have smiled at you at a family reunion to your spouse not putting the seat down; if we do not forgive and show mercy and grace, the affront gets into us and festers.  It infects us, our relationships, and eventually our actions.  It will infect the rest of the body of Christ.  Sometimes the infection will be a slow gradual erosion of health that is not noticeable until it is too late.  Other times it will become like an infected boil that when any pressure, intentional or unintentional, is applied it busts spurting its pus and goo all over the group.  As it explodes, much like the potatoes in John Belushi’s lunchroom scene in “Animal House”, it opens a way for more infection to invade us, and as the infection lands on other people it can ooze its way into the tiniest of openings and begin to grow there.  The medicine for this is to communicate, to show grace and mercy, and to forgive.

11.  The last one should actually be the first one.  We should literally or figuratively be on our knees praying.  Praying for the Body of Christ to be made strong; seeking the Lord’s guidance on where we should go and who we should and could become as we follow him completely.  We need to be interceding for those who are hurting even if they are our enemies or we do not like them.  To be willing to God to put people in front of us whom we can share the Good News of Jesus Christ with.  We need to come before the Almighty with the knowledge and a confession of our sinfulness, but also to be willing to ask for pardon and forgiveness.  We should be praying for courage to go where we are called.  To tell God everything that is bothering us no matter how big, how small, how silly we perceive it to be, or how insignificant we think it is.  God wants us to bring ALL to him. 

Blessings,

Pastor Dave

Missions and Experiences from the 325th Maint Co, FL Army National Guard, During Desert Shield/Storm

For those who might be interested here is some of what it was like in Saudi Arabia in 1990/91.  This is what I wrote for a "buddy" letter for a soldier who was in the unit and is gathering evidence for a VA claim.

     I was a lieutenant in the 325^th Maintenance Company, Florida Army National Guard, when it deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield/Storm/Clean-up.  During this time period I was the officer in charge of the Al Jubail Chemical Agent Resistant Coating (CARC) Paint site; one of the officers at Convoy Support Zebra; and one of the officers at the company’s detachment at Logbase Bastogne located near the town of Nairyah on route 85.  Prior to being sent on missions the company as a whole had landed in Dharan/Damman and was assigned billets at one of the former migrant camps near the Damman Expo.  During our time frame there were constant issues with the sewer backing up into the bathhouses.  Many of the bathhouses utilized the system of using the same stall for urination and defecation and taking a shower.

            The CARC paint sites the 325^th were in charge of were located at the ports of Al Jubail and Damman in Saudi Arabia.  The site at Al Jubail was located in a depression that at least 15 and possibly as much as 30 feet below the surrounding roads, and was probably less than five acres in total size.  It was within a half mile of a huge chemical or oil refining facility.  I recall the Initial Staging Area’s (aka Dew Drop Inn) base commader or one of his subordinates saying they did not want the paint site anywhere near them and thus was ½-1 mile away as the crow flies from the nearest point of the ISA.  The paint tents were the army’s large maintenance tents; the air compressors initially were a five horsepower and a 7.5 or 8 horsepower compressor each equipped with only a charcoal filter. These compressors ended up running multiple tents with two paint guns and two air hoses for each compressor.   

            The protective gear was paper suits, and the breathing apparatus varied.  Some soldiers used their chemical suit masks until ordered not to do so, others painted with face masks that had interchangeable cartridges.  Eventually the painters received full face masks with a forced air system, but the air compressors were still too small, running multiple painters and paint guns off of each one, and located where the overspray was sucked into the filter.  Hazardous waste from the mixing of the paint and solvent/catalyst was kept on site.  The living quarters for the painters were located approximately 25-100 yards from the paint tents. 

             The first Al Jubail paint site painted over 6000 pieces of equipment in approximately a three month period.  I believe the Damman paint site had similar numbers.  Because of the topography and meteorology of the area it was more common than not to come out of the nightly briefing at the ISA and see a cloud of paint and solvent vapors over the paint site with the dome extending beyond the perimeter of the site.  The paint and solvent were so dangerous that the Department of Defense after the Gulf War had the manufacturers develop a new, less toxic chemical resistant paint.  Some of the hazards that were in the paint and/or solvent the 325^th Maint Co used included methyl ethyl ketones, iso and di-isocyanates, silica, volatile organic compounds, and other toxic elements.  When talking safety protocol with Department of Defense civilian painters their advice/guidance was that if the paint or solvent ever caught on fire to “run like hell and make sure you run upwind.”  According to the DOD civilians some of the by-products of combustion would have been toxic fumes such as cyanide gas.  The painting that the 325^th was tasked with was actually general support or depot level maintenance in enclosed paint booths with separate forced air systems for painting equipment, the painters, and as I understood it the air in the booth was supposed to be forced to the bottom and then sucked out the side for filtering.  At the second Al Jubail site the paint tents were located on a side road, but it was noticed that the overspray was causing the pavement to crack and crumble.

             Some miscellaneous events that occurred at the paint site or the ISA which provided support for us and was a mile or less away included local meals being stopped provided because of sanitary concerns and food handling by the local contractor (spoiled food being served, unsafe food handling practices) causing food borne illnesses among the soldiers; kerosene heaters in the sleeping tents; pests such as flies and rodents in the living area and field latrines; and field expedient latrines which required the on-site burning of human waste.  Generators were running constantly and were located throughout the site including near the tents that were provided for living areas.  We experienced several sand storms in the time frame of the operation.  The Jubail paint site was also highly active the nights when Scud missiles were shot toward the city and also toward Damman.  At least once we were told anti-missile missiles had been fired at an in-coming projectile.  The night this happened many of the troops who were asleep were awoken by a very loud, sharp noise. 

            The site was not far from the different bases in Jubail that had positive results when the Sea-Bees or Marines tested for chemical weapons.  There was also unsubstantiated talk at the time there was a Fox Chemical vehicle in Jubail that had also received positive results when they tested one night for chemical agents.  At the paint site itself, one morning, and I believe it was the morning after we had gone to MOPP 2 the night before, a sergeant came up to me and asked “LT, does it mean anything when the red light is flashing on the M-8 (Chemical Alarm)?”  At the time as we had not been trained on all the intricacies of the M-8 we thought it was just low batteries or the chemicals from the paint site activating the alarm.  However, since that time it has been stated in a congressional report, the Riegel report I believe, that the M-8 Chemical alarm was specifically designed not to activate because of low or exhausted batteries.

            Besides the M-8 being activated at least some of the time, we were told to take the Pyridostigmine Bromide (PB) tablets/pills.  Many of the troops at the Jubail site where I was the OIC spent considerable amount of time running to the latrine to evacuate bowels as the pills caused diarrhea to strike within minutes of taking the pills.  There were also complaints of jitteriness and edginess while taking the pills.  I personally experienced the diarrhea and the jitteriness/heart racing after taking the tablets. 

            The stress level was high as the mission was a high profile operation with generals often making visits on site; captains, majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels often trying to get vehicles that were not on the priority list to be painted; a hawk air defense launcher was positioned immediately on the outside of the perimeter of the paint site; and we would occasionally receive reports to be on the look out for drive by attacks using mortars.  There was also the stress of having equipment breaking down or busting (locally procured hoses would explode because of the chemical reaction of the paint and solvent); health concerns using inadequate equipment; concerns not being adequately met, and the stress of being at a site in a combat theater that was dangerous to work at and was potentially a prime target for missiles or terrorist attacks.

            At Logbase Bastogne the paint was not present however the living conditions were not improved.  The troops still lived in GP mediums with kerosene heaters providing heat when needed; outside latrines with barely adequate washing facilities; insects, and diesel fuel being used on the major pathways in the base to dampen and pack down the sand.  At Logbase Bastogne we experienced several sandstorms.  The logbase also experienced the effects of the soot and particulate matter of the Kuwaiti oil field fires covering equipment and personnel.

            Personnel at Convoy Support Center (CSC) Zebra also experienced the effects of the oil field fires.  The CSC was on a major supply route coming out of Kuwait and thus many vehicles utilized it.  Just as at Logbase Bastogne oil well fires’ smoke and soot were plainly visible and coating people and equipment.   After combat hostilities ended many tractor-trailer combinations carrying damaged or destroyed Iraqi equipment stopped at the CSC.  While I know of no one who went into the equipment many troops went over and looked at and touched the equipment.  Much of the damaged equipment had been hit with US ammunition possibly containing depleted uranium.  At CSC Zebra there were also many single serve meals in a can such as Chef Boyardee and Dinty Moore products.  Many of these products were served in hard plastic containers with metal lids.  They may have contained BPA and emitted it when heated.  Soft drinks were also locally procured. 

            One of the duties of the CSC was to provide fuel for vehicles going in both directions on the main supply route.  As such there were several 50,000-100,000 gallon bladders of diesel oil kept on sight.  This resulted in raw diesel fumes being let into the air, and then mixing with the fumes from the other vehicles’ exhaust.  There was seldom a time when there were not vehicles at least idling in the CSC parking or fuel areas.

            Some other items that occurred for the 325^th while in Saudi Arabia included some extremely hot days in excess of 130 Fahrenheit with some days having extremely high humidity; other times there was ice in the field showers; multiple sand storms throughout the areas we were assigned to; and being assigned living quarters above a former landfill (Camp Rambo near the Damman Expo.  Background ambient noise was always there with large equipment moving around and generators running.  There was also loud engine and wind noise while driving the equipment in convoys, on a mission, and around the bases we were located at.  We were exposed to spiders, mosquitos, scorpions, flies, and other bugs and pests.  At all locations we were exposed to insecticides dispersed into the air by local contractors.  During the redeployment the troops were required to clean the equipment returning to the United States with specific cleaners. 

            Prior to deployment from Ft Stewart, GA, we received a large number of vaccinations.  These included typhoid, DPT, plague, and others.  At one time we were told botulism was one of the vaccinations we received.